Pregnancy Helpful Items

While I don't intend to get pregnant again, but hey who knows....I thought it would be helpful to list out some of the things that have been helpful during the transition from 1st trimester into finally feeling better the second half of the second trimester. This week marks the end of the second trimester, so I'm hopeful that keeping up with some of these will help some of the discomforts of the third trimester.

Being that I work in a natural medicine environment and have been a long term believer of a more natural approach to health care, most of what I read tended to veer more toward midwifery and nutrition. I was really interested in knowing what exactly to feed the bump, especially since he didn't seem to want any part of a prenatal (even at 20 weeks). Some of the books below contradict each other but I appreciate that and thus could form my own opinions.

Pregnancy Related books I've been reading:
1) Ina May Gaskin's: Guide to Childbirth: Ina May is the guru of common-day midwifery in the US. The first half of this book is personal stories (I skipped 75% of them....) but the second half is the informative stuff.
2) The Nourishing Tradition's Book to Baby & Childcare: Some of the advice in here is contraversial but I also appreciated reading from this viewpoint. Some of the stuff that I did implement: Cod liver oil is contraversial but I added it into my diet in variation, added the occasional liver, am eating regular organic chicken now that the kid tolerates some meat, and added eggs in as possible.
3) The Whole 9 Months: Week by Week Guide to Pregnancy Nutrition: In contrast to the above nutrition wisdom, this book is entirely vegetarian focused and gave some insight into what to focus on for each month. Truthfully I was a little disappointed in this book, but I have used it as a resource somewhat.
4) Nourished Beginnings: Baby Food: This book I love even though it's super simple! It's a helpful resource to know what to feed the lil guy once he arrives.
5) Sanda Steingraber's Having Faith: I don't advocate pregnant mamas reading this. I advocate for women to read this before becoming pregnant. For me it was a helpful reread to remember environmental toxicity concerns, take steps to reduce what I could, and also be immersed more in the development of the fetus. I also read her follow-up Raising Elijah about raising kids in a toxic world.

Getting back into working out has been truly wonderful. It's been good for my mental health, at times even makes me feel like I'm not pregnant, has decreased joint and low-back issues, and (they say) is great preparation for labor & delivery, while also having the potential to ease recovery from L&D. I had grand notions of being able to continue running if I ever did get pregnant.....but I quickly discovered that beyond the occasional jaunt, my body has craved & benefited more from other options.

Pregnancy Work-outs I've been enjoying:
1) Regular (but shorter) snowy hikes from my favorite trail head---much shorter and less inclines these days, but it feels SO great to get this body back on trail!
2) 2-3x a week 1.5 mile evening loop walk with the dogs--my bladder struggles to make it the whole 1.5 miles (otherwise we would probably go farther)
3) Tonic's Prenatal Pregnancy Yoga on youtube-- I seriously have loved the 2nd tri vinyasa and strength & stability work-outs. They include strength building, stretching, & pelvic floor exercises. I did find that the energizing flow irritated my SI joint however so I've stayed away from that one.
4) Slow & modified Pure Cardio Insanity work-out--This has been a recent add-in but I realized that if I just modified some moves (no jumping, knee push-ups, wider stances) and slowed down that this was still manageable.

Based on all the books I read and the nutritional environment I work in, it was important to me to research and figure out what to feed the lil guy to try to make sure he is/was getting everything he needs for different developmental milestones. While I started reading & researching later in the game (16-18 weeks), I'm still glad to be able to incorporate more foods and items that are beneficial for him. A lot of this was already in my diet, but I just try to be more mindful of ensuring that I'm getting it as regularly as he needs it. I've also tried really hard to ensure that I'm selecting more organic items: meats, produce, dairy, etc. That being said....I still have the occasional DQ blizzard, ate a pan of homemade cinnamon rolls over break, and eat all the cookies friends & family gift upon me. :)

Foods I've been eating:
Lots of kale & leafy greens, salad w various veggies
Roasted root veggies (turnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, squash)
Organic baked chicken, occasional beef or liver
Homemade soups & stews (beef barley, potato & leek, Mexican chicken)
Frittatas from fridge left overs
Smoothies w banana, blueberry, avocado, spinach
Plain yogurt w home-canned fruits, museli, cinnamon, chia
Other probiotics: kefir, sauerkraut, oral tablets, kombucha on occasion
Snacks: lots of fruit & dried fruits

There are so many other items and things that have been beneficial along the way. When I read the typical "symptom" lists and remember conversations with a few of my other friends, I feel very fortunate that while weeks 8-16 were rough, the weeks since then have been much more enjoyable and with limited symptoms.

I do have occasional bloating (and the gas!) or weird stomach sensations, which I tend to "treat" by eating extra sauerkraut, drinking the occasional kombucha or just letting it pass. This last week I also had a "sick day" where I got hit by the start of a UTI and a cold on the same day. I spent most the day in bed except for a quick trip to the store for pre-made soup & cranberry juice. For the regular cold, it just took lots of fluids, soup, cold season tea, & napping for it to pass. UTIs are pretty common in the 2nd trimester (and in me in particular) and I'm still somewhat attempting to self-treat this sucker (although they did run a sample on Friday). The main things that have helped: D-Mannose & Cranberry extract (read the label to ensure it's ok), TONS of water, pure cranberry juice mixed with kefir, oral probiotic pills, limited sugar intake, and I took a homeopathic remedy for 2-3 days also.

Symptoms I've been able to avoid so far (knock on wood!): heartburn, leg cramps (I like to think the epsom salt baths, foam rolling, & yoga are helping here), and swelling (again, perhaps the epsom salt baths? and just lots of water and regular work-outs).

I also would mention that at the beginning of 2nd tri my boobs got HUGE. As I've increased work-outs, they've reduced slightly, but I know that once my milk comes in post delivery, they'll increase even more. What has been interesting is that since about 18-22 weeks, I've already had some of the initial milk production. I do tend to notice that in the weeks when I get a lot of healthy nutrition, take the occasional cod liver oil, and also drink some pregnancy tea, the production of this tends to be more...things to keep in mind as I attempt breast feeding post-delivery.

Things I swear by:
Pregnancy leggings & comfy socks
Pregnancy tea
Coconut oil for lotion
Continued foam rolling for low-back & quad discomfort
Weekly epsom salt baths
Water, water, and more water
Natural home remedies (herbal teas, cranberry, homeopathics)
Continued alternative practitioner treatments
Probiotics

So far I've been able to continue sleeping in my regular pre-pregnancy position and I'm hopeful that somehow this will keep working out as my mid-section gets larger. During the last few weeks (maybe 25 on?), I've been waking up several times a night to pee & yet chug more water, but at least a few times a week I also wake up and just lay there for a 1-2 hours before being able to fall back asleep. I also would say that the amount of weird dreams continues. While weird dreams are a regular in my life, they have come more regularly with the pregnancy.

One other thing I guess I would mention is that after reading Ina May's book, I took a list of questions into my provider. My insurance does a better job of covering standard medical care, so while I'm working with a midwife, she operates in a Western medical model and I'll deliver in a hospital. One of the items I did not want to have to do was the gestational diabetes test, as drinking the mandatory glucose beverage did not sound appealing and was sure to set the kid off (who seriously tends to do best with real whole foods). In reality there is a blood test that can measure levels, but I was able to negotiate using a standard blood sugar finger prick test to check levels. While her requirement was a little excessive (4 pricks per day for 7 days: pre breakfast, 2 hrs post breakfast, 2 hrs post lunch, & 2 rs post dinner), it did actually provide some really valuable insight for me nutritionally. (I tracked food intake, blood sugar readings, & work-outs just to get a better picture for myself.) The good news is that I'm not diabetic.......and my body loves and absolutely needs carbs. My readings were much better when carbs were included in meals than when it was a protein based meal....so bring on all that carb goodness in the world! :)

The other questions I'd asked her were well-answered but I am a little nervous about L&D, especially in a standard hospital environment. I've asked my sister to be in the delivery room with my mom and I and I have a list of strategies to try for a natural delivery that I think will help me....but I also recognize that the best made plans & intentions don't always work out that way.....so we'll see what happens! For now, let's just hope the kid stays in there growing & developing for the next 10-12 weeks.....and so I can make sure to get through this term of work also! :)