So you’ve had your positive pregnancy test. There’s so much that will happen in the next 8 months-give or take- depending on when you found out. Yes, that’s right. By the time you realize you’re pregnant, you have likely already used one or more of those nine months up!

Don’t panic. It will be OK. I can say this with confidence, because I did panic, but it was OK. And  although there is a lot to do during pregnancy, I do just want to share 8 things I’m glad I did my first pregnancy.

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1.) I took naps while I was pregnant.

Maybe you’ll be spared, but often pregnancy comes with fatigue. Especially in the beginning, at least for me. I’m glad I took naps when I had a chance. For those of us that also experienced morning sickness, well, we needed our energy to be nauseous.

2.) I ate through my morning sickness.

While this wasn’t enjoyable, because of me really not wanting to eat anything for the first trimester, I did make myself eat. I’m glad I did this because I had lost weight during the first trimester even with eating every meal.

Everyone is different, however for myself, I threw up every 2 or 3 days, which isn’t a lot, BUT.. I felt nauseous ALL the time. A not so fun fact that I didn’t discover until I was pregnant- you can get ‘morning’ sickness any time of the day or night.

I felt nauseous for my entire first trimester. I got to a point where I couldn’t even remember what it felt like to NOT feel nauseous. Thankfully, it didn’t last the whole pregnancy, and I hope you do not have to experience this.

3.) I switched to unscented dish soap.

I should add: thanks to my mom for buying it for me. During my first pregnancy, I had terrible smell aversions. I wanted to be in an odorless, clean, white room with nothing in it.

But unscented dish detergent was a lifesaver for me!

If you don’t have a dishwasher & have to wash dishes by hand (or for dishes that aren’t dishwasher-safe) I like the one from Seventh Generation, you can get it from Amazon here in bulk- (a pack of 6 bottles) to stock up on.

Or if you have a dishwasher, you can buy the Seventh Generation unscented dishwasher pods here from Amazon.

If certain smells bother you, see if you can avoid them or use things that don’t smell as strong.

If other people offer to help you with cooking, take them up on it, if the smell of the food is just too strong. And hey, accept all the help you can get- you’re pregnant!

4.) I took a natural birth class (and later had a natural birth).

Even if you don’t particularly desire to have a natural birth, it’s definitely beneficial to take a natural birth class. The one we (yes, hubby came too) took was worth the money and taught us a lot of things that we took into consideration when constructing our birth plan.

Knowledge is a powerful thing, and even if you want or need medications or procedures, it’s good to know the risks and benefits of everything. I happily was able to have a natural birth with no medication during labor or delivery (although it was still painful, yes.)

I definitely would’ve been open to interventions if complications came up. But I have to say, the class I took helped me to understand the birthing process and benefits from declining certain medications and procedures when they are not necessary.

5.) I switched OB/GYN providers (at 36 weeks pregnant.)

I understand that was cutting it a bit close, but I’m so glad I did. Don’t get me wrong, the initial OB/GYN I had gone to was and is a great practice with very capable medical providers, but I did not feel comfortable with them delivering my baby. One of the nurse practitioners there I really was very comfortable with, but she doesn’t deliver babies at the hospital.

Out of the few doctors there that did deliver, there was one I definitely did not want delivering my baby, because of my experience with her. She was rude, yelled at me, and didn’t respect a medical decision I made based on extensive research I did.

The midwife practice I switched to was more comfortable, familiar, and successful with delivering babies via natural birth, which is what we personally wanted, and they didn’t try to force me to do things I wasn’t comfortable with or yell at me. There was a mutual respect, which is awesome.

There are many medical decisions to make during pregnancy, and they all have pros and cons, risks and benefits. So it’s really great when you have a supportive medical team behind you, regardless of how they personally feel about your individual choices.

All I will say is if you aren’t comfortable with your provider, if it’s not something that can be worked out with them, then it’s important to find someone you are comfortable with. But, of course, make sure you don’t miss any of your prenatal appointments in the process! And I would also recommend switching a lot sooner in your pregnancy (rather than as late as I did- some places won’t even accept your switch that late in the game!)

Note: If you’re considering switching your OB/GYN, I have a another post you can read here- on 5 factors you should think about.

6.) I washed and organized all the baby’s clothes and items in advance.

It’s definitely important to have diapers and clothes organized by size in places you can easily find and access them. Babies grow so fast once they come out, and you want to know where everything is so you can use what you need, when you need it.

7.) I didn’t push myself beyond my limitations during pregnancy.

I didn’t carry things that were too heavy, do housework for too long, or keep myself up when I needed to rest. In addition, at the time I was pregnant, I was working a job in an extremely busy office, often understaffed, and at least once a week had to eat lunch at my desk while assisting people. My husband and I decided I should quit.

I quit my job while 7 1/2 months pregnant. Waiting for maternity leave was not worth the health of my baby and I. I would’ve liked to stay longer because I liked my job, and I was good at it. But I’m glad I quit when I did, because I’m confident if I had not, I would’ve gone into pre-term labor from the added stress.

I could handle the workload before, but after getting pregnant, it was just too much. In addition, I was already going to the chiropractor once or twice a week because of back problems, and sitting for hours at work was not helping.

8.) Every week I researched the stage of my baby.

This was fun, exciting, and made me feel like something was being accomplished every passing week. It’s a miracle how babies continue to develop throughout pregnancy, and I really enjoyed looking at pictures and knowing what was going on in my growing belly as it was happening.

So those are 8 things I’m glad I did during my first pregnancy. Pregnancy is a unique, special, and challenging time, but you can get through it, and likely with some interesting memories to look back on. And don’t worry, even if pregnancy is taking a toll on you, once your baby comes out, it’s all worth it!!

ARE YOU PREGNANT RIGHT NOW? Grab our Free Printable Pregnancy Master List of all the tasks you need to do before your baby is born.

Have a great day!