Rocio's Pregnancy Thread

Due date: January 1, 2012

Being pregnant makes me all warm and mushy. I would love to be able to send a surgeon on a 6-week mission for MSF to help other pregnant women who need c-sections, etc. in places where they don't have such great access to health care as we do here.

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Now where to get $4000? Hmmm... Maybe I should go with the $10 obstetrical stethoscope instead.

Congrats on the pregnancy.

I love reading about the pregnant ladies here. I can enjoy all the baby stories and not deal with any baby stories on my end.

You actually enjoy pregnancy? lol.

I'm happy for you, I know you really wanted this... I'm curious is this the last child you plan to have, or are there more on the horizon?

If I could have triplets, I'd be thrilled. I would love to have more children but I'm not sure how much longer I'm willing to do this. I was pregnant for the first time at 24 so I don't still want to be changing diapers when I'm 34, you know? It was fun while it lasted but I'm just about ready to move on to the next chapter in my life.

Does anyone have good tips on what to eat for morning sickness? I need to find low calorie, filling snacks because I find I have to be eating all day non-stop to manage the nausea.

I'd like to be done having kids by the time I'm 32. It's a good number for me. As I don't want to be older than 50 when my children turn 18. I know it sounds stupid, but I've always wanted to be a relatively young mom. I do plan to space it out pretty well. I've already discussed with my doctor getting on the implanon, so that I don't have to worry about pregnancy for the next three years. I'm 24 and pregnant as well lol.

As for morning sickness, I ate granny apples, and green grapes, and bacon and fruit. Matter of fact all I ate was fruit and bacon the first 14 weeks of my pregnancy. I had horrible MS, and ugh, don't even want to think about it again.

I found that grains work best such as oatmeal, saltines or rice to keep the nausea at bay. I guess low-calorie is relative.

Great suggestions. Thanks!

So happy for you Rocio! I hope I'm as happy to be pregnant - I mean I'd be happy to be pregnant NOW but you never know how being pregnant is going to make you feel. I know it doesn't matter but would you want a little boy this time around?

I'll be thrilled with a girl or a boy.

I have a strict diet to ensure that I don't consume too much while I'm eating all day. It consists of 5 snacks of 160 calories and 3 meals of 400 calories. I have a chart with the cumulative total that I should have consumed at each point in the day. For example, I should have had 720 by 9:30am and I've only had had 500 so I know I can have 200 more now.

Normally I think counting calories is way too much work. But I know if I'm not careful I'm going to gain 15+ lbs in my first trimester, whereas you should only gain 2-5 (which I feel like I've probably already gained!)

For me snacks that contain protein seem to hold MS at bay best. I'll have a cereal bar or a bowl of cereal with milk, a cup of plain/vanilla yogurt, a handful of nuts etc. Carbonated beverages helped too, like seltzer water or ginger ale.

Do you tend to pack on a lot of weight in the first trimester? Typically you eat to taste/craving the first trimester as most women don't have a great appetite at first and baby relies on your stores for nutrients until your appetite picks up. I actually didn't gain any weight until after 20 weeks with my first pregnancy and nothing until about 25 weeks this time, I am up about 13lbs at almost 35 weeks now, and I'm not counting any calories, just eating when I'm hungry, and choosing mostly healthy snacks like fruit, veggies, yogurt, etc.

Yes, I do tend to gain a lot of weight in the first trimester, as well as the second and the third, lol.

Not that it's really a problem. I don't believe there is anything unhealthy about gaining, say, 60 or 70 lbs with pregnancy. I know some doctors advise against it. But that's really just because of the increased risk of gestational diabetes or having a larger child. I don't think the gestational diabetes is much of a concern if you're eating healthy. (Of course, if you've packed on 70 lbs because you consume nothing but sundaes and frappuccinos, that's a different story.) And I'd rather have a nice fat child than one that's underweight.

It's more of a vanity thing. I will admit.

Yes, I do tend to gain a lot of weight in the first trimester, as well as the second and the third, lol.

 

Not that it's really a problem. I don't believe there is anything unhealthy about gaining, say, 60 or 70 lbs with pregnancy. I know some doctors advise against it. But that's really just because of the increased risk of gestational diabetes or having a larger child. I don't think the gestational diabetes is much of a concern if you're eating healthy. (Of course, if you've packed on 70 lbs because you consume nothing but sundaes and frappuccinos, that's a different story.) And I'd rather have a nice fat child than one that's underweight.

 

It's more of a vanity thing. I will admit.

Just make sure you discuss with your health care provider the implications of calorie counts and restricting your calories (if you are), since nutrition is so critical to your body and developing baby. IMHO, as long as you are eating healthy during pregnancy and getting at least mild exercise on a somewhat regular basis, whatever your body gains during pregnancy is what it needs to, whether that's 20lbs or 70lbs.

I'm currently aiming for 2000 calories each day, which I'll increase to 2300 in the second and third trimesters. I certainly wouldn't want to be in caloric deficit while pregnant. I'm also careful to eat whole grains and high protein foods, so the calories I am consuming are packed full of nutrients.

I'm 23 weeks, and I'm actually 6 pounds smaller than I was prior to pregnancy. I don't necessarily count calories, but I don't eat very much either, and when I eat, I eat a lot of fruit, grains, and drink a ton of water. I do eat junk sometimes(goldfish, or kettlechips) but I've cut out chocolate and other higher sugar foods. I did count calories one day and discovered that I had been eating less than 2000 calories, so I have upped it since then. Oddly enough I'm still showing very small and barely look pregnant. I found that I have more of an appetite before pregnancy than I do during pregnancy.

I've always gained 15lbs in the first trimester (both pregnancies). I don't think gaining 80lbs is that great of a thing during a pregnancy, but anything between 30-40lbs is not anything outrageous. If not well, I'm screwed You're not exactly very big either, so maybe it's just a way for your body to tell you to keep your stomach full.

Fruits, veggies, whole grains - you know it already. Though I admit I was particularly fond of eating mustard I would literally dip everything in mustard or eat it plain!

I hate that doctors and people try to tell us how much we should be gaining. I know they are guidelines, but I think they make women feel bad if they go over the weight recommended or if they are under the weight recommended. For instance I know they say that most average weight women should not gain more than 35 pounds during pregnancy, but every woman and pregnancy is different. It seems like a common thought that if a woman gains more than recommended she is doing something wrong, or eating too much, when in fact she may not be eating very much and just gaining weight. I don't know, I've really tried hard not count calories, because I think I would go crazy if I did, I've also tried hard not to focus on what doctors say need to gain and how much is too much. I've just been doing what my body tells me. My midwife is not concerned about the lack of weight gain, and so I'm not either. The babies are healthy and that is all that matters.

So Rocio try not to focus too much on calories and just do what is right for your body and for you.

Micro managing my calories is actually working really well for me so far. It's been two days, and for the first time in 2 weeks I didn't experience the-world-is-crashing-down-on-me nausea. In fact, yesterday I came home and had so much energy, I cleaned out my car, ironed, tidied up, etc. Every other day I've been crashing on the couch, forcing myself to stay conscious until my daughter's bedtime (sometimes unsuccessfully).

I'm thinking about getting another ultrasound done. I just don't believe I am carrying twins. I'm not showing very much at all, and I'm almost 6 months, and as weird as it sounds it really just feels(from a spiritual standpoint) that there is one baby inside me. Do you guys trust ultrasounds? I know some people who had an ultrasound done and they were told they were having a girl, only to have a boy and vice versus. I'm just concerned, because I had the ultrasound done with a relatively new ultrasound tech(since midwife doesn't do ultrasounds) and the ultrasound pictures--well it just doesn't make sense to me. Meh, oh well.

I don't know how micro-managing calories doesn't drive you crazy lol. Some days I do fear getting fat and I'll think about how much I ate. But lately I've been pretty sporadic with my eating and not trying to count. I am concerned that I am not gaining weight, and that I don't look very pregnant yet.

Friend I went to high school with only gained 9 lbs. Her whole pregnacy.

Can you buy or rent a fetal heart doppler? You should be able to hear two heartbeats.

Friend I went to high school with only gained 9 lbs. Her whole pregnacy.

Wow.

Well I actually weigh less than I did before I was pregnant, and I'm 23 weeks. My pants(jeans) are very baggy these days. I don't get much of an appetite either. I'm still waiting to have the ravenous appetite that people talk about having when they are pregnant.

Can you buy or rent a fetal heart doppler? You should be able to hear two heartbeats.

Where do you get those I wonder? Can you get them from a pharmacy? If so maybe I can go run out and get one this weekend.

Good quality ones can be bought for $500 or rented for $50/mo but u can probably find a cheap one for $25 used on Kijiji. They say they aren't a good idea bc u often can't find the heartbeat so you'll always be freaking out thinking the worst. But if you want to reassure yourself without another ultrasound. Or just ask your midwife to find 2 heartbeats and let u listen.