I’m Pregnant! Now What Do I Do?
It’s one thing to say that you want to get pregnant, to dream of having a baby, and even to go buy baby stuff, but when you get that positive pregnancy test, it’s a whole different ball game. I shook for twenty minutes straight the first time I got a positive pregnancy test. We had been trying for two years and I had waited my whole life for this! I had so many thoughts going through my head, I could barely keep up. I couldn’t help but think “I’m pregnant! Now what do I do?”
So what was the next step?
Is there something that you should be doing?
Something you should change?
Even if it was well-planned and fully expected? Absolutely!
Having a baby is a big deal and everything is about to change . . . for the better! But it all must start with you. You have another life to think of now, and another human being to take care of. Everything you do for yourself now will directly affect the development of your child. You now have to take better care of yourself, if you haven’t been already, make sure you have a professional monitoring your pregnancy, and start thinking about the little one inside of you.
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This isn’t something to take lightly. There are a number of steps you’ll now need to take to make sure you’re giving that little one inside of you the very best chance. And over the next year, you’ll have tons of decisions to make. This is a good time to start considering your options. But first things first. That’s a whole different article.
With a few simple tips, you will be well on your way to a happy, healthy pregnancy.
Celebrate!
You’re pregnant! That is huge and definitely worthy of celebration. Did you know that even if you do everything right every single month, and follow all of the rules that you’re supposed to in order to get pregnant, you still only have a 25% chance of conceiving? More couples in the United States are struggling every day with having a baby than you would probably care to know, and you might have been one of those couples up until now.
Take a deep breath. You did the hard part, conceiving, now for the pregnancy. With every pregnancy in our family, my husband and I go out to eat together and discuss the future both for us, our little ones, and our new future addition. We take the opportunity to celebrate, get excited, and dream together just for a while, before we have to start thinking about the big things involved in bringing another baby into the world.
You have been blessed with an amazing gift! Celebrate and be happy that you are one of the lucky couples that have conceived and have the opportunity to have your own little bundle of love. If you are doing this alone, no worries. Many women bring babies into the world without a father in the picture, and there’s nothing wrong with it. You have just as much to celebrate. Go get a friend, or a bunch of friends, that will go out and celebrate with you. Enjoy this fleeting moment.
Stop Abusing Your Body
If you haven’t done this already, in preparation for getting pregnant, I highly advise that you immediately stop drinking, smoking, and doing drugs. I know this sounds obvious, but the damage you could be doing to your infant, even before you know that you are pregnant is unbelievable. Those first few weeks that you are pregnant, I mean the ones where you aren’t far along enough yet to take a pregnancy test, are some of the most crucial for the development of your baby.
At this critical time in your baby’s life, his spinal cord and brain are developing, his heart is beating already, and his essential central nervous system and circulatory system are being created. What most people do not realize is that even prescription drugs being taken at this time can seriously hinder the development of any of these key components of your baby’s fragile system.
Start considering your health and the health of your little one. This is only the first step in considering someone else’s needs for the rest of your life. Even after he or she arrives, your behaviors will be providing an example to your children in what you expect from them, and those bad habits could even keep you from being the parent you need to be. It will have to happen some time, it might as well be now.
It’s important when you visit your doctor for your first prenatal visit, you also discuss any prescription medications you might be taking, as these may also seriously affect your baby’s development and chances of survival.
Schedule a Doctor’s Appointment
Speaking of seeing your doctor, this is going to be one of the very first things you’ll want to consider after celebrating your new baby! No you don’t have to go to a medical doctor if you don’t wish. There are actually many options you can consider. You could use a midwife that comes to your home, a nurse midwife that has an office, a nurse practitioner that might be a little more gentle with you, or you could go to a gynecologist (medical doctor).
If you haven’t already been seeing someone ahead of time to prepare for this big event, considering your prescriptions, getting on a prenatal vitamin, and discussing your diet, this visit is going to be even more important. These professionals are in place to monitor your health and the health of your baby, make sure you know what you should be doing and answer any questions you may have.
They will likely have a ton of questions for you to make sure you are healthy and that the life of your child isn’t in any danger, and they’ll have tons of great recommendations for where you should be and where you should be doing to make sure that you and your child have the best pregnancy possible from the start.
By cluing the professional you choose in to your pregnancy, they can monitor you all the way through the process, introduce you to your child at all of the different stages of your pregnancy, and even help you to make decisions about procedures, classes, the delivery, etc. What’s even more important, is that if something were to go wrong, you would have an Ace in your pocket to call for questions or to be there for you when you need them to help you to save your pregnancy.
Which makes this next point just as important.
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Update Your Insurance
Insurance has always been a tricky topic for most, as insurance qualifications, rules, and limits are different for everyone. You will want to make sure that you have insurance that will cover you through prenatal visits with your doctor, any vitamins or medications you might need, maternity leave if you will need it, and even the delivery of your baby.
Many insurance programs available don’t cover these things, so this is an important one. As soon as you find out that you are pregnant, and have scheduled your first doctor’s visit, you will want to update your insurance. If you don’t already have a doctor, your insurance might be able to direct you to a great one.
If you can’t afford insurance, there are many state programs, including WIC that can help you not only with food and medical, but can help to guide you through your pregnancy. Regardless of the state you live in, it’s definitely worth it to look into these programs rather than go without support. Most of the time, they will even pay for appointments with a nurse midwife and your delivery outside of the hospital if you wish to do so.
Start Taking a Prenatal Vitamin
Whether your doctor has one that he would prefer that you take, that your insurance will cover for you, or not, you should be taking a prenatal vitamin. They make sure that you and the baby have all of the critical nutrients you need to be healthy all the way through your pregnancy, regardless of what your diet currently looks like. In fact, prenatal vitamins have been recommended for all women of childbearing age all the time, pregnant or not.
If you’ve ever looked through that section at the grocery store, and checked out all of the different options the pharmacy has to offer, you’ll see how expensive many of them can be. That’s not much motivation to start is it? In fact, most of those options are pretty worthless anyway and are mostly sugar, which is the exact opposite of what you really need right now.
Try seeking out a whole foods based organic prenatal vitamin if you really want the best. They might be a little more expensive, but they are comparable in price to many that you might want to purchase at the grocery store anyway, with way more bang for your buck. Try seeking out a natural food store, like Sprouts, and catch them when they have all of their vitamins at a 25% off discount or more and stock up.
Honestly, what really matters is that you are getting the nutrients you need right now. I know everyone has their own feelings about different types of vitamins, but as long as you’re getting the recommended 400mg of folic acid, you’re doing good.
Sit Down and Talk About Finances
So my husband and I discussed this for years, as we were trying to get pregnant. Babies can be expensive, and there’s a great deal you will need in order to provide for them well. However, as long as you educate yourself and prepare for what’s coming, it’s nothing to be afraid of.
The big one is the delivery. On average, U.S. hospital deliveries cost $3,500 per stay, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. (Parents.com) Then you need to consider diapers and feeding. If you are breastfeeding, you’ll still need to consider whether you need a breast pump, breast feeding pads, etc.
Sit down with your significant other, or a family member, do some research on average baby needs in each of these areas, as well as any other items you’ll need along the way for your little one, and price everything out. If you really do your research and search for ways to save money on baby related items, you’ll be surprised.
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A nurse midwife’s visits will be covered by insurance most likely. if you choose not to deliver at the hospital, your birth could be covered by medical or you could be looking at like a $500 cash payment for a home birth. Cloth diapers are a one time purchase and breastmilk is free. You can honestly do without the pump and pads if you are not going back to work. You can shop at thrift stores and garage sales for clothes, toys, blankets and other baby needs. And don’t forget about baby showers and friends or family members that may have items that they can pass down to you for free.
After considering all of this and making some important lists, ask yourself these questions: What will your monthly costs be? How are you going to pay for everything? Is there any way you can save money along the way?
Personally, we decided a long time ago, when discussing trying to get pregnant, that I was going to breastfeed (which would save us tons of money on formula) and that we would use cloth diapers (to save on the cost of disposables). For everything else we needed I either found everything at thrift stores, craigslist, or garage sales, or I have a plan (and a Book that I’m writing) for making the last few items along the way.
For tips on saving more money in this area (by the way, I purchased everything we could possibly need through the first year of our child’s life for $600), see my upcoming DIY Baby posts.
Consider Getting on a Healthy Diet
Finally, although this won’t be the last thing that you’ll be doing, you’ll need to get on a healthy diet. Developing babies need specific nutrients to grow in different ways. They have so much going on inside your stomach that you can’t see and couldn’t possibly fathom. This is one reason that pregnant women are so tired all the time.
Your body is working overtime, supplying nutrients to create a brain, organs, bones, arms and legs, fingers and toes, a vital circulatory system, lungs and reproductive organs, etc. so that your little one can be healthy and have all of the necessary pieces to be a normal human being.
If your body is not getting what it needs at the right times, which can be achieved by simply filling your diet with tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, it may not develop the way it needs to, and this will show after birth in big ways.
Even more importantly, these nutrients are being taken from your normal diet, which means you have to overdo it on the important vitamins and nutrients needed, because you are supporting two human beings.
Having a baby is a big deal, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. It takes a lot to grow a human being inside of you, and it’s going to take a lot out of your body. Give yourself a leg up on this beautiful process by celebrating, seeing your doctor, updating your insurance, getting started on a prenatal vitamin, figuring out your finances, and eating healthy.
Even if you are taking on this new journey in your life by yourself, there’s no reason that you have to be alone. Find a great mom’s group in your area where you can have a support group of other pregnant women and those with small children. Make sure to team up with one or more family members to discuss all of these topics and help you navigate the road through pregnancy and parenthood.
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This is an exciting time. Even if you have a significant other but still have no one to celebrate with, find a few friends and create your own support network. This is going to be amazing! Get started off on the right foot and make sure you are prepared for the future. That way you and the man in your life can enjoy this like you are meant to enjoy it!
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