12 Tips to Help You Enjoy Your Pregnancy

Pregnancy is hard for me... especially the first and last trimester! In all seriousness I do love being pregnant... I just hate the symptoms I get while pregnant. Does that make sense? Heartburn? Not my favorite. Swelling? I'll pass. Pubis symphysis dysfunction? Yeahhhh no. Dancing around the border of weighing 200 lbs? No thanks!

It would be awesome if I could say I felt most sexy while pregnant... But being true to myself... I can't say that. I can't lie, it is nice that I get to have 9 months where I don't have to suck in my gut anymore *fist pump* but I'm not shopping around for someone to take some pregnancy boudoir photos for me. 😂

Now that I'm nearing completing my second pregnancy I've developed some tips of the trade that help me not be quite as miserable. Tips that I wish I knew the first time around... So here we go:

1. Forget the pants:

K... Well I mean still wear pants. But VERY STRETCHY ones. Maternity jeans? Not my thing. Trying to continue fitting in my non pregnant jeans? DEFINITELY not my thing. <<< why do women do that?! So uncomfortable! Noooo thanks.

Stick to the stretchy stuff. I'm talking maternity jeggings.  Ohhhh yeah. They actually stay up over your bump and you're not pulling at the jean legs every 2.7 seconds because they're falling down. My favorite this pregnancy have been these ones from motherhood maternity. I started the pregnancy with a size small but I could (and should) happily get a medium now.

I had maternity jeans at the beginning of this pregnancy... And while they were nice for a bit... They got to the point where even shoving my legs into those restricting leg holes was an experience worthy of an emotional breakdown. Don't do that to yourself... Love yourself. 

2. Stretchy dresses are your friend.

Why shove your legs into jeans when you can slide a nice stretchy dress over your body. Dresses are much more Christ like than jeans... And when I say that I mean dresses forgive and forget that double chocolate whipped whip cream milkshake (with fries 🙌🏼) much easier than jeans. Jeans are grudge holders, forget them. They're not your real friend anymore. Maybe in due time (with some counseling) you can reconcile that friendship but now is not that time. Trust me, it's for the better.

Moving on!

Give ASOS.com or Boohoo.com a "midi dress" search and you'll see what I'm talking about. All the good stuff. You don't even need to necessarily buy maternity dresses... Just get a bigger size than what you'd normally buy.

3. Don't stress the scale

My scale broke the other day... And I'm nearly convinced it was divine intervention from the man upstairs. At 34 weeks I'm dancing on the border of 200 pounds and what pregnant woman needs to stress about that. NO ONE! 

4. Passive aggressively post this meme to all your social media:

 Hopefully your great aunt twice removed will pick up the hint!

5. Backhand all those who make comments about your size.

"Wow you still have 10 more weeks to go?!"
(Back hand)

"You must be carrying twins."
(Back hand)

"I can tell your pregnant by the way your face looks."

(Back hand)

"Wow that woman is due the same time as you and you can't even tell she's pregnant!"

(Back hand)

"You look way better this pregnancy than your last pregnancy!" Creative, a compliment and insult at the same time!
(Back hand)

6. Invest in nightgowns: 

I got these nightgowns from lands end at the beginning of my pregnancy and I love them. Let me tell you why...

• You don't have to rummage through drawers to find shorts that slide over you're growing badonk.
• You can finally throw away that ugly shirt from the 5K race you did 8 years ago.
• Like dresses, nightgowns don't judge. Nightgowns love your baby growing bod.
• It's only one piece to find to put on... Instead of two. At this point in pregnancy it's all about simplicity. 

7. If someone makes a comment about how much you're eating throw them this look: 

8. Prepare your nursery before third trimester fatigue kicks in.

VITAL. I wasn't prepared to be so tired again the third trimester... The fatigue has been as bad as the first trimester. So take advantage of that energy kick in the second trimester!

I prepared the nursery between weeks 27 and 30... And I'm so glad I did because now I'm well into the third trimester I have not had the energy to do anything sense!

9. Even if you don't feel sexy, let yourself love your body:

Pregnancy body image can be a real struggle for me... Even when I'm eating healthy and staying active I've learned I still balloon up, it's how my body handles pregnancy. And guess what, that's FINE. My body knows what it's doing!

The way I've learned to accept my changing body in a few ways:

• Realizing that this change is temporary and not permanent.
• Thinking about my body as the vessel to grow a healthy baby and get her here safe and sound
• Brush off comments about my size
• Invest in clothes that aren't restrictive
• Committing to lose the weight once I've adjusted to the new baby (for me that adjustment probably won't be until 3 months out or so... No stress!)

10. Acknowledge if you're feeling depressed:

Getting to the heavy stuff now. Acknowledge how you're feeling and talk to your doctor. To have a healthy baby you must first have a healthy mom. Some women never have depression until pregnant and/or postpartum... Don't let it go untreated. Talk to your doctor about your feeling and possible treatment and/or counseling options.

11. Don't compare yourself to other girls:

No two bodies are alike. While Jane may be able to get through her pregnancy eating like a high school teenage boy, gaining minimal weight and losing it within two weeks... Alice on the other hand will eat like a high school teenage boy, gain 60 pounds, and spend the next year losing it with strict diet and exercise. 

I'm Alice by the way. 👋🏼

12. REMEMBER:

Remember that even though pregnancy symptoms aren't always rainbows and butterflies... Keep your eye on the prize... The prize being that precious little new family member you're bringing into the world.

When we were struggling to get pregnant with this baby I would think to myself I would do anything... ANYTHING... To be standing in the mirror rubbing a baby bump. I'll never take the gift of pregnancy for granted. 

It's a short 9 months for an eternity of another best friend, and gosh darn it... It's worth it. 

Xoxo Britney

Instagram: @britneymunday

E-mail: fitmombritney@gmail.com

P.S. If you're still in the market for an owlet baby monitor my code for $25 off is still valid. Click here and it will automatically apply the discount to your cart. Don't know what the owlet monitor is? Check out this post for more information. It's my must have this pregnancy!