In the past, I thought pregnancy would be the most magical time of my life.
I had this image of a beautiful woman with her big belly in mind, wearing a light-blue summer dress and dancing joyfully in connection with her body.
I had heard about side effects and negative experiences, but somehow I thought it wouldn’t concern me so much.
The truth is: I am pregnant now. And it’s pretty challenging for me.
I was hospitalized in the 8th week because of Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a severe illness that is highly underestimated in our society. While I feel much better now, I still suffer from nausea and vomiting.
The mood swings, heartburn, and the fact that I am not allowed to work anymore because of health reasons make pregnancy really hard for me — I am glad it takes me only eleven more weeks until I can hold our precious baby in my arms.
But even though I didn’t enjoy this time in my life as much as expected, I created valuable self-care routines during the last three months that helped me cope with the physical and mental changes.
I learned how to enjoy my pregnancy, even though I don’t feel comfortable most of the time. Here’s what helped me:
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Read Positive Affirmations Every Day.
To change my mindset into a healing mindset, I started reading and listening to more positive experiences. Podcasts, books, or Youtube videos from inspiring and positive mums were the first steps in the right direction.
Additionally, I bought a card set with positive affirmations to internalize for the day of birth.
By reading them, I do not only train my mind to come into a state of deep relaxation during birth, but I also gain more happiness and contentment in my daily life.
If you cannot relate to most affirmations, you can also buy beautiful birth affirmation cards to write down your personal mantras.
Practical advice:
- Set a fixed time for every day to read/write your affirmations. The best time is probably in the morning before you do anything else.
- Purchase a card set with affirmations, or write down your own affirmations on beautiful postcards.
- Read your affirmations out loud. In this way, you might internalize their message better.
Have a Gentle Sports Routine.
As a yoga teacher, I definitely need regular movement to feel complete. When I couldn’t move for the first three months of pregnancy, I felt like an essential part of me was missing.
I was relieved to get back to my yoga routine, even though it was tough initially.
Motivating yourself to exercise regularly can be challenging during pregnancy. The tiredness and weakness on some days can be quite overwhelming.
But overcoming tiredness and other symptoms with slight movements and exercise will be worth it.
According to Mayo Clinic, exercise can help you reduce back pain, constipation, bloating, and swelling. It also balanced your energy levels and mood swings. Additionally, you’ll sleep better and prevent your body from excessive weight gain.
All these benefits will make your pregnancy easier and improve your overall well-being. Please don’t forget to ask your doctor what kind of sports you can do during pregnancy.
Practical advice:
- If you don’t like exercise that makes you sweat, practice gentle pregnancy yoga or take long walks every day.
- Include exercise into your daily schedule. Even if it’s only twenty minutes per day, your body will thank you for the extra strength you have for your baby’s birth.
- Search for sports courses near you, so you can meet other pregnant women to work out with.
Journal Every Day.
There are multiple benefits you’ll gain from journaling regularly, especially when it comes to gratitude journaling.
Whatever you write down will help you keep your mind clear and light.
When I went through a tough break-up two years ago, I discovered journaling, and it saved me in one of the most challenging times in my life. I finally sorted my feelings, gained a meta-perspective on my situation, and found better solutions.
Even if you don’t feel sad or hurt, journaling will have these benefits.
Pregnancy can be overwhelming, and there might be multiple thoughts and worries on your mind. To ease the mental load, you can implement the following steps:
Practical advice:
- Ideally, you journal in the morning to have a clear mind before the day starts. Block a time slot of at least ten minutes each morning to implement your writing routine.
- If you aren’t inspired every day, you can search for writing prompts on the internet.
- Have a place in your apartment where you feel comfortable to write into your journal. In this way, you’ll automatically have a better mood when sitting down to write.
Prioritize Nurturing Food.
During pregnancy, it isn’t always easy to eat healthily. Sickness, heartburn, or craving make it hard to stick to nurturing food.
While your baby will probably receive enough nutrients, your own physical and mental health might be affected by too much bad food.
But instead of setting unaccomplishable expectations, rather focus on nurturing alternatives. You can, for example, still eat sweets but replace processed food and industrial sugar with nurturing but delicious meals.
In this way, you will not only have enough mental and physical energy during pregnancy but also for the time after giving birth.
Practical tips:
- Instead of eating a bar of chocolate, buy some strawberries or bananas and dip them into melted dark chocolate. So you have at least some vitamins in your diet.
- Instead of eating tons of unhealthy ice cream, make your own mango sorbet.
- Instead of drinking processed drinks from the supermarket, make your own refreshing lemonade or ice tea.
Meditate Whenever You Can.
The power of meditation has been proven in multiple studies. Richard Davidson, the founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says that meditating is like “personal mental hygiene.”
Just like we brush our teeth at least twice a day, we should daily take care of our mental hygiene. Our brains need the same regular attention.
Mediation doesn’t have to be boring or exhausting. You can start slowly with only five minutes each day and increase the amount of time you spend if you want to. Here’s an example of a five-minute meditation:
Set your timer to five minutes. Sit down in a comfortable position, relax all the muscles in your body and take three deep breaths. Now close your eyes and turn your attention to your thoughts. Try not to cling to your thoughts but rather consider them as clouds you watch passing by from a safe distance. If a particular feel arises, don’t let yourself be defined or overwhelmed by it. Look at it, appreciate it, and let the feeling go. Continue this exercise until your timer goes off. Take three deep breaths and open your eyes.
After a while, letting your thoughts go will become easier. Your meditation practice will be an essential part of your day that you don’t want to miss.
Practical tips for your mediation routine:
- If you prefer guided meditation, there are multiple recorded meditations on the internet.
- Set up a cozy place in your apartment where you feel comfortable meditating. An appealing environment is crucial because it will motivate you to stick to your meditation routine.
- There are dynamic mediation styles so that you can combine meditating with movement. Also, meditating after doing yoga or exercise will be much easier, as your body is calm and stretched.
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Bottom Line
Whether you are already a mom or currently pregnant, you will never regret prioritizing your mental health.
It might not be easy to implement your self-care routines every day, but it will be worth it: the more relaxed and happy you are, the more your family will benefit from it.
Tell your family and friends about your routines, so they can support you better. Prioritizing your mental health means having people around you who can take care of your baby or share daily tasks.
Take a step back when pregnancy is overwhelming. Stick to your routines and prioritize your mental health. This is the best you can do for yourself and your baby.
Take care!
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Anna Hecker on Unsplash
