Best Way to Enjoy Your Pre-Pregnancy Period

You’re planning to embark on a brand new life—being pregnant. This new life will have many of its own rewards, but it’s worthwhile to acknowledge the changes brought with this new phase of life.

One of the most important things you can do for yourself and your partner before pregnancy is to savor the things you enjoy now. Many of the following events may become more difficult during your preg­nancy and after the arrival of your baby.

•  Consider taking a relaxing vacation before you try to get preg­nant. You may find a vacation a bit more challenging during your pregnancy and for quite a while after the baby has come. Preg­nancy can bring discomforts such as nausea, interrupted sleep, and stress, which can make a vacation less restful. Of course, you won’t have to give up vacations for the next 20 years, but once you’re pregnant, and certainly once you have children, you may find that vacations are not as carefree as they once were.

•  Engage in the activities you enjoy, such as going to concerts or movies. It may not be as comfortable to do them when you have to get up frequently to use the bathroom. And once the baby arrives, it may be hard to find reliable babysitters. The serious patron of the arts will find ways to get to theatrical events dur­ing pregnancy and after giving birth, but for many the effort will outweigh the payoff, and going out to the movies or theater is likely to decrease, at least for a while.
•  Get as much sleep as you can. Indulge in Sunday afternoon naps; go to bed early and sleep late whenever you can. Once you’re pregnant, you may find you don’t sleep through the night any­more, your body will ache in new places, and you won’t be able to sleep on your stomach, if you prefer that position. Perhaps worst is that you might need to get up to urinate several times in the night. And after the baby arrives, there will be a period when you have to get up regularly at night to tend to him or her. All these changes will alter your sleeping habits for a long time.
•  Eat delicious and nutritious dinners, either prepared by you or your partner, if you both enjoy cooking, or at restaurants. Dur­ing pregnancy, food you once loved may seem distasteful. What’s more, the nausea you experience in the first few months of preg­nancy may make eating out nearly unbearable. And, as the fetus grows, the room in your stomach may seem to decrease. Finally, once your baby arrives the chance to sit through a meal without jumping up to check on a fussy infant, fetch milk for a toddler, mop up a spill, or tend to a child asking for help in the bathroom may make you look back wistfully at premotherhood days.