How I prepared for a Natural Birth

Note: Every pregnancy is different and I did the below after consulting my gynecologist. I would suggest you do the same. 

Stay Active - Yoga, Walking, Squats, Exercise Ball - These are 4 things I swear by and followed every single day religiously throughout my pregnancy till the day I delivered.

Some videos references:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44fYnoSLL3c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfHkmMyvoBQ

Favorite Essence Products- I had crazy nausea for the first trimester. Some products that helped me during this were- Moms & Co Body Wash, Lemongrass candle in the room, Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter, etc. 

Prenatal food habits - I could not avoid junk food much, although I tried to balance things out by keeping my protein intake high. This helped me since I did not gain a lot of unnecessary weight and the right nutrition helped the baby’s growth.

Hospital Bag List -

-        Toiletries 

-        Entertainment stuff (music, movies, etc whatever will help keep you distracted when in labor if it’s long)

-        Soothing stuff for the same (candles, favorite essence)

-        Slippers

-        Cord blood kit

-        Nursing pads (for breast milk leakage)

-        Comfortable inner wear (consider the fact that you will be wearing sanitary napkins for more than a month for the post-delivery bleeding

-        Outfit helpful in feeding if you don’t want to wear the hospital gown

-        Camera and any outfit or props to capture moments with your new-born

-        Baby clothes (we put him our own clothes)

-        Baby wet wipes

-        Snacks to eat before while after labor/delivery (I’d kept dark chocolate protein bars mostly) coz even if I want to eat less it’s an instant energy

-        Cotton Sanitary Napkins (the hospital ones are the shittiest ones; I really liked the slim cotton ones by Stayfree. I generally use whisper but since whisper ultra has plastic lining it does not help with the rubbing of vaginal stitches. So as per my experience, the slim cotton napkins gave me most relief post-delivery with my stitches).

-        Going home outfit 

Talk to your partner - My partner knew exactly what I wanted with my delivery experience. When you’re in labor, your partner needs to know your priorities before you are in labor. Since, you will not be rational when in the pain, he will have to make the decisions for you! In our case, I had specifically told Anish to not let me take epidural in any case unless my labor is too long! I had told him how to motivate me and if I am beyond 7cms then the labor should generally progress quickly so just help me stay motivated through the major labor transitions. Trust me, your partner plays the most important role when you are having a normal delivery!

Favorite Mom-To-Be and Baby Products-

Moms & Co products for Mom-to-be and baby = I totally looovvveeed their products. Each and every product of theirs is outstanding. My husband had gifted me their mom-to-be package with body wash, stretch marks oil, etc and their body wash helped me in my first-trimester nausea. I fell in love with this brand. They are completely organic and the smell of these products is so refreshing (which is most essential when you’re pregnant and have a strong nose). I used their stretch marks oil religiously and I have no stretch marks at all!

I used their baby products for Ved too now and I don’t think I can ever switch to another brand now (I also tried Himalaya & Johnson products for comparison).