Down with Food!

My weight gain was very good for a while. I gained like 10 pounds over the first 18 weeks of pregnancy. And then another 8 in the following 6 weeks – as my appetite spiked (as well as the baby’s growth accelerated – he’s now growing and gaining fat). I am only 24 weeks and +18 pounds already.

I am getting concerned about the weight gain. And, to be quite honest, I am not as hungry any longer, but I don’t seem to be able to stop eating. It’s like a habit. Huge lunch, then a huge apple, then a huge peach, then a small snack when I get home, then a supper when my hubby comes home, then maybe another peach… I eat all the time – without being hungry. Which is bad.

Today, I came home and drank a cup of tea with a few pieces of cheese. And then ate a peach later. And I am fine. I don’t need a supper. The big lunch with the fruits that follow it is enough. The baby is big enough now to leave little space for food. I feel unpleasantly full from all this eating.

That’s it, I gotta stop eating when I am not hungry. Or I will gain too much weight – and the baby will be huge – and I will require c-section. Or I will develop gestational diabetes. Or high blood pressure.

Down with food!

Should I Start an”Around the World” Cuisine Marathon?

Read this today:

“The taste of the amniotic fluid differs from day to day depending on what you’ve eaten (spicy enchilada one day, sweet carrots another). And that smorgasbord of tastes won’t be lost on your baby. That’s because your little one has very developed taste buds already. In fact, researchers have noted that babies who were exposed to certain tastes in utero via the amniotic fluid were more eager to eat foods with that same taste after birth. Want your baby to eat his or her broccoli later?  Eat yours now!“

I guess if I want my baby to eat Indian and Chinese and fish and whatever – I need to eat all of it now. I guess we should start going out to restaurants from different cuisines. Mmmm, it’s been a while since my last visit to the Ethiopian one – time to go!!!

Overcoming THE Laziness

I am trying really hard to be good.

To drink my vitamins. The twice-a-day preg-vit and an additional calcium supplement. The problem with preg-vit is that they want you to drink the morning pill either a whole hour before meal – or 2 hours after (and still 1 hour before the next one). Which is impossible. Which always leads to me skipping the morning vitamin altogether. Which is not good.

I decided to start taking it in the am, regardless of time of my breakfast.

I rub cream into my belly twice a day. So far, I’ve been quite diligent.

I need to exercise more. Do yoga, take a walk, – anything!I became a couch potato. Pretty much.

I have to finally start doing the kegels.

And I need to go see a dental hygienist and do my flossing daily. I am too lazy. I hate flossing.

Why, why am I so lazy???

Just how active can/should I be?

I work 3 days a week. I have wed and fri free. I really want to take illustration classes – and there is a couple I am interested in, and they both happen to run back to back on Wed – from 2 to 5 and from 6 to 9. But I worry – would it be too much? Sitting in classrooms from 2 to 9, coming home around 10 – until mid-December (I will be 7 months then)?

I also want to join a yoga class. There’s one on Monday, right after work. There’s one on Saturday in the morning. Would it be too much to join both?

And I still have Fridays free – if I start swimming on Fridays for an hour or so – would all of these be waaay over the top?..

Tastes and Preferences Changing

I mentioned earlier that I stopped craving sweets. Pastries, croissants, cakes, ice-cream… I couldn’t care less. Smoked salmon on a piece of bread spread with butter? Yes, please!

I used to have light breakfasts. Like yogurts with a small piece of bread. Now? All I can think of is BAGEL AND CREAM CHEESE!!! And the bagel has to be toasted, of course.

I used to drink lots of tea in the morning. Now I hate the taste of it, no matter what tea and what flavour. I can only drink tea now if there is a piece of lemon in it. And sugar.

Yes, I don’t want to eat sweets anymore, but I want to drink sweets! Sweet tea. Orange juice. I never drank juices. I expelled all pop and juices from my diet years ago – for it adds sugar and calories without making you feel full. Making you fat, sneakingly. And now all I can think of in the morning is orange juice.

My lunches remained fairly unchanged – whatever leftovers I bring. But if I go out to buy something, I tend to be tempted by pizzas and such… I never used to eat junk!!! How many things changed…

I used to crave sweets in the afternoon. At 3 pm I used to start going mad, dreaming of chocolates or cookies. Not anymore – now all I want is a big juicy orange. Or mango.

In the evening I used to eat a big bowl of salad – and that was it. Not salad is not enough. I will also eat a smoked salmon sandwich or two or four. And a fruit. And drink a huge glass of chocolate milk. Although the last one I drink because I need to get my calcium, not because I like milk.

So… I guess I crave breads, mostly. Bagels, pizzas, sandwiches… And since I could be more accurately described as the one with diarrhea (as opposed to the majority of constipated pregnant women(, I guess bread is exactly what I need to normalize my bowel movements.

If you are still reading, I am amused that you found my dietary details so interesting – and I thank you for your attention

It’s All About Sleep?

Yesterday, I went to bed before 10 pm. Not sure when I turned off the light – but pretty sure that was well before 11 pm. And… today I was able to function!

Yes, I was tired and sleepy in the morning, but once I woke up, I was functioning! I didn’t feel half-asleep by 3 pm!

Going to bed now!!! (9:45 pm)

Routine

I think this is the first time I didn’t post for so long. 3 days! I started a new job and the first 2 days were long and exhausting – but fun. So far so good. I have a spacious sun-filled workspace right by the window, a nice title I feel proud and scared of at the same time (scared of the responsibility), people (most of them) seem really nice and friendly and relaxed (good sign), and industry is fun.

I am getting into a new routine now with all the pregnancy related things.

Progesterone: since I take those rectally (they give me yeast infection vaginally), I don’t feel like moving for at least 30 minutes after taking them. And a bit later they cause serious bowel movement. Which causes a bit of a logistical issue in the mornings, now that I am back in the work force. So now I put my alarm 30-40 minutes ahead of the time I need to get up, shove the progesterone pill up my @ss, and go back to bed. So far, so good.

Preg-vit. The morning vitamin pill is supposed to be ingested 1 hour before your first meal intake. Which, again, is a logistical issue on a typical workday morning. So now I take my preg-vit at the same time I take my progesterone (I now keep the pack and a glass of water on my night stand) – and go back to sleep.

Water intake. I bought myself a small 330 ml flask which I take with me. I try to start drinking during my commute and keep on drinking water and decaf teas throughout the day. So far, I feel like all I am doing is going to the bathroom, feeling uneasy because people might notice and suspect I am pregnant. Not a great thing to suspect during my very first week there. But at least now I can manage and fit 2 L of liquids inside me! Before that, I couldn’t. Just physically couldn’t.

My next goals:

- Start exercising

- Start getting to bed earlier whenever possible (the last 2 days I came home well after 10… but I want to start getting in bed at 10, read for a while, then lights off)

Pregnancy and Libido

Yeah, I read before that for some women pregnancy brings a total libido change. Mine came in the form of complete lack of interest in sex. I mean – nothing. Nada. Zero.

My worries about my cervix getting bumped during an intercourse and starting to bleed as the result also don’t make sex sound very attractive. It’s not dangerous, I know – but I will always be questioning the blood I’ll see.

Hmmm.

What can be done to improve sex drive?

Life is Dangerous. People Die from Living

Curious to learn what you think, ladies (and gentlemen). We are all well aware of all the environmental dangers around us: the smog alerts, the chemicals out of a spray can, the hormones in that chicken thigh, the bird flu in airplanes (or swine flu?), the dust allergens…

But we also know now that the more time you spend in air-filtered and air-conditioned rooms, the more susceptible you become to allergies. The more you filter your water, the more you lack essential minerals. The more we use hand sanitizers, the weaker we become in face of all the various germs. And so on.

Why am I raising these questions now?

The “connection bridge” is all the no-nos for pregnant women. No smoking. Check. No working with radioactive elements. Duh. No sushi, no raw meat, no cat litter boxes. I get it. No over-heating, so no jacuzzi – but warm bath is recommended (now, how warm is warm – remains to be identified).

But then we move into murkier waters. I can marginally understand the no hair-dying thing. I agree that alcohol is not good, but a couple of sips of red wine once in a blue moon ain’t gonna kill anyone. The same goes for coffee. And eliminating nail polish and make-up seems just plain ridiculous.

Seriously, those Italian women have been drinking wine for thousands of years. They seem to be fine.

Painting your toes once a month should be fine. They don’t need to be painted more often than that.

And unless you plaster your face with tons of toner and powder, I think you should be fine with your makeup, too.

Now, this is my opinion. And I really wonder – what do you think? What are the things that you think should be given up – and which are all a result of over-stressed modern society?

Taking Care of My Health

So I need to take better care of myself.

I already eat healthy – I cook from scratch and rarely use and pre-cooked ingredients. But yesterday I took a look at the suggested number of servings of all the major food groups and my reaction was: who on earth can eat that much? And I am not talking only about the pregnancy diet – even what they suggest you should normally eat, when not pregnant. 2 servings of milk for a not pregnant woman? half a liter? daily? seriously? And up to a liter for a pregnant woman? 10 vegetables and fruits? 10 pieces of bread (or equivalent in grain products)? I mean, what am I, an elephant?

I’ll try to add more salmon and liver to my diet, but other than that… This is ridiculous. I’ll bet on my vitamins.

I don’t drink enough. I guess that’s why I had a really bad headache yesterday. I should make myself drink more.

I need to exercise. You won’t tell it by looking at me, I am fairly slim, but I barely move. I am lazy. I can stay at home all day. And to have a healthy baby, and an easier labour, I need to move more. So I started looking for a prenatal yoga class. I hope I am not ridiculously early for that My hubby and I will try to have evening walks as often as we can. And we’ll also start going to the pool at least once a week.

And one more thing: I really can’t find any suggestions on the safe sex positions. I mean, they write everywhere that it’s common to get some bleeding after an intercourse if the cervix gets bumped. And my cervix almost always gets bumped. It’s a size thing, sorry for TMI. And I don’t want to freak out every time I look at a toilet paper piece. What are the poses that don’t allow for a too deep penetration?