I am in the third trimester of my second pregnancy now, and I’m coming to the conclusion that having a baby due right after summer’s end makes for a long summer!
With that thought in mind, I wanted to share a few tips and tricks on how I’m surviving the summer as a very pregnant lady — I’ll start things off by saying ain’t nobody got time for a heat wave in the South, but especially not pregnant mamas!
1. Find alternatives to your usual places of entertainment.
My son likes going on a walk with me and the dog outside, and he likes the playground at our apartment complex. Unfortunately, it’s entirely too hot for this mama to be running around outside during the day, and realistically when the sun is out, it’s too hot for my fair-skinned little boy, too! Instead I’m finding alternatives to our usual haunts, like taking my son to the play place at the mall or even going to the park in the evening when the sun and temps are going down. It gets us out but keeps us out of most of the heat, so for me, it’s a win-win!
2. Stock up on cool treats to beat the heat.
One of the great things about summer is how many fruits and vegetables are in season. I like to keep my fridge stocked with lots of fresh fruits and veggies as treats for my family and me. I especially like having things like cucumbers, grapes, melons (like cantaloupe), tomatoes, and berries on hand. These are great treats that I can cut up all at once and store for a quick grab. Some of these things also have a high water content, which helps with the hydration process as well. It doesn’t hurt that fruits and vegetables are relatively healthy, too!
3. Get out of the house for a drive.
I sometimes get a bit of cabin fever as a stay-at-home mom, so it helps to get out every once in a while. I know it would be ideal to get out of the house and into the great outdoors, but sometimes I can’t handle the heat, especially when my son demands to be carried around. Instead, just taking a drive gives me a little change of scenery, gets us out of the house for a while, and keeps us in the cool air long enough to lose some of the cabin fever. It’s a cheap way to get out of the house, survive the summer heat, and manage some of the isolation of being a stay-at-home mom.
4. Make some freezer meals to save your sanity in the kitchen.
Perhaps not everyone deals with a swelteringly hot kitchen like I do. Perhaps you have a kitchen with multiple vents that are strategically placed to actually assist in cooling your kitchen rather than blowing air out into the living room. (If so, I am insanely jealous — can I stay with you?) Anyway, one of the biggest issues I have every summer is how ridiculously hot our kitchen gets any time I try to cook in it. So in order to survive the heat and remain a reasonably sane pregnant woman, I’ve started prepping ahead by making enough freezer slow cooker meals to last for a week or so. I get my ingredients together the week before and do the prepping while my son naps. Then when the next week rolls around, the most cooking I have to do is popping a can of something on the stove as a side or putting together a salad to go with it. It’s really saved my sanity this summer, and it’s something I plan to keep up and increase as I get closer to my due date so that I can enjoy some downtime with a newborn around.
5. Don’t guilt yourself if you don’t get out.
It would be nice to be supermom and be going, going, going all summer long. My son is an active, excited boy most days, and I realize he needs lots of time to run around. Unfortunately for me, the heat and exhaustion can be pretty oppressive, so rather than feel guilty for not getting out more often and letting him run around, I’m choosing to give myself grace. Pregnancy is tough, and chasing a toddler around makes it harder. I shouldn’t make it harder on myself by choosing guilt trips for not managing what all the other moms on my newsfeed seem to do. If you’re pregnant and trying to chase a toddler around, let me give you some advice: give yourself some grace this summer! Don’t wear yourself out before your baby comes. Let yourself rest and let the house get a little messy because in the grand scheme of things, you can always get out more once the summer heat dies down a bit.
