No one ever said momming was easy. Yet motherhood is something I’ve been drawn to my entire life, and frankly a little desperate for over the last few years. I have to admit, though, as baby’s arrival is impending, I’ve found my anxiety starting to get the best of me. I recognize it’s hormones and hysteria, so I’ve been doing my best to manage the panic in a handful of different ways.
Talk it out
I’ve been told over and over in therapy that ‘speaking it aloud dissipates the fear.’ Poor David. Every time I start to spiral, even when I know it’s panic and not my reality, I tell him about it. He’s had to listen to me fuss about the big and the small things, from my parenting and labor fears to what he did to me in my insane pregnancy dreams. He’s been a champ, and really good at talking me down or just hearing me out.
Breathe
Baby is huge (thanks, gestational diabetes) and has taken over the space where my lungs should be so it’s hard to breathe literally, as well as figuratively. I’ve always struggled to turn off the noise in my brain, and moreso now than ever. I’ve been trying to meditate, and even though I’m far from good at it, I’ve been using the Calm app and the short guided meditations are helpful in getting my mind to relax but not wander.
Tribe time
At 33, a lot of my friends already have one or several little ones. I’m grateful to have lots of modern mama’s in my life to ask questions to and advice of. Two of my dearest friends and I actually endeavored to be be pregnant and raise our first babies together, and managed to pull it off (baby number 1 is a few days old, baby number 3 will round out our litter in the new year), and it’s been so amazing to be able to talk through the big and little things as we experience them together.
Knowledge is power
I call my doctor all the time- I’m convinced I annoy the stuffing out of her. I’m also very well acquainted with Dr. Google. And as Braxton Hicks contractions have become a daily occurrence, I’ve been relying on my Bloomlife monitor to bring me some peace of mind and concrete information about what’s going on in my body.
If you follow my instastories, you’ve seen me posting screenshots like these- my contractions timed, tracked, and recorded on my phone by Bloomlife.
It’s incredibly easy- the sensor clicks into an adhesive patch that I attach under my belly button. It measures my contractions with technology similar to an EKG (painless and non-invasive) and sends them to the app on my phone via Bluetooth. It measures and charts the frequency and rhythm of my contractions, and automatically saves all that data. It’s been reassuring to show my Doctor my charts, and know that my body is doing the right things to prepare for labor and delivery.
And when it actually is go time, not just Braxton Hicks, Bloomlife will help me recognize that, as it monitors the regularity and consistency of the contractions that will take me to the labor and delivery ward. It’s nice to not feel like I’m going to be the first time mom who goes to the hospital with false labor a dozen times.
If you’re also expecting, and want to use a Bloomlife contraction monitor, use the code RC10 for 10% off the weekly rental rate. And as an FYI, I had mine delivered at 31 weeks and have been using it regularly since my 33rd week.
I’m off to work on the nursery and try and wrap my head around being a mom in a few weeks, but please feel free to offer any advice to this first time mama in the comments!
Xxoo ravayna
This post is brought to you in partnership with Bloomlife, but as always, all opinions are my own.
