The Baby Post!

I haven't posted yet about this pregnancy because... I don't know why. Possibly because there is too much to post about and I've been so busy with work and Toddler Gray that I haven't had time to sort out all the posts I need to write. Like: How do people have a toddler and a newborn? In my mind, it is a black hole of insanity and I'm just not sure how it will work. Or: Preparing our toddler for a newborn (better title: how much our toddler is completely oblivious to the expectant arrival of a tiny, needy, precious, crying human).

Today I want to talk about how completely different this pregnancy is compared to my 1st and how everything doctors tell you about pregnancy diet is a complete sham.

The symptoms: with Gray I was sick with morning sickness from about 4 weeks until about ... 38 weeks, when he was born. It was really bad (though I did not throw up, I constantly felt like I would) until about 12 weeks when it got better for a few weeks, but anything constricting on my belly made me nauseous and motion sickness was at an all-time high for me (which, if you know me, is saying A LOT). I had no cravings the entire pregnancy, I had loads of aversions and most of the times meals were very planned and based on what was most healthy + I could stomach. I ate because I needed to, 3 times per day. I followed Brewer's Diet very closely to try and avoid preeclampsia and in spite of it, had high BP my entire pregnancy and ended up in kidney failure with pre-e. I gained at least a pound a week from about 6 weeks onward.

This pregnancy: I had very light, easy morning sickness from about 5-12 weeks, that peaked at 7 weeks and made me need to lie down a few times, but nothing too serious. I've had cravings from about 3.5 weeks onwards, everything from milkshakes to tater tots and lots and lots of pickles. I could eat all day. I could eat anything. I have eaten an entire pineapple upside-down cake. I eat chocolate covered pretzels for snack. I don't even really try to be super healthy, though I do eat organic and avoid food colorings and all the other things that I always do, I make no attempt to avoid sugar and I am perfectly happy covering my mashed potatoes in lots and lots of white gravy, thank you! In spite of this AWESOME diet, I have gained - not one single pound. In 18 weeks. I'm exactly the weight I was prior to getting pregnant, which is 10 pounds less than when I got pregnant with Gray. And my BP? So far - completely normal. I feel pretty great.

So my conclusion, based on my sample size of 2, is that pregnancy diets are BS. Your body reacts to pregnancy and that determines what you do or don't crave, how you feel, if you gain weight and how much (I may still get to gain quite a bit, I do have 22 weeks left!), whether or not you get preeclampsia. I think it is all determined before you ever even pee on a stick. I think that little blastocyst already has your body programmed and from that moment forward, your actions may help or hinder, but they aren't going to change the course. (Except of course for really dumb things like fetal alcohol syndrome and crack babies and that sort of thing). So I think women should be encouraged by their doctors to follow the signal of their body and maybe everything else will work itself out in the end, especially if we stop covering moms-to-be in guilt of diet and exercise (though you should totally exercise) and weight gain. Let a mother's body do what it was built to do!