Maintaining Healthy Habits During Pregnancy

It’s important to maintain healthy habits in general, but it’s really important to maintain some good healthy habits during pregnancy.

Many of us often wonder and want to know if our baby is healthy during pregnancy and I personally believe that starts with ourselves trying to be healthy.

As a second-time mom, this is obviously not my first time being pregnant.

When I was pregnant as a first-time mom, I did not know what to expect.

A lot of that pregnancy was going with the flow which let’s be honest, we are all going with the flow of pregnancy no matter which number it is because symptoms are sporadic and unpredictable.

However, with each pregnancy, you get a better understanding of how your body will react to pregnancy because it has been through it before.

For instance, I was sicker much longer early on in the first trimester of this pregnancy and my skin was a lot drier.

But other than those symptoms, I have still gained about the same amount of weight and kept my blood pressure and swelling down.

If I become pregnant again, many of these symptoms will probably occur again.

Every pregnancy is different and I might experience a few new ones, but for the most part, what has happened so far is what I would expect.

As I have gone about my second pregnancy, I have been more intentional with maintaining a healthy pregnancy.

And as usual, I want to share with you all what I have been doing and offer you all some healthy pregnancy tips that I have been doing during this pregnancy.

Here is how I have been trying to stay healthy while I have been pregnant by maintaining these healthy habits during pregnancy.

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Healthy Habits To Maintain During Pregnancy

The way I want to go about sharing these pregnancy tips is to break it down by trimester because each trimester brings a different set of challenges or symptoms that you have to adjust to.

So let’s start with the first trimester.

Healthy Pregnancy Tips For The First Trimester

During the first trimester of pregnancy, everything that you are doing is geared around adjusting to being pregnant and starting off your pregnancy journey the right way.

Find A Midwife/OBGYN

The moment you find out you are pregnant, the very first thing you should do is find a good and reliable midwife or OBGYN to support you and provide good prenatal care during your pregnancy journey.

Healthy Women has stated that studies have found that babies of mothers who don’t get prenatal care are three times more likely to have a low birth weight and five times more likely to die which is why this is so important.

This professional should have you and your baby’s best interest at heart at all times and make you feel comfortable in asking them questions and creating a birth plan that you are comfortable with.

They will go over what is normal and not normal during pregnancy and will likely recommend that you stop smoking and drinking for the remainder of your pregnancy.

Start Taking Your Prenatals

As many of you recall, I was pretty sick the whole first trimester.

And I’m talking the nauseous and throwing up kind of sick.

Since I was so nauseous, it was very hard to take my prenatal because I kept throwing them up.

Most people think taking your prenatal is all about making sure that your baby is getting all the nutrients it needs which is true, but it is also about getting the nutrients you need as well since most of what you are producing is going to the baby.

I know for myself that I found it a whole lot easier taking my prenatal at night right before bed so that there was less of a chance for it to come up than taking it in the morning.

Get More Rest (Than Usual)

This won’t be a hard tip to follow because I’m sure that pregnancy fatigue will kick in and make you rest.

Your body is working in overdrive now to create the life that is forming within you and just like anything else that is overworking, you will need more rest.

What worked for me was taking naps throughout the day because insomnia was kicking my butt at night.

I said in my pregnant stay-at-home mom routine that I would actually take naps with my 2-year-old daughter which worked out in both of our favors during the first trimester.

I know not everyone has the luxury to be at home during their entire pregnancy and I was not at home when I was pregnant with my first daughter.

When I was working when pregnant with my first daughter, I would actually take naps during my breaks, and that I was how overcame some of that early pregnancy fatigue in the first trimester.

Healthy Pregnancy Tips For The Second Trimester

In the second trimester, you start to get some of that energy that you lost back and you start to feel a little more like yourself.

This is likely when your doctor will want you to start practicing some better healthy habits along with what you were doing in the first trimester now that you have gotten past it.

Myself personally, my first trimester symptoms lingered into the second trimester until about 20 weeks and this is when I started feeling more like myself.

Stay Hydrated

In fact, Lauren from The Military Wife and Mom says to drink up like you are traveling on a deserted island without water.

Which is exactly what I did and what would say to do as well.

Between food aversions and the sensitivity you may have to certain foods, you are just trying to keep anything down that will stay down.

But you can stay hydrated on water which is what I would do.

I even would add some lemon to it for taste if the water was tasting too bland.

I also made it a habit to have a bottle of water on my nightstand every night so that I would drink water during the night if I woke up.

Eat Healthy Pregnancy Snacks

I’m not going to say meals because larger meals can actually make you feel really uncomfortable when you are pregnant.

And that is definitely the case with me.

It is often recommended that pregnant women eat smaller meals throughout the day.

Pregnant women experience hunger differently from one woman to another whether you are taking the “eating for 2” seriously or snacking throughout the day like myself.

Prenatals only do so much so it is imperative to have good eating habits during pregnancy.

According to Parent.com, some good foods to consume while pregnant are:

• Lean Meat
• Broccoli
• Bananas
• Oatmeal
• Whole-Grain Bread
• Nuts

Moderate Exercises

With that energy boost, you are going to start to feel more productive and like you can accomplish anything.

If exercising is your thing and you found it hard to during the first trimester, you can pick it back up in the second trimester.

Obviously, there are some workouts that are off-limits, but moderate exercises such as walking, yoga, and swimming will never be off-limits.

Make sure you are consulting with your provider before engaging in other rigorous exercises.

For me, walking has been my primary form of exercise and something that I do every day.

Even as a stay-at-home mom, I make it a point to get out of the house every day and walk around whether that is around a store or around our neighborhood.

Healthy Pregnancy Tips For The Third Trimester

As you head into the third trimester, don’t be surprised if you start to experience some of those first trimester symptoms again such as nausea and pregnancy fatigue.

The way I view pregnancy is:

• First Trimester: You feel pregnant, but don’t look it
• Second Trimester: You look pregnant, but don’t feel it
• Third Trimester: You look and feel pregnant

Your baby is packing on the weight and your body starts preparing itself for labor so along with the pregnancy habits that were mentioned above, you will want to incorporate these as well.

Healthy Weight Gains

I want to first say that gaining weight during pregnancy is normal. In fact, let me repeat that.

Gaining weight during pregnancy is NORMAL.

I am a firm believer that when it comes to creating and providing for this new life, your body is doing what it needs to do in order to do just that. And this involves gaining weight to accommodate your growing baby.

Now is there a thing such as gaining too much weight? Possibly.

And I feel like it would be a disservice to you all if I didn’t at least mention what the experts and professionals are saying when it comes to healthy weight gains during pregnancy.

 The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) recommends a weight gain of about 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy.

Moisturizing/Exfoliating Your Skin

As your baby is growing, your belly is expanding.

Your skin goes through a lot when you are pregnant due to the extra hormones so it is important to take care of your skin as it expands.

I know many of us wish there was a magical solution to completely avoid stretch marks.

Although there are a lot of products that are marketed toward doing just that, you have no idea if they will work for you.

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I avoided stretch marks all the way up to 38 weeks.

Two weeks before her due date is when I noticed that a few of them had appeared across my stomach.

Stretch marks are hereditary and anyone can get them, but what can do is prepare our skin for the stretching process by moisturizing it daily and exfoliating it.

Use a thicker hydrating lotion or butter that has shea or cocoa butter in it for moisture and either a dry brush, loofah, or body scrub to exfoliate.

Stretching Exercises

And the last of the healthy habits during pregnancy that I want to mention is stretching exercises.

In particular, stretching the vaginal and perineal muscles.

In the third trimester, you want to start incorporating squatting and Kegel exercises to help during the birthing process.

Tracy Stickler from Healthline stated that these exercises have been known to help maintain good muscle tone and control in the perineal area which can aid in the delivery and recovery after birth.

I like to use one of those big exercise balls to do squats as well as get on all fours and start to rock back and forth.

This also helps with any pelvic pain that I have been experiencing.

Your Turn

And that about covers it! These are the healthy habits I have been doing during my pregnancy, so now I want to hear from you. What healthy habits do you all do during pregnancy? Drop them in the comments so that we can all benefit from them. And while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

• Read More: Transition Your Toddler From A Crib To A Toddler Bed

Love,

Just Jass