My husband and I will be celebrating our 6th year of marriage in 2018. We had been throwing around the idea of kids for a few years so this pregnancy was completely planned and we are as ready as we’ll ever be. I have been preparing my health for this for many years, unintentionally, but it’s safe to say I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been and my husband is...well, more healthy than he'd be if I weren't around. =) Little back story- I originally was put on oral birth control for the same reasons that many young women are put on it, because the doctor said it would help my skin and lessen my cramping. I took it for many years, hating it and switching between different kinds because they made me so moody and sad, but feeling like I had no other option because the doctor wasn’t giving me any other options. And at this point in life, I didn’t know to do the research myself. I have not been on oral birth control since 2013-ish, once I began this journey into holistic living and realized that it was playing a role in wrecking my gut and my hormones, and that the long-term effects of birth control are less than desirable. If you’re interested in natural birth control methods, or preparing for conception and learning more about your reproductive health, I would highly recommend the book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. The book explains cycles, tracking your cycles, tracking ovulation, signs of fertility, natural birth control options, how to maximize your fertility to conceive, and so much more. It’s just full of great information that we should be taught, but aren’t. (most of us aren’t anyway) I have also used an app on my iphone for many years to track my periods which was really helpful. I used Period Tracker, it’s free and super easy to use, but there are several options. Food aversions! I was really sick from about weeks 6-12ish. I had all day nausea and strong food aversions to pretty much my normal foods: meat and vegetables. I lived on nut crackers, gluten free bread with peanut butter, and fruit. I occasionally could choke down a smoothie packed with spinach and frozen fruit but that was rare. I drank Amazing Grass green powder when I get could get that down just to have SOME vegetables in my diet. I also went from eating 3 square meals a day to snacking and eating just small portions several times a day and that seemed to help with the nausea. Normally I limit my grain exposure, even gluten-free grains because I feel better without them. They take a toll on my skin and they take a toll on my mood. They make me really down and sad. Around week 10, after a month or so of being sick all day every day, I got pretty down. As an active person, with an active job, and another job that revolves around food, I wasn’t able to do anything that I enjoyed. I would go to work, and come home and go straight to bed. I didn’t cook, clean, do laundry, walk the dogs, see my friends, hang out with my husband, work on my business other that what I absolutely had to do, or anything really for about 6 weeks and it was hard on me emotionally. I live the way I live, and eat the way I eat, and exercise the way I exercise because I want to feel good, and have energy, and be in a good mood; and so for me to not feel well for weeks, was really tough for me. But I think it was also a good lesson and an eye opening experience for me to see what’s its like to not feel good, all the time. Like, dang. It’s hard not to be sad and cranky when you feel like that for days on end. It also makes me more hell-bent on doing what I do with nutritional therapy and educating people on the impact diet has on your whole health; mental, physical, and emotional. Around this same time was also during the holidays, where I was home in Arkansas with my families and eating what foods I could, which happened to also be foods that I don’t typically eat. So, I felt pretty rough, and my sleep was crap, and my skin was crap and I knew I needed to change what I could to feel better. After that week at home, I decided I was going to get my nutrition back on track, nausea or not, so that even if I physically felt rough, I would at least be supporting my mental health with foods that make me feel my best. I also started focusing on the fact that me feeling so badly was actually a good sign that things were progressing and growing with the baby, and I also remembered that there are just a million things for me to be grateful for and it was time to get out of my funk. I wasn’t really cravings food but the only food that sounded not disgusting seemed to be carbohydrates. I focused on listening to my body and feeding it what it wanted so I started eating more potatoes and starchy vegetables, and a good variety of fruit. (both good sources of carbohydrates) Frozen mango and grapefruit were two of the fruits I really enjoyed. I swapped my GF toast for sweet potato toast with peanut butter. I started cooking kale for breakfast even though it didn’t sound super great for the extra boost of calcium. Calcium helps with magnesium absorption, which helps with morning sickness (I supplement with magnesium. You can read the post about my prenatal supplements here. ) And then around weeks 11-12 I slowly but surely started to feel significantly better. Then the second trimester hit and it was like I had read it would be, night and day difference. I had energy, I didn’t feel sick, it was amazing. Other strange stuff: My sense of smell was super heightened. I could smell meat, vegetables, and alcohol from a mile away. Worse part of this was I couldn’t walk my dogs because no way could I stand to be that close to poop. Feeling exhausted all the time-I could sleep all day, or at least lay in bed for most of the day, but still feel like I just needed to rest. So weird for me. Bloat- I was the most bloated in the beginning and that’s normal from all the hormones, but I think it was also because of my diet and again, eating foods that I typically don’t eat. I looked more pregnant and my clothes were uncomfortable between weeks 6-9 then I do now at 4 months pregnant. Dry skin- hormones + Colorado climate= lots of dry brushing, sugar scrubs, and copious amounts of body oil. Also, lots of collagen. Luckily, it doesn’t taste so I could just add in my OJ/water mixture and drink it down. It was also a good source of protein for those days where I lived on bread and fruit. Very emotional- I’m a sensitive soul but not overly emotional. Now I cry all the time. Christmas songs, Ed Sheeran songs (he’s a smooth mofo), cute kids at the grocery store, the thought of how much I love my dogs. I just cry all the time now. Tips for the first trimester: Eat small meals, frequently. Even when you’re not hungry, to help with nausea. Keep food by your bed to eat first thing in the morning and in the middle of the night if needed. Keep healthy foods around. If I had donuts around when I was cravings carbs, I probably would have eaten them but since I didn’t, I snacked on fruit instead. Better for baby and better for my stomach. I tried to keep a variety of fruits and a few different kinds of potatoes, squashes, pumpkins and nut crackers or plantain chips around so I could feed my craving but also feel good about my choice. Eat starchy vegetables and fruit with a healthy fat to lessen the blood sugar dips and spikes which will in turn help with nausea. Keeping your blood sugar balanced is important for long-term health, but also to help prevent gestational diabetes. Eat plenty of healthy fats like nuts, nut butter, olives, seeds, coconut, and cook with coconut oil or use olive oil for salad dressings. Healthy fats support hormones and fetal development, particularly the brain. When you’re pregnant it’s important to eat a well-rounded diet of good quality protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Not only to support the health of your baby, but also your own health. Your baby will get what it needs from you and your stores of vitamins and minerals, so it’s important to nourish (I kind of don’t like that word because it sounds so boojee, but it’s used so often in my field, and it is used for good reason. Nourish= feed your body what it needs for physical and mental health. Whatever. Just had to get that off my chest.) your body so you can feel good. It’s also important to listen to your body. Are you craving protein? Eat some protein. Your body is really smart and will tell you what it needs if you will learn to listen. I love to tell people about one of my friends who had been a vegetarian for YEARS when she got pregnant. All of sudden, she was craving meat. So she ate it. Like, she went from only eating fish to eating ribs multiple times a week. And loved it and felt so good eating it. It’s what her body was lacking. I recommend that everyone eat animal protein for overall health; for it’s vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. (Unless you have a moral or ethical reason for not doing so, and then I totally get that and respect it.) Hydration-during those weeks of not feeling well, I didn’t feel much like drinking anything. The one thing that helped me get more water down was to pour about a quarter-half the glass full of juice and then fill the rest of the glass up with water. I couldn’t do my usual La Croix or other sparkling water because it made the nausea worse. Staying hydrated is important for you and for baby but it also helps with nausea. Things I tried for nausea: Sea bands Magnesium Milk thistle B6 Sparkling water Crackers Ginger chews, ginger tea, ginger everything. Peppermint oil, peppermint candy, peppermint tea Meditating Sleeping Sour candy (from the health food store because I try to avoid artificial colors and additives)- someone suggested this in my “First Trimester group meeting.” It didn’t really help but it’s not something I normally eat and it was really tasty! Candy is good! I had mostly forgotten. Chiropractic- Okay, so I only went once to see if it could help with nausea, it didn’t, but will start going regularly because it is so helpful during pregnancy and labor. Holistic pregnancy-
I’ve really become pretty crunchy over the years. I’m not even sure how it happened. Sometimes I even surprise myself at how crunchy I have become. But the more I learn, the more I know, and the more I steer away from, well, we’ll say the more I steer TOWARDS more natural and holistic alternatives. So, I knew I didn’t want a typical hospital birth (if possible) and fortunately I live in a state where alternatives are plentiful. I’d love to have a home birth but am afraid it would be too much for my dogs, so I found this lovely birthing center not far from my house that is just like a home birth but in someone else’s home. That just so happens to have a birthing tub, big open showers, and midwifes, and whatever other medical things are needed for birth. And they do all the clean up, which sounds pretty great to me. My dogs would probably be all over that placenta. Just saying. Why I chose a Birth Center “The midwifery model of care recognizes the importance of good nutrition as the best way to prevent the most common complications of pregnancy. The midwifery model of care includes: monitoring the physical, psychological, and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle; providing the mother with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support; minimizing technological interventions, and identifying and referring women who require obstetrical attention” from another book I highly recommend, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin. Other benefits to birthing centers are: they use movement for pain management rather than drugs, the rate of C-section is exponentially lower, the stay is much shorter-generally 6-12 hours total, it’s a much more calm, peaceful and homey environment, you can pretty well have whoever you want in the room with you (is that a benefit? I’m undecided at this point), and most importantly, there’s just more freedom of choice and it’s a more holistic mindset. This is really important to me to have a natural birth the way nature intended without the intervention of drugs or someone telling me I’m taking too long. Just my personal opinion though. You can read more about the differences between hospital births and birth centers here and here. And so this birthing center, Baby + Co, is where I get all my prenatal care done and it’s where I’ll deliver, assuming all goes well. If not, they are partnered with a nearby hospital and I’ll be transferred there if needed. And if that happens, then that’s cool, too. One of my all time favorite quotes is, “Attitude is the difference between and ordeal and an adventure” and so I’m treating this like my greatest adventure. I just want to fully experience it all. The good, the bad, the hard, the intense and scary parts. I’m in awe of what’s happening with my body. It was made for this. I was made for this. And I LOVE adventures, so bring it on.
1 Comment
DeAnna
4/13/2018 10:10:45 pm
Thank you for sharing this Chloe! I really enjoyed reading it and have several takeaways to think about for when my time comes around. :)
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AuthorChloe is a holistic nutritionist, certified Whole30 coach, certified personal trainer, and Beautycounter consultant who loves all things: food, fitness, wellness, outdoor, dog, and non-toxic living related. (especially people) She's on the hunt for optimal, yet sustainable health and happiness, and enjoys sharing her learning's and experiences with everyone who wants to listen. And some who don't. Archives
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