This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and healthy mama® , but all my opinions are my own.
A pregnancy lasts for nine months and, unfortunately, life doesn’t just stop during that time but soundly marches on as you march slower and slower.
Managing a pregnancy while continuing to manage life is not always easy.
Many pregnant women battle morning sickness while trying to work or go to school. Some of us have multiple other children to tend to as well. We can’t just put parenting, laundry, cooking, cleaning, or shopping on hold until our energy level picks up, the heartburn dissipates, or that baby is born (which isn’t going to solve all these problems anyway!).
Trying to balance life while pregnant can be an extra challenging at times.
The reality is that all of us have busy lives and demands on our times that don’t slow down like we do during our pregnancy. We all have responsibilities whether we are a working mom or a stay at home mom, and even if we don’t have other children yet. Life is busy and full of curveballs, too many of which may happen while pregnant.
I am currently nine months pregnant with my fourth child. All of my pregnancies have been busy. My first pregnancy was with twins and I was a full-time student the entire nine months. I was in the BYU marching band my entire first trimester and part of my second. The day before I had my twins, I went to class, and I even had to show up to a final a week or two after they were born.
With my second pregnancy, my husband was a full-time graduate student and I was a full-time mom to twin two-year-olds. I now had to keep up with two toddlers and most of the household responsibilities, which became harder as I went past my due date by 13 days.
With this pregnancy, I am now the mother of three children – twin 5-year-olds and a 2-year-old toddler. I am also a full-time blogger who works from home, and my husband has moved onto a PhD program and is gone more than ever. Balancing home, life, work, and three children, whom I homeschool, has been challenging to manage while very pregnant.
If you are also a busy, multitasking pregnancy mama, chances are you’ll need some tips to better balance life while pregnant.
4 Simple Tips to Better Balance Life While Pregnant
4 Simple Tips to Better Balance Life While Pregnant1. Prioritize Sleep.
Growing a human is taxing on your energy. Prioritizing sleep during pregnancy is important to your health, your happiness, your productivity, and your sanity. Don’t worry about climbing the corporate ladder, acing every single class you are taking, or keeping a spotless home during your pregnancy. Some things will have to be placed on the back burners or let slide for a while. Don’t give up, but give yourself some slack!
So if you feel like you need a nap, and have a window of time to do so, take advantage of it. If you can go to bed early, do it. If you can sleep in, do it! When you are rested, everything you have to do will be easier to tackle.To accomplish this as a parent, I have prioritized sleep for my children as well. We have nap time
We have nap time every day for my toddler, and a quiet time for my older twins, at the same time during the afternoon. While most of the time I try to work during this quiet/nap time, I have on several occasions opted out of working on the blog in favor of crashing on the couch or in my bed.
We also keep a pretty strict bedtime of about 7-8pm for our children. This allows me plenty of time to work after they go to sleep and hopefully still get to bed before midnight.
I also make sure to communicate with my husband, and if he knows I am extra exhausted, he’ll put the kids to bed so I can sleep for a bit in the evening, or he’ll get up with them in the morning and let me sleep in for an extra hour.
We also keep a pretty strict bedtime of about 7-8pm for our children. This allows me plenty of time to work after they go to sleep and hopefully still get to bed before midnight.I also make sure to communicate with my husband, and if he knows I am extra exhausted, he’ll put the kids to bed so I can sleep for a bit in the evening, or he’ll get up with them in the morning and let me sleep in for an extra hour.
I also make sure to communicate with my husband, and if he knows I am extra exhausted, he’ll put the kids to bed so I can sleep for a bit in the evening, or he’ll get up with them in the morning and let me sleep in for an extra hour.
When times are extra rough and I’m extra tired, I put on a TV show or movie and let my kids watch while I slept on the couch behind them. Desperate times here people!
One last tip: Don’t schedule doctor’s appointments, meetings, or activities too early in the morning. If you can opt for a later time so that you can sleep in and take a little extra time to get yourself and your children going, do it.
2. Plan Better
When I am pregnant, I often feel like if I accomplish one fairly large task, outing, or activity a day, I am successful, and also totally done for the rest of the day.
So, if I am going to go to the grocery store, I want to make sure it will be the one time I have to go there for the week, by writing out a list (hopefully). I also try to stock my errands together: I’ll drop by the grocery store after I do storytime at the library with my kids. I will fill up the car with gas on my way to book club, and so on.
So, if I am going to go to the grocery store, I want to make sure it will be the one time I have to go there for the week, by writing out a list (hopefully). I also try to stock my errands together: I’ll drop by the grocery store after I do story time at the library with my kids. I will fill up the car with gas on my way to book club, and so on.
Seriously, the more you can better schedule and manage your life, the more productive you will be during your pregnancy. So, create a chore chart for your kids and have them regularly do those things.
Create a household cleaning schedule for yourself. Have regular days you do laundry. Meal plan. Budget.
Set work hours for yourself if you work at home, and then plan how you’ll spend those hours more efficiently.
The bonus for doing this during your pregnancy is that it makes life that much easier once your baby is born.
3. Say no.
You know what the perfect excuse is? Pregnancy.
If you don’t want to do something, then say no. If you don’t want to go camping (though I did during this pregnancy), visit relatives 10 hours away, run a school or church event, go on a hike, or clean up after dinner, just say no!
While I believe you are totally capable of doing amazing things while pregnant, you don’t have to do amazing things while pregnant, or take on things you used to be able to handle like a pro. Pregnancy is a great time to learn the art of delegation (remember those chores I mentioned for your kids and getting help?).
4. Get Help
People love to offer help, and too often we thank them but say “we’re fine”, or tell them “will do!” only to never take them up on their offers.
It’s time to take them up on their offers during pregnancy! If you have a friend or family member who offers to watch your kids so you can do whatever, take them up on it! If they want to bring you a meal, let them.
If they want to throw you a baby shower, clean your house, or buy you a nice gift, let them! Don’t feel guilty about it either.
And if you are having a hard time, let people know you are having a hard time. I firmly believe in the need for more transparency online and in-person. Let people know you aren’t feeling well, just need a break, or need some childcare for a few hours.
If it is financially doable, you may want to think about getting help around the house, by hiring someone to come in and clean, or someone to take care of your lawn, or whatever it is that you just don’t have the time or energy to do a great job of right now.
And if you aren’t feeling well physically, look at picking up healthy mama® products from Walmart in the vitamin section.
The healthy mama® brand has launched a whole new line of pregnancy-safe medicines so that you can easily treat various prenatal ailments like heartburn, nausea, pain, constipation, and fatigue. They really want to make it easy for busy pregnant and nursing moms to find safe products to help them feel better quicker, and without the guess-work of what is safe and what isn’t.
Of course nothing is deemed 100% safe during pregnancy and you should talk to your doctor prior to taking medicine. But, know that healthy mama® is only using the safest ingredients.
I recently picked up their Boost It Up! Protein Energy Drink as well as their Shake the Ache medicine. Despite my best efforts to get sleep, some days I can’t squeeze in that nap, or my children were up during the night, and I have a deadline to meet, so a pregnancy-safe protein energy drink has been awesome! I mixed mine with some bananas and blueberries in the blender for a morning energy smoothie. And I have had some pain this pregnancy in the form of sciatica and lower back pain so having pregnancy-safe pain medicine is important. I’ll be glad to have this postpartum as well, because that brings its own host of pain issues from giving birth and breastfeeding.
If you need medicinal help to conquer the various pregnancy ailments, then get it! You do not have to suffer with terrible nausea, heartburn, or constipation! There are safe remedies and solutions out there, and healthy mama® has some available for you, as does your doctor if you need something stronger.
What are you tips for better managing life while pregnant?