Rachel Sopak

Stretch marks are probably at the top of the list of concerns for a first time mama-to-be. Don’t wait until you start to see your belly growing before you start using oils and lotions to prevent stretch marks. It may be 12-14 weeks before you start to really show, but your body still goes through change when you least expect it too. Your boobs are the very first thing to grow and very fast, so that may be the first area to get noticeable stretch marks. I recommend that as soon as you find out you are expecting, start your stretch mark prevention routine immediately! What worked for me was the combination of Mustela Stretch Mark Oil and Palmer’s Coco Butter for Stretch Marks. After my evening shower before bed, I put a generous amount of oil on my boobs, belly, hips, and thighs – as these are the areas that are common to get stretch marks – then top it off with the lotion. I also recommend applying lotion in the morning when you get ready for the day, as your body will grow and change during the day, causing your skin to itch. Keeping your skin moisturized is key.

When first finding out you are pregnant, you may wonder what books to begin reading to prepare or will turn to our good friend Google. There are so many articles, blogs, and information out there that it can get very overwhelming, very quickly. I recommend reading the book MamaNatural by Genevieve Howland – it’s a week-by-week pregnancy guide from a natural perspective. What I love about this book is she gives you information on what’s going on with the development of your baby, what’s going on with your body that week, and she covers helpful information to help you plan for your delivery over the next 9 months. This book is based on a more natural approach to pregnancy in diet, birthing plans, and tips on how to do a drug-free delivery. She gives you information on every aspect of what to expect with standard hospital birthing and at-home birthing, so you can make an educated decision on what is best for you and your ideal birth-plan.

Another book I recommend reading that gave me peace of mind, is super encouraging, and helped with my perspective on childbirth is Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize. This short and easy read is filled with encouraging stories on how to have a supernatural childbirth through the power of positive thinking, taking authority over your body, and supporting scriptures from the Bible. I believe having a great pregnancy and delivery starts with our perspective on the situation and what we allow. Some things are out of our control, but what we can control is our attitude and how we think that set us up for success. As much as pregnancy is physical, I think it’s mostly a mental game that gives us women the capability to conquer labor and delivery. Mind over matter!

If you are trying to get pregnant or in the early stages of pregnancy, it’s best to start taking prenatal vitamins if you haven’t already. I personally like the Rainbow Light Prenatal One Vitamins, they are packed with vitamins, minerals, and tons of additional superfoods. Forewarning, if you don’t like swallowing pills, this is a horse pill sized vitamin. I usually take it after having a meal to ensure it doesn’t upset my stomach, but I know for some women it can be too heavy of a pill and make them nauseous. Also, because of how highly concentrated it is, your pee will look like Mountain Dew, so don’t be alarmed…it’s normal. Overall, any prenatal vitamin is good for you to take but this is one I personally like.

If you are tech-savvy or enjoy tracking your progress, I encourage you to download a pregnancy tracking app. There are so many great options out there but the one I personally have been using to track my pregnancy is the What to Expect App. It counts down to your due date to help you track how far along you are, gives you weekly updates of what’s going on with you and baby’s development, read helpful articles or watch videos on what to expect, and tons of helpful recommendations for baby products as you build your registry. Another cool feature is you can connect with other mamas who are due around the same time as you and even find a local community near you to connect with. Once your bundle of joy arrives, you can still use this app for feeding tracking, ovulation tracking, recipes, postpartum articles, and more on how to care for you baby after they arrive.