7 Things to Do BEFORE you Get Pregnant

Becoming a parent is a huge life change, whether it’s your first baby or your sixth, and there are a lot of factors that come into play when preparing for a pregnancy. Life has a way of throwing some curveballs our way but pregnancy (and parenthood) definitely goes a bit smoother if you can prepare for it beforehand.

I’ve had 7 pregnancies (rough ones) and if I could go back there are definitely a few things I’d tell myself to do before pregnancy.

1. Get in shape. Being pregnant is much easier if you are in shape. If you start out close to your ideal weight it will be much easier to get your body back (or at least in the same zip code as it was before) If you are already in the habit of exercising you can usually maintain some moderate exercise during pregnancy if you don’t have any issues that make you high risk.
2. Declutter your house. Babies come with A LOT of stuff. It’s a lot easier to stay organized after a baby arrives if you start of organized before. You can keep your house decluttered by limiting what comes in. Buy only what you need and be sure you get rid of something when you do buy something new.
3. Make healthy diet changes. Eating healthy during pregnancy is so important. Get into some healthy eating habits before pregnancy and you’ll have a much easier time maintaining them during pregnancy. Spend some time making healthy freezer meals so that if morning sickness hits you won’t have to spend much time in the kitchen.
4. Build up your savings account. Babies can come with a lot of unexpected expenses. If you can, build up your savings account before pregnancy so you’ll have some peace of mind if any surprise expenses pop up. When I was pregnant with my twins I knew the NICU was a very real possibility. We set aside the amount we’d have to pay for our deductible for each baby just in case. I loved that I had at least one thing I didn’t have to worry about during my pregnancy since I was preoccupied worrying about more important things. We were lucky that both babies stayed out of the NICU but having that financial cushion did so much for my peace of mind.
5. Tackle unfinished projects. It seems like there are always projects waiting to be finished, doesn’t it? If you have any larger or urgent projects that need your attention, try and tackle them before pregnancy. You never know what you’ll be faced with before (and after) pregnancy so it’s always best to get those things out of the way. I’m so sick during my pregnancies that I can hardly function so any projects that I don’t get done before pregnancy get put on hold indefinitely.
6. Take a deep breath and relax. You can plan for a lot of stuff but you can’t plan for everything. Things have a way of working out on their own though so take a deep breath and tell yourself that everything is going to be okay. Being stressed doesn’t solve any problem and it’s best to keep your stress level low during pregnancy for everyone’s sake so get in the habit of taking care of your own needs now and avoid getting stressed about things you can’t change.

Do you have anything to add to the list? What things do you try and do before pregnancy?