How "by the book" are you?

719 Views 15 Replies 9 Participants Last post by etoilech, Jun 5, 2005

allismom

Discussion Starter · Jun 3, 2005

While pregnant with my daughter, I was 'by the book'. In fact I was stricter than any book I ever read! LOL. People that I worked with would make fun of me and tell me, 'oh it's early in the pregnancy, you'll slack off', but I never did. Here is what I avoided.....not only while pregnant, but also while TTC and breastfeeding. Just wondering if others are as cautious, or maybe even moreso.......

NO.......
alcohol
drugs or smoking which I never did anyway and I avoided all cig smoke from others
no lunchmeats
no honey
no caffeine....no coffee, tea or even chocolate!!!!!

no msg
no soft cheeses
no caesar dressing (raw eggs)
no artifical sweeteners (never, never)
no hot tubs or heating pads or baths
no stomach or back sleeping
no exposure to paints or chemicals at all
no cleaning kitty litter or working in flower beds
and always always took my prenatal vitamins (from the health food store, not the ones from DR filled with food coloring and made with stuff that never dissolves!)

That is what I remember.....seems like it was more, maybe I missed some. I have since heard you should not have peanut butter or honey while pregnant.....I didn't know that and drank herbal teas with honey the whole 9 months and lived on PB sandwiches!

I found it rather easy to avoid those things and take care of myself (eat healthier, etc) when it was for the good of another being. I think I'll find it harder the second time around but if I do conceive I am sure it will kick in!

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Pandora114

· #2 · Jun 3, 2005

I will give up my caffeene when

YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS

Same with chocolate.

Never ever ever ever EEVER gonna give up caffeene.

*holds coffee mug tight*

*runs off*

crunchymamatobe

· #3 · Jun 3, 2005

Why honey???

allismom

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 3, 2005

Pandora.........I feel for you. At the time I was TTC and first pregnant I was working as an accountant and putting in 70+ hours a week. I needed my coffee........but I gave it up cold turkey and switched to tea! It can be done! And the only tea I really like is sleepytime/chammomile which totally relaxes me and makes me tired LOL!

As for why no honey......I think it is botullism that honey can cause or have in it or something like that. I think it has to do with not being pasteurized. Our bodies are able to fight it off if we get a hint of it but little toddlers and infants cannot. My pedi said no honey at all through toddlerhood. I don't recall if I read that pregnant women should also avoid it or if I was just being precautious.

crunchymamatobe

· #5 · Jun 3, 2005

But the honey you buy in the supermarket is pasteurized. I've only ever seen raw honey at the farmer's market, which is supposed to be really good for allergies (something about the pollens).

But honey is definitely bad news for babies - they don't have the enzymes to digest it yet, and it goes into their muscles undigested, leaving them paralyzed. It's called 'floppy baby.'

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allismom

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 3, 2005

Thanks for the info and clarification, Cruncy. How do you know the honey from the supermarket is pasteurized?? I have looked at all of the lables and none of them say it?

Pandora114

· #7 · Jun 3, 2005

I ENJOY My coffee though. That's the thing. Decaf has a really rancid bitter after taste IMO, *I'm serious, since I quit smoking I've noticed Decaf is nasty*

I ENJOY the taste of it...It's just one of those things I REALLY like. Has nothing to do with the caffeene, because if they made decaf that tastes good, I'd drink it, but they don't.

I only drink mabe 1-3 cups a day anyway.

Fake sweetners, keep that away from me at all costs...*shudder* those are UBER Migraine triggers for me..so I'll never ever touch it. My IL's have nothing BUT Diet soda in their house. Good for me because I'll drink water.

But no, I'm a regular visitor at our local Tim Hortons, gonna be going there in a few anyway. hehe DD has play group this morning.

Look, I figure, I concieved DD while being an alcoholic/pothead/ciggy smoker *I dropped booze and pot when I saw that second pink line cold turkey* I can concieve while just being addicted to coffee.

If Crackheads can concieve while being on crack, then we can concieve while drinking a cup or two of coffee a day, and having a candy bar too.

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katja

· #8 · Jun 3, 2005

ooh ladies I'm bad.
I'll confess:

I had a few sips of wine.
Had a couple of beers on my honeymoon. (we were in England, where they tell you to have a few beers when you're pregnant.)
I had some smoked salmon.
And some brie cheese.
Ate a lot of peanut butter.
I never could give up my hot baths.
It took me the entire pregnancy to give up caffeine. (slowly switched from coffee to black tea to green tea to herbal by the end.)

This time I'll probably do a few things differently. I've lost my taste for alcohol, although I did have serious cravings for the taste of beer, which I don't normally like much, last time I was pregnant.
I don't think I'll give up caffeine. I drink black tea in the morning. I'll give up my afternoon cup of tea so I can rest better. Won't go back to coffee--makes me too jittery now.
I'll probably skip the peanut butter and smoked fishy this time. Anyhow, asceticism doesn't totally suit me. I think it's kind of depressing to give up every little thing that might possibly be harmful. Flame me if you like, but I feel like I am a whole person with a baby inside, not just a vessel for a baby. The pregnancy culture of "tut tut, don't' do that..." bothers me. I find it somewhat dehumanizing or infantilizing. (That said, there are some things I would never do because of risk to the baby.)

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crunchymamatobe

· #9 · Jun 3, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by allismom
Thanks for the info and clarification, Cruncy. How do you know the honey from the supermarket is pasteurized?? I have looked at all of the lables and none of them say it?

I just assumed that supermarket all was pasteurized after the honey guy at the farmer's market told us so. Maybe he was wrong?

I think that if you're concerned about it, you should call those 800 numbers on the back of the label and ask.

katja, we're in England, too, and the differences between warnings on wine/beer cracks me up! In the US, you get "The surgeon general says don't drink or your baby will die!" but in the UK it says, "Most studies show that one or two units of alcohol once or twice a week probably don't harm your baby." Way to be equivocal, guys.

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celesterra

· #10 · Jun 3, 2005

ok, i'm prolly the wierdest of you lot! i have pcos and over the long years of ttc, i have tried just about everything, including a 2-yr vegan stint.

in april i spoke with a well-known medical intuitive from Chicago who is routinely consulted by area hospitals on hard-to-diagnose cases. she told me what i should and should not eat. i am trying HARD to stick to her recommendations.

do eat:
lots of honey
lots of fruit, esp citrus
brown rice
"natural" beef. lamb (supports the production of "precurser hormones" necessary for producing hormones like progesterone, etc)
green leafys every day (this is the hardest for me).
no caffeine at all, including chocolate, while on clomid

don't eat:
any refined sugar
artificial sweeteners
wheat products: which, since giving them up, have proven to be the trigger to the migraines that have nailed me for 15 years).

believe it or not, i have lost 12 pounds since changing just these things. of course, the 1st 6 weeks were easier than right now... and every 2ww finds my w/serious cravings for the wheat and sugar.

i think the vegan diet turned me off to strict diets. i am much more flexible than that in my life, and really prefer eating this way. eating red meat every day is a REAL challenge, though!

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BeeandOwlsMum

· #11 · Jun 3, 2005

2

You know...

For the first 6 months of trying to get pregnant, I was a saint. No coffee, no alcohol, only organic foods, blah

And then well, I realized that getting pregnant was not gonna be so easy for me.

Currently I am drinking coffee...though I have cut out corn syrup and white sugar when possible. I am taking my vitamins, and eating pretty unprocessed foods.

When I get to the point of doing IVF, (hell, for that matter when I get my period again...:LOL) I will cut the coffee, and head back to being good.

Honestly, the things you eat and how healthy you are can help you get pregnant, but they aren't going to completely prevent it. It isn't the deal breaker, it can lead to healthier babies, but it may not have any effect at all.

My old boss used to talk about the bodies "chemical load". He talked about how every one has a tolerance for things, and a limited ability to process toxins. So you can be exposed to paint, welding fumes and sawdust and be fine, but if you are exposed to paint, welding fumes, sawdust AND paint thinner you might get sick....as it exceeds your body's chemical load. I work in theatre, forgive the examples. I really believe this is true, and it applies to toxins in our food as well.

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katja

· #12 · Jun 3, 2005

Oops, I misunderstood the original post. I thought you were talking about when we are/if we were to get pregnant! Sorry. I didn't know there was a "by the book" for TTC.

allismom

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 4, 2005

Katja your reply was fine! I just personally chose to eliminate things while TTC as well as once pregnant. your post was interesting!

Nabbe

· #14 · Jun 4, 2005

No. I am so not by the book. I am as far from the Book as i am far from the South Pole...

beemama

· #15 · Jun 4, 2005

2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pandora114
I will give up my caffeene when

YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS

Same with chocolate.

Never ever ever ever EEVER gonna give up caffeene.

*holds coffee mug tight*

*runs off*

:
This just cracked me up!

I hear ya! Only when I got pregnant w/ dd I was suddenly unable to drink it! It was my very first symptom, I thought I had an ulcer... I was sooooo miserable. I had to quit cold turkey...and managed to work it back in once I could handle it, even tho I knew it wasn't the healthiest thing in the world. Just for the pure love of it.... praise be to Java!

coffee

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etoilech

· #16 · Jun 5, 2005

We're a bit more relaxed here. My midwife hammers more on a balenced diet than specific dos and don'ts. Guess most children over here should be deformed. :LOL I understand the concern though. It does make sense.

I'm not quite yet TTC though. We'll see.

Olivia

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