Pre-Natal Vitamins: Two brands that I recommend for their quality are:
Garden of Life Prenatals (organic, nonGMO gummies & ingredients sourced from whole foods)
Mega Food Prenatals (sourced from whole foods)
Maternity Pants. Get ya some. They are worth the investment. Old Navy has great maternity shorts & pants—I lived in mine day after day! Start wearing them whenever you start feeling uncomfortable in your normal clothing. And if weather permits, long flowy skirts are amazing too.
Night-time Vitamin. It's three-in-one: Magnesium, calcium and vitamin D. I found this to pack a power punch against insomnia, indigestion/heartburn and restless leg syndrome. Typically you take all sorts of things to try to cure all of those symptoms separately. My first pregnancy I had all of those issues and dealt with them separately. Nothing seemed to help. *Restless legs are very frustrating. I would get it as soon as I laid down at night. I didn't have any solutions in the first pregnant. *With nightly indigestion/heartburn, Tums only provided short term relief and sometimes I had to take many through a night. And Tums are full of harmful food colouring & aluminum! So best to avoid it! And let's not get start on pregnancy insomnia! It was terible with my first pregnancy!!! But this pregnancy, I've found this vitamin to do the trick for ALL OF THESE AILMENTS! HALLELUJAH! It immediately cured restless leg, it helped my nervous system quiet down for bedtime, brought on sleepiness, kept me sleeping longer through the night and prevented indigestion. I only had mild heartburn a handful of times the entire second pregnancy, and that was only when I ate a heavy meal abnormally late. I took one of tablet at bedtime but I believe you can take more if needed. It depends which brand and size you purchase! Country Life Calcium Magnesium Complex with Vitamin D.
Angled Pregnancy Pillow. This time around, a friend surprised me by buying me a pregnancy pillow. I was planning to borrow one from a friend that I had used in my first pregnancy. It was long and rectangular, but my friend got me an angled, V-shaped pillow that ended up being 100x better. Everyone has their own preference for what works for them. For me, this was the jackpot. The long pillow last time was too cumbersome to move around every time I readjusted at night. This V-shaped pillow was easy to sleep with because it fit well between my knees and also supported my growing stomach. Way less cumbersome when I would turn from side to side at night. An added bonus was that this pillow was extremely comfortable to prop myself up on before bedtime while reading or watching a show!
-Diffuser: pregnancy safe oils for peace, calm, sleep, or energy, etc.
-Routine Chiropracter Visits: if you suffer from any back pain or hips opening up and making walking painful
-Belly lotions- natural ones with vitamin E!
Hydration. I carried a water bottle with me everywhere, drank many fresh-pressed juices, and kept coconut water stocked in the fridge. Coconut water is a powerful hydration option as it provides electrolytes and potassium, which are super helpful in pregnancy.
Daily Exercise. Staying active is very helpful in keeping your blood, digestive and lymphatic systems flowing properly, your body limber and toned, and your stamina up for when it comes time for labour. And we all know exercise helps boost endorphins and we could all use more of those! I didn't have a daily routine but tried to have a mix of options on hand. I enjoyed a variety of YouTube pregnancy exercise videos that focused on toning, pilates, core strength and legs. I also took walks around the neighbourhood with my family or did long walks in the hills, at the city park or when away for holiday on the beautiful New Zealand great tramping trails. We went to the pool a few times to do laps, and I had a few bike rides. But the easiest go-to was the YouTube workouts I could do at home. My first trimester left me extremely exhausted and working out was so out of the question. But my husband encouraged me to try to get more active—he suggested that it might actually help. It sounded counter-intuitive... but I got off my bum & did it. IT WORKED! I started being more active and it actually helped curb some of the fatigue and helped me sleep sounder at night. I was active throughout the pregnancy from around week 10 to week 37 (feet started to get real sore!)
Keeping the weight off. Everyone is affected by pregnancy differently, so I am not claiming to have any all-encompassing, cure-all for staying fit during your pregnancy. Some women retain more fluid than others, some gain weight rapidly, or have complications that keep them on bedrest or from doing much exercise. But if you're able... A few things to keep in mind:
- Build up muscle pre-pregnancy. The more muscle you already have, the easier it is to keep off weight because your muscles burn fat quickly. It also makes it easier to burn fat later once baby is born. This doesn't mean getting bulky, but simply being relatively fit.
- Drinking lots of water, coconut water and pregnancy-safe teas.
- Watch the carbs and cravings. It helps to have pre-chopped veg/fruit to grab for snacks when the afternoon cravings hit.
- Indulge some cravings. Your body could be telling you something. The first trimester was the only time I craved anything specific. I wanted dairy. Ice cream, milk, yogurt, cheese. I don't normally crave any of these things, but my body obviously needed it, so I went for it. Into the second and third trimesters, this craving subsided.
- Meal plan ahead of time // Saturday or Sunday meal plan for the week!
- Walk 3x a week if possible, if not more. if you don't have a gym, it is fun to do at-home pregnancy workouts on youtube. Get a set of lightweight dumbbells (Target Kmart!) and find a 30 day routine for arms and legs. Nothing too difficult, just something that will keep you firm and getting that blood flowing. When you're having a lazy day, sometimes let yourself rest, other times a brisk walk will perk you up and get that adrenaline flowing.
No comments:
Post a Comment