I didn’t follow many daily rituals during my first trimester – other than lying on the couch and stuffing my face with everything bagels every chance I could. Carbs were the only thing I had any interest in, and the only thing that didn’t make me gag. Seriously, don’t feel bad if you’re there now – things will look up!
Once the morning sickness (really all day sickness) subsided around week 14, I began the following rituals to make this a more healthy pregnancy, and hopefully, a smooth labor and delivery process. [POST BIRTH UPDATE AT END OF POST]
My Rituals for a Healthy Pregnancy and Delivery
- Start the day off with a tall glass of water (and continue to drink it throughout the day). I was doing this pre-pregnancy also, but it’s especially important to keep hydrated now. I add a squeeze of lemon for additional benefits (also, sniffing lemon REALLY helped me with nausea during the first trimester).
- Do some gentle yoga. I took twelve weeks of prenatal yoga classes in which I learned a lot of pregnancy-safe stretches. Now, each morning, after getting some water in me, I spend about 10-15 minutes doing yoga at home. It helps with flexibility, posture, balance, and eases tension, aches and pains. The deep breathing that goes along with it really helps to calm the nervous system and it’s a nice way to start the day. You can find some great prenatal yoga videos to follow along with right on YouTube.
- Hydrate skin with coconut oil. I’m prone to getting stretch marks. My mother got them terribly when she was pregnant with me, and it tends to be a genetic thing. Genetics or not, it’s important to keep your skin hydrated to keep it elastic (hydrating from the inside-out helps by drinking plenty of water). As for moisturizer, I like to use only the most natural products on my skin, so for now, I’m sticking with just unrefined coconut oil. After every shower, I oil up. I was doing this pre-pregancy also. It takes a few minutes to soak in, but it’s worth it. I also put it on my belly at night. I use Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil*.
- Eat a nutrient rich diet. I definitely give into my pregnancy cravings quite often, but I try to “crowd out” the empty calories with more nutritious options. It’s more important now than ever to nourish your body and your growing baby’s body with real food. I make sure to get in pregnancy superfoods like pastured eggs, avocado, oatmeal, berries, yogurt, almonds, beans, and greens.
- Use a yoga or stability ball as an office chair. In my first trimester, I was getting some back and hip pain. I noticed it most after sitting at my desk. So I switched to using a yoga/stability ball as my chair and I noticed a huge difference. It’s much better for your posture, because it requires you to keep your back and abdominal muscles activated. It also helps to open those hips.
- Walk. Walking is one of the best ways to stay fit in pregnancy. It’s important to keep moving, and walking is a safe and gentle way to keep up on your physical fitness, and keep your stamina up for labor.
- Squat. So far in this pregnancy, my hips and butt have grown larger than anything, so I’m trying to keep myself strong and toned in that area by doing squats each day. As long as you have clearance from your doctor or midwife, squats are one of the greatest pregnancy exercises to do. They help to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, prevent back and pelvic pain, and prepare your body for labor.
- Take a Prenatal Vitamin every day. It’s obvious, but oh so important. I personally use Rainbow Light Prenatal One*.
Rituals for my Third Trimester:
Once I’m closer to my due date, there are some more rituals I plan to add to my list (talk to your doctor or midwife about these ones):
- Drink red raspberry leaf tea. I’ve read a handful of articles stating that that red raspberry leaf tea may help tone the uterus, making contractions more effective, and promote uterine health during pregnancy. It’s not advised to drink the tea in your first trimester, but most research I’ve found states that it’s safe to begin drinking a cup a day in the second trimester. I personally have begun drinking an occasional cup here and there (when I’m in the mood for tea) and will pick up my intake once I reach my third trimester. You can find an article by the American Pregnancy Association mentioning this here.
- Eat 6 dates a day after reaching week 36. I’ve also read some interesting articles describing the labor and delivery benefits of eating 6 dates a day after reaching week 36 of pregnancy. The old wives tale suggests that eating 6 dates a day will help ripen and soften the cervix, making for a shorter labor. You can find an article on this by Wellness Mama here. Again, I’m not sure if this really works or not, but hey, if there’s some research out there that suggests eating dates for 4 weeks at the end of pregnancy will help me deliver a baby more easily, I’m all for trying it!
If you have any rituals or tips/suggestions for a healthy pregnancy, labor and delivery, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
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POST BIRTH UPDATE:
I’m currently writing this update with my six month old girl on my lap.
First of all mama’s, let me just say that this time flies! It feels like it was just yesterday that I wrote this initial post, and now, somehow, I have a six month old! Enjoy every moment!
At the time I wrote this initial post sharing my daily pregnancy rituals, I was 20 weeks pregnant. I’m blessed to say that the remainder of my pregnancy, as well as my labor and delivery went very smooth. I had no complications, and carried until full term. Two days after my due date, I went into labor naturally, and had a completely natural birth.
After a night of contractions, I arrived to the hospital around 7:30am. My cervix was checked at 9am, at which time I was 3.5cm dilated. I was checked again at 11am, when I was told that I was 4.5cm dilated, my remaining cervix was paper thin, and my bag of water was “bulging.” A little before 3pm, my water broke naturally as I was about to get in the shower. I was checked immediately after that, and had ZERO cervix left. It was time to push.
I pushed for an hour and a half, and my daughter was born!
I’ll never know for sure whether or not I have the above pregnancy rituals to thank for my smooth pregnancy, labor and delivery, or if it was fate, but I can’t help to believe that everything I did helped tremendously. For any pregnancies that I may be blessed with in the future, I can say that I will try to keep up the same routines.
To read Avaya’s full birth story, click here.