Any Mamas working on nutrition?!

[robbins611]

I just very unexpectantly found out I'm preggo with #5. My littlest is 10m old and was a preemie so she hasn't started solids yet. I've been preggo or nursing for over 8 yrs straight and last preg I had a placental abruption. I am totally committed to perfect pregnancy nutrition. Any advice on books or programs? I've done brewer before...but I'm wanting to go a bit more holistic. Join me ladies and we'll stay super healthy together :)

Much Love,
Gini

[Faerieshadow]

Well, last pregnancy I lived off of milk, cream cheese, and Taco Bell. (I didn't find my way to NFL until later lol). I'm ready to jump in and go for a well balanced pregnancy diet this time. :)

[zoebugsmom]

I'm being careful about what I eat. I had GD with ds and am already working on keeping to a GD diet. I should have stuck with it between pregnancies but got lazy.

[leurMaman]

I'm a Bradley Method teacher. I'm not a m/w or doctor, but I have read a bit about placentia abruptio. It happened to one of my students who also had a bicornuate uterus. She had to have an emergency c-section, but both lives were saved. A couple of things can cause placentia abruptio - poor nutrition or lack of sufficient protein specifically can be an issue. A short umbilical cord (that therefore pulls hard on the placenta and tears it away in some places) can be another. Those are the main reasons that I remember off the top of my head. Since the placenta, amniotic membrane, cord, and baby require lots of protein, I do urge my students to read Dr. Brewer's information on a well-balanced diet. There is a website devoted to his ideas (he worked in inner-city hospitals and dealt with patients experiencing toxemia in pregnancy, and was able to reduce rates of eclampsia by getting them on good diets high in protein). The website is: http://www.blueribbonbaby.org

What I am doing? I'm not perfect in my eating habits. I make sure to take a good prenatal, some fish oil for Omega 3's/DHA, probiotics, and a liquid iron supplement. I just try to make healthy choices through the day, drink to thirst, salt to taste, and I make a protein shake in the mid-afternoon (which helps perk up my energy for the evening) that has one banana a cup of milk or hemp milk, a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of yogurt, 2 tablespoons brewer's yeast (from beets), and protein powder. I get up to 45 grams of protein just from the shake, so I can easily make up the other (the goal being between 75 and 100 grams a day) with my other meals. I also try to eat an egg a day, but haven't been able to stomach that so well lately (although I have been loving homemade egg-salad sandwhiches).

Hope I don't sound like a know-it-all:) I've never done the shakes during a pregnancy before, so I'm trying to improve this time around too.

[ibusymomto5]

I'm a Bradley Method teacher. I'm not a m/w or doctor, but I have read a bit about placentia abruptio. It happened to one of my students who also had a bicornuate uterus. She had to have an emergency c-section, but both lives were saved. A couple of things can cause placentia abruptio - poor nutrition or lack of sufficient protein specifically can be an issue. A short umbilical cord (that therefore pulls hard on the placenta and tears it away in some places) can be another. Those are the main reasons that I remember off the top of my head. Since the placenta, amniotic membrane, cord, and baby require lots of protein, I do urge my students to read Dr. Brewer's information on a well-balanced diet. There is a website devoted to his ideas (he worked in inner-city hospitals and dealt with patients experiencing toxemia in pregnancy, and was able to reduce rates of eclampsia by getting them on good diets high in protein). The website is: http://www.blueribbonbaby.org

What I am doing? I'm not perfect in my eating habits. I make sure to take a good prenatal, some fish oil for Omega 3's/DHA, probiotics, and a liquid iron supplement. I just try to make healthy choices through the day, drink to thirst, salt to taste, and I make a protein shake in the mid-afternoon (which helps perk up my energy for the evening) that has one banana a cup of milk or hemp milk, a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of yogurt, 2 tablespoons brewer's yeast (from beets), and protein powder. I get up to 45 grams of protein just from the shake, so I can easily make up the other (the goal being between 75 and 100 grams a day) with my other meals. I also try to eat an egg a day, but haven't been able to stomach that so well lately (although I have been loving homemade egg-salad sandwhiches).

Hope I don't sound like a know-it-all:) I've never done the shakes during a pregnancy before, so I'm trying to improve this time around too.



Thank you for posting all that! I think I want to try to follow the Brewer diet as good as I can. You don't sound like a know it all at all to me. I really appreciate all the info.:love Thanks for the link:thumb

[DreamsInDigital]

We try to follow the TF diet. I'm not too worried about my nutrition even though lately I've been having trouble eating anything, I try to make up for it by eating well when I do feel up to it.

[ibusymomto5]

What's the TF diet?:D

[Mrshawwk]

This is my most favorite topic! :)

With each pregnancy I have been more and more inspired to eat better. Now I try to follow the most natural, organic diet that I can (also known as "TF" or Traditional Foods). I try and avoid processed foods as much as I can. I drink a ton of raw milk, kombucha (a fermented non-alcoholic tea beverage), eat full fat (and sometimes) homemade yogurt and kefir, extra cream in my milk and hot chocolate (I am 5'10 and 135lbs, and need all the fat I can get). I take high vitamin cod liver oil and butter oil, liver pills, folic acid and B6, but no multi. Most of the multis I know of have synthetic vitamins in it, and I really want to avoid that. Plus, I've finally gotten to the point in my diet where I think I have all the bases covered and don't need the multi.

"Nutrient dense" is my motto. Eggs? Full of goodness. Natural grass-fed meats? Full of iron, B vitamins and protein, as well as essential fatty acids. Milk? Think calcium, protein, B6, etc all in a very easily absorbable form, and in the right proportions your body needs. I drink at least a quart a day (plus all the other dairy products) which more than covers my calcium needs. (at this point I can see Baby_Cakes fainting dead away:) ) Then of course the kefir and yogurt help your guts to make their own B vitamins, again easy for your body to use and absorb, and all natural.

I have fully researched all this and know for me it is right. I know some people will flip out reading this and think I'm some hippy dippy ding dong. But that's okay.

Anyone have a big soapbox for me? I'd like to stand on it, please. :)

[nhapmom]

I'm a Bradley Method teacher. I'm not a m/w or doctor, but I have read a bit about placentia abruptio. It happened to one of my students who also had a bicornuate uterus. She had to have an emergency c-section, but both lives were saved. A couple of things can cause placentia abruptio - poor nutrition or lack of sufficient protein specifically can be an issue. A short umbilical cord (that therefore pulls hard on the placenta and tears it away in some places) can be another. Those are the main reasons that I remember off the top of my head. Since the placenta, amniotic membrane, cord, and baby require lots of protein, I do urge my students to read Dr. Brewer's information on a well-balanced diet. There is a website devoted to his ideas (he worked in inner-city hospitals and dealt with patients experiencing toxemia in pregnancy, and was able to reduce rates of eclampsia by getting them on good diets high in protein). The website is: http://www.blueribbonbaby.org

What I am doing? I'm not perfect in my eating habits. I make sure to take a good prenatal, some fish oil for Omega 3's/DHA, probiotics, and a liquid iron supplement. I just try to make healthy choices through the day, drink to thirst, salt to taste, and I make a protein shake in the mid-afternoon (which helps perk up my energy for the evening) that has one banana a cup of milk or hemp milk, a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of yogurt, 2 tablespoons brewer's yeast (from beets), and protein powder. I get up to 45 grams of protein just from the shake, so I can easily make up the other (the goal being between 75 and 100 grams a day) with my other meals. I also try to eat an egg a day, but haven't been able to stomach that so well lately (although I have been loving homemade egg-salad sandwhiches).

Hope I don't sound like a know-it-all:) I've never done the shakes during a pregnancy before, so I'm trying to improve this time around too.

thank you for this. from someone planning a UC after 2 c/s's i really need to hear this. ill check out that website.
how much protein powder do you put in your shake? i need to do that too.

THANKS! right now i need to see very concrete, simple things to do b/c i feel so overwhelmed.

[nhapmom]

as for what i am doing right now, i have been taking the Rainbow Light prentals since E was born (2 years ago). the 6x a day ones. i can really tell a difference when i dont take them and they are vegan and not synthetic.

i drink raw milk at least 3x a day (huge glasses) and get raw yogurt from my milk guy. we are joining a CSA this summer so all our fruits and veggies will be organic and local.

we are also getting a side of a cow so the meet will be local also. im not sure what im going to do about chix right now. i really hate buying in the food store but i havent found an alternative source yet.

we dont eat processed foods. im trying to have salads as "snacks".

im trying to limit my pastas and sugars. i truly believe my 8.4 baby 2 years ago was the smallest i have ever had b/c i stopped consuming alot of sugar after giong to my MW. thats impt. to me this time also.

[lee1203]

(I am 5'10 and 135lbs, and need all the fat I can get)Me too! The height and weight, that is, not the fancy raw diet. ;) That sounds good, but would be way too radical of a change for me to handle. I'm going to follow the Brewer diet, I think. I'm sold on the idea of lots of protein. Since I'm a meat eater who likes milk and eggs, I should be ok. The hardest part is going to be getting more vegetables in my diet - there are so few that I like. I foresee a lot of salads in my future. :)

Also, I've been taking folic acid, of course, and occasionally a multi-vitamin. I should probably start supplementing omega 3's/DHA/whatever the fish stuff is, because I am quite certain I don't get enough through my diet.

[leurMaman]

I'm close - 5'9" and 135. I always seem to start each pregnancy at that weight, and I have but on exactly 35 lbs the last two pregnancies. I lost it through breastfeeding over the course of 9 months to a year, and then when my little ones slack off on bfing or wean I put on a 3-5 lbs. I wonder if this will be the same.

I have a protein mix (I picked it up at Trader Joe's) for women called Aria. I put two scoops of the premeasured scoop. I also add two tbsp of beet-derived (as opposed to beer hops derived) brewer's yeast. I also add about two tbsp of hemp protein mix that I found at Whole Foods. It tastes good - the hemp mix is chocolate and the Aria is vanilla, so I can stomach it. However, I'm going to switch from Aria to another form of non-soy based protein after this. I have never handled soy well in great quantities, and I might try spirulina or something like that.

As I said, I'm no expert - I'm just doing this to get my protein up. I think that the TF diet is a great idea. Although the protein shake may not adhere to that, I do typically avoid processed foods (my husband has always been really obsessed with that) and we eat organic foods, of course. As for omega 3's (which have DHA) I just take a fish oil pill. THe best that I've found are by Nodic Naturals (you can get them with strawberry or lemon flavor. They make you burp, and there is nothing so nausiating as burping fish taste for half an hour - so I like the fruit flavors).

[imbarefoot]

I'm not on any special diet but here is what I'm doing:

Cardio and weight lifting at least once a week at the gym
stretching daily
walking for at least 30 mins a day (starting when the weather improves here a bit :lol )
Prenatals
Calcium/Magnesium
Cod Liver Oil
Fish Oils
Probiotic Supplement
Acidopholus Probiotic
Evening Primrose Oil
Getting in up to 3tbsp of coconut oil a day (I've been slacking on this one a bit)

[ibusymomto5]

im trying to limit my pastas and sugars. i truly believe my 8.4 baby 2 years ago was the smallest i have ever had b/c i stopped consuming alot of sugar after giong to my MW. thats impt. to me this time also.



I'm trying to limit my sugar this time too, partly to keep my weight down and also the baby's. My last baby was my biggest at 9-2, and I had too much junk food and sugar that pregnancy. I've had more weight to lose pp as a result, and I just do not want that to happen again. I want to do everything I can to keep this baby's weight closer to 8lbs. I don't seem to have any trouble pushing out bigger babies, but the smaller ones do seem less painful while they're actually coming out which I'm all for!

[DawnLasp]

I'm working on my nutrition. Here's what I've been doing so far:

:eat:


Shooting for 75+ grams of protein/day (chicken, beans, low mercury wild fish, yogurt)
3 pieces of fruit/day as snacks
1 8 oz yogut/day (Nancy's Organic Yogurt - Maple!)
bowl of oatmeal for breakfast w/raisens, pecans, grounded flax seed, hemp seeds, rice milk, and cinnamon
6 prenatel vitamins/day (SuperNutrition PreNatal Blend)
Fish Oil - 4 grams/day (Super EPA by Now Foods)
Fresh Veggies, Protein, and rice for Dinner
Left over dinner for lunch the next day

[robbins611]

I had an abruption because I have an auto-immune and blood clotting disorder. TF sounds really great...I'm going to look into it. I just need ideas and research. I take rainbow light, juice plus, pro biotics, and flax oil. I need a great natural calcium supplement bc I take blood thinners that can also steal bone calcium. Ideas?

[DreamsInDigital]

I had an abruption because I have an auto-immune and blood clotting disorder. TF sounds really great...I'm going to look into it. I just need ideas and research. I take rainbow light, juice plus, pro biotics, and flax oil. I need a great natural calcium supplement bc I take blood thinners that can also steal bone calcium. Ideas?

Nourishing Traditions is a great book about TF.

Also www.westonaprice.org is a good website.

One of our very own MDC members has designed a weekly menu mailer that includes recipes, a shopping list and prep instructions for 6 meals and 1 dessert a week. It's something like $40 a year and there is a forum dedicated to discussing it. I've found it to be the most valuable resource for me because I just need someone to tell me what to make for dinner. It's available at www.cookingtf.com

It's free to join the forum but you won't be able to see the special sections without subscribing to the mailer.

[treehugginhippie]

I need a great natural calcium supplement bc I take blood thinners that can also steal bone calcium. Ideas?

Not in your DDC but loving this thread....

I take liquid Flora Calcium-Magnesium Liquid just before bed :)

[laurabelle1317]

I am in the Sept DDC but due at the end of the month so thought I would come check out October as well. I am interested in this thread!

I would like to try to follow the Brewer's Diet as much as possible. Overall I just want to make sure to get enough protein and eat a variety of food including more fruits and veggies. Right now its a little hard because I am not feeling so well at times, especially in the morning. But I'm trying!

[Mrshawwk]

For anyone interested in raw milk, here's an interesting little blurb I just found
Raw milk naturally has enzyme-based pathogen killers. These enzymes include lactoferrin, xanthine, oxidase, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme and nisin. Research has shown that when pathogens were added to raw milk they would not grow. The salmonella could not be found after less than 24 hours. The listeria and the E. Coli would not grow either.3 http://mysite.verizon.net/jsschleh/gardenhomefarm/id18.html
Woohoo! Go raw milk!

Here's a TF diet for pregnant and nursing moms. It's a pretty high standard, and I certainly don't reach it, but I try.
http://www.westonaprice.org/children/dietformothers.html

[nhapmom]

thanks for that link!

i get so tired of defendign my use of raw milk! lol!

[Baby_Cakes]

Hey guys! Just jumping in here. I'm definitely into nutrition for me and the baby's sake, and being vegan I have a few needs that must be met creatively! As for protein, my midwife said she wants to see me get 90 g a day. That is a helluva lot of protein, so I'm working hard to come up with interesting ways to get this without living off tofu and beans.

Other than that, I'm sticking with small nutritious meals. Funny how ever since I got pg I have not wanted to TOUCH a single chip or french fry! I used to LIVE off of those things - or at least wish I lived off of them. I'm so turned off by the thought of fried anything that it helps steer me toward good, healthy foods.

My only real hardcore "craving" so far has been loads of roasted asparagus!

So anyway, yeah, I'll keep trucking along trying to come up with good ideas. Post 'em if you got 'em!

[DreamsInDigital]

I've had to start taking cal/mag supplements, my round ligament is already starting to complain. Ouch.
I'll confess we're not hardcore TFers enough to drink raw milk. Give us a year or two. :wink

[weddell]

Some one mentioned kombucha. I'm interested in adding this to my diet. Can you make it at home? I already make my own yogurt.

Baby_Cakes, I'm vegetarian (almost vegan) and I've started adding some nutritional yeast to my foods. This adds a nice protein and vitamin punch without adding a lot of extra food. For example, I usually have some salad at lunch and instead of my usual oil and vinegar, I just mixed up some nutritional yeast dressing from a recipe I found online (just google "nutritional yeast salad dressing" and it will be in the first few links). I think I'll also add it to some of my other regular foods and recipes. It definitely helps add a little extra protein without much planning.

Right now I'm using babyfit.com to keep track of my nutrients. I used it last pregnancy too and it definitely helped. It kept me in a good calorie range and let me see if I was getting about the right amount of everything. I didn't do it everyday, but I eat enough of the same meals over and over that I got a sense of what I was regularly getting.

[Mrshawwk]

You can make kombucha at home as long as you have a starter, which can be easy or tricky to get a hold of. I have them coming out of my ears, but unless you live close to me, that won't help. :) You can sometimes find them on Craigslist or even around here if you can find someone local to you. There is a thread in the Traditional Foods forum about growing your own "mushroom" too. I'll see if I can find it. I LOVE my kombucha. It has lots and lots of B vitamins, instant energy and it's fizzy and refreshing like soda, but without the sugar. If you start drinking it while pregnant (or anytime really), start out slow, a small cup a day until you get used to it. It will detox you a bit and you want to do that very slooowwwly while pregnant.
http://www.kombu.de/english.htm

There's a link with lots of kombucha info. Enjoy!

I have felt so normal today. So morning sickness, so am trying to eat stuff that turned me off the last couple of days. I made myself eggs and got through about 3/4 of it until I thought "ew, why am I eating eggs?" Don't ya just love pregnancy! :) (actually, I do love it)