Seven Things To Do When You Find Out You’re Pregnant

You took the test and it’s positive. You are feeling all the feelings and bursting with excitement. But once that overwhelming in a good way initial excitement levels out, you are left with wondering what being pregnant all entails. Don’t worry…I got you. I made a list of what to do when you find out you’re pregnant.

If you are an overly anxious control freak like I am, you run to google for help. Why? Because google has the answers to everything, right? WRONG. Google will leave you even more confused than you were before and all the do’s and don’ts of pregnancy get muddled.

Being pregnant is a beautiful, amazing, wonderful thing but for some (like me) can be scary. It’s amazing how quick your priorities shift when you become pregnant. You are now in charge of a little life growing inside of you, no pressure. What you put in and on your body is now important and the decisions you make not only affect you but your unborn child. That is a lot to grasp. But the important thing to know is that we all know women who have done this before and we can do it too. I’m here for you too.

Below is a compiled list I put together on what steps to take when you find out you’re pregnant in hopes to bring some sort of clarity. Of course once you’re done relishing the amazing news.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you would like to know more please read full disclosure here.

Call and schedule an appointment with an OBGYN.

• I know, this is obvious but sometimes with all the excitement you forget to call and before you know it you are 8 weeks pregnant. The sooner you establish care, the sooner you will know how baby is doing and get all the answers to the million questions you will have.

SKIP GOOGLE and join the What To Expect Pregnancy App and download the OviaPregnancy App.

• What To Expect Pregnancy App: Sometimes it can take awhile to get in to see an OBGYN especially if you are low risk. Most of the time they will not see you until you are between 8-12 weeks pregnant. In pregnancy world, that is a LONG time. This app is so helpful in guiding you through those first weeks of finding out you’re pregnant. Also, there is a beautiful community filled with women who are going through what you are going through. You can join a group of women who are expecting in the same month you are and never feel alone. You can also calculate when your due date is. This app also tells you what your baby is up to each week and how big he or she is growing. I used this app throughout my whole first pregnancy and I am using again for my second. Also, What to Expect When You’re Expecting book is a great resource as well if you’re hands on. Sometimes it’s nice to just read a book.

• OviaPregnancy App: Yes, I know, another app. But trust me, this app is super helpful. If you are anything like me and worry about everything, this app will be your saving grace. It has a few things that the What to expect app doesn’t have. So as most know, there are countless things you are to avoid in pregnancy like certain foods and medications. This app provides you with a food and medication safety lookup that saves time and worry. Instead of googling if you can have lobster or green tea and spending many minutes reading articles that will tell you yes but finding another that tells you no, you can go right to the app and type the food in and bam it will tell you if it is safe or not. They do tell you where they get their information from and you can always research it to make sure or check with your OB. It’s wonderful and a life saver. They also have pregnancy by week and other helpful tools when you are further along like the kick counter and contraction timer.

Buy the Oh Baby Pregnancy Planner

• This planner has everything you will need to know for the next nine months of pregnancy. It will keep you organized on all the “to do’s” in each trimester and how to prepare of baby. Not only does it help you through your pregnancy but it also has newborn care sheets and breastfeeding information that is so helpful especially if it’s your first time. I had to research and google everything with my first, I would have loved to have this planner the first time around to save time and worry.

Kick Any Bad Habits

• Now is the time to do away with any bad habits like smoking, drinking, and/or an unhealthy diet. I LOVE coffee so I knew I had to drastically cut my caffeine intake. Luckily for me, during my first trimester with both babies, I could NOT tolerate the smell and/or taste of coffee so it made it easier for me to stop. However, come my second trimester I was ready to bring coffee back in my life. Thankfully, you can have coffee but not more than 200 mg a day. Also, try to maintain a rounded diet as much as possible with fruits and veggies. This is HARD for some (like me) especially when all you crave is sweets and carbs but everything in moderation.

Take Prenatals.

• Research and find what prenatals work best for you. Sometimes it will be a trial and error. The smell of some prenatals can you make sick when you’re experiencing morning sickness. Most OBGYNs recommend taking prenatals before you get pregnant so you are used to them when your body is going through so many changes during pregnancy but some women don’t know this or had an unplanned pregnancy. Bottom line, you and your baby need the extra vitamins so take them as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. I take Nature Made Prenatal Multi + Dha and never had any issues with them.

Related Posts:

Where to create your baby registry

How to combat morning sickness

Third Trimester Checklist

Decide when and who you tell about your pregnancy.

• Finding our you are pregnant is so exciting that it is so very hard to keep it a secret. Before my first son, I found out I was pregnant for the first time ever. I was beyond excited. I told a lot of people- my in-laws, my parents, my coworkers, my close friends, and my siblings. I didn’t even think before telling, it just happened. Well unfortunately, I miscarried about a week later. It was considered a chemical pregnancy where something went wrong with implantation. Needless to say, I was devastated. To have the excitement ripped away from me was hard to process but then to have to “untell” every single person was daunting. What I learned from this experience is telling people about your pregnancy is a decision that needs to be thought through. Do what makes you feel comfortable. It’s an exciting time and it’s so hard to stay quiet but miscarriage is a very real thing. You have to make that decision if you do experience loss (which I pray you don’t ever have to), would you rather go through it alone or with those you tell?

Take a deep breath.

• Oh the changes your body will go through. I remember analyzing every little symptom and worrying whether or not it was a early part of normal pregnancy or if something was wrong. I googled way too much and lost lots of time to worrying. If I could go back and change one thing, it would be to worry less. Trust your body and your instinct. If something feels off, contact your doctor. If you haven’t yet seen your doctor or your appointment is far out, you can always request a HCG test to see what your levels are doing.

These are a few things that will get you started and some what prepared for the journey ahead. I hope it gives you direction on what to do when you find out you are pregnant. Congrats Mamas to be. And if you are already a mama and have more advice or steps to add, please let me know and I will add to this list. 🙂