Tag Archives: pregnancy

weeks1819

Tummy Status

Is it just me or does it look like my tummy hasn’t grown at all? I am thinking my boobs have matched my stomach growth and therefore looks like not much has been growing. I am also sure that my abs are contributing more to my tummy than I’d like to admit. The photo on the left is at 18 weeks, taken in the afternoon. The photo on the right was taken yesterday morning. I am pretty sure my tummy gets more food and my abs get tired at the end of the night from being engaged all day (from standing at work that is.)

Shopping

Got my baby bargains book and what is the first thing I looked at? Tips for buying pregnancy clothing! Duh. And it has been interesting. I got my jeans from H&M and they were WAY too small. I keep forgetting they have smaller jeans than Target, and that my calves and quads are little bit larger than most people. BUT I’ve never had a hard time getting my ankles through a pair of jeans. That was all new. But luckily I had to return the jeans at my local H&M and it turns out that they sell Maternity clothes there! Whoo! The selection is REALLY small, but it should be fine if I need shirts or a second pair of jeans.

Other great finds? I found an American based company that sell Boob (yes that is the clothing brand) which specializes in ethical and sustainable clothing. Best is that they have clothes that are made for pregnancy AND nursing, so they get a longer wear time. ASOS sells maternity pencil skirts that look reasonably priced… which makes me excited! I also have been browsing formal maternity clothing, you know, just incase a friend has a shotgun wedding. I found THIS DRESS which is amazing! But seriously? $150 for a 100% polyester dress? On the other end of the spectrum I found a second hand clothing store that has a maternity filter. Downside? The photos are awful and it will be a little bit of a gamble of a buy.

Snuggling

I think Toulouse knows something is going on. She has been very social lately. If Jon and I are watching TV, she comes down and lays in front of the fan with us. If I am on the computer, she takes a nap in the office with me. Working out on the third floor? Who cares that it is the hottest room in the house! Toulouse is laying down watching me do squats. She has climbed on our bed one night, which she hasn’t done since the temperature has reached over 70 degrees. 

Then it happened. One morning Toulouse jumped on my lap. She hasn’t done her morning snuggles with me in, well, maybe April or May. It use to be like clockwork. I finished making my shake, and then she would climb on my lap every Saturday and Sunday morning. I got excited because when the weather cools down again, my lap might be too full for her to lay on. She got some pets and started to purr… cue baby to start kicking. Either the kid loved the purring, or was hot and trying to kick the cat off. One of the two. Good news is that I can now officially tell the difference between gas and kicks.

Work Outs

I have been a bum in bed every morning. So I decided to try and do the Summer Shape Up Challenge that is run by Gina from Fitnessista. Week One was me remember how little I do squats lately and having my glutes (aka butt) being in pain most of the week. But now that week two is coming around, the sweat has been nice. This morning I ran for a solid 30 minutes, something I haven’t done in awhile, and clocked a pace of 13 min per mile. Okay sounds weak, but I was doing 14 1/2 minute miles earlier. Granted part of the reason for my faster pace is probably based around the awesome weather we had this morning.

Cravings/Aversions

Is just not wanting to cook a food aversion? I think saying craving or aversion is a little misleading. It is hot, and I don’t want to be in a kitchen. Bagels? Yes. Grilled cheese? I’ll deal with that. Stir-fry with rice? Way too much heat! Which stinks since I kind-of want high calorie foods that usually involve baking. Casseroles? Yes please. Oven fries? Sure but I don’t have any potatoes. Produce at my CSA is slowly turning into my more favorite foods, and I have been anticipating cantaloupe. Am I sharing? Hell no. 

I burned a hole in my stash of ice cream from Trader Joe’s and it is making me very sad. I will probably try making some homemade ice cream this weekend now that I have space in my freezer. We got a pizza from Healthy Garden (I should really write a review soon for the site) and it really hit the spot. I’ve been kind-of pouting about tomato sauce from pizza places, and they got it right. Next time we might get a daiya covered pizza.

BB Size

Parsnips? Sweet Potatoes? Who wrote these comparisons! Clearly someone who haven’t shopped at a farmer market or have grown their own vegetables! I am sitting here wondering what size my baby could possibly be, I can’t be the only one who has gotten a sweet potato that weighed a fraction of a pound and then get one that weights over two pounds. I feel like root vegetables vary the most in size! Never fear, my app says here that the baby is the size of a sugar glider! Much cuter, and I remember when I was little I wanted one as a pet so badly. 

At week 19 the baby is the size of a four-toed hedgehog, specifically the species that has been domesticated for the pet trade. This means I have been looking up sickeningly cute photos of hedgehogs in ridiculous situations including Hedgy Potter, a hedgehog building a human snow man, a hedgehog drinking milk, hugging buddies, and a hedgehog getting stuck in morning traffic. Your welcome everyone.


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One of the first concerns I had when going pregnant is how my veganism would fit into it. I’ve heard of many healthy pregnancies with vegan women, or various advice for families that are vegans. But when saying telling family that I was pregnant most asked if the whole vegan thing was healthy or not. So I did some research and tried to find some books to help. Answer? Pretty much I had nothing to worry about.

What to Expect: Eating Well When You’re Expecting
Written by Heidi Murkoff
This was a book I found at my local library book sale. For a buck, why the hell not? I clearly knew it wouldn’t be vegan but I figured I could apply the information towards a vegan diet. The book was longer than it really needed to be, and it seemed like there was a lot of repeat information. Don’t eat too much, but more importantly don’t eat too little. The author stresses the role of calcium, which is important but she recommends a dairy overload. I was a little pissed by all her dairy suggestions (aside from my personal opinion that dairy is more cruel than meat) is that she completely ignores the fact that most plant based milks contains just as much calcium as cows milk, many contain more. In her defense that wasn’t the case 10 years ago (which I specifically remember.)

What I found more confusing was her system of tracking nutrition. She stressed the following nutrients: calcium, protein, iron, betacarotene, vitamin d, vitamin b12, and vitamin-c. So to keep track she suggests tracking the servings of food for several different categories: 3 protein, 4 calcium, 3 vitamin c, 3-4 green leafy and yellow fruits/vegetables, 1-2 other vegetables, 6+ whole grains and legumes, iron rich foods (no specified servings), 4 fat/high fat foods. Confused already? I get what the author is doing, dividing fruits and veggies up by how nutritionally dense they are. Plus many of these servings will overlap, for example 1 cup cooked collard greens falls under green leafy veggies, vitamin c, and calcium. Many of the whole grains and legumes also count as half a protein serving. The book gives examples or serving sizes for qualifying foods but since the vegan foods tend to overlap it is kind-of hard to keep track of it all. I personally find it easier to just track the calories on Cronometer, but I know that isn’t always a possibility for people.

Then there are other tips, like how to eat healthy in unhealthy situations, which many vegans already know since they have to know how to eat in non-vegan situations. There is a chapter of foods to avoid, which again mostly doesn’t involve vegans since 90% of the off limit foods are cheese and meats of some sort. 

So what are the good parts of the book? Well it was very reassuring to see that healthy eating when pregnant is pretty much the same as eating healthy in general. Yes there are some larger requirements such as iron and calcium. The book also goes over information about eating after giving birth, giving really interesting information about breastfeeding. I was surprised to find out that you need more calories to breastfeed than when you are pregnant! 

This is a book I have no plans to keep. It is going to be donated right back to the library. It isn’t totally useless. The book does some reassuring that a vegan/vegetarian diet is obtainable, which is good. But I don’t like how it recommends 3 servings of protein when most of the whole grains are half a serving, so in theory getting 6 whole grain servings would fill the 3 protein serving requirements. Okay it doesn’t work out perfectly that way but I get a little annoyed when the author stresses that we get too much protein in our diet, then puts it down as a requirement in her book. Most people are probably not going to count the whole grains as half a serving and cut down on the meat.

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The Everything Vegan Pregnancy Book
Written by Reed Mangels
Type in vegan and pregnancy in Amazon and this book pops up. I checked my library and they carried it, so naturally I checked it out. Sadly it was largely not helpful for me, a vegan who is pretty well educated in diet. The book largely focuses on diet breaking down most of the chapters by important vitamin, minerals, and macros that pregnant women should focus on, which are things most vegans learn about- protein, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and iron. The only new information is pretty much zinc and iodine, which most vegans don’t think twice about.

Otherwise the author goes through the basics about pregnancy, but doesn’t go into the specifics of how it relates to pregnancy. In fact she doesn’t explain many things. There is a birth plan checklist in the back, and some questions are left unexplained. Do hospitals make you get enemas? What are they shaving?! I am still not really sure if these are optional “hippie-dippie” options or just something all hospitals do. I am going with optional since I haven’t read them ANYWHERE on ANY blog or book, and I’ve read people talking about pooping, puking, and peeing during childbirth/post birth. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That being said this book isn’t garbage. I think it is great for anyone who is looking to go vegan in the middle of pregnancy, or just started to make the transition before conceiving. It will be reassuring to parents that you read the book and your child won’t be iron deficient. As for a veteran vegan, there is no information about what types of treatments or drugs that aren’t vegan, which was what I was really hoping for.

There are some recipes in the back, which again is great for brand new vegans. The recipes are really simple and pretty tasty, but nothing amazing. I think I really liked her recipe for baked beans, but sadly involve a lot of baking (hello hot hot summer.) She also had an interesting recipe for cereal bars, which had a little more sugar than I would like, but that is a different complaint for a different day. Glad I didn’t have to buy this book and was able to just get it from the library.

Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide
Written by Sayward Rebhal
This is my dream book. Google vegan and pregnancy, this is the second book to come up on Amazon. I read the reviews and hesitated to buy it, it didn’t seem to have lots of information. This was very wrong of me. Yes, the book is very short, and very small (physically, it easily fits in a purse.) Sayward is treating you like an adult who probably picked up a few other books about baby making. She touches nutrition very lightly, which I like personally since as my review of What to Expect says, your diet when pregnant is pretty much the same before hand. 

Sayward hits the main vegan questions- what drugs can I take to deal with some of the pregnancy side effects? Oh she is listing BRANDS! Thank god! No joke, I read her blurb about heartburn, and saw her comment on tums, left the house, bought a container. She touches the topics of what treatments are vegan, and gives tips that she and other vegan parents had done. She talks about pregnancy, birthing, breastfeeding, and raising children. 

Downfalls? Well, the book isn’t very long, which is both nice and flawed. Yes, it made it an easy book to tell my husband to read through for any question family members might have. But I would recommend taking this book with another more clinical/thorough pregnancy book like What to Expect When Expecting. And since the book is so small it can easily get outdated. Those name brand vegan drugs could add non-vegan ingredients to them. And I know one bit of outdated information was on vitamin D. Since the book was written before the discovery of vitamin D3 that can be synthesized in a vegan form with lichen, Sayward says that all D3 isn’t vegan, and says the brand Garden of Life prenatal vitamins aren’t vegan. Since the book is so short, I doubt it will be updated with this new information.


weeks1617

Cravings/Aversions

When I was trying to get pregnant I was convinced that I wouldn’t get any food aversions or morning sickness, because I LOVE everything. I’ve been getting cravings but largely ignore them. I do my grocery shopping once a week and that’s it thank you. My husband is much too practical to agree to grabbing a pizza on a whim, or run to grab a pint of ice cream. But I do have to say, I have been noticing cravings.

Sugar is back on my radar… sort of. I am still kind-of not digging packages sweets, too sweet you know? But I am craving fruit, but feel bad buying strawberries and eating the whole container in one sitting (mostly for not sharing.) I am crossing my fingers that this craving will last till the end of the month when my CSA starts getting watermelon, cantaloupes, and we can pick pound and pounds of peaches. 

Food Aversions? Hm… mediocre food? I skipped my packed lunch for a clif bar because of soba noodles soaked up too much sauce and was bloated. But I am not sure if that is more disgusting rather than pregnancy. I don’t want to cook anything but never want to eat the easy to make food, like pasta. I also have noticed that if I have too acidic of drinks like powder mixed teas and lemonades I get acid reflux. They probably aren’t good for me anyways.

Baby Music

My phone apps say that my lil bb can now hear, and that they can hear me sing. So far the only songs I’ve caught myself singing have been Chop Suey by System of a Down, Down with the Sickness sung by Richard Cheese, and I Wanna Be Loved By You sung by Shiina Ringo. All very different songs, collectively is a poor representation of what I listen to, and largely inappropriate for children.

Worse thing is that I am trying to think of songs that I know and will sing, and most are not happy. I mean anyone know of Fiona Apple’s most recent album? Love singing it, totally cynical about love.

Kicks?

I think I can feel the baby kick- but it could just be gas. So hard to tell the difference. I mean I know I am feeling something that is a kick, I’ll just wait till I get bigger kicks and then use that to judge which ones are kicks now.

Tummy Status

Anyone stand in front of the mirror and flex your abs, seeing how tiny your waist can get then proceed to hunch over and let all of your tummy hang? Get a super hot and super not contrast going on? Nope, just me? Well, I’ve still been doing that. I’ve noticed my abs actually squeezes in a good bit, but I think my abs get tired by the end of the night and my tummy grows out by the end of the night.

I keep hearing from my Mom about how not pregnant I look, but the other day I noticed my belly button is a little more shallow. Yeah I know my belly button will be poking out, but it is weird to see the slow transition. Weight gain? 5 pounds roughly.

Baby Animals

Most pregnancy apps and books compare baby sizes to fruit, and I think that is just the worst comparisons. I mean a lemon is round, people are kind-of a cylinder with wiggly bits. So I was pretty happy when I found out my one app compares baby sizes to various animals, and I am loving it. Week 16 my baby was roughly the size of a Philippine tarsier… which is so friggin adorable! You know, in an ugly opossum sort of way. When I found this out I texted Alexa this photo with the caption “LOOK AT MY BB!” It was first thing that she saw when her plane from Spain landed. Great way to be welcomed to the US.

What about week 17? Well I have a little chipmunk in my tum-tum. I told Jon this and now he has been eyeing up the chipmunks that run around the area. It makes me a little less mad that they keep nibbling all the plants in my garden. Bad news? While driving to work I almost ran over a chipmunk, which made me feel like the world’s worst mother. Note to self- my child isn’t ACTUALLY a chipmunk.

Clothes

Still in the awkward in-between phase. I put on my sailor dress today and it was… uh…. tight. It has gotten to the point I might cave in and buy a pair of maternity shorts from Target this weekend. So far I haven’t worn any of my special preggers clothes other than my old vintage mod dress, and my brand new sports bra. I might have to get new bras and I hate getting them. So much missing money in my wallet for something not many people see.


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Yes, I know this isn’t Sunday, it’s Tuesday. But most of these articles were about pregnancy which might of seemed fishy if I posted it before my formal announcement. If you missed it- I am 15 weeks pregnant and just hit my 2nd trimester. It is also the reason why I have been blogging much. But my energy levels are back, and I have the time as well, so it all works out.

Last Sunday Reading I mentioned that I’ve been busy but couldn’t actually think of anything I was busy with. Looking back that is a BIG LIE! We have been very busy. Here is just a list of the many many things I’ve been busy with the past month or so

  • My friend Justine lived with us for about 2 weeks since she started a new job in Philly (she has happily found an apartment to stay in though)
  • A big summer thunder storm went by and ripped off our storm door so I had to take it down
  • My nieces had their first ever ballet recital which is a big deal for dancers
  • Hubs and I painted our bed rooms (colors are featured in my belly shots if you are wondering)
  • Went into Philly to visit my friend Chrissy to eat at Grindcore House for 3 hours!
  • Been busy brainstorming with my Mom about sewing quilts and clothing for my new tummy
  • Planning on redoing our third floor office/workout room to make room for a nursery. I might share details on the blog (mostly info on how to make a cheap desk)
  • Our CSA started up at the end of May so now every Saturday morning is occupied by picking our food share. Maybe I’ll start up a weekly food plans from it?
  • We got our first super adult purchase- A NEW FRIDGE!!! Actually Jon cared more about the specs but I have been enjoying the extra space. And we already spilled a bag of curry leaves in the freezer to make it very very dirty

With that being all shared and updated of my busy adult-life, on with links that almost exclusively involve stuff about babies and pregnancy. I think they are important to share even if you aren’t thinking about kids, as they are important social issues.

thinkstockphotos500732804-jpg-crop-promo-xlarge2Why Women, and Doctors, Are Turning Away From The Bubble-Wrap Approach to Pregnancy

I think most people know that you aren’t suppose to drink when pregnant. But depending where you live, seeing a pregnant woman drink a glass of wine might seem not so odd, or it might send irks down your spine. I have mixed feelings. The research shows having a glass once in a while probably won’t do anything to the baby’s development, but most doctors (especially in the USA) will say to just avoid the stuff to be safe. Which might make sense, but pregnant women take socially okay risks all the time. Maybe scooping the cat litter while the husband is gone for a weekend, eating raw vegetables, or even driving the car (there is always the risk of getting hit by another car.) Pregnant women should weight the benefits with the risks, we need to get places so yeah, we will be driving a car. But what about booze? Some women end up binge drinking in the last trimester, which to me is a sign of stress. So wouldn’t it be best to balance it out and have a few drinks to take the edge off rather than binge drink which clearly shows to effect the fetus? But even still, the idea of me drinking a beer while pregnant still rubs me the wrong way. It is so embedded in our culture that I feel weird doing it. Or worse, I would be more afraid of what other people would think of it.

pregnant-belly1 in 5 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Why?

I wanted to first tell everyone on the blog when I got pregnant. I didn’t care about the idea of miscarriages. I figured I would be honest if it happened, even if it took a few weeks to be able to emotionally write something. They happen fairly often, though most people wouldn’t know that. I had a girl from my high school wrote about having a still born and the emotional toll. For anyone who doesn’t know the difference is that a miscarriage is defined as the termination of a fetus before week 16-28 (depending on state laws), anytime afterwards would be a still born. The article talks about how little we actually know about them, which can be very frustrating to the women who have repeated miscarriages.
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Why Whole Wheat Is Better Than White

This is a very horrible name for an article (stupid age of click bait titles!) as it never REALLY explains what makes whole wheat healthier than white. But it talks about a very interesting thing- the many different ways that wheat’s glycemic index varies. It kind-of blew my mind, and made me wonder if I just swallowed pasta whole if that would make the glycemic index even lower (which is probably a very very bad idea XD)

imrsThe weird history of vitamin D — and what it actually has to do with sun

Super interesting article about vitamin D and the history of it. What I love about learning about the history of vitamins, you learn about all the different foods that get fortified with vitamins that we kind-of assume are natural. Like I never knew that milk is fortified with vitamin D, I just kind-of assumed when I was younger it was just made that way.

The “parenting happiness gap” is real, new research confirms

Another interesting article about kids, parents, and social issues. There is the “parenting happiness gap” where people who don’t have kids are happier than parents. Some countries have this issue and others don’t. Apparently there is clear cut and easy data that shows that the gap can be explained by how much government and work support parents have. I am fairly certain many of the issues about reproductive rights with women revolve around the fear that women wouldn’t want to have children because well, there isn’t much help. No paid leave. Bad vacation time. And lots more. I joke with friends that there is no logical reason to have children since there are so many disadvantages when it comes to money.


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This was my facebook photo for the announcement, and I just couldn’t deny my readers this gem.

If anyone has noticed I haven’t been posting much on the blog lately. I can safely say a large reason for this is because I am pregnant. Yes you might of heard me drop the bomb on blog comments or facebook groups, but my husband wanted me to wait till we formally told all our friends and family before posting anything on the blog. Frankly I am glad I waited because overall I would say like maybe 5 in real life friends read this, but I didn’t want a friend to go nuts and tell everyone else and have Aunt Bertha freak out that I never called her (FYI I have no Aunt Bertha ^__~)

I have been wanting to tell readers why I’ve been MIA, mostly because people aren’t kidding about being tired the first trimester. And reading about it in my super science-y book– it is because your body is doing A LOT OF WORK getting the baby situated. Which is weird since it is the time when most women don’t talk about their pregnancy, and look the most normal. Not to make it seem like the rest of my 6 months will be a breeze- but I’d come home from work (early mind you) and just want to sit in front of the TV or read a book. It was weird, some how sitting on the computer was a draining experience.

So how far a long am I? Well, I am just started week 15- which means I just started the second trimester. Pretty much my digestion has been weird, my tummy looks like I ate a large burrito, my workout game blows, my boobs are even more huge, and now that everyone knows I am pregnant I get asked “how are you doing” more often than I like. I also get told by my Mom about how pale I am. I’m always pale. I mean look at those photos below- the last photo is my slightly tanned body and some lighting trickery.

weekly photos- week 13, week 14, and week 15 (taken today!)

weekly photos- week 13, week 14, and week 15 (taken today!)

There’s debate on the due date- I thought it was December 11th, Jon says it is the 12th, or maybe I am getting both dates wrong? Either way baby is coming out at some point during the month of December. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And I could look up this information up, but really… do you guys care? I just care about spiking my eggnog at SOME POINT post pregnancy for the holiday season.

So what does this mean for the blog? Hopefully I will still feature restaurant reviews, recipes, and whatever else like I normally did. But while pregnant I will do weekly (or maybe bi-weekly) updates of what is going on.. hopefully it’ll be interesting/humorous to everyone. And I am sure I will talk about vegan parenting post pregnancy, but I swear I won’t be using any pastel chevron on the site.

A Little TMI Guys:
One thing that tends to be a little on the down low on commonly talked about pregnancy symptoms are the ones regarding digestion. Apparently pregnant women not only get acid reflux/heartburn but they are also non-stop farting, burping, and peeing machines (well I think everyone knew about the peeing part.) In fact I am sure if scientists did a study they would find pregnant women release as much CO2 in the as burping cows. Though I am starting to wonder if cows keep farting and burping since dairy cows are always pregnant. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But the only thing pregnant women don’t do is poop apparently.

I keep reading book and after book, blog after blog about how constipation is going to happen to me. I laughed, “Poor naive people, I’m VEGAN. Do you even know how much fiber I eat?!” Until one day I realized I went a whole day without pooping… which was a little disturbing. I felt a sudden need to buy prune juice and bran flakes to help out. I am much too young to be worried how many times I poop in a day, or week. Or maybe me worrying about gross body fluids is just preparing me mentally for dealing with a baby’s disgusting body fluids? Oh in case you are worried, I am doing fine. Everything is working right on schedule.

It came in the middle of the night:

I am fairly certain my tummy has been growing in the middle of the night. No joke, one morning I woke up with the sensation of rolling around on my tummy as if I was on an exercise ball. Which is bizarre since my stomach was even smaller than it is on the photo above. It is hard to comprehend the idea that a living thing in growing in my tummy. Yes, you know there is a baby in there, but I find myself always being weirded out by how “hard” my stomach is. I mean, if my stomach has ever been this big it has been because of food, and it can be easily squished.

I need a drink… a nice bitter one:

I can say that I miss a drink. I love alcohol, but I never needed it to “take off the edge.” I just loved the complex flavors that they would have from fermentation. So in many ways, I think it am going a little nuts without it. Why? Well, many people know that booze is off the table for pregnant women (depending on your doctor and culture) and people need to be careful about drinking caffeine.

I don’t drink coffee or beer consistent enough to consider it a need, so I skip it. And let me tell you the options are almost all sweet. Soda, fruit juice, sweet tea, kool aid, and it goes on and on. No sour, no bitter, no complex flavors. Okay sure there are healthier things out there like kombucha or freshly squeezed juice, but both are off limits since they can harbor potentially harmful bacterias. Cool. And when I do find drink that are a little sour, bitter, or complex, they are sweetened with sugar or technically have caffeine (iced tea?)

I am reaching the point of desperation. Yes, I still drink coffee from time to time. I mainly dumped it because I brew my coffee quite strong and have no way of really knowing how much caffeine is really in it. As for beer, even though many studies say that occassional drinks aren’t a risk to the baby, I can’t shake that feeling. Or worse, I wouldn’t be able to take the social stigmatism. So I am left googling “best alcohol free beers” in hopes to get my hops fix, and I am even thinking if dog beer would be worth my time. (Answer probably not)