DON’T BE A SUPER WOMAN

No matter how far along you are in your pregnancy there will be days when you feel on top of the world like you can do almost everything you use to do before you became pregnant. There are also days when you feel like you can’t even get out of bed as well. Being pregnant the one thing you need to keep in mind though on both bad and good days is don’t push yourself to the limit or else you can put both you and baby at risk, that’s one thing I learned quickly with my first pregnancy.

The key thing to keeping yourself from over exert you and your body is to listen to what your body is telling you. If you start feeling warn out that is when you need to stop as soon as possible and rest for 15 minutes until you regain your strength. If you start feeling sick to your stomach, stop all that you are doing and rest until you feel a bit better. If you start feeling tightening in your stomach area (Braxton hicks contractions) stop everything and sit down until the false contractions stop. If your legs start to hurt that’s also a sign to take it easy and rest.

When it comes to:

HOUSEWORK: On the good days don’t push yourself. Work for 15 minutes at a time and then take a break for 15 minutes. If you already have kids, especially young kids I know that it can be almost impossible to catch up with their mess but making sure you don’t push yourself no matter how early or how late along in your pregnancy you are. Trust me you’ll catch up to that mess during that day, it will just take a little more time. And what ever you do don’t move furniture, even if its just to vacuum under it.

LAUNDRY: Once you pass 20 weeks, even earlier if you prefer, DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT CARRY A FULL LAUNDRY BASKET BY YOURSELF!!!!!! Its ok if you carry a laundry basket half full as long as its not putting any strain on yourself. The reason why it’s a bad idea to carry anything heavy including a full laundry basket is because putting that kind of stress on your body can cause what is called abruptio placenta were because off too much strain and pressure the placenta detaches from the uterine wall causing premature labor and a huge emergency. Even if the stress doesn’t cause placenta privia it can also cause preterm labor as well. While I was pregnant with both my kids I found also that sitting down on the floor, sitting on a bed or sitting in a chair and folding laundry helped a great deal with lifting the pressure off of my legs.

GROCERY SHOPPING: After you reach 20 weeks, if you haven’t started already, have your husband go shopping with you. He may grunt and groan about it but under no circumstances are you to carry heavy grocery bags or anything heavy period. If hubby complains about helping out just make sure he understands that if you have to carry the groceries he’ll be the one taking you to the hospital in a jiffy with either premature labor or abruptio placenta. My husband understood that risk and was forced to help me every single time.:-)

SCHOOL: If you are a college student or pregnant teen make sure after 20 weeks your school bag is light. Its ok to carry your books in your hand as long as they are not too heavy. Trust me there are serious risks in carrying heavy anything period.:-)

FOOD: If you have had a history of morning sickness even if you are extremely hungry or you are in one of those periods during morning sickness when you can stand the thought of food, go easy on how much you eat and what you eat. If you haven’t had morning sickness eating too much can start a morning sickness episode and if you’ve had morning sickness before it can come back to haunt you and if you are in one of those periods inbetween  morning sickness when you feel you can eat take it real slow. My mother told me a story when I was pregnant with my first that she had morning sickness to the point were she couldn’t smell food without feeling sick. One morning she felt just fine and as hungry as can be only after she ate a good breakfast she ended up throwing it right back up again. I had the exact same thing happen as well.:-( The best thing to do when it comes to eating is listen to what your stomach says. If you start feeling a little sick stop eating and rest until you feel better and eat gradually.

HAVING OTHER YOUNG CHILDREN: If you have a child between the ages of 6 months to 4 years old who loves to be carried by mommy,  once you hit your 12^th week its no longer safe to carry them let alone lift them up. L The main reason for that is carrying a child puts a lot of strain on your body when you are pregnant. There is a high risk that that strain will either cause premature labor abruptio placenta or even more serious problems. When I was pregnant with my son my daughter was only 18months to 2 ½ before I delivered and I had to sit there and often calmly tell her mommy couldn’t hold her for a while. To make her feel better I kept telling her big girls don’t have mommies holding them, big girls hold their mommy’s hand. There were fits once in a while but after a while she seemed to understand the big girl concept. J

MOVING BOXES OR ANYTHING HEAVY: When it comes to lifting anything that puts strain on your body such as laundry or lifting a box when you’re moving you want to stay far away from that after 12 weeks, even earlier if you can help it. Basically lifting anything heavy or putting any strain on your body can put pressure on the uterus causing premature labor or causing the placenta to detach from the uterine wall. While I was pregnant with both of my children my family kept a close eye on me when they could as far as what I could and couldn’t lift when I was helping to move. The reason for that being is when my mother was 8 months pregnant with my sister she had asked and asked my dad to move this big dog house. He never did it and my mom got so frustrated to the point were she went out and did it herself. In the process of lifting the dog house she had caused a abruptio placenta. What occurs during that is too much pressure and strain has been put on the uterus to were the placenta detaches from the uterine wall. That intern triggers severe bleeding and premature labor. I tried pushing my limits when we were moving during both of my pregnancies but not only did I get chewed out by hubby but I also got chewed out by my OB.:-(

With all that is said above the key things to remember during your pregnancy is listen to what your body tells you and rest when ever you feel strained, tired or feel braxton hicks contractions. However unless ordered by your OB, do not spend most of your pregnancy doing the least possible because that can hurt you more than benefit you. Keeping as much of your daily life style as normal as possible while being safe and even adding some exercise your OB oked will help build muscle and keep your muscles from weakening under the weight. Having strong muscles during labor will help labor to go by faster and pushing won’t be as difficult either. With both of my pregnancies I tried to walk at least a mile each day with by OB’s consent (each person is different when it comes to risks and benefits of exercise during pregnancy) Even though my first labor lasted 28 hours (which is typical length for first labor) it only took three pushes before the baby was delivered. With my second labor went 10 hours(I was induced though) and it only took two pushes before baby was delivered.

If you are diagnosed with eclampsia or preeclampsia or are forced to be on bed rest see if your OB can recommend some bed exercises to keep you off your feet but at the same time help build your muscles for the big event when baby is ready.:-)