My two pennies on pregnancy!

There is no doubt that pregnancy is a great time for 1st time mothers... I am sure most of us do the following things which we are supposed to or would like to

- Eating proper food and drinking lots of fluids

- Exercises like walking

- Reading related books like 'What to expect when you are expecting'

- Registering in baby care/Preg care sites

All this is great, but we need to make sure we do the following too, which we most often miss out ...

Being prepared for the big day

• Register a month or two in advance in the clinic or hospital where you want to deliver
• Make sure the person who will accompany you to the hospital, when you have your labour pain, knows the route - the quickest! This person also needs to know what to carry during that crucial time because you will be busy having your pains!
• Keep all your medical records, first of all the registration papers/card in a single file and keep it where everyone in the family has access
• If your husband/mom can accompany you in the labour room, make sure he/she knows what is expected of him/her
• Last but not the least, get prepared mentally for the long hours and sleepless nights that will follow the delivery

Attending pre-natal classes

• Though reading helps, there is nothing more better than listening to experts who have been there and done it too. These classes introduce you to other people who are also expecting babies, makes you feel that you are not alone with your fears of childbirth and help in clearing out your most silliest doubts
• The husbands get to attend some or all of the classes and they get a feel of whats happening in their wives bellies and also how they can help
• You get to learn pre-natal exercises which are vital to how you cope with your delivery and come back to shape after the ordeal
• Understanding about breast feeding (while you can never predict your breast feeding experience, which I came to know first-hand, awareness is the best form of defense)

Discussing finances with your spouse/family

• Helps you to know where you stand financially
• Helps plan your future investments and priorities

And one of the most important things is to close your ears to all the well intended but misleading advices from friends, relatives on a range of childbirth/care topics that they claim they are experts on and just LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR or the PAED.

Most of us are aware of all these points, but we still tend to miss out on them due to complacency, carelessness or plain laziness. But being prepared is the best way to sail through the first difficult months of being a mother.

That is the only way you get to make time for the unpredictable issues that will (yes, they will!) crop up !!!