Real talk, the pregnant body is a weird place to live. Your skin stretches in ways you have no control over. You leak, if you're lucky it's just increased vaginal discharge and colostrum. If you're unlucky it's peeing a bit when you sneeze. Sometimes you sleep, sometimes you don't, and sometimes you wake up so stiff that you wonder if you've been in a brawl and just don't remember. To say the least, it's a lot to get used to. At 32 weeks pregnant, I'm right in the middle of the third trimester, and the pregnancy weirdness is in full swing.
It's become obvious to me that self care is extremely important, now more than ever. The more I take care of myself, the more comfortable I am with my ever changing body, the more I feel connected to my baby, and the more excited I get about giving birth. So, I wanted to share with you my top 5 favourite self care practices for pregnancy.
1. Positive Self Talk
I’m putting this one first and foremost, because you can’t do any of these other practices without speaking to yourself in a loving voice. Remember that you’re growing a human being! I’ve found it helpful to reframe the changes I’m noticing. For example, instead of thinking that the veins I’ve noticed in my legs are ugly, I remind myself that I have about one and a half times more blood than I used to and my body is working to accommodate it. Plus, how cool is it that my body was able to make all that extra blood to nourish my baby.
2. Dry Brushing
Dry brushing is a simple technique used to increase circulation to your skin and promote lymphatic drainage. Using a coarse bristle brush, and light strokes, you brush from your extremities towards your heart. You can find a tutorial here. I love doing this right before hopping into the shower because my skin feels super soft afterwards and it gives me an opportunity to pay attention to every part of my body and notice how it’s changing. It’s also possible that it may help decrease your chances of getting stretch marks, so that’s a bonus.
3. Self Massage
I’ve added this as part of my shower routine as well, and it doesn’t have to be super complicated. I just take some extra time applying moisturizer, I use coconut oil, after I shower. I usually give my belly, thighs and hips a bit of extra love using a circular motion and light touch. Again, I love this because it gives me time to see how my body is changing. But it also means that I am touching myself with my own hands, getting comfortable with what feels different. This is another opportunity to be really loving to your body, and appreciate everything that it’s able to do to sustain a new life.
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4. Spending Time Naked
I've done this 2 ways. The first is that my shower routine has gotten longer, so I am spending more time naked with myself then. I also take some time to do yoga in the mornings. The mornings work for me because I'm not sleeping well (surprise, surprise) so I'm usually up much earlier than the rest of my house. I can get in a 20 minute prenatal flow without being interrupted. And I have been choosing to do this naked. Yoga is amazing because it connects you with your breath. It brings you into the present moment and it reminds you to be in your body without judgement. I've been enjoying this one, but there are tons out there that are free to access. I love this practice because it is super gentle, it reminds you to put your hands on your belly and to connect with your baby. Being comfortable at least partially naked will become important, because after your baby is born the best place they can be is skin to skin with you, you can find out more about that here. The more comfortable you are, the more you'll want to hang out skin to skin, and the better for both you and your baby.
5. Exercise
I have been lifting weights for years. So, it was natural for me to want to continue into my pregnancy. Although, I did take a bit of a break during the most exhausting parts of the first trimester. As long as you've been given the ok by your care provider it is safe to continue most exercises through pregnancy. But, it is important to check in. How do you feel while your doing it? How do you feel after? I love lifting because it really shows you what your body is capable of, you can see your own strength. But, you can also see how things shift. I stopped doing pushups at around 25 weeks and started doing wall pushups because I didn't feel like I could maintain good form. I've recently started feeling the same about deadlifts. And that's ok, because my core is shifting to accommodate a tiny person.
In my second trimester, I also started attending prenatal exercise classes. I highly recommend this because it gives you a chance to connect with other pregnant people. And you get solid guidance from fitness professionals who specialize in pregnancy and postpartum, so they can help you modify appropriately when you need to.
Just remember, you're body is doing a lot right now. You should be impressed! Take the time to thank your body and take care of it.
This article is meant to provide information only, it does not substitute for personalized medical care.