Happy belated New Year! Best Start welcomed its first baby of 2023 on January 4th. Congratulations Brianna and Kai on your beautiful baby girl, Julianna Rae!
January brings a new year and the opportunity to adopt new routines and ramp up your healthy habits! The best changes are the ones that are sustainable, so start small and be patient with yourself. Everything counts!
View your body for the amazing wonder it is. Fuel it with delicious foods and move it in ways that bring you joy. Enrich your mind with new opportunities and surround yourself with good friends. Resolutions should be exciting and positive, not a source of pressure.
During pregnancy and postpartum, yoga can be a physically and mentally-charging exercise that’s highly adaptable to all physical capabilities. Prenatal yoga can improve your sleep, stretch your back and hips, and even help you get in touch with your breath (an excellent skill for when it comes time to give birth!).
January, the month of resolutions and newness, is also dubbed “National Soup Month.” When looking for new recipes to fuel your body, consider trying some healthy soups! (Bonus: soups are usually really great when prepped and frozen for the future… perfect for the postpartum period!)
During pregnancy and postpartum, your nutritional needs are higher. During pregnancy, your body is working hard to grow a new life. Baby will take what they need (you’ll be deficient in vitamins before baby suffers), so even if you’re feeling sick and can’t eat as a balanced diet as you’d like, it’s likely baby will be just fine. Even so, it’s important you consider your own body’s needs and be proactive about avoiding deficiencies.
Taking a prenatal vitamin can help you round out your diet and ensure you’re not deficient in any important vitamins like folic acid, iron, vitamin D, and calcium. Folic acid is a very important vitamin in pregnancy due to its role in preventing certain birth defects when taken preconception and in early pregnancy.
It’s recommended all people who may get pregnant take at least 400mcg of folic acid a day, especially in the months leading up to getting pregnant (because sometimes, you may not know you’re pregnant right away and the benefits of folic acid are most important in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy).
In addition to prenatal vitamins, folic acid can be found in a lot of fortified foods such as cereals, pasta, bread, tortillas, and nutritional yeast (a yummy, vegan seasoning that adds a “cheesy” umami flavor to foods!). Folate, the naturally occurring form of folic acid can also be found in foods like leafy greens, legumes, beef liver, and eggs. Try incorporating these yummy foods into your diet.
Don’t forget to take time to eat nutritious foods after baby arrives too! Proper nutrition can help improve your healing, sleep, and mood as you care for your new arrival. If you’re breastfeeding you’ll also want to be sure you’re eating enough calories and staying hydrated to support your milk supply. Your caloric needs are higher while nursing.
Taking care of a newborn can be a lot, so consider meal-prepping and stocking your freezer for the early days. We recommend foods that you can eat with one hand (for the times you’re “nap trapped” or nursing baby) and calorie-dense snacks for those middle-of-the-night feeds.
Everything in moderation! So prep the nutritious foods, but treat yourself too. Food is for more than just nutrition. Move your body, but don’t forget the importance of rest. And if ever you have any concerns, reach out to your Best Start team with if any questions or concerns. Happy New Year!
