Hey, mama! We know healthy eating and taking a prenatal vitamin are both important steps in pregnancy. But sometimes, we can forget to take the dang vitamin!
Does this ever happen to you? If so, try some of these tips below so you’ll (almost) always remember to take your supplements and soon it will become second nature.
Bonus points-- these tips will also help your body to make the most of your vitamins. Cause it's not just what you take, it's what you digest!
Psst!— you can apply these tips to most any supplement routine in the future too!
1) Take your prenatal with your meals. Some vitamins contained in your prenatal are fat soluble, meaning we need to eat them with a fat containing meal for them to be properly absorbed. Our digestive juices and enzymes are also strongest during mealtime so this is a great time for taking most supplements (plus it’s gentler on the stomach— adios morning sickness!). It can also make it easier to remember to take them this way!
2) Keep the bottle out on the counter top (at least until it becomes habit). Don’t let it be out of sight, out of mind! I recommend keeping it on your kitchen counter top (or even kitchen table) so it’s easy to take with meals.
3) If you just can’t remember, set an alarm on your phone. This can be a helpful way to start a new routine, especially if you have a lot of movement and fluctuation in in your day-to-day routine.
4) Keep a small container of your vitamins in your purse. This way, even if you’re out and about you can still take it with your meals or whenever your alarm goes off.
5) Make a whole mini ritual that includes taking your prenatal. For example, in the morning you may like to make a cup of tea (maybe add some collagen powder!), pick a positive affirmation card, then take your prenatal and a fish oil with breakfast.
6) If your prenatal contains multiple capsules per serving (this can actually be a sign of a good prenatal because it’s physically hard to fit all the necessary nutrients into one capsule), then divide the doses throughout your day. For example, if you have a three a day supplement, take one capsule with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The body can only absorb so many nutrients at once so it’s helpful to break it up. (I have an 8 a day prenatal, so I take 3, 3, then 2).
7) If your prenatal is a once a day, take it with breakfast or lunch because our digestive fire (or agni as Ayurveda calls it), is strongest in the am.
8) Take your prenatal with a full glass of water. Regardless of when you take it, try drinking a full glass of water with your vitamin. Pregnant mamas need to drink a LOT of water (aiming for 100 oz. a day is great!) so this can be a good way to help boost that healthy habit as well.
Wondering which prenatal vitamin I recommend? I get asked this all the time. My favorite choice is FullWell Women’s Prenatal. This is the supplement that I personally use. I love it because it actually contains optimal amounts of the nutrients we really need during pregnancy (also great for TTC and postpartum!). The nutrients are in an easily absorbable form (yes, the form of nutrients really matters!), and it has rigorous third party lab testing. After being a happy customer (personally I do the auto-ship option), I also became an affiliate! You can find it here (and this link gets you 20% off your first order!)
I hope these tips help you to make the most out of your prenatal vitamin, and make remembering to take it a no brainer! Got any other tips that help with your supplement routine? Share below!
Psst… I think you’ll LOVE this…
Free Healthy Pregnancy Daily Checklist
I’ve created the ultimate checklist guide to help keep you on track with self-care during pregnancy.