Pregnancy: Week 11

I dub thee “light at the end of the tunnel” week!

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Best change of the week: focus hydration on the morning and afternoon and stop by 8pm.  This allowed me to sleep through the night again.  Though I don’t expect that to last long!

This week, I also felt a surge in energy.  It was not as high as my pre-pregnancy energy, but I was able to get in full work days without even thinking of a nap.  I took advantage, and started working out daily.  Nothing intense, but I am currently aiming for 30 minutes of strength exercises and stretching 4-5 days a week, and 30 minutes of brisk walking 2-3 times a week while planning to increase this as my energy returns to normal.

Third, I feel like the overwhelming miscarriage fears are plummeting.  Sure I still have fears that something will go wrong (though I assume fearing for my child’s wellbeing is now a constant in my life), but it doesn’t occupy my every thought and I am allowing myself to plan for the future as though this baby will actually be here in January.  I am now able to say “we are going to have a baby” and “when this baby gets here.” HUGE steps for me.  Just a few short weeks ago, I couldn’t even bring myself to say “I am pregnant.”  I also think seeing my parents talk about helping us get the home ready for baby, taking steps to make their home more baby-friendly, and my mom discussing more details about her pregnancies with me has me feeling so great.  Enter uncontrollable sobbing.

However, this week I traded mild nausea for mood swings.  A welcome trade, but I was just as likely to cry over a baby in a commercial as my husband leaving a wrapper on the counter (seriously though, the trash can is right over there).  I tried to keep it together and save the tears for the happy thoughts, but I wasn’t always successful.

I also started to feel pains in my lower abdomen when I was sitting in an awkward position or in a position for too long.  My midwife said they are most likely round ligament pain, and they weren’t that distracting – just switch positions and they go away!

My digestion is still rather slooooooow.  I lived with constipation from ages 13-28, so this almost doesn’t feel like a pregnancy symptom to me and I have ways to help.  Now that I can stomach vegetables again, I made sure to eat a lot!  I also added chia seeds to smoothies, hydrated, ate enough fats, and used this magnesium spray before bed (2-8 sprays depending).

I just make sure to hydrate and eat enough fats.  Now that I can eat vegetables again, that will help and I will be adding this magnesium spray to my nighttime routine.

Cravings: GRILLED CHEESE, specifically sharp cheddar on sourdough, crusty good-quality sourdough bread, rice chex cereal with ice cold milk.  This week I found my cravings were also centered on just wanting to increase the variability in my diet.  I am a person who can eat the same thing for lunch Monday-Friday and be fine.  I also cut a lot of foods from my diet in an effort to resolve my IBS, feel optimal energy, and prepare for pregnancy (gluten, dairy, nightshades, non-sprouted grains, vegetable oils, pork, turkey, legumes), but on top of my tree nut sensitivity, pregnancy food rules, and aversions, I was getting boxed into a VERY small corner.  So I decided to start adding in different foods that I have previously been avoiding.

Aversions: Chicken, it seemed I preferred fattier proteins like grassfed lamb, eggs, bacon, and fish.

What I Actually Ate:

• Eggs (2-3) scrambled 1 tablespoon of ghee

• Roasted sweet potatoes (added some to breakfast to help with the carb cravings)

• Sprouted quinoa bowls with chicken (when tolerated), vegetables and avocado

• Sunflower Gomacro bars

• Sunflower butter chocolate cups (though I wish I had Eating Evolved Keto Cups because those have better ingredients)

• Ground lamb bowl with sweet potatoes, kale, coconut milk and cinnamon

• Bulletproof no-coffee lattes (water, coconut milk, MCT oil, ghee, cacao powder)

• Ground pork with tomato sauce and zoodles

• Sprouted cinnamon raisin toast

• Salads (when tolerated) with butter lettuce, avocado, lightly steamed veggies, and chopped chicken thighs

• Homemade turkey breakfast patties

• Bacon occasionally (pastured, sugar-free, uncured)

Workouts: I got several strength-training workouts and walks in this week!