Congratulations! I loved being pregnant. My favorite pregnancy book was this one, which I didn’t expect to like so much! It’s fun to get to read a little bit more each week, though.
I agree with what everyone else has said – it was kind of a letdown to not get a “real” appointment with the midwives until 12 weeks! But I figure I made up for it with the twice-weekly visits just before the baby was born.
As for “morning” sickness… it sounds (and feels) completely contrary, but if you’re feeling queasy, eat something. Something small is fine, but keeping something in your stomach will help. I only got sick twice during my pregnancy and they were both days I didn’t have my snacks around and was too tired to remedy that situation, even though I knew better!
In addition to the prenatals, it’s a good idea to take fish oil pills if you can keep them down. They’re packed with Omega-3s, and are especially good in the 3rd trimester when the baby’s brain is growing great guns. They’re also good for your brain, and can help with post-partum depression – so keep taking them after the baby arrives!
Besides the health stuff, you might want to use this time for arranging and paperwork. What does your medical insurance say about pregnacy elated stuff? What kind of maternity leave can you get? Some daycare institutions (at least in the Netherlands) ask you to enlist your baby far, far before he is born. Have you had a talk with your husband about how you are going to divide household and financial duties? Are you married? If not, there is some additional paperwork that needs sorting out…
Indeed, it is important not to work yourself up by reading too much pregnancy info, and there is plenty of that kind going around. The “What to Expect”-series, in particular, have somewhat of an alarmist reputation.
I’m 18 weeks along, today. Most of the symptoms probably won’t hit until you’re about 7 weeks. That’s when they hit me like a sledgehammer. Luckily, I went to my first doctor’s appointment at about 8 weeks and they took pity on me and gave me Zofran. I still puke every now and then, and still take a nap almost every day. Pregnancy is exhausting! And I still have that issue with the smell of sauteed chicken–it just smells off when you’re pregnant. Tastes fine, though!
Everyone else has given you some great advice. I also second the Dr. Sears book–it’s much better and less frightening than What to Expect. The only other advice I would add is don’t be afraid of cramps–you’ll get them a LOT in the next few weeks. I was always rushing to the bathroom thinking for sure that I was going to be bleeding because the cramps felt JUST like a period, but they were not.
I think every pregnant woman feels the same. And honestly, if I were in charge, I’d do an intake interview as soon as possible with a nurse, just to do the prenatal vitamin check, the “now you know you shouldn’t drink” check, hand the list of OK medicines and the ‘give us a call before you take anything not on this list,’ etc. Most educated women know this stuff, but not everyone is educated.
One of my girlfriends conceived during the “orange juice is good for pregnant woman” ad campaign (which I don’t think lasted very long, possibly for this reason). OJ is pretty high in folic acid. Its also very high in sugar, and she - overweight to begin with - was at high risk for gestational diabetes. Which she did get - very early. But telling her early in her conception “you are at high risk for developing gestational diabetes, you should watch your sugars” would have kept her from mainlining OJ.
Oh, yeah. I wish someone had told me that right at the beginning. It’s my understanding that mild to moderate cramps are pretty normal and not usually the sign of an incipient miscarriage. So try not to worry if you feel a bit twinge-y. (Someone with more expertise–please feel free to chime in!)
Well, I suppose if one was absolutely positively certain that she would abort any fetus conceived unexpectedly, then she can skip the folic acid. But she probably wouldn’t be starting a thread on a message board asking about prenatal care, either.
Oh my goodness, you’re hilarious. That is exactly how I felt. 8 weeks? Really? Maybe for those other, less important pregnancies…But yes, after a while, I was a wee sick of seeing the midwives.
Congrats on the pregnancy, Shera. I, too, loved being pregnant. I’ll echo the bit about cramping. Evidently your uterus is stretching in anticipation of housing a fetus and boy howdy, it does feel like period cramps.
Also, in each of my pregnancies, I went through a period of about 2 weeks where I didn’t feel any symptoms at all. No cramping, nothing spectacular that announced pregnancy! to me. I think this was between 8 and 10 weeks, and I have spoken to other women who went through the same *Hmmmm, I don’t know if I’m still pregnant *panic despite no overt signs of anything bad having happened. (I know one woman who repeatedly took HPTs just because she needed the reassurance). It is actually a relief to go in and hear the heartbeat with the doppler during this time.
No raw fish, either, missy! (Although as someone else has pointed out, pregnant women throughout history have done what they have to do and eaten the foods available to them, so try not to worry too much. Careful, but not hysterical, if you can).
This is so good to hear. I have also been running to the bathroom. They are the worst at night. I have been taking tylenol before I go to bed, and it helps a lot. No one ever mentioned cramps being normal to me before. I was really starting to freak out.
I am also bummed about not being aloud to eat sushi. It is one of my favorites.
You can still have California rolls, eel - anything cooked or vegetarian! “Sushi”, in this case, refers only to the raw fish being off limits, I believe.
(OB-GYN Nurse, here) On my intake assessments at the hospital, I collect a lot of information from the woman’s prenatal record that has been sent to us from the Doctor’s office. Gestation at the first prenantal visit is typically anywhere between 4 and 12 weeks.
Ahhh, first trimester - sleep, pee, sleep, pee, sleep, pee!!! And that was just while I was at work!
Another thing to add to the “do no eat” list is processed cold meats (like processed turkey, bologna, etc). They are also high-risk foods for listeria. And also make sure you are taking a proper prenatal vitamin, not a regular women’s multi, which might contain Vitamin A - apparently another no-no during pregnancy!
Thanks. Unfortunately, what I’ve really been craving is raw salmon and yellowtail. I’ll have to look for the Clausthaler. We don’t have a Trader Joe’s around here, but there are some good specialty beer shops. I’ve found that Kaliber is okay with spicy foods, but it’s just not the same.
Vitamin A up to 10,000 IU a day is safe for pregnant women and their fetuses. cite If you eat a lot of foods high in Vitamin A (primarily livers: beef, calf, chicken, lamb, etc.) AND take a multi-vitamin or prenatal, then you might be exceeding that intake, but for most of us it’s unlikely. ETA: and both prenatals and multi’s contain Vitamin A as a matter of course. In fact, I don’t know of any nutrient that’s present at *lower *doses in prenatals, they’re all equal or higher to a multi, last time I checked.
