10 Pregnancy Tips First Time Mums Should Listen To

You’re expecting and it’s your first time? Congratulations!

Isn’t it exciting? You’ve waited for this for a long time and now it’s here! And in a few months, you’ll be meeting the newest member of your family. But before that, you have nine gruelling months before you welcome your little bundle of joy.

I said gruelling, right? Well, it’s because you have to deal with tons of pregnancy tips from all people…unsolicited or not…whilst you carry your precious little one. But what pregnancy tips should you really listen to? Here’s some of ours…oh and you’re welcome!

1. Don’t feed yourself with TMI.

Every pregnancy is different. What you feel may be different from others. It’s better to go to your GP and have yourself checked rather than Google for answers that might just create panic and give you too much information.

2. If you think you smell disgusting, that’s just you.

We know how pregnancy can make you smell in different areas of your body — even in places you never knew could sweat. Don’t worry, other people might not be able to smell it. It’s more likely because of your heightened sense of smell due to the increased pregnancy hormones, that you can be more sensitive to certain odours. Including your own!

3. When they say you should eat for two, you shouldn’t.

When you’re carrying another human being inside you, you can tend to make it an excuse to indulge in foods, and lots of them! Those damn cravings don’t help either! The result? Your weight balloons! And the most unforgivable? You’ll struggle to lose all these post-partum weight you shouldn’t have gained at all in the first place!

What you need to do is just to eat healthily, more veggies and less carbs. There’s also nothing wrong with doing yoga and mild exercises. It’s even recommended that you stretch those muscles for a leaner and healthier pregnancy.

4. Pregnancy glow = oily face: So wash your face now!

Okay, you may have that pregnancy glow when pregnancy looks good on you. It’s because pregnancy makes a woman glow from the inside exuding beauty and a positive aura.

But with your hormones going berserk, that “glow” sometimes means oil, slime, zits, and everything you don’t need on your face. So, the next time somebody tells you, you have that pregnancy glow, wash your face, to keep your pregnancy glow that’s meant in a good way.

5. It’s okay to have sex.

Are you worried your baby could get hurt and poked every time you have sex? Don’t worry, your baby will be ok. Babies have their very own special place inside your uterus, so don’t worry about your partner’s penis poking your little one, they’re safe.

However, if you’ve been avoiding sex because you’ve been suffering some pregnancy symptoms or you don’t feel sexy enough for some bouncy-bouncy, just try. It might bring the sexy back in you.

6. Don’t rush to buy many maternity clothes just yet.

I made this mistake during my first pregnancy. I bought maternity clothes thinking they would still fit me by the end of my pregnancy. But no, they didn’t.

What I’d suggest is to just buy maternity clothes in the first half of your pregnancy and buy more when you grow too big for those, or just borrow from no longer pregnant friends. Winning!

7. Keep your calm about unsolicited comments about your body or parenting abilities.

At some point in your pregnant life, other people will tell you things you already know — you’ve gained weight, you’ve got a pimply, oily, blotchy face, your lack of knowledge about parenting (as if they’re best at it) — people just can’t help themselves! So, as much as you want to punch them in the throat, just politely tell them you’d appreciate them not commenting or just walk away and ignore them.

8. Sleep as much as you can.

With all that pregnancy excitement the moment the positive mark appears in your pregnancy test, your thoughts will automatically be filled with what’s next – “How should you plan your future? Will it be a boy or a girl? What shall you name your precious one?” and all the other questions on what to do once the baby arrives. But, take things slowly and one step at a time. After all, your baby will not arrive for a few months yet, so take time to relax and get more sleep while you can. Remember this: You’ll get less of it once bub enters the world. Take it from us, we’ve been there and we wish we did get as much sleep as we could before kids. Ugh!

9. Keep a journal or if you can’t, just take note of important things.

Your body does amazing things when you’re pregnant — things you couldn’t imagine until you are actually pregnant and experiencing it. And first times must go to your journal, so keep one to remind yourself of what you went through the first time around so the next time will be a breeze (or if not, you’ll know what to do).

10. Follow your instincts.

This is when a woman’s instincts come into play. You own your body and you know what you’re feeling and what is happening to it. If others tell you one thing and your instincts tell you otherwise, listen to yourself.

What pregnancy tip for first time mums did you really listen to?