Fit, Fabulous, and Pregnant-July 2011

Hi, I've been on MFP for over a year now, finally got into my pre-pregnancy clothes (though not at my start weight) and found out I'm expecting Baby #2 in March.

My doctor told me to eat 1500 calories a day and to watch the carbs and gain only about 15 lb throughout my pregnancy, so that is my goal!

So glad I found this group!

i have not been on MFP for a while now...this past weekend was my good friends wedding that i was in along with a number of my friends...and it was a great time! HOT ... but a great time!

so i have to say...i have cut down weighing myself to once a week...in the begining i was weighing myself like every morning and just obsessing about the lbs that i was gaining. so i figure that this needs to come to an end. i am just having a really hard time with my cravings. i can not get enough pasta and bread...its really bad! i feel like i have become my husband!!!! and i am still not fond of veggies. but i have made it a goal to get them in at LEAST once a day...then i will go from there. this is just a whole new world to me because i used to have a salad every day for lunch and now i cant stand the thought of them!

for all the ladies who are further along in their pregnancy...do the cravings go away? did you feel like your 'normal' eating habits came back? i really hope so for me...because i dont know how much pasta this girl can take!

hope everyone is having a great monday!!! i am going to be 10 weeks this wednesday!!!! our plan is to 'tell the world' via facebook at the 12 week mark!!

Based on one of the recommendations from this message board, I went to check out the website for Fit Pregnancy magazine. I found this fantastic article, and thought I would share (my apologies if the link has already been posted and I missed it). And in the spirit of exercising during pregnancy, I just finished a 30 minute run...it felt FANTASTIC!

http://www.fitpregnancy.com/workouts/prenatal-workouts/33-reasons-exercise-now

Did anyone have cramps in the beginning? I'm a little over 5 weeks now and have had random dull cramps (like period cramps) for the past couple of weeks. It's not bad and only lasts maybe 5 minutes usually. I haven't spotted at all so that's good. I usually only get them once or twice a day. I worry because I've had 2 miscarriages before, but with those I started bleeding before cramping and those cramps were pretty intense.

Kristy-I am almost at 33 weeks and still get cramping sometimes:)

Nichole-okay we know it is a girl...name yet????

I forgot who asked but 3D ultrasounds-they freak me out:)

HI Haven't read anything new since I have been out but I just wanna say things are looking up. There were just a lot of things that came up and the combination of everything plus being pregnant just really stressed me out to the point where I seriously thought I was having pregnancy related depression.. But it only lasted a week and I prayed a lot and my prayers have been... well not answered but things are falling into place.. For anyone that cares to read I put some of the obstacles we had to push through the past couple weeks

One of the problems we had to find a way to solve are finances. My student loan was going to kick in and we can't afford to pay it back just yet (they would have kicked in november) so we made a decision for me to go back to texas alone. I am going to live with one of my good friends in nursing school with me... She is older, has an older child so she knows how to help with babies, plus she has wanted to adopt a baby so she is excited for me to move in.. (and the fact that we are study buddies so she said now she doesn't have an excuse not to study). We also found that Texas workforce pays for a BIG chunk of daycare for families with only one parent working and one parent in school, so I talked to them and they said we can put in an application as soon as baby is born. We may have to be on a waiting list for 12 weeks but we can shell out daycare money for that long.. Plus the daycare I found has extended hours for days when I will be in clinicals for 12 hrs...

Yep that was just one of the problems and it felt like a pretty big predicament. My student loans are average for an independent student so it is nothing like 100k but its like 50 k because I had no help at all with putting myself through school (another reason why we decided to get married so early, so that I can be an independent student as per fafsa) but anyways, my loan payments were going to be 500+ a month and that on top of new baby expenses and being on one income just isn't gonna work...

I am pretty lucky that our semesters are only 3.5 months long by the time my baby is born: my husband's leave is 4 weeks long, my mom is taking 2 weeks vacation then we can put baby in daycare at 6 weeks but all in all he will only be about 12 weeks old when I am done with the semester so 6 weeks in daycare total... plus by that time I am in clinicals so I will only be in school 3 days a week...

On top of that I had some bad things happen with family... really bad drama and some things just made me so sick that thinking about it made me nauseated.

BUT I still tried to work out (I thought the endorphins would keep me from being in an all time low) and the anger fueled me through 3 mile runs that I haven't been able to do straight in a while!!!! Still going strong with the workouts but I have to eat a little more to gain more weight because I lost almost 7 lbs total.

I am okay now, I am blessed and although things are not ideal, I have to keep telling myself that being away from hubby isn't the worse thing that could happen, and there are plenty of nursing students in my school that had their babies and went back to school the next week so I hope things go well. I will catch up with you guys soon

Holly, thanks so much for checking on me I appreciate it

Heather,

The reason my doctor said it was ok to eat 1500 cals and gain only 15 lb is because A) my BMI is in the overweight category and I gained 75 lb with my first pregnancy and still haven't got the last 15 off. Recent studies have come out with the verdict that it is ok to maintain your weight during pregnancy if you are overweight. My mother was 130 lb when she was pregnant with me in the 80s and was told to gain minimal weight then because she was starting out on the chubby side (she was 5'2"), so she gained only 14 lb with me and I was born 2 weeks late and over 6 lb.

Also, about the carbs, I use the term pretty specifically and should have specified, she meant bread. she meant don't overdo the bread. She didn't mean fruits and veggies and whole grains. But as every pregnant woman knows, in the first trimester we all tend to keep down bread best. I mean, when I get my son a whole wheat bagel for lunch, it takes a lot of will power not to eat it myself. And I'm someone that can bloat very easily from one piece of white bread, so for me its important to be careful while pregnant (who wants to be more bloated when pregnant???lol).

The other reason I am being so strict, is also because both sides my family has a history of obesity-related diabetes and everyone in my family is naturally on the heavy side. I've been fighting my genes since I was 12. I have a very slow metabolism and it can take a year to loose 10 lb. I just can not let myself get even close to the weight I was last time (225 before my son's birth). And the doctor said its ok for me to gain 15 lb (and in NYC if they tell you that, then it's true because the doctors here get sued more often than ANYWHERE else!!!!) then that's all I'm gaining!

But don't get me wrong! I have a very very healthy lifestyle and diet. I walk about 45 minutes a day or more (burning between 400-600 calories) and I eat tons of produce, whole grains, lean meat and low in mercury fish. I just don't eat much junk at all.

BTW, I was reading about that diet method ppl were referring to earlier in the thread, and it says to eat 2 servings of fish A DAY!!!! My doctor gave me a fish warning and said I should only have fish twice a week, and tuna once a month, so I'm kinda confused at why someone would say to eat so much fish when the mercury could cause delay in children, low birth weight, and even miscarriage.

The warning is from government health officials dating to 2001 and the consumers union believes that "vulnerable individuals" (their term) should limit intake of tuna based on EPA guidelines and pregnant women should avoid fish with high levels of mercury. It also states that "methyl mercury can cross the placenta and cause learning defects and developmental delays in children who are exposed to LOW levels in the womb".

In the practice I go to, some doctors say that it is safe to consume one serving of tuna every 2 weeks, others say once a month.

Yes, heather you are right! I reread the bradley method and realized that it means 2 servings of protein and was just mentioning fish as an example. After further reading, I have realized that this method is not for me, but I support all the women who have decided to follow any birthing/pregnancy lifestyle plan because it is so important to be comfortable with yourself and your birthing plan.

BTW, I am 5'4", so weighing 166 lb right now, even though I'm a size 8/10, my BMI is still overweight.

Question for all you pregnant waxing mama's...is it true that the pain level increases greatly while getting waxed when pregnant? Since I got married, I've been a faithful brazilian waxee and am going tomorrow for the first time since being pregnant. I have researched that because of the increase of blood and extra sensitive body (ie. skin and breasts), there is way more redness and pain during and after waxing. Just wondering if anyone out there has thoughts/or experienced this.

Thanks!

oops! didn't mean to post that twice!