Preg Ed
I feel compelled to share a few things. While I obviously cannot say I am a pregnancy expert by even the stretchiest stretch of the imagination, I do feel like maybe I got a few things right to make this pregnancy easier than it could have been. Or maybe I was just very, very lucky. I'll probably never know until the next pregnancy (are we already talking about this??) when I can compare my experiences. Nevertheless, since day one, I've had people continually ask how miserable I am. It's not the strangest question in the world due to all the horror stories about pregnancy and all the ailments that pregnant women do fall prey to. I, however, have missed a lot of these experiences and feel very blessed. Believe me. I was expecting the full on morning sickness from hell (accidentally typed "suckness" and then realized...that's probably not too far off) but other than some nausea and a little weird motion sickness thrown in here and there, I've felt pretty good. Now...there are some things I've purposefully done and some things that I just happened to be doing that may have contributed. So I felt compelled to share the things I've noticed make a difference and some I am not sure but suspect made a difference.
1. Chiropractor. Now, I don't remember if I already wrote about my chiro...no, actually I'm pretty sure I have. Ah. Here we go. Anyway...as you may have read before, I started going to my chiropractor before I got pregnant for some serious hip pain. I was desperate and my regular doctor was not at all being helpful or understanding. I started off going probably once a week until the issue was mostly corrected. Then I've continued going once a month and this continued throughout my pregnancy. As a result (I think), I've not had much in the way of joint pain, back pain, etc. that I hear about during pregnancy. Yes, I've had some. But compared to what I think it would have been if I hadn't been seeing him, I think it's been pretty minor. Now, it must be said that my chiropractor is not just any chiropractor. Other than simply being a miracle worker (I'm not kidding), he does some techniques I've never heard of before that deal more with connective tissue. I don't think he really aligned my back or cracked my back or neck until I had been going to him for several months. So that could also have something to do with it. He does a technique called ART. Not sure what it stands for but it works.
2. Pregnancy Pillow. Now, as I said in previous posts, this was not helpful until I got past my 20th week. But once I did, it made a huge difference as far as comfort and sleeping. I started off sleeping with one pillow. That has turned into three and I believe it'll soon be four. So...pregnancy pillow all the way. But if you can't afford one or get one, lots of pillows helps too. Just keep working with them until you find what works for you. It took me awhile...like a month of John being gone for training so I didn't worry about either waking him up with a pillow attack or unknowingly smothering him in his sleep with my collection.
3. Preggo Pops. Yes. Those vitamin B lollipops that are supposed to help with nausea. Yes, they actually worked. Granted, I never threw up. But still! They helped for all the times I was nauseated and wanted to throw up.
4. EXERCISE. I can't stress this one enough. I'd say the most annoying things about pregnancy haven't been the physical changes or even finding you no longer fit any of your clothes (or underwear) but the people who feel compelled to tell you that you can't do something. Exercise seems to be their favorite topic, just slightly above lifting anything over a pound. Now...I know they mean well and everything. I do. And I appreciate that. BUT...you are not my doctor. If you were my doctor, I would listen to you. I listen to my doctor. I ask LOTS of questions. I like to be very informed especially when it comes to caring for another living being inside of me. Believe me, I'm NOT going to do anything that could potentially harm my child. That being said...I'm not going to stop exercising until my doctor says, "Yeah, now would be a good time to stop exercising." Considering every time I've asked her if I can continue exercising and she's enthusiastically said, "OF COURSE! PLEASE DO!", I think I'm good. So yes. Back to the point! Exercise. I've continued exercising throughout pregnancy. I continued what I was doing right before and have not added anything new since getting pregnant. For example, I was not running right before I got pregnant due to my hip pain issue. When I got pregnant and when I started getting the issue fixed at the chiropractor, I decided to still hold off with running simply because I hadn't done it in awhile. With the changes to my body, I have had to tone down what I do and adjust accordingly but mostly I feel like I can do much of the same things I did before. I use the elliptical, I go to Zumba class, I lift arm weights but nothing ridiculous. And it DOES help in the energy department. You go through phases where you feel like the walking dead. Exercise definitely helped me in that area. And the fact it's keeping you fit is always nice too. I hear it helps when labor hits. I'll report back on that later, I suppose.
5. Diet. No. Do not go on a diet. But DO pay attention to what you're eating. Sure. We all feel a deep need to eat several bars of chocolate in a sitting (or was/is that just me?) but I kept reminding myself that whatever I ate, baby ate. I've tried to keep an eye on quantity as well as quality. In the beginning when things grossed me out, I tried to be reasonable and eat what I could. My midwife always said from the very beginning, "Do what you can." As I started to feel better, I definitely forced myself to try to eat better and eat lots of smaller meals instead of GINORMOUS ones. I know I'm preaching to the choir and everyone has read all of this in preggo books. But I think being aware of what I was eating has helped me keep from gaining tons of weight too. I'm continually told I don't look that pregnant or not big ENOUGH to be as far along as I am (9 more weeks, baby girl!) which is always very flattering...but surprising. I was seriously expecting to get huge. Like...HUGE. The fact I haven't has been SO encouraging and tells me I must have done a few things right to help in that department. A good friend told me to beware of the 7th month. This is true, solid advice considering as soon as I entered month 7, I suddenly got the sweet-tooth from hell and suddenly was back to my 2nd trimester ravenous ways...but this time cared nothing about portion control. I've since tamed the beast as much as I can but it isn't/wasn't/isn't easy. So I guess what I'm trying to say is...make an effort. Do what you can. I just tried not to have the attitude of, "Well who cares! I'm pregnant!!" because then I went NUTS.
So there you go. Those are the ones that came to mind.
With all that being said, I just discovered the world of belly molds. I am curious, fascinated, and trying to decide how I feel about the whole thing. I find them quite beautiful but can't help but wonder...WHAT would I do with a belly mold and WHERE the heck would I put it? Would I regret not doing one now that I know about it (in case you are in the dark like I was, you basically take a mold of your belly/torso and it hardens for you to keep so you have an eternal reminder of your preggo belly)? I'm unsure. But I guess I'll think about it.
P.S. I went to my first preggo class: breastfeeding. It was both hilarious and informative. Everyone in the class couldn't help giggling about boobs and nipples and boobs...myself included. It didn't help that the instructor had a boob puppet. No. Joke.
Photo: The Belly Mold found via The Belly Mold
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