what supplements are you taking?

[soccermominsd]

I am curious to know what everyone is taking during this pregnancy.

Currently I am taking:
-Prenatals (New Chapter)
-Fish Oil Supplement (RxOmega-3 Factors)
-Cal/Mag (Whole Foods)
-Infusion tea of: nettle, rrl & very small amount of red clover (I'll be adding Dandelion as well when it gets in)

I am considering adding a Vitex glycerite, which I have on hand in case of spotting, however after researching a bit more I might just start taking a small dose daily. Is anyone else taking vitex to help support their pregnancy?

I also have Evening Primrose Oil to get my Omega 6's, but I read it softens the cervix. Any advice there? Is anyone taking this?

[chrissy]

Anita,

how do you like the New Chapter prenatals? i am looking for a new prenatal. right now i'm taking rainbow light one-a-days and i don't really like them. they're so big and grassy tasting. :lol

other than that i'm taking:

- B6, which i started taking to lengthen my luteal phase and i am continuing to take to help ward off/lessen morning sickness

- flax seed oil

-pregnancy tea with red raspberry leaf, oat straw, and nettles

i need to ask my midwife about evening primrose oil. she gave me an article about it last time and i took it for most of my pregnancy but i'm pretty sure i didn't start until after the first trimester. i don't know if that was just because of when she gave me the article or b/c it is best to not start until later.

[stayathomecristi]

I vaguely remember last time, the m/w saying not to take the evening primrose oil till third trimester. Definitely warrants some research.

I'm currently finishing up some vitamins on hand--Shaklee multi and some b-complex (I will probably continue on the b-complex because it gives me lots of energy).

I will continue to take magnesium/calcium daily.
1 Tablespoon Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil
When the Shaklee multi is gone I'll probably switch over to a whole foods prenatal.

[chrissy]

what is the magnesium/calcium for?

[soccermominsd]

Hey Chrissy,
I love the New Chapter prenatals. I get enough vitamin A in my diet and too much vitamin A is not a good thing, so they cut that out completely. They digest well anytime of day for me so that's a good thing as well. You have to chug 4 of them at a time so if you don't like taking pills you should consider that. They are a bit on the pricey side, but Vitacost.com & iherb.com have pretty good deals. iherb.com is a couple more dollars, but if you order over $40 worth of stuff you get free shipping.

I take the Calcium/Magnesium by whole foods just in case I'm not getting enough. I'm over 40, so I need to be aware of bone density and this little guy/girl inside me is taking the regular cal/mag I get in my diet, so I'm supplementing...it is also supposed to help you sleep better if you take it at night.

[Tori Gollihugh]

cal/mag
JuicePlus (have noticed some really great changes since starting this)
Ester C and Echinacea because we were sick a bit there

still need to add some stuff (like protein shake), but have to work it into the budget :(
Probably need to take notes from the PPers! :)

[soccermominsd]

bump :)

I would love to hear what everyone else is taking or not taking.

[Alimaccat]

I am currently taking:

- Prenatals (currently Natural Factors, but will switch to Rainbow as soon as I
finish this bottle as I found a good deal on the Rainbow)
- Fish oil (RxOmega-3 Natural Factors)
- Juice Plus (have been on this for several years)
- Apple cider vinegar (supports circulation and I have high BP. I have heard
some anecdotal reports that it can help lower BP.)

May consider adding cal/mag and iron if indicated.

[honeybeedreams]

there is plenty of omega 6 in the american dieet, you don't need a supplement for them... EPO should not be taken until you are ready for birth.

EFAs that are safe for pregnancy are flax seed oil, black current seed oil and high grade fish oil.

i personally have recommended aginst cod liver oil in pregnancy (or just a small amount of it) i know there are others who disagree... but EPO should be saved for when you are ready to birth.

i take:

vitamin C, zinc, selenium, D, folic acid, fish oil, an adrenal supplement, and kelp. (nettle tea and floradix too)

i found an iron free supplement i want to start taking.. but i have to drive to find it and it hasn't happened yet.

[Janelovesmax]

Hello,

When I was pregnant I was taking the following supplements:

New Chapter Perfect Prenatal (after some research I found them to be the best prenatals on the market)

2 teaspoons of Cod Liver Oil (Nordic Naturals) - fish oil is extremely important, particularly Cod Liver Oil.

Spirulina - micro algae superfood (from Pure planet)

Barley Grass - (from Pure planet)

Amla - to make sure I don't get sick during pregnancy (Indian gooseberry, the most concentrated natural source of vitamin C found)

Spirulina, Barley and Amla I wasn't taking every day, but alternating...

Now, I wish I listed to my DH and took Virgin Coconut Oil while I was nursing. It's known to increase fat content in your breastmilk, besides all it's antifungal, antibacterial qualities.

Good Luck! :goorg:

[leurMaman]

It is good to read what everyone else is taking. I'm only taking the
- Trader Joe Prenatal one-a-day
- Trader Joe Omega-3 oil supplement

To conceive (and at the beginning), I was also taking
- Trader Joe B-6/B-12/Folic Acid tabs
- Trader Joe Iron supplement

I quit this because I didn't know if I could OD on the B vitamins. That was a total of 300% folic acid intake, and my sister said too much iron was bad (and could cause constipation). I'm wondering if I need them or not...
Mandi

[honeybeedreams]

all pregnant mamas should take 800 mcgs of folic acid daily... to prevent spinal cord defects. B vitamins are water soluable and os you just pee out what you don't need. they are very safe to take.

iron supplements i do not recommend. most women find them very hard to absorb and once in the body the liver has no way of eliminating it from the body. i recommend cooking in cast iorn pans, eating foods rich and iron and vitamins that help the absorbtion of food based iron and drinking herb teas.

here's a thread i started on getitng your iron naturally, without supplements:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=405155

[katiesmom]

I'm taking Rainbow Light prenatal, Carlson's Cod liver oil about 2 times per week and just ordered dr. mercolas whey healthier protein shake that I will take daily for the good aminos and such!

[Momof3Girlz]

I'm taking a one-a-day generic brand prenatal vit

Drinking 1 cup of RRL tea

Cod Liver Oil when I remember

Cal Mag (with zinc) when I remember

I will probably to nettle leaf tea

Will definitely take EPOil when close to due date

[jule924]

I've been taking Rainbow Light (not the one-a-day - the other one). I took them with my first and while I nursed and then started up again a few months ago when we started ttc.

[CrunchyMamaToBe]

I'm not taking pre natals... Should I run and find the bag...

:bag:

My English pregnancy book says you don't need them as long as you have a good diet and aren't vomiting all the time. So far, so good.

I am continuing to take a B combination (with all the B numbers, plus folic acid and biotin and some others I can't remember...), a calcium/ magneseum/zinc, Vitamin C, and hemp seed oil + Vitamin E. Plus one cup a day of pregnancy tea with RRL and nettle.

[jule924]

Crunchymamatobe, sounds like you're good on the vitamins already - most of what you're taking is why you would take a pre-natal anyhow.

[leurMaman]

I had also read that you coudn't overdose on B vitamins. Babycenter.com says that they just get peed out if you take too many. I thought the same was true of Folic Acid. However, I researched this a week ago, and found that while there was no upper limit of B-12 (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminb12.asp), there is an upper-limit of 100mg per day of B-6 (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminb6.asp) and an upper-limit of 1000mg a day of folic acid (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/folate.asp). I estimated that if I took the Trader Joe B6/B12/folic acid tabs with my prenatal vitamins, I would be getting 1600 mg of Folic acid and 1000mg of B12...which seems excessive. I totally agree that you need 800 mg of Folic acid a day, though - and vegetarians are recommended to take B12 supplements to prevent nerve damage/deficiencies. It is worth reading over the labels and doing a little research to make sure that things are moderate - but I don't think it is too harmful.

[tuscany123]

I take:

Prenatal (Source of Life)
Probiotic (Garden of Life)
Cod Liver Oil 1 tsp daily (Garden of Life)
1000 mg Vit C
Potassium supplement
Extra folic acid
Fiber
Alfalfa

Husband and I are TTC #2. I'd be interested to know what anyone thinks of taking these supplements while TTC. I'd like to add digestive enzymes to my regimen, but haven't yet.

Thanks ladies!!!:thumb

[ArlyShellandKai]

IM currently taking
Rainbow Light Complete Prenatal

VIa Viente




Michele

[lab80]

I take New Chapter Organic Prentals, my midwife buys them wholesale so I'm able to get them for a little cheaper. Which is awesome. They are big pills that smell and taste kinda bad, but since I have no m/s or anything I can live with it. But I can't take them right after eating. I'd gag for sure. :(

But they make me feel better. They've helped with cramps and digestive issues. :innocent

I give them a :thumb

Lisa

[Twice as nice]

I've been taking:

-- New Chapter prenatals
-- Organic Norwegian Salmon Oil
-- Organic Egg Protein (gives me a great excuse to have a daily milkshake :lol ) - I found one that does not contain any additional supplements that most protein powders do, and it has 30 grams of protein/serving. It is pretty expensive but completely worth it, especially with my lil twinnies (dont think i get enough protein for both of them otherwise)
-- "Maternity Partner" herbal tea... soooo yummy!! :)

how do you like the New Chapter prenatals?


I've been taking New chapter the last 2 months... IMO size-wise they arent bad at all, but they do have a pretty strong after-taste (I found them easier to take right before I eat). It used to bother me more when I had some m/s but am ok with it now (maybe just got used to it). I think its worth it though... they are the only ones i've found on the market that are completely organic, they are also much easier on your digestive system and dont have any vitamin A.

[scarlettrose]

i'm taking

prenatal vitamins by whole foods
drinking at least one cup of RRL tea daily (yogi brand)
and drinking at least one cup of enhanced soy milk (has the omega3 in it)
also, my bread has the omega3 in it as well
if i don't get the omega3 from either of those, i grind up some flax and put it on my morning cereal or yogurt

[ArlyShellandKai]

rainbow light prenatal ( one a day) could never remember all 6 from the complete

Via Viente

Nordic Natural Complete Omegas

Herbal pregnancy tea

Jarrow Probiotic

(was taking coconut kefir however turned off to it since i was sick for to days.)

Michele

[mamajody]

I am currently taking:

The New Chapter Perfect Prenatals
Whole Foods Iron
Trader Joe's B6/B12?Folic Acid (when I remember it)
3 cups-1 qt. of preggo tea (was taking traditional medicinals, now I am making my own with RRL, nettles, rosehips, alfalfa, and lemon verbena)
and Sambucol Elderberry Syrup when the creepy crud shows up in my classroom.

I have to go REALLY big on the iron because my crit has been low every blood test. The docs and MW have advised me that my risk of transfusion is high this time due to the over extended uterus not clamping doown as fast. They all want me to be able to get up and around after the birth w/out a transfusion or needing injections later. Ugh.

[Finding Serenity]

I'm taking prenatals--no special brand--my MW would prefer I get my vitamins out of my diet so I'll just use up what I have and stick to a healthy diet
4 capsules RX strength fish oil
2 cups Women's blend tea