Do's and dont's?

[IAmNotPatientOrPregnant]

Please bombard me with advice, tips and tricks. Anything helps. I've just found out I'm pregnant and my heads scrambled!

What can I and cant I eat?
When should I start buying stuff and what?
Anything else I should consider or know.. or try?
What kept you busy while waiting for scans and things?
When did you tell family/friends.

Just tell me everything and anything!

Read the book Expecting Better to cut through the hysteria and learn what is and isn’t safe to do during pregnancy :)

Congratulations! I'm only 16weeks and 3 days so I have started buying big items yet, but make sure you're taking folic acid or pregnancy vitamins. Were advised to just eat healthy but as long as you're not eating certain foods its okay to stick to what you normally eat. No go's are some seafood like shark, and marlin, and you arent meant to eat liver at all including pate, no mould ripenend cheeses or soft cheeses like brie, those are off the top of my head but also make sure your meat is cooked through and your veg is washed. restrict caffiene too. Waiting for scans I just did a tonne of research and watched loads of pregnancy videos and stuff. I told my family at about 10 weeks and told my friends after I had my first scan. I hope this was helpful in any way! You should have your first booking in appointment between 8-10 weeks or so

The NHS website has the information about food etc that your midwife will tell you at your booking in appointment.

Most things are personal preference, some people like to buy straight away, some people like to wait until after 12 week scan when miscarriage rates drop dramatically, some the 20 week scan for anomalies when that is all clear, and some after 24 weeks when the fetus is considered viable.

Same with telling people, some tell everyone straight away, some wait till after their scan.

There will be different tips to cope with early symptoms but you won't know yet which ones you will get. Just take it one step at a time, 40 weeks is a long time so just break it down into little chunks for yourself. Good luck and happy healthy pregnancy to you :)

First child we told family at six weeks. Second we waited til 12 weeks as I was 42 and wanted to be sure we were past that point.
Didn’t buy anything expensive til about 28
weeks, though a few clothes when we found out gender at 20. Obviously got room ready but I hadn’t yet finished the curtains when he arrived! You need crib, baby bath, muslins, nappies, onesies (you’ll probably get tons of clothing as gifts), grobags, cotton wool for bathing/cleaning baby, formula and bottles if you’re going that way, breast pads if going that way... nursing bras. Plenty of maternity pads! I used most of mine up when my waters broke as I seemed to be leaking all night waiting for c-section and you bleed for weeks after birth. But most of this stuff you won’t need to buy for months yet and don’t bother with changing table I never used mine. Travel cot so baby can sleep/be contained downstairs. Nappy bag. Blanket. Car seat. Pushchair that baby can lie flat in. Night light. Chair in nursery for feeding. Nursing pillow. Wipes. More wipes.
No alcohol no smoking. They say no unpasteurised foods (some cheeses) no raw eggs (some desserts etc). Some shellfish? But the French eat everything. And drink some too.

Look at the NHS website for food advice and ignore anything else you read online!
Don't buy anything - people will probably give you a lot second hand, then you can just buy the last few bits towards the end.
I think better to wait as long as possible before telling people (apart from close friends) , at first you can't wait to tell them but later on the constant questions and comments get annoying so may as well minimise these.

Rest as much as you can, the exhaustion in the first trimester is real. Apps like Bounty or BabyCentre are a good place to start to remind you what to do when.

You can either get onto the midwife books by going to your GP, or looking on your local health board website for a self-referral form. Folic acid tablets straight away are the only health thing you need to worry about in the meantime, apart from reading up on what foods to avoid!

I bought Clemmie Hooper's book 'How to grow a baby and push it out' when I was about 16 weeks and wish I'd got it earlier, it was really useful to read up on everything in one place!

What can I and cant I eat? - use the nhs website as there is lots of information. Key things that stand out to me are Brie, Camembert, meat that isn’t well done and high mercury fish are a big no no also no vitamin a such as liver. Key things to eat are your typical 5 fruit and veg and balanced diet. Eating for 2 is not right and you only need 200 calories extra in your last trimester according to nhs info I was given. Also make sure you take folic acid and vitamin d

When should I start buying stuff and what? - I don’t think there is a right or wrong. We didn’t buy anything until 12 week scan and just gradually started buying the essentials so we’re not doing a mad rush at the end! Can recommend mum2mum markets if you have one near you as we got baby grows and muslin cloths etc really cheap and great quality

Anything else I should consider or know.. or try? - I was given the book what to expect when your expecting and I can recommend that as it covers pretty much everything! The bounty app has been really useful for good discounts but shop around

What kept you busy while waiting for scans and things? I try not to count down to appointments as I find it makes the time slow down. I focus more on what I eat and try to be healthier rather than focus on the other parts of my pregnancy and I try to have bits and pieces that are not baby related to look forward to. I also keep conversations about the baby to a minimum as I’m 21 weeks and don’t want it dominating me for another 19 as I think it will just make me anxious!

When did you tell family/friends. - we told immediate family and very few very close friends at 9 weeks as I decided to tell my boss early due to it effecting something at work. We then told other friends at 12 weeks and work colleagues at 14 weeks

Thank you all so much, looks like I have books to read! I'll have a look at the NHS page