This post has sat in my drafts for twelve months or more. A few times over the past year I have been chatting to an expectant Mum who has asked for some tips. Every time, I came up with some, but wished I had a blog to send them to read at their own leisure, rather than trying to take in so much in one conversation!

So, firstly, a disclaimer. To quote Baz Luhrmann, this ‘advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience‘. I’ve called this blog ‘pregnancy preferences’, because it is just that – my preferences. You’ll have your own preferences, you’ll have your own experiences. Here are some things I found helpful when I was pregnant.

Channel Mum weekly videos with Charlotte. I was due on a Monday with both Sophia and Aidan (they were actually born on a Saturday and Wednesday!). But my little Monday morning ritual was to lie in bed and watch a short video where a lovely lady called Charlotte talks about ‘the textbook versus the truth of being X weeks pregnant’. I loved her positivity and was comforted to know that everybody is different, and if my symptoms were different to other people’s, that was ok!

Ovia Pregnancy app. Speaking of symptoms, I used the Ovia app to log how I was feeling and what I was experiencing. The app is a bit american in language, but it was helpful to receive advice like ‘you have logged two migraines this week, best talk to your midwife about that’. I also loved seeing the development week by week, where they tell you how big the baby is compared to fruit or veg, and show you a little handprint and footprint, comparing the current size to the size they’ll be when baby is here.

Reassurance Scan. As a naturally anxious person, I couldn’t face the two month wait between those first two lines and the first NHS scan! We went to Window To The Womb for an early reassurance scan both times. This meant I felt better knowing that all was going well, and we were much more confident telling our nearest and dearest.

Don’t bother with wearing a bra at night. In the early days of my pregnancy with Sophia, I watched a video where a Mum suggested wearing a bra to bed throughout pregnancy to help the girls go back to normal afterwards. I fed Sophia for two and a half years and I’m nearly up to 18 months with Aidan. I do not think that wearing a bra to bed in pregnancy will have made any difference whatsoever. Just wear what’s comfy!

Pregnancy elephant. I tried various pregnancy pillows and couldn’t get on with any of them. In the end, I preferred to prop my bump up with a large Ikea toy elephant, which the children now play with.

Exercise. I was already doing Sweaty Mama bootcamp sessions before I fell pregnant, and I put a lot of my stamina during labour down to all the squats I did! It was my little hour to myself in a very busy time.

The Honest Midwife. We fell pregnant with Sophia during the pandemic, so baby prep classes were a no. We found a lady online called The Honest Midwife and attended a few of her sessions on Zoom. We learned about all sorts, like prepping the hospital bag, how breastfeeding works, how to cope with the early days, what to expect in pregnancy and tips for labour. She was informative and funny. Looking back, if I’d have had the option, I think an in person class would have suited Nathan and I better. But if you’re tight for time, would rather stay at home or don’t have anything nearby, this is great!

Cravings In the early days of my pregnancy with Sophia, I heard some great advice. It was this: if everything is going well, and you want ice cream every day, have a scoop of ice cream in a ramekin every day. Just don’t eat the whole tub!

Baby flavour. To find our the sex of the baby or not? That is the question! Well, I did it both ways. We didn’t find out with Sophia, and we did find out with Aidan. I really enjoyed having a surprise to look forward to first time around, but I loved knowing a bit more about baby Aidan before he came! Admittedly, we found out very late in the day with Aidan, at my last scan just a couple of weeks before he was born. It was a little secret that was just for the three of us. It also meant I could manage Sophia’s expectations, because she was adamant he was going to be a girl! I slowly built it up over a few days; ‘the midwives say it could be a boy… the midwives think it might be a boy… the midwives told me it’s a boy’. In the end, she was delighted! But she might not have been if she hadn’t have known until she met him.

Washing clothes. I inherited a few bags of clothes from very lovely Mummies who had lovingly washed and packed these things away. Although there was no need to wash them again, I did wash every piece of clothing that came into the house. At about 24 weeks, I took myself to the shops and picked a lovely smelling fabric conditioner and washed, aired, folded and stored everything away in neat little rows. I found it helped with nesting and getting myself ready.

Trousers. I loved the support that special pregnancy trousers gave me. I’m not a maternity smock kind of person, so I loved jeans and shorts with a big band of stretchy fabric around the top. They were only uncomfy in the last few weeks when it was hot and I got a bit big for them.

Gaviscon dual action tablets. Towards the end, when even a sip of water would cause heartburn, I found that these tablets sorted it faster and more effectively than any other.

Raspberry leaf tea. Right at the end of my pregnancy with Aidan, at about 35 weeks, my midwife gave me the go ahead to start on the raspberry leaf tea, describing it as ‘womb tonic’. You may know that I was really pleased with how my labour went with Aidan, so if the raspberry leaf made a difference, I’d definitely reccommend it!

Dates. Anything that sounded healthy, I was eating. I had tumeric ice cream, figs, tumeric lattes and dates! I saw some research recently that women who ate three dates a day had a faster labour than those who didn’t. It’s got to be worth a shot, if you ask me!

Positive Birth Company Hypnobirthing Course. Ok, I’ll be honest. I never finished the course. I started it too late when I was pregnant with Sophia, and Aidan came too soon for me to get beyond 70% of the way through. However, I found what I heard very useful, especially in my labour with Aidan. The mindset, the preparation of the room for the birth, the breathing and positive affirmations were all very helpful. I also loved that buying the course gives you access to the facebook group where you can read hundreds of positive birth stories, all different and completely beautiful.

So that’s it! These are my pregnancy preferences. Feel free to add your own preferences in the comments section below.