April 30, 2010

Maternity Clothes Give Me a Headache

Prior to getting pregnant, I thought maternity wear would be fashionable and easy to find. I actually thought they would be fun to wear! Now that I’m as big as a house, or as my husband lovingly puts it a “mobile home”, I despise the selection they have out there.

When I walk into one of the few major maternity stores out there, I feel like they’re immediately taking advantage of my ‘situation’ with their lack of choice and high prices. I’m only pregnant for nine months and I’m only big for five, so why would I want to pay over $50 for a cotton maternity shirt?

Yesterday, I went on a mission to find dresses and tops. I ended up leaving the two stores I visited empty handed (why do malls only have one or two maternity stores?). Every dress and top I tried on was too snug in the belly and too big on top. I guess they assume pregnant women automatically develop large chests to match their growing bellies. OK my chest has grown but not that much. I hear the major growth happens AFTER birth. I already feel huge; do I need to feel huge and flat chested at the same time?

So to save my remaining sanity and self esteem, I visited the “regular person” stores and found a variety of cute things that I can wear now and after I give birth. I think I’ll stick with the stores I like and know from now on and save the maternity shops for bottoms only.

April 28, 2010

Weighing in on a Healthier Pregnancy

Another doctor’s appointment and another major weight gain. Great.

It feels as though my weight has a mind of its own. I gained 10 pounds in the month of March and was just told I gained 7 pounds in the month of April. Since November, I’ve gained exactly 30 pounds. I never thought I would have reached this point so soon. I still have close to three more months left. If I’m gaining weight at a speed of 10 pounds per month, does this mean I could potentially gain at least 60 pounds by the time I give birth?!?

The rule of thumb says if you were underweight or at a healthy weight prior to getting pregnant you should only aim to gain between 25 – 35 pounds. If you were overweight, you should aim to gain 10 - 15 pounds.

When I look at myself, I honestly don’t think I look a full 30 pounds heavier than when I began. But that scares me because if the weight’s not going on me, it’s going on the baby. Either way, I’m a little stressed about it. So, in the name of mine and my son’s health, I’m to go work on improving my diet. Not going on a diet but eating healthier and starting on an easy exercise program (I have yet to pursue the yoga I talked about in a previous post!).

So as someone who is healthy and was at a healthy weight prior to pregnancy, I’ve developed a plan:

• Consume only 300 more calories a day than what I would have been consuming prior to becoming pregnant. Eating for two is such a myth.
• Eat meals filled with high fiber foods, high protein and rich in calcium. I’ll also include more vegetables and fruit into my diet.
• Continue taking prenatal vitamins.
• I’m also going to recruit my husband as my personal pregnancy trainer. I may not be active but he is and has already offered to push me to go for a walk every night after dinner. I might add in some squats to my routine too. I know my legs will need to be in shape for the big “show”!

So can I stick to this plan? Only time will tell. I am just finishing off a slice of doughy, cheesy pizza as I type and it’s so good. How about I start tomorrow?

April 26, 2010

Tolerant to the Glucose Tolerance Test

Today was the day of my glucose tolerance test. What is this? It’s a screen for gestational diabetes by examining how your body breaks down sugar (or glucose). Although gestational diabetes does usually go away after the birth of the baby, women who test positive must either change their diet or take insulin shots for the remainder of their pregnancy to avoid the possibility of long term complications. Yikes!

I’ve read so many things about this test and since about week 12 I was dreading it. From what I’ve read, many people claim the drink they give you to determine your tolerance is disgusting and many more claim they were sick because they couldn’t eat or drink anything after midnight the night before.

Well, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. It really isn’t that bad.

Maybe this no eating after midnight thing happens in some places but I was told to eat my breakfast beforehand. And that orange drink they give you? It actually tasted like a slightly sweeter version of orange pop. I guess if you hate orange pop this could be a difficult test to take. In actuality, the hardest part for me was giving blood which was required an hour after consuming the beverage. Needles make me dizzy. I know, I should get used to them and other forms of pain. Labour after all isn’t exactly a walk in the park! Or so I’ve heard.

So with that test now ticked off the pregnancy to-do list, I now must wait for the results. Let’s hope I pass!

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