Sonoma Family Life March 2020

In hindsight, I wish I could have saved the energy I spent trying to have a perfect pregnancy that first time for other things—like taking my two children, now three- and five-years-old, to the supermarket. It turns out that I’m not the only one who, if given a chance, would do things differently the first time around. A number of women gave me their best tips for making the first pregnancy feel like the second.

First Pregnancy Advice from Worries? Veteran Moms By Pam Moore

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he night before I found out I was pregnant with my first child, my biggest concern was finding an amazing restaurant where my husband and I could go to celebrate our anniversary. We found the perfect place, where I enjoyed way too much wine. At least it was organic. (I think.)

The next day, I peed on that fateful stick. At the airport, instead of paging through Real Simple, I scrolled BabyCenter and nearly spit out the sushi I’d been devouring. I shuddered to think what other pregnancy laws I’d unknowingly violated over the past 24 hours. I also needed to know: Which fruit did my baby most resemble, five weeks, two days, and 17 hours into my pregnancy? 16 SonomaFamilyLife

Two years later, while my toddler sat on the bathroom floor with a board book, an expired pregnancy test I found at the back of the linen closet revealed a faint plus sign. I waited until my daughter was asleep that night to hit the supermarket for a fresh test. I couldn’t muster the strength to take her to the store for one lousy item. That night, I fell into a dreamless sleep. Between pregnancy and toddler-wrangling, I didn’t care if I was carrying a peanut, a kumquat, or a glazed donut.

Chill Out Like many, Elizabeth Waterstraat grew more laid back with each pregnancy. She summarizes her three pregnancies in simple terms. “First: No coffee, no wine.

“Both kids are totally healthy and each pregnancy was completely different.” —Morgan McGarvey

Second: Some coffee, no wine. Third: Daily coffee, some wine.” Allison Schwartz also steadily increased her coffee consumption with each of her pregnancies, noting, “By pregnancy number four [cutting out coffee] was not an option.” Joy Jackson, a mom of three, says if she could go back in time 12 years to when she was pregnant with her first, she’d put down her copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. “Experience teaches us we don’t have as much control as we’d like to believe,” says Waterstraat. “[Babies] will come out the way they want to come out. Not much you do will influence that. So relax, let go of ‘plans,’ and enjoy the journey.”

March 2020 www.sonomafamilylife.com