You and your partner have finally decided to start trying for a baby. Congrats! That’s a huge life changing but amazing decision to take. Before you do get pregnant, there are things that you need to do before trying for a baby. In order to ensure that you have a healthy pregnancy and baby, these pre-pregnancy planning tips are crucial!
Important things like taking folic acid, having a healthy diet and eliminating toxic things in your life are super important. If you want to get pregnant fast and easy, these tips can totally help! It’s all about how you nurture your body before getting pregnant, It’s a game changer!
It took me 2 months to get pregnant with my twins with my second pregnancy. I know that these factors definitely helped. Keep in mind that not every woman will get pregnant right away. Some may take months to get pregnant and some may not. Every women and body is different.
These are the helpful tips on how to prepare for pregnancy, I hope you find them helpful 🙂
15 life changing things to do before trying for a baby
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1.Track your period
One of the first things that you should be doing before trying for a baby, is to track your period. It may be more difficult to get pregnant if you have irregular periods. This is something that you should speak to your doctor about.
Knowing when your period is going to start, can give you a very clear indication of when you’re ovulating! Which typically happens two weeks before your next period starts!
2.Know when you ovulate
Yay for ovulation! I mean it’s the only way to get pregnant! Ovulation can be defined as “When a mature egg is released from the ovary, pushed down the fallopian tube, and is made available to be fertilized” (via. Americanpregnancy)
In order to better track your ovulation timeframe and not miss your “fertile time”, buy one of these top rated ovulation kits!
3.Preconception doctors visit
It’s very smart to visit your doctor for a preconception appointment. Your doctor can check your overall health, your family history, any hereditary diseases and check any medication that you’re taking. Some medication can be unsafe for you to take during your pregnancy.
The preconception visit and consultation with your family doctor or OBGYN is very important. Your doctor is going to discuss your diet and will answer any questions or concerns that you may have.
4.Find a good OBGYN
It is extremely important that you find a good OBGYN doctor that you feel safe and comfortable with. Your OBGYN doctor should make you feel at ease and should be friendly. I mean, this is such an amazing time in your life, you should feel happy and excited every time you go to your doctor’s appointment. Not feel stressed or uneasy.
Take it from me, with my twin pregnancy, I did not like my OBGYN doctor, I just felt her so disconnected. I didn’t change her because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle. But I definitely learned my lesson. That’s why, I’m advising you to do your research, ask your family and friends for recommendations. Even your family doctor can refer you to a good OBGYN doctor.
Check out these awesome books all about how to get pregnant!
5.Quit bad habits
Before you even think about conceiving, you must quit your bad habits. If you smoke or drink, this is the time to stop either cold turkey or taking baby steps to do it. Smoking and drinking during pregnancy may cause birth defects and other health related issues to your baby and I am sure you do not want that to happen. Take care of yourself. If you need help, please contact your doctor.
6.Take pre-natal vitamins
It is important that you start taking pre-natal vitamins even before you actually get pregnant. The sooner the better. Prenatal vitamins contain folic acid and iron, which helps prevent abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord. It also helps the baby’s growth and development. You can read more about it here.
7.Reduce your caffeine intake
Whether you’re trying to get pregnant or are pregnant already, it is recommended by doctors to reduce the amount of caffeine you intake. The recommended amount of caffeine you can drink in a day is one cup.
The reason for limiting the amount of caffeine you take is that it has been linked to miscarriages. I always say that it’s better to be safe than to be sorry. Check out this helpful article all about caffeine consumption during pregnancy and it also has an insightful chart!
8.Exercise
Exercising and being in good health and shape is very beneficial when you’re pregnant. If you’re not an avid exerciser, you can start slow by walking for 30 minutes. Then increase the intensity of the exercises by adding weights and cardio to the mix.
Yoga is another great exercise you can start doing because it helps you increase flexibility, awesome for when you give birth!
9.Don’t stress
When you’re trying for a baby, it’s easy to get anxious and stress over it. You need to take it easy and just let your body relax and do its thing. If you’re stressed it can be harder for you to get pregnant.
I know many of my friends were so stressed with getting pregnant that it took them a while. Like more than 6 months. Once they had stopped stressing over seeing a positive sign on a pregnancy test, they got pregnant almost immediately!
10.Dentist appointment
It is very important to have a dental check up before getting pregnant because when you are pregnant you will go through a lot of hormonal changes. This may cause gum disease which may affect the health of your unborn baby.
Make that dentist appointment now mama!
Ready to start baby prepping? Here’s a fun workbook to start you off with!
11.Paid maternity leave
If you are working for a company and are not self employed, now it’s the time to start researching your job’s maternity leave options. How long will your maternity leave be for, does your job offer paid maternity leave, can you ask for an extension after your approved time is up? You can ask all of these questions and then some more to an HR representative or to your boss. It depends on how big or small the company that you work for is.
12.Eat healthier
Now that you have decided to start trying for a baby, you need to start making some changes to your diet. Start eating healthier by stocking up your fridge with fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, eliminate the habit of eating fast food. You need to have a more balanced diet in order to have a healthy pregnancy and baby.
You want to maintain a healthy weigh before and during your pregnancy. In many cases being overweight or underweight may cause fertility problems.
Related article:
10 things to do when you find out you’re pregnant
10 pregnancy essentials you need for a more enjoyable pregnancy
13.Take a vacation
If you have the money and time, please do yourself a favor and take a mini vacation with your partner. It does not matter where, just take it, enjoy it and take advantage of the alone and quiet time you will have. Also taking a break from work and other things that are stressing you out will make you more happy and at ease. Taking a vacation always releases the stress and makes trying for a baby that much easier and fun.
14. Money matters
In order to prepare yourself for a baby and to start a family. Always discuss with you partner about your finances. Are you both ready to take on this huge responsibility that will obviously be expensive? Make sure that you have insurance because the hospital costs add up quickly. If you do not have insurance, you can apply for public insurance.
Make sure that you know what your insurance covers regarding your hospital stay. Once you find out you’re pregnant, you may want to contact your insurance to inform them of your pregnancy. This is because, your unborn baby needs his/her own insurance for once he/she is born!
15.Make sure you are ready
Before trying for a baby, ask yourself if you are ready for this life changing decision. Make sure you and your partner are on the same page with starting a family. You do not need to wait for the “perfect” time to have a baby because there is no such thing. Just know in your heart that you are ready and that you want to be a mom and just go for it!
Don’t forget to purchase these top rated pregnancy tests!
I’m so happy that you have decided to start trying for a baby. This is huge girl! Hopefully these tips have shown you exactly what you need to do before you get pregnant. These tips are life changing and all for the better. To have a healthy baby and pregnancy!
Being a mom is such a blessing and it honestly changes your perspective in life, there are ups and downs but the ups outweighs the downs. Trust me, I have three kids!
What are some of the things that you’re doing to prepare your body for pregnancy?
As someone trying this year I glad I have the dentist very soon! Quit the weekend wine and I’m on my pre natal vits. Phew! Thanks for the tips xx #twinklytuesday
Sarah Howe recently posted…The Truth About Blogging
I must say I think know you are ready is the big one, there’s no going back! #TwinklyTuesday
Man take a holiday! I wish I had done that, for some reason we decided to wait until the kid was born – such foolishness #TwinklyTuesday
Charlene recently posted…Getting Married is Easy
These are all great tips! I think a lot of people don’t realize that they need to do things before getting pregnant, not just once they get pregnant. Thanks for the tips!!
Chelsea @ Life With My Littles recently posted…The Best Places to Buy Baby Clothes {In Store and Online}
Thanks Chelsea! yeah you are right, most of us think that once we find out we are pregnant we have to make changes in the way we eat or just changes in our lifestyle in general. These things needs to be done before 🙂
haha! yeah, I think just taking a little break overall will help, whether is a 2-day vacation or a week vacation 😉
So true! You need to know that you are ready and then you can start doing the rest 😉
That’s great and you are so welcome Sarah! Good luck 🙂
These are awesome suggestions for things to do while trying. Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you so much McKenzie! So happy you found it helpful 🙂
Some of these I didn’t even think about!! Good to know !! Thank you Ros 😘😘
Thank you Jessica! 🙂
These are great suggestions! Getting pregnant often takes more than just stopping birth control, and these tips are perfect for people who want to give themselves the best chance at a good start!
Chelsea Johnson recently posted…What to Expect When You Get Induced
Thanks girl! Exactly stopping birth control is not the only thing that you have to do. There’s so many other important factors to think about.