Humor my worry-wartin; ... - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[kimble]

this is a really interesting thread!

The list of no-nos is a bit of a tease to me - half this things on it I like, and the other half I wouldn't have anyway.

since I like my meat well done, eggs cooked hard, don't like cold cuts, and don't have a need to paint anything or work around really nasty chemicals (thank goodness I work in an office now instead of a research lab with listeria cultures down the hall!) those have been easy to avoid. I don't get my hair colored or permed, or get manis/pedis but I will probably paint my toenails over the holidays. I avoid soda and artificial sweeteners, but they aren't a regular part of my diet anyway. It just means I need to buy my own yogurt instead of eat the free stuff in the common fridge at work.

I like tuna, but have been avoiding it for several years now except the occasional piece of sushi. When we travel to the midwest, I make it a point to not eat any locally caught fish or deer/elk because of pollutants and prions. I normally use dish soap and baking soda to clean with, and have gradually switched to natural body care products (homemade deodorant, vegetable oil-based soap, natural face wash, and will switch to natural shampoo, conditioner, and lotion once the supplies I have run out. I only wash my hair every other day, so see that as manageable exposure for now)

Since the BFP, I have consciously avoided only a few things I would otherwise way or do: no sprouts (I had them once from a local farm we trust), no unpasteurized cheese (this has been hard - DH bought 2 blocks of nice raw cheese which we gave to the in laws to get it out of the house ), and no raw or rare fish, which I miss the most. I'm less willing to risk old leftovers than I was before, and make DH eat anything that has been in the fridge longer than a week. Also we have a lot of yard work to do, and I try to minimize vibrations while holding branches for DH to chain saw.

I have no qualms with sips of beer (less than 1oz), raw honey, herbal tea (I'd drink about 90% less water without it!), fully cooked shellfish, bacon or sausage in moderation, the occasional hot bath, going to a rock concert, riding my bike, or a daily cup of coffee.

[aHikaru]

don't feel bad about worrying so much, with this babe I am worried about everything and the ultrasound helped a lot, hopefully it does/did the same for you :)

[nstewart]

I think I fall somwhere in the middle.

Lots of the things I avoid in pregnany I avoid in general.  I use BS/Vinegar/soap/borax/tea tree oil for all my cleaning products.  I make my own laundry detergent using washing soda, borax and sunlight laundry soap.  We are a no 'poo family, so I only wash my hair with water and don't need to use conditioner or other products.  I don't dye my hair (although I've been getting the itch to lately!), I use natural moisturizer, deoderant and lotion.  We eat a generally healthy diet, with a mix of organic (dirty dozen, milk, eggs, etc.) and non-organic.  I buy my chicken and beef direct from the farmer.  The chicken is free range, antibiotic free.  The beef is grazed, grass fed beef and also hormone and antibiotic free.  We don't buy lunch meat or hotdogs as a rule, but I won't turn it down at work or whatever.  I was starved at ikea on Satuday and had a hotdog.  It was delicious!  I don't drink pop as a rule, but once in a while I really crave rootbeer.

Durning pregnancy I additionally avoid nail polish (easy in the winter 'cause I don't care if my toes are ugly!), high impact sports (skiing, squash), cleaning the litter box (yay!), alcohol in the first trimester (I am ok with 1oz per week or less after that, so far it's been about every 2-3 weeks), I cut back on caffeine (under 200mg/day), I cut back on tuna...can't think what else.

I DO wear makeup daily (I haven't swithced to natural products yet), I DO eat sushi (lots of what I like is cooked anyway), I DO eat unpasturized cheese (not that it's an issue very often!), I continue to exercise and lift weights in particular, I DO eat rare steak (but would never eat hamburger that wasn't well done), I usually eat my eggs scrambled and hate gooey eggs, but if I have a fried egg I like it over medium, I will enjoy a warm bath (they never seem to be hot anymore since I'm usually in the tub with my toddler! sigh).

I can't think of anything else.  So my main changes are cutting way back on caffeine and generally avoiding alcohol, and making DH clean the litter.  Otherwise, I try to get more protein but otherwise not much changes for me day to day. 

[augustashley]

I feel like I'm completely overboard in some areas (compared to most) and really lackadaisical in others.  The book "Having Faith" by Sandra Steingraber, made me much more conservative about environment during pregnancy.  Calculated risks don't bother me as much as unknowns... I haven't had lunchmeat, but if I had no other easy option, I wouldn't go hungry.  This is my fifth baby, and I've done a ton of research into most things, and some things I gave up for prior pregnancies without asking questions (like soft cheeses, and sushi) now don't give me pause.  Feta and sushi were so hard for me to give up in my last pregnancy. and when I realized that almost 100% of the feta I come in contact with is pasteurized, I was quite peeved that I deprived myself for no good reason.  I did allow myself small bits of wine (usually in spritzer form) in my first couple pregnancies, but have avoided it for the last three completely.  Not because of any adverse effects to my other kids, just because I'm not going to really enjoy just a sip of something anyway. ;)

Things I do allow myself-for one, Sushi-usually cooked, only the cleaner fish, but I would take raw in a nice establishment I trust.  Japanese pregnant women don't give up sushi and they do just fine. ;)  Sushi fish in this country is flash frozen to destroy parasites, and the raw fish itself shouldn't be a danger, the danger is in cross contamination or poor kitchen habits.  That being the case, I don't think it is any more dangerous than eating salad, honestly.  Baby spinach can carry e. coli or salmonella just as easily to the plate.  

I also eat feta and other cheeses (like Bleu) in moderation.  Pretty much anything you will come across here is pasteurized.  I distinctly remember sadly picking every morsel of feta out of a Wendy's salad once... all for naught, lol.  Our milk, well, let's just say it is local and I'm sure it is cleaner than anything more mainstream.

I quit caffeine, but not immediately, it was a slow wean-down process.  I felt a bit guilty about that because for all my other kids I gave it up immediately, but I was having horrible headaches and took it slow this time.  Maybe once a week I'll indulge in a tea or something caffeineated.   I so wish that I didn't know better, because I crave it and it is probably the thing I miss the most.

I don't touch tuna, wouldn't go near a flu shot, don't cook in aluminum (or teflon), etc. to avoid heavy metals.

Try not to eat, cook, or store anything in plastic, or that came from a can.  We go to great lengths to avoid BPA as much as possible-using our own water from our RO filter, growing & jarring our own tomatoes (because the jarred varieties are prohibitively expensive here).

I avoid *almost* everything scented.  I love lotions, but pthalates have been a major deterrent.   I do use regular antiperspirant, after trying multiple natural varieties, I went back to it.  We eat as much organic as possible (in our rural area, we don't have the best selection) but have switched for most of the "dirty" or GMO foods; eat local grassfed beef, venison, etc.  Much of that I was doing already, but I'm especially cautious with BPA, pthalates, and GMOs now, knowing that I have a much more sensitive baby inside.  Cell phone use/wifi exposure-well, I'm there. :/    I have tried in all pregnancies to limit ultrasounds (I've only had one or two) but this baby already had 2 (at 7 & 12.5 weeks because I switched doctors almost immediately after my 7 wk checkup when I was concerned about miscarriage) and I'm scheduled for another at 21.  Hoping that it won't have an effect. 

Makeup-I use bareminerals (not so bad according to EWG), and mascara, & eyeliner.  I'm switching to an organic mascara because the Lorreal one I have has a strong odor.  I use just a touch of lipstick, maybe once or twice a week. 

My first few pregnancies weren't perfect, but the kids from them pretty much are. ;) That helps me not worry.  My firstborn was a surprise, and before I even knew I was pregnant I had a root canal, with pain meds, and was drinking moderately regularly... He's probably the biggest brain of my bunch (so far) so I try not to stress about incidental exposures.  I know lots of people who throw all caution to the wind and have healthy babies.

[pastormama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adventuregirl 

. I don't want to have any ultrasounds because of possible unknown risks and most every pg woman in the US has them, but I will eat lunch meat to my hearts content (of a certain quality, however), which most women avoid - HUH??? In that example, for me, its the difference between a known and unknown risk, I know what lunch meat could have, listeria, but how likely am I to eat lunch meat with listeria, kwim?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loogiejane 

 I used to live in Vermont and then Northampton, MA, both towns I loooooved living in but always knew in the back of my mind I did not enjoy the 100%edness about certain things. People tended to be very judgey and not "well this is what works for her"

Yes to these two!!  What I stay away from is what most practitioners tell you to do!!  No vaccinations while pregnant (esp the DTaP they are pushing on everyone who is going to be within 100 yards of your baby now), only one sonogram and that one reluctantly, no gestational diabetes test, no cervical checks, no genetic testing or amnio. 

And what they tell you NOT to do . . . well I'm not so good about that either.  We drink raw milk from a source we trust, eat runny eggs, eat soft cheese, eat sushi, I don't drink in general for other reasons, but have had a few beers and may again at a wedding in a few weeks.  I still sleep on my back.  I drink one cup of coffee per day.  I might have two today.  I generally don't like hot dogs or lunch meat, but if I did I don't think I would care about that either. 

In general, the hysteria surrounding what pregnant women can't/shouldn't do drives me nuts.  Mostly because stress if what really destroys a pregnant woman and her baby, and all these restrictions cause stress.  You know what's REALLY dangerous?  Driving a car.  Especially driving a car while pregnant.  Does your doctor/midwife tell you to stop driving?  Your chances of your child dying because you are in a car wreck are astronomically higher than from listeria. 

[lisedea]

Ok, yes, there are many things that could kill your baby....getting in a car accident is definitely one of them. But PLEASE don't make other people that decide to follow these precautions feel stupid for doing so.

Just to give listeria a little bit of perspective....a couple from another thread I am part of had a baby die less than a day after birth because he contracted meningitis. This happened yesterday. Now, I haven't asked about HOW the baby contracted it but since he obviously had it in utero, it could very well be from listeria (and from what I have read seems the most likely). Obviously the chances of this are very small...but to "know" someone that this happened to makes me feel stronger about staying away!

[pastormama]

I hope you don't think I tried to make anyone feel stupid for following whatever precautions they feel comfortable with.  I'm sure many would call my behavior and decisions reckless and stupid.  I also don't think that a doctor's word is law.  Much of what they tell you is to avoid malpractice suit. 

My point is only that stress is what causes many problems.  If it makes you feel more stressed to follow the endless do's and don'ts, then be more selective and educate yourself.  If it makes you feel more stressed to go against "doctors' orders," then by all means, follow your doctor! 

Listeria is found on all kinds of vegetables and fruits found right in your grocery store.  And yet we are urged (rightly so) to eat many fruits and vegetables while pregnant.  Educate yourself on the risks that are out there and make the decisions that are right for you. 

[adventuregirl]

lisedea, I can totally see your sensitivity to this, esp after a friend lost their babe, so, so sorry for them. My thought is that for those of us who make informed decisions about what to/not to do or avoid that are outside of the mainstream, are often made out to be reckless and ignorant, and looked upon as not making the right choices for our babies (talk about feeling bad). So it is natural to point out reasoning for these decisions, it is in defense of our decision, not to make others feel bad.

We all have our own road, which is one of the great things about this thread, I love learning about how each person's circumstances influence their decisions. We have all read/seen/experienced different things, so we have more understanding or sensitivity in some places and maybe not so much in others. I read things here everyday that make me think deeper about different choices, its an ongoing process. As I said above, I had no idea anyone worried about makeup, that was a new one to me, but now is my chance to learn about it (or just continue on not wearing it). :)

And pastormama, I love you! Rock on everything you said!