Anger, rage, sudden sadness are all common and expected symptoms of pregnancy, and learning how to mange them and stay level headed is a whole different story. They always tell us stress isn’t good for the baby, but hardly tell us how to keep calm. I don’t know about you, but the first thing I think of to reduce stress is quitting my job moving to an island and laying in the sun. Which sounds nice but in reality that’s not the way it is. Once I started letting my stress carry on and affect my day I knew it was time to figure out how to just literally chill out and take it easy.
Here are three things I try to do in this order and what has work for me, to help my nervous system level back out.
Rest, Rest, Rest
Getting a moment to just lay down and have a rest, can be challenging especially when you have other little ones to look after. However resting doesn’t have to be just sleeping, it can be meditating, reading a book, or doing your favorite activity. Even just 5-10 mins to take a breath can take you from 100 down to 0. However the intention of your rest is key here, if you continue to focus on what’s making you stressed then you will become more worked up. So you really want to focus on winding down and physically relaxing your body.
Get Moving
Sometimes laying down can keep your mind racing and stress you out more then necessary. So when I’m feeling up to it I start cleaning, for me it is relaxing and I’m productive at the same time, it’s a win win. Some times I’ll even just walk around my porch and look at the trees and see what the neighbors are up too. When it’s nice out, feeling the crisp are on my skin is refreshing and wakes me up a little bit! Other times I’ll literally grab a snack and just walk around the house and nibble kind of stretching my legs and my back, then I realized I might have just been hungry! 🙃 Moving around for me is just getting my blood flowing the veins and the heart pumping.
Open the Curtains
As silly as this sounds, opening the curtains and taking a look outside is a nice way to remind ourselves of the world we are a part of. Looking out into the world where we are creating another being to step into and an exist. It can be a calming and overwhelming thought at the same time. I know the weather lately has not been ideal, especially in New Mexico, but just looking out and seeing nature and what it’s capable of and the role you play is a grounding realization.
Resetting your mind doesn’t have to be a big process or something drawn out but it also can be if you want it too. Often time in the mist of being stressed out and having so much going on, that all you need is a moment or two to collect yourself and get back on track. Dealing with stressors and triggers especially while pregnant is important because not only does it affect you but the baby feeds off of that energy as well. All the techniques you use to regulate emotions while pregnant can be carried into regulating emotions while parenting.
Let me know what topics you would like to see discussed next or what part of the journey could be a little bit more tailored to your needs. One love ❤️