call it what you will, but my tummy is def not the same.
This week the little soul growing in me is seven weeks old and the size of a blueberry. I couldn't be more excited to be pregnant and to meet my baby. Just as Avi and I were so grateful to have another addition to our family, our adopted beautiful, loving, and well behaved puppy, we found out a little bit ago that we are now receiving a miracle and blessing from G-d, a baby. By the time you are reading this, I will probably be around 12 to 14 weeks pregnant as I am waiting to share the news until it's a little more obvious and I've concluded the first trimester. Although you could have complications at any time during and after pregnancy, I am still waiting because this is such a miracle that I'm really enjoying it being private for now. it's just been so joyous to share it with only my husband and immediate family. And to be honest, I'm a little scared.. I'm a first time mom and haven't seen the doctor yet (I'm going on Monday @ 8 wks!) and I'd like to at least see the little guy or gal in there healthy and well before i get the whole world (well, my world at least) riled up. I'm sure many understand; I don't think telling early or not telling early is better, I think it's such a private intimate sacred beautiful blessing that is yours to decide when to share.
A word on how it happened:
Ok, that's a catchy introduction but I'm not talking R-rated between the sheets deets, I'm talking about how getting pregnant actually worked for me.. many people try for months and years to get pregnant and I got pregnant somewhat right away. Somewhat only because I wasn't really educated on my own cycle. Right away because as soon as I was, it happened. I thought I was, but it took actually tracking it for a month or two to realize my cycle length and ovulation/fertility time, which by the way, I thought at first that was a no brainer since I've had my period for over ten years. But in actuality, my cycle length was a few more days off then my original estimate (most people average 28 day cycles) and that threw off the time of the month I though was "go time" HAHA. go time... so hilarious. point is: you might think you have a 28 day cycle cuz youre normal and its around the same time every month etc, but a 22, 24 day cycle or a 32,34 day while still completely normal, is not 28 days. and therefore you could totally miss your ovulation days. Being that I just got married a few months ago, we weren't in any particular rush and didn't calculate anything. When we did decide we wanted to have a baby, I started tracking my cycle, and luckily I did, because like I said a few days off makes a big difference. As soon as I knew my cycle, I got pregnant. That doesn't mean it will or should happen to someone else, but that's my experience.
It's good to note you CAN'T get pregnant when you are not around your fertile time if you have normal cycles. If there's no egg coming any time soon, there's nothing for sperm to fertilize. Sperm can last a few days, so I'm talking if you ALREADY released an egg and you are consistent in your period, you can't get pregnant then. You also can't get pregnant over a week before your fertile time, because the sperm will die before the egg is released. so... while you might already know this, again, my point is, track your period, and understand your average cycle length to get pregnant sooner. There's also ovulation kits but I think this is more effective if you have slightly longer cycles as you'll just waste your kit if you think you're getting it sooner than you do and might need a second one. Not worth it.
How I'm feeling:
I'm feeling great. I'm super happy and the first week I found out I woke up every morning reminding myself that I'm pregnant and cracking a huge smile on my face. Now I just crack the smile because I already get that I'm preggers. I'm craving lots of salty food, and am finding a lot of relief from these two teas:
I'm also really excited to keep staying healthy and fit during pregnancy. Of course I'm eating a vegan diet consisting of mostly organic produce and lots of healthy unprocessed foods. I do crave a few vegan take out places, some amazing green olives form whole foods that aren't organic, and the occasional piece of candy, but I'd say i'm doing 90 percent organic and 70 percent unprocessed foods (obviously all 100% vegan). I'll take that. I'm also not buying produce from Mexico, and sticking with locally grown organic produce only except for a little bit of packaged produce (like canned beans or frozen peas) that are also organic but only from the USA.
Yes, I AM supplementing with pre-natals and took Folate since the moment I thought I was interested in having a baby, before we started even trying. That is a must and if you get only one thing from this post, please start taking folate immediately if you are even thinking of getting pregnant soon, could be pregnant or even planning on a year from now.
read up here why folate is so vital.
My picks:
I took the Rainbow light non organic once a day pre natal first becuase i thought of convenience of taking only one, but it made me TOTALLY NAUSEOUS. I actually thought I was pregnant before I really was because the prenatals messed me up so much. Now that I'm pregnant, these I find are the best, and taking four doesn't bother me. You already have to take more than a pre-natal, so big deal, two with breakfast, and two with dinner, not like you have to take all four at once (and you shouldn't, better to space it out so you don't pee it all out). These make me feel great. no negative side effects.
these are FANTASTIC. folate is a water soluble vitamin so don't worry about overdose. While the pre-natal provides me with 1 mg of folic acid, I still suplement with metafolin because it's a form of folate that is ready for your body to absorb and so it's better to be safe than sorry. you just DONT fuck around with your folate levels while trying to conceive and NEVER when you are pregnant.
I'm also taking Lutein, but I can't find a picture of it and it's at home, but it's the Whole Foods brand. You don't need a lot but it's important to take for the baby's eyes. :)
Omegas: Very important as a vegan especially to make sure you understand if you don't consume fish oil omega that you need sources of omega that you don't normally consume. things such as flax and chia are great sources of ALA omega, but you need EPA and DHA, which is only present in a algae as a vegan source. ALA can make EPA and DHA, but not as efficient and enough for when you're preg. I take this:
I also take a probiotic and D3, since im deficient.
Last but not least, I take Iron every day, I've taken this one for years:
Hopefully this helps anyone trying to conceive or just wanting a lil update :)
xo
