Pregnancy Advice

Posted by  | Monday, December 15, 2008  at 12:37 AM  

It's been almost three years since I've been pregnant. Boy does time fly. It feels like yesterday when I was pregnant. I'd like to share some advice, in no particular order, from my own experience with pregnancy.

1.) Be proactive about praying for your child EVERY day. Also pray about lots of things concerning being pregnant: your perfect picture of delivery day, your pregnancy road-rage, and your breastfeeding experience, etc..


2.) READ. READ. READ! Read NOW. Read all that you can. I regret not taking advantage of those nine months to read and educate myself. I had to squeeze in so many books that first year, which was not easy. Once baby arrives, whether it's your first or your third, life will get that much more busily blessed. You can never start too early Here are a few that I enjoyed to start you off: The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears, The Bradley Method (about birthing naturally), The Successful Child by Dr. Sears, The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley, Super Baby Foods by Ruth Yaron



3.) Learn the life-lesson of surrender NOW. Your self-esteem will plummet like that of a pubescent teenager. You thought those wars of insecurity were over with. Guess again my friend. You'll find that you will struggle more than ever with seeing these drastic changes in your body, comparing yourself with others (even other pregnant women), and feeling so insecure with who you are now and who you are becoming. Surrendering all of these fears and worries is lesson number one of being a happy, contented, confident Mama-to-be. Better learn it now. Find Biblical scriptures to help you combat this struggle victoriously.



4.) Lesson number two: find humor in everything. Really learn to laugh at yourself, your failed attempts at _?_, and things you learn along the way. It makes for an easier adjustment to motherhood and your husband will thank you.

5.) Take time to make a birth plan, where you type out what your hopes and desires are for YOUR Delivery Day Experience. So many mothers don't know about this. I learned about it in my Bradley Birthing Class. You won't have time to explain to your Doctor everything you want on that day nor will your OB remember everything from the appointment the week before. If you'd like to natural route, try googling "Bradley Birth Plans." Also, follow the link above.

6.) Steer clear of direct sun exposure to the face and always wear sunscreen on your face. I got the "Pregnancy Mask" and "Splotches" on my face when I was pregnant. (FYI: Not everyone will get it the Pregnancy Mask.) I was in the sun a few times and POP..out they all came. I wish I had stayed OUT of the sun. I STILL have them, three years later. I'll post two pictures below from THIS summer (2008) after getting some sun on my face. If you're feeling pasty in the summer and wanting a tan face, just pull up this post and let my splotches help you fight the temptation of the sun. Be sure to hone in on the forhead/temple/cheek bone area in the pictures.

Pictures of Pregnancy Mask


7.) If your morning sickness is truly in the morning, start taking your prenatals at night.



8.) Become a minimalist. Go through your house and purge unused, even nice things. Purge your heart out. Have several garage sales BEFORE Baby arrives. De clutter in a MAJOR way. I have wanted to really get rid of LOTS and LOTS of really nice stuff that I just don't use anymore, and after three terrible garage sales and the long hours of preparation with the limited time I have, I wished I had gotten rid of it all when I had more time on my hands.


9.) EAT YOUR FATS! You need WHOLE milk. You need WHOLE fats. You NEED animal fats - Take Cod Liver Oil (I'll let Krista expound on this, since she was the first who taught me about Cod Liver Oil) and coconut oil.



10.)Get a Pregnancy Photo Shoot. I had some professional pictures taken of Hugh and I two days before my c-section. I LOVE looking back at these pictures. I'm always amazed and ever grateful for such an experience. If you're in the Raleigh, NC area, Casey Chappell took my Pregnancy Pictures that you see throughout the post. Check out her site: Poiema Photograph (Be sure to click full-screen or same window first.)

11.) Buy one of those cheap asian-looking fans and carry it in your purse for those hot flashes, especially if you're pregnant in the summer. I was teaching at the time and HAD to have my hot pink fan with me to help ease the hot flashes. You could also buy the battery powered little fans you can get from Walgreens, CVS, etc..

12.) Hip Pains: I had unbelievabel hip pains from 9 weeks on. I'm not talking about a little achy here and there. No. I mean, moaning-in-my-sleep-deep-bone pains. Talk about horrible. FROM THE NINETH WEEK TO THE THIRTY-NINETH WEEK. What helped? I went to a Physical Therapist and that helped just a tinsy bit, but I was pretty disappointed in the outcome. I ended up buying a super-nice, top of the line memory foam for our bed and that made a HUGE difference. I would highly recommend one even if you don't have hip pains because it would help balance you out and cradle you as your belly gets bigger. And you can't forget the curved-c pregnancy pillow. That helped A LOT with hip pains as well. Nothing took the pain completely away, but these were extremely helpful.


Well, that's it for now friends, but I've only just begun. I will probably be posting more as I read comments and the other posts throughout this week. We would love to hear your Pregnancy Advice!

5 comments:

Lauren said...

Great tips Hollie! Oh, this post makes me want to be pregnant again so bad! One day, my dears, one day soon...

ChezDeshotels said...

hollie,

Great advice wow...I am 36 weeks pregnant with a baby girl and I have been sick the entire time and that has been so difficult having a 3 year old and also this being my first pregnancy (for those of you who do not know my 3 year old is adopted.) I have just taken a road downhill and I am loosing weight, having some blood pressure problems etc....I will be having a ultrasound to see if the baby has turned and if my placenta has moved (the doctor is not feeling good about this) if not we will have to schedule a c-section and move on from there. Please pray for all to be okay with everything today and as I stay so sick and spend most of my time in bed I will be able to focus on God's blessings and the holiday season even thought I have had to move aside many of our traditions this year. God bless all of you Happy Holiday season

AJ

Hollie Carson said...

AJ,
We will be praying for you. As tough as it may be, just enjoy being still as long as you can. Even if your house is in shambles, all your normal holiday traditions are out the window and you feel like you haven't cooked a great home-cooked meal in ages....just relax, and enjoy this "season" where you are needed to just rest. Watch movies. Write letters or send out Christmas cards. We hope that your little one is okay and thriving. And of course, STAY in the Word.

Robin Baker - The Blessed Hippie said...

fabulous advice - couldn't agree more. Great pictures!

Unknown said...

great advice! And I 2nd the maternity pics! We did them with Keaton and never got around to them with Benjamin and I get so sad about it when I think about it!

I also have to say that seeing a chiropractor was the best thing I could have done with my 2nd pregnancy. (And AFTER! ahhhhh, no more aches and pains from hours of pushing!) If it weren't for her, I know I would have ended up in a repeat c-section because of Benjamin's position. Also, my labor stalled in the middle of the day. My chiro "squeezed" me in and jump started my labor with a simple adjustment - I went in with contractions once an hour (had been 6-10 mins apart til about 2 hours before the appt.) and left 20 mins later w/ contractions 5 mins apart and lasting 45-60seconds. I probably would have given up.

Thanks ladies!

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