Pregnancy & Parenting

Since there are a few of us who are interested in staying healthy and active during our pregnancy, I thought it would be great to start a "pregnancy group". 

I know that for many of us, it is easy to get caught up in the pregnancy and sometimes we do not always worry about what kind of food we are eating or if we are active.

This group will serve as a daily, weekly, or whenever you want check-in to keep us all motivated to remain healthy and active throughout our pregnancies.  Feel free to discuss whatever else you may want as well. 

Here are some helpful links to check out as well:

Calorie Need Calculator with the option for pregnancy calorie needs
Best Exercises During Pregnancy 
Nutrition During Pregnancy
A Week-By-Week Guide to Pregnancy

Le_cabinet ~ What kind of supplement was she considering putting you on if you do have low progesterone? 

Vanessa ~ That is too cute!  I can imagine seeing a pregnant belly and a bunch of movement around.  That reminds me of this image.

rainbow- i love that picture!  that's how i feel!

Hope everyone is feeling well-  nothing new today; a little tired.  I bought dr. scholl's orthotic inserts for my feet and my heels didn't hurt so much last night.  Really trying to stretch out my calves and achilles becuase I think that's where some of the muscle tension is coming from.  I have my first child birth class tonight- i'm excited!

Eating my oat bran today.  had to change it up from the fiber one.  it was getting a little boring!

I'm not feeling well! This week started the nausea for me! Plus I'm tired as hell. I haven't been able to go to the gym since last week because I'm exhausted. Everyday I tell myself "Ok I'm going today" and then I feel sick. Plus I'm eating everything in sight just about although I've tried to make it healthy. I went shopping and bought apples, grapes, carrots, ranch dip, mini wheats(because the Fiber One was just too expensive...$4.07 for that little box, I don't think so, not right now). I made my famous cheesy bake spaghetti on Sunday. I wouldn't be too worried about the weight gain if I was able to workout but I'm not right now. I hope I can go today. I'm drinking chocolate Silk Milk to keep my stomach calm. Hopefully that will work. Hey my calves are sore too Vanessa and I haven't even worked out! What's that about? I'm only 4-5 weeks at the most. Lord help me if I'm feeling all of these symptoms so early. My hair looks more lustrous or maybe I'm just imagining it, it's still early!! Too early!!

Today I am feeling a little less tired than I have been,  I hope that means this tiredness is taking a break for a while.  I have been trying hard to eat a little better, this morning I had a banana and an apple with a small bowl of cereal. I worked out last night, but I don't think I will be able to today, I have a DR appt this afternoon. I've been getting some blurred vision and dissiness that I plan to ask the Dr about today.  Have a great day everyone.

Morning ladies!!!

Have fun at your child birth class, Vanessa. 

Nenewa ~ Pregnancy symptoms are most common during the first few weeks and then they (hopefully) start fading away. 

I hope your dr. appt goes well Amanda! 

hi nenewa-  welcome to pregnancy ;-P  the first few weeks are hell and I remember being so TIRED i couldn't stay awake at work, on the train; and i took 50 naps on the weekends and still slept 14 hours a day.  this too will pass!!  I had muscle cramps to in my calves-  i chalked it up to being a gym-aholic going from 100 miles and hour to 5 miles an hour; and my  body went through excercise withdrawl!  i don't know if that makes sense!  You could also be retaining water as well.    Your hair is probably looking great-  especially if you are taking your pre-natal vitamins.  Just keep your cals in check and hydrate so your water retention stays low.  the scale won't budge too much.  I walk 2 miles every day during the course of the day instead of driving, cabbing or taking the train to different locations that I need to be at.  Its actually saved me a lot of money!

amanda- that sounds like a good breakfast!  definitley ask your doc about the dizziness and burred vision.  maybe you have low blood pressure?  make sure you eat enough!  let us know how it goes!  how many weeks are you now?

ms. rainbow-  i know so many people who have opted not to take the class.  I am in la la land and think about how wonderful my delivery is going to be-  i need a wake up call -  i've been shrugging off the intended "pain" that everyone talks about-  like yes it's going to hurt a little but I'll actually be holding my baby afterwards!!!  really complete la la land.  And, I really have to learn how to change a diaper.  Up until this point; i have rarely held babies (except for my neices and nephew)  -  i'm relying on  my newfound maternal instinct to guide me along this new part of my life!  that and I want to try to do this the natural way without drugs (yes-  I know) so breathing may help in this case!

i'll let everyone know how the class is!  i have my next doc's appt on tuesday.  the time is really ticking away. 

I hope you have as pain-free and easy delivery.  :) 

I miss sleep!  The baby has me up all night with her kicking.  I honestly think the bed moves when she kicks.  I remember my son using me as his personal punching bag, but I don't think he jolted me around as much.  Really, I feel like either I'm being jarred or the bed shakes.  Of course, she stopped when my husband came home from work this morning.  I wanted to see if he could feel the mattress jumping around.  LOL!  I usually notice it most in the middle of the night and early, early in the morning when he's still sound asleep (if he happens to be home).   

I think she had hiccups this morning.  I kept feeling that jarring motion every few seconds over and over.  I could actually time it and know when to expect the next one.  :)  When she wakes me up, I just try to remind myself that it's not much longer until she's in my room crying, and I'm getting up to nurse her.  That'll really have me wide awake! 

ms rainbow-   OMG i know i'm underestimating the pain; so I'm going to take it one minute at a time.  my mom had my sister and i naturally; so of course i want to be like her and do it the same way-  but I'm preparing myself for doing what's best for the baby.   I am definitley going to try to breastfeed.  at least for the first 12 weeks while i'm out on leave.  I really don't want to go back to work full time; so I may try to work out a way to work from home afew days a week and then in the office a few days; becuase i really can't see myself pumping at work and keeping it in the kitchen public fridge.  I work at an ad agency; where we have very open environment and "meeting pods" if you will so privacy to pump is an issue.  i'm not comfortable pumping in the bathroom since that, to me is unsanitary (i don't mean to offend anyone; it's a thing that i have with bathrooms) so as far as BF'ing for a full first year may be out.  I'm so jealous that you are getting a 3D sonogram!!  I want one!!

cecily-  this little one of mine is a karate chopper too!  she moves so much and she'll kick the remote off my stomach.  i feel her right now!  she won't relax until I stroke her before I go to sleep!!!  I have to wake up to turn over; so at this point; sleep has been interuppted a few times per night.  what week are you in now?   i've accepted the fact that sleep wil be a luxury for the next year and I'll have to give up sleeping for 12 hours on the weekend!!

Hi everyone!

I decided to take the day off. Truthfully, I am feeling fine, but I couldn't fathom going in today!!! I guess it's just one of those days!

My midwife called and said my progesterone levels are great, so no need to supplement! I think all the spotting has to do with the fact that this is around the time that I would normally have my period. I feel much more relieved!

NEWNA~~ I TOTALLY know what you mean about not going to the gym and eating everything in sight! That is exactly where I was, and all I kept thinking was how in the world could this be happening so early on!!!!???? I am 11 weeks tomorrow, and the hunger has subsided. Getting to the gym is another story, as it is SOOOO hard for me to get out of bed in the mornings!! I ENVY you Vanessa that you can walk everywhere!! I used to live in 2 major cities where I could do that, and I miss it like crazy!!

So, yesterday I made it a point to up my calcium to see if it would help this RLS (RIDICULOUS leg syndrome)....I drank some organic chocolate milk (haven't drank milk in YEARS!!) and had a few servings of cheese along with my calcium supplements. My darling husband gave me a leg massage before bed (God bless him!)...and alas!! NO LEG TROUBLES LAST NIGHT!!!

On another note, I have been ITCHING to get back into yoga!! Anyone have a recommendation on a good DVD? Something that isn't just relaxing, but gives you a great workout??

BTW, Vanessa, are you planning a natural birth???? Just curious!

I am 12 weeks pregnant and I seem to have been more tired this pregnancy than my last.  I haven't been drinking as much water as I probably should be, especially on the weekends. I just don't seem that thirsty and if I do drink more, it feels like I spend half the day in the bathroom.  The blurred vision only happened once, but I've gotten dizzy twice now.  I want to figure out what is going on before it happens again.

I still haven't decided on a birth plan for this baby, I have a couple of options.  I had a c-section with my 1st because he was breech and too big to turn around although he seemed to manage to.  So I didn't really have any complications that would require me to get a c-section again, so I can do a normal birth or a c-section. I'm kind of leaning towards having a c-section again, just because that I already know, but I have a lot of time to decide yet.

Vanessa, I'll be starting week 26 on Friday. :)  My son started sleeping through the night when he was 8 weeks old (meaning sleeping from 9 or 10 pm to 5am), so maybe you'll get to resume semi-normal sleep patterns sooner than you think.  I'm hoping this baby will be as good a sleeper as my son. ;)

I didn't take any birthing classes, either.  I just watched a lot of the labor and delivery shows on TLC.  My doctor wasn't on call when I delivered, and the on-call doctor seemed horrified that I hadn't taken classes.  She actually said to me "So what?  You think you're just going to push this baby out?" in her very sarcastic tone.  Well, that's exactly what I'd planned!  My grandma had all her babies on the farm, and I know she didn't go to any classes.  If she could do it, so could I!!! ;)  But I did end up having an epidural, which I wish I hadn't.  I was 7cm when I got to the hospital (after about 20-30 minutes of my water breaking and having 5 minute apart contractions).  The epidural stopped everything, and I ended up delivering later that evening.  All in all, I was only in labor about 9 hours, but still, it could've be A LOT faster.  So I'm going to try to suck it up this time and do without the epidural-if I can. :)  Oh, and I only pushed through 6 or 7 contractions, so he was out in no time.  I really wish I hadn't had the epidural since everything went so quickly.   

Question:  I'm curious as to what everyone's cravings have been? 

Cecily ~ That is so funny about your bud rumbling.  Too bad she stopped when your husband got home, I'm sure he would have been intrigued by it.  :)

Vanessa ~ I think it is great that you are trying the all natural route.  :) 

Le_Cabinet ~ That's awesome that your progesterone levels are great!  I bet that's such a relief! 

 

Can I join in?

I'm about 10 weeks along, and this is my first pregnancy...I'm excited but pretty scared too!

I really wanted to lose more weight before getting pregnant, but we can't always have what we want, right? =) At this point I just want my weight gain during my pregnancy to be healthy and steady so that I don't have problems losing it afterwards.

I'm new to the board as well...so hello everyone!

Hi hotmomtobe!  Welcome to CC! :)

As for cravings, mine change from day to day.  Today I was craving anything lemon...lemon yogurt, lemon cake, lemon cookies...but I don't have anything lemon in the house right now thankfully!  Although all the chips I ate at lunch today didn't really help my "diet."  So I'm just glad I didn't have cookies and cakes to top it all off. :P   

OH CRAVINGS! I was convinced that when this child meets the world, he or she would come out clutching chopsticks!! I wanted anything Asian! Thai food, Asian salads, fresh spring rolls, vegetable rolls, you name it. Then it was the Panera Mediterrainan Veggie sandwich (with 2 pickles, please)....a bit of Mexican. I am obsessed with cucumbers, and cole slaw (as long as I make i myself---I have a hard time when someone else is in control of mayonaise!!) Thank God everything has been healthy! I am normally a BIG sweets person,especially chocolate, but I have NO desire for sugar-thank GOD!!

Right before I got pregnant, my husband and I cut out dairy from our diet (we did it fir about 10 weeks), but now that there's a baby on board, I began eating it again.

It will be interesting to see if the cravings change!!!

~*Good Morning*~

 

good morning all!

speaking of cravings; i woke up and drank skim milk right out of the carton.  it wasn't pretty.  i just had to have it!

welcome hotmomtobe and congrats on your pregnancy!

so i went ot my birthing class last night-  and yes i had to watch a horrible movie-  but i know what happens when a baby comes out- so it wasn't like I was caught off guard.  I kinda have a birth plan; I want to labor as much as I can at home; since i'm so much more comfortable there; and then go to the hospital.  we live on the water and i find it to be very relaxing to watch the water!  it's almost hypnotic!  and; there's a nice park nearby that I can walk in; since i know that helps move labor along.  We are only 20 minutes away from the hospital.  I'm still planning on trying this naturally; it's a temporary pain and the outcome is so amazing; so if i can get myself through it; that's great.  If not; that's OK too!

i had the WORST dinner last night.....i had to have burger king!!!!!!!!!!  totally paid for it this morning-  like a food hang-over.  my hands are so swollen from all the salt!  it's water time!

speaking of cravings; mine were always in pairs.  Coleslaw followed by watermelon.  BBQ followed my cake.  Huge pieces of steak with a baked potato.  Nothing tooooo strange; but very overpowering.

I can't wait for the long weekend.  I have been having such brain fog lately at work. 

Thanks for the welcome vanessa1031 and cecilyb03!!

As far as cravings go I may have you guys beat for the worst craving to have...CHIPOTLE!! Ugh. Talk about unhealthy!! It's been that and chocolate for me...and yes, they are very powerful cravings.

Is there anything you guys do to avoid indulging in the really unhealthy cravings? Or am I at the mercy of my horomones??

hotmomtobe-  that is SO funny becuase I was craving chipoltle chicken from one of our markets here-  and bonelss buffalo wings-  how crazy!!!  i find that if i have 1/2 a portion of an an unhealthy meal my craving has been satisfied and I don't need to eat it all.  plus-  i can't fit that much in my stomach anymore since it's getting way pushed up now.

today; i've been pretty good.  walk to the train; oatbran for breakfast, 1c skim milk, baby carrot snacks, and l/f chicken barley soup from hale & hearty.  i know the soup is loaded wi/ salt; but i had to have it!!  :-/

i'm really trying to be here.  We have clients in so of course there is food.  all.  over.   Pizza, pasta, and cake.  grrrrreeeeaaaatttt