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    The WTFs Of Pregnancy To Parenting
    The WTFs Of Pregnancy To Parenting
    The WTFs Of Pregnancy To Parenting
    Ebook82 pages1 hour

    The WTFs Of Pregnancy To Parenting

    By Jessica Gabai

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    About this ebook

    A light-hearted, hilarious, brutally honest and comprehensive guide to all topics including: pregnancy, labour and childbirth, changes your body will experience, breast and bottle feeding, colic, reflux, sleep, solids, teething, toilet training, reading and communication, playing, childcare, the 'high needs' baby, getting the assistance you need, and how both you and your marriage will be affected. A must-read book!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJessica Gabai
    Release dateApr 18, 2017
    ISBN9781370772735
    The WTFs Of Pregnancy To Parenting
    Author

    Jessica Gabai

    I currently live in Melbourne, Australia with my husband and son. I am a Chartered Accountant and work as an Internal Auditor. In my spare time I enjoy being with family and friends and am also passionate about fitness and nutrition.

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      Book preview

      The WTFs Of Pregnancy To Parenting - Jessica Gabai

      Dedicated to Max, who has changed me as a person both inside and out.

      Copyright © 2017 by Jessica Gabai.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

      Disclaimer: no information contained in this book is intended as medical, psychological or other professional advice. Always seek advice from your health professional.

      I am not a subject matter expert. I am also not a doctor. Nor am a veteran mother of ten with three sets of twins. This is just a collection of my thoughts, experiences, opinions and acquired knowledge that I wanted to share with you. If you’re easily offended by generalizations and graphic imagery, stop reading now.

      CHAPTER 1: PREGNANCY

      So, you’re pregnant. Well done. Great effort. Or not, if it was an accident. Actually, congratulations to the sperm that fought the currents and fertilized that playing-hard-to-get egg. That shit’s not easy. And so, the racing, irrational, consuming thoughts begin. In fact, they probably began while you were trying to conceive. Have I been taking folic acid? Have I cleansed my entire system of all paraben/petrochemical/SLS/other-nasty-shit-containing beauty/hygiene/cleaning products like nail polish, hair dye and window cleaner? Have I switched to organic, preservative-free, artificial-sweetener-free foods? Am I eating foods I’m not allowed to eat? Am I eating too much? Am I lying on my back in my sleep and cutting of blood supply to the baby? Am I rolling on to my stomach during my sleep and squashing my baby? Am I even sure who the father is? You may be slowly driving yourself insane trying to make your body the perfect vessel for your unborn baby. Yes, making these cleansing or preparatory lifestyle changes is great, not just for your baby but for your general health too, but there is a limit. I believe you should do these things to a reasonable degree (reasonable being a personal preference and may involve making no changes whatsoever). And then you need to try your best to relax, because the best thing for you and your pregnancy is to be as stress-free as possible (yes, cortisol, the stress hormone, passes through to the baby too).

      In your first trimester, you might be feeling fantastic, wanting to run up and down the street or the office, slap the nearest person in the face and tell them your amazing news. Or you might be feeling like you’ve been hit by a bus, exhausted, nauseous (if not also vomiting), hungry, heart-burny, gassy, bloated, having food cravings and aversions and sore boobs and looking like a failed Biggest Loser contestant. Whichever way you feel, embrace it, because it’s all temporary. Some things that might help along the way:

      Exhaustion: if you are indeed feeling like you’ve been run over by a large vehicle, check your iron/thyroid/other functions/levels - you might be deficient in something, causing you extra tiredness on top of the I’m-growing-a-human-inside-me fatigue. You might find yourself as full of energy as ever, or wiped out and going to bed at 5pm. Don’t forget how hard of a task this is for your body.

      Nausea/vomiting: keeping your blood sugar level constant helps (snack throughout the day and avoid not eating for long periods). Try ginger, sea-sickness wrist bands, acupressure, anti-nausea vitamins, or just distracting yourself if all else fails. You’ll need all the help you can get. I remember drinking a huge glass of water one morning and then spewing the whole thing out five seconds later, so there’ll be no shortage of good times ahead for you. If you have an extreme case or think you might have HG (Hyperemesis Gravidarum), where you’re vomiting continuously and can’t keep anything down, go see your doctor.

      Hunger: I never thought I could feel nauseous and starving at the same time (there are so many I never thoughts you will experience). Eat whatever you can stomach and whatever is safe. Research the lists of potentially bacteria-harbouring foods to avoid. Pregnant women have weaker immune systems, in addition to bacteria being able to pass through the placenta to the baby, so things like soft cheeses, raw fish and meats, sushi, bean sprouts and other goodies should be avoided. Just try and get as much nutritious stuff in as you can.

      Food cravings/aversions: I believe this is the body’s way of telling you what you need more/less of, within reason. Craving a 1kg bag of chips is exempt. So if you’re having strong aversions to leafy-greens or craving green apples or meat or anything else specific, listen to your body. Try and go for healthy options to satisfy those cravings (salty brown-rice crackers can go down just as well as those chippies), but don’t be afraid to indulge sometimes. For those who are craving non-foods (yes, this is a real thing called Pica), again, doctor.

      Heartburn: Apparently, the more hair the baby grows when doing time on the inside, the worse your heartburn will be. Sorry, ethnic ladies. Maybe taking antacids will help, or milk. Or green apples. Or just not being pregnant.

      Boobies: Get into those underwire-free maternity bras early. They’re so comfortable that your boobs will feel like they’re romping around in a field full of daisies. Some women’s boobs stay the same, and others’ can go up many, many sizes (this growth, and milk duct preparation, is why they hurt during pregnancy. Logical.) You might be using them for a small human’s survival sometime soon, so try and keep them comfortable. An old wives’ tale is to prepare or roughen up the nipples for breastfeeding to prevent them from cracking by rubbing them with a rough-textured cloth whenever you can. There might be no truth to this, but there’s no harm in trying. And you’ll definitely get your partner’s attention by doing it. If you do try this out, just be careful, as nipple stimulation can bring on contractions.

      Bloating/weight gain: Always remember that our pregnancy hormones program us

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