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Baby is a: Lemon
Weight gained: 0 lb
Total Weight gained: 4 lbs
14 Weeks Pregnant Symptoms: I am finally out of the first trimester and kind of like magic my morning sickness disappeared about halfway through this week. What replaced it? HUNGER. I am always hungry. I now eat snacks along with meals and I always do a 10pm snack or I can’t fall asleep because I am hungry. I also am starting to show more but to most people probably just look like I have a bit of belly.
Cravings: FOOD! I can finally eat meals again but also still eat snacks. Now that I am finally into the second-trimester officially and with morning sickness going away and my diet returning to normal, I plan on doing a check on my diet and ensure I am eating healthy (see my How I’m Preparing).
Aversions: I really still don’t like the idea of meat, I know eating fish is really good for you during pregnancy but because it sounds unappetizing, I have been making sure I am staying up with my DHA pills.
Sleep: As I finally have a little bit more energy, I am not tired all the time but still needing a lot of sleep. However, this week I just could not sleep.
Excited for: Telling family the gender. We have decided to include L in this by having her tell her grandparents over FaceTime. We will tell the rest of the family by sending out a picture of L in a big sister shirt with a baby bear in the correct color. To see what we are having, look at my best moment of the week <3
Missing: Warm Florida but at least the cold spell at home has finally lifted.
Movement: No
Dr. Update: No
Exercise: With the new semester starting, I am now teaching two days a week for 3 hours each morning. Lecturing involves a lot of walking for me, in addition to just standing the whole time, because we do problems in class and I go around to students to help them.
Stretch Marks: No
Swelling: No
Maternity Clothing: Still only wearing my (all-time favorite) maternity jeans from Stitch Fix and now pulling out some of my “long” tank tops so I can keep wearing my regular shirts but not have to worry about them crawling up.
Labor Signs: No
Wedding Rings On: Yes
Belly Button In or Out: In
How I’m Preparing: As the placenta takes over and baby is going to start to really grow and I am out of the first trimester (which means less morning sickness so better options in fueling my body), I remind myself what nutrients are key for a healthy pregnancy and then take a look at my diet to ensure I am meeting these needs. I have started freezer meal prepping again to ensure my dinners are healthy even when I don’t have the time or energy to make them. If you haven’t discovered freezer meal prep, you need to. It will be the biggest time saver once baby is here and even before you will start to see the benefits. This week we prepped seven meals from our awesome Freezer Meal Cookbook, it wasn't an especially picture-esque affair as we did it with L running around... but at least our dinners and lunches are taken care of for the next week or so.
Here are the big four food groups that are key to a healthy pregnancy:
Protein: Very important as it contains the building blocks (known as amino acids) of the body and are essential for new blood and tissue. Being pregnant means you need to meet this requirement, which is 15 grams or more per day. My go-tos are cheese, yogurt, seeds, nuts, beans, whole cooked grains and eggs. Like I mentioned meat and fish sounds awful still.
Two tricks to get more protein:
Iron: Best method to keeping iron high is prevention. If you have low iron and take a supplement, make sure you always pick a non-sulfate kind, like ferrous citrate or ferrous gluconate. Ferrous sulfate is hard on your liver and causes constipation. Other good things to note about iron is its absorption is based on many related nutrients including copper, B complete vitamins, protein, vitamin E and vitamin C. The most important is vitamin C, so pair iron rich foods with vitamin C. Iron rich foods include seafood, meat, kale, spinach, chard, beets, apricots, prunes, millet, grapes, pumpkin seeds and much more.
Three tricks to get more iron:
Calcium: As most know, calcium is essential for bones and teeth. In pregnancy, you supply the calcium needed for your baby to build their bones and teeth. One’s thyroid is also maintained by calcium. If you are calcium deficient, this could result in baby not getting adequate amounts of calcium to grow or you not having enough for your health. Dairy products are one way of increasing your calcium but if you aren’t a fan or don’t tolerate dairy well, try dark leafy greens, peanuts, broccoli, acorn squash and legumes. To increase your body’s absorption of calcium, take magnesium and vitamin C.
Folic Acid: Most women have heard about folic acid, as being deficient in folic acid is known to cause birth defects in the neural tubes because folic acid is responsible for transfer of genetic material and the division of cells. To increase your folic intake, first and foremost take a prenatal vitamin every day. Second, eat dark leafy greens, nuts, green beans, asparagus, legumes, whole grains and oranges.
Reference: Eating for Two: Recipes for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women By Robin Lim
Best Moment of the Week: We found out the gender! We got back our results from Counsyl, which were positive all around. Baby was negative for all screening tests such as Trisomy, etc. and we are having a baby GIRL! <3 We are so excited that L will have a little sister, they are going to besties!
Are you preparing for a baby also? Check out our Expecting section.
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