Mindful Mama-to-Be: 8 Activities for a Joyful Pregnancy

Because I love the mindful bear technique when need time to be mindful, and there are so many things that say Mama Bear on them at the store and online. I thought why not combine the two together, mindfulness and pregnancy should go hand in hand, there's no better time than being in the moment while you're pregnant. I've been told it's a great way to stay stress-free, connect with the baby, and to know if something doesn't feel right with your pregnancy! If you're looking for some pregnancy-related mindful activities look no further, I have 8 of them, some may be new, others you may have seen before, but they all are great during pregnancy.

8 Mindful Activity Suggestions for Pregnant Woman

1. Prenatal Yoga: With prenatal yoga, we're able to stretch, improve our strength, have a better sense of body awareness, and prepare our bodies for childbirth and it also relaxes us! If you're stuck on where to find some places online for prenatal yoga, SarahBethYoga, and BrettLarkinYoga are two great yet free places to start. 
2. Light Walking and Exercise: Time to boost our moods and energy level, control our weight gain, and help enhance circulation by exercising and walking. Before starting any exercise regimen, please consult your doctor before doing them. 
   
   
   
3. Meditation: Bonding with our baby with meditation isn't as difficult as it seems,  you can still meditate and focus on a video while being kicked in the bladder. I have a list of places to check on my blog post about staying mindful on the go and have also included The Honest Guys YouTube channel as well. 
4. Journaling: As if I haven't given people more of a reason to have their own journal. I have one more, pregnancy mindfulness. Your mindful, gratitude journal is going to be a life changer! Some prompt suggestions during pregnancy include, "What are my fears or worries about being a parent," "What are some things I'm grateful for during pregnancy?" or "How am I taking care of myself during my pregnancy?" An even cooler idea is to create a pregnancy keepsake just for your baby! 
5. Creative activities: I'm not trying to be vague when it comes to creative activities, but I do know we all have our own ideas of what could be considered a creative activity. Journaling like in activity 4 can be creative, but if you are not much of a writer, painting, drawing, crocheting, and scrapbooking are some more ideas to get you started. Having some self-expression and accomplishment thrown in with mindfulness is a great stress reducer!
6. Breathing: Breathing is something that we do every day, I bet you're doing it now! Remembering to focus on your breathing can help with some pregnancy discomforts and relax yourself. Both my Mindful Bear post and my Mindfulness on the Go post have some breathing exercises to try on for size. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Mindful eating: Let's shift our thoughts from focusing on baby to what you're eating. The food is going to them as well, but it also teaches us how to be aware of when we're full, keeps us from being emotional eaters, and lets us focus on the taste and the texture of the food we're eating. 
8. Mindful communication: I know pregnancy hormones can turn a once calm pregnant woman into a beast sometimes, but we can still practice mindful communication. Using some empathy, avoiding assumptions, and connecting with each other's feelings can help keep things running smoothly. 

Tips for incorporating mindfulness into a daily routine

Now that I compiled a list, and give you some ideas, I'm moving on to the more complicated part, at least for me. Learning how to incorporate mindfulness into your (and my) busy life. 
Tip 1: Start small: Starting small and taking baby steps, is a great way to move in the right direction. If all you're doing is eating mindfully and breathing. It's all a smaller step to a bigger goal. 
Tip 2: Make it a habit: If you're eating, remind yourself it's time to eat mindfully and remind yourself to try to be mindful every chance you get. It may not be a regular thing at first, but once you get into the habit of being mindful adding more mindful activities and making them a habit as well, will become easier. 

Tip 3: Find what works for you: One mindfulness activity may not be the right one for you. Maybe none of this list is for you, but if you've seen a mindful activity on one of my other posts or online somewhere, do that instead. 

Tip 4: Practice it regularly: Set alarms, make mindfulness the first thing you do when you wake up or the last thing you do before bed, or do whatever you do to make it a regular thing. 

Conclusion

When you're mindful during pregnancy, you're able to bond, relax and even prepare for childbirth a little bit better. When it comes to being mindful, if there's a will there's a way, and take a little time to attempt being mindful when you're pregnant. If someone isn't as compassionate about your pregnancy mindfulness activities, practice a little mindful communication back, and show them some empathy an d compassion, without judgment.