TAKE A DEEP BREATH! But, what’s next?

Let’s face it! We are growing new lives inside our bodies, so, it is NOT easy to relax. Nevertheless, stressing out will not make the pregnancy easier. So, try taking the following advices.

• Think positive. Too many of us are too worried about the whole ordeal – will it be a boy or girl? will I have a painful delivery? will I have a speedy recovery? will the baby be free of problems and be perfectly healthy? The list is endless. And the fact is, we ask ourselves far too many questions and put ourselves into too much unnecessary stress. Again, take a deep breath, than tackle these questions one at a time.
  Does it really matter if the baby is a boy or girl? Not really. How long will the pain last in a really painful delivery? A few hours and you are going to forget all about it once you see your baby. Recovery? Everyone will recover eventually, don’t worry. Will the baby be healthy? Well, you have done everything you can to ensure the health of the baby, there is only so much you can do.
  So, next time when you have a question, write it down, than try to answer it with your best effort. After that, you should leave the questions behind you, considered them problems solved. This should make you feel less anxious.
• Get information on your questions. It is always a good idea to try to find answers to your questions. However, try to avoid information overload. You need to know how to strike the balance. Otherwise, you will get buried inside the massive information and get even more stressed out after reading all the materials. Try to figure out when to stop is very important!
• When you are  stressed, you won’t get enough sleep; you can’t eat properly; you will mess up priorities of things…it does more harm than good. Talk to someone about your stress. You can talk to your doctors, your best friends, your partners. They will probably tell you that all of your concerns are unnecessary. And it is also true that they might not be able to help you to get the answers to all the questions, but having someone to share your worries will certainly help you to relieve the pressure.
• Cut down on your chores and errands. These little things add to your stress. Get help and find someone to share your burden, it will give you room to relax and breathe.
• Listen to your favourite music. I know I know. Some of us want to give birth to geniuses, and may turn to classical music, language courses, etc, hoping that the little ones will be the next Einstein, Mozart, or Picasso. Well, I didn’t buy that! I just went for my favourite music according to my mood – opera, classical, punk rock, jazz…anything that I love and would make me feel better, I went for them. The pregnancy is already stressful enough, why should I do something that I don’t like or enjoy? Now at 2 and 4, my boys love any kind of music that I play. Although they are not Einsteins, Mozart, or Picasso, I still love them very much!!!
• Exercise. We all know exercises are the magic cure to a lot of stuff. And yes, it too can reduce the stress levels of expectant mothers. It will take your minds off your worries for a little while. And it also helps you to stay in shape. Go for it girls!

Being pregnant is stressing us out physically already. There is no need to stress ourselves our mentally. So, remember to share your worries with your partners. They are there to help you out!