I’m sleeping all the friggin time. Seriously.
It doesn’t help that I am without my Adderall. That usually means I’m back to one nap a day. But I’m easily averaging 2-3. From what I read, being extra tired is pretty normal as your body goes through the whole making-a-person ordeal. And that the first trimester is pretty bad.
Still, it would be nice to feel wakeful pretty much ever.
In the meantime, I’m just trying to get a handle on the pregnancy diet. The protein requirements are pretty insane.
The book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” suggests trying to eat 3 of the following servings each day:
4 oz of chicken breast (32 g) or fish (24 oz) or beef (28 oz)
4 large eggs (25 g)
2 cups of yogurt (28 g)
1 cup cottage cheese (30 g)
3/4 cup grated cheese (24 g)
and so on.
In other words, I’m expected to ingest around 90 grams of protein a day for the duration of my pregnancy. You know, when I’m actually awake. Sheesh.
My daily intake of Kashi Go Lean Crunch (plus accompanying milk) results in about 22 grams of protein, but that’s still less than 25%.
Tim’s mom has been cooking/teaching him to cook, which means we have meat with most dinners. So, on average, I’m having about 20-30 grams of protein there.
But that’s still only a little over a half of what I am supposed to be taking in.
I tried Greek yogurt yesterday and thought it was pretty good. So I’m going to have to switch to that, since it’s an extra 7 grams per serving. That will also help my calcium intake, which isn’t bad but isn’t great.
I also need to start making sure I get plenty of Vitamin C. The only good thing about my Adderall-less life is that I can add OJ back in. I may go for calcium-enriched stuff to pad out my daily calcium too.
Then there’s 6 servings a day of whole grains and 3-4 leafy green/yellow vegetables. I’ve pretty much decided that I’ll need to get a dry erase board and just check things off over the course of the day.
I should also be adding a little more calcium into my diet, I think. And I’m doing okay on the Vitamin C front, if not great.
In and around this, I’m also fighting my normal holiday chocolate cravings. Which is to say, I’m not fighting them at all. So I guess the one good thing about the pregnancy diet is that I’ll be so busy fulfilling my basic nutritional needs that I won’t have a lot of time (or stomach capacity) for chocolate. Well, for binging on it, anyway.
And, at least if I’m busy paying attention to what I’m eating, I should be able to keep a better handle on weight gain. Not only will it be good for my overall health (and the baby’s) but also will help me put off buying maternity clothes.
I plan to mainly shop for larger, stretchy clothes over actual maternity wear, though I’ll keep my eye on sales at Target, JCPenney, etc. And now I’m off to make up my list for the day’s nutritional needs. Until I get a white board, it’ll be done on paper.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Don't get too hung up on the pregnancy diet. I have yet to meet a woman who has bothered with it. Your to big things is plenty of calcium and folic acid. A regular prenatal vitamin should be good enough. My first trimester I slept on average 16 hours a day. Swear to God. It was nuts oh and forget the maternity clothes I wore 1x and 2x clothes instead. When I was pregnant all maternity clothes seemed to have bows and crap on the tops. Talk about ugly. Congrats on the great news and I can't wait to tease your mom about it. She is my hero
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Abigail Reply:
December 21st, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Alane,
We definitely plan to use as many stretchy/oversize clothes as possible. Though maternity clothes have definitely started looking better — and oversize clothes probably won't be the most flattering — I'd rather just get affordable threads, since we really just want the one kid.
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Abigail Reply:
December 21st, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Alane,
We definitely plan to use as many stretchy/oversize clothes as possible. Though maternity clothes have definitely started looking better — and oversize clothes probably won't be the most flattering — I'd rather just get affordable threads, since we really just want the one kid.
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Congratulations!!!! I would agree…just follow a healthy diet. If your body is 'craving' something (it was always Kentucky Fried Chicken's coleslaw for me), it's a sign you're probably short on a particular vitamin that food contains.
I used to find that dairy products, especially milk, would go down more easily than big chunks of meat.
So no worries — eat what you can, but don't blame yourself if you don't do exactly what someone else says. This is your body. This is your baby.
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What to expect when you are expecting is the WORST book, in my opinion as a doula. The authors admit that they overestimated the food intake because they didn't expect anyone to actually follow it. And if you are anxious at all – WTEWYE will increase the anxiety. Take your prenatals, eat good food. Humans have been grown for millions of years without that diet and done just fine. (Getting plenty of protein is good though – the old wives tale of the butcher and dairyman's wife never getting placenta previa is probably based on diet.)
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All I can keep down on a regular basis is fruit. I will be glad when I hit second trimester!
Re pregnancy clothing: ebay is fantastic– I especially liked getting the "lots"… women selling all their pregnancy clothing at once. I was able to get completely fitted out at $2-$3 per item and $15/suit during my first pregnancy.
Also agree that WTEWYE is kind of obnoxious. I liked the online "pregnancy week by week" sites better.
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Oh good grief! Don't let silly advice from silly books make you crazy.
Eat what your body tells you to eat. Cravings are your body telling you it needs x or y: you want ice cream with bacon topping, it means your body wants carbs, fats, and salt. Just eat in moderation and try to get a balanced diet in as best you can. Feeling repulsed by certain foods is your body telling you not to eat that stuff. So don't eat it.
And don't worry about feeling tired. You're supposed to feel tired! The body builds new cells and repairs itself best while you're sleeping. Makes sense, then, that while you're supporting the growth of a whole new body, you'll need more hours of sleep.
LOL! Maternity clothes…what a fiasco! I found that ethnic clothes work really nicely during pregnancy. Try looking for Indian and Mexican tops and dresses: they're often loose fitting, with empire waistlines (if they have a waistline at all). And some of the fabrics and embroidery are really pretty, so you don't mind using them forever after the kid is born. Also, there's an outfit in the Valley called B'Gauze that sells loose-fitting cotton stuff. Expensive at regular price, but they have killer sales. Right about now they're probably selling things at deep discounts. Choices in the stores are much better than their web selections, BTW.
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Old Navy has really cute and cheap maternity clothes. I got a pair of maternity jeans for about $20 there that I wore throughout my whole pregnancy. Its amazing how quick regular pants don't button when you're pregnant – however with the oversize top and Old Navy jeans, no one could really tell I was pregnant, but I felt comfortable early on. Also, get a pair of comfy yoga pants to wear early on in the pregnancy and then again after (the 3rd trimester stuff is usually too stretched out) but you will need something for a month or two postpartum as well.
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I would have slept through my first trimester with both kids if I could. Get your iron level checked early. They didn't check mine until second trimester and I was already pretty low. Everything perked up once I started taking iron supplements.
Thrift stores like Value Village and Goodwill have great maternity sections. (Though I don't know what sort of stores you have down there.) I second the Old Navy recommendation. I love their maternity gear. Also, Target has great nursing bras and tanks when you get to that point.
I totally agree with the previous posts about WTEWYE. If you want a great book, try Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn by Penny Simkin. Fantastic book with SO much great information.
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