Why six? Well, most women find out they are expecting between five and six weeks pregnant, leaving an additional six weeks left of the first trimester. Each week, focus on one new self care ritual to carry you into the second trimester. It is likely that only your significant other knows about your pregnancy at this point, so make sure to take special care of yourself in this crucial time of pregnancy.
During this time of your pregnancy journey, you are probably not feeling quite like yourself. Perhaps you have suffered from morning sickness or have been crushed under a mountain of fatigue. Alternatively, maybe you are glowing and feeling every bit of joy and excitement. Either way, taking care of yourself is an important step that should follow you into motherhood. Sharing your body with a growing baby for 40 weeks is no small feat. There are times you will feel absolutely exhausted. Take the time to form self care habits and rituals so when that time comes, you already have healthy habits in place to help you along.
Week One
Yay! You just found out recently that you are expecting. Whether this was a planned pregnancy or a surprise, it’s important to take care of yourself and your offspring. Although your pregnancy will come with a myriad of tasks, taking care of yourself should be included in this list. Now is the time to form habits as they pertain to self care. Set aside five or more minutes each day this week for self care.
What should you do in those five minutes? Anything you enjoy that is also healthy. Some examples include going for a walk, yoga, exercise, cooking, journaling, reading, mediating, or doing a creative project. The point this week is to get into the habit of setting just a small amount of time each day aside for yourself. Surely within a 24 hour day you can spare five minutes for yourself.
If you are having trouble remembering to set this time aside, set a reminder for first thing in the morning or right before you go to sleep at night. Decide in advance what activity you want to complete so you’re not spending your time deciding and then miss actually going the activity. Add the time, timeframe, planned activity, and what you want to accomplish into your daily reminder.
Week Two
How did week one go? Did you actually participate in your planned self care everyday? This week, start a pregnancy journal. You can find a guided journal online or begin a blank journal. Your intentions with journaling may vary. Maybe you want your children to read this someday, or maybe it’s more therapeutic to destroy the pages once they are filled with emotion.
Try to stick to your week one activity and also incorporate five minutes of journaling this week. Plan to keep your journaling up for the entirety of your pregnancy. Motherhood can become quite busy and overwhelming, but journaling can help categorize your emotions as you work through them. If you have subsequent pregnancies, reading your journals back may remind you of the ups and downs you encountered the first time around and help you through again.
Week Three
This week try to incorporate some light exercise. As with the other activities, try to stick to a routine. Some ideas for light exercise include yoga, walking, and swimming. Recently, I’ve published an entire post about gentle exercises to do during pregnancy. View this post for more information pertaining to the importance of exercise during pregnancy as well as ideas of what to do and how.
The main benefits of exercise during pregnancy are to help you feel more like yourself, keep you in shape (which will help with labor), and to just keep you healthy in general. Exercise can also boost your mood and decrease the possibility of post partum depression and anxiety. It can even begin to provide a community for your pregnancy and motherhood journey. The benefits are seemingly endless, which is why it makes a wonderful item for your self care checklist.
Week Four
Having children means less alone time with your partner. Less alone time can contribute to trivial arguments and resentments. Plan a few date nights during your pregnancy and make plans together after childbirth as well.
Date nights don’t have to mean going an extravagant evening, but can simply mean a late night dinner shared between the two of you after the kids are safely in bed. Make sure to take the time to prioritize your relationship and realize that trivial fights throughout a long stressful day do not need to be held onto and can be forgiven. Try to sympathize with your partner as they likely have no clue what you are going through. Clue them in so they have a better understanding of your current feelings as well as future fears. Now is the time to have some meaningful conversations as they pertain to life and parenthood.
Week Five
During the fifth week of this exercise, focus on creating healthy coping mechanism for the ups and downs of pregnancy and motherhood. Proper, daily self care, for example is a healthy coping mechanism. With pregnancy comes a bounty of new emotions and hormones. How you handle these complex emotions may be important when it comes to your future motherhood journey as well as your relationship with your significant other.
Be sure to take care of yourself on a regular basis and also have some healthy coping mechanisms in mind if you should need them. Either keep them in the back of your mind or create a list in your phone, journal, or planner. Visit the list when things get tough to help you through the perils of pregnancy and motherhood.
Week Six
As the second trimester is entered, morning sickness should begin to fade away. Now is the time to focus on your nutrition. Consistently taking a prenatal vitamin and eating a balanced diet is crucial for the healthy growth of your baby. During the first trimester, this can be a daunting task due to the morning (or rather, all day) sickness. However, now that the sickness begins to fade, make sure you are intaking a healthy and balanced diet.
If you’d like more information on a healthy diet or have questions about persistent morning sickness, be sure to query your medical team. Your medical team can include your doctor and also nursing team. Reach your doctor without an appointment by calling your doctor’s office and requesting to speak to a nurse. The nurse can answer many questions and direct any worrying problems to your doctor to consider.
Final Thoughts
The first trimester of pregnancy holds many opportunities for creating long lasting self care rituals. If ever a time to care for yourself, this is it. Whether this is your first pregnancy or your fifth, use these helpful tips to take extra care. Incorporate one simple ritual per week and you’ll be amazed at how much better and more relaxed you’ll feel going into the second trimester.
Have you incorporated any of these into your self care routine? How has it helped your mental and physical health? Have you felt the difference?
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