Being pregnant can feel like hard work at times so it’s important to find little ways to celebrate this special phase too. Here are 12 fun ways to mark the occasion.

1. Meet your favourite friends for lunch somewhere fun and share the happy news.
2. Throw a gender-reveal cake party! At your 20-week scan ask your ultra-sonographer not to tell you the gender of your baby, but to write it on a piece of paper and seal it. Take the envelope to a baker who creates a cake with white icing on the outside and a pink or blue cake interior. The big reveal on party day is in the cutting of the cake. (If you don’t want to throw a party, plan an intimate dinner with your partner and cut the cake together.)
3. Go on a babymoon. This is a trend that is enjoying growing popularity in New Zealand. A babymoon gives couples one last chance to enjoy a holiday together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby. There are a number of locations throughout New Zealand which offer babymoon packages. While it’s not recommended that women fly after 36 weeks of pregnancy, you’ll have plenty of time in your second trimester or the beginning of your third to get away.
4. Hit the baby shops for the tiniest, cutest baby clothes you can find. You’ll become seriously attached to your first pair of infant socks. (See our newborn checklist here).
5. Transform the spare room into a beautiful nursery. (See our tips for creating a nursery here).
6. Lean to knit – and make your first baby hat or booties.
7. Make mocktails. You could try cranberry juice, mint leaves and a squeeze of lime juice, shaken with ice and strained into a chilled glass. Garnish with some fruit on a stick.
8. Celebrate your growing belly by painting, decorating with henna, or making a casting of it.
9. Make something special for your baby’s room. A fun idea is an origami mobile. You can find origami instructions online and from the library. Build your mobile with the lengths of dowl and fishing nylon.
10. Treat yourself to some new accessories to brighten up your maternity wardrobe. A necklace or scarf can add a splash of colour and your own signature style to plain black or white maternity tops and allow you to get more wear out of fewer items.
11. Create a bump diary. Have your partner, a family member or friend photograph your baby bump every week – wear the same outfit each time.
12. Throw a baby shower. It can be as small and intimate or as big and loud as you want it. Many couples opt to throw a baby shower together – they’re no longer for women only.