So, now that the cat is out of the bag I’d like to go in depth a bit on how I’m dealing with pregnancy in a healthy way, or at least, what my goals are for this pregnancy.
First of all I have a massive confession to make. Over the last six and a half weeks I have done barely anything for reasons of health. I’ve been very sick and there have been times when I lived on the colorless foods, saltines, cheerios, pasta, etc. Mostly because strong flavors were more than awful sounding and fresh foods nauseated me. However, the good days I’ve tried hard to drink green smoothies, eat lots of fruit and veggies and take all my vitamins:)
Now, on to the good stuff. When I first found out I was pregnant I wrote a list of goals to keep healthy. I’ve put most of them in play and the rest will come when I’m feeling a bit better.
1. drink a gallon + of water per day.
*I already had this as a goal of mine since I have a very damaged system and water helps that excessively. During pregnancy things inside me slowed even more so drinking this amount of water is really crucial especially since during a pregnancy the woman has to increase her blood amount by 40% while maintaining a growing sack of fluid for the baby. That takes alot of extra water.
2. Exercise consistently.
*before I got pregnant I was running alot and exercising daily. Once I hit six weeks I was hit with a ton of bricks. Not only exhaustion but alot of nausea and headaches. Hopefully soon I’ll be pulling out of that now that I’m past the first trimester. I’ll be running (or fast walking) the Mother’s Day 5K since it’ll be my first real Mother’s Day. Also, I really like that particular race since I ran it last year as my first race ever. This year’s goals for running were alot higher when I made them as I was planning on doing two 10K’s during the summer and the half marathon in the fall….well, that’s not gonna work out now so 5K’s will have to do:) I’ll start working out next Monday on the 1st of March.
3. Take proper vitamins
*As of right now I take vitamin b-12, zinc and vitamin D. Those are the vitamins that a vegan girl in the winter really needs. For the pregnancy I need to take calcium and omega-3′s as well. I’m trying to offset my need for vitamins by adding certain things in my diet like some seafood and eggs. So far, since I’ve been sick I haven’t eaten eggs yet but I plan on it soon:)
4. Sleep a minimum of 7 hours per night.
*This is already my goal however I’m hoping to get this as a minimum and mostly get more like 8 hours. So far, that hasn’t happened. Sort of hard to pull that off when you work full time and your shift starts at 7:30am. Shane and I are both making a concerted effort though to get more sleep as we know after the baby comes we’ll wish we took advantage when we had the chance. hehe
5. Keep weight gain within the healthy range for my current weight (25-35lbs).
*I have only lost weight so far but I’m hoping that once I start gaining it won’t get out of control. With exercise and a good diet I think it won’t.
The other things I’m doing to combat certain pregnancy side affects is frequent dry brushing, application of coconut oil and long baths….so far, they feel good.
Question: Any tips for a newly pregnant mommy? What would/did you do?
ohhhhhhhh so I totally missed your announcement post, gosh what a jerk I am!
so CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!
Oh and I totally had that thought bubbling around in my head when you decided on the whole fish thing.
Those seem like super goals
You have great goals!
I was very sick the first three months. To make you feel better, the nutrition of the mom doesn’t really come into play until the fourth month. My first trimester I survived on saltines and gingerale.
For exercise, I consistantly did 5 days per week of low intensity spinning or the eliptical. When I got to 6 months, I was ordered to stop exercising becuase I became high risk for pre-term delivery.
As far as nutrition and weight gain goes. I gained just under 25 pounds. I am very small frame and petite, so that played a factor. I ate healthy, but gave into my cravings within reason. There were times I felt like I could eat all day, but it wasn’t hunger, it was hormones… so I was sensisble when it came to that.
Towards the end of the pregnancy there’s barely any room in your belly, so you don’t need much food to feel full. I just made sure to eat smaller meals.
You’ll do great
If you have any questions, just email
I love that you are doing a mothers day walk/run. That is just the cutest new mommy idea ever
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First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! That is so exciting and wonderful. Your goals are great–reasonable and healthy. AND you just got me to go get a glass of water (not pregnant, but I know I need it!). I don’t have any specific tips since I’ve never been pregnant, however, I would recommend checking out some good mommy blogs! There seem to be so many out there that combine nutrition + motherhood
Oh I missed the announcement. Congrats girl! That’s so exciting!!
Really enjoyed this post!
As soon as I found out I was pregnant (on Oct 28th, 09!) I vowed to walk every single day and drink a green smoothie every day… well, little did I know the all day sickness would kick my butt and I spent most of my time on the couch and eating cereal. Yummy carbs! They were the only thing that helped the nausea.
Now that i’m feeling better, I do try to get in some form of exercise most days during the week, but I will say that i’ve taken the intensity down a LOT from what I used to do. I will never push myself like I used to, EVER. Baby comes first.
Each day I always make sure that at least one meal is veggie heavy, whether it’s lunch or dinner. I eat 3 meals a day + snacks (usually at two separate times). My snacks are usually around the 100-300 range. Could be an apple, or a Larabar or something like that. I do try to drink smoothies at least 4 days per week… hey, it’s a good way to sneak in veggies!
To be honest, i’m not eating perfectly… like I said to you yesterday in an email it’s amazing how even when you think you are your healthiest self you never know how your body is going to react to pregnancy. In my opinion, do the healthy things that you know you should be doing for you and your Baby but don’t make yourself crazy over it. Stressing isn’t good either
YAY YAY YAY!!! (I promise I’ll stop with the excited exclamations soon
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Great goals! I hope the morning sickness is starting to wear off.
aw! my friend andrea ( i just wrote about her!) she is back in town because she FINALLY got preggers! I am so excited for her, she is starting her 14th week.
Your goals sound very reasonable and attainable! I would highly recommend getting in omega-3′s ( about 13 g Linoleic (omega 6) and 1.2g Linolenic (omega-3 ) for proper fetal development.
Stick with the exercise you have been doing pre-baby and enjoy!!
So happy for you!! You are going to be the healthiest mommy ever!
Thanks for the interesting post. I would like to know more on the safety activity that we can or cannot do during pregnancy…
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