Any mama's looking to TTC in the next 6-12 months and eating NT/TF??? - Page 2

[nylaboo]

Hoping for TTC this summer but feeling like I need to do some cleansing before then. I started the TF and reading about cleansing recently and was waiting until DD cut down on the BFing. We are down to just a few times per day so I figure I could start pretty soon. Any other thoughts on this? My ND suggested a parasite cleanse when I was done with BF, but she also wants me to wait at least a year to get pregnant -- not likely. DD is almost 2.

I was primarily vegetarian during my first pregnancy. Still mostly vegetarian but trying to do chicken, again because of recommendations from ND. Curious to see how things are different the second time around!

[Taedareth]

Oh yes. I had a home birth last time and it was heavenly

[natmommy]

Originally Posted by Taedareth

How long a fast are we talking about? Is it a water-only fast?

I did a veggies and small amt of fruit and sm amt non gluten grain hot cereal for four days (big accomplishment for me--I'm a sugar, grain junky!) a couple of weeks ago and I felt pretty good, but now I feel yucky! Lots of brain fog and tired. It was a pretty gentle cleanse so I'm surprised that I feel so yucky! So I don't know if I'm still dumping toxins ( I have been taking a supp for liver, kidney, lymph support) or if I have a food allergy thing going on...I really don't want to have to do an elimination diet...I was ready to get pregnant! But if I don't feel good, I guess it's probably not a good idea and I have more work to do yet...

Just hoping to be encouraged by others experiences...(and maybe a kick in the butt to do the elimination diet for the health of my future kids!)

Kari

[natmommy]

husband support

Are your hubbies eating NT to prep for TTC? Genes are 50% mom and 50% dad. Any hints on encouraging them to make good choices? I have found as long as I have NT snacks and meals around, DH eats them, but if I didn't cook dinner he has no problem stopping at Runza on the way home! : (though he's much better than he used to be!)

[naturemama1]

Good for you, mamas! You know the phrase, "You are what your grandmother ate." Well, we'll be that grandmother too someday!

The main dietary changes we made before TTC were:

1. Moving to grass-fed animal products. Buying pastured eggs, pastured chicken, and joining our local farm's CSA program for a bulk share of organic/grassfed beef, pork, chicken, and turkeys. This is the one that made the biggest dent in our food budget. Ouch. Our town's farmer's market sells pastured eggs, chicken, and raw-milk cheeses, and that's less expensive than from the health food store, but still. I'm at the stage where I don't consider battery eggs or pasteurized milk that nutritious, though, so we are taking it out of our budget in other areas.

2. Local raw milk. It's legal and certified in my state, so we can buy raw milk from the health food store a few blocks from us, at the big Whole Foods, or at our local farm. Everywhere except Whole Foods is the same price as grocery store milk. After reviewing the safety statistics in my state (like, we're a million times more likely to get food-borne illnesses from vegetables than from certified raw milk), I feel completely comfortable continuing to drink it throughout my pregnancy. (Also after looking at the safety stats, I decided to give up soft cheeses and sushi -- I'm not a risk-taker by any means, but licensed raw milk is seriously SO safe!)

3. Switching away from carbs, even "good" carbs like whole wheat, as the foundation for meals. I switched over to grinding fresh flour from wheat berries when we want to make bread or pasta, so not only is it extra nutritious, it's a special treat because of all that work! Homemade ravioli is totally worth it, though.

4. I take a folic acid supplement and a Blue Ice CLO/BO capsule every day, and I give my husband a fish oil supplement. I'm extremely conservative wrt fish and mercury, but we try to get a good amount of Alaskan salmon in our diets also, especially for my kids (who won't take CLO).

Did anyone else just get the Nina Planck newsletter that said that 60% of a baby's developing brain is fat, and HALF of that fat is DHA? Wow!

[Dillpicklechip]

Naturemama, I am SO jealous of you having raw milk so easy to come by and affordable! I can't get it anywhere.

You said your kids won't take CLO--I give my kids salmon oil from a company called Health from the Sea--it might only be available in Canada though. It's bubble-gum flavoured and they actually like it! (It probably also helps that I told them it's "special vitamins," and refrained from using the word "fish").

[naturemama1]

Originally Posted by Dillpicklechip

Naturemama, I am SO jealous of you having raw milk so easy to come by and affordable! I can't get it anywhere.

You said your kids won't take CLO--I give my kids salmon oil from a company called Health from the Sea--it might only be available in Canada though. It's bubble-gum flavoured and they actually like it! (It probably also helps that I told them it's "special vitamins," and refrained from using the word "fish").

Oh, thank you! I will look for that next time we're at Whole Foods.

I had no idea that raw milk was so hard to find in most places! I feel very blessed that it is legal and local to us here (we even help take care of the cows we get it from most frequently). Back in my home state, raw milk has been legal in grocery stores for years and years. I recently gave my mom my copy of NT to read, and she was like, That's old news! We drank raw milk when you were little all the time.

[Taedareth]

Originally Posted by naturemama1

I recently gave my mom my copy of NT to read, and she was like, That's old news! We drank raw milk when you were little all the time.

It's amazing how much common-sense nutrition is now considered "dangerous." My friend who is an ultra-modern, nutrition-conscious, all-organic, Atkins-devotee says, "You take your life in your hands when you drink raw milk!!!"

But my FIL grew up on a little farm in West Virginia and he said, "Raw milk? Well of course. That's what we always drank when I was a kid. Fresh from the cow."

[HerbanGirl]

Me too!!! We're going to TTC starting in early fall, and I've been getting back on NT since January. I was doing great there for a while, but the last couple months got ridiculously busy with a creative project and I got really off-track. I wasn't eating horribly, but too much Jamba Juice (nonfat fro-yo) and pasta salad on the go. So I'm trying to get back into the swing. Here's the main things I count on:

Every day I take a whole-foods-based prenatal vitamin and 1ml of the Blue Ice CLO/HVBO mix. Yes, I just take the oil straight, but it's the cinnamon flavor and if I put the dropper way back on my tongue it's all right!

Raw organic dairy. I'm lucky to have this readily available too. We get raw whole milk, raw butter, and raw cheeses from the local co-op. We are also very lucky to get pastured eggs for free every week from the mother of one of DBF's trumpet students. So lucky! I love looking at their beautiful blue-green-yellow-pink shells every week!

I love coconut, so I throw it in everything I can. Favorite recipes are coconut-crusted salmon or shrimp, and sauteed apples in coconut oil, topped with raw cream and shredded coconut. I also love organic coconut butter on bread, or just plain on a spoon!

I'm trying to figure out the best fish for us - the co-op lists which fish are lowest in mercury and I go by that. Mostly wild-caught salmon, but also some catfish or trout sometimes. Is that bad?

Meat is an issue - DBF won't eat it and doesn't like me to cook it. A couple times a month I have naturally-raised beef in a Chipotle burrito, but that's it. I know, that's not grass-fed. Any ideas there? I'm also not getting organ meat, but I do like liverwurst and I think I'll get some from the local butcher.

Then, of course, lots of organic veggies and fruits. I'm pretty strict about veggies - I won't eat raw brassicas or leafy greens. I love sauteed greens with lemon cream sauce!

Grains are a problem for me - it's the first thing I'll go non-NT with if I'm not careful. I try to limit my consumption, and I stick to sourdough or sprouted-grain bread from the co-op. But I'll plead ignorance when I want a Chipotle burrito with plain old tortilla and white rice! Again, any ideas?

I was vegetarian for the better part of 17 years, and vegan for the second half of last year. My health declined so badly that I sprang straight into NT and haven't looked back! I feel so much better, I sleep better overall, have more energy, see more clearly, my skin and hair are healthier...I don't think I'll ever go back! DBF is a different story - he eats pretty poorly sometimes, although he's better than he used to be and will even eat some of the raw dairy now even though he still clings to the modern "wisdom" that raw is scary. Bah!

Oh yeah, and I haven't posted enough yet to have a signature line with all my icons, but here's my plan:: : : !!!!!

[Gale Force]

Hey HerbanGirl. Welcome. I'm on my way out, so I can't answer your questions, but I did look at your blog and am drooling over the apron.

I live south of you, on the southern edge of the Sequoia National Forest

Amanda

[Gale Force]

Hey everyone else! I just looked at the rest of this page. Post some intros for us. :

[newcastlemama]

Originally Posted by natmommy

Are your hubbies eating NT to prep for TTC? Genes are 50% mom and 50% dad. Any hints on encouraging them to make good choices? I have found as long as I have NT snacks and meals around, DH eats them, but if I didn't cook dinner he has no problem stopping at Runza on the way home! : (though he's much better than he used to be!)

I give my dh his CLO and try to pack his food, make his meals and have a lot of healthy snacks on hand (he likes nuts and yogurt). My dh eats A LOT so it can be a little overwhelming. He will also eat candy and such so I am trying to have more healthy "treats" around. Also, when I can get kombucha down he said he will replace some of his beer with that I also feed him seafoods and grate liver into our foods when I can.

He is not as into NT as I am so I know he is just not going to be as picky.

Jen

[newcastlemama]

An Intro-

I am Jen and I am a recovering from lowfat dieting and vegan eating: I had severe PPD with #1 and a miscarriage last spring. I am hoping to have a great preg and postpartum on traditional foods, which I have been eating for over a year now.

I eat a "hunter-gather-ish" TF diet because of my food allergies--meats, broths, nuts/seeds, produce, clarified grassfed butter, CLO, and coconut. (I am eating liver for the first time today to prepare!) I am hoping to get pregnant in July or August.

I am also hoping to extended BF this next baby since my bf relationship was cut short with ds due to PPD meds.

[caedmyn]

We're hoping to TTC late summer or early fall...if AF ever comes back:
I had a really easy pregnancy and labor (homebirth, definitely planning another!) with DD but my health has gone downhill somewhat since her birth in spite of eating a whole foods diet during pregnancy and eating NT style since she was a couple of months old. Oh well...I'm tired of trying to fix myself and who knows if I'll ever be totally healthy again so we're going for #2 regardless.

I'm having DH take CLO at least until I get pregnant again, and he does eat mostly TF at home, although he cheats a fair amount too. His nutritional status probably isn't going to be the greatest when we TTC because he'll be just returning from a 6 month deployment filled with ultra-processed foods, but then again it's probably not going to be any worse than it was when I got pregnant with DD as he was coming off 30+ years of the SAD. At least this time around he's been taking CLO for a while!

Is anyone else planning on weaning during or before pregnancy? I plan to wean DD as soon as I get pregnant again (around 21 months old, I think--no flames please) as I don't think my body is up to the double nutritional burden of nursing and pregnancy, plus DD has multiple food allergies and I don't think my current diet is ideal for nourishing a new baby, particularly if I have major meat and veggie aversions like I did last time.

[Taedareth]

Is CLO crucial for DH when you're TTC? (That was a lot of acronyms.) Because like some other mamas said, my DH will only take it when I fill up the spoon and hand it to him. Argh. H's always had a hard time remembering to take vitamins and such, but he has a mental block against CLO. He thinks it will taste fishy, even though the brand I buy (Sonne's) doesn't taste fishy at all, it just tastes like flax seed oil.

So, is orange juice the camouflage of choice? Is there another good option besides taking it with juice?

[Dillpicklechip]

Originally Posted by Taedareth

Is CLO crucial for DH when you're TTC? (That was a lot of acronyms.) Because like some other mamas said, my DH will only take it when I fill up the spoon and hand it to him. Argh. H's always had a hard time remembering to take vitamins and such, but he has a mental block against CLO. He thinks it will taste fishy, even though the brand I buy (Sonne's) doesn't taste fishy at all, it just tastes like flax seed oil.

So, is orange juice the camouflage of choice? Is there another good option besides taking it with juice?

LOL, I was coming to this thread this morning to ask about CLO for DH too. Specifically, I wanted to ask WHY a man should take it while TTC. My husband is one of those people who just don't care very much about taking supplements. And he HATES fish and anything that tastes remotely fishy. So I need some good arguements to convince him to take it! Saying "but it's really good for you" may not work.

So, what exactly does CLO do for both woman and man when TTC?

[Thystle]

I just make or hand my hubby things and tell him he has to take or I will kick his @ss.


He HATES CLO in any form but we have a "sort of" comprimise with the CLO/BO caps.


He does do REALLY well putting coconut oil into all of his hot drinks though!





Gale Force... I take it you are a bit interested in this thread?

[moneca]

I remember in N&PD that people on their native diets had "special" foods they gave to both parents before conception and I believe fish eggs were one of those foods. I'll have to look back at this. Besides the omegas a HVCLO would give good amounts of vitamin A and D necessary for utilization of minerals and water soluble vitamins. DH does take 1 TBSP Blue Ice CLO each day though his dramatic daily complaints continue after doing this for over a year.

[Taedareth]

One Tablespoon of the high-vitamin variety? That's gotta be like... 25,000 UI of vitamin A per day! We are taking 1 Tablespoon of regular (Sonne's) CLO which equals slightly over 10,000 UI of vitamin A. I think that's the WAP recommended amount. But maybe it needs to be more if you're TTC?

[sabrosina]

:

We're headed to IVF sometime in the Fall and with guidance from my TCM practitioner we're following a traditional foods diet. Just getting into it though.. so I'm interested in what you all have to say.

Just a quick answer to a question above.. it is as important for the man to be eating well as it is for the woman. In fact, in TCM the man takes specific herbs to improve sperm quality, motility, etc.