Getting Ready For A New Baby
It doesn’t matter if this is your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 15th baby, it is still a magical thing, and the whole process is amazing and tiring and emotional. The first baby might be more so, purely because the whole situation is brand new. But no two pregnancies are that same, and you will still find yourself working your way down a list of things to do before baby shows up. If this isn’t your first, there will undoubtedly be things that you did or brought last time that were a waste, and things that you didn’t do or buy that you wish you had. Now is the time to go back through the list of suggestions made to new moms, and see what you want to do this time around.
Get Registered
The first thing you need to do when you find out that you’re pregnant is to get registered with a hospital. All you need to do is call your GP and book in to see the midwife. She will check you over, confirm that you are with child, check on your health and work with you to put a plan together. If you have questions, have them at the ready, but you’re probably going to be overwhelmed with everything to begin with anyway. Take a notebook to all of your appointments and write down all the important things, because you won’t remember it all by the time you get home.
Lifestyle
When it comes to exercise, the general advice from midwives is that you can continue the way you are. If you are very active, then your body will be able to keep up, you will just have to adjust the way you do things, particularly as you get bigger, and don’t try and start anything new; if you can run for 10k then keep doing it, but don’t push yourself further, and don’t compete. But it does mean that you can follow in Serena Williams’ footsteps and keep doing what you love. For those who do little or no exercise, if you want to do something to keep you moving, you might want to look into water classes for pregnant women - they focus on stretching out your muscles and improving blood flow. Look at what you eat too - if your diet is lacking in something, you might be advised to take some supplements, but wait to be told to do so. Cut out (or down) the caffeine and amp up the healthy eating. Cut out alcohol and smoking ASAP. Just make sure you’re getting the right vitamins for both you and baby
Depending on your job, you may need to be risk assessed, or put onto a desk job for the course of your pregnancy - this is mostly in jobs in the public service, or with machinery and heavy lifting, but your line manager will know about all of that. You will also need to start thinking about maternity leave. You are also entitled to the same amount of time off if you are adopting, check out this employee maternity leave guide for more details. After the twelve week scan, or when the paperwork is all a-go for your adoption, get the information for any leave you are entitled to and start planning.
Read the books. You don’t need to know how to deliver the baby, but having an idea of how things are progressing is always going to be a good thing. And the sooner you can start preparing for the actual birth the better. You can learn so much from the books, from connecting with your baby before they are born, to preparing for the birth, and how to care for yourself. Partners should be paying attention too - while mom is growing and looking after baby, it’s your job to be looking after her. Just remember that every birth is different, and you will learn tips and tricks over the coming months (and years) that they can’t teach you in a book.
Decorating
Now it’s time for the fun stuff; you can get your house ready for baby! Putting together the nursery is a very important part of pregnancy, mom will automatically get the urge to start ‘nesting’ and preparing the home for baby’s arrival. It’s in her biology, but partners can get just as involved as the mom. Plus, when you come closer to the end, your lifting days are over - so you’ll just have to rely on your partner, to do things right for you. But you can sit in the corner and direct them. Plus you get to do the much more desirable job is putting away all the baby clothes, the millions of muslin squares , and putting all the finishing touches to the room. Luckily, you will get many presents and have some stockpiles of socks, baby grows and hats. And can never have too many muslin squares. And your little one will grow quickly, so encourage your present buyers to pick up varying sizes of clothing. Do the research and see which ‘must-need’ products aren’t needed at all. The Bump has a what to, and what not to buy guide for new parents.
You need to make sure you are comfortable too, so get shopping and get those attractive elasticated-band trousers. Some miracle women can wear heels to the last week, but most women will want to give those up ASAP. You probably won’t need maternity clothing until the end of your second trimester, but budget-wise, it might be a good idea to start shopping early and spread the cost. And it shouldn't all be about the pregnant stuff - get your nails done, have you haircut, you need to feel beautiful and not just like your a pregnant woman.
And Lastly, Enjoy it
Each little kick, squirm, and wiggle is special. Treasure every day - even the ones where you spend it with your head in the toilet. Each day that passes is another day closer to meeting your little one. But also enjoy the time you have while it’s still just the two of you (or three, or four) things will be amazing once baby is born, but they will be different. So take this chance to just spend time with the little family you have.
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