It’s official. These two naked hotties are going to have a baby soon!!
The cat is out of the bag. I’m pregnant! Our new addition will be here around August 20th, 2014. Remember the blog post I wrote a while ago, about fueling fertility? I guess it worked (along with a little Clomid, yeah, that was probably what really did it). For the longest time I thought I would be able to get pregnant in a heart beat, then after six months of not getting a period (after I stopped taking birth control) I started getting scared that my eating disorder, which I had my junior year of high school through college and even beyond, really screwed me up. In truth, it probably did. But the good news is that my healthy diet and lifestyle over the past 6-8 years, post disordered eating, really has been fueling my fertility. While I needed a little help to get my ovulation normal (also the fault of the birth control I had been on since I was seventeen. I had zits….what?!) it only took one ovulatory cycle and BAM, I got pregnant. If you’re thinking that was fast, you’re correct. My OBGYN told me the average women doesn’t get pregnant until cycle four of the Clomid. I’d like to think our healthy diets and lifestyle played a roll in me getting pregnant so fast (quick and healthy sperm and eggs, I’m so proud). So maybe there truly is something to this eating healthy and being active for fertility. Of course there is, and of course making sure your husband is on the same page is also important, because you know it’s not just what the women eats that matters, that’s just half the battle (that sperm has to be strong and powerful to make it to the egg!). In addition to us both eating healthy and exercising regularly (for me it’s everyday for 45 minutes, for Nick it’s semi-regularly, for about 30 minutes 3 times a week. To be fair, his job is very active) we also did the following;
- Ate Maca Powder(ok, I lied, I did not eat Maca Powder. I bought it in hopes of adding it to my smoothies, but I took one taste and almost threw up. No joke. So what did I do with the thirty dollar bag of Maca? Put it, secretly, in Nick’s smoothies. Muahaha). I bought Maca because the package said it was supposed to support female and male fertility. It also said it provided “natural energy”. I was completely fooled by a label. When I actually got smart and looked it up on the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, I was informed that the only evidence that exists on the effectiveness of Maca is that it may enhance sexual desire in men (like they need that!). haha. So sure, that could indirectly enhance fertility. Good thing I didn’t like it because the research says nothing about enhancing fertility (or sexual desire) in women. Lame, but hey, maybe it helped?
Lear more about Maca Powder by clicking on the photo
- Avoided BPA like the plague. If you look back at my fertility post you will see some information on BPA and how it used to be used for birth control. Scary. We got rid of 95% of our plastic containers and switched to all glass. We also make sure everythign we buy in plastic is BPA-free. Of course we also reduced our consumption of canned goods (not that we really used many) and switched to either BPA-free cans or the cardboard boxes (such as with tomato products).
- Drank alcohol only rarely.Ok, this is another lie. We drank most nights, but only small amounts (For me one glass of wine, for Nick 2 beers at most, or a Vodka tonic. The truth is my OBGYN suggested it. Many women avoid alcohol when they are trying to get pregnant, but if you’re a regular drinker and you have control over your drinking, completely avoiding alcohol just makes the whole process more stressful. As my OBGYN said, keep going on with life as normal. Have a drink, enjoy yourself, have sex, enjoy it. If you make a baby, that’s a bonus! Best advice ever.
- Ate veggies at every meal. Load up on antioxidants, via food, not supplements. Healthy body = healthy eggs and sperm. The only supplement I was taking on a regular basis was a B-complex to make sure I got plenty of folic acid (aim for 400 mcg when trying to conceive). I was taking a prenatal for a while but I’m sort of thinking it was the reason my liver enzymes were high at one of my check-ups. Prenatals are loaded with vitamin A and in my opinion should only be taken when you are pregnant.
- Kept busy and didn’t focus too much on getting pregnant (very important!). Like I said above, my OBGYN stressed the idea that the more we thought about getting pregnant, the harder it would be. I would find myself looking up tips online and searching for online conversations about specific fertility topics, all the while just working myself up over something that should just happen naturally without stress involved. I know it’s easier said than done, but it was very important to continue life as normal, keep busy, and keep my mind off of trying to get pregnant.
And in case you’re interested in whether I’ve been sticking to my healthy diet since I’ve been pregnant, I’ll be honest, it’s tough! I’ve been nauseated all day for the past two weeks, and the only things that sound good to me include cheese, bread, eggs and soup (plus the occasional animal proteins such as pork and beef. Not chicken). Check out my Instagram photos to see how different my diet has been. I’m still incorporating fruits and veggies, but my ratio of protein to carbohydrate has definitely dropped. And I never thought I would say this, but the three foods that I used to love more than anything; Greek yogurt, peanut butter, and dark chocolate, make me gag a little now. This pregnancy thing is strange! Oh, and my workouts…well..they are still happening, but with the all the fatigue and nausea they haven’t been quite the same. I’ve been doing 20-30 minutes rather than 45-60 minutes. I keep hearing and reading this fatigue and nausea will go away after the first trimester. I hope so, one more month to go!
So now, I’m pregnant, and this will be my second to last post. No, I’m not quitting simply because I’m pregnant, it has more to do with the fact that my new job has me in front of a computer screen for most of the day, and when I get home or when the weekends come, the computer is the last place I want to be. I also realize that I can continue sharing my favorite recipes and nutrition tips in ways that take up a little less time; via Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram. In addition to recipes I’ll also be posting updates on my pregnancy, such as tips on what to eat for each trimester and for different pregnancy symptoms, and ways to eat to develop a healthy baby who craves healthy foods. And of course I’ll continue posting tips on my social media outlets after the baby is born, and hopefully be a great resource for all parents out there who are wondering how to feed their kids healthy foods that they actually enjoy (hint: it starts in the womb!).
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post which will be a last little recap of how you can stay healthy and keep the weight off this year!
