Week 7

I like the idea of keeping a pregnancy journal for a few reasons. One, it can be helpful for future pregnancies to be able to look back and see what I did that helped or hurt in regards to nutrition, exercise, rest, supplements, etc. Also, the whole process is so consuming, it is easy to forget the little things (or big things, if you’ve got a bad case of mom-brain…). Lastly, I think it’s a nice way to focus my thoughts each week. Here we go!

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Recap

We found out we were pregnant the morning of January 10. I wasn’t really feeling it, but I was a week late and figured might as well take the test. It didn’t help that the month before I was THREE WEEKS late, but had three negative pregnancy tests. Needless to say, my hopes were not high. Boy oh boy, when I saw those two little lines, I squealed with delight! I grabbed Abigail, hugged her tight, and ran into Patrick’s office to tell him the wonderful news. I really truly was expecting another letdown. We then called the moms, of course, and told them to spread the news. 

And so here we are at the beginning of week 7. I feel wonderful! A bit tired most days, but not exhausted. Also, no headaches or morning sickness (yet), fingers crossed! With Abigail, I had pretty bad nausea all day starting at week 6, ending on the first day of the second trimester. I never actually threw up, so I considered myself lucky. But now with a little one running around, it would be pretty inconvenient. I also had excruciating migraines in the first trimester with Abigail, always lasting a few days. I even resorted to acetaminophen at one point, and it hardly made a difference. I am REALLY praying that doesn’t happen again. I remember one night was particularly painful, so I was lying in the dark bedroom with a wet cloth over my eyes, listening to a Dragnet radio show with Patrick to get my mind off of it. It was terrible at the time, but is kind of a nice memory now. :)

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Pre-pregnancy Weight: 110

Current Weight: 113

Total Gain: 3 lbs

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The Grumpy McWhinypants Corner

• ACNE! Oh man, these hormones are wreaking havoc on my poor skin. No matter what I do, they just keep multiplying. Ah well, I’m pretty blessed that one of my main issues is purely aesthetic.

• Pain on the top of the back of the hip bone (say that ten times fast, it’s fun!). You know those two bones that poke out a bit on the lower back? The right one hurts like heck sometimes, a pinching sort of pain that fades into a dull ache. I had it really bad in the mid-second trimester before, and I remember thinking I wasn’t big enough to warrant back pain, I had just started to show! My midwife said it’s just one of the many lovely aches of pregnancy. :) It was really bad sometimes, so that when I stood up I had to sort of walk like a slow hunchback for a while. It’s not that bad yet, but I’m not optimistic since it started so early. :(

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The Menu
(at least what I can remember...)

Breakfast is always:

A cup of coffee with raw milk and coconut sugar

with

Oatmeal made with half whole raw milk and half water, sweetened with a tablespoon of coconut sugar and finished with a tablespoon of high quality butter swirled in

OR

Two eggs with a few pieces nitrate-free bacon

Lunches:

(With a cup of warm salted bone broth)

•  2 homemade corn tortillas with ground beef, salsa, cheddar, homemade yogurt, hot sauce
•  Eggs and bacon
• Wild-caught tuna mixed with homemade avocado mayonnaise on homemade biscuits with cheese, mixed green and carrot salad.
• 2 eggs with sweet potato hash browns

Snacks:

• Apple with homemade peanut butter and/or homemade apple butter
• Banana
• A piece of cheddar cheese
• Cup of bone broth

Dinners:

• Sourdough pancakes with fried eggs, green beans
• Einkorn pasta with homemade tomato meat sauce, mixed green and carrot salad
• Burgers with cheddar on homemade biscuits

Supplements:

• Morning- Prenatal vitamin, 1 Biokult probiotic, 2 teaspoons FCLO/Butter oil blend, 1 tablespoon elderberry syrup
• Afternoon- 2 teaspoons Natural Calm magnesium powder mixed with water
• Magnesium body butter throughout the day, with magnesium oil sprayed on at night before bed

A note about ingredients and a disclaimer:

Cheddar is grass-fed, meat is hormone/antibiotic-free, produce is usually organic, eggs are local and pastured, yogurt is homemade from local raw milk, anything made with flour uses einkorn, butter is organic. (I don't intend to come off like a hoity-toity ultra-hippie, but I believe that the source and quality of the food matters very, very much.) 

So that’s it! They won’t always be this long, I promise. :)