Making The Holidays Less Stressful During Pregnancy

Holiday season can often turn out to be a very stressful time, and when you add pregnancy into the mix with all the hormonal fluctuations, it can be a recipe for trouble.  This is trouble not only for the woman who happens to be pregnant, but also for any unfortunate soul who, just by chance, happens to cross her path at the wrong time.

Women have traditionally felt pressured to stage just the picture-perfect holiday for the entire family.  By loading herself with this burden, she often finds herself in the unenviable position of having to juggle 100 different things at the same time.  This only leads to more stress and feeling overwhelmed.  Fortunately, it does not have to be this way.  Below are 5 suggestions which you can follow which will go a long way toward making your holiday significantly less stressful.

1) Marking the Dates on the Calendar:

Purchase a calendar that you will use for this holiday season.  Put that calendar up on the kitchen wall and begin to mark the dates.  Give yourself plenty of time to get things done and do not double-book yourself.  In addition to the actual holidays, also mark on the calendar the dates when you have to mail out holiday cards, when you need to purchase certain things, etc…  Remember the rule of the 6 “Ps”:  Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

2) Choose Your Activities

If you normally get invitations to at least a few parties during the holidays, then you will receive that many more invitations now that you are pregnant.  But you should not feel as if you must attend every party that you are invited to.  Be smart and choose two or three of them which you think you will enjoy the most, and politely excuse yourself from the others by saying that you will certainly miss attending, but that you need to get some rest.

3) Decide Where You Are Going to Go

You may want to remain at home during the holidays and spend the time together as a family, or you may want to travel cross-country to visit a relative, but the decision needs to be yours.  You do not need to feel guilty about turning down an invitation; simply tell them that you need to rest and that the traveling takes too much of a toll on you now that you are pregnant.  If you feel up to it, you may even decide to invite the family to your house this year.

4) Learn to Delegate Certain Jobs

Having the holidays at your home does not mean that you cannot still have fun in the process.  But you need to be able to ask for help when you need it.  No one is expecting you to pull this off by yourself.  Delegate certain jobs to others and do not feel bad about doing so.  The people you choose to help you will feel glad for the opportunity to contribute.

5) Shopping

You do not need to subject yourself to the nightmare which is shopping during this time of year.  You are better off staying at home this year even if it means that you will miss that sale at your favorite store.  Try shopping through the internet this year; all you need is a credit card and you don`t ever have to leave the house.  The gifts you buy will be delivered right at your door step.

The holidays are always an opportunity for you to create lasting memories.  Being pregnant does not mean having to miss out on all the fun.  By following these 5 tips and have yourself a memorable holiday season.