When people say time flies and before you know it they’ll be all grown up, they’re not kidding! These past 8 months with my little guy have completely flashed before my eyes. It’s crazy to think last year at this time we were preparing for his arrival and just about half way through my pregnancy. When you have your first baby you really just don’t know what to expect during pregnancy, with labor and delivery or after they are born. Now that I’ve been through them all, these are the things I wish I would have done while I was pregnant.
1. Stressed less and enjoyed it more
When you think about being pregnant for 9 months it sounds like a looonng time, especially when you’re in the thick of the first trimester! Overall, for me it ended up going pretty quickly (I did end up cutting off 4 1/2 weeks by having him early) I remember my second month of pregnancy being so unsure, feeling really down and out and just totally unlike myself. I wasn’t feeling great, I was tired, we had just moved and it was the winter and super rainy here in California. I just felt like my whole life was changing and I guess I was kind of scared and out of my comfort zone. About a month later I started feeling much better and started to get more excited about the whole process. If I could go back I wouldn’t have stressed so much about all of the little things. All of the ultrasounds and baby kicks far outweigh the negatives of pregnancy. Yes, when the bump was no longer there I even missed that! My best piece of advice is to just take every single day of pregnancy and enjoy it because before you know it, it will be over and yes you will miss that big old bump, those middle of the night pee breaks and heartburn!
2. Taken more photos/videos and documented more
I did take pictures of my bump most weeks and have it all documented in the bump app (in my opinion this was my favorite pregnancy app), but I wish I had more everyday photos as my pregnancy progressed. I love looking back on old photos and having all the good memories flood back in. I also did not take maternity photos, another thing I wish I had. We were lucky enough to get some family photos a few weeks after he was born in our home and I cherish every single one of them!
3. Planned ahead more
If you’ve been following me for a little while, then you know I had no hospital bag packed when I went into labor! That morning would have been much easier and smooth had I had that damn bag packed lol! My blog post on what to pack in your hospital bag can be found here! I waited a little too long to start getting things together, don’t make my mistake! I also didn’t really have the nursery finished either and even though they aren’t really in it for the first few months, it would have been one less thing to have to worry about after we came home. When you’re sleep deprived, your house is a mess and you’re trying to keep up with everything else, the last thing you want to have to think about is what else you need to do to get the nursery together.
4. Learned more about breastfeeding and pumping
I had thought about taking one of these classes through the hospital and never got around to it. After I gave birth to him, they asked if I planned on breastfeeding. I said yes and because of him being in the NICU, they handed me the pump. Honestly I had no clue what I was doing! I had my Spectra pump at home, but never really took it out to even look at it. Thankfully my labor and delivery nurse was the best and helped me out! After that I started researching and figuring things out on my own, but I really wish I would have done more research beforehand. It would have been helpful to know more about how to properly use the machine, what was considered a decent milk supply and how to have your baby latch. I ended up lucking out in this department, but it was just a lot of figuring things out along the way. I’ll be doing a full blog post on our breastfeeding/pumping experience soon so stay tuned!
5. Stayed more active and worked out
I had always planned on working out during my pregnancy, I wanted to be one of those girls who stayed active and fit. Well let’s just say that didn’t happen! (I did go for a lot of walks!) My first trimester I was so tired I literally couldn’t shower without feeling wiped out, there was no way I was going to work out. By the time I felt better I had so much on my todo list working out was put at the bottom. To be honest, I didn’t make it a priority. I’m finally slowly starting to ease my way back into working out, but man has it been tough! Mama’s outta shape!
6. Cleaned/organized the house
They say that as your pregnancy begins to come to a close that you go into nesting mode. I definitely believe it because the last week I was like a crazy lady trying to get everything done around the house. The day that I went into labor, cleaning was what I had on my todo list. Well I think it’s safe to say that didn’t happen! I don’t function well when my house is in disarray. I feel stressed when there’s clutter everywhere and know that I have cleaning to do. I would have loved to have been able to come home to a clean organized home, one less thing to have to think or worry about!
What are some things you wish you would have done during your pregnancy?
Xoxo,
Danielle
