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Boy or Girl?

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Well things have calmed down a bit as far as morning sickness goes…although it isn’t completely gone. I am starting to show a little at least to myself. 🙂 I’ll try posting a picture when I get the other computer.  The remedy for morning sickness is apparently lays potato chips. wouldn’t you know. The crazy things we eat when we are pregnant. Anyway so far my hubby and I have decided that we won’t be finding out the gender of the baby till the day it arrives. So we just call it baby. Fun Fun Fun baby stuff.
I am super excited to be a little mommy and can’t wait. (I know and I’m only 4 month along!)

I’m Pregnant!

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Yep that”s right! We are pregnant. and super excited. and yes I realize I haven’t been posting and hope to do better. I have also started a blog just about the pregnancy that will give you any details about it and the stuff i’m learning if you want that type of info. Anyway the baby is due July 15th.

Getting Through the First Trimester.

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Although I was super excited when finding out I was pregnant…I soon had moments where I didn’t know if I could take another second. I was one of the lucky little ladies who got morning sick. First came nasea, then came actual throwing up.  Which at first was a relief because that meant for a while after throwing up I wasn’t naseated. However soon I found myself on an emotional roller coaster as the morning sickness ebbed and flowed. Some days I would be perfect with not even the slightest thought that i would throw up and thinking “Yay, it is finally going away!” but then the next day it would be nearly impossible for me to hold anything down. Eventually i figured out that for me at least I would have good days and then bad days and i would just have to deal with it. I started associating my bad days to certain foods but mostly compared it to how much sleep I got the night before. Days where I had got 8 hours of sleep the night before where bad days. Those where I got 11 to 13 hours of sleep I felt much better. Although just to be confusing every once in a while my body would switch things around where that wasn’t even an acurate guess as to how to keep the morning sickness at bay.
It started getting worse. Till I found myself not even being able to keep saltine crackers down. It isn’t that I would throw up all day..just when I ate. So I felt that I was starving. I wanted to eat but had lost hope that I would be able to keep it down. so what was the point of eating anymore. If anything the hope that my body would get a few seconds to absorb what it could before rejecting it.

At about 14 weeks.. and the end of my first trimester I went to a birthing class. One of the first things she addressed is how to keep the morning sickness at bay. although I was already nearing my second trimester when it usually subsides anyway I felt that mine was getting worse and I really didn’t want to have morning sickness my whole pregnancy as i had seen happen to others in my family. I was just praying that it would go away.  So whether the morning sickness faded naturally or if the tips I used from the class did the trick…I am  beginning to hope that the morning sickness has gone away. (knock on wood) It has been about a week since the class and I haven’t thrown up in 5 days.

So what was the trick? Again it is vitamin and mineral deficiencies because of all the vitamin and minerals that the baby is taking from me. The first deficiency that starts to cause problems is low salt intake. Crazy huh because usually you hear that you shouldn’t because it causes bloating and swelling… (Although at this point I’d rather bloat than be starving because my body rejects everything I eat.)

According to dietician Amanda Leanard  “The medical community used to suggest limiting salt (sodium chloride) during pregnancy because they thought it contributed to water retention and bloating. Now most experts believe that some increase in body fluids is necessary and normal during pregnancy, and that a moderate amount of sodium is actually beneficial because it can help maintain adequate fluid levels.”

In the class It was stated that the amniotic sac is made up of salt water. by the end of pregnancy the amniotic sac makes up about 6-8 pounds of the weight that is gained. So it seems natural to assume that the body will need more salt and more water to maintain that. Not to mention the extra 4 pounds of blood volume.
Although I wouldn’t go completely crazy on the salt levels I wouldn’t limit it too much either.

In the weight-loss clinic that I work at we limit sugars greatly on the diet. One of the side effects of this is headaches because of a drop in blood pressure. We aren’t limiting salt but sugar. So in turn to remedy this we recommend a greater salt intake. Salt is a mineral that is needed in the body as an electrolyte… Sugar functions the same in retaining water but provides many more extra calories. (I’m not saying lower sugar intake…because the baby will be needing carbs…that was a tangent but you might want to check out this site it gives a little insight as to whether salt is really that bad for us or not…)
http://www.good.is/post/is-salt-actually-bad-for-you-new-research-adds-to-the-confusion/

Back to how to get rid of morning sickness. First salt is needed because it aids in making hydrochloric acid. (stomach acid: essential to digesting food) In my case I guess if I had trouble digesting it I would simple get rid of it.  Salt also aids in the absorption of calcium, along with sugar…(hence the age old craving of pickles (salt) and ice cream (calcium with sugar). So that is what I did.

Anyway so I came home from the class and bought a bag of salt and vinegar chips and powerade and ate as my little heart desired. I knew my body was low on salt because I had been craving really salty foods but had done nothing to go get any. I was even drinking pickle juice. (I know..typical pregnant girl). These definitely helped me replace some needed electrolytes in my body as I started feeling stronger. I figured it had to be at least some good because my body wasn’t rejecting the chips. After replenishing my electrolyte stores my body started craving wendy’s crispy chicken sandwich and a chocolate frosty. I got some needed iron from the chicken and the calcium from the ice cream. (Although I’m sure yogurt would have been a healthier option)
As I said before I am now on my 5th day of eating again and keeping it down and it is great because now I can eat fruits and veggies as well as my Wendy’s chicken sandwich. One thing that I’ve learned is that my cravings guided me right back to being able to eat again. Which I know has to be healthier for the baby than deficiencies everywhere I look.  Although my craving don’t include vegetables I try to make sure I am getting them along with the cravings. I also plan on keeping track of my blood pressure and making the needed adjustments to not get into any bad habits.

I wanted to add a little graph here to help you see if you were deficient in any of the vitamins and minerals that were discussed:

If you are deficient

You’ll feel like this:                                If you don’t have enough of This:
Overwhelmed,                                                       Magnesium
Low self esteem

Teary,                                                                      Salt
Hopeless
Weak
Lousy

Like you can’t take anything more                           Potassium
Weak
shakey
Skippy heart beat
Lack of appetite

Angry                                                                    Calcium
Short Tempered

The Competition: Am I going to get Fat?

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OK… The First Question: Am I going to get Fat?
My husband weighs 25 pounds more than me. The weight that you are supposed to gain during pregnancy for a normal weight person is 25 to 35 pounds…so i told him he better gain some weight because I didn’t want to weigh more than him. So now here we have a competition. He keeps teasing me that i will weigh more than him and I’m trying to get him to gain weight. Luckily it is all in good fun.

Solution: At my first Birthing class I received some helpful information about just gaining pregnancy weight and not a bunch of extra non necessary weight. She gave a bunch of great information. In this particular case she did answer the question of how to not gain excess weight that does not include the baby weight and the weight that is naturally to be included in that 25 to 35 pounds.

As the baby is developing at about 32 Weeks it starts needing greater amounts of chromium and so of course pulls this from the mothers body. If the mother does not have sufficient amounts she will become deficient. This is interesting because of the functions of Chromium.
      These Functions include:  Fatty acid and Cholesterol synthesis (important for Brain function and other processes) as well as the breakdown of insulin. Chromium is also used as a weight-loss supplement for many people…although after researching it a bit more I found that it is rather controversial as to whether it should be used as one. Some say it is very helpful and others say that there is not enough evidence yet for people to start taking chromium supplements. However as I kept looking I found that getting your Chromium from food sources poses no risk.
Food Sources of Chromium include:

  • Beef
  • Liver
  • Eggs
  • Chicken
  • Oysters
  • Wheat germ
  • Green peppers
  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Spinach

     But if you want to try this out make sure you are getting enough of the mineral manganese in your diet as well because it partners with chromium in your body.
Food sources of Manganese include:

  • Mustard Greens
  • Kale
  • chard
  • raspberries
  • pineapple
  • strawberries
  • romaine lettuce
  • collard greens
  • spinach
  • garlic
  • summer squash
  • grapes
  • turnip greens
  • eggplant
  • brown rice
  • maple syrup
  • cinnamon
  • black pepper

     Another interesting tidbit that was added was that by getting sufficient chromium during pregnancy can decrease the risk of getting gestational diabetes. When people are deficient in Chromium it usually manifests itself as impaired glucose tolerance… or type II Diabetes.
     In the article “Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies Which May Predispose to Glucose Intolerance of Pregnancy” by Lois Jovanovic-Peterson and Charles M. Peterson (Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 1996) It discusses a a study that was done to measure levels of Chromium in Pregnant women with gestational diabetes and pregnant women without it. The results showed a decrease of chromium levels throughout the pregnancy of those women with gestational diabetes.  

So it may help with preventing me from blowing up like a balloon as well as decrease risk of me getting gestational diabetes! Although I have not yet reached that stage of pregnancy I can kep this in mind as i am making food choices.
            

Newly Pregnant!

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First let me tell you a little about myself. I recently graduated with a bachelor’s in Health Science and a minor in Exercise Science. I work at a Weight-loss Clinic helping people lose unwanted weight and get in better general health.  I love running, swimming, and biking. I really got into fitness during college as I took classes and realized the joy of being physically fit. I ran my first triathlon over a year ago and my husband and I recently ran another one.
We recently found out that we are pregnant. A first pregnancy and like any newly pregnant person I had a lot of questions. Namely am I going to get fat? Will I be able to lose the pregnancy weight? What about stretch marks? And Morning sickness? Basically this is a long journey and what do I need to know to get through it with the least amount of problems. So I decided to start this blog to share what I learn with you.

Double Rainbow All the way across the sky!!!

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So do you all remember that video of that guy freaking out about the double rainbow. Ok I just have to say something in his defense. That is a cool thing to see a rainbow all the way across the sky…at least picture worthy but a double rainbow is even cooler. So I have to share that I saw a rainbow the other day and almost a double rainbow all the way across the sky.

I am so happy that god has given us so many beautiful creations. This world is truly a beautiful place!!!

Filed Under: Fun

My Husband is the Best!

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I just love this man so much. He really does so much. We had the best day together yesterday. He got home from school and after expressing great appreciation for what I had done during the day we went on a nice bike ride. Then had a great evening carving pumpkins and just talking.

Abortion

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This is done by a preacher of another religion. Not LDS but he has a lot of good points. This is about Abortion, God, the Haulocaust and in general just doing what is right.
If we really think about what we are doing…just take some time to figure out why we have the opinions that we do maybe we would change our minds. Do we believe what we do because we were told to or do we believe because we have thought about it and came to that conclusion.

I believe in God. I know that he sent his son to die and suffer for us in the garden of Gethsemane. He gave us the ability to think and reason and make choices. He gave us the spirit to guide us.The choices we make and support in this life are important and of eternal significance.

One More Thing to Consider.

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This is an interesting Article I found. Again i have thought about some things and how I want to raise my children. She puts forth some interesting points here. 
We don’t believe in Socialization!
by Lisa Russell
I can’t believe I am writing an article about socialization.  The word makes my skin crawl. As homeschoolers, we are often accosted by people who assume that since we’re homeschooling, our kids won’t be “socialized.” The word has become such a catch phrase that it has entirely lost any meaning.
The first time I heard the word, I was attending a Catholic day school as a first grader.  Having been a “reader” for almost 2 years, I found the phonics and reading lessons to be incredibly boring. Luckily the girl behind me felt the same way, and when we were done with our silly little worksheets, we would chat back and forth. I’ve never known two 6 yr. olds who could maintain a quiet conversation, so naturally a ruler-carrying nun interrupted us with a few strong raps on our desk. We were both asked to stay in at recess, and sit quietly in our desks for the entire 25 minutes, because “We are not here to socialize, young ladies.”
Those words were repeated over and over throughout my education, by just about every teacher I’ve ever had. If we’re not there to socialize, then why were we there? I learned to read at home. If I finished my work early (which I always did), could I have gone home? If I were already familiar with the subject matter, would I have been excused from class that day? If schools weren’t made for socializing, then why on earth would anyone assume that homeschoolers were missing out?
As a society full of people whose childhood’s were spent waiting anxiously for recess time, and trying desperately to “socialize” with the kids in class; It is often difficult for people to have an image of a child whose social life is NOT based on school buddies. Do you ever remember sitting in class, and wanting desperately to speak to your friend? It’s kind of hard to concentrate on the lessons when you’re bouncing around trying not to talk. Have you ever had a teacher who rearranged the seats every now and then, to prevent talking, splitting up friends and “talking corners.” Were you ever caught passing notes in class?
Now- flash forward to “real life.” Imagine the following scenes:
Your Employer is auditing the Inter-Office Email system and comes across a personal note between you and a coworker. You are required to stand at the podium in the next sales meeting to read it aloud to your coworkers. The Police knock on your door, and announce that because you and your neighbor have gotten so close, they’re separating you. You must move your home and your belongings to the other side of town, and you may only meet at public places on weekends.
You’re sitting at a booth waiting for a coworker to arrive for a scheduled lunch date. Suddenly a member of upper management sits down across from you and demands your credit cards. When your friend arrives, you just order water and claim you’re not hungry, since he stole your lunch money.
You’re applying for a job and in an unconventional hiring practice, you are made to line up with other applicants, and wait patiently while representatives from two competing companies take their pick from the lineup.
You’re taking your parents out for an anniversary dinner. After you find a table, a waiter tells you that seniors have a separate dining room, lest they “corrupt” the younger members of society.
You go to the grocery store only to find that since you are 32 years old you must shop at the store for 32 year olds. It’s 8 miles away and they don’t sell meat because the manager is a vegetarian, but your birthday is coming up and soon you’ll be able to shop at the store for 33 yr. olds.
You’d like to learn about Aviation History. You go to the library and check out a book on the subject only to be given a list of “other subjects” that you must read about before you are permitted to check out the aviation book.
You’re having a hard time finding what you need in the local department store. The saleslady explains that each item is arranged alphabetically in the store, so instead of having a section for shoes, you will find the men’s shoes in between the maternity clothes and the mirrors.
Your Cable Company announces that anyone wishing to watch the Superbowl this year must log on a certain number of hours watching the Discovery Channel before they can be permitted to watch the game.
You apply for a job only to be told that this job is for 29 year olds. Since you’re 32, you’ll have to stay with your level.
In a group project, your boss decides to pair you up with the person you don’t “click” with. His hope is that you’ll get learn to get along with each other, regardless of how the project turns out.
These absurd examples were created to point out how absolutely ridiculous the idea of “socializing” in schools is. Many people had a friend who they stayed friends with all through grammar school. WHY? Because their names were alphabetically similar, and they always ended up in line with each other. As an adult, have you ever made friends with someone simply because your names were similar? How long would such a friendship last and how meaningful would it be, providing you had nothing else in common?
People often use the bully as an example of why it’s so important to let kids “socialize” at school. If that’s so important, then the bully needs to go to JAIL after a few months, because self-respecting society simply doesn’t put up with that, nor should my 6 yr. old. Sure, there are crappy people in the world, but the world does a much better job of taking care of these things. A bullying brat in the first grade will still be a bullying brat in the 6th grade. He will still be picking on the same kids year after year after year, unless he moves to a new town. How long would the average adult put up with a bully?
Personally, as an adult, I have only come across one grown up bully. I choose not to be around this miserable woman. So do many other people. THAT is real life. If she were a coworker, I would find a different job. If she worked at a business I patronized–not only would I refrain from doing business with that company, I would write a letter to the bully, her manager, the owner and the main office. A kid in a classroom has no way to emotionally protect themselves against such a person. I would never expect my kids to put up with bad treatment from a bully in the name of “toughening them up.” For what? So they can be submissive wimps when they grow up too? So they can “ignore” their miserable bosses and abusive spouses? In real life, if an employer discovered that an employee was harassing the other staff members, that employee could be fired (pending the 90 day evaluation) or relocated. In real life, if you are so dreadfully harassed by a coworker you can seek legal recourse independently. In a classroom, the teacher and other children are often powerless.
The idea of learning acceptable social skills in a school is as absurd to me as learning nutrition from a grocery store. As Homeschoolers, the world is our classroom. We interact with people of all ages, sexes and backgrounds. We talk to and learn from everyone who strikes our interest. We use good manners in our home and I’m always pleased when others comment on the manners my children have picked up. I believe good manners to be an important social skill.
Respecting common areas is also of value to us. We often carry a grocery bag with us on walks, in case we find trash that needs to be discarded. When we’re waiting at a bus stop, if there is trash on the ground, we make a point to carry it onto the bus and discard of it properly. Once, while waiting at a bus stop- we saw a grown man drop his popsicle wrapper on the ground. He was 2 feet from a trash can. My daughter looked up at me with eyes as big as saucers. I told her (out loud): “It must have blown out of his hand from that little wind, because no-one would throw trash on the ground on purpose. I’m sure when he’s done with his popsicle, he will pick it up and throw it away correctly– otherwise, we can take care of it so we don’t have an ugly world.” He did pick it up, rather sheepishly. I can’t imagine expecting my children to have a respect for the cleanliness of common areas in an environment where bathroom walls are covered in graffiti and trees are scratched with symbols of “love” of all things.
Another social skill we strive to teach our children is that all people are created equal. I can’t imagine doing that in an environment where physically disadvantaged children are segregated into a “special” classroom. Or even children who speak a different language at home. They are segregated and forced to learn English, while never acknowledging the unique culture they were raised in, and not enabling the other students to learn FROM them. Learning, in school, comes from the books and teachers: “We will learn Spanish from a BOOK, not from a Spanish-speaking student; and not until 7th grade.”
I have never felt it would be beneficial to stick my 6-yr. old in a room full of other 6-yr. olds. I believe God created a world full of people of all ages and sexes to insure that the younger ones and older ones learn from each other. A few years ago, we were living thousands of miles from any older family members, so I brought my kids (then 5 and 2) to an assisted living facility, so they could interact with the elderly. Staff members told us that many of the older people would wake up every day and ask if we would be visiting soon. We always went on Wednesdays. My daughters learned some old show tunes while one of the men played piano, and the others would sing along. If I didn’t have to chase my 2-yr. old around, I would have had plenty of women ready to share the art of crocheting with me (something I’ve always wanted to learn.) If a friend was too sick to come out of their room during our visit, we would often spend a few minutes in their room. I always let them give the kids whatever cookies they had baked for them, and I ended up cleaning a few of the apartments while we visited, simply because I would have done the same for my own Grandmother. Every room had pictures from my kids posted on their refrigerators. We called this “Visiting the Grandmas and Grandpas” and my daughters both (almost 2 years later) have fond memories of our visits. I’m sure that if we were still visiting there, my unborn child would have a thousand handmade blankets and booties to keep him warm all winter.
I don’t remember any such experiences in my entire School life, although I do remember being a bit afraid of old people if they were too wrinkly or weak looking. I never really knew anyone over 60. I never sped down the hall on someone’s wheelchair lap, squealing as we popped wheelies and screeched around corners. I never got to hear stories about what life was like before indoor plumbing and electricity, from the point of view of a woman with Alzheimer’s, who might believe she was still 5 years old, talking with my daughter as if she were a friend. I never got to help a 90 yr. old woman keep her arm steady while she painted a picture. And I never watched a room full of “grandma’s” waiting for me by the window, because we were 15 minutes late.
On a recent visit to an Art Gallery, we noticed a man walking back and forth, carrying framed artwork from his old pickup truck. I asked my 6 yr. old if she thought he might be the artist. We both agreed that was a possibility, and after a little pep-talk to overcome her stage fright, she approached him and asked. He was the artist, and he was bringing in his work to be evaluated by the curator. We all sat down and he explained some of his techniques and listened to her opinions about which piece she liked best. He told about how he enjoyed art when he was 6 and would “sell” pictures to family and friends. He recounted how he felt while creating a few of the pieces, and how each one has special meaning to him. He even let her know how nervous he was to show them to the curator and how he hoped she found them as interesting as we did. As he was called into the office, a group of thirty-four 3rd graders filed past, ever so quietly, while their teacher explained each piece on the walls. The children were so quiet and well behaved. They didn’t seem to mind moving on from one picture to the next. (The problem with homeschoolers is they tend to linger on things they enjoy). They didn’t seem to have any questions or comments (Maybe they’ll discuss that later in class). And they never got a chance to meet the gentleman in the pickup truck.
I hope my kids aren’t missing out on any “socialization.”

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