One of the first questions the midwife asks me is what vitamins am I taking? For some reason it makes me feel like I am about to give a true confession that already sums up whether I am being a good mom or not. My vitamin “portfolio” as I like to call it. So, over the past four pregnancies, vitamins have been a hot topic and I have gotten it pretty much down to a science.
I have to be honest, I have never taken a prenatal vitamin before. I have always just patched together my vitamins and supplements and they have worked beautifully...this time, I’ve decided to go ahead and take a prenatal. It’s called “Perfect Prenatal” and it has both vitamins and herbs in it and it sounds wonderful according to lots of reviews women have given it at vitacost.com. In the past I have taken the Garden of Life women’s supplement...but I decided to be a little more “official” this time.
A MUST for the first 3 months is a sublingual vitamin B. I get the one that comes in a 2 pack at sun harvest or whole foods and is about $10 (it’s called perfect B). It comes in a white bottle with red writing and really helps with nausea. I have heard that nausea is a vitamin B deficiency. Is this true? I don’t know, I just know that I have never thrown up and experienced about 4 or 5 nauseous moments. One final point about “B”, I have heard that the birth control pill seriously pulls the “B” out of your system. This may be one reason women get so sick when they get pregnant...I don’t know. Just a guess. Oh yeah, and this “B” makes you feel instantly happy.
Number two. IRON. I have NEVER had a constipated moment when I’m pregnant and I mean NEVER. If anything, my body goes the other way (if you get my drift). I do have iron deficient moments and the item that changes my blood in a couple of days is the iron plus “c” from Shaklee. It’s really great and I seem to digest it VERY well.
Number three. Cod liver oil. I really like the taste of Nordic Naturals...but Carlson’s lemon oil caplets are o.k. too, and cheaper. This is the deal on cod liver oil. It makes your baby really smart. Apparently, the first baby takes all of your DHA and subsequent babies don’t get as much for their brains because we are a people who don’t naturally get enough DHA for us and for the baby. The other side effect of cod liver oil is it is a natural anti-inflammatory. For me, my one side effect from pregnancy is swelling, and the cod liver oil seems to help out A LOT with this. I was taking 12 pills a day this last time. (Should I tell that?) I don’t even know if that is a safe dosage, but this baby is especially smart (can they be too smart????) and never lost any of his hair.
A big one for me is Magnesium. If you are pregnant, and your eye is twitching right now, you probably need it. Or if you get charlie horses really badly at 4 AM and you are sore the next day because they won’t let you go...you need magnesium. This time I am doing a magnesium drink called “Calm”. You can find it at vitacost.com and just do 2 really big squirts of stevia in that drink to make it taste good.
Finally...nuts, boiled eggs, and a really good protein shake help me get my protein in every day. As for shakes, I personally like the Jay Robb protein because Jay Robb's Flavored Whey Protein, is made with stevia and is from grass fed cows not treated with rBGH (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone). You'll get 25 Grams of great tasting natural protein powder in our Whey Isolate and 24 grams in our Whey Concentrate. The flavors are delicious. My favorite is strawberry or dreamsicle. The chocolate one I will make at night with milk, ice, extra stevia, peanut butter, carob chips, and a couple of scoops of flax seed. This makes a great substitute for Ben and Jerry’s, and you get 25 grams of protein....oh yeah, in honor of Ben and Jerry, I throw a couple of raw eggs into that shake...mmm...mmmm....mmmm It’ll even get your libido going. I try to get 100 grams of protein in per day. To me, this is just as important as the prenatal vitamins and exercising. For those who are nauseous...this can be more difficult. You will have to work to find protein sources...I would just stay away from soy if possible. It has been linked to mental retardation in young children among other various side effects and despite the US government’s ploys to get us to buy into this “wonderful product” has a dark side. Google it for yourself.
I’m sure I’ll think of something in the middle of the night, but this pretty much sums up my vitamin routine. And by number five, I can do it in my sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment