Mommy's Little Heart

Back-to-Back Pregnancies

Are you expanding your family a little sooner than expected? Having another pregnancy before you have fully recovered from the last pregnancy , can be hard enough without adding stress. Although closely spaced pregnancies can take a physical toll on a mom-to-be who has just became a mom, there are a lot of things you can do to help your body be up to the challenge of back-to back- pregnancies.

Prenatal Care

Start as soon as you think you’re pregnant. Pregnancies when less than 12 months between them, increases the risk for preterm birth. Getting good prenatal care from the beginning can help reduce the risk.

Eating as Well as You Can

Your body probably hasn’t had a chance to rebuild the stores of vitamins and nutrients that were tapped to make your last baby, and that can put you at a nutritional disadvantage, particularly if you’re still breastfeeding. You may need to overcompensate nutritionally to be sure both you and the baby you’re currently carrying don’t get shortchanged. Continue or start your prenatal vitamins, but don’t stop there. Healthy grazing may help you fit those much-needed nutrients into your busy schedule, so stock up on wholesome, ready-to-grab snacks like cheese stick, almonds, freeze-dried fruit, and bags of baby carrots with dip like hummus.

Gaining the Right amount of Weight

Your brand new baby doesn’t care whether or not you’ve had time to shed the extra pounds his or her sibling just finished putting on you. Talk over a sensible weight gain goal with your practitioner. Focus on the quality of the food you eat, but also keep an eye on the scale.

Fair-share feeding

If you are breastfeeding your newborn, you can continue as long as you want to and feel up to it.

Resting up

You need more rest than may be humanly (and new motherly) possible. Getting the required amount of sleep will require the help of your spouse, your determination, and others. Let less important chores or work go undone, and force yourself to nap, or at least put your feet up when your baby is sleeping. If you’re not breastfeeding, dad can take over night feedings. If you are, he can do the baby-fetching in the middle of the night.

Exercising

Getting through a day and even the night with a newborn might seem like enough of a workout, especially now that you’ve added the around-the-clock demands of a growing baby to your exhausted body’s to-do list. The right amount and the right kind of exercise can boost your energy level when you need that boost most. Plus it boost your odds of a healthier and more comfortable pregnancy. If you can’t seem to find the time for a regular pregnancy workout routine, build physical activity into your day with your baby. A couple 15 minute walks will do the trick. Enroll in a pregnancy exercise class or swim at a club or community center that offers babysitting services. You can also let your baby watch from the infant seat while you exercise to a workout video.