Food Choices - What's Different?

Lila is just over four. Today, I was reading a Real Food blog post regarding pregnancy and was reminded just how differently I take care of myself than I did when I was pregnant with my first two. Here is a quick list:

• I no longer eat USDA meat unless it is organic. That included when I ate out at restaurants in America. I don't want to be exposed to feed-lot meet in which cattle are given hormones, antibiotics and GMO feed. During pregnancy this is especially important to avoid. Here in Germany, I eat mostly organic meat. This is not to avoid the hormones (illegal practice in Germany). It is to avoid the antibiotics that feed-lot cattle are given (I believe there are feed-lots in Europe. Though, I have not done extensive research on it). When we eat out, I do, sometimes, indulge in meat because I do not have to worry about hormones or GMO feed (illegal in Germany). If there is wild meat on the menu (boar, venison, etc), I choose that.
• All our dairy is organic. Our milk is either raw (not in the first trimester and the goat's aren't producing until April anyway) or lightly pasteurized, non-homogenized from grass-fed cows.   
• We now filter our water. We use a Multi-Pure filter. Though, chlorine and fluoride are not added to water in Germany - two things I'm happy to be avoiding and which many filters do not filter out. Back in the States, I may switch to a Berkely filter which, according to one mom blogger, filters out chlorine and fluoride. Mine doesn't appear to do a great job of that - though, it's not an issue here.
• I take strong probiotics daily.  I had chronic yeast infection issues when I was pregnant with Lila. Probably due to some antibiotics I was on early in the pregnancy. However, since I'm not always good about eating a wide-variety of fermented foods (which nearly all Americans need more of - this goes beyond yogurt), the probiotics do a good job of keeping my gut flora strong. I've been taking probiotics for over a year now.
• I also take in a daily dose of fermented cod-liver oil. I do not eat nearly enough fish.  I do add flax and walnuts to oatmeal and power bars - but, it's not enough. Omega 3's are important for a growing fetus, our hearts and also our mood! I've also been taking FCLO for a year or more.
• We do not use any products containing BPA. This includes canned food. I hear of people saving big bucks by buying canned goods (beans, tomatoes pastes and sauces, etc). Unfortunately, canned food is almost always BPA-containing. I probably use one or two cans a month. If that. Any plastics in our home are BPA-free. 
• I've given up using the microwave. We don't even have one. The jury is out as to what that does to the food we heat up and the rays it gives off when it runs. When we moved here, we didn't buy one and haven't missed it. Our convection oven heats up leftovers just fine. 
• Long ago, I cut out hydrogenated fat, HFCS, artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. This is a a huge change made since my pregnancy with Lila.  I was known then to make a box of Hershey's brownies and eat the whole pan in one sitting (almost). What this means is that we do not eat very much processed foods. 
• I do not eat very much sugary sweets. I gave up sugar for a few weeks last year and it broke my sweet tooth. So, while I still enjoy sweets and either make them or buy from the local bakeries from time to time, I do not crave them anymore. So, eating sweets is much much less than in previous pregnancies.
• I eat mostly organic fruits and veggies. Produce like onions, avocado, oranges, lemons, etc. I do not buy organic. I don't buy anything on the "dirty dozen" list unless I can find organic.

What about when I'm visiting friends? What do I do then? Well, I stick with my 80% rule. In my home and as much as possible on vacation and at restaurants, I eat real food. When visiting friends, I do try to be selective, when possible. However, I eat what is served and I do not worry. I am not a fanatic!

If you're pregnant, intending to get pregnant or have been pregnant recently, what do you do (or plan to do) differently?

In the future, I'll be blogging about my differences (or different plans) in care during pregnancy, childbirth and infancy.

You Get What You Get and You Don't Get Upset...Or Do You?

I've been stewing for a couple of days now.  I walked out of my doctor's appointment on Thursday feeling elated. It finally looked like we were going to have a boy.

I came home, blogged about it and sent off a few messages. By the end of the day, no less than two friends had emailed me links to "nub" theory. I'm not really going to get into detail about it here. You can Google it. Basically, I was reminded that a labia and boy parts look so much alike at this point, I was crazy to believe the 80% chance of boy my doctor gave me.

I had already heard something about "nub" theory. That's why I asked her a few times if she was seeing swollen labia/undeveloped girl parts. It's also why I asked her if she was looking at the umbilical cord. If any of my readers were there with me, you would have asked me to shut up and let her do her job. I had her looking at genitalia no less than three times because of what I knew. So, I thought, "Well, she does ultrasounds up to a dozen times a day. Probably for an upwards of ten years. I asked the right questions. She'd be cruel to give me that high of a chance if she didn't see something very boyish" and I walked away happy as a lark.

I would have liked to live in my fairytale world for a while. While I'm not mad at my friends, I am disappointed (however well-meaning) the links were sent to me. I've looked them over and looked them over and looked over other sites and am now mad at my OB. At the time, it looked so clear. Legs closed with a bulge hanging down in between. A small sac. After looking at the website pictures, I have no idea what I saw or what the heck she was looking at that has her almost convinced it's a boy. It was unprofessional for her to give me any percentage at all. She could have said something like, "Well, I think I may see boy parts - but, it's so early, I'm keeping it at 50-50%, I'm sorry."  Better yet, she could have thought to herself that she saw boy parts, but told me it was too early.

Here's the thing though. I already love the baby growing inside of me. Boy or girl, it doesn't matter. Not in the end. I hate it when people imply I won't love another little girl. Of course I will. I cried for nearly two weeks, almost all day, every day, when I found out Lila was a girl.  Slowly, I came around, pulled out all Liv's infant clothes and moved on. When I held her in my arms for the first time, I forgot all about wanting a boy. I loved her instantly and realized I had loved her all along.

So, will I be heartbroken if this is another girl? Yes, I will. So will Matt. For a little while, at least. Then, we will move on. We will love our little girl and so will her sisters. That's life. What a journey it is!

Boy Parts? Must Be a Mistake

We have a birth plan in mind. The plan does not involve an OB. It involves a midwife. Her name is Karin and I start seeing her next month (more about that plan in another post). Until then, I've been seeing an OB.

I like the OB. However, she's a bit nervous. She's all about testing for everything possible (we don't test for anything except routine blood and urinary testing to make sure I am healthy). I look forward to the relaxed disposition of my midwife. During my three-month check-up today, she flipped on the ultrasound machine. I thought she was just pulling out the doppler to get a heart rate reading.  Instead of immediately asking her to turn it off (I don't think multiple ultrasounds are necessary and the jury's out as to whether too many do more long-term harm than good), curiosity got the best of me.

She took some measurements. Showed me arms, legs, spine, heart, and so on. The baby is measuring 13-weeks and two days. Pushing my due date from early October to the end of September.  I then asked her if it was too early to tell if it was a boy or girl.  The legs were clearly crossed and a hand kept venturing down over his/her "parts." Quietly, she moved around the doppler and got a shot of the underside of the baby's bottom (I believe this is a "potty shot"). In the past, I've seen an empty space or a just a crack. This time, however, I saw a bulge. A very clear bulge. She then says, "See that? Looks like a boy."  She then did some more measurements, came back, checked again, showed me the bulge again, reassuring me that it was not the umbilical cord. She then took a couple pictures of the length of the baby and then went back again for a peak. The bulge was still there - looking suspiciously like a scrotum.

I've read, in a few places, that it's kind of a crap-shot to determine the sex of a baby before 16-weeks. The "parts" that look boy could be swollen girl parts.  The OB doesn't think that's the case here. I told her Lila was going to cry if it was a boy and she said, "Oh, her poor world is about to change."  I think she looked one more time before saying, "Yes, since it's early on and in Germany we are not really supposed to tell you at this point, I'll say that there is an 80% chance that it's a boy and 20% chance that it's a girl."

Am I excited? Not yet. Honestly, I can barely believe it and am kind of with the doubters who say, "Yeah, probably enlarged/underdeveloped girl parts."  In mid-May, we'll have our anatomy ultrasound.  Until then, I will be cautiously optimistic!

Jean Love

Danish Brand of Maternity Jeans

Those of you who see me on a regular basis know that, depending on what I wear, I've been showing since I was about eight or nine weeks' pregnant (While I thought I had gained a lot of weight, the scale says I've only gained a few pounds, surprisingly). I was a bit heavier when I got pregnant in the past. So, all my maternity jeans are too big. I've been wearing my non-maternity Gap jeans with a Bella Band (BB) or maternity jeans with a BB. However, I was either uncomfortable or felt frumpy.  The frumpy, nothing fits, uncomfortable, I-hate-my-body stage shouldn't come until month eight of pregnancy.  Now was too soon.  I applaud those women who never gain weight in their butt or thighs, or anywhere but their belly and can wear their low-rise jeans or use a BB when the need to unsnap a button occurs. Go you.  That's not going to happen for me. 

Fed up, I messaged my friend, Anna, took advantage of one of Matt's days off (he took the girls to the zoo after school), and went shopping in a town an hour away.  Anna stuck it out with me. Enduring multiple try-ons. Clerks trying to sell me jeans way too long or with pockets reaching several inches down past my butt. Finally, after a delicious Spanish lunch, re-energized, we walked into a boutique maternity shop - our last stop.  I tried on several more pairs without success. I did find a cool looking shirt (seventh picture in - gray with black print) to purchase and was just about to give up on the jeans (which were out of my price range anyway - at an average of 110 Euros each) when Anna spied a pair tucked away on a shelf, in the middle of other jeans I had already tried on. I think I only tried them on because they were half the price of the other jeans.

They fit! They are perfect. I think they'll even stretch nicely. The wash is a fashionable one. What I love about them is that they are adjustable. On the waste-band, there is a hidden adjustment band - the kind you see on toddler clothing - but it's not on the inside of waste where it would scratch at my itchy stomach.  Right now, I have them tightened up quite a bit, therefore, have plenty of room to let out.

If you are pregnant and interested in these, the good news is that you can get them fairly easily in Europe. However, Mama Licious, a Danish brand, does not appear to sell their line in the States of of yet.

It seems silly to be this excited about a pair of jeans - but I am! I was so uncomfortable, these should help me feel like a sexy, fashionable pregnant mom - instead of a frump!

Different Doesn't Mean It's a Boy

The first thing people ask me when they find out I'm pregnant is, "Are you feeling different this time?"

"Different" implies that I may be pregnant with a boy this time. Um. No. Feeling different has nothing to with that, unfortunately. I wish it did. I really do. If I had a dollar for every woman I know who felt "different" her second or third time around, and ended up with the same sex as before, I'd be rich. What's up with those who felt "different" and ended up with a child of the opposite sex? Coincidence. That is it.

To answer the question - Yes. I feel quite different. I started feeling sick at five-weeks pregnant instead of seven-weeks. I developed a metal taste in my mouth, as always. Interestingly, however, it disappeared a few weeks ago. The metal taste, in previous pregnancies, is what made me feel sick all day, every day, from week seven to sixteen.

Pregnancy sickness has toyed with me. In the very early weeks, I would have days when I thought I would die from all-day sickness. Then, I'd wake up the next morning and feel absolutely nothing! The sore breasts would be gone, the sickness gone, metal taste gone. This had never happened before - so I nearly convinced myself I was losing the baby. Then, I'd have some spotting - which would freak me out even more. A visit to the doctor revealed that all is well. Fluctuating sickness is caused by hormones and growth spurts and the spotting is insignificant (I had it with Lila too).

I am now twelve weeks. I look twenty-weeks. This is partly due to the fact that I'm pregnant with my third and Lila, my second, finished off my abdominal wall. Each side of my stomach has split muscles (yes, this hurts). The center of my stomach cones out. So, I was bound to "pop" much sooner than I did with my first pregnancy. What adds to this problem is that I am, generally, only sick when I have an empty stomach. In order to feel well, I have to have a full stomach. Which means I have to eat. A lot. I'm gaining more weight in the first trimester than I should. While most women at this stage are hanging over the toilet or cringing at the site of food, I'm starving. All the time. The feeling of starvation brings on nausea. So, I eat. I try to eat high protein snacks. I've made delicious protein bars. I've ate a lot of homemade guacamole, hard boiled eggs and so on. Twenty minutes after I eat these high protein snacks, I'm hungry again.

There is nothing I can really do about the "bottomless pit." It will subside in a few weeks and I'll go back to eating normally and probably feel well enough to hit up the gym for some pregnancy-friendly weight-training and maybe a prental pilates or yoga classes. I do wonder how all these celebrities stay so thin during pregnancy. They have to be having their meals and snacks made for them, and personal trainers dragging them to the gym even when they feel like death. I've also read that their "people" pay the paparazzi to publish photos of them earlier in their pregnancies, however, writing that the photo was taken "yesterday while shopping at nine months pregnant!"

Am I going to post weekly pregnancy photos? No. You've all seen me pregnant before. I doubt I'll look much different this time around. I will post pictures of my pregnant self during our Spring and Summer travels. We'll attempt Paris, Prague, Berlin and probably a few other places before the baby is born.

How Did Baby Number Three Come to Be?

There is a bag of toddler girl clothes sitting on the floor of my bedroom. With a heavy heart, early this winter, I set aside those clothes to send to my sister, Robin. She has a little girl, nearly two, who would be able to use them soon. Coming to terms with the fact that our family was complete wasn't easy for me. Getting rid of those clothes was one step towards shutting that door and moving on. I promised I would send them as soon as our winter vacation was over...

Soon after Matt arrived home, after several months in Iraq, the roar that is meniere's disease returned to my ears, after over 18-months of relative quiet. I became downtrodden and depressed. I spent our vacation in Italy trying to watch my salt intake (impossible on vacation), taking only sips of wine, and slept whenever I could. My head pounded. I couldn't hear well. I felt dizzy and disillusioned. I wallowed in self-pity. The entire month of January I can only remember one, maybe two, times in which Matt and I could have possibly done something to create new life.

Towards the end of January, I noticed a pain in my lower-right abdomen. Sure it was an ovarian cyst, I made an appointment to see someone who could take a look at it. Before I could get in, however, I spoke to a nurse about it who suggested that I could be pregnant. To which I replied, "I've been pregnant twice before, I'd know if I was pregnant."

The meniere's disease had decided to hibernate for a bit (and still is, thankfully). So, I started a workout program at home. I dropped several pounds in two weeks and then hurt my knee. Before I could get in to see the doctor about my "cyst," I saw a doctor about my knee. While at the appointment, I thought, "Why not take a pregnancy test? It's free and at least that will be ruled out before next week's appointment. One less thing for the doctor to have to check."

The doctor put in a pregnancy blood test request and off to the lab I went. I drove home, mostly forgetting about the test. Come on! There was no way I was pregnant. So, when my phone rang a few hours later and the doctor informed me I was going to have another child, I asked him if he was kidding. He wasn't. Obviously, I wasn't my normal, careful self during those one or two times I barely remember happening in January. Standing in the kitchen, phone in my hand, the question I then asked myself was, "How the heck do I tell Matt? He had recently told the girls he was done having kids because the odds were stacked against him that we would have a boy and he did not want another girl.

So, I did what any scaredy cat does. She sends an email to her spouse at work, of course! Yup, that is how I informed Matt he was going to be a father for the third time this coming October (2OCT)! He was, surprisingly, joyous and now holds on to the tiny thread of hope that it will be a boy. Olivia holds onto this hope too. Lila is sure it's a girl. Mention a boy, and she cries. Real tears. She doesn't like boys.

As for me, I'm holding on tightly to those girl clothes. I do not have a boy "vibe." I'm not feeling it. I'm quite certain it is a girl. I spend a part of each day looking online at baby name sites - searching for the perfect girl name.