So there's a chance I may be pregnant in the next month or two... - Page 2

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by Smokering

OK, my search-fu is weak tonight - I can't find the thread I read ages ago on the merits of folate vs folic acid, or the tissue salts/cell salts thread!

http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=1184692&highlight=folate

Here's the thread I was thinking of, it's a bit long but has some good links...

I just got plain folic acid, because that's what the supermarket had; I also looked up a chart of the most folate-dense foods. I don't eat bought cereal or bread (I'm not even 100% sure NZ puts folic acid in those things: probably, but it's been a long time since I looked at a packet), and I hear dietary folate is only 50% as bioavailable as folic acid (which seems strange to me, but OK) - so given the chart, and the 400mg RDA (which seems to be the lower estimate), I'm thinking it'd take me 800mg of dietary folate to get that. And I'm not sure I can consume that many chickpeas and leafy greens. I do try to eat leafy greens every day, and I put a lentil meal and a chickpea meal in this week's meal plan... so my current strategy is to take the folic acid tablets and add as much dietary folate as I reasonably can. Is that bad? Is folic acid actually considered to be harmful, or just not as good, or...?

I happen to have a bottle of tissue salts, which I bought for reasons vaguely related to DD's teeth. They contain... lemme check... Cal Flour, Cal Phos, Cal Sulph, Ferr Phos, Kali Mur, Kali Phos, Kali Sulhh, Mag Phos, Nat Mur, Nat Phos, Nat Sulph and silica. Does that sound like what you're talking about? (And ha! I just saw in the fine print that they're homeopathic. The woman at the health food store distinctly told me they were not homeopathic. I don't "do" homeopathics, but I guess if I've already bought them I may as well give them a go. I've only taken a few here and there, not several half an hour apart as the bottle recommends, because I get distracted.) Do you have a link to that thread? What are they supposed to do for pregnancy - just prevent fatigue (which is what mine say they're for)?

Yes, that's the stuff, the 12-in-1 kind. Cell salts are supposed to be partly nutritional and partly homeopathic. The # of pills seems to matter, which for real homeopathics (however real you consider them ), it wouldn't. I was told they would improve nutrient absorption and utilization and it took me a couple years before I got around to trying them, and darn if they don't seem to do just that. They cleared up a health problem for my DD, and they halved the amount of two supplements I give the kids (we have health stuff going on, my kids get more supplements than any 10 kids should). So, given the high nutrient demands of pregnancy and lactation, and how many health issues have nutritional causes or components, to me they seem like a great fit.

The rec I've seen for pregnancy is 4 pills 4x/day.

re: folate/folic acid, some people seem to convert folic acid to folate fairly well, probably half the population does. Some people don't convert it well (some maybe just a bit poorly, a small minority not well at all) and it's hard to figure out which category you fall into til after you're problem-solving health issues. And then there's a concern about whether unmetabolized circulating folic acid does anything odd--does it slow down folate utilization--while you're waiting for the folic acid to be converted into folate? That's unknown, but a possible reason there are sometimes poor associations between folic acid intake and health issues (vs the other times when there are clearly good outcomes associated with folic acid). So for some people, this could be a big deal, for some moderate (there are a couple genes involved in converting folic acid to folate, it's not just a good/bad choice) and then there's a potential (but maybe non-existent) concern even for people who convert it well. So, it may be just fine, but if you ever order supps online, you may want to look around, in the US, Thorne brand is widely available and moderately priced, and has stand-alone folate as well as B complexes, multivits and prenatals. But I have no idea if it's available internationally.

I've read that folate from animal sources is absorbed better than plant sources, but I don't think I could deal with beef liver when I'm pregnant. You're a better woman than I if you can. Chicken liver is a great source, there are pate recipes around, I've read good reviews but haven't tried it yet.

[Smokering]

The only thing I would add is some activities with your little one. Are there special things he likes to do that might be difficult or uncomfortable once you are pregnant?

She. Possibly. We could go to the indoor playground, visit the public gardens, things like that. Maybe one more trip to the zoo. Trekking and camping we don't really do, due to the lack of car... sadly. I'm hoping to get my restricted licence soon, but it probably won't be that soon...

I would do none of it, actually. I found that when I was TTC (took over a year both times) the more I tried to hyper-manage things (temping every day, checking mucus, etc etc etc) it was keeping me from getting pregnant. I found that just knowing when I was O'ing and making sure I DTD at the right times was enough for a quick conception.

That implies it's mentally possible for me not to hyper-manage things. We chart already, so temping is just part of a normal routine. The nutrition isn't a huge problem, as we eat semi-TF anyway. Mostly the aberrant behavior will be cleaning and cooking, sewing and knitting; which are all things I should do more of anyway. My theory was they'd help me keep my mind off my uterus by keeping me busy; but if I start to feel too overwhelmed I'll scale back. I am going to Spotlight this afternoon to stock up on baby wool, though. Hey, it's a sale!

tanyalynn: Thanks a bunch for all the info! Cell salts do sound promising: I started taking them last night. We have two kinds: one labelled "General Tonic For Overall Fatigue and Exhaustion", and one for kids called "Strong Teeth and Bones". They have some crossover in ingredients; I'm mostly taking the former but biting off half of the Teeth & Bones ones for DD (the child dosage being half a tablet). I'll be interested to see if I feel any different - how long does it take them to kick in?

I've had beef liver in the freezer for ages, to be swallowed in the form of frozen raw pills. (Yes, mightily gross, but better than tasting the stuff.) I did it once and then wimped out. Am planning, with a very bad grace, to start again...

[tanyalynn]

That's the same way I try to take my beef liver, I am still pretty spotty with it.

For DD, I think it was 2-3 weeks to see a change. For me, I didn't have immediate health things to improve, it was more that I eventually realized that things that should've been a problem, and in the past had been a problem ( yes, I have a soda habit that I WILL conquer, but until then it's sometimes up and down, mostly corresponding to stress), suddenly wasn't causing the same problems. I've slacked on the cell salts at times and seen it affect me, but it's slower to see the ups/downs in me than her. The ingredients in your General Tonic formula are the ones that we use the most. We've got individuals too, but this mix has been very nice for us.

[AllyRae]

Steph....I say you make him a list because he gives the kid 50% of the DNA, and there are tons of things the fathers do way before conception that can alter the health of the child too... ;-)

And tell him that fish has mercury in it. : You can take fish oil capsules where the taste is completely hidden--I do Carlsons and they aren't bad at all.

Oh, and tell him to relax. We did all organic while I was pregnant, I ate fish, took the vitamins, and all the other things that make for a healthy pregnancy, and Amelia is still immune deficient with FPIES. So you can't prevent everything. But stress in the father or mother can have an impact on the baby's health too.

I think though, that at this point, you can probably talk him into a new changing table and nursery set-up and he'd get to setting it up for you. :

[hildare]

paint anything and everything you'd want painted. i know lots of mamas paint while preggers, and i did too, but i felt guilty and paranoid while i did it.
furniture and rooms.. plus then you won't feel compelled to spend twice the money on the low voc paints.
fwiw, i wasn't ill at all the first pregnancy, so you may get lucky.
another thought.. though i wasn't ill, meat kind of grossed me out in its raw form, so you could roast turkeys, chickens, brown ground beef/lamb, and freeze that so you wouldn't have to look at/smell/touch raw meat (thought you weren't veg*n so if you are, pardon me please) while preggo. plus having it all cooked in the freezer makes meals really easy.
good luck!!!

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by AllyRae

I think though, that at this point, you can probably talk him into a new changing table and nursery set-up and he'd get to setting it up for you. :

We found a deal on Target.com where if you buy a certain crib you get a matching changing table free. DP asked "so.... when can we start buying stuff like that?"... LOL! Not yet, dear.

[New_Natural_Mom]

Originally Posted by StephandOwen

We found a deal on Target.com where if you buy a certain crib you get a matching changing table free. DP asked "so.... when can we start buying stuff like that?"... LOL! Not yet, dear.

Your DP sounds sooo cute.

[Smokering]

paint anything and everything you'd want painted. i know lots of mamas paint while preggers, and i did too, but i felt guilty and paranoid while i did it.

Eugh. I have a friend who's convinced I caused my pre-eclampsia by painting DD's room while pregnant. Grr. We're renting, so won't be painting any rooms, but I should probably finish painting DD's art station... partly because it's been hanging around half-painted for months.

The raw meat thing is a VERY good idea. I'm also wondering: is it safe to cube cheap beef, like gravy beef, mix it with mustard and red wine vinegar and onions and all the things I'd use if I were making it in the crockpot, and freeze it raw? Like, meat in a sort of liquid? Then DH could just chuck the big frozen cube in the crockpot in the morning, and it'd defrost and cook during the day. Would that work? As long as I kept wine out of the mixture? A lot of my cooking prep time is spent adding little dashes of this and that - brown sugar, spices, mirin, pepper, whatever - so it'd certainly save time. Anyone ever done this?

I'm about to make a to-do list for this week. I started knitting a cute gender-neutral kimono-type baby top yesterday... today I'm going to defrost the freezer... and I already have two logs of chocolate chip cookie dough and a double batch of chocolate banana cake in the freezer. It's a start. Still haven't tackled the liver yet, though...

[spughy]

Read this blog: www.katysays.com. Especially her posts on pregnancy and pelvic floor health. Yes, it's exercises, but they're ones that you can do in your house.

[JudiAU]

I assume you are happily cosleeping now. What is your plan over the next year? Personally. I cannot cope cospleeping with an infant and a toddler. I would leave the baby thoughts alone for a bit and have an active sleep plan in place once you have a edt. Also, it would be a good idea to have thought through nursing during the last year. Active clw? active weaning plan? Just go with the flow and see what dd need during your pregnancy? Id try and focus on dd because pregnancy is an energy killer and everything is different when the babe comes. And what about potty learning? It would be nice to have that done with or very advanced when lo comes.

[Smokering]

I'm keeping an eye out for toddler beds on TradeMe (NZ Ebay equivalent). We'll try to transition her to that in our room for part of the night, then all, and possibly into a room of her own by the time the baby comes (if DH can give up his office!).

Nursing - I'm hoping to continue through, but prepared to wean if the pain gets really bad (and possibly if my supply drops to nothing). She's cut back quite a bit recently, so I don't think it'd be too hard to impose nursing limits - maybe just milks at night and in the morning - but I don't want to do that prematurely.

Potty learning is going really well. She's good at home now, we just use nappies when we go out and at night. I guess the next step is to get her used to using public toilets...

I'll be interested to read that blog, thanks!

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by New_Natural_Mom

Your DP sounds sooo cute.

He is indeed DP is currently on this painting kick. I painted our dining room a couple weeks ago. Then we decided to paint the computer room (will be the nursery if/when we have a baby). We were out picking out the color for that when he decided that he also wanted to paint 2 of our 3 bathrooms. And who got volunteered to do that?? Me, of course I don't mind because I'm not working right now (I'm a sub para for the school district but this is the slow time of the year). I am in school ft but 3 of my classes are online so I can do them anytime, which means there's only 2 days out of the week that I'm actually in the classroom. So I have plenty of time But we ended up buying the paint yesterday so I can get all the painting done by the end of the year in case I do end up getting pregnant at the beginning of next year

[Smokering]

We may have hit a slight snag.

Until today I was doing well - taking my folic acid, eating eggs, avoiding radioactive mutagenic toxic waste dumps, defrosting the freezer, knitting a newborn-sized vest (which, um, either my gauge was off or newborns are longer and skinnier than I remember - but no matter). Then tonight I started looking up baby names - yes, premature, but a pleasant way to pass an evening.

Wanna know my favourite boy's name? Calvin. I like it. That combination of hard manly sounds and soft sensitive ones - plus, Calvin from A Wrinkle in Time was a sweetheart and a bit of dish to boot, plus, Calvin & Hobbes is awesome. Only problem is, I'm a Calvinist. There's no way I could call a baby Calvin without making it sound I was engaged in a form of spiritual oneupmanship with my Catholic sister-in-law, who eleven months ago named her first son after the Pope. If I called him Calvin she'd be forced to up the ante by calling her next kid Mary Therese Mary Mary, and then I'd have to call my next kid Grace, and when they asked about a middle name I'd be all "Nope: Grace ALONE", and actually, I'd get a kick out of that, but the ensuing escalation wouldn't be pretty. Catholics have a LOT of weird saint's names to draw on, and I'd be stuck with things like Ridley and... actually, Martin's quite nice. But again. No can do. Too political. People would smirk.

Wanna know my favourite girl's name? Bella. Yeah.

[claras_mom]

Originally Posted by Smokering

We may have hit a slight snag.

Until today I was doing well - taking my folic acid, eating eggs, avoiding radioactive mutagenic toxic waste dumps, defrosting the freezer, knitting a newborn-sized vest (which, um, either my gauge was off or newborns are longer and skinnier than I remember - but no matter). Then tonight I started looking up baby names - yes, premature, but a pleasant way to pass an evening.

Wanna know my favourite boy's name? Calvin. I like it. That combination of hard manly sounds and soft sensitive ones - plus, Calvin from A Wrinkle in Time was a sweetheart and a bit of dish to boot, plus, Calvin & Hobbes is awesome. Only problem is, I'm a Calvinist. There's no way I could call a baby Calvin without making it sound I was engaged in a form of spiritual oneupmanship with my Catholic sister-in-law, who eleven months ago named her first son after the Pope. If I called him Calvin she'd be forced to up the ante by calling her next kid Mary Therese Mary Mary, and then I'd have to call my next kid Grace, and when they asked about a middle name I'd be all "Nope: Grace ALONE", and actually, I'd get a kick out of that, but the ensuing escalation wouldn't be pretty. Catholics have a LOT of weird saint's names to draw on, and I'd be stuck with things like Ridley and... actually, Martin's quite nice. But again. No can do. Too political. People would smirk.

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by Smokering

LOL! Sure. I might eat you in my third trimester, though.

lmao!! that was so awesome, i had to read it to my husband so he could chuckle too!

[hopefulfaith]

Originally Posted by Smokering

Wanna know my favourite boy's name? Calvin. I like it. That combination of hard manly sounds and soft sensitive ones - plus, Calvin from A Wrinkle in Time was a sweetheart and a bit of dish to boot, plus, Calvin & Hobbes is awesome. Only problem is, I'm a Calvinist. There's no way I could call a baby Calvin without making it sound I was engaged in a form of spiritual oneupmanship with my Catholic sister-in-law, who eleven months ago named her first son after the Pope. If I called him Calvin she'd be forced to up the ante by calling her next kid Mary Therese Mary Mary, and then I'd have to call my next kid Grace, and when they asked about a middle name I'd be all "Nope: Grace ALONE", and actually, I'd get a kick out of that, but the ensuing escalation wouldn't be pretty. Catholics have a LOT of weird saint's names to draw on, and I'd be stuck with things like Ridley and... actually, Martin's quite nice. But again. No can do. Too political. People would smirk.

Smokering, you never fail to make me laugh out loud. You are so funny.

Grace ALONE!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

You made my day. My kids are being ... awful this morning, and I came on MDC for a smile. I will now be able to parent the rest of the day. Thank you.