I’m Pregnant! This baby was a bit of a surprise baby and has yet to stop surprising his or her mom and dad.
Quick recap… I pretty much hate food. And as a bit of a foodie, this has been almost life changing. I have no apatite, can only name about 5 things that I eat on a regular basis without throwing up/getting heartburn/ having indigestion, you get the picture. This pregnancy has sent me to the hospital a few times for dehydration and malnutrition and my lower back feels like it is on fire. All of this joy has actually resulted in me losing weight rather than gaining but don’t be fooled, I look like I’ve been eating a few to many burgers and this belly of mine is quite firm! I’m currently waiting for the whole “butterflies and rainbows” feelings to kick in over being pregnant but my expectations are officially low. I keep hearing from people that I should be feeling this baby move now any day, but I just cant wrap my mind around this happening. I feel like I’ll just mistake movement for the precursor to a bowel movement…. sorry baby 
My husband and I are over the moon with the fact that we get our own little, teeny, tiny human come June. We have so many plans to smother this baby in kisses, love and joy and are very aware of the fact that in 16 years we will have a live in hater on our hands. These last 6 months have smacked us in the face with the reality that our plans almost always fail us and we are learning to surrender to this thing called life!
All in all, I expect this baby to continue being the little firecracker he or she is and I can’t wait to meet this little world changer.
Now, with saying all of that… I wanted to write to all of you and tell you of a few of my secrets.
In the last 16ish weeks, I have learned a few tips and tricks that I whole heartedly believe will be your best friend if you happen to be pregnant (with nausea, vomiting, etc.), suffering through the flu, or having gall=bladder attacks. Now, I will warn you that this list isn’t the healthiest (non-organic and full of chemicals) way of doing life, but my doctor and I figured this out together and are convinced it will keep me out of the hospital and enjoying life on some level.
Shakeology – This stuff is like magic! It’s slightly expensive magic, but has literally changed my health. The first time I went into the hospital during this pregnancy I was dehydrated AND malnourished. The last time I went into the hospital I was ONLY dehydrated. The only difference I had made to my life (which at that time consisted of throwing up daily and not being able to eat anything), was drinking half of one of these shakes a day. I didn’t do anything fancy to them, just put the powder in the blender with some milk. When I tell you that half of a shake gave me and my baby every bit of nutrient (other than water) that we needed for that day, I mean it. I am now receiving these shakes every month in the mail and that won’t be changing. My husband (the one who brings in the $) and I are convinced that these shakes changed my and our babies health and I promise you they are worth EVERY pretty penny.
Gatorade – When my husband realized how sneaky I was being with Gatorade, I think he got a bit concerned. You see, when I was home in Michigan over Christmas and the New Year, I could tell I was getting dehydrated. Even though I am throwing up less (Praise the sweet, sweet Lord JESUS), food and water still are not appealing to me and they definitely do not feel good inside of me. The result is my husband tricking me into eating and drinking by offering me back-rubs, control of Netflix at night and other totally old people married things in exchange of me eating small portions of food and drinking water. So back to Michigan, one day I could tell where things were leading based on my severely dry mouth and cracking lips and I asked my kind and selfless husband to go get me some Gatorade. He did and I am eternally grateful. I’m not to sure why I didn’t think of this sooner, but between the sugar and electrolytes, I can tell that a Gatorade a day is seriously keeping the IV’s away.
Peppermint Tums – Remember how I said food and water doesn’t feel good inside of me… well Peppermint Tums sprinkle fairy dust on my intestines and make everything feel good not bad! And that’s why I got the giant container of them. Enough said, right?!
Gummy Prenatal Vitamins – My doctor isn’t concerned about prenatal vitamins for me. She says that hundreds of years ago women had babies without vitamins but with about 100 more diseases around them. Pretty much, if they could do it, so can I! But then about 10 people a week ask me if I’m taking prenatal vitamins and it kind of freaks me out when I tell them no and they look at me with that same exact look that they all give me. You know, the one that says “awwwww, you’re already a bad mom before you’re even a mom”. It’s not good. So I figured out that if AFTER drinking my Shakeology, I take these gummy vitamins I can keep them down. And them I experience this thing called sanity. It’s really nice.
Pretty much, I am now getting my essentials covered. Do I cook? Nope, food is gross. Am I enjoying eating dinner? Nope, like I said, food is gross! Do I feel like myself? Heck no! In fact, I expect to never feel like myself again… this baby is a firecracker and I am expecting to deliver him or her uber late on July 3rd, Why you ask? Because July 4th would just be way to good, but July 3rd is just enough to steel away from all of his or her family members the ability to celebrate this country’s birthday. Instead my child will probably grow up thinking that all of America celebrates his or her birthday with fireworks every year.
Clearly this baby is a firecracker because his or her momma is one too, my husband pointed that out this morning but we will just ignore him for saying such utter ridiculous things!
Now, if you look at this list of things and think to yourself, “wow that’s a lot chemical ridden and processed junk to be putting into a body everyday”, well you you are probably right. But I don’t care right now. But since you do, here are some ideas of how to do the same thing I am, but in a more natural way.
- Get the vegan Shakeology and use it with almond or coconut milk.
- Instead of drinking Gatorade, drink coconut water. Beware though that when pregnancy drinking thick things may be the worst idea in the world.
- Rather than eating tums, use magnesium flakes in your bath water, mix it with water and rub in on your skin like lotion or mix it with water and drink it. Again, I don’t recommend this is water is difficult to drink or you are experiencing dry skin. But hey, give it a try!
- Just don’t take prenatal vitamins… maybe you are way stronger than I am feeling mentally right now and I’ll tell you, GOOD FOR YOU! Rock that confidence!
If you are pregnant and going through a rough patch, I am seriously so sorry. This has been very hard on me emotionally at times, and I will definitely be sharing that soon in hopes of encouraging someone the way someone encouraged me about 5 weeks ago. I completely underestimated the changes that take place during pregnancy, not just physically but emotionally, mentally and spiritually and if you are currently in the fire, I promise it gets better. No matter how hard today may be, remember that you are one of the lucky people who get to bring a life into this world even if your day doesn’t seem very joyful or lucky.
My 16 Week Baby Bump
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** I am now such a believer in Shakeology, that I am signed up under the company Beachbody to sell it. From a nutritional point of view, I cannot tell you enough about Shakeology, but if you have any questions, feel free to contact me or leave them below in the comments and I will be happy to chat with you about this wonderful and healthy product.**
THE KITCHEN REVOLUTION 