Pre-baby jitters are an incredibly common experience for first-time parents-to-be. With pregnancy being a completely new experience and the anxiety of all that is to come, many first time parents can experience symptoms such as excess worrying, poor sleep and inability to concentrate. Thankfully, there is a myriad of ways in which parents can learn to cope with this anxiety. In today’s article, we have a look at how you can get over your pre-baby jitters as a first-time parent, so read on to find out more!
1. Make A Plan
Early on in your pregnancy, we highly recommend making a full plan for when your baby arrives. This includes setting up your nursery, ensuring that you have purchased all that you need from a reliable baby shop and actively attending parenting classes for first-time mums and dads. Having a concrete plan for the remainder of your pregnancy and when the baby arrives is a fantastic way to keep anxiety levels at bay and to stop yourself from worrying too much about all that is to come in the near future.
2. Understand Your Hormones
Did you know that the nerves and nightmares that you experience during pregnancy are closely related to the hormone rollercoaster that occurs in your body during pregnancy? Instead of feeling like you are going crazy, it is important that you speak to your doctor about your concerns and take active measures to understand the changes occurring in your endocrine system. Hormones during pregnancy are often even wilder than they are during puberty, so it is only expected that your nerves and emotions may feel a little out of control. Understanding these changes is key in managing your symptoms, so we highly recommend consulting an expert who can assist you in finding ways to keep calm and keep your emotions at bay.
3. Engage in Light Exercise
One of the best ways to keep the pregnancy jitters at bay is to engage in some form of light exercise that can help you in de-stressing and calming down. This may include brisk walking, yoga, pilates or swimming but always consult your OB/GYN before embarking on any new exercise plan. Your job as a parent-to-be is to stay healthy, so ensuring that you are getting adequate amounts of light activity and eating well is key to keeping anxiety levels low.
4. Get Advice From Other Parents
If your anxiety levels are high or you’re doubting your capabilities of being a parent, we highly recommend getting advice from other parents. Think about what some of your concerns or anxieties are about and talk them out with those who have gone through the process themselves. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends and family, or even attend pre-parenting counselling sessions where you can openly discuss your fears and anxieties. Talking your worries out is truly one of the best ways to ease your mind and calm your nerves down.
5. Ensure Adequate Amounts of Rest
Did you know that ensuring you are getting enough sleep or rest is key to keeping pre-baby jitters at bay? As your pregnancy moves along, it can be difficult to get a comfortable sleep each night. Suffering from a lack of sleep can further alleviate anxiety symptoms, which is why it is so important that you always get enough rest. If you are struggling to stay comfortable in bed, we highly recommend looking into pregnancy pillows and alternate forms of sleeping positions that will aid you in getting rest as your bump grows.
Becoming a first-time parent is an experience that can induce anxiety in even the calmest of parents. We hope that this article has given you a few ideas on how you can get over the pre-baby jitters and enjoy your pregnancy and all that comes with it.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.
