Welcome and congratulations on entering the second trimester. Before you know it, your bundle of joy will be blissfully born. If you haven’t already, now is the time to begin forming self care habits that can be carried into motherhood. Even if you’re in the second trimester, you can still benefit from reading my previous post: 6 Self Care Rituals for the First Trimester of Pregnancy. This post explains and breaks down how to form healthy habits of self care week by week.
This post is more of an idea post. We will cover what self care can look like in pregnancy, safe activities for pregnancy, and how to fit it into your life. Taking care of yourself now and throughout motherhood is critical for your body and mind as well as displaying an exemplary model of how to care for yourself for your offspring.
Safe Self Care During Pregnancy
Self care during pregnancy can look and feel differently than when you are not pregnant. There are also precautions to take during pregnancy that you may otherwise not even consider. For example, maybe one way you practice self care when not pregnant is to eat your favorite meal of sushi. This is unsafe during pregnancy due to risk of listeria. Taking unnecessary bodily risks during pregnancy is another no-go, so be mindful of what your body is capable of to prevent injury.
6 Self Care Ideas that Take Care of Your Mind
Motherhood and pregnancy can be a mind game at times. A lot of the tasks and emotions can take a mental toll, so it is important to take time each day to care for your mind. Begin with simple tasks and game-ify it if needed. For example, unplugging can be a challenge but see how long you can go without social media and the effect it has on your mind, record this in your journal.
Write in a Journal
Whether you begin a pregnancy journal, gratitude journal, or a simple blank journal, writing your emotions or just a recounting of your day is very cathartic. With pregnancy comes many emotions (and hormones) getting them out and in the open is important to not hold them all inside. Spilling your guts to your significant other every time you have a complex emotion may not be healthy for your relationship, but first, pondering your thoughts and feelings in your journal may be a better first step.
Unplug
If you need to, you can create a challenge to complete this task. Unbeknownst to most of us, social media is not doing wonders to your mind. Create a chart or even write in your journal how many days you can go without social media and how you feel as a result. Likely, you will discover a trend of increased happiness without the weight of social media. Try this with other apps too such as shopping apps, or even your phone or electronics in general. Record your emotions as a result and look back every time you do a cleansing unplug.
Organize your Life
Whether you use a planner, journal, calendar, or piece of paper, plan out several aspects of your soon-to-be-crazy life. First decide what you want to plan and how. You don’t have to plan every aspect of your life. However, you can take this time to look to the future at what you’d like to accomplish or what the next twelve months may all involve.
Write out a Birth Plan
Birth doesn’t always go to plan. When I had my two girls, neither birth went as expected and I wasn’t the type to write out a birth plan. My only plan was to have a healthy baby, nothing else mattered to me. However, think about if you’d like music, dimmed lights, en epidural, etc. Write this all down in a birth plan you can provide to your medical team. It may not go exactly as planned but must facilities will attempt to stick to your wishes.
Learn to Meditate
Mindfulness and mediation are brilliant tools in motherhood. They help get through the tough tantrum times as well as bring peace and understanding to your life. There are many online resources that can help get you started. My favorite, by far, is Hunter Clarke-Fields from the podcast Mindful Mama and author of the Raising a Good Human Books.
Find Community
Motherhood and pregnancy can be isolating. Perhaps your partner has a hard time empathizing because they cannot relate to what you are enduring. Or maybe your extended family lives far away and can’t be there to be your village. Find community in local support groups or online. Search Facebook for motherhood and pregnancy groups as well as locally. Learn tips from other moms and connect through your journey. However, be sure to never take medical advice from someone online.
6 Self Care Ideas that take Care of Your Body
Your body is going through many changes during this time. Your organs are squished, your belly has grown, and your hormones are out of control. If ever a time to take care of your body, this is it. When completing exercise, make sure to listen to your body and not overdo it so that you don’t injure yourself. Your ligaments are more relaxed during pregnancy due to hormones which can lead to a higher risk of injury.
Go for a walk
Keep in mind proper footwear as well as proper attire for the weather. Take a walk around your neighborhood, local mall, or easy nature scape. Getting a change of scenery and fresh air is great for your body and mind. If you can’t get out due to personal factors or weather, consider a walking pad coupled with a nature walk on YouTube. You could travel down a Hawaiian path without leaving your living room.
Prenatal Yoga
A personal favorite of mine, prenatal yoga has many benefits. Join a class or look up prenatal yoga on YouTube. Include the time you have to dedicate in your search. Quick five or ten minute sessions in the morning can keep you feeling relaxed and refreshed all day long.
Swim
Wading in a pool can help to ease joint pain brought on by pregnancy. The increased buoyancy of your body in water literally takes the weight off your joints. Just floating around in the water can ease pain and lead to better relaxation.
Pamper Yourself
Decide what you love the most; what makes you feel beautiful and well cared for? For me it’s taking a nice long shower and putting on my favorite lotion after, a face mask (check that ingredients are safe for use during pregnancy), and painting my nails. Splurge on some new shampoo or body wash for some added luxury and relax for an hour or so while you care for yourself.
Eat a Balanced Diet
Eating a balanced diet can be a daunting task during pregnancy due to food aversions or cravings. With my second pregnancy, all I wanted was bean burritos from Taco Bell. I guess it could have been worse, but every time I passed the fast food chain in my car, I’d have to rein in my self control. Begin by making a list of healthy foods and a healthy meal plan. If you are overwhelmed by the sight of it, start with one meal a day being healthy and move on from there.
Get Rest
This seems like a no-brainer, but with so much to do and so little time, getting rest rarely makes the list at times. Be sure to get adequate sleep now, before the baby comes. Take special care of yourself and if you are feeling tired from growing an entire human being, give yourself grace to slow down and take a nap.
Final Thoughts
Self care is crucial in many points of life, but especially when you are pregnant. Whether you are feeling overwhelmed or like you have it all under control, now is the time to take extra good care of yourself. In a few short weeks, you’ll have a small human being to also care for and may neglect to complete self care.
What have you done to make yourself feel well cared for during pregnancy? What is your favorite activity on this list?
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