It's the news you've been waiting an age for and you finally get to see the window flash "Pregnant" on the test stick. You've been trying for months and as the news sinks in you feel a huge bubble of elation filling you up. The grin hits your face and you burst out laughing with joy and tearful emotion.
You are having your very own baby! Yippee, yippee, yippee!!!
This is exactly what has just happened to one of our 9 Month Club mums to be, Julena.
Julena has been trying for a while to get pregnant and yesterday I happily opened an email from her to find out the amazing news that she just found out that she is now pregnant! So partly to congratulate her and partly because this is timely for a number of other expectant mums I know I thought it would make sense to write an article on what to do next.
So to make it simple here are the 7 Steps To Glowing Health for a New Mum To Be
1. Prenatal Vitamins
If you haven't started taking these already, (you may have if you were actively trying to conceive), you need to start taking a good quality prenatal vitamin. Prenatal vitamins differ to regular multivitamins as they contain different amounts of specific nutrients that are balanced to suit pregnancy, such as Folic Acid, Iron, Calcium and Vitamin A.
You should try and aim for a vitamin that has at least 400 micrograms of Folic Acid per daily dose.
2. Rest!
As soon as the fertilised egg implants into the wall of the uterus a message is sent to the brain to tell it to increase certain hormones and to signal the entire vascular system to relax - this allows it to practically double in size overnight. However your blood volume does not catch up until about the 13/14th week so you will be feeling all the symptoms of vascular underfill.
Extreme Fatigue
Nausea
Dizziness
Sweating
The only thing you can do at this point is to make sure you eat properly and get as much rest as you can. So DON'T feel guilty about grabbing an afternoon nap - you need it!
3. Food
Now that you are pregnant there are some things that you need to cut out of your diet right away:
Alcohol
Caffeine
Rare or undercooked meat or fish
Runny Eggs
Shellfish
Tuna, marlin, swordfish, shark, kingfish (all have a high mercury content)
Artificial Sweeteners
Processed Foods (foods that contain a lot of chemicals, artificial preservatives, colourings and stabilisers)
4. Water
Water is essential in creating a fertile environment where your baby can grow and thrive, so make sure you are drinking 1 litre per 50lbs of body weight, every day.
5. Exercise
Exercise is proven to have several benefits for both mother and fetus so do make sure you are getting your 15minute daily quota. You'll need to focus on core exercises as you get heavier so why not start now with squats, hip bridges, supermans and planks.
6. Pelvic Floors
Again why not start as you mean to go on. Getting into good habits now will save you a lot of embarrassment later. Avoid stress incontinence with daily pelvic floor drills when you're brushing your teeth.
Start with simple squeeze and holds for a count of ten.
7. Train Your Labour Muscles and Keep A Toned Belly
Transverse squeezes will not only tone your belly but they will condition your body for labour. Perform this simple exercise by exhaling and pulling your belly button flat back to your spine. Hold for a count of 30 before you release.
Have you found this post helpful?
If there's anything I haven't covered that you want to know about then please post your comment below and I'll answer as quickly as possible!
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