My daughter was only 6 months old when I found out I was pregnant again. I was so excited that I was going to have another baby and my daughter was going to have someone to grow up with.
But it wasn’t easy going through pregnancy with a baby. Babies are very demanding and just taking care of them can be very tiring. And now I was pregnant, with the morning sickness and fatigue. It was like I was already tired even before my day starts.
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Then there is the question of is it okay to breastfeed when you are pregnant?
My baby was 6 months old and I had just started introducing her to solid foods. She still needed the breast milk and I initially planned to breastfeed her till she was 2 years old. But I was now pregnant again and didn’t know if it was safe to keep breastfeeding her.
I checked with my doctor first and he said it was totally okay. So I breastfed my daughter throughout my pregnancy until the 35th week of pregnancy. Around the 35th week, I started to have contractions any time she breastfed. So I told my doctor and he said I should stop breastfeeding her. She was now a year old so I felt good about stopping it.
But if you are going to keep breastfeeding throughout your pregnancy, you should consult your doctor first.
So now, how do you go through pregnancy especially the first trimester and take care of a baby too?
The first trimester for me is the most difficult trimester. I am always weak and tired. And then there is the morning sickness. I’m nauseous and throwing up all the time and I can’t seem to hold any food down. So being pregnant and taking care of my little one at the same time wasn’t easy. Babies are indeed hectic and they need you 24/7.
By the latter stage of my pregnancy my baby was no longer a baby. She was now a toddler and had started walking now. So she didn’t need that much attention. She was okay playing with her toys and watching nursery rhymes.
HOW TO SURVIVE FIRST TRIMESTER WITH A BABY
First of all, congratulations. You are going to have another baby. Now here a few things you can try to make things a little easier for you.
1. Nap when the baby naps
One thing babies are known for is that they sleep a lot. I took advantage of this and slept too, right next to her. What I realized was that, she slept longer when I slept with her. If she sleeps alone, she wakes up within 30 minutes. But when I’m sleeping next to her, she slept for 2 hours or more. And that gave me enough time to rest.
2. Chores can wait
You don’t have to get everything done at once. Do what you can and rest. In the first trimester, you get tired easily and with me when I overworked myself, I got dizzy. So I was only able to get a little done at a time. And that is okay. Your body needs the rest for the baby to develop well.
Thankfully, my mum usually came around to help with my household chores. But if you don’t have someone to help, don’t worry. Just do something little at a time and rest.
3. Time with baby
When baby is up, I will just play with her. All baby wants from you is your attention. They just want to know that you are not ignoring them. Since my baby was now around 6 months old and learning to crawl, all I had to do was sit her up and put an object in front of her so she will try and grab it.
This is something that you can do even if you are tired. You just have to lie down and watch her. She just wants to know she has your attention. So you lie down and watch her as she tries to grab the objects. This way, you get to rest and baby plays without feeling ignored.
Play with her, sing her a song, make her laugh. You don’t have to ignore your baby because you are pregnant and tired. Play time is also bonding time for you and baby.
4. Stay hydrated
Morning sickness makes it difficult for a lot of pregnant women to drink water. But staying hydrated is very essential. This helps you to be more energized. You can stay hydrated by drinking other liquids or try some flavoured water .
I recommend drinking the flavoured water because keeping hydrated with water is the best. Here are some fruits infused water recipes you can try yourself to add flavour to your water. Adding ginger to your infused water will help with the morning sickness.
5. Freezer Foods /Order out
You can also prepare some meals and store them in the freezer for when you can’t cook. It’s okay if you are too tired and cant cook. Order a good meal and eat. But do bear in mind that you are pregnant so you have to eat healthy. Ordering out doesn’t mean junk food.
My husband was very understanding and didn’t mind if I was too tired to cook diner. If we had freezer foods, he will just heat that up for us to eat. Or he will get us take out.
Getting through the first trimester of pregnancy isn’t easy and taking care of a baby at the same time makes it the more difficult but with these tips I hope you will enjoy being pregnant and taking care of your little one at the same time.
