Welcome to my pregnancy update, Groundhog Day edition. Do any of my astute readers notice anything eerily similar this week to last’s weeks update? Anyone?
That’s right. I’m 31 weeks pregnant this week. Last week, I was not 31 weeks pregnant. The week before that I was not 30 weeks pregnant. Somehow I just plain skipped week 29.
I never would have known, but I actually looked at my weekly update from Baby Center this week. It said, “Congratulations! You are 31 weeks pregnant!” My first thought was, Uh, no. I’m not. I’m 32 weeks pregnant thankyouverymuch! Then, I whipped out my calendar and counted down to my December 22nd due date and sure enough, I am 31 weeks pregnant. Darn.
I think there really is something to this “pregnancy brain” concept because mine isn’t working properly. Did anyone notice this slip up? You should have called me out if you did!
Mooooving on….
How I’m Feeling
Besides really foolish, I’m feeling well. I’m slowly slipping into the sleep deprived category, though. Getting comfortable is more and more difficult, leaving me tossing and turning in the middle of the night. I can’t even take a good nap anymore and I am generally a top-rate napper, able to sleep in most situations. It’s so ironic how the last weeks of pregnancy prohibit the pregnant woman from sleeping well when that’s when she needs it the most!
What’s Going on with my Body
Every week I think, “my belly really can’t get much bigger”. And then, it does! I just wish the rest of my body would stop getting bigger, too, but it continues to grow right along with my belly.
Including my fingers. My engagement ring now has a permanent home in my jewelry box. I am still wearing my wedding band as it has more wiggle room, but I’m not sure how long that will last.
Exercising is getting more difficult, but I know I need to keep it a priority. This hasn’t been my best week, but I am determined to do better next week. I know I need to keep in shape if I want to follow my birth plan. I want to thank everyone who took the time to comment on that post, by the way. I was so overwhelmed and appreciative of all of your advice, stories, and encouraging words. I can’t tell you what a help it’s been.
Prenatal Nutrition
A reader emailed me asking about what type of prenatal vitamins I take, so I thought I’d share with everyone. At my first doctor’s visit, I was given a sample of prenatal vitamins. I had already been taking my own since before conception, but thought I’d use the sample up, too. You can’t beat free, right?
Then I checked out ingredient list (it’s such a habit!) and noticed it had red 40 and blue 1. I was floored. Really? Artificial food dyes in prenatal vitamins?! Do I really want to expose my baby to that on a daily basis while he is developing in my womb? Obviously not.
Those were promptly thrown away and I continued to take the prenatal vitamins that I buy at the health food store. The most important thing for me is to have a vitamin that is derived from whole food rather than synthetic vitamins.
I don’t want to get into it too much here, but vitamins derived from whole food compounds have all of their necessary components (rather than isolated portions as in chemically-derived synthetics) and our bodies can absorb them better. So when you are looking for any type of vitamin, prenatal or otherwise, look for those that come from whole foods. Secondly, I didn’t want any kind of additives, like food dyes! Duh.
The kind I use is New Chapter Organics Perfect Prenatal
. I just discovered they are quite a bit cheaper on Amazon than I’ve been paying. Yikes! {Full disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, so if you click over to Amazon and decide to buy these vitamins, I will earn a penny or two. ;-)}
I also take a fish oil supplement for the DHA, which is essential for the developing brain of a baby. I just don’t eat nearly enough fish to get the amount I need while pregnant. For this, I take Garden of Life Oceans Mom Prenatal Dha
. (Also cheaper on Amazon. Why didn’t I know this before?)
There you have it. My real 31 week pregnant update. Next week, hopefully my brain will be in tact and you’ll get the 32 week update. Enjoy your weekend!
Great, i like the info you share about prenatal supplements
Maryea, you look positively radiant.
Your blog is such a joy to read -i hope to become pregnant within the next 6-8 months, and after reading your comment above about artificial food dyes in prenatals, it just hit home – ive been taking materna for 2 yrs without questioning the ingredients, as i always thought ‘doctor knows best’ – thank you for this blog post. i plan on looking into the natural versions now 🙂
I hope to one day be a mother similar as yourself, to have my children grow up on healthy and whole foods and not to provide them nourishment through mcdonalds and processed garbage, as i too- was raised. I love the food that you provide for your daughter, it really shows that children develop healthy habits at such an early age. The pictures of her drinking her smoothies are just to cute.
Have a fantastic day 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment. You made my day! 🙂 I wish you the best of luck on your journey trying to conceive. It sounds like you are going to be a wonderful mother. 🙂
With my first pregnancy I totally didn’t even think to check the ingredients of my prenatal vitamins! If they say prenatal they must be alright, right? Unfortunately not so much. Ever since switching to a organic, whole foods diet I had to change my vitamins too! I take the Garden of Life vitamin code RAW prenatal. I got pretty much got them 2 for the price of 1 on vitacost.com compared to my local health food store! I should really take the DHA vitamins too….I just can’t stomach the liquid Cod Liver Oil right now.
You look amazing by the way! I am almost 29 weeks and I feel great except that breathing is getting harder with the baby pushing up on my lungs!
Yes! My husband says I sound like Darth Vader when I’m sleeping. 🙂
Lana,
I’m not pregnant and am NOT a fan of fish in any way shape or form, not do I want to burp up those flavors!, but for DHA, I take a vegetarian DHA by Spectrum Essentials. It’s expensive, but a nice alternative, and algae sourced…which is where fish get it from in the first place! I buy mine from Whole Foods but it looks like there are some alternative places to shop for it… Happy Pregnancy to you! 😉
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=vegetarian+dha+supplement&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=6079174115471531576&sa=X&ei=546nTuypJuTQiAL0rqTBDQ&ved=0CHUQ8wIwAQ
You say you have pregnancy brain, so I’m wondering what my excuse is. I am most definitely not pregnant.
You look great!
you may feel big but you look great, all belly to me! and still glowing, despite the one week set back. haha. Hope you get some fresh air and exercise this weekend.
xxoo
food dyes in prenatals!?! geezeee. i’m glad you checked out the list and made the switch! i’m so cautious about vitamins and always check the label and manufacturer… you never know whats in there, and i only trust very few!
Can you believe I never would have thought to check an ingredient list on a vitamin….. You are glowing and I saw Christmas decorations in stores- it’s getting closer! 🙂
hahaha, and I was thinking last time “wow, time really is flying, already week 31?” 😀
You have changed quite a lot, I think, though not in a bad way!
I also switched to a healthier version of prenatal vitamins after noticing the dyes. I have a question, Maryea. Do you give Meghan vitamins as well? I give my son vitamin D drops, but no other supplements and his diet is great.
I do give Meghan vitamins. We didn’t start until she started getting more selective in the foods she ate and I wanted to make sure to fill in any nutritional gaps she might be creating by not eating a wide variety of foods. I can’t remember exactly how old she was when we started–maybe 2 1/2? The brand and kind is Nature’s Plus Source of Life Animal Parade Gold.
I didn’t notice the repeat (I blame it on my own pregnancy brain)!
I agree with you on the vitamins. It’s shocking what’s in so many prenatal vitamin brands. I get mine at the Vitamin Shoppe (and am sure to check labels), but I’m thinking Amazon would be a better idea. Anything to save money-those things get expensive!
It’s so crazy how much junk goes into vitamins. People think because they are taking a multivitamin that they are doing something good for their body. But so many of them have artificial coloring and sugars. I think the ones I take are Rainbow brand – pretty sure, but not positive.
You look great Maryea! But just looking at these pictures makes me feel uncomfortable because I remember that feeling so well – no matter HOW you sit or lay down, you just never feel comfy.haha 🙂 Hang in there
I take Vitafusion Gummy Prenatals (umm, you know, to be prepared), do you think those are okay?
I didn’t know anything about this brand so I just looked it up. From looking at the ingredients list, I probably wouldn’t choose this kind. There’s no iron (strange for a prenatal) and there are a lot of added sugars. Also, it says “colors” on the ingredient list. Not sure what that means–artificial or natural?? Or are the colors all from the juices? Not sure. I didn’t see anything on the label indicating that the vitamins are derived from whole foods, so I assume they are synthetic. I’ll bet they taste yummy though. 😉 Sometimes prenatals are tough to handle when you are experiencing morning sickness. I hope your preparation comes in handy soon!!