Health & Pregnancy

Alanis Morissette Gets Ready to Rock Her Baby

Alanis Morissette's Pregnancy Trimester Tips

First Trimester: Go with the flow and surrender to the experience.

"I really wanted to eat in a balanced way during those early weeks, but all I could handle was a whole lot of carbs," Morissette laughs. "Thankfully, the nausea let up somewhere around the third or fourth month and I was able to eat fruit, too. But then all I wanted was fruit. Salads and greens came later."

Second Trimester: Do what feels right for you and your partner.

As an "older mother," at age 36, Morissette falls into a higher-risk category for potential genetic defects. The singer and her husband faced the choice of several invasive procedures early into the second trimester, including amniocentesis, but they didn't have any of them. Amniocentesis detects chromosomal abnormalities, something found more commonly in pregnancies in women over 35, and is performed between the 15th and 18th weeks of pregnancy by inserting a needle into the amniotic sac surrounding a developing fetus to draw fluid for testing.

 "I completely understand any woman's need to know, or not to know," says Morissette. "For me, if something alarming revealed itself during the initial, noninvasive procedure, I might go to the next, more invasive step. That didn't happen; thankfully, all systems were go. But I support a woman's decision, no matter what it is, about these kinds of tests."

Third Trimester: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Tossing and turning in the middle of the night due to physical discomfort and soaring hormone levels is not getting Morissette down. "If I wake up at 3, OK. I'm up. I'm lucky, though, because I can eventually get back to bed and turn off the alarm. Being able to sleep late into the morning has saved me!"

Plus… Labor and Delivery: Make a birth plan -- but be prepared for anything.

"I worry about the pain of labor," she admits. "But the fact that it has a purpose -- bringing a baby into the world -- makes me think I can get through it. We'll see. It's not like putting your hand on a hot stove -- there's no purpose to that! But while I have an idea of how I want things to go, I know that I'm not the only one with intentions here. I'm open to the experience, no matter what it brings."