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Pregnancy may sometimes feel like climbing a picturesque mountain alternated with a slide down a dark, hideous valley. The highs can be incredible, but the lows can leave you wondering why the clouds won’t lift and why it’s raining hailstones in your heart. When all the hormones are haywire, and your body feels like it was tenderized with a mallet, you’ll need these tips on how to stay happy during pregnancy.
The roller coaster that is pregnancy doesn’t have to drain all the joy from your life. Sometimes, the pregnancy may even be high-risk, subjecting you to bed rest and almost zero movements. Bed rest is never a fun exercise, but you can make lemonade and have an emotionally exciting time even when your activities are restricted.
We can blame the pregnancy blues on the hormones that are usually working overtime. While the hormones are excellent for keeping the pregnancy going well, they don’t help with the mood. Did you know that you don’t have to let the hormones rule over you? How, you ask? This article shares the 10 tips to help you stay happy in pregnancy so that you can enjoy the journey.
Related Article: Common pregnancy problems and solutions
10 Ways to Stay Happy in Pregnancy
1. Talk about your feelings
A problem shared is a problem half-solved. That is very true in pregnancy. Get a friend or three with whom you can share your pregnancy woes, feelings, fears, and anxieties. In many cases, we think what we’re experiencing is unique to us, only to be surprised that it cuts across many pregnant moms.
Please do not be ashamed or too embarrassed to discuss your feelings, however irrational you may think they are. You don’t know how much relief a “me too!” brings until someone shares your woes and identifies with your struggles. When you can’t find that person, be that person or another pregnant mama. Some people may be in dire need of a friend but are too shy to open up. Struck up a conversation with your seatmate next time you’re at the doctor’s waiting room and see how it goes from there.
2. Put it down on paper
While having someone to talk to is excellent, sometimes you just can’t. Maybe you’re not the chatty ones, or you don’t even know where to start explaining your feelings to another human being – even one in the same situation. When you can’t get it out well, try journaling.
Journaling is one of the tips on how to stay happy in pregnancy that you can carry with you after delivery and make it a habit. When you’re journaling, there is no pressure to make it perfect or to sound socially acceptable. You can put your most raw thoughts and feelings on paper or a blank Word document to download your pregnancy blues and feel better.
Write your prayers, dreams, and wishes for your baby. Download all your fears onto paper and pray over them.
Journaling helps you look back at where you have been and see the improvement in your feelings and thought patterns. And if you’re ashamed of the feelings later, you can always click shift-delete, although your baby will enjoy reading all these experiences when they are older.
3. Enjoy Nesting
One of the best ways to stay happy in pregnancy is to channel any evil thoughts or energies into something useful – like nesting. Get busy cleaning and clearing the clutter from your baby’s room, and as your nest, you will distract your mind from any negativity and low moods.
Nesting also keeps your mind creative, which will benefit your pregnancy brain. As you sort out color codes and negotiate where to put the crib, you will keep your mind active and chase away the baby blues.
Related Article: How to prepare your home for a newborn
4. Lower Your Expectations
One of the significant causes of feeling low and frustrated is unmet expectations of yourself or the people around you. In pregnancy, you’ll be reacting to disappointment much worse than you would if you went pregnant. Hormones do not know any reasonability or rationality; you may become a dollop of emotions over a finished can of ice cream.
If you have been expecting things to go a certain way and continuously keep going in the opposite direction, your frustration and sadness will hit the fan. Don’t expect too much from people and yourself; take it easy and live a day at a time. When you let things flow, you’ll be excited even by the smallest of wins, which will be a good recipe for a happy pregnancy.
4. Exercise regularly
When you exercise, you get the endorphins going. This feel-good hormone is a wonderful antidote to all the other hormones that may be making you feel sad and melancholy. A little exercise goes a long way in making you feel better.
If you’re looking for fun ways to stay happy in pregnancy, start with a short walk every day. If your neighborhood allows it, use a more natural route with fewer people. Nature has a calming effect on your moods, leaving you feeling energized and less gloomy.
If you’re not able to go out, adopt some exercises that you can do at home, such as dance or yoga. Putting on some music and swaying away is a good remedy for a pregnant mama looking to stay happy during pregnancy.
5. Don’t do it alone
Feeling alone and lonely and having to do most things alone can be very depressing. Pregnancy is generally a very tiring phase of life; sometimes, it feels like breathing takes much effort.
If you feel like working, running a home, and growing a baby is starting to take a toll, delegate. Let other people handle some of those things while you take time to relax or take a nap. Having fewer things dependent on you will help you relax and give you a happy pregnancy.
6. Indulge Yourself
Worrying whether or not you’re doing right by your baby may be subjecting you to misery and eternal guilt trips. You may be unhappy about your weight gain, expanding nose, or even your craving for pickles, which have turned you into a midnight fridge scavenger.
Instead of feeling sorry or even ashamed of any of it, how about indulging yourself? It’s just a nine months season. Nine months feels like a long time when you can’t see your toes or even turn in your sleep without waking up the planet, but they end pretty fast.
Enjoy the things your tongue craves without needing to explain yourself – as long as they are healthy. If you’re craving less healthy items, eat the healthy foods first, and then fill your tummy with the ice cream your baby seems to ask for at midnight.
You may never feel what you feel when pregnant; forgive yourself and give yourself time and space to enjoy them.
Related Article: 15 Best Foods for Pregnancy
7. Get off the perfection mirage
You Don’t Owe Anyone a ‘Perfect Pregnancy.’ Not even yourself. All the things you have read in books about what to do to have the perfect pregnancy will only give you migraines and stomach acid. There’s no ideal when it comes to pregnancy and most of life.
You will probably not have the energy and time to do everything you think you need to have a happy and healthy pregnancy, but you might not. Carrying a baby in your belly is tiring; forgive yourself if you seem to sleep a little more than you had was ideal.
Your goal should be to eat healthily, take your supplements, and stay healthy. Even if the baby bump photos don’t come out as cute as Pinterest’s ones, it’s still alright.
Related Article: 8 Benefits of Folic Acid in Pregnancy
8. Close the Google tabs
Dr. Google’s clinic may be free and always open, but resist the urge to search for every tiny symptom. You will feel weird when you’re pregnant, and a lot of times, you will feel like you’re living in an alien body.
It’s pregnancy, and discomforts are to be expected. Desist from googling every symptom you experience, as it will cause you unnecessary anxiety and panic. There will be pains and aches here and there; take a rest, and most of it will go away. If you’re experiencing substantial discomfort that you’re convinced is abnormal, talk to your doctor about it.
9. Do you
Being forced (or forcing yourself) to go to places and do things that you clearly do not feel like doing is the perfect recipe for a meltdown. It’s perfectly okay to politely decline activities or areas you think you’re not up for.
There may be many reasons that may keep you from going to a place you previously loved going – the smells and the colors have changed for you. When you force yourself to be at a pace that repulses your senses, you’ll add to your misery. One way to stay happy in pregnancy is to learn when to say ‘No.’ And you don’t owe much explanation for your feelings if anything, even if you don’t understand yourself anymore.
If you have been dreaming of doing something and strongly feel you want to do it now, as long it’s not harmful to you and the baby, do it. The pregnancy urges and pushes quite strong; do them when you’re high on hormones. You might be too scared afterward to dare.
10. Kick Negativity Out
Stress is not suitable for pregnancy; keep as far away from negative people and situations as you can. To grow a healthy baby and be a healthy mama, you need all the positivity that the world can offer. If you’re surrounded by people who are always negative, you will be stressed and unhappy.
To stay happy in pregnancy, surround yourself with positive people. Engage in positive and happy activities and go to places that make you happy. As much as it depends on you, stay away from any toxic environment and people.
11. Exercise some self-control
Self-control and pregnancy sound like a bad joke. Most of what you feel in pregnancy feel like they are way beyond your control. However, some of the bad feelings also result from your indulging in every whim and every craving.
Be kind to people even when you’re a raging spitfire. If someone is trying your patience, remove yourself from that situation to prevent yourself from saying things that you will regret. Regret makes you feel worse than you were feeling before.
If you’re craving something that you will hate yourself about later, take your mind off it by doing something to distract your mind. Get alternative food items to keep you from over-indulging in something that will make you feel horrible later.
12. Start saving
Money may not buy happiness, but you will be better off pregnant and with money than without. The fear of not being able to afford everything you need for the baby can keep you from enjoying the pregnancy.
From the moment you discover you’re pregnant, if you hadn’t been planning on it, save up. If you’re trying for a baby, start saving early to afford the little luxuries money can buy. One of the best answers to how to stay happy in pregnancy is to throw money at it. It would be fantastic if you could afford the large bagel, wouldn’t it?
Related article: Do’s and Don’ts when trying to conceive
FAQs
- How can I stop being angry during pregnancy?
Most women experience negative emotions such as anxiety and anger during pregnancy. To stop being angry during pregnancy try meditation, deep breathing, journaling, or speaking to a trusted friend or therapist.
- How can I stop negative thoughts during pregnancy?
To stop negative thoughts during pregnancy go for a walk, do meditation or yoga, and adopt a gratitude mindset.
- How can I improve my happiness during pregnancy?
Some of the best ways to stay happy in pregnancy are to practice positive self-talk, stay active, do things that you love, and spend time with people who bring out the best in you.
- What part of pregnancy is the hardest?
For most women, the third trimester may be the hardest stage of pregnancy because of the weight of the baby that puts pressure on the body resulting in aches and fatigue.
Conclusion
These tips on how to stay happy in pregnancy will help you take away the pregnancy blues and enjoy the journey. There’s a lot that we can’t control in pregnancy; it’s just wonderful to do the best with what we can control.
Your happiness is one thing you can control despite the hormones, pregnancy, acne, and back pain. The gestation will soon be over, and you’ll hold a little bundle of joy in your arms. Even then, you will need these tips because motherhood comes with its share of woes.
Read Next:
- 8 PREGNANCY SYMPTOMS YOU SHOULD NEVER IGNORE
- 11 COMMON PREGNANCY PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
- 11 PREGNANCY HACKS FOR FIRST TIME MOMS
- 9 SURPRISING BENEFITS OF PREGNANCY PILLOW
