Have Your Cake and Eat it Too: How to Have a Happy Pregnancy

Contrary to what many women would have you believe, the secret to a healthy and happy pregnancy is actually quite simple. To truly enjoy these 9 months, you need only do one thing: RELAX!

Chocolate will kill neither you, nor your unborn child

We all need to eat more vegetables. Most women could stand to eat less chocolate. Pregnancy, however, is not the time to start restricting the things that bring you pleasure. While it is important to maintain some form of a healthy diet while pregnant, overeating and indulging in salt and sugar is hardly fatal. Gestational diabetes is certainly a legitimate concern, but so is your peace of mind and happiness. Once pregnancy is over, the cravings will go. Food will never again consume you like it will during pregnancy. Do your best to refrain from an entire pint of ice cream when you can, but enjoy it to the fullest when you know you must have it. Occasionally, when passing the ice cream aisle, I think back to my own pregnancy and how out of control my cravings were. At that time, if I even thought there was a chance I might want something, I got it. Food was all I could think about. Now, 9 months post-partum, food is something I think about only when I'm hungry.

25-35 pounds is a suggestion, take it lightly

No one starts their pregnancy eager to break a record by gaining 100 pounds during their pregnancy. Each and every one of us would love to be able to say that we managed to stay within the medically approved range. The reality, however, is that many women don't. Gaining 50 pounds during pregnancy doesn't mean that you are now fated to be 25 pounds heavier for the rest of your days. It means you will have 50 pounds to lose. The amount of weight you gain will not predict how much you will lose. Your lifestyle post-partum will. After a weight gain of 46 pounds, I was completely disappointed in myself. I worked out my entire pregnancy, but I also ate everything in sight. 6 weeks post-partum, I lost 33 pounds. 8 months post-partum, I had dropped 50.

You may see your old figure again, but it might take a year