Being pregnant at Christmas time can feel like a really special time…a time to relax with family and imagine your next Christmas with your very own baby…But being pregnant in the holiday season can also feel incredibly challenging. If it’s still the early days of your pregnancy, you might be trying to keep the secret, bat away offers of Christmas champagne, and hide your morning sickness…If you’re in the last months of pregnancy, you’re likely contending with a hefty dose of exhaustion, and the thought of Christmas shopping is about as appealing as going to the dentist…
Wherever you are in your 9 (actually, more like 10) month pregnancy journey, it’s important to look after yourself, mentally and physically! Here are some tips for pregnancy self-care during the holiday season.
Don’t Forget Your Prenatal
With all the upended routines and extra travel that comes with Christmas, it can be easy to forget to take your prenatal vitamins, but this is really important for your health, and the health and development of your baby! Try finding a time of day that doesn’t get as ‘interrupted’ by the celebrations and keep your packet of vitamins in a really obvious spot…For example, next to your toothbrush to take straight after breakfast.
Eat the Rainbow
Christmas time is best known for foods like plum pudding, chocolate truffles, and pavlova, but, in the Southern Hemisphere especially, it’s also a time when mangoes, cherries, pineapple, peaches and nectarines come into season, making it easy to get your daily dose of colourful fruits! Colourful, festive salads also pack a nutritious punch, with beets, capsicum, carrot, corn, cucumbers, peas, tomatoes and zucchini all coming into season over Summer. The more colourful plant foods you can get into your diet, the more variety of bioactive pigments you get, which have a variety of health benefits!
Morning Sickness Woes
If you are unlucky enough to suffer from morning sickness, there are a couple of tried-and-tested remedies that may help you through this busy time of year. Ginger, chamomile, cardamom, pomegranate and spearmint syrup, and lemon have all been shown to help women with morning sickness, and are generally considered safe options. Vitamin B6 has also been shown to help reduce nausea and vomiting in some pregnant women, but please consult with your healthcare professional before taking any supplements. Keeping a dry, salty biscuit by the bedside to eat first thing also works for some people!
Balance Your Meals
When you’re pregnant, especially in the later stages of pregnancy, you’ll most likely find you can’t eat as much food, thanks to your little one taking over most of your abdomen! Eating smaller, balanced meals more regularly can help you avoid big energy crashes or feeling suddenly ravenous, both of which can see you reaching for whatever food item is within arm’s length…but that candy cane is not gonna cut it! Aim to eat 4 or 5 smaller meals a day, consisting of a good quality protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats. This will also stop you overeating at any one meal, minimising the risk of feeling uncomfortably full or suffering from heartburn.
Cheers!
Just because you can’t drink alcohol doesn’t mean you can’t join in on some Christmas cheer! Try this Ginger Cup Punch, a mocktail that doubles as a morning sickness cure! Or, how about a refreshing Spiced Cranberry Spritzer? Just keep in mind the sugar content of juices and soft drinks, and remember to sip on about 2L water throughout the day.
Growing a baby is hard work! Christmas time can be busy and sometimes even a bit stressful with all the events, extended family, and Christmas shopping to fit in. Carve out some ‘me time’ if you can, look after yourself, and accept help from others…Merry Pregnant Christmas!
Written by Clare Carrick
Nutritionist (BHSc) and Founder of Loop Nutrition
loopnutrition.com.au | @loopnutrition
