Is there anything more exciting than knowing that you are now, finally, pregnant? If you were planning this baby, congratulations. Your life has just irreversibly changed no matter what comes next over the next 10 months. From the moment you find out that you are carrying a child, you as a person are different. Your body, your mind, your emotions – all of it is titled to the new life that you are growing. There is a whole process in pregnancy, and it’s not just the physical process of building a baby from scratch. It’s the mental process of what you are going through and what you’re about to experience.
From learning the gender, to feeling the kicks, there is a lot that you were going to learn throughout this pregnancy. Making the right clinic appointments, having scans and even going shopping to decorate a nursery. There is a lot that you are going to need to do, and whether this is your first as a baby, or your fifth pregnancy, here are some of the things that you should be doing as soon as you find out that you are pregnant. Let’s take a look.
- Start taking your vitamins. You may already be taking them, especially if you were trying to conceive a child. If you haven’t yet, a prenatal vitamin is going to make all the difference to your health and to the health of your grandbaby. It will work to supplement your diet and insure that your growing baby and you both get the nutrients that you need. There are plenty of options, and you can speak to your doctor to find out whether there is a specific one that you could use based on your current bloods and things like that. Just make sure that you eat first or you take them with your breakfast. Taking vitamins on an empty stomach can cause nausea, and you really don’t need to have any more nausea than is necessary at this particular stage!
- Schedule a visit to the clinic. After you have spoken to your partner or your spouse about the baby on the way, you need to let your doctor know. It can take a couple of weeks to get an appointment so you want to put your name down on the list as soon as you can. Your first prenatal visit will involve your doctor or midwife confirming your pregnancy with a urine test, and sometimes they may run a few blood tests just to check your hormone levels and see that everything is tracking along normally. Depending on how far along you are, you may even get to take a peek at the baby with an ultrasound. Your next visit is usually around a month after the first one unless there are any unusual numbers in your blood.
- Rest. In those first three precious months of pregnancy, your body is going to go through a lot. You are taking something the size of a. To the size of a lemon in that time. It may not sound very busy, but your body is building bones and organs and muscles and a brain, and it’s going to take a lot out of you. When you can, make sleep a priority and make sure you are resting as much as possible. Your health really does depend on it and if you’re dealing with things like aches – which are normal – or morning sickness, you’re going to need to give yourself a little bit of Grace. You may want to continue your regular life as planned, but it’s not always the best thing to do if you’re trying to grow a baby. Take it easy and take your time.
- Take a look at your health care routines. If you are a diehard gym goer, you may want to scale it back a little so that you can give your body time to recover after a workout. If you’re not usually one for going to the gym, you may want to step up and start going for longer walks. Exercise is always helpful throughout pregnancy to relieve stress and maintain your flexibility. It also works to promote better sleep and help you to feel strong. Speak to your doctor if you usually enjoy high impact aerobics, and make sure that you are avoiding things like hot yoga or using a sauna or Jacuzzi. Temperatures that are too high can be dangerous for a growing fetus and you want to give your baby the best possible chance to grow well.
- Start thinking about what you would like so bad. You might want to write a small birth plan, but one thing that everybody will tell you – and I will tell you as well – is to be flexible on it. You can have all the plans in the world but the way your baby comes into it doesn’t always go to plan.
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