5 Things To Do When You Find Out You’re Pregnant

Most people feel a mix of emotions when they find out they’re pregnant, even if you’ve gone through it before. You’re excited, scared, happy, terrified, want to tell everyone, and want to keep it a secret… all at the same time. I’m not currently pregnant but after having two pregnancies I’ve learned a little bit about how they go. Both of our pregnancies were somewhat unplanned, and although I was very excited each time I was also completely overwhelmed and felt very unprepared. So here are 5 things to do when you find out you’re pregnant:

(1) Find a great doctor. Not just a good one. This is the person who is going to be delivering your baby, which is a huge deal. Find one that you love and who you know is going to take great care of you. My first pregnancy I just used a doctor that was convenient and I regretted it. Things didn’t go well. With the second pregnancy I switched mid-pregnancy to a doctor who actually cared about how I wanted my labor and delivery to go, who supported breastfeeding education (which is huge), and who was determined to help me have the childbirth I wanted, and I had the most amazing labor and delivery experience possible.

(2) Read up. Part of the anxiety around finding out you’re pregnant for the first time is the unknown, so it’s good to get reading and learn about what is happening to your body, and what is coming up ahead. I bought the book What to Expect When You’re Expecting® when I found out I was pregnant with my first child, and now I give it to all my friends when they are pregnant. I just got my hands on the brand new 5th edition that has fresh-perspective and up to the minute information and advice (because we know it’s changing all the time), but the same friendly, reassuring voice that many of us fell in love with in earlier editions. It answers every question you could possibly think of, and even features important information for expecting moms about the Zika virus. For me what really helped was all the information on what to eat or not to eat, and the inclusion of pregnancy exercises that you can do anywhere, as well as a ton of stuff about labor and delivery I couldn’t believe that I didn’t know already!

So go and pick up this book and get friendly with it because you’re going to be reading it a lot in the months before your new baby comes!

(3) Come up with a cute announcement picture and find a great photographer. With our first we did a UGA football themed picture and my dad took it in his backyard, and I really wish we had done something different. With our second we hired a friend who is a photographer, and went with a ‘red, white, blue, and baby #2’ theme and I loved it – it’s one of my favorite pictures of all time. This is such an exciting thing to announce that it’s worth going all out on a photographer for if you can, and you’re going to want a photographer you love for maternity and newborn pictures so it’s good to start looking at them right away anyways!

(4) Start thinking about names. Sure you have your whole pregnancy to pick one, but it’s one of the funnest parts of pregnancy so you may as well go ahead and make a short list for each gender to have in mind over the next 9 months and try to narrow down from there!

(5) Take care of yourself. Keep exercising (if your doctor says it’s okay), eat healthy, and take plenty of naps – because you’ve never had a better excuse than growing a human.

So if you just found out you’re pregnant, well first congratulations, and I hope these things help you with your pregnancy! If you’ve had a baby (or a few) I’d love to know what you would have on this list!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.