This pregnancy I have felt really great so far! I felt great during Ashtyn's pregnancy, but both Parker and Rylee's were a lot harder on me. I wanted to talk today about why I thought that might be and some things that I'm doing to stay feeling great and prepare for labor.
Time between pregnancies
I think that this is one of the biggest factors of why I have so much more energy this time around. I was still nursing Ashtyn when I got pregnant with Parker and I'd had a two month break from when I stopped nursing Parker to when I got pregnant with Rylee. I can feel the difference that my body has had in recovering with the extra time between when I stopped nursing Rylee and when we got pregnant with this baby.
Diet
I do a pregnancy diet each pregnancy to help me feel good and not gain too much weight. The two biggest things are not eating sugar and not eating flour. I also actively work to get protein, fruits, and vegetables in.
I have done this with my other pregnancies (not as well with Ashtyn, because I didn't understand it very well then). One thing I am doing differently this pregnancy is having a good mindset around my eating. I am really focusing on what I want to eat (like finding fruits and vegetables that I enjoy eating, or thinking about what macronutrients I need to get in when I'm hungry), rather than what I "can't" eat. It has made a huge difference for my emotional health to view healthy eating in this way and I have rarely felt picked on for avoiding certain foods this time around.
Exercise
I have been really working on my mindset around exercise and finding exercises that are great for me but that I also enjoy. Before I got pregnant, Ben and I started a habit of doing ten minutes of yoga together in the morning. I have a playlist on YouTube of ten minute yoga videos that are pregnancy friendly (or if there are any moves that aren't, I can do something different for that move). I also have a playlist of prenatal yoga for when Ben can't do it with me.
After I do yoga, I do some exercises, usually with weights but sometimes just using my body weight. I have found different pregnancy friendly exercises (and ones that specifically help prepare for labor) on Pinterest that I often do.
I also have started tracking my steps on my phone and it has really motivated me to walk a lot. I was walking with my other pregnancies, but I'm way more consistent this time around and I am active more frequently. I use Google Fit, which also tracks heart points, which is motivating as well. I do at least a mile each morning outside at about 4 miles per hour and then try to get 1000 steps at least twice more throughout the day. I also try to walk stairs at least twice a day. I usually end up with between 7000-8500 steps in a day right now.
Somewhere I read that doing 300 squats a day is great preparation for labor, so I've worked up to that as well. I do 30 in the morning and night when I do my exercises to help the baby be in the right position (a variation on cat and cow). Then throughout the day I have a reminder to do 40 squats. I will do 20, then walk (usually around the couch or on the stairs) and then do 20 more squats. I'm really good in the morning and afternoon, I'm not as consistent in the evening. I do get between 220 and 300 a day though and it feels really good.
With my mindset, thinking of myself training for labor has been really helpful. I don't see it as something I have to do or should do, but rather as an opportunity. I also have worked slowly up to this. I didn't start with 300 squats a day, for example. Same with walking. I started walking just five minutes a day initially and have built up to what I do now. I also am not trying to do exercises that feel too hard for me. I remember feeling guilty when I was pregnant with Rylee for not doing the 21 Day Fix exercises, even though they were too hard for where I was at at the time. I understand right now that what I'm doing is great and that the trajectory I am on is the direction I want to be going.
Water
I have a bigger water bottle than I did with the others (though I did have a good size one then). I get about a gallon of water each day, in addition to things like my prenatal tea.
Supplements
I am following my midwife's supplement program. One that I am taking this pregnancy that I wasn't in my others is Magnesium. It made a big difference for me during the first trimester in lessening my morning sickness and I think it is still making a difference for me. The other thing I am doing is making sure I get enough iron. I am iron deficient even when I'm not pregnant and it makes a huge difference for how I feel to make sure I have enough iron in my system.
One thing I want to start doing, to help with minor symptoms I'm having, is to get more beef gelatin in. I want to start getting at least 2 tablespoons in each day consistently. That's going to be the next change I make to improve my pregnancy health.
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