Moms: What were you glad you did/wish you did while pregnant?
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I think what worked for me was finding substitutes. Halfway through the nesquik phase I switched to nonfat milk blended with whole, fresh strawberries. (seriously, I don't know why I wanted strawberry nesquik so bad)
It's kind of just like when you have regular cravings outside of pregnancy. Find something equally satisfying but healthier for you. And also, I think I wasn't drinking enough water. That still applies as well.0 -
Indulge in smaller amounts. Have a little juice glass instead of a pint sized mug.
Take a lot of baths. If you're sweating, it's too hot... but there is nothing better than heaving your tired bag of bones into a warm tub to let the water soothe you.0 -
Oh, also, there was something I did that is debatable and a lot of you may go against it, but I also had a bit of alcohol while I was pregnant. When I was about 28 weeks along I was so stressed out that I was having meltdowns and all I wanted was to put my feet up and have a glass of wine, but I literally had women tell me my child was going to be deformed/retarded if I did that and I would be a bad mom. I ended up being so stressed out that I called my ob/gyn to ask for her opinion and she said, "Hey, if that's something you really want and you're that stressed out, go ahead and have a serving. Your baby is big enough now and the risks you'll even remotely have from a small glass of wine are much lower than the health risks of the level of stress you're experiencing now."
I did it with that one glass of wine and one small glass of beer later at about 30 weeks. My baby has always been in the peak of health and I really do think those (very few, and moderated) glasses of wine really helped me with my stress levels overall.
Like people have said above, pregnancy is an individual thing. Everyone handles it differently, and the rule that Moderation is Key still applies.0 -
I was NOT about fitness when I was pregnant. When I had a craving, I ate it. I did walk about every night with family, though. This time around when we decide to have another one, depending on where my weight is at it will be healthy enough to only gain 20lbs. and I have all the tools from losing weight before pregnancy to keep me confident that I will lose it again once baby is here.
I've totally got baby-fever too! I also think that next time around, I'll try pregnancy workouts like yoga and hopefully I'll be fit enough to jog during as well. 0 -
Well I wish I would have taken out my navel ring earlier....other than that I've had three babies and each pregnancy came with different cravings and different struggles. 1st one all I wanted was bland carbs or cinnamon rolls I also had insomnia the 1st trimester, with this baby I gained 30 lbs.
2nd one I craved salt, which for me was really bad since I had suffered with Pregnancy induced hypertension in my first pregnancy (this continued through all 3 of my pregnancies). With this pregnancy I slept well and had lots of energy so I was able to exercise, still managed to gain 40 lbs.
My last pregnancy all I craved were Cheerios, fruit esp grapes and Greek salad. I had terrible insomnia throughout the entire pregnancy, I had no energy and sat around as much as I could. With that pregnancy I gained only 25 lbs.
Let me just say pregnancy cravings are like no other cravings, it's a whole other level, you may have the best intentions of eating a certain kind/amount of food and getting plenty of exercise, but you're body may have other plans.0 -
I started at a healthy weight and was normal bmi. I ate healthy when I was hungry and didn't eat when I wasn't. Nausea & run down & tired first trimester but the baby kept growing. Baby #1 gained 28 lbs, Baby #2 gained 30. Both babies were "aerobics" babies meaning I continued my aerobics class during both pregnancy all way to full term. Baby #1 had problems in 2nd trim cuz my abs were tight as a rubberband and hurt like the dickens for at least 1-2 weeks (*on couch, pillow to my sides hurt).
Good luck. You'll be fine. 0 -
My midwife had me have some wine near the end of my pregnancy to help me relax. It was always a small glass (4-6 oz) and less than once a week. So you're not alone, @spearmintskies0
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I wish I'd napped more and read web-based groups for pregnant women less. Seriously the derp! And gone swimming more.0
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I am glad I checked out "shape of a mother" (google it) to give me a heads up on what to expect, body wise after birth. Nice dose of reality, so you dont feel lame if you end up with stretch marks or whatever post-baby. Its totally normal, totally not a big deal.
I gained a normal amount of weight, if a little on the low side with my pregnancies. I had both kids while fat, and after a long wait, because I am sub-fertile. (PCOS)
anyways, I took the prenatals, did light activity, and ate whatever felt comfortable at the time.
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I also had 1/2 glasses of wine toward the end of pregnancy - my dr said it was fine to do maybe once or twice a week. Anyway, I gained over 70lbs going from an almost 15 year starvation diet to eating semi regularly (I worked with a therapist and RD with blind weighing).
If I could do it again, I'd track everything. My cravings were salad with blue cheese (I know) and smoothies.0 -
I wish I had looked into nutrition, as opposed to weight management, before becomimg pg and having my kids. I ate a pretty typical diet when we started having kids. I was of normal weight, a bit heavier than high school, and I ran and exercised frequently and long. I didn't think too much about nutrition and what would be the best foods for a baby (after breastfeeing was being reduced). Did I want them eating veggies and meats, or did I want to start them on grains or sweet fruits? When you have just one baby at home you can completely control their nutrition, and I wish I had stayed healthier with them as they aged and not introduced stuff like cheerios, raisens and goldfish crackers when they could have had (what I consider to be) more nutritious foods instead.
I'm happy I breastfed each child for a couple of years, found a playgroup to meet other moms with similarly aged children, slept with my babies in my room, and used a midwife.
As for diet, I get pretty sick for a few months so I tend to lose 10-15lbs. I reagain that plus another 35lbs. I got to the same weigh, give or take a pound, with all of my three pregnancies. After the birth I lose almost 30lbs within the first week, and than that last bit seems to hang on until they are toddlers.
Good luck with it!!0 -
I didn't pay attention to my weight gain. I gained 30# (average gain in 1992-3). I'm glad I read the Caesarean stuff in What to Expect When You're Expecting because I ended up having one. Nothing was said about being popped with a huge crochet hook, so pretty surprised when the nurse pulled that out.
I had both of my beautiful babies by c-section. Its worth learning about, because my first child was an emergency c-section, and I was scared to death, and didnt heal well, didnt advocate for myself, etc.
With my second child I enlisted my mother to be my advocate, and all around tough person. She got me my pain meds on a regular schedule, ordered me special foods, and sent the baby to the nursery when I needed my rest.
also- check out resources on breast feeding (la leche league) and formula feeding (fearless formula feeder blog) because you never know what is gonna be a better fit. I breastfed one of my children, and bottle fed the other. Both were awesome experiences.0 -
Enjoy it more. The first pregnancy is the last time in your life when your world is all about you. Spend that time doing stuff that's all about you.
Once that baby is born, everything changes. It's never about you again.
this is just not true. sometimes my life is about me, I have interests outside of my children, and if I dont foster them, I become an irritable crappy mother. 0 -
melimomTARDIS wrote: »Enjoy it more. The first pregnancy is the last time in your life when your world is all about you. Spend that time doing stuff that's all about you.
Once that baby is born, everything changes. It's never about you again.
this is just not true. sometimes my life is about me, I have interests outside of my children, and if I dont foster them, I become an irritable crappy mother.
I second this. I recognize that I am still an individual and I still have my own selfish needs (that don't make me a 'bad' or selfish mother) because if I don't take care of myself and have my own time, it tends to create negativity when I'm with my son. Which in turn, makes me stressed/makes my son stressed. The 4 or 5 hours I have to myself 2-3 days a week are really necessary decompression times. Especially because I had postpartum depression up until about a year and a half after my son was born. Without that time I probably would have gone crazy and hurt myself or my son, somehow.
So yes. If and when you get pregnant and give birth, your baby will be beautiful and precious and totally the center of attention. But forgetting about yourself and putting your mental, emotional, and physical needs in the backseat can be really detrimental in the long run.
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here I m, my son just turned 8m and I m back to pre pregnancy weight, though nt the same shape, not fitting back to my clothes. I ate very healthy, lots of fruits and milk was my fav during both pregnancy. I was working till 8m of my first pregnancy and 6m in second pregnancy and I always cycle to work. I m scientist by profession so my work is standing on my feet working in lab. I havent done any particular exercise though0
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I would get the "gaining 25-35lbs" out of your head. I was at a normal weight when I got pregnant. I was convinced I would only gain 25, b/c duh I already ate well and exercised. I gained 37 with my first and 35 with my second. I was frustrated with the "extra 12lbs" with my first. The second time around, I expected to be closer to 35 and was a lot less annoyed with the weight gain. Just focus on eating real food,and you'll be a lot happier and less stressed.
I lost all the baby weight by a year post-partum. Breast feeding, eating well, and low intensity cardio (started slowly) all helped.
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I wish I hadn't stressed out so much. I really should have cut myself more slack.
I lost 57 lbs before getting pregnant with my 2nd child. My first I gained 45 lbs and I was also Obese. This time around I gained the recommended amount (a tad under 25 lbs) and continued to log everyday. I'm very glad I did too. But although I weigh daily, I freaked out alot when I had sudden LARGE spikes. Which were all pretty much growth spurts.
I also continued (light) swimming. I swear it helps with Labor & delivery sooooooooo much.
ETA: I lost all of my pregnancy weight by 17 weeks postpartum. I'm now 7 lbs under my prepregnancy weight.0 -
Enjoy it more. The first pregnancy is the last time in your life when your world is all about you. Spend that time doing stuff that's all about you.
Once that baby is born, everything changes. It's never about you again.
This this and this. Also enjoy pregnancy and try to relax : )0 -
I was glad that I got a giant peanut butter malt shake at coldstone every day.0
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I've had 3 kids - gained about 30 pounds for each pregnancy. I went into each pregnancy at a normal weight. For me, I didn't stress about what or when I was eating. I didn't go overboard, but I enjoyed the extra food whenever I felt like it. I figured it was the only time in my life it was ok to be fat and not judged for it
Thankfully, it was easy to lose for me to lose the weight after each birth. I pumped and nursed for 11 months with my first 2 babies and 18 months with my third. For me, breastfeeding/pumping melted the weight off - I didn't even have to try and ate as much as I wanted/whenever and kept losing weight.
Sadly, when I stopped is when the weight started creeping back on. That's when I joined MFP and I've been here since trying to keep the weight off.
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spearmintskies wrote: »I wish I had been more conscious about my cravings and what I was putting in my body. During the second trimester I basically lived off strawberry nesquik.
So the big question is, how do you control the cravings? I suspect it's easier said than done.
Same as you do when you are not pregnant. Pregnancy does change how things taste, so you might find appealing foods you never liked, or gag at the smell of favourite treats. But it is not this magic thing that takes over your life. You still have free will and can decide when to stop eating, or what to not eat. I was on a diabetic's diet in 3 pregnancies. With strict calorie and carb goals, plus several other food restrictions. Of course I had all sorts of foods I wish I could be eating. But I also could make the decision to not eat them. Same as when not pregnant
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Every woman and every baby is different. I had the same starting weight with both my babies and with my son I gained about 26 pounds and with my daughter I gained 40! The best you can do is eat healthy and try to stay active. Cravings will try to overcome. With my son I craved cheese burgers from McDonald's. I'm back to my prepregnancy weight and I had my daughter 3.5 months ago.0
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Every woman and every baby is different. I had the same starting weight with both my babies and with my son I gained about 26 pounds and with my daughter I gained 40! The best you can do is eat healthy and try to stay active. Cravings will try to overcome. With my son I craved cheese burgers from McDonald's. I'm back to my prepregnancy weight and I had my daughter 3.5 months ago.
Baby does not really come into it, unless we are talking about changes of a few lbs. Variations in baby's weight or amniotic fluid cannot be more than a few lbs up or down, unless we are talking multiples of course.0 -
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I would get the "gaining 25-35lbs" out of your head. I was at a normal weight when I got pregnant. I was convinced I would only gain 25, b/c duh I already ate well and exercised. I gained 37 with my first and 35 with my second. I was frustrated with the "extra 12lbs" with my first. The second time around, I expected to be closer to 35 and was a lot less annoyed with the weight gain. Just focus on eating real food,and you'll be a lot happier and less stressed.
This is so true. I gained 45 lbs total (and that was at 38 weeks, it would have been more like 50lbs if I went to 40 haha!) I started off normal weight, kept active, didn't overeat. People would come up to me at the end "how much weight have you gained, let me guess, only 15lbs right?" I was all bump. After giving birth I was 25lbs lighter (my baby was under 7lbs too) so yea, try your best to focus on staying active and eating right.. but don't stress about the scale too much.0
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