Öhrn Life Management

During my first pregnancy I wondered what this talk about morning sickness was all about. Now I know. Or rather, I know what afternoon/evening sickness is.

The only thing that seems to help is food and sleep. I guess it’s my body telling me that I should calm down and  that my baby needs more nutrients. But what a roundabout way of my body to make me feel sick in order to get me to eat more.

Do you have any good tips for curing morning sickness?

Dear child,

Of course I don’t mind eating a few more meals a day. What a treat! And the extra nap in the afternoon is just a bonus. I hope you are enjoying it too.

The more I practice yoga and the more I want to honour my body and mind, the less interested I become in perusing the effects of alcoholic beverages. But in certain social circles the situation of being offered drinks still occurs, and sometimes a ‘no’ requires an explanation.

Since I do not want to share my secret with the world yet, I have some excuses lined up that you also may find useful.

‘No thanks…

- … I’m detoxing’. Come up with a special detox with a far-fetched reference of some book that no one heard of. Especially yoga teachers can get away with this one.

- … I am still recovering from the weekend / from yesterday’. Please note: the first can’t be used on Thursdays/Fridays and the latter can’t be used two days in a row.

- … I’m not feeling well. My belly does not agree with some street food I had yesterday’. Works wonders in a city like Bangkok, because everyone knows the feeling.

- … I have a headache’. Add a frown and a massage to your temples for an authentic look.

- … I’m driving’. Make sure your driver is not waiting in your car outside before you use this one.

- … I’m giving my liver a break. A white month’. Make sure you keep track of your ‘month’, your friends probably will.

Do you have any other good excuses to add? Feel free to share in the comments box!

Dear child,

No drop of alcohol would ever be sweeter than the thought of you being perfectly safe in my belly, far from harms way.

Chances are that you want to keep your pregnancy secret at work for a while. Both to let the news settle in your self and not to rise questions about maternity leave too early.

Here are some tips of how to stay undercover pregnant at work:

- team up with a colleague you can trust with a secret at work who can cover for you. It is always good to have someone to confine in. And to swap drinks with.

-say that you stopped eating breakfast at home when people wonder why you have such a big snack at work.

- if your morning sickness makes you dash to the toilet: complain that you just can’t get rid of that food poisoning you had, that you ate something bad again, that you will never ever have street food again, etc. Works wonders in Bangkok.

- complain that you have put on weight (because your colleagues will notice that anyways) Say that you should go to the gym, but that you just can’t be bothered. -Or that you will start next month.

- if you are an athlete, fake an injury

Do you have any more tips to share?

Dear child,

Luckily, this time around I didn’t have to keep my pregnancy undercover at work. I took a holiday instead.

Pregnancy has become something very medical. Yet it is something that women have always done. Before ultrasounds and blood tests existed, even before there were any hospitals.

It is one of the most natural things your body can go through, yet it is often almost treated as a disease.

Your body and your baby were literally made for each other. Your body and your baby know how to go through a pregnancy, and a birth, if you only let them work together without letting your mind get in the way.

The more relaxed you are, the better you will feel throughout the pregnancy. And the better things will progress on your birthing day. But how good are we really at relaxing?

Most of us need to practise to withdraw from the business of our lives and nurture the calm and quiet that resides in all of us. Yoga and meditation are wonderful tools for us to use to promote a calm sense of well-being.

As with everything, quietening the mind gets easier the more you practise.

What makes you relax?

Dear child,

I try to remember to relax as often as possible, so that you can develop in your own time. We are in no hurry.