Someone very close to me is newly pregnant with twins. yay! I have been thinking about how I can help her work through all the trials and tribulations that I went thru when I was newly pregnant. If I can spare her the grief of discovering a bunch of crap on her own then I will go out of my way to do that. Sure she can learn all this stuff by reading one of the many pregnancy books that are out there but that's a lot of info to sift thru when you are only 9 weeks pregnant.
Here is the list of tips/info that I sent to her:
- do not run out and buy a whole bunch of maternity clothes as soon as your pants start feeling tight.
try to extend the life of your regular clothes by using bella bands or the rubber band trick to make more room in the waist of your pants. wear empire waist shirts that you already have or wear and empire waist dress over some jeans or pants.
when you do buy maternity wear make sure you buy things that have room to grow or you will grow out of it by the 3rd trimester
old navy, gap and target are the best places to get nice maternity wear that is cute but very inexpensive. the motherhood maternity site also has very low prices but their quality varies greatly.
- drink water all the time. i mean ALL the time. if you have a choice between juice and water, try to choose water. you do not want to get dehydrated as it can lead to a lot of problems for you and the baby.
- your appetite will increase. you will become a ravenous animal when you are in your second trimester. don't be afraid! just make good choices about the foods that you choose to eat.
- you will crave a bunch of garbage that you don't normally eat. i have craved mcdonald's cheeseburgers and fries more than i can say. i do not normally eat that junk but i have been craving it like crazy.
- keep your belly moisturized. cocoa butter or sweet almond oil are good. it will become itchy and dry if you don't moisturize it daily.
- your feet will grow. i think i have gone up a half size since i got pregnant. do not run out and buy a whole bunch of new shoes because your feet may go back to their previous size after you give birth
- your vision will deteriorate. i had to start wearing my glasses all the time due to eye strain headaches. this will go away after you give birth so don't run out and get a new prescription unless you are really having a hard time.
- your hair and nails will grow like crazy! this is a cool thing but it also means that sometimes you might get some weird wild hair that grows out of your chin! scary but normal.
- your skin might break out. mine did until i hit the second trimester. it's all clear again.
- you can take baths. they give alot of relief. the water should be warm, never hot. when your belly starts to get big you will find that sitting in the bath helps relieve some of the back strain that it can cause
- there is a whole list of over the counter drugs that you are allowed to take and many that you are not. ask your ob to give you the list. if you get a headache or have a cold, you will REALLY want to have this list.
- buy the baby bargains book. it will help you decide what to buy. also you can look at my registry if you are not sure. i used baby bargains as a guide on what to register for.
- when you have your gestational diabetes test, drink the glucose drink when it is very cold. it will go down easier if it is cold. it tastes like sickeningly sweet fruit punch or flat orange crush.
