First 10 Things You Should Do After Finding Out You're Pregnant

So, you peed on the stick, the lines lit up like a Christmas tree, or maybe it just read "pregnant", and now you are wondering, "What do I do now that I know I am pregnant?" If you feel lost and need some help navigating your way through the first few weeks after finding out you are pregnant then simply look over the 10 steps below.

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 1. Right after you pee on the stick and get a positive reading, you should take a moment to consider how this makes you feel. Pregnancy requires that we take a step back from time to time and evaluate how we are feeling, otherwise it is entirely too easy to turn into a big huge emotional ball of confusion, well more so than pregnancy hormones cause you to anyway.

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 2. After you find out you are pregnant and take a moment to think about how you are feeling you should let your significant other know if they weren't there with you when you took the test. You will need an ally in this pregnancy process, and if you are in a committed relationship then the two of you are going to have to make decisions regarding this child together starting with the decisions I'll be putting on this list.

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 3. Once your significant other knows that you are pregnant, the two of you need to decide when you would like to let others in on your little secret. Some couples wait until they are out of the first trimester, since the odds of a successful pregnancy greatly increase after this milestone is passed. If the two of you are really stressed about telling your parents or anyone else in your lives then you might consider telling these people earlier so that you can relieve some of the stress.

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 4. Once you have decided on a time to tell others, you will need to make a doctor's appointment and look into insurance if you aren't already insured or if your insurance doesn't cover maternity related expenses.

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 5. Now that you have an appointment with the doctor, you and your significant other will want to think about things that the baby will need, at least for the first few months, and compare that to your financial situation. If either of you needs to consider a new or second job then you will want to make the necessary changes. Evaluating your ability to support the baby financially soon after finding out you are pregnant is important because it gives you almost 9 months to prepare financially.

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 6. Now that you have done some preparation by deciding when to tell others, making a doctor's appointment, and evaluating your financial ability to support the baby, you may want to take a moment with your significant other to discuss how each of you is feeling. Make sure that you share any fears and excitements. You need to establish this open communication about your feelings regarding the pregnancy early on so that you can continue to communicate this way throughout the pregnancy because chances are both of you will go through an emotional rollercoaster in the months to follow, not to mention your parenting begins as soon as you find out you are pregnant, and communication is very important for successful parenting.

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 7. Now you have handled most of the heavy stuff that needs to be dealt with early on, try to relax a little and enjoy your pregnancy. Think about what it is going to be like to be a parent. Go ahead and plan their first birthday party in your head, talk to the little baby in the belly. Take the time to bond with that little peanut.

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 8. Make sure that you spend quality time with your significant other. It is always important to spend time together as a couple, but pregnancy can really stress this point. You don't want this baby to come into the world with two parents who are drifting apart. Of course going out for a drink is not an option right now, but you can have low-key movie nights at home (complete with snacks of course!) or simply go out for dinner. Neither one of you is going to want to feel like you are going through whatever you are feeling about the pregnancy alone. Bond, bond, bond!

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 9. Find some useful books or a medical website to help you find answers to any questions you may have about pregnancy symptoms or anything else pregnancy related. I have found the WebMD forum especially helpful because sometimes I feel like I am the only one experiencing some weird symptoms that I have never read about before, but usually if I post something about the symptom on the forum I find at least 5 other women experiencing the same symptom. Your significant other can be a great support when you are pregnant, but sometimes you really do need to hear from someone else who is home to a growing baby.

First 10 Things You Should Do After You Find Out You Are Pregnant: 10. Go ahead and give yourself a little slack. One thing about pregnancy is the fact that you lose all control over your body, and thus you lose almost all control over your life. You can't really control when you get tired, hungry, sick, etc. If you need a nap and are in a place where you can take one, then by all means, take a nap! If you eat as healthy as possible 90% of the time, then allow yourself that unhealthy craving that you so desire the other 10% of the time. You don't want to stress yourself out trying to follow every rule every second of every day because stress isn't good for your baby either! Just make sure that you stick to the major rules, such as the "no alcohol rule".

Hopefully you found this list of 10 things to do after you find out you are pregnant helpful and it helped you to relieve a little, "Oh my gosh, I'm pregnant" stress.