Almost every girl, when she goes on maternity leave, thinks about what to do. All mothers and relatives say: rest and sleep a lot, then there will be no time. Doctors, on the contrary, advise to walk more. And the soul requires action. And who is there to listen to? In our selection, we have collected both banal and original tips on what to do for the expectant mother before the baby is born.
20. If you want arrange a newbourne photo shootthen look for information about photographers. On Pinterest you can find interesting ideas that you can implement together.
21. Read about HB dietsif you are planning to breastfeed. Check out a few views and decide which is closer to you.
22. Go to the pool... It is not recommended to go to the river at a later date, but if there are no contraindications, then it is the nearest pool. Thanks to the water, you will feel how the whole body relaxes and you become like a feather.
23. Take part in a photo challenge... If you love taking pictures, then this task is for you! 30 days of daily photos.
24. More walk in the fresh air... This is good for the baby within you and also keeps you in good shape.
25. Choose a maternity hospital and conclude a contract with him. (In the Republic of Belarus, a contract is concluded from 33 to 36 weeks). Or find useful contacts in medical facilities who you can turn to when the hour X arrives.
26. Learn a new language... Many will say that little is kept in a pregnant head. Believe me, in the one who gave birth - even less. To keep your brain working constantly, learn a new word or phrase every day.
27. Meet friends... In life, there are definitely close and dear people whom you rarely see. Work, fitness, some other business. Now, during the decree, it's time to visit all of your close friends and chat with them enough.
28. Buy a nice notebook... Or do it yourself. With the advent of the baby, you will want to record his achievements and keep them certainly in a beautiful binding.
29. Learn to do makeup quickly... It just so happens that with the birth of a child, we do not always have a lot of time for ourselves. And I want to look beautiful all the time. Therefore, it is better to know in advance that, having tinted eyebrows and eyelashes (or applying bronzer on the cheekbones, or ... each has its own version), you look as if you slept all night. And as if no one was hanging on your leg while you put on your makeup.
30. Make a personalized nipple holder... If you have not decided on a name, then just buy beautiful beads and try several options for putting them on a string. Even without a name.
The pace of life of a modern woman is a cycle of different events: work, study, business trips, new acquaintances, and, among other things, household chores.
As soon as you find out that you will soon become a mom, how all attention and energy are switched to preparing as well as possible for this role.
Already behind such difficult first two trimesters, your colleagues managed to come to terms with your situation, and finally it's time to take out maternity leave.
To say that you are happy is to say nothing. Finally, the marathon "work - women's consultation - work" has come to an end!
But having so much free time at your disposal is somehow unusual.
We will try to figure out how to spend the most fruitful maternity leave.
Maternity leave. Health of the expectant mother and baby
The expectant mother should spend every minute of her free time with exceptional benefit. It doesn't matter whether it is passive or active recreation; exercise or, say, cleaning the house. The main thing is to enjoy every moment.
1 Healthy sleep... "Now I'll get enough sleep!" - probably the first thought that the expectant mother had when thinking about maternity leave. Indeed, a rounded tummy every week more and more interferes with finding a comfortable sleeping position. And when, after cranking for several hours, nevertheless finding the right position, you remember that you have very little sleep left - you fall asleep with a thoroughly spoiled mood.
In addition, due to the changes in the hormonal background, even the most active women note severe sleepiness during.
But a full sleep for the expectant mother during this period is simply necessary, so it is on maternity leave before childbirth that you can afford this luxury. Then other worries will begin: night feedings, early awakenings to go to the pediatrician, and in general a double burden in household chores.
A pregnant woman's night sleep should last 8-9 hours.
Try not to overuse your daytime sleep, because it can make you fall asleep worse at night. It is still better for expectant mothers to adhere to the sleep schedule of the "lark" - to go to bed no later than 22-23 pm.
2 Walks in the open air... What could be more beneficial for the expectant mother and baby than a healthy dose of ultraviolet radiation and oxygen? Now you can afford to walk not only in the direction of work, maternity clinic or grocery store.
Take advantage of every opportunity to be outdoors: spend at least a few hours a day in good weather with family and friends in green areas intended for walking.
At the same time, try not to move away from your settlement for a long time, especially if there is no way to get to it by personal transport. Country houses, a river, barbecue - this is, of course, a very exciting outdoor activity, but it is still desirable for a future mother to be as careful as possible.
7 We are engaged in self-development... Some 10-15 years ago, the Internet was available for most of the country either only at corporate locations or at home, but with very limited traffic.
Now the whole world is literally open before us: any book, any film or other work of art is available in electronic form. Why doesn't the expectant mother take advantage of this in her free time? Explore the literature on motherhood, childcare, breastfeeding preparation.
Do not forget about fiction: a well-read mom with a well-delivered speech is a pride for every child.
Some women start learning foreign languages \u200b\u200bon maternity leave. Again, through the World Wide Web, you can always find textbooks and dictionaries, even in free access, as well as get acquainted with foreign interlocutors, because live communication is the most effective method of learning a language.
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We discover new talents in ourselves... Even if you have never noted in yourself a clear aptitude for drawing and arts and crafts, perhaps it is on maternity leave that you will be "drawn" to needlework. 
There are a lot of opportunities: watching video lessons or attending special courses, you can master various techniques, such as decoupage, oil, watercolor or acrylic painting, drawing with charcoal or pencil.
He is very fascinated by needlework: beading, crocheting or knitting, embroidery and sewing.
A future mother can not only create original crafts and home decorations with her own hands, but also knit or sew products for herself or a child. The kid will appreciate your work at its true worth, because the thing in which so much effort, warmth and care is invested has a special energy.
What to do while waiting for your baby? Easy pregnancy ideas.
9 months of waiting is a long period in the life of future parents. But this time is necessary to make all the important preparations before the most important event in life - the birth of a child. And now, when everything is ready for a meeting with a small miracle, and the baby is in no hurry to see the light, mom wonders what to do in order to brighten up the waiting period. Physical activity is already unbearable, the test purchase has already been made, all undershirts and bodysuits are washed and ironed ... And there is still a whole month ahead! What to do?
1. Get enough sleep.
This, at first glance, stupid advice does not lose its relevance. Even when it seems that there is no more strength to sleep, if sleep becomes a torment due to a heavy stomach, it's all the same: learn to sleep and get enough sleep. The ability to sleep in any position and with any stimulus is an important quality that will be useful to you after the birth of your baby. By two months you will learn to sleep while sitting, by three, you will learn to fall asleep for five minutes and get enough sleep. By six months, you will have acquired a persistent skill to interrupt sleep and continue it after a couple of hours, as if nothing had happened. However, uninterrupted ten or eleven hours of sleep will be an unprecedented luxury for you. Use it now.
2. Enjoy the time of year.
The creativity of pregnant women is limitless. Now you are more than ever close to nature and cognize its mysterious power. While you do not need to run anywhere for work and while there is no need to continuously wind circles with a stroller, take a walk in your favorite park and enjoy the nature around. In autumn you can collect a herbarium, in summer - a bouquet of wildflowers, in winter - bring an icicle home. Try outdoor painting or photography. You will succeed in a way that you yourself do not expect from yourself, because not only you create, but also the little person you are carrying. Drawings and photographs can become a wonderful decor item in a future nursery!
3. Tie a hat for the newborn.
It's easy, even if you've never held a knitting needle in your hands. The surest way is to find your favorite scheme with a description in magazines and buy yarn with exactly the composition that is indicated in the description. However, if you want to improvise, fantasy is encouraged. You will need: knitting needles, a skein of yarn - best of all 30% wool and 70% acrylic, you can have the same ratio with cotton. 100% cotton is quite tough and natural wool is prickly. Acrylic gives natural fabrics softness and does not cause allergies. The hat is knitted simply: dial about 50 loops, knit 4-6 rows with an elastic band (2 front and 2 purl loops), then the front surface until you get a rectangle. After that, you can start to decrease the loops, knitting the front loops in two. Even a beginner knitter will need no more than one or two days for one hat. Make sure that the thickness of the needles matches the thickness of the thread. A hat for a newborn is a little more difficult to knit, but the hardest part is getting started. Everything will work out! And then it will be impossible to stop ...
4. Watch the movie "Kids" (2010)
This masterpiece of documentary cinema - a colorful and very touching work - will allow you to look with affection at the life of babies from all over the world and realize that some of the things that we may unconsciously fear are not so frightening and incomprehensible. For 18 months, renowned documentary filmmaker Thomas Balmes has filmed the lives of four babies from Japan, Mongolia, the United States and Namibia from birth. This film is the best manual for young parents, although there is practically no dialogue in it. Be sure to watch it with your older child if you are expecting a second!
5. Buy oversized pants.
It is a dubious pleasure to buy pants of an undefined size, but they will come in handy. The body after childbirth comes back to normal only with time, and it's not so much about excess weight as about the load that has to go through the process of childbirth. Muscles can become toned, edema can attack the body. It often happens that the size of the foot changes. It is very rare that you can fit into jeans of the size that you wear before pregnancy. When your family comes to pick you up at the hospital for discharge, your relatives will bring you the clothes in which you will go home. It will be great if your wardrobe contains oversized pants in some fantastic fancy color that you can fit in in any condition and which will undoubtedly bring an element of joy to an already surprisingly joyful day.
6. Master the recipes for dishes baked in the oven.
When you are breastfeeding your baby, you will not have time to learn new dishes. Some skill in cooking delicious and healthy dishes in the oven will be a salvation for you on dieting days. Your grown baby will be happy to eat the same dishes. All the head is a curd casserole.
Required: 600 grams of cottage cheese 5% fat
2 eggs
3 tbsp semolina,
3 tbsp sugar or honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
400 grams of sour cream
Beat eggs and sugar with a mixer until creamy. Add cottage cheese, lemon zest, semolina, vanilla, beat until smooth and fluffy. Put the mass in a glass form, without lubricating anything, level it, bake at 170 degrees for about 20 minutes. Beat sour cream with 50 grams of sugar until creamy, remove the casserole from the oven, grease generously with cream. Send the casserole with the second layer to the oven for a maximum of 10 minutes. Cool and serve.
7. Learn to wind a sling.
The wisdom of carrying a child on yourself is a separate topic that we will certainly discuss separately sometime. Not everyone can overcome the fear of the numerous lengthy guides on how to properly wind a sling, although in fact the sling is a very easy-to-use device that will help you in critical moments: insomnia, colic, teething, stroller abandonment, business and travel ... Try winding the sling right over your belly! Why not. This is where your baby will be when you carry it.
8. Learn songs and nursery rhymes.
This luggage will be very useful to you too. If you start singing to the baby, just waiting for him, then the process of laying and lulling the newborn will become easy and pleasant for you. The baby already in the womb remembers the voice of the mother. Russian folk nursery rhymes are wonderful "nannies". But the list is not limited to them. There are a large number of English nursery rhymes and rhymes that you can purr under your breath while laying your baby down - they are called Nursery Rhymes. Gymboree Play & Music authoritatively declares: the sooner you start to immerse your child in the language environment, the easier it will be for him to accept a foreign language as a native one!
For example:
Little miss muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
9. Boil natural soap.
Making soap is a relaxing and enjoyable process. The main thing is to stock up on ingredients that you can buy in online stores for home delivery. You've probably already managed to switch to natural cosmetics without fragrances and dyes, and such a homemade soap will create an irreplaceable supply for the future. This skill will also help you make quick and original DIY souvenirs.
You will need:
- Soap base (cube or block)
- Glycerin
- Base oil (for example: olive, cedar, almond, sea buckthorn)
- water
- a small ladle and bowl - or any other steam for a water bath
- kitchen stove
- preferably a glass cutting board, a knife
- molds for ready-made soap
The algorithm is simple: grind 200 g on a fine grater. soap base, first heating it a little; pour 5 tbsp into a bowl. base oil, 2 tbsp. glycerin and put in a water bath. Warm up, stir, slowly add soap shavings, stirring occasionally. Then pour in about 100 ml of boiling water, also stirring. Knead the lumps. Remove the soap base from the water bath, add 2-3 drops of essential oil, mix. Now you can add a couple of drops of dye if needed. The mass turns out to be similar to shortbread dough. Grease the molds with olive oil, pour in the mixture, let cool and put in the refrigerator for several hours. Dry the soap removed from the molds at room temperature for a couple of days.
10. Read an important book.
You will not believe it: right now, when it seems to you that there is no more strength left, and the brain is not able to perceive information at all, in fact, your memory works three times more efficiently. You will remember everything that happened to you while waiting for the little person. If you need to study or read something in the future, do it now. And you will definitely remember this for the rest of your life. And the subject of study will associate you with the most pleasant days - the days that bring the meeting with your child closer!
Gymboree Play & Music wishes you a happy and easy birth! We are waiting for you in our centers - our classes are held from birth and help you and your baby get to know each other better and build trusting relationships from the very first days!
As soon as your relatives find out about your pregnancy, mothers and grandmothers immediately begin to instill various superstitions.
Someone says that at this time it is impossible to cut hair, someone argues that pregnant women are not recommended to do household chores, raising their hands high ... There are countless popular signs and superstitions regarding pregnancy.
We decided to figure out which superstitions should really be avoided during pregnancy, so as not to harm the baby, and which are just a myth.
Superstition # 1: You Shouldn't Cut Your Hair During Pregnancy
Someone decided a long time ago that cutting a mother's hair during pregnancy shortens the life of her child. There is actually no relationship. And let those stupid superstitions justify themselves by those who, while waiting for the baby, start their appearance. And you should periodically visit a beauty salon. Indeed, during pregnancy, the hair suffers greatly: it splits, loses its shine and even falls out.
Superstition # 2: You Can't Knit During Pregnancy
The superstition is explained by the fact that the unborn child will be tied in the umbilical cord. In fact, you can and even need to knit. For example, tie baby booties. But you really shouldn't abuse this activity: while knitting, the expectant mother can sit in one position for a long time, and the baby will be uncomfortable because of this. Therefore, it is recommended to take breaks between knitting or sewing during the time.
Superstition # 3: You can't sit cross-legged during pregnancy
Many grandmothers forbid doing this, frightening the expectant mother with the fact that the baby will be born clubfoot or with crooked legs.
But doctors think differently. In the “foot to foot” position, blood circulation deteriorates, and since during pregnancy the blood flow increases almost 6 times, the expectant mother may develop varicose veins.
Superstition # 4: Don't hang clothes and curtains during pregnancy
Sometimes expectant mothers are prohibited from doing household chores, frightening them with the fact that the baby will wrap himself with an umbilical cord. Previously, it was even believed that if you raise your arms high during pregnancy, it is fraught with entanglement.
Now gynecologists are sure that this assumption is wrong, because the child is in the mother's tummy in constant motion and regularly wraps himself with the umbilical cord and untangles it.
Superstition # 5: You shouldn't sleep on your back during pregnancy.
Superstitious mothers-to-be believe that because of this, their baby may suffocate. And again medicine brings clarity. At the beginning of pregnancy, when the baby is still small, a woman can sleep in any position that is convenient for her. But the larger the stomach becomes, the more often gynecologists recommend lying on the right side, since the position on the back affects the growing uterus, which presses on the spine.
Also in the second half of pregnancy, sleeping on your back complicates breathing and blood circulation, so there is a risk of loss of consciousness.
Superstition # 6: You Can't Prepare Baby Dowry During Pregnancy
If you follow this superstition, right after the birth of the baby, dad and grandparents will rush to the shops in search of the best stroller, crib, bedding and clothes. And mom may not like their choice, and as a result, a bad mood and a quarrel are almost guaranteed to everyone.
Therefore, without fanaticism, future parents should collect their child's first wardrobe before birth. However, we must remember that newborns grow very quickly, so it is not recommended to buy a heap of things of the smallest size.
By the way, visiting children's stores is a powerful incentive for a successful birth.
Superstition # 7: you can't tell anyone about your pregnancy
This superstition goes back to the distant past, when it was believed that the expectant mother could be jinxed and she would give birth not to a child, but to an imp. But there is a reasonable grain of truth in the recommendation not to advertise your own. The first three months are considered the most difficult, because the greatest number of miscarriage threats occurs in this trimester.
Superstition # 8: You Can't Take a Bath During Pregnancy
Superstitious mothers-to-be, while waiting for a baby, deny themselves this pleasure due to fear of premature ones. In fact, from a medical point of view, only a hot bath is a threat. But warm water with sea salt will help relieve stress during pregnancy, especially if you already have lower back pain.
Superstition # 9: You Can't Touch a Pregnant Belly
When pregnancy is already visible, many relatives and friends of the expectant mother ask permission to put their hand to her stomach. Everyone is interested to feel how the baby is pushing.
Superstitious people are categorically against this, believing that the child can be scared. From the point of view of psychology, another explanation is appropriate here. Allowing a stranger to touch her growing tummy, the expectant mother lets him into her personal area at a distance of less than 50 centimeters. If a person carries a positive, then the baby is unlikely to be afraid of someone else's touch. And a negatively-minded pregnant woman is unlikely to allow violating personal space.
Superstition # 10: You Can't Take Photographs During Pregnancy
The origins of this superstition go back to such a distant past that it is not easy to understand its truth. However, unreasonable bans do not prevent expectant mothers from taking part in photo sessions like "Waiting for a Miracle." Pregnancy paints a woman, and 9 months of this amazing period fly by like an instant. Therefore, it is important to have time to catch every interesting moment.
As you can see, superstitions are far-fetched during the time. If they have a medical and psychological basis, then it is only necessary to listen to the objective opinion of specialists, and not those who are trying to instill in you this or that unreasonable prohibition.
Now our happiness already lives in my tummy, we have already seen it and already feel it. Vacation soon, and then decree ... Even before the decree, a plan began to mature - what would I do these few months before the birth of our baby (I heard from my friends that it’s boring at home alone on maternity leave, there’s nothing to do).
The long-awaited time has come - now I am all for myself, my husband and the baby, and nothing tears me away from my family (I mean work). Time is short, but I want to do so much, I decided to write a list so as not to miss anything and use wonderful days with benefit.
That's what I did:
* Finish the embroidery. Even before the decree, I wanted to embroider the alphabet (my mother, smiling, said that we would not need it for a long time). But if I wanted something, then until I do it, I will not calm down. And I wanted not just an alphabet, but with animals for each letter. Together with my husband, they searched for schemes for a long time and everywhere (I found something in my bins, something on the Internet, I had to invent something myself). Here's the result. I hope the baby and I will find it useful !!!
* Make lists and buy everything from these lists - everything that is necessary for the baby. Explore the features of buying a stroller, crib, etc. The internet helped me with this, and of course u-mama. As a result, everything was found, recorded and bought, fortunately, there is a lot of information.
* Sew the bumpers on the crib. Of course, you could just buy them, but I really wanted to do it myself. Mom loving everything for her baby will do, and the kids feel everything!
* Sew the diapers and linen into the crib.
* Prepare an apartment for the baby and his little things. Wash everything, clean everything, throw out the excess, drive out all the dust, wash all the little things, iron and arrange them beautifully on the shelves.
* To knit booties for a baby - all this is very cute!
* Make an educational book. This is what u-mama encouraged me to do. I thought for a long time how to make it, and what should be in it. Then, having thought up, I began to look for material. It turned out that not all of my fantasies can be realized, and everything was invented anew. Here is the result of our parental fantasy (my husband helped in inventing). It turned out 5 double-sided pages, which are fastened together in different ways, forming a clamshell book.
1 page - Day and Night. Day - you can learn the colors of the rainbow, bells ring on the rays, the cloud is made soft. Night - you can study emotions (funny - sad) and come up with different stories.
2 page - Home and Transport. A house with three windows, which you can open and see who lives there, you can change places of residents or just play with them. All windows open differently. Transport - you can study what kind of transport we have that floats on water, travels on roads and flies through the air, well, learn the names of this very transport.
3 page - Buttons and Shapes. Buttons - sewn in different colors and shapes. You can search for pairs, learn colors and shapes. Shapes - knitted yellow square, red circle with cardboard inside, green triangle filled with buckwheat, soft blue rectangle.
4 page - Flower and Ribbons. Flower - leaves with different filling for the development of fine motor skills and a flying butterfly (the idea was borrowed from u-mothers). Ribbons - sewn in different textures, colors and widths. You can just feel them, you can learn colors, look for wide and narrow ones.
Page 5 - Fruits, Vegetables and Locks. Fruits, Vegetables - Velcro-fastened fruits, vegetables and berries that can be planted in different ways on the beds, learn what is what. Clasps - to fasten, unfasten, lace, pull and touch everything.
It turned out to be unique. Made with love by mom's hands and dad's ideas!
Now we will wait for our Yaroslavchik to grow up and appreciate parental handicrafts.
* Start a diary to write all the most interesting things there. Now everything is remembered, but in about twenty years, there will be no subtleties (when the first stirring was, like hiccupping in my mother's tummy).
* Start filling the baby's photo album. After all, the baby already lives with us, and we have his first photographs with ultrasound.
* Visit all friends with small children (there were a lot of them), because then it will be more difficult to get out with the baby. This case gave me a lot of positive emotions!
* Transplant and tidy up all flowers. And I have not so few of them!
* Visit and get a lot of new information on courses for expectant mothers. I doubted for a long time whether I need it, now, after giving birth, I understand - I need it. There was a lot of useful information (and it came in handy), positive emotions too - and what else does a pregnant woman need!
* Well, and of course, do not forget to walk, walk and walk again. It was done every day and with great pleasure!
* And a couple more small matters that never got around to ...
As a result, everything conceived was brought to life while waiting for the birth of our little miracle.
Now our baby has already been born and is one month old. Now he will grow and prettier, and as he grows, he will use the parent's prepared handicrafts!
