Pregnancy - December 2010

]

Hey, you seem to know all about supplements etc - I know I think at least I saw something on green tea maybe not being great for pregs? What about reg lavendar earl gray? I don't like tea really, but someone sent me some and I thought I would give it a try. It's so stinking cold here (well, only 18-35, but our house is insulated about as well as a tuna can, so...) and I'm out of hot chocolate I thought i might try it. What's the skinny on tea and preg?

I think any tea is great in pregnancy or not, but I also don't think any food should be "forbidden" during pregnancy either. Anyway, a great tea for pregnancy is red raspberry leaf or a pregnancy tea by Traditional Medicinals. Red raspberry leaf supports a toned uterus. Their pregnancy tea contains several different leaves, one of which is alfalfa which is superb in pregnancy, giving you vit K which is converted for your baby. This is excellent for mothers refusing a vit K shot for baby after birth and for little blood loss after birth of the placenta b/c of vit K's awesome blood clotting factors you receive naturally instead of artificially.

I forgot to say the link below is an excellent resource for pregnant mothers.

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/

Hey, you seem to know all about supplements etc - I know I think at least I saw something on green tea maybe not being great for pregs? What about reg lavendar earl gray? I don't like tea really, but someone sent me some and I thought I would give it a try. It's so stinking cold here (well, only 18-35, but our house is insulated about as well as a tuna can, so...) and I'm out of hot chocolate I thought i might try it. What's the skinny on tea and preg?

I think any tea is great in pregnancy or not, but I also don't think any food should be "forbidden" during pregnancy either. Anyway, a great tea for pregnancy is red raspberry leaf or a pregnancy tea by Traditional Medicinals. Red raspberry leaf supports a toned uterus. Their pregnancy tea contains several different leaves, one of which is alfalfa which is superb in pregnancy, giving you vit K which is converted for your baby. This is excellent for mothers refusing a vit K shot for baby after birth and for little blood loss after birth of the placenta b/c of vit K's awesome blood clotting factors you receive naturally instead of artificially.

I forgot to say the link below is an excellent resource for pregnant mothers.

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/

I sure enjoy my teas too and hot chocolate. I love both the Yogi Calming and Yogi Bedtime teas. However, I haven't had any yet this pregnancy because it says right on the box and on each individual packet "WARNING Do not use during pregnancy or while nursing." Makes no sense to me and want to ask my doctor about it. He will probably look at it and say it is fine. He prescribed something for me years back when I was nursing my second and it said "not to be taken while pregnant or nursing." I asked him if it was still okay and he said "yes, you can take it. That is just a lawyer's cover your *kitten* statement." I will never forget that line.

The ingredients in the calming tea I enjoy are:

Organic Licorice Root
Organic Chamomile Flower
Organic Gotu Kola
Organic Hibiscus Flower
Organic Fennel Seed
Organic Lemon Grass
Organic Cardamom Seed
Organic Orange Peel
Organic Rose Hip
Organic English Lavender Flower
Organic Barley Malt
Natural Plum Flavor

So I just did some looking on the internet and this is what it said about drinking herbal teas while pregnant:

Herbal teas
Herbal teas are naturally caffeine free, so caffeine is not an issue when consuming this type of tea. The concern with consuming herbal teas during pregnancy is the lack of data available on most herbs and their effects on a developing fetus. There are mixed opinions on the safety of herbal teas, for both pregnant and non-pregnant women.

Most commercial brands of herbal teas are thought to be safe for anyone to consume in reasonable amounts. Herbal tea companies, such as Celestial Seasonings, report that they do not use any herbs that are considered dangerous and choose to use herbs from guidelines that the FDA has published. The herbal teas that are considered to be unsafe are those that are not made commercially, those made with excessive amounts of herbs (amounts larger than those found in common foods or drinks), or those made with herbs that are known to be toxic. As with most things, it is always best to talk with your midwife or doctor about any herbal teas that you are interested in drinking.

a side note on my apt. She mentioned weight gain ranges and said that I might find myself gaining more just because of the holidays, and to not let it upset me if it happens. I mentioned to the midwife and the med student that I counted my calories and they were amazed! She was even more amazed when I said that I stayed under 2000 for Thanksgiving. She said "for the day or the meal?!" :laugh: (I actually gave myself a free pass on TGVN, but only ate until I was full and skipped dessert because I really did not want it. Logging after the fact I found that I stayed under my limit!)

[

Congrats!! Yay! Well for me early on I didn't need to
add too much calories I was eating about what you eat
but lately my nausea seems to go away when I snack more
throughout the day so needless to say I had to listen to my body.
So far I've gained 2lbs but it may be water weight cause I have
been bad w my water intake. That's what I need to work
on is drinking my water. How far along are you?

Thanks ladies!!

I am not exactly sure how far along I am. According to the advice nurse about 5 weeks along. So still very, very early. I don't see the doctor until the 22nd. Stupid Kaiser!!

I am just so scared about gaining too much weight. I still had so much weight to lose and this pregnancy was so unexpected. I am thinking that maybe I should change my calories to maintenance calories and see what happens. i still plan to exercise at least 5 times a week. Although I can't do Insanity anymore. I will continue walking until I see the doctor and see what she says.

With Kaiser you have to attend a prenatal registration class before you are seen. At this class you go over nutrition and they tell you what you can and can't eat. They also do all of your lab work so that by the time you have your first appointment they have all of the information. The class is super helpful so make sure to attend. This is my 3rd baby I will be having at Kaiser and they have been WONDERFUL with all of the pregnancies.

Oh wow, so I won't even see the doctor on the 22nd. They told me about the lab and the class but they didn't say that I wouldn't see the doctor on that day. I was really hoping to see the doctor by then. Do you know how much later will I able to see the doctor after the class and the lab work is done?
[/quote]

I have always gotten my appointments within the next week. They have always done an ultrasound at the first visit so that is something to look forward to.

Hey, you seem to know all about supplements etc - I know I think at least I saw something on green tea maybe not being great for pregs? What about reg lavendar earl gray? I don't like tea really, but someone sent me some and I thought I would give it a try. It's so stinking cold here (well, only 18-35, but our house is insulated about as well as a tuna can, so...) and I'm out of hot chocolate I thought i might try it. What's the skinny on tea and preg?

I think any tea is great in pregnancy or not, but I also don't think any food should be "forbidden" during pregnancy either. Anyway, a great tea for pregnancy is red raspberry leaf or a pregnancy tea by Traditional Medicinals. Red raspberry leaf supports a toned uterus. Their pregnancy tea contains several different leaves, one of which is alfalfa which is superb in pregnancy, giving you vit K which is converted for your baby. This is excellent for mothers refusing a vit K shot for baby after birth and for little blood loss after birth of the placenta b/c of vit K's awesome blood clotting factors you receive naturally instead of artificially.

I forgot to say the link below is an excellent resource for pregnant mothers.

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/

I sure enjoy my teas too and hot chocolate. I love both the Yogi Calming and Yogi Bedtime teas. However, I haven't had any yet this pregnancy because it says right on the box and on each individual packet "WARNING Do not use during pregnancy or while nursing." Makes no sense to me and want to ask my doctor about it. He will probably look at it and say it is fine. He prescribed something for me years back when I was nursing my second and it said "not to be taken while pregnant or nursing." I asked him if it was still okay and he said "yes, you can take it. That is just a lawyer's cover your *kitten* statement." I will never forget that line.

The ingredients in the calming tea I enjoy are:

Organic Licorice Root
Organic Chamomile Flower
Organic Gotu Kola
Organic Hibiscus Flower
Organic Fennel Seed
Organic Lemon Grass
Organic Cardamom Seed
Organic Orange Peel
Organic Rose Hip
Organic English Lavender Flower
Organic Barley Malt
Natural Plum Flavor

So I just did some looking on the internet and this is what it said about drinking herbal teas while pregnant:

Herbal teas
Herbal teas are naturally caffeine free, so caffeine is not an issue when consuming this type of tea. The concern with consuming herbal teas during pregnancy is the lack of data available on most herbs and their effects on a developing fetus. There are mixed opinions on the safety of herbal teas, for both pregnant and non-pregnant women.

Most commercial brands of herbal teas are thought to be safe for anyone to consume in reasonable amounts. Herbal tea companies, such as Celestial Seasonings, report that they do not use any herbs that are considered dangerous and choose to use herbs from guidelines that the FDA has published. The herbal teas that are considered to be unsafe are those that are not made commercially, those made with excessive amounts of herbs (amounts larger than those found in common foods or drinks), or those made with herbs that are known to be toxic. As with most things, it is always best to talk with your midwife or doctor about any herbal teas that you are interested in drinking.

you know...I have 2 pregnancy books that completly contradict each other. One says chamomile is safe, the other says avoid it. Also read green tea should be avoided. Havent had tea yet...and I miss it!

I feel really really tired today. I have been working WAY too much lately. I am getting home a little earlier than usual today and tommorow so I am excited to relax a bit. This weekend I have NOTHING planned. Hooray for that!

So I splurged on myself today (I NEVER do) and bought a BodyMedia Fit on ebay. ($100 band and display - used, but great deal! It's $300 new!). I have been wanting one for months and decided - hey, my hubby just sent himself on a $700 10 day trip to AZ (plus two weeks unpaid off work... ) to see his family (after also buying himself pretty much whatever he wants whenever he wants) - I can get myself one thing I have been looking at for like 6 months and still want, even if it's what I consider to be a ton of money! I hate to have to pay the subscription price on top of it, but I find the info so intriguing! I really want to know my full day burn (today I hauled in wood from the backyard to the fireplace 4 times - I wonder how that spiked my cals and HR!) and I really want to know what my sleep efficiency (or inefficiency as I think will be the case!) is. Doing this when preg will probably be great since it will track the day to day changes in my calorie burn and sleeping patterns etc. Here's hoping it works OK being used. Considering how much i LOVE LOVE LOVE my heart rate monitor I think I will love this too! I hope it ships fast!

oh, i forgot to post the other day that - we were talking a few weeks ago about feeling the baby move earlier than many OBs / professionals say that you can feel it. So at my apt Tuesday when the med student was looking for the heart beat he was sort of looking all over. I felt like pointing and saying - you'll find it right here! But I didn't. Anyway... lo and behold, when he found it, it was exactly where i have been feeling things every few days since week 11.5.

Hello ladies,
I have really enjoyed reading through all of these posts! I feel like I know a lot of you already!

So, I set my calories to mantenance. Do you think that is a bad idea? I weigh like 250lbs right now :-s... urghhh I just can't believe I am SO DARN HEAVY!!!! I started MFP like 2 weeks before I found out I was preggo.

I am only 5 weeks right now. Should I wait until I am farther along to set my goal to maintenance?

On another note...

I find myself TERRIFIED that something is going to go wrong. Do/did you guys worry as well? I have always wanted to become a mother, this has always been my dream... maybe it's because I have so been looking forward to this for so long that I feel like it can't be real?

One final question- how long did ya'all wait to tell your families? I know the typical 12 weeks thing to tell everyone else... think it is a bad idea to tell my mom and inlaws this Christmas? I would be about 8 weeks then.

I I only have 14 more weeks of work! That means 18 weeks until my due date, yay! ... It will be nice to have a nice little break before my baby comes.

That sounds so nice! I quit my Sat/Sun restaurant job the week before I was due, but I went into my normal Mon-Fri for a full day in labor (mild labor...) But that was 100% financially driven since I don't get any maternity leave. I had to sell my horse to cover bills for the 2 weeks I actually took off. This time I should at least have 1 week of vacation time I can use and hopefully the hubby will be working and maybe I can take 3 or 4 weeks off. Probably not. It will probably be 2 again. :ohwell:

You don't get a maternity leave? Here in California we get to start maternity leave at 36 weeks and remain on maternity leave until 6 weeks after if you have a vaginal birth and 8 weeks off if you have a c-section. They take the money out of our paychecks from the moment we begin working here , lol it is disability pay and the only way I have ever gotten back any of that money is by taking my maternity leaves. Yay 22 weeks Sunday so exciting!

That is unreal! Here in Canada, we get a full 12 months of maternity leave! And that is Canada wide.

The Government pays us unemployment for the full year, which is 55% of your wage before you went on maternity leave. If you worked in your job for at least a year, your employer also has to keep it open for you for that entire 12 months- they cannot hire someone to replace you permanently and have to give you your job back when your time is up.

I find it sooo sad that some people don't get any at all. I never realized how lucky we are up here!

I have heard that from some of the publishers I work with, I think it is absolutely amazing, especially for nursing moms. I only WISH I could stay home for a year. Fortunately I have a job where I work from 4am to 12pm and hubby stays home with the kiddos. Atleast we have lots of family time!

So, I set my calories to mantenance. Do you think that is a bad idea? I weigh like 250lbs right now :-s... urghhh I just can't believe I am SO DARN HEAVY!!!! I started MFP like 2 weeks before I found out I was preggo.

I set mine to maintenance around 8 weeks because I was super fatigued and it helped some. I'm 13+ weeks and maybe gained a lb. But, I don't go by a rule on my cals either. I use it more of a guide or motivator. If I am hungry I am going to eat, but I find that if I have 250 calories left I am not going to have cookies for dinner, or a hamburger, but a bowl of fruit instead. I think that counting does not make me restrict my calories, but instead keeps me from overdoing it. I'm right at my calorie count today, give or take a little for my somewhat estimated measuring. But, i know if I were not counting I would totally have another 250 cal peanut butter cookie before bed! So, for that it really helps me to count!

Hello ladies,
I have really enjoyed reading through all of these posts! I feel like I know a lot of you already!

So, I set my calories to mantenance. Do you think that is a bad idea? I weigh like 250lbs right now :-s... urghhh I just can't believe I am SO DARN HEAVY!!!! I started MFP like 2 weeks before I found out I was preggo.

I am only 5 weeks right now. Should I wait until I am farther along to set my goal to maintenance?

On another note...

I find myself TERRIFIED that something is going to go wrong. Do/did you guys worry as well? I have always wanted to become a mother, this has always been my dream... maybe it's because I have so been looking forward to this for so long that I feel like it can't be real?

One final question- how long did ya'all wait to tell your families? I know the typical 12 weeks thing to tell everyone else... think it is a bad idea to tell my mom and inlaws this Christmas? I would be about 8 weeks then.

I have my calories set to maintenance but I'm still (errrmmmm trying) eating at a small calorie deficit (300-400 most days this week). I weigh about 198 right now (196 before getting pregnant, 192 before ttc). My goal is to be back to 195 in the next few weeks. I really want to stay healthy and gain as little weight as possible with pregnancy. I'm not really so worried about having weight to lose after pregnancy, my number 1 concern is being healthy.

I've decided to take a breezy approach to this pregnancy which is really weird because I'm normally pretty high-strung. I'm not terrified because I really have no control over what happens other than being as healthy as I can be. Of course I would be very upset and sad to miscarry or to find out there's a problem, but since I have no control over it, I really can't worry much about it. It's just something I'll have to deal with if it happens.

Dh and I told our mothers at 4 weeks. Both of our mothers are, well, mothers, so they understood that it was very early and that bad things can happen. My mom has experienced a miscarriage, so she's completely aware of how things can go wrong. Plus, we'd want their support anyway if something did happen. The catch was that if they decided to share the news with anyone, they were the ones that had to unhare the news with whoever they told if we lost the baby. Suffice it to say, they felt comfortable sharing the news with several other family members. :laugh: We told our fathers at around 5 weeks (I think our moms told everyone in our families except our dads :laugh:). My best friend also knows (she's the sister I never had & she lives 500 miles away ). She told her boyfriend because they visited a few weeks ago & she wanted him to understand why I was lame. :laugh: We haven't told any of our local friends. It's been hard keeping it quiet since we see them weekly and dh doesn't fully understand why I don't want to say anything yet. I think the news will come out on New Year's Eve since we're going to a party and me not drinking on NYE will appear a bit insane to our friends. I'll be 12 weeks on NYE. And I'll be telling my supervisor and coworkers & anyone else who will listen after my first OB appointment if all is well.

Sorry for the ramble. :embarassed:

13 weeks today, I am so happy! Much more energy! I did a bunch of stuff this week. I have started my cleaning, tidying, fixing second and third trimester obsession and list, LOL.

I had my second prenatal appointment yesterday. It did not go as well as I wanted it to. First of all, they found a polyp on my cervix at my first visit. They said it was common and something that was not going to effect my pregnancy, but that they would have to monitor it. This visit, the docotor said that it has grown and he no longer wants to wait until after I give birth to remove it. I know it probably isn't a big deal, but I've never had one before and I don't like having to worry about something as stupid as a polyp. When he removes it, my husband is going to have to be there to take me home. It could bleed a lot, which would cause me to worry a lot. I don't know. I just don't like it.

So then the doctor can't find the baby's heartbeat with his little doppler thing. I know that it's probably too early. I won't even be 10 weeks until tomorrow. But still. He tries to find it, can't, says it's probably too early, then says, "Wait, you're nearly ten weeks... let me try again," and fails to find it again. I just wanted some sort of verification that everything was okay. Hearing the heartbeat would have kept the polyp news from phasing me in the slightest. Instead I just end up leaving all tense and worried. Ugh.

Sorry, just needed to rant a little.

My OB always has a hard time finding the heart beat, only at 15 weeks did he acutally find it after putting lots of gel on me. Before that he would try and then just get the u/s machine and so we could see the heart beat instead.

I had my second prenatal appointment yesterday. It did not go as well as I wanted it to. First of all, they found a polyp on my cervix at my first visit. They said it was common and something that was not going to effect my pregnancy, but that they would have to monitor it. This visit, the docotor said that it has grown and he no longer wants to wait until after I give birth to remove it. I know it probably isn't a big deal, but I've never had one before and I don't like having to worry about something as stupid as a polyp. When he removes it, my husband is going to have to be there to take me home. It could bleed a lot, which would cause me to worry a lot. I don't know. I just don't like it.

So then the doctor can't find the baby's heartbeat with his little doppler thing. I know that it's probably too early. I won't even be 10 weeks until tomorrow. But still. He tries to find it, can't, says it's probably too early, then says, "Wait, you're nearly ten weeks... let me try again," and fails to find it again. I just wanted some sort of verification that everything was okay. Hearing the heartbeat would have kept the polyp news from phasing me in the slightest. Instead I just end up leaving all tense and worried. Ugh.

Sorry, just needed to rant a little.

I am sorry. I would be upset too. Have you thought of getting a second opinion? It is very, very normal to not hear the HB w/ a doppler at not quite 10 weeks. You will hear it next time.