2 Pink Lines... What Happens Next

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First off... CONGRATULATIONS. That initial positive test is a huge moment! Whether it's your first positive, or your fifth, the butterflies never get old. There's probably so many things running through your mind in this moment. But first, I want you to stop, take a big deep breath and say it. YOU'RE PREGNANT. That's so exciting! And for every second of pregnancy, no matter how hard or scary it may be, it is something to celebrate. What a magical thing your body is doing. Creating LIFE.

Now, you're probably wondering, "I'm pregnant, what the heck do I do now?". That's where I come in.

You have 9 months to go, which seems like a lot of time, but it will definitely fly by fast. So how about, we start with what you should do in the first trimester? Start off slow. Because one of the things you are going to want to do, is keep your stress low, and creating a MASSIVE to-do list right off the hop is not going to help.

When should I tell my people?

The first trimester is a great time to tell all of your loved ones this amazing news. Your spouse, your parents, your siblings, your in-laws, your friends. But this is a choice for you to make. There's always been a bit of a stigma for WHEN to tell people that your pregnant;

• "Wait until your 12 weeks"

• "After the first trimester for sure"

• "Wait until you're in the safe zone"

The reality is, in pregnancy, there is no "SAFE" zone. Yes, it is less common for miscarriage to happen after the first trimester, but it still happens. So whenever you decide to tell people about your baby, is the right time. As long as it feels right to you. If you want to keep it a secret until you're 15 weeks, then do that! If you want to take the test while on Facetime with your family, that's awesome! If you want to keep the whole pregnancy a secret, go right ahead! Baby's should be celebrated by whoever you feel has the right to know, at whatever time is right for you.

I should call my Doctor!

Now in about 9ish months, you're going to be giving birth to this baby. So now is the time to decide what type of provider you would like. Usually you will pick between a Physician, or a Midwife, depending on the type of birth you want. One thing I will say, is that Midwives tend to book up A LOT quicker than physicians. So if that's the route you are going, apply sooner than later. There are some differences between Midwives and Physicians, and we can get into that another time, but they are both qualified individuals with the proper education to safely deliver your baby.

Don't forget your Vitamins

It's very common for women who have been trying to get pregnant to have been taking a prenatal vitamin. It's recommended usually to start taking prenatal vitamins 3 months prior to conceiving, and to start practicing healthy habits to prep your body for conception. If you forgot to take prenatal vitamins, or this was a surprise pregnancy, don't panic! Just start taking them now.

All prenatal vitamins come with different doses and amounts, so make sure, whichever vitamin you purchase, always follow the directions on the bottle. The vitamins are dosed in a way that ensures mom and baby don't get too much of these essential vitamins.

There are certain elements that you want to look for in a prenatal vitamin, all of which serve an important purpose to making sure that both mom and baby are receiving the proper nutrients during pregnancy:

• Folic Acid: crucial for fetal brain and spinal cord development, and has been known to help prevent birth defects

• Iron: Anemia is common in pregnancy; Iron can help decrease the severity by supporting the development of extra blood cells for both mom and babe

• Calcium and Vitamin D: supports the growth and development of fetal bones

• DHA/Omega 3: Important for fetal brain development

Lot's of women, myself included, find that the prenatal vitamin makes them quite nauseous. Usually a combination of morning sickness and the Iron. There are a couple of things that you can try to help combat some of the nausea or prevent it from happening when you take your vitamin:

1. Take your vitamin with food. This is something that a lot of women will do and find it quite effective. You could eat it with a snack or with a meal, generally something that is gentle on your stomach.

2. Take the vitamin at bedtime. This was my go to. I found that if I took the vitamin, and then fell asleep right away, I skipped the nausea completely. However, if you don't fall asleep right away, there is still the potential for the nausea to strike, usually about half an hour after taking the vitamin. So taking the vitamin with a couple crackers could also help.

3. Opting for a chewable/gummy vitamin. Some women have an increased gag reflex when pregnant, and physically cannot pills or they will throw-up. There are many different types of prenatal vitamins, and sometimes choosing a gummy form helps with that gag reflex substantially. OLLY Prenatal Gummy Supplements are a great option, if you want something chewable, and it also contains DHA.

4. Talk to your provider. Sometimes, the nausea isn't caused by the vitamin at all. Some women just have such severe morning sickness, or Hyperemesis Gravidarum, that regardless of what they try, they will vomit up the vitamin. If that is the case, I would talk to your provider about taking something to help combat the nausea, usually medication.

Prenatal Vitamins are made up of many important nutrients that are important to baby's development and health; nutrients that we tend to be lacking in our day to day regular diet. And I understand that sometimes you try everything; medication, foods, gummy vitamin, and it STILL won't stay down. I was pregnant 3 times, and I had my fair share of prenatal vitamins that didn't stay down. As long as we try, that still counts for something.

No more alcohol/smoking

There has been no research to support that any amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy. Alcohol is a toxin, and for babies in womb that are still developing physically and neurologically, that toxin is unhealthy. We have seen the effects of FASD on children, which shows the detriment of alcohol during pregnancy.

Smoking also has negative effects on a developing baby. Smoking in pregnancy has been shown to cause many complications in pregnancy and birth, including but not limited to preterm labor, premature birth, low birth weight, future respiratory issues in baby, and many others. Ideally, you would want to quit smoking prior to getting pregnant, but stopping whenever you get that positive test is also good.

I understand that both smoking and alcohol have addictive components to them, and as much as you want to quit, sometimes you just can't. And sometimes cutting these things "cold turkey" when your body is used to such large quantities, can actually cause more harm than good. If that is the case, please talk to your provider about developing a plan; a way for you to safely quit.

ENJOY!

The best advice that I can give you, is embrace every second. Pregnancy is hard, and you might not necessarily enjoy every moment, but our bodies are capable of growing LIFE. What an amazing thing that is. This journey will be over before you know it, and you will be holding that beautiful bundle of joy.

I hope you got a little something out of this post! Anything that you learned? Anything that I missed? Leave it in the comments, and maybe we can talk about it! Until next time...

-B