A fine and pleasant pregnancy

Currently I am 22 weeks pregnant. Past the weird phase of is it a baby belly or a thanksgiving belly?

Pregnancy is a strange time, there's obviously the hard things that come with it but also there's the benefits too

You are less hard on yourself

You sleep/take naps in without feeling bad

People don't expect/ask as much from you

Thicker hair

Any ailment/unfavorable action by you can be blamed on the pregnancy

"Sorry, I'm so (insert anything here) when I'm pregnant"

moody, emotional, irrational, angry, etc etc. It can always be the babies fault.

Anyways. This post is Lucia's personal tips on how to make pregnancy easier.

FIRST TRIMESTER:

1. Daily Treats

This is a typical day in early pregnancy.

1. Wake up- feel queasy

2. Try and eat some toast

3. Think about what sounds good to eat

4. Go get that item

This works for 2 reasons:

1. You actually can eat the food and keep it down.

2. You feel better knowing that you are pampering yourself

I mean I deserve it though

The only problem with this tactic is that after a while you've eaten a lot of things slightly queasy so none of them sound good anymore.

The winner this go round was Jimmy Johns veggie subs. I read somewhere that avoiding meat can help with nasuea, not sure if its true but meat doesn't taste good anyway.

2. Get out of the house

Kind of an obvious one, but I'm always surprised how much better I feel if I get dressed and run to do the smallest of errands. Its like hello I am part of society!! Not just a limp rag

and if nothing else, its a distraction.

3. Change the subject

Talking about how bad you feel doesn't help the situation. Unless you are talking to someone going through the same thing OR your husband. They absolutely need to know every detail of misery you are experiencing.

Husband: How was your day?

Lucia:

But at church or other events, its just easier to change the subject. I mean, you absolutely totally can be George Washington honest here,

"Every day I throw up or want to throw up, I have no energy, and no food tastes good."

but I've found that not only is that hard for people to respond to, it emphasizes the sickness more in my brain. I'd rather not focus on it. So I just be brief and change the subject.

Random person at church: How's the pregnancy?

pregnant person: It's fine, how has your mom been since her surgery?

Random person: How are you feeling?

pregnant person: Much better than the people of Israel, did you hear they are cutting fetuses out of dead mothers bodies?

Okay maybe not that last one.

4. Alternative Medicine

I get so irritated when the advice is ginger tea and crackers.

Lucia reading "helpful" websites

Besides the queasiness, I was just feeling so blasted lethargic. No amount of caffeine could make me do anything else besides keep the kids alive. Because you cant infuse energy into a limp lifeless rag. Try caffeine and you just have a limp lifeless rag with a lot of thoughts racing around.

I tried Beef Liver Pills to help with the energy crisis. Some people swear by them, its like the original prenatal and is supposed to be easier on your body then a regular prenatal. Can't say I noticed a huge difference but sometimes it just feels good to know you are trying.

Hmm...I can feel it working already

Another thing I tried was magnesium spray. Did not work for me, it just makes your skin itchy but some people say it works miracles.

I have had to explain to Brad that I get a separate budget as a newly pregnant person to spend trying weird nasuea gimmicks and for the daily fast food runs.

Brad inspecting the latest cure

Overall the key to first trimester is to remember that it doesn't last that long (hopefully) and just cushion yourself as much as you need to to make it through.

SECOND TRIMESTER:

1. Find a replacement for your coffee

As the nausea fades and you start to feel better, life feels bearable, but coffee is just not tasting the same. Find something that will replace the caffeine.

Might I make a humble suggestion.

Presenting:

Top 4 reasons Zipfizz is the best pregnancy drink:

1. No leg cramps at night, due to the high amount of potassium, or is it magnesium. . .?

2. Gives you energy and hydration

3. Lots of vitamins

4. When served in a Starbucks Venti cup it is a burst of color, sunshine, dopamine, and seratonin all in one.

I have been a zipfizz connoisseur since March 2022 when I was persuaded to try zipfizz by a very skilled salesperson at costco. I made one in a waterbottle on the way home and was like ehh well this tastes kind of vitamin-y

but as it is with costco, you get a large supply and soon I really liked the taste and energy. Best flavors are: Orange cream, pina colada, watermelon, citrus, really any of them besides the iced tea flavor.

You can buy them here on amazon or at your local costco.

2. Exercise

Any doctor will tell you this, of course there's so many terms and conditions that come along with the fetus and me exercises.

Everything you read is like well, yes you can... but BE CAREFULL!!

My favorite exercise class whether pregnant or not is Barre

Barre is a ballet based workout class, no spinning or tutus but lots of toe pointing, squats and leg lifts.

During pregnancy it is an especially favorable exercise form because it is low impact. You don't even wear shoes.

There's no jumping and jerking and twisting, it is just a slow burn with small movements. The smallest of movements but a slow burnout until your whole body is shaking.

Of course the ab part of the class needs modifications but I usually just do plank or pushups for that section.

The movements are based on ballet, so you can pretend that you are this beautiful ladylike ballerina training for the Nutcracker.

You will not have the same beautiful experience with burpees. And the terms are elegant too, the teacher will say things like "first position" and "plié"

When I was pregnant with Avery I remember CRAVING that feeling of getting your heartrate up. Did not have the same experience with Thomas because I did barre for his whole pregnancy.

Its a good feeling, you feel strong and more than just a pregnant tired body.

That's my only tips for now, but the smallest changes can make such a positive difference.

I can't remember the third trimester things, I will plan on posting when I actually get there.

Love peace happiness and healthy pregnancies,

Potato Farmers Wife