Hydrate
Drink plenty of water (8-10 glasses every day) and try to curb your caffeine cravings! Pregnant women are advised to consume less than 200mg of caffeine each day because of the link between caffeine intake and low birth weight of babies. Drinking water in between meals (rather than with) can also help with indigestion if you’ve been experiencing that.
Make time for yourself
Whether ‘you time’ means exercise or a trip to the cinema, an afternoon on the sofa with a book or an hour-long bath, carve out some time to switch off, relax and do something which makes you feel happy. Sometimes being pregnant can feel like suddenly everyone’s very involved in your life and it can be overwhelming. But marking out some time for you – or you and your partner together if that’s what you need – is really vital self-care. It becomes a lot harder when your baby is here, so if you can get into a good habit of some ‘you time’ now, then it’s a lot easier when you have another person to factor into the equation – and you’ll know how important it is to your sanity!
Banish baby brain!
The forgetfulness of baby brain is real! Partly the result of tiredness from disturbed sleep patterns, partly the sheer number of new thoughts and feelings relating to having a baby, and partly the impact of the way in which our brain functions change during pregnancy, it can leave you feeling like you’re one sandwich short of a picnic! But you can plan for it – and not let it get you down, or feeling behind with life!
Planning might come naturally to you – especially as you start to respond to those ‘nesting’ urges that impending motherhood can instil – but it can be a really useful tool to helping you feel more in control of life as other things (like your changing body) can feel as though they’re starting to get away from you! Plan your week with what you need to achieve, any classes you might be planning, healthy meals you want to cook, etc. Having a schedule and/or to do list can help you stick to good intentions, and being able to cross things off when they’re done leads to a great sense of achievement!
You got this, Mama!
The first Busylizzy Maternity Club was founded by Julie Clabby in 2011 to provide pregnancy & postnatal workouts, baby classes and social events for new and expectant parents. Today, there are 15+ clubs across the U.K. supporting parents with ‘in person’ and online classes via Zoom. Visit https://busylizzy.co.uk/ for more information about your nearest club and follow Busylizzy on Facebook and Instagram.
