Pregnancy

VeryKatie
VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
edited December 19 in Social Groups
I figured we will want somewhere we can talk about pregnancy in this group. Especially since one of our own is already knocked up hehe @teegan84.

So this will be the spot to go for discussion on pregnancy nutrition, birthing ideas, general pregnancy chit-chat, etc.

I was recently looking up what not to eat when pregnant (just in case) and wow the list is long. I don't understand the cheese thing. Does it say right on the package if it's pasteurized or not? Has anyone else started researching this, or am I just a crazy lady going to extremes hahaha.
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Replies

  • WifiresGettingFit
    WifiresGettingFit Posts: 1,773 Member
    @VeryKatie I didn't know cheese was one! I love cheese! But yes, it should say on the packaging if it has been pasteurized or not. (same for all dairy I believe.)

    I haven't done a lot of research yet but I am in the process (it's a slow process) of reading what to expect before you're expecting. Right now, I've just been concentrating on losing the weight because that in itself seems to be a struggle for me. haha
  • Kirstie155
    Kirstie155 Posts: 1,001 Member
    edited June 2016
    Congrats again, @teegan84 !

    I have done a buttload of preggo research for years! I feel like I know it all (and yet know nothing, lol!)

    As far as what you can't eat, there is a ton of stuff you're "not supposed to eat" but I probably will anyway, because I don't always do what I am told by doctors and question what they tell me and do my own research to come to an educated conclusion.

    Listeria can be fatal for a fetus, but just makes mom very ill- this is why they don't want pregnant women eating soft cheese. Listeria is a bacteria that can be present in raw milk and cheese, sprouts or lettuce, and deli meats. https://cdc.gov/listeria/sources.html This link has information on it.

    Katie, I would certainly consult your doctor, and be sure to ask how real the risks are for you. Me, personally....I will still occasionally eat hot dogs and an Italian sub and not worry about it...the chance of exposure is rare, and in the off chance you do get it and become ill, you can go to your doctor to get antibiotics and everything will likely be fine. It is RARE that you get listeria from a hot dog-I never have as a non preggo woman, why should I not eat them as a pregnant woman? On the CDC website, it is stated that there have been 3 listeria outbreaks in the US in 2016. From frozen veggies, raw milk, and bagged salad! Pregnant women aren't even warned about salad and veggies-Exposure is likely due to the processing plant, rather than the food itself. The point I am trying to make is: you can get listeria with just about any commercially prepared (from ice cream to cantaloupe) and there is a very small risk with any food.

    Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I'm just trying to say there is a lot of scary info out there...take it with a grain of salt :smile: you and baby are likely to be just fine. Although I do reserve the right to change my mind once I have a little bean growing inside me...I might just run away from hotdogs, you never know how perspective can change, haha!

    I do plan on exercising through pregnancy-squats are supposed to be really helpful for birthing!

    And @VeryKatie ...obviously if you are a crazy lady going to extremes so am I!! oh, and the limit on cheese is really just for soft cheeses-hard cheese like cheddar should be fine while pregnant.

  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Kirstie155 wrote: »
    Congrats again, @teegan84 !

    I have done a buttload of preggo research for years! I feel like I know it all (and yet know nothing, lol!)

    As far as what you can't eat, there is a ton of stuff you're "not supposed to eat" but I probably will anyway, because I don't always do what I am told by doctors and question what they tell me and do my own research to come to an educated conclusion.

    Listeria can be fatal for a fetus, but just makes mom very ill- this is why they don't want pregnant women eating soft cheese. Listeria is a bacteria that can be present in raw milk and cheese, sprouts or lettuce, and deli meats. https://cdc.gov/listeria/sources.html This link has information on it.

    Katie, I would certainly consult your doctor, and be sure to ask how real the risks are for you. Me, personally....I will still occasionally eat hot dogs and an Italian sub and not worry about it...the chance of exposure is rare, and in the off chance you do get it and become ill, you can go to your doctor to get antibiotics and everything will likely be fine. It is RARE that you get listeria from a hot dog-I never have as a non preggo woman, why should I not eat them as a pregnant woman? On the CDC website, it is stated that there have been 3 listeria outbreaks in the US in 2016. From frozen veggies, raw milk, and bagged salad! Pregnant women aren't even warned about salad and veggies-Exposure is likely due to the processing plant, rather than the food itself. The point I am trying to make is: you can get listeria with just about any commercially prepared (from ice cream to cantaloupe) and there is a very small risk with any food.

    Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I'm just trying to say there is a lot of scary info out there...take it with a grain of salt :smile: you and baby are likely to be just fine. Although I do reserve the right to change my mind once I have a little bean growing inside me...I might just run away from hotdogs, you never know how perspective can change, haha!

    I do plan on exercising through pregnancy-squats are supposed to be really helpful for birthing!

    And @VeryKatie ...obviously if you are a crazy lady going to extremes so am I!! oh, and the limit on cheese is really just for soft cheeses-hard cheese like cheddar should be fine while pregnant.

    Ah yes I do know it is because of listeria. But I also know I ate 3 hotdogs yesterday. I'm fine with them since they were heated PLENTY through! I figured the same when I ate the reuben sandwich (mmm). Cheese I figure I might be a bit careful about since it's not always heated. That being said, I usually have cheddar which is pasteurized. I have a big bag o' butternut squash that is supposedly contaminated with listeria... that I have been too lazy to return to Costco... so I will not eat THAT. It's true, we're not warned to wash bagged salad!

    Yeah, I'm hoping I can still lift weights through pregnancy. I will likely decrease how much I lift, but otherwise, I've heard it's better than not. I want to take up yoga too. Get flexible while the relaxin is working it's magic.
  • Kirstie155
    Kirstie155 Posts: 1,001 Member
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    But I also know I ate 3 hotdogs yesterday. I'm fine with them since they were heated PLENTY through! I figured the same when I ate the reuben sandwich (mmm). .
    I like your style. Rubens and hotdogs are 2 of my favorite sammies. Along with an Italian sub. Nom, nom.

    That sucks that your butternut squash is contaminated?! WTH, Costco? A lady that I work with has a daughter that is pregnant, and she got listeria from some food...that's how I know about the antibiotics. She had stomach cramps and vomiting, so she went to the hospital, then they remembered some listeria recall...antibiotics. Momma and baby are doing just fine.


    I want to get back to lifting weights. My trouble is finding someone available to spot me #excuses
    What routine do you do?
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    @Kirstie155 I've been doing StrongLifts 5x5. I'd like to add in a little accessory hamstring exercises but can't decide on which one or when to add it. I still need to get back on the exercise wagon since my trip though. Luckily, I have a power cage, so I don't need a spotter for most things, other than bench press. Which routine do you do?
  • Kirstie155
    Kirstie155 Posts: 1,001 Member
    @VeryKatie Current routine: eating bon bons and getting fatter lol. I was doing Stronglifts 5x5 as well at this time last year, and really enjoying it. I stopped because I didn't have a spotter, and was squatting around 80lbs and just didn't feel safe doing that alone anymore. I don't have a cage, and not sure it is worth the investment yet.

    I am under the weather today, but might have to start back up as soon as I feel better. Lifting is so empowering!
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    edited June 2016
    @Kirstie155 If it helps, my cage was only $335 CAD... not too shabby for a cage.

    Lifting is empowering! And helps your... girl muscles... get stronger in prep for child birth, so I read.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Wait... cheese.. is CHEESECAKE STILL OK!?
  • Kirstie155
    Kirstie155 Posts: 1,001 Member
    Hahahaha--yes, cheesecake is okay! But just in case, you could always stock up now ;-)
  • NatashaLP2014
    NatashaLP2014 Posts: 82 Member
    While pregnant I avoided a lot of the food(anything I knew about), plus hot baths, alcohol, people smoking, advil (which is technically okay until the 3rd trimester but I didn't take it.) I ate way better while pregnant and walked a lot more than I had before. Dropped 15 pounds at the beginning despite not having any morning sickness, mostly due to very common anemia from the increase in blood volume.

    Of course I only made it to 28 weeks, had an emergency c-section and never experienced labour. It is never too early to prepare for things and research and think about how you want things to go or what you want if everything goes sideways.

    I'm already researching and pondering my options when it comes to a VBAC. I have fears about a rupture and ending up with another special needs child but my scar is extremely well healed and it has already been 4 1/2 years. (risk is higher within 18-24 months) And maybe I'm crazy but I want to experience childbirth, have baby put on my chest immediately, breastfeed as soon as possible. Two doctors have assured me that I'm a good candidate for a VBAC but I just don't know yet. I'm leaning toward a scheduled c-section but if I went into labour naturally before that trying the vaginal birth. (Drugs used to induce labour increase the risk of rupture and also being over 40 weeks.)

    So much to think about!

    @Kirstie155 If you don't feel comfortable without a spotter lifting weights, trying body weight exercises might be a good idea. Lots of them have progressions to make them more and more difficult. They've made a big difference for me since I'm lifting Rebecca all the time, though it's rough when I'm sore!
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Whooooops just noticed my tuna casserole is made with albacore tuna which is on the no list.. oh well... 1/4 of a can shouldn't hurt, right?

    Wow, that's pretty good, losing 15 pounds while pregnant (assuming the doctor approves too). I can see myself potentially eating better too. I'm not even sure I'm pregnant or not, but I'm still in the mood to cook more. Or at least purchase less prepared foods.

    Hmm yeah I think it would be best to decide about the VBAC with your doctor. It sounds like the risks can be scary, even if they're not that probable.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    I've successfully cut out coffee! It's something I never thought I could do. But I read on a random website (no idea of it's reputation) that caffeine can double the chance of having a miscarriage and that scared me! Did anyone else know that, or do you know if it's actually true? I even have avoided chocolate and pop because of it. Other than that rootbeer I had last night (but it was caffeine free).
  • WifiresGettingFit
    WifiresGettingFit Posts: 1,773 Member
    edited July 2016
    I knew you were supposed to cut down on caffeine, I didn't really know the reason for it.

    This is what the march of dimes says about it:
    "Due to conflicting conclusions from numerous studies, the March of Dimes states that until more conclusive studies are done, pregnant women should limit caffeine intake to less than 200 mg per day. This is equal to about one 12 oz cup of coffee."
  • Kirstie155
    Kirstie155 Posts: 1,001 Member
    @NatashaLP2014 Bodyweight exercises are a great idea. I'm really out of shape right now, and havent lifted at all this year. Gotta get back on the horse!

    @VeryKatie Great job cutting out coffee! I could cut out coffee with no problem, but cutting out chocolate and tea at the same time would be difficult. We all have our vices-mine are desserts! Just don't be too hard on yourself!

    I'm currently avoiding sweets. I eat a TON of brownies, cookies, candies. They don't seem like that much...until you add it up. So last night I had some of hubby's ice cream and decided that was it for the week. Today I turned down free panera cookies :) Baby steps.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    So I found an interesting tidbit online:
    http://www.countdowntopregnancy.com/pregnancy-test/dpo-chart.php?dpo=21

    It shows the statistics of percent accuracy of HPT. It's weird that it doesn't show that 90% of tests show positive until 21 days DPO. For me, that would be my period being 9 days late! And it's still not closer to 100%. Weird!

    And then there's almost no difference in the stats between 13 and 17 DPO. Interesting stuff.

    I also found a source for all pregnancy abbreviations :)
    http://www.babymed.com/pregnancy-fertility-abbreviations-acronyms
  • Kirstie155
    Kirstie155 Posts: 1,001 Member
    For an update on my cutting out sweets, I have now gone 2 WEEKS without eating any! No desserts or candy of any kind. Might relax a bit now that my sweet tooth has been smothered and I dont crave them any more. Super proud of this :grin:
  • WifiresGettingFit
    WifiresGettingFit Posts: 1,773 Member
    @Kirstie55 thats awesome! Way to go!! :)
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Just picked out my pregnancy tests on Amazon! It feels dumb to be so excited about that, but I am. I went with 50 cheap tests that are just the strips, and 1 box of 3 expensive digital tests for reassurance once I get a positive. I'm debating whether or not to get ovulation tests by the same company as the cheap test strips. I told my husband that initially I just wanted to do no-stress TTC with a basically "see what happens attitude". But now that I have a fertility app on my phone that I just got to help me track my period, I find myself wanting to track ovulation.

    My silly husband isn't helping either. Saturday night he asked me, "So when's the baby coming?"
  • Kirstie155
    Kirstie155 Posts: 1,001 Member
    :)@puffbrat thats really awesome, Im so excited for you! :+1:
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    edited August 2016
    @puffbrat haha I have mine picked out as well, and decided to get ovulation strips too. However, I'm not going to buy them at all until it's been 6 months. I still have one expensive pregnancy test at home that I am reserving for testing... but otherwise... I'm just waiting until my period doesn't come. I feel we're already doing everything we can to get pregnant, other than making sure to still "baby dance" every second day after the supposed fertile window is over. It's easy to get tired out LOL.

    I was tracking my temperatures, until my thermometer broke. I bought a new one but it sucks so I have to go to the store again.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    @VeryKatie that's good to hear what you are doing. I think I will hold off on the ovulation tests for several months and stick my low-stress plan. I didn't actually want 50 tests and may still buy the box of 25, but the 50 tests are really cheap per unit, and many of the reviews showed women taking 4 or more during the cycle they tested positive. Based on that, it could be easy to go through them pretty quickly. I will try to be patient and wait for a late period before testing to not drive myself crazy, but I may not always stick to that :) I don't have any of the expensive grocery store tests left, so I need to buy some anyway.

    I used to have a great thermometer, which of course broke several years ago. Then I got one that didn't work at all because it tried to do the reading too fast and couldn't actually get to temp before it stopped reading. After a couple more, the one I have now works ok, but I just don't really trust them anymore.
  • Kirstie155
    Kirstie155 Posts: 1,001 Member
    What happened to our group members who became pregnant? @teegan84 there were a few others I thought, too. @VeryKatie @puffbrat I hope you two wont leave us when you get pregnant :frowning:
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    @Kirstie155 I have no intention of leaving this group when I'm pregnant. Since I want more than one kid! I will have to lose for my next TTC as well. I might take a few weeks off after potential baby is born.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    I was wondering that too @Kirstie155

    I have no intention of leaving this group when it happens! You ladies have been great support and just fun to chat with. I don't doubt that will continue to be important, especially since I still anticipate logging to attempt to rein in the pregnancy weight gain to a reasonably healthy level. I might get flaky around the due date and little while after, but don't intent to disappear.

    I don't know at this point if we want more than one kid. We have decided to go with a one at a time approach and see how we feel. But there will still be weight to lose after, and I will always be happy to offer support :) .
  • teegan84
    teegan84 Posts: 39 Member
    I'm here haha I dropped off the radar soon after getting pregnant as I stopped logging....was gorging on carbs and crap to try stop my queasiness but have entered my second trimester and feeling good again, have tarted tracking again the last few days so thinking I will jump on the September spreadsheet again!! Thanks for reaching out :)
  • Kirstie155
    Kirstie155 Posts: 1,001 Member
    Hi @teegan84 glad to hear you are feeling better! When are you due? Have you picked out a nursery yet? Give us the details so we can live vicariously through you! :smiley:
  • WifiresGettingFit
    WifiresGettingFit Posts: 1,773 Member
    I'll still be around probably for as long as the group exist. haha.

    I think myself and @NatashaLP2014 will be the last ones to TTC.

  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Hi @teegan84 It's so nice to hear from again and I'm glad you're feeling better! Beware we will probably hound you with questions to live vicariously through you as @Kirstie155 said :D
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    @teegan84 yes we are glad you're back! The spreadsheet can be used to help maintain or gain weight too, I'm sure. I don't know if the little progress meters will work but I honestly don't remember the last time I looked at those LOL.

    It's good to hear you're feeling better in terms of nausea :) Congrats on your soon to be baby boy :blush:
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Went to the doctor today to see if my motion sickness pills were safe to take while TTC or pregnancy should it happen. Turns out they're safe for humans but human doses in animals show it causing cleft palate so definitely going to be careful with it once I know I'm pregnant. I was wondering how much I needed to worry about all this stuff while TTC and it turns out... I don't! So I'm very glad I asked my doctor that, I can relax a little. While I was there, I took a PT (urine) which of course was negative. But it's 1) 5 days until my next cycle and 2) not my first time going today LOL.

    Thinking I miiiiight use my home PT on the 5th, two days before my cycle. I'm heading up north for a week starting the next day and it would be nice to know if I'm going to get my period or not... and if I don't get it up there and didn't do the test, I don't know if I'd be able to contain myself... and would have no husband with me to celebrate :( Still a little undecided what I should do.

    I have been getting heartburn lately which I don't normally get so I keep hoping it's related, but Google says that's more a late pregnancy sign, not early. And I've been eating super badly lately so I am not really surprised if my body is reacting.

    Anyway... just a little updated on my TTC adventures.
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