Pregnant Saturdays: Pregnant and Alone???

Living in foreign country with not many friends and no family is really hard. Add a pregnancy into it becomes much much HARDER. When i was pregnant with my first baby i was back home. It still is hard with all the emotions, hormones and my weight going haphazard, but with all my people around it was much easier to handle.
I am still very lucky to have my mom and sis here with me the second time i am going through this journey which makes me think what would i have done if they couldn't be here with me. Most of the expats cant have there families with them. The reasons can be endless. Visa problems, money issues, family members not being available for this much time etc etc.
So I thought of writing a post about how you can cope or try to cope with this situation. I am no expert and these are only my suggestions so please before following any of them consider your situation.


1. Try to find Friends:

This is really funny cause i have been here in Khobar for the past 3 years and havent made any friends yet. But i do encourage other people to do that. Try knocking doors in your building or compound. You are bound to find someone you will love to spend time with. Having somebody to talk to at a time like this is really important. 


2. If Not the building try the Internet:

I did this the first time i was pregnant and again before my mom came to me. Its really easy to find online groups of Pregnant ladies you can be friends with and share your experiences and concerns. iVillage is one such website. You can learn alot from this website. From knowing how your baby is looking inside you to what changes in yourself you can expect. 
Facebook is another very interesting place you can find friends nowadays. There are many specific groups for ladies according to cities, nationalities that you can join. The ladies in these groups meet up many times. so you get plenty of opportunities to find people you have stuff in common.


3. Learn And Research:


The best tool to handle any situation is knowledge. Get yourself informed about being pregnant as much as you can. There is so much available on the internet, buy books and ACTUALLY read them. Information is your best weapon. Be ready.
I have been refering to two websites for all my problems relating babies and pregnancy. You can get a subscriotion for free and weekly mails could be sent to your inbox. The first one is that I mentioned above iVillage and the second one is Baby Center. But before trying anything out do consult your doctor.


4. Learn Something New:


A friend of mine did that while she was pregnant with her first. She started to learn how to knit. I know its a bit cliche but it was something that kept her mind occupied with something useful. Learning something new is always a good thing. Living here we dont always have the resources or information to a place where we can go and learn. For that purposes I think YouTube is the perfect place. I learnt the basics of knitting and crochet form Youtube. Because of pregnancy induced insomnia i have the nights to myself so I am trying to learn Excell from there and I plan to start Learning Photoshop from Youtube as well. I am an avid watcher of Makeup tutorials on Youtube which have taught me alot. In short when I am alone Youtube is my friend. A friend that is teaching me alot.


Stay tuned next Saturday for more on How to get prepared for a new born when alone.


Take care.