Pregnancy Questions

[BuddaBill]

Hello Ladies,
My wife and I are looking to concieve our first child in 2007 and I wanted to consult the Women's forum for advice and/or links to info about nutrition and lifestyle adjustments to optimize her health leading up to getting pregnant.
A little background info... She'll be 29 this year, married for 6 years, 5 feet 6. She's fairly new to health and fitness. In 2006 she finally decided to get into shape and began restricting sugars and sat. fat. She also did cardio on a regular basis and started weight training for the first time. The results were great! In a few months she went from a pudgy 165 to a foxy 135 (her weight when we got married). That's probably more info than you'll need, but I'm very proud of my girl and I wanted to share.
Any help regarding preparing for a healthy and happy pregnancy would be greatly appreciated.
Peace,
BuddaBill

 

[Daisy_Girl]

CONGRATS! How exciting!

My little one is almost a year old, so I went through this recently. I'd be happy to answer any questions I can.

Biggest things .....

1) She CAN continue working out throughout her pregnancy. This includes weight lifting and cardio. She should not start anything new - that she was not doing BEFORE she got pregnant. Not a good time to take up full contact football, lol. Seriously, don;t try a new sport or training method.

2) When working out, make sure she is always breathing normally and easily. If Momma is gasping for breath, so is baby.

3) STAY HYDRATED. Getting dehydrated can bring on contractions (Braxton Hicks usually), serious fatigue and other issues.

4) Remember - any and all nutrients go to BABY FIRST and Momma SECOND. SHe needs to make sure she is eating well and a balanced diet. But if she gets morning sickness and only can eat Taco Bell for the first 12 weeks - it is okay. Baby will not come out asking for a burrito with hot sauce. If she gets sick, whatever she can tolerate is good. That is why women take a Pre-Natal vitamin - to help balance out any nutritional imbalances.

5) This is NOT a time to go low fat. Fat is required for proper brain development.

6) FOLIC ACID FOLIC ACID FOLIC ACID. Get plenty of it.

7) Sleep - both of you. Hybernate until the baby is born if you can. Nobody knows what sleep deprivation REALLY is until you have a baby.

That is all I can think of right now. Baby is pulling on my shirt wanting to be picked up ..... Welcome to my world .....

 

[BuddaBill]

Thanks so much for your input Daisy.
I'm totally on board with you in terms of healthy fat intake.
Any tips on protein consumption?

 

[Daisy_Girl]

I think the recommended amount for pregnant women is like 60g. I never worried much about my macro breakdown when pregnant - I ate as healthy and balanced as I could. I did not take any protein powders or supplements of any kind.

I never had morning sickness, but my first 12-14 weeks I could not stand the thought of meat. I ate very little of it then. I lived off cereal, yogurt and fruit. I could eat sandwiches though, so I ate a lot of those too.

Hell, I even TOTALLY lost my cravings for sweets - especially ice cream. I think I ate ice cream like 3 times my entire pregnancy.

She really should try to eat a little bit of everything ... skipping tuna and other high mercury fish. I would also limit the amount of soy until you know the gender. There has been some research that says that boys estrogen levels can be impacted by a mommy who ate a lot of soy while baby was inutero.

 

[gymmum]

I was told not to take protein at all through my pregnancy. Although I did take it for the 1st 17 weeks as at that time I had no idea I was pregnant I then stopped. My little one is as normal as any other. My little one is 11mths old now and the happiest kid. But Daisy is right in she will be better off eating a variety of foods, but keep any junk to a minimum so you don't gain to many pounds throughout pregnancy. I was lucky enough to only gain around 8-9lbs on my last pregnancy.
If she is planning to fall soon she should star taking folic acid now. This is one thing that is very important to her and the baby.