Healthy Pregnancy

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR I just typed out a MASSIVE post and then the power went out and I lost everything! :wall:
So I'll see if I can remember everything.

Hi Fuzzy! My thoughts on your thoughts ;)

1. I'm still very much up in the air about the swine flu jab. I have a very long and complicated medical history of asthma (and being allergic to almost all the asthma treatments out there) bronchitis and pneumonia. Basically my lungs are seriously messed up and look like I've been smoking 4 packs a day for about 50 years despite the fact I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. So when I get sick it really knocks me and I usually end up hospitalised. Even considering my medical history I am still not conviced of the vaccine's safety. I've spoken quite in depth about it with my Ob both the vaccine and the pro's and con's considering my medical history. But he won't recommend either way. All he did say is that if I do choose to have it I should wait until after week 20.

2. I don't think there is any 'normal' or 'abnormal' as far as belly growth goes. I think it's really all dependant on the woman, her baby, and her particular body shape. I know I didn't really show until after week 22. Before that I could very easily pass as not pregnant depending on what I was wearing. But somewhere around week 22 I popped overnight. Litrally. I went to work on friday, was wearing a shirt that I'd worn before getting pregnant and all through my pregnancy. It wasn't tight or uncomfortable. Saturday I was going out shopping and was being lazy and didn't want to go get clothes off the line so went to put that same shirt on and it wouldn't fit.

3. I think there are two main reasons that you often hear not to eat shell fish. The first is that if not stored/chilled properly it can go off very quickly. And shellfish that is off is very dangerous to eat at the best of times, let alone when you are pregnant. So like Kirsten said I wouldnt' eat it unless it came from a source I could trust (in my case a friend's partner works on a fishing ship and I get all my shell fish from him). Secondly, if caught in shore there is a higher chance of shell fish (most being filter feeders) of having highish levels of mercury or other heavy metals. So if you ate it every day or even regularly there is a risk of these metal bio-accumulating in your body and reaching toxic levels. Because I LOVE shellfish this is another thing I specifically asked my ob about. He said it was okay to eat but in moderation. He said as long as I only ate one serve every fortnight or so I was safe to eat it. BUT it had to be COOKED and it had to be HOT. So no oysters on the half shell and no chilled prawns.

Kirst - Well JLeigh seems to think I'm doing enough exercise for both her and me, so maybe if I add in some vaccuuming, mopping and bathroom cleaning I can have you covered as well :rofl:

Can you post the pumpkin and coconut cake recipe? It sounds pretty yummy! (I think everything is sounding pretty yummy to me at this point in time :spit: )

JLeigh - I might have to make that soup along with the thin veggie soup on the weekend. I've been having a bit of a thing for soups at dinner lately.

Considering your only a week or so out from your EDD I think you POSSIBLY have a reason to not exercise. (although I've heard that walking regularly up until the birth can make the birth process easier, not that I know from personal experience, I think I might have read it somewhere).

Ammaki - have fun with your DSD this weekend. Taking her to the park sounds like a fantastic idea!

Dr Tal: I'm falling asleep just thinking of the vaccuuming, mopping and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........

pumpkin and coconut cake

125g butter
1 cup raw sugar ( I would use just over 1/2 cup)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups cooked mashed pumpkin
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup sultanas
1 tblsn orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest

Cream butter and sugar then add eggs one at a time.
Add pumpkin and coconut and mix well
Fold in flour
Stir n sultanas and orange juice and zest
Place in greased loaf tin
Bake on 180 deg for 1 - 1 1/4 hours

Hi Kirsten, Dr Tal. Kirsten I think I remember you from the TTC thread. Nice to see you here!

Glad to know I dont have to worry about sleeping on my back yet or about having a small belly. I am not a skinny type so maybe I am just lucky. Not going to have the flu jab either. As for shellfish, I love mussels so I may cook them once or twice. Dont like oysters or prawns so I am all good there anyway.

mmm pumpkin cake..

ok now going to read everyones posts so I get to know who is here and what everyone is up too.

x

ok I think I am getting there with catching up..Just so you all feel better about yourselves - I ate a massive plate of battered fish and chips for lunch. Now I regret it and dont feel like dinner though. he he

I think I have this 'balance' thing worked out... go to BodyBalance at the gym, then balance that out with McDonalds for dinner!

In my defence, I was very active all day cleaning tree bits out of the back yard, gardening, and moving (light) furniture for the carpets to be installed today. And lunch was a plate of vegies & a tiny little lamb rump (DH took the bigger ones) with the fat cut off. And breakfast was a very responsible bowl of porridge.

I dont think its too bad when you do it rarely either. Not at all would be ideal but hey I'm not perfect. I have to try body balance! I have been doing Body attack for ages and am still doing that once a week but it does get my heart rate up a little high I think (140 bpm) and I can no longer do all the 'high knees' running so I am hiding at the back of the class. Might give body balance a go..

If you still need a good sweaty work out, BodyVive is also good. I did it this morning :D Its low impact aerobics and uses resistance bands for a lot of it. Warning on hips work out - it's a killer! :D

I weighed myself this morning before BodyVive & have lost weight again. Not on purpose, but just because I'm exercising more. on 12th april, I was 93.5kg, then the 19th I was 93.6, and today I was 93.3. My start weight at conception was 84. I can't find my gym sheet or I could give more dates & weights. I'm quite happy as that means the baby is still growing (belly getting bigger by the hour!) but my butt (aka 'Counter weight') is getting smaller. :) Just through shaking my groove thing at the gym.

Yaaaaaaaaay I had dinner! And I had dinner yesterday too! And everything is staying where it should, I'm so happy (and feeling a little more human). Weighed myself today - I've lost 2kg since last Sun :o so suddenly am feeling quite svelte! Even managed to venture outside (yup, off the sofa!) and have a little walk (while the dogs had a play). So I'm hoping to get back into normal life & food soon. I'm determined to eat & exercise well, so still reading to keep myself motivated (ok and I'm only hallucinating a little bit about being able to eat chocolate again... :redface:). I'm finding I can only eat meals half the size of what I was, so I figure I'll try to keep eating smaller portions. Plus after nothing but toast/rice crackers, ANYTHING tastes delicious, so I'll try not to re-junk my tastebuds. Plus my mum is here, so she's helping get me yummy food. Gotta love mums!

entreat - :rofl: at your balance. Too funny.

fuzzy - great to see you in here joining the party :D

IT's so great this thread has kicked off! SO many wonderful posts girls and so many healthy pregnant mummies :D

I have a question... What food processor do you have? I don't have one and I tend to mash up what I can by hand and other stuff in the blender but I'd like to purchase a food processor with the mothers day sales on etc. I have a great blender already (I know some food processors come with one) and I'd love to buy a food procesor which also comes with a mini one for smaller stuff like dips etc. Any suggestions?

I've been pretty good with my eating, still getting lots of fruit, vegies and salads along with my protein in yogurt, oat milk and beans. I'm feeling pretty good so my goal is still to increase my exercise! Today I am making some healthy treats, not sure what they are called but they have puffed millet in them, maple syrup and other stuff so if they taste good I will post the details.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend and try to stay away from the drunken crowds :shakehead:

Hello healthy ladies

Cherished: good on you for starting such a great thread. On the food processor question, before I got my thermomix we had a Braun, it has the double thingy, like you said and I used to use both of them, small one for dips like you said, and the big one for all sorts of things. It was used heaps when DS was a baby, but now I never use it.

Belfie: Hooray for all that eating and going outside, mums are so great to have around when you're sick aren't they?

Hey fuzzy - I remember you from TTC thread, you were only in there for a few days weren't you before your BFP?

Entreat: I like your balance theory :)

AFM: man I've been tired, and I have a cold...however I am currently making ice cream - this is how I make the ice cream, just waiting for it too cool so I can put it in the freezer, just trying to decide what flavour to make. Went to see Tex Perkins as The Man in Black last night and it was great, but I am TIRED! Not used to being awake at 11pm! :D

:D Thanks Kirsten, I'm really enjoying this thread too, and I will look into a Braun.

I made my healthy treats yesterday and OMG they are great, I'm sure they will be a healthy winner for everyone and again they were so quick and easy to make. I used whatever I had in the pantry but really you can add anything and the concept is the same.

Linseed (freshly ground)
Pumpkin seeds
sunflower seeds
cup of mixed nuts

Dried fruit cut up, I used prunes and figs
couple of cups of puffed millet

Rice syrup about 50-70grams
Tahini hulled around 2-3 tablespoons

Put all dry ingredients in blender and blend to the consistency you want ( I left the seeds and nuts a little chunky). Put in a bowl and add dried fruit, millet and then rice syrup and Tahini, I used as much as I thought, you want it to be sticky so you can roll into balls that wont fall apart. To make into balls wet you hands and roll about a tablespoon of mixture into a ball. They will keep for ages in an airtight container. I put mine in the fridge. A variation I thought of which I will try next time is to use goji berries as the dried fruit and add coco to the mix than once the balls are rolled dip them in coconut YUMMMM they will be like really healthy cherry ripe kinda chocolate balls <insert drool icon>

I must come in here to confess my sins :shakehead:

I had pizza for dinner last night!!! BUT wait it gets worse....... I than had left overs for breakfast! :o

HJ: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha :clap: I love it! For breakfast!
cherished: I am loving the sound of those, yum yum

hj1981 :rofl: ok, ok, ok, I don't know if it's just me or maybe it's because pizza is dh's and I FAV meal but I happen to think it's ok even when you aren't pregnant! :D I haven't had it from the shops in aaaages but I have honestly some how made pizza OK in my mind :lol: I try not to eat too much and I will always have the left overs for morning tea or lunch the next day. I don't see how if you get a regular base pizza it's any different to eating toast every day and than a sandwhich for lunch in bread/carb consumption and most people consider that ok and I don't eat 'that' much bread daily so if I have pizza for dinner I usually have cereal for breakfast and something else which isn't bread based for lunch. Plus pizza has VEGIES and salad items on it so in your case whoooohoooo if you ate one which did too ;) as for the cheese well we are vego so any dairy (fat in cheese included) is OK in my mind too... See I told you I'd done lots of justifying of pizza over the years... hehehehe

Kirsten the treats are honestly really yummy I can't stop eating them, I've had 7 today already! I've been feeling pretty emotional today, hormones probably and i could feel myself searching for comfort food, well these ball taste like caramel with nuts and the texture is like biting into a soft squishy chocolate bar so they have done the trick beautifully!

Kirsten - what flavour ice cream did u make? i sure hope it was a healthy flavour! LOL

C1 - Your a crack up! u certainly have made eating pizza justifiable - now can u make eating the caramel kit kat i just had justifiable also? :redface:

Hi ladies,

Yes thanks for starting this thread Cherished! I especially like the fact that we are all at different stages in our pregnancies.

Kirsten - yum - homemade icecream! Might have to try that one. yer I was in the 6-12 TTC thread for ages before venturing to the 12 month but only last a couple of days before a BFP. I hope some of the other girls get their BFPs so so soon.

HJ1981- lucky for me I am not a fan of pizza.. just everything else that is bad for me!

entreat - I will look into the Bodyvive class. Yep I do like to work-out to the extent that I sweat lots and have sore muscles. Otherwise I dont really feel like I have done much. I agree its great for minimising weight gain. So far I have only added 2-3 kg which is a little scary actually. But I hardly have a tummy yet.

Belfie - glad you are up and about! Its weird with the meal sizes. I can eat lots during the day but come dinner time I have no appetite. Which isnt normal for me at all. Maybe it is a general pregnancy thing

Hi everyone else!

Back to work. yep stupid office does not recognise this as a public holiday because technically Anzac day was yesterday. tight a*^$@^ses

Fuzzy - My work place did that with one of the holidays last year (can't remember which one though) and 3/4 of the people ended up calling in sick so they decided to scrap it. THANKFULLY!

HJ - I'm with Cherished on the pizza thing. And for pretty much all of the same reasons. I especially agree that the cheese on the pizza is SUPER healthy. Lots and lots and lots of calcium (I'm not a big fan of milK) and lots of other healthy vitamins and minerals. Only I'm worse as far as eating it. I always make sure that "oops I ordered too much" so that I can have it for dinner, then breakfast, lunch AND dinner the next day. I can't wait until I can have it cold for breakfast again. Cold pizza is THE BEST (insert drool icon like Cherished's one here)

As for the kitkat....when did that start making carmel ones??!!! I LOVE carmel. It's so my downfall to healthyness :shakehead: as for a kitkat being healthy. Chocolate makes your body release endorphins which make you happy. And if you are in a particularly hormonal and mood-swingy (that's a technical term) mood it would make you (and most likely your DH) feel better :D

Cherished - Those treats of yours do sound pretty yummy. They may have to be my cooking project next weekend!

And I'm on the SO SO SO GLAD that you started this thread bandwagon as well :leap: you're THE BEST!!! :horray:

Kirsten - Made your cake recipe over the weekend. It was super yummy. It was SIL's b-day. (Oh the joy of it, I can hardly contain my excitement). DH and I were told that we were taking everyone (as in us, MIL, SIL and nephew) out to tea and pay for it all, becasue since we both have jobs apparently we're made of money :o We were also told that we had to buy the cake. So it was going to be a cold day in h#$L before we spend that much on the money grubbing so and so. SO it was dinner a la Chez Dr. Tal. Of course that earned us many foul looks at got us dubbed cheap skates, but do I really care?? ummmmm No. So I made the pumpkin and coconut cake for her birthday cake and decorated it with a lot fat philly cheese icing. I even made the icing coloured and got out all my fany tips and decorated it with flowers and whatnot. Took me ages. Aparently it was 'horrible' but that didn't stop them from each having seconds and then taking the left overs home with them. So I'll have to make one for DH and I next week.

Belfie - WOOHOO on you eating! I certainly hope that you continue to improve and feel better!

Entreat - :rofl: about your body balance. I LOVE it.

AFM - like I said earlier I cooked for SIL's birthday. I certainly hope that some day soon DH decides that he's okay about breaking ties with them becasue I don't know how much more of their selfishness I can put up with :wall:

It rained Saturday morning just as I was about to start mowing the lawn. So I went and did a whole bunch of shopping and cooking instead. Spent WAY too much money :redface: But most of the cookin g was healthy recipes from here :dance: On Sunday I mowed the lawn, did some painting and cleaned my fish tanks and bird cages. Then today I did a whole heap of gardening, washing, housework (vaccuuming and mopping and dusting) and then almost finished paiting the baby's room.

Hope the rest of you all had a good weekend!

Oh Dr Tal: I've missed the hilariously told stories about your DH's family. I can't believe they are still at it!!! It sucks that you have to deal with them but the stories sure do make me laugh in the way you tell them. They should feel privileged to be baked such a delicious cake rather than a nasty dry bought one. DId they really say it was horrible??????? Freakin' rude!

I think you did do enough exercise to cover me, but I went for a nice big walk this afternoon...

Fuzzy: I can't believe you had to work on a public holiday! That is tight!

Cherished: I will have to make them tomorrow...mmmmmm they sound delicious.

HJ: I made lovely vanilla, I could decide what else to put in so just left it as vanilla, it's VERY nice.