[holyhelianthus]

i just found out i'm pregnant again. BIG surprise!!!! Mable is only 6 months (on Sunday) and we had planned on a big gap between these two. guess God had other plans. anyways, with both pregnancies i had hyperemesis which landed me in the hospital and on all sorts of IVs and meds and eating a beef broth diet (we were vegetarins at the time but i felt i had no choice. i was so malnourished and dehydrated. lost 30lbs in 3 weeks). i want to stay vegan. i know it is best but im concerned about getting enough and also NOT being sick. honestly both of these worries have nothing to do with being vegan. if i ate meat and dairy i'd still be asking this question. so what did you do/would you do? how much should i be eating and how often? should i try and restrain myself or just eat everything in the house?

 

[vermontgirl]

I think it is great that you are going to try this, but I tried to remain vegan while pregnant and it was VERY hard. Not only do you need so much extra calcium and protien while pregnant but I happened to get VERY sick for about four months and i couldnt keep anything down. I ended up caving in and eating some dairy for the extra boost of calcium and protien. The last things i wanted to eat were green leafy veggies, almonds and soy products.
If you are feeling great and have the time and ability to dedicate to being vegan and pregnant go for it. I think it is a wonderful thing. Good luck!
Check out this site.

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/veganpregnancy.htm

 

[vermontgirl]

one last piece of advice i forgot to add is this: It is hard enough to breastfeed while pregnant without being a vegan. I would strongly recommend not being vegan if you are planning on breastfeeding also. That is going to be VERY difficult. Maybe you should get a nutritionist.

 

[holyhelianthus]

that was my thought. maybe BF and being vegan and maybe pregnant and being vegan but both at the same time??? i'm already craving cheese like crazy and don't want green leafy veggies at all which use to be my first love. my bottom line is if i can't keep anything down but what i crave then i'll eat what i crave even if it's a nice cheesy enchilada. suprisingly i have a hard time with meat while PG. well, everything but gyro meat. for some reason i always crave gyro meat...

 

[Gale Force]

Vitamin B-6 is used to treat severe hyperemesis. I seem to remember MT in the vax forum working with someone on this issue.

 

[holyhelianthus]

B-6! thanks so much! i'm going to have to check that out.

 

[PikkuMyy]

I'm not sure why it would be hard to be vegan and breastfeeding. Lots of people do it.

PLease visit the forums at Veg Family magazine to talk to many women who have been pregnant and breastfed while vegan.

 

[rootzdawta]

I know it's possible to be vegan while pregnant because I did it. I found it very hard to be vegan while breastfeeding though. I was constantly hungry, often lightheaded and really lacking any kind of energy. I couldn't really even imagine trying to be pregnant and nurse too . . . but this is not to say it can't be done. I just want to encourage you to listen to your body and do what it says to do at this time--whether vegan or not. There will be plenty of time later to go back to your nutritional ideals--now is the time to focus on healthy baby and healthy mama (and it's possible that that means being vegan!).

 

[cathe]

I would definitely not limit yourself food-wise. You are not just eating for 2 but for 3! Listen to your body and eat when you're hungry. Especially nutrient rich foods like sea veggies, leafy greens, whole grains like millet and quinoa, beans and nuts, fruit smoothies, etc.

 

[sagewinna]

I had no troubles keeping up my vegan diet during pregnancy and nursing.

My best friend has tandem nursed, nursed while pregnant and was pregnant with and nursed twins (3+ years!) while staying vegan.

Eat good quality foods. Eat a variety of produce. Carry nuts ( I loved almonds) and other good snacks with you all the time. If you wake up hungry, eat a snack (I kept Luna bars or almonds by the bed with my water).

Congratulations!

 

[scoobers]

I was hungry a lot while I was BF-ing and my favorite midnight snack was the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich! Yum!! (Or, any other nut butter, I try to alternate.)

Anyway, it's totally doable to be vegan and pg and/or BF.

Also, I'd highly recommend getting "The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook." Lot's of great nutritional information and yummy recipes. Easy, quick recipes too. (I'm pretty pathetic in the chef dept. and even I can do these!)

 

[Eli's_mommy]

I second carrying around nuts. They were a life saver when I was pregnant- I always carried soy nuts. I am just a vegetarian though...and I guess I can't say too much because I had my share of cheese while I was pregnant

Is soy dairy pretty comparable to cow's milk dairy in vitamins and whatnot? That might be an option. I think that drinking beef broth while pregnant would make me sicker than anything else due to the yuckiness factor and also since it's not been in your body for god knows how long.

Maybe try stocking up on the hearty high calorie veggies too...I just read that the veggies highest in cals are peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and corn.