Skip to main content

Want to get pregnant? Get-Set-Go!

I am a FTM meaning First Time Mother. (Don't worry if you don't know the acronyms yet! Once you get pregnant and start reading related articles/forums online, you will get used to many more like DH, DD and others.)

Honestly, pregnancy was one of the most beautiful phases of my life. No, I am not lying and neither is my intention to encourage more women to get pregnant here! Maybe, I was comparatively lucky or expected the worst? I have shared a few of the things that helped me have a beautiful and memorable pregnancy at maternity gyan post.

After 5 years of marital bliss, I was ready to get promoted to parenthood. I would also suggest one to get pregnant only when they are mentally ready and not because of social or peer pressure. As a first step, I spoke to my gynecologist to know if there is anything I need to get tested for before beginning to try. Like most doctors, her suggestion was to 'do the do' for a year and come back for tests if things don't work out within a year. This may be news to many but usually getting pregnant takes a few to many months due to various reasons.

Getting Pregnant

Maybe its the side effects of being an engineer or just the need to be in control of things, I started researching on pregnancy online around a year before we wanted to get pregnant. This really helped me as I was heavily addicted to caffeine and it took me a while to transition from daily four cups of caffeine to decaf to tea to none. Same goes to people who are used to drinking as it is better to keep your system free from both alcohol and caffeine though their effects on pregnancy has not been clinically proved yet.


Here are a couple of things that helped me other than doing the obvious deed! Plus it is useful to start doing the following months before you actually start trying to get pregnant.
  1. Start taking vitamins containing folic acid right away.
  2. Track your monthly periods to know if you have a 30 day cycle, 28 day cycle or otherwise. I did this for a year before we were even trying to get pregnant to know my body type. This was helpful.
  3. Track your ovulation every month using one of the over the counter ovulation kits. Also, observe your body in terms of pain, discharge or any other discomfort as usually there are some subtle signs indicating your ovulation. 
  4. Track your basal body temperature using a basal thermometer. I picked up 'DMI Basal Digital Thermometer for Natural Family Planning, White' from Amazon. Ovulation is known to spike your body temperature after a small dip. Tracking your temperature first thing in the morning helps in detecting ovulation.
  5. Last but not the least will be buying some pregnancy test strips. As you will end up testing multiple times initially. 
  6. Abstain from caffeine, alcohol and smoking. 
Good luck and as they say have fun while you are trying! 
Labels:

Comments

  1. Margie DayDecember 13, 2015 at 11:52 PM

    I so agree about waiting until you're mentally ready to be a parent. It takes a lot of mental toughness to bring a little person into this world and nurture and care for them in ways that will help them flourish. Kudos to you for giving up caffeine! That is a major step and something a lot of others haven't been able to accomplish.

    Margie Day @ Reproductive Wellness

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pregnant again!

Surprise surprise! I am pregnant again:) Things are so very different this time around!As they say, no two pregnancies feel the same but 'boy oh boy', was I in for a surprise! My first pregnancy was a breeze with no nausea or any other problems whatsoever. But this time, a lot of things happened very very differently.  Nausea I did not have any nausea the first time around. But this time, it was pretty bad in the first trimester with every morning starting with me puking water out. I gradually started to spread my meals into multiple snack portions and that helped me eat better. Weakness I had extreme weakness for nearly 2-3 weeks in my first trimester which made work very difficult. In fact, I had to inform my manager about me being pregnant just so she does not think I am slacking at work! Anemia Apparently, many suffer from low iron during pregnancy and I luckily did not have this in my first pregnancy. This time around I had to take the iron suppl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Family movie nights

While 2020 was our toughest year with school shutdowns, remote working with absolutely no socializing, we as a family did start a new tradition of Friday family movie nights. We have enjoyed watching a whole lot of movies together but it is the below list that have been all our favorites. I have two little kids with one aged 3 and other 5 during this pandemic year.  So picking a movie that could hold their focus and entertain the family as well was key to a successful Friday movie nights! Of course, popcorn was the other key ingredient.  I have spent a lot of time picking movies often for our family movie nights and hopefully this below list will simplify someone's hunt for a movie. Below movies were either watched on Netflix/Disney+ with subscription or on Amazon prime either free version or by renting for the 48 hour period. This 2 day movie online rentals through Amazon Prime work great for our little kids as they get to watch it multiple times. Disney's Encanto Disneys'...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hush Little Baby (a little more realistic version )

I am sure many of you have heard the 'Hush Little Baby' rhyme. I always wondered if the list of things mentioned in the song ever made any difference to a little baby.  So here's my take on the rhyme based on real life experience;) Hush, little baby, don't you cry. Mama's gonna check if your diaper's dry. And if that diaper looks all good, Mama's gonna burp you like she should And if the burping still makes you weep, Mama's gonna try and rock you to sleep. And if the rocking does no good, Mama's gonna check if you need some food And if the feeding doesn't sound right,  Mama's gonna make it sound like its night And if pink noise is not your choice Mamma's gonna sing in her not so great voice And if the lullaby doesn't make it fine Mamma's gonna try again for her sweet child so fine!
Post a Comment
Read more