7 Stages of Postpartum Weight Loss

Did I mention that I'm preparing to TTC again?  Well, preparing I mean getting my body back into a shape just so I can wreck it again.

If there is a next pregnancy. 

*knock on wood*

*meditate to Buddha*

*do a rain dance*

Now that we're 6 months postpartum, like many new moms, I'm shifting gears towards health and weight loss.  Though I might not be mentally ready for another wee one, if my previous experience with a biological clock has taught me anything, that ticking starts quickly and gets unbearably loud faster than I can get my body ready for it.

I'm going to do this in stages.

Stage 1
Implement the least difficult changes. Like dieting but not really dieting it at all.
Get physically active at least once every other day.
Lament over how slowly the weight is coming off.

Stage 2
Backslide and reason that I'm not going to try to have another baby for at least a year and a half.

Stage 3
Panic that it's about to be swimsuit season and TTC weight loss be damned, it's now about the fear of looking like a hippo in the pool.
Implement dramatic unsustainable changes like raw foodism and juice fasting.

Stage 4
Realize that I'm not really going to drop all the weight in time for summer. 
Repeat Stage 1.

Stage 5
Incorporate more difficult diet changes like cutting out junk food.
Incorporate more physical activity in the form of more frequency or difficulty.
Pick up an athletic goal like a 5k.
Be happy that weight is coming off regardless of how slowly.

Stage 6
Achieve ideal weight through healthy eating habits and regular exercise.
Bask in the warmth of success.

Stage 7
Get pregnant again and eat all the things.

That's about right.

Gestational Diabetes: The 1 Hour Glucose Test

Before we left for the babymoon, I went had my 1 hour glucose test.  Since I live within walking distance of my OB's office and lab, she allowed me to take the glucose drink home and then come in to have my blood drawn an hour later.

So at 8am I took the drink out of the fridge and drank it in minutes.  It tasted like over-sugared orange Kool-Aid.  45 minutes later, DH and I drove to the lab and waited until the hour mark and I had my blood drawn, with a baby's needle because that's how I roll.

After my blood draw, I went to my monthly OB appointment and while the Doctor was performing the ultrasound, I started getting dizzy.  My skin broke out into a cold sweat and I almost blacked out. 10 minutes later I had recovered but for the rest of the day, I was tired and weak.

What a great way to start the babymoon!  As I was headed into get my Mommy To Be massage, I received a message from my OB's office asking for a call back.  They knew I was babymooning and just asked that I call back on Monday.  Of course, I was sure I had failed the 1 hour glucose test. This was confirmed this morning when I checked my test results on my medical records website. My results were 191 while the normal range is 70-130.  That's a huge failure.

And while I'm wallowing in this pity party, feeling like I've failed my Little One before he's even arrived, I've decided to educate myself and come up with an action plan.

What happens after failing the 1 hour glucose test?

In my case, I'll need to go to take the 3 hour test at the lab.  They'll draw my blood for a starting point, I'll drink and even more heavily sugared glucose drink and have my blood drawn every hour for 3 hours.  Based on those results, they'll diagnose whether or not I have Gestational Diabetes.

In some cases, however, if the results to the 1 hour are high enough, depending on the medical group's policy, they may just immediately move to prescribing a diet, monitoring regiment or medication to control the diabetes.

What is Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational Diabetes occurs in 18% of pregnancies.  The placenta produces hormones that inhibit the production or effectiveness of the mother's insulin resulting in high blood sugar that is absorbed by the baby. This doesn't really effect the baby until the last trimester when the baby is fully formed.  The excess sugars end up being being stored by the baby as fat.

Though having a fat little baby doesn't sound bad, it can be damaging from birth into the baby's entire life. For instance:

-Large babies can need to be induced early and/or require birth by c-section.
-In the cases of natural birth, large babies can have shoulder damage because they are too large for the birth canal.
-Newborns of mothers with Gestational Diabetes can have low blood sugar as their pancreas produces insulin to deal with the excess sugars. They may also have breathing problems.
-Babies with excess insulin may become obese adults or develop Type 2 Diabetes.


What are risk factors for Gestational Diabetes?

According to the Mayo Clinic:

• Age greater than 25. Women older than age 25 are more likely to develop gestational diabetes.
• Family or personal health history. Your risk of developing gestational diabetes increases if you have prediabetes — slightly elevated blood sugar that may be a precursor to type 2 diabetes — or if a close family member, such as a parent or sibling, has type 2 diabetes. You're also more likely to develop gestational diabetes if you had it during a previous pregnancy, if you delivered a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds (4.1 kilograms), or if you had an unexplained stillbirth.
• Excess weight. You're more likely to develop gestational diabetes if you're significantly overweight with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher.
• Nonwhite race. For reasons that aren't clear, women who are black, Hispanic, American Indian or Asian are more likely to develop gestational diabetes.

How is Gestational Diabetes treated?

 In most cases, a change in diet and increase in exercise is enough to control blood sugar levels so that it doesn't become a problem.  In more severe cases, oral medications and even injections may be necessary to address the problem.

What am I going to do?

This week, I'll be switching over to a Gestational Diabetes meal plan and increasing my daily exercise from a few times a week to 30-40 minutes daily.

Here's a sample meal plan:

Breakfast

• Two slices whole grain toast
• Two tablespoons of peanut butter
• Half a cup of 100% juice

Mid-Morning Snack

• One apple
• One cup cottage cheese

Lunch

• One cup of lentil soup (or other bean soup)
• One serving of whole grain crackers
• Two ounces of low fat cheese
• One cup baby carrots

Mid-Afternoon Snack

• 20 raw almonds
• One cup grapes

Dinner

• Six ounces of fish of choice
• One cup steamed broccoli
• One cup brown rice
• One cup reduced-fat milk

More more meal plans you can visit Love to Know Diets and Gestational Diabetes at About.com.

Update: I passed my 3 hour glucose test with no signs of Gestational Diabetes!  Hurrah!

Nausea, Morning Sickness, Vomiting

Nausea is that terrible feeling in your stomach when you're pregnant letting you know that everything is ok with your little bean.

Morning Sickness is a misnomer since it's more like All-Day Sickness or After-and-Between-Every-Meal Sickness, a friendly reminder that your body is changing into an incubator.

And vomiting, well that's baby's way of letting you know that he/she doesn't want you eating that. Or the other thing.  Or whatever else you're thinking about putting in your craw.

I have been battling these three symptoms for what feels like two months.  I've lost 10 lbs and gone through almost every natural remedy and here are my reviews of commonly suggested natural nausea cures.

Preggie Pop Lollipops and Drops. I opted for the Preggie Pop Drops because walking around with a lollipop sticking out of my mouth just wasn't going to communicate the level of professionalism needed in my workplace. The Preggie Pop Drops worked more often than not but I quickly got bored with the flavors.  It tastes a lot like an extra sour apple jolly rancher which is not very pleasant in your mouth for over a few hours a day.

I've read that people ate other sour candies like War Heads, Jolly Ranchers, Sour Jelly Bellies, etc.  I tried all of these and stand by the fact that Preggie Pops are superior for 2 reasons. One, the sour and sweet combination stay constant in the Preggie Pops which is actually what staves away the nausea when they work.  Warheads are only sour up front (and the extreme level of acid in the beginning does more harm than good.)  Jolly Ranchers simply aren't sour enough.  The same with Sour Jelly Bellies. Two, Preggie Pop Drops melt in your mouth much slower than any other candy out there which reduces the amount of sugar intake while attempting to keep nausea at bay.

I bought one of the organic boxes ($7.99 for 12 drops at my local Babies R Us) and then just bought 2 packages of the non organic ($7.99 for 21 drops).  When they ran out, I didn't buy more.

Lemonade. This seemed to be the only beverage that took the edge of the nausea while I was eating.  It didn't work all the time but when it did, I was grateful.  I hosted a Cricut Party during my first trimester and made a couple of gallons of Country Time Lemonade from a mix and added fresh lemons.  It kept my nausea at bay for hours.  My only issue is that a large intake of lemonade everyday is not great for tooth enamel. And I would cross a fine line where the acid from the lemons just became too much.

Lemonade is not pleasant to throw up.

Ginger Tea. Instead of using ginger tea bags, DH would just slice fresh ginger and steep in hot water for me.  This worked a total of two times and had to be at the perfect temperature.  Too hot and I couldn't drink it fast enough to make a difference.  Too cold and it upset my stomach more than helped.

Sea-Band. I'm not sure how these work at all for other women but all they did for me is irritate my wrists. I understand the concept is pressure points but they just didn't work for me and I'm a big believer in acupuncture and acupressure.


Vitamin B-6. I've read over and over again the Vitamin B6 or the combination of Vitamin B6 and Unisom can beat morning sickness.  Well, I'm not about to start taking Unisom (trying to stay all natural) so I opted to try just the Vitamin B6.  It is somewhat effective taking the edge off the nausea but not getting rid of it entirely.  I am continuing to use the B6, however, because it's supposed to work better over time.

Ice Chips. This has been my savior.  I read about it on my friend's blog and had DH immediately break me off some ice chips.  I ate 3 bowls of them keeping me both hydrated and virtually nausea free.  The combination of constantly having something in my mouth, a slow drip of water into my system and not adding any unwanted flavors or calories to my body seems to do the trick. A must try.

Ginger Mints. These work a lot like Preggie Pops for me except depending on the day the flavor may or may not be pleasant.  They are much cheaper than Preggie Pops and less of a tip off that you're expecting.  I prefer Trader Joe's brand in the tin but couldn't find the picture so you can see Newman's Own in the picture.

What worked for your nausea and morning sickness?
 

What to Eat While TTC and Gluten Free

Supplements and vitamins aside, there's a general consensus about what someone should eat while trying to get pregnant.  It's pretty much the same thing a woman should eat while pregnant. (And not the Britney Spears kind of pregnancy diet of 7 Eleven food.)

But a gluten free TTC diet, this is a new revelation in fertility foods. (For more information, go here.)

Going gluten free isn't actually difficult, it's just not convenient.  Saying goodbye to all the typical junk food, quick eats and restaurant meals means that almost every meal has to be planned.  Seriously? Yes. Seriously. But there's a bright side: Built-in crap filter.

For instance, there's cake in the breakroom at work?  No cake for the G-Free gal.  At least, not any cake that doesn't come from a gluten free bakery or is made at home. Pizza, Cheetos and dip at a party?  Oh no, not without personally making it or seeing the packaging to read the ingredients. Quick bite at a restaurant? Not unless a call is made ahead to make sure they have G-Free options.  If they don't even understand the word gluten, their establishment is not an option.

Yes, I have become one of "those" people.  Correction, DH and I have become two of "those" people.  Yes, TTC diets are not just for the woman.  Gluten issues in men can also cause infertility.

Once fully resigned to the idea that it's just simpler and more delicious to eat at home, it gets pretty simple. Then the only real problem is the time it takes to cook every meal and snack.  Oh, did I forget to mention snacks?

Apparently my method of going for 5-6 hours without a meal was a problem too.  A TTC body needs to be fueled like an athlete's: once every couple of hours to prevent the body from using it's resources for anything other than reproductive functions.  Or in the case of athletes, actual muscle building.

Here's a guideline:

Gluten Free TTC Meal Guidelines
Breakfast: Protein, a cup of fruit and a serving of vegetables.
Snack: A handful of nuts or an egg with fruit.
Lunch: Lean protein with a gluten free carb and 2 servings of vegetables.
Snack: 2 servings of fruit.
Dinner: Lean protein with 3 servings of vegetables.
8 glasses of water per day.

What's your TTC diet?

New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Vitamin

DH almost spit out his drink when I told him I bought $80 prenatals. 

To my credit, I had to have the prenatals immediately and I was already at Sprouts Farmer’s Market stocking up on gluten-free food and it happened to be on sale for $60 and then the nice Sprouts lady gave me an additional coupon for $6 off!  That’s cheaper than Amazon! I’m practically spaving!

What’s the big deal about these vitamins?  

Well first, they can be taken on an empty stomach.  This, to me, is huge.  With my old Nature’s Way or whatever they sell at Target, if my breakfast wasn’t big enough I would get nauseous. Which isn’t too bad except during my Two Week Wait I would think it was possibly morning sickness.  But it never was because it was actually just a prenatal vitamin that was too rough on my system.

Second, it’s derived from whole food! Ok, so my fertility specialist is a little… granola. She personally endorses this vitamin because her concern is with chemically derived vitamins and cheap fillers.  The whole food thing also helps with the whole easy-on-the-stomach bit mentioned above.

Third, it contains probiotics support which helps prevent yeasty issues during hormone fluctuation.  

Lastly, the recommended dose is 3 pills spread throughout the day.  This is specifically so that our bodies can absorb all the nutrients better than taking all of them at once in a mega pill and then peeing out yellow vitamins because our bodies weren’t able to process them all. 

Would you spend 80 on a two month supply of vitamins?

Gluten and Fertility

After my first consult with my fertility specialist (previously mentioned DoC/Acupuncturist), she confirmed something that I had read over the previous few days: Gluten can be a cause of infertility and miscarriages.

Now, I’m not saying that no one who eats gluten can have a baby.  Of course they can!  

Quick Side Rant: It never ceases to amaze me how when you tell people what you are or are not doing in order to try to have a baby someone always says some asinine thing like “Our parents generation drank and smoke even while pregnant and look at us.” Or “People in Asia eat soy everyday and they don’t have problems reproducing.” As though some minority or majority being able to do something and still have a healthy baby should be an example to ME that I can do those things. 

Guess what?  Crackheads have babies!  That doesn’t mean it’s ok to be on drugs while TTC/pregnant. I digress. 

I am saying, however, that studies show about 10% of the population has some form of gluten sensitivity and it’s estimated that over 90% of those cases go undiagnosed. Sometimes diagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or the gluten sensitivity is too small to fall under the Celiac’s Disease or Gluten Allergy that it’s dismissed.

Is it possible that this is the infertility culprit for many women?  I don’t know.

Gluten is known to cause inflammation and inhospitable mucus in a regular body.  In a gluten sensitive body it can cause eczema, irritable bowels and digestive problems. In some studies, it’s been linked to pelvic inflammatory disorders (PID) and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). In bodies with Celiac’s it can cause    “delayed menarche, secondary amenorrhea, a higher percentage of spontaneous abortions, anemia and hypoalbuminemia.” (Gluten Free Society.)

In my case, I was diagnosed with a mild form of IBS two years ago and had no idea that the cause could have been gluten sensitivity.  

I’m going Gluten Free in hopes that it helps my fertility.  Would you?

Healthy Things I Can’t Eat Because I’m An Incubator

Picking what to eat has been a challenge the past few days.  You see, in addition to the world of Chinese Do-Nots, there is a list of Western medicine Do-Not-Eats.  Most of them make sense, mainly to avoid any risk of food poisoning, but others just make me sad.

Like Sprouts. The doctors don’t recommend eating sprouts because it can be chock full of salmonella from whatever water they’ve been sitting in.  You don’t really cook sprouts so you can’t boiled the hell out of them to make them safe.

Or Raw Fish and Shellfish. I love sushi. I love smoked salmon. I love raw oysters.  *tears* Generally sashimi is a pretty healthy source of lean protein. Not for preggos.  Le sigh.

Raw anything for that matter.  This includes rare meats.  No delicious prime rib (not fully cooked enough if done properly, tastes awful if cooked well done), no medium rare burgers, no beef carpaccio, no seared lamb chops.  I might as well give up fine dining for the next 9 months. I don’t like any of my red meat fully cooked but I can’t have it if it’s not.

No Deli Meats that are not heated until steaming.  There is a risk of listeria which causes miscarriages. Goodbye cold sandwiches.

No Unpasteurized Cheeses. I love cheese.  Brie and blue and all the raw cheeses are my favorites.  I can’t have them.  For now I’m relegated to Dubliner and Manchego and the world of hard cheeses. Ok, so this might not be healthy per se but I’m going to lament it anyway.

Unpasturized Juices.  This is a recent finding that surprised me.  I had a Jamba Juice Mega Mango the other day so I could boost my fruit and hydration intake on a particularly nauseous day.  Apparently, that’s a no-no. The juices are fresh squeezed which also carry a risk of bacteria. Blarg.

This doesn’t make that much sense to me since I should be eating raw fruit. What does it matter if it’s in all fruit smoothie form if I can stomach it better than eating the whole pieces?  I think I’m going to ignore this.

Uncooked Eggs. No hollandaise on my eggs benedict, or poached eggs for that matter.  My favorite is over easy.  I like runny yolks. It’s all cooked from here until September I guess.

I love being pregnant but finding things I actually want and am allowed to eat is proving difficult. That’s probably why I haven’t gained any weight.

Chinese Pregnancy Don’ts: Part 1

I’m actually a pretty traditional Chinese gal despite marrying an Irish/Ukranian/random European race American.  We did our engagement and wedding by the book with a few Western flourishes.  This pregnancy has opened up a world of Do Nots for me that pop up every few days from my mother.

Here’s a quick list:

1. Do not buy anything for the baby until it is born. No furniture, strollers, clothing, toys, etc. According to Chinese superstitions, having baby items without a baby in the house is really bad luck.

This was pretty shocking to J’s mom because she didn’t understand how we were going to get a nursery ready if we weren’t allowed to buy anything. We’re going to prep the nursery by replacing the carpet and just furnishing the non baby related items.  Then we’re going to make a list on Amazon and when I go into labor, J is going to order everything via Amazon Prime. It’ll be on our doorstep in 2 days.

2. Do not eat or drink out of dishes, bowls or cups that are damaged.  The same goes for uneven utensils like chopsticks and forks.  I was explained that it might damage the baby energy wise.  Like result in one leg being longer than the other or general disabilities. I don’t mind this one, I don’t like using damaged items anyway.

3. Do not hammer, drill, nail, etc. There’s some fuzziness here in that some Chinese believe there should be none of this done in the house.  There are numerous stories out there about women who miscarried after having work done on their home, from plumbing work to general repairs. 

Others believe that it’s fine as long as the pregnant woman is not in the house.  Others believe that as long as the pregnant woman is not doing the work, it should be fine.

4. Do not reach up high for things or strain in general. I’m not sure what this one is about aside from the fact that when reaching or straining a pregnant woman might pull a muscle or something.

5. Do not get on or under a ladder.  This is supposed to be bad luck but I think it has more to do with the fact that pregnant women tend to get dizzy or light headed which might result in falling off a ladder.

6. Do not wear anything that wraps around the neck, such as scarves or chokers. This is the most message from my mom.  I’m not sure why since I love scarves during cold weather but I’m going to venture to guess that it just reduces the risk of something get caught and choking the future mommy which would then deprive the fetus of oxygen.

7. Do not eat Balut or spicy things.  The Balut is supposed to be bad because it translate in some languages to “Nothing” or “Wrong Egg” and spicy things are supposed to be bad because they heat up the womb.  

This got me curious, so I started looking online for other Chinese Superstitions. I’ll post more as they develop.

Pregnancy and Caloric Intake

There is a lot of information out there on how much a pregnant woman should be eating.  Like a boggles the mind kind of level of information. 

General advice says to not worry about gaining weight and to just make sure to eat high nutrient value food. It’s great in theory but let’s be honest.  It’s more than easy for me to fall into bad eating habits if I have this excuse of a baby needing sustenance.  I’m a woman who needs guidelines.

For instance, recently I’ve really wanted a corndog and jalapeno poppers.  I know, is my baby going to be some kind of carnie?  I actually bought jalapeno poppers as an appetizer for a birthday shindig I threw recently. But I didn’t even have one.  By the time they were cooked, I was so turned off by the idea. Instead I drank sparkling grape juice.  And a lot of it. I can’t even guestimate the amount anymore.

So yeah, I’m going to need to track some calories if I hope to have a safe pregnancy free of gestational diabetes.

This is what I could deduce:

1. During the first trimester there should be no gain and no increase in caloric intake.  Some people actually lose weight because of the decreased appetite from morning sickness and the influx of hormones. There should also be no “eating for 2” involved in the first trimester. The fetus is the size of a seed, it’s not eating that much. Lol.

2. In the second trimester, the increase in calories should only be 300 calories. In the third, an extra 500 calories.

3. For women at a healthy weight, a gain of 20-30 lbs is recommended. For overweight women, 15-20 lbs is recommended. Women at an obese weight are able to gain no weight or even lose weight during the pregnancy.

My doctor recommended:

1. I should eat the caloric intake to maintain my current weight.  He was emphatic that I do not actively try to lose weight but said not to force myself to eat either. A basic “listen to your body” advice piece.

2. I should absolutely not gain more than 34 lbs.  He said that I should at least gain 15 lbs during the pregnancy. 

3. I should not worry about the fetus getting sustenance. When pregnant, the fetus gets all the nutrients it needs first before it the mother does.