Being pregnant and creating life is such a special time for us women. Keeping a healthy mindset and immune system are important throughout these 9 precious months in which a tiny human is developing and growing inside of our bodies. With surging hormones, food cravings, lethargy, aches and pains it is not always easy to maintain the perfect lifestyle we desire. I have realized that some days or even weeks I can’t keep to my ideal routine but that is completely OK! Pregnancy is all about balance and listening to your body and not pushing too much when it doesn’t feel right. Some days I want to be able to hike 5 miles, but my legs feel like heavy weights or my stomach is in pain from stretching. During those down times I listen, take the pressure off and kick my feet up! When I am feeling good and have more energy, I keep active. Finding this balance is key. Eating healthy is important but sometimes I just NEED pizza. If I am eating organic and GF 95% of the time and want to cheat with a pizza, then I allow myself to do it. What I don’t do is use pregnancy as an excuse to be constantly stagnant and gorge myself with unhealthy food every day!
I have been able to maintain a heathy mind and body throughout my pregnancy, even with the occasional ups and downs so, I want to share my favorite tips with you other mamas to be out there!
1. Morning Mediation
Starting the day fresh, eliminating worry and thoughts from yesterday and calming my mind and body through breath work I have found is a stress eliminating way to ease into each morning. I did some research on breathing techniques for labor and the first level is breathing in for 4 seconds through the nose, filling up the abdomen then with an open mouth releasing for 6 seconds. I have incorporated this breathing technique into my morning mediation. Listening to meditation music while practicing my breathing techniques helps me focus more on my breathe and reduces thoughts that creep in. So instead of waking up and immediately picking up your phone to check your email or social media try setting some time aside just for you!
- Find your favorite mediation music channels on You Tube and save the links in the notes of your phone
- Set your morning alarm 20 minutes before you need to get out of bed + keep headphones on your nightstand
- Upon waking set your timer for 20 minutes, put your headphones on and start your mediation music channel
- Begin practicing breathing in through the nose for 4 seconds, filling the abdomen then releasing and breathing out for 6 seconds through an open mouth. Repeat for 20 minutes.
2. Stretching
After my morning mediation I spend 10-15 minutes stretching. During pregnancy our bodies are ever-changing. Tendons relax making room for our pregnant bodies to stretch in all kinds of ways so our growing babies can adapt. My biggest problem area throughout my pregnancy has been aching hips and restless legs. I have found that stretching right in the morning and again before bed reduces my aches and pains.
3. Vitamins
Ensuring I am putting essential nutrients in my body during my pregnancy is super important to me. I want to do my part in keeping my growing bub healthy and strong. I actually started taking my prenatal vitamins before I conceived to prepare my body and boost my immune system. Since I favor organic products, I selected Garden of Life Organic Prenatal Multivitamins. They are made from organic whole foods!
In addition to prenatal vitamins it is also important to incorporate Omega 3s for fetal neurodevelopment. I had to do a ton of research on this one to find a brand I felt comfortable taking because I didn’t want to obtain my Omega 3s from fish since some fish are not safe to eat during pregnancy. After comparing multiple brands and ingredients I decided on Nested Naturals Vegan Omega 3.
4. Healthy Eating
Oddly enough one of my biggest cravings during my pregnancy has been oranges and orange juice! However, I also had a period of serious carb loading where my body needed heavy meals like gf pasta and gf bagels. While yes sometimes I go off course and indulge in gluten or dairy products or order out (hello lasagna or that one time I ate Chick Fil A), I for the most part am sticking to a very heathy diet. I eat organic and consume a ton of veggies and fruits while keeping meat to a minimum. Eating organic eliminates harmful and toxic chemicals and artificial preservatives, all nasty things I don’t want my little bub getting. So, while our bodies go through cravings a good idea when we can is to look for a healthier way to indulge.
- Swap dairy ice cream for organic coconut based ice cream.
- Make an all organic acai bowl by blending frozen acai, strawberries and mango with almond milk. Mix in some almond butter for protein. Top with organic fresh fruit and add some organic chocolate chips made from real cacao for that chocolate fix.
- Eat lots of organic greens! I love asparagus, spinach, broccoli and salads. I also get my greens by making organic juices at home.
- Try GF pasta, bagels and bread for your carb loading cravings. There are more nutrients and grains in these options as opposed to white flour.
- Just need a chocolate snack? I absolutely love Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups! There is no artificial corn syrup just real sugar and real peanut butter.
5. ExerciseÂ
I have maintained an active lifestyle which has made it easier to keep exercising throughout my pregnancy. A rule of thumb I have read is to avoid incorporating new exercises into your routine that you didn’t partake in prior to pregnancy. As you progress more restrictions come into play like not laying on your back and there are just some movements that feel uncomfortable. It is always important to speak to your physician about exercise during pregnancy. I am an avid hiker so fortunately I have been able to continue hiking and I am at 7 months. I kind of thought I was invincible and could continue at the rate I was hiking at the beginning of my pregnancy but that became completely unrealistic. I am slow as a turtle now, I avoid trails that are dangerous or slippery and I only hike easy trails. It is inevitable that with our changing bodies we need to be mindful of the type of exercise we are doing which varies by person.
I enjoy a mix of works outs during my pregnancy from hand weights and resistance bands to weight machines at the gym, Pilates and hiking. I ideally stick to weights/Pilates 3x a week and hiking 3x a week however, there have been ups and downs and times where I have had a week of not exercising at all.
- I LOVE my at home Pilates reformer by AeroPilates. I follow Megans Pilates on You Tube as she has routines for each trimester so you can safely adjust your work out as your pregnancy progresses.
- Movement is so important! Keep the blood flowing on a regular basis by going for walks, hikes or using a treadmill.
- Good light workout options include resistance bands, hand weights and prenatal yoga. I have a pretty good home workout set up! You can find some of my favorite work out items here.
If you have some tips and tricks that help with aches, pains and hormonal surges caused by pregnancy leave me a comment below! I love hearing what other mamas are doing to keep themselves healthy!
