Just curious about how you girls were when you were pregnant. Was there something that you always did but had to give up during those nine months? This is my first pregnancy and while I'm already in my seventh month (going eight by next week), I'm still adjusting to pregnant life! I find that there are a lot of things that I did regularly before I got pregnant which I cannot do now. I can't take too much caffeine, too much sweets, or color my hair, and go for a massage. For me, the parlor and spa can wait, but I can't seem to give up my morning cup of coffee or it gives me headaches. I tried shifting to hot chocolate for a while, but my blood sugar level went up and my doctor prohibited me from taking too much sweets! That's a bummer for someone with a sweet tooth like me. I had to exercise a lot of control when I go into a coffee shop or do some groceries.

How about you? Was there anything you loved to do or eat that was hard for you to give up while you were pregnant?

I had to give up smoking (of course) but it really wasn't hard since when I first found out I was pregnant, it instantly made me sick to light up. I had blood sugar issues with Katie (my second) and ended up living off of sugar free popsicles. Ok not really living off them but they did satisfy my sweet tooth. With Ryan, I had to go of all my psych meds which was incredibly hard. I didn't sleep my entire pregnancy. My OBGYN said I was the only woman he'd ever heard say that I couldn't wait to have my baby so I could get some sleep....lol.

I gave up smoking and as for caffeine what I did was I started weining myself from caffinated coffee by making half regular and half decaf, and then I gradually cut down to decaf and then switched to herbal teas.

Mind you I was a real coffee addict, at least 10 cups per day....

Masages are great for you and baby, and there is nothing wrong with going to the salon for manicures, pedicures and facials.

I'm also addicted to coffee, but not 10 cups a day! LOL. Maybe 5 would be the maximum. I dont like the taste of decaf, but I really have no choice. I still drink at least a cup of caffeinated coffee every morning (though yesterday I drank two!).

I also tried sugar-free popsicles but it still increased my blood sugar, I dont know why.

Thanks by the way for the info about manicures, pedicures and facials (my OBGYN is so strict she wouldnt advise me getting these things). I only get prenatal massages which costs more than the normal massage but its trips to the spa and salon that's keeping me sane these days. =)

I gave up smoking cigars, and I gave up drinking. I had drank pretty heavily before I found out I was pregnant. It was hard and I turned to food. My blood sugar and everything stayed fine, I just gained too much weight (52 lbs). I also gave up coloring my hair, my OBGYN, told me there was no proof it hurt the baby either way but I was paranoid it would somehow hurt the baby, so I stopped it and let the world see my natural color.

On the massages, I'm a Massage Therapist and whether massages are okay for pregnant women varies from every person you ask. Some doctors say it's fine, others say it's a definate no. For me right now I don't do them, mainly because I haven't done enough research or taken any prenatal massage classes and I would hate to think I could ever effect a mother and child in a negative way. One thing that I do know is a concern is that your spine adjusts to be able to carry the baby and the more someone works on your spine and tries to "fix" it, the more it could throw off what nature is doing to help cope with the pressures pregnancy puts on your body. Also, there are said to be certain points that can cause contractions and you don't want to cause those too early. However, I've never heard of a woman giving birth prematurely because she got a massage, lol.

Hi Gabriel's Mom, I am in dire need of a massage today! My back is starting to hurt. But my doctor doesnt want me to get a massage, even a prenatal one. *sigh* Perhaps I can come over to your place to get a massage? LOL. I had prenatal massage once, when I was four months along, and I think the difference is they don't let me lie face down -- I had to lie sideways with a pillow between my legs. And of course, they dont massage the belly.

I am 8 months pregnant and this pregnancy is really weird for me. This is my second child and this time is harder than the first. See, the first time I was pregnant with my daughter (now 6yrs old), I was only 20, so I never drank before I had her, and I never drank coffee either. Needless to say, after I had her I drank a good amount, and I drank coffee sometimes too. It has been a struggle with the drinking thing, but I know it is best for my baby, so I haven't had anything to drink, oh boy I can't wait until I drop this load. As for cafeine, I have coffee every once in a while or even a coke sometimes, just not regularly. If I really really feel the urge, and then after, I try to drink lots and lots of water for the rest of the day to hopefully flush it out. Maybe you could try some tea. The toughest part for me lately has been giving up my sleep. I can't sleep, I get charlie horses, and am constantly up during the middle of the night going to the restroom.

Dawn Butterfly,

Unless your diabetic a manicure and pedicure has no harm. Your doctor is probably thinking about fumes in a salon where they do artifical nails. Of course your doctor is being extremely cautious and she is right. I won't go against a doctor's advice...but there are no known dangers of getting just a basic pedicure with no luxuries added to it.

Other than the smoking, caffeinated drinks, alcohol, and taking a good multi-vitamin you should just eat healthy and that is about it.

As for the popsicles increasing your sugar, did you check the label to see if there was a replacement sugar?

Oh also my doctor told me to stay away from anything containing nutrasweet or twin or any kind of aspartame....

I guess my doctor is just overly cautious -- she specializes in high-risk pregnancy, although mine is not high-risk. So I just do hand and foot spas where they dont color your nails.

I started on some sugar-free foods when my blood sugar increased, but later read that those replacement sugars were more harmful to the baby than the natural sugars. So I'm totally off anything sweet now.

about caffeinated drinks, how come my mom drank coffee while she was pregnant with us three kids and nothing happened to us? of course, I'm just looking for a good excuse here to drink coffee.

LOL
Nice try but STAY OFF THE COFFEE......

Ya they put me in high risk...nightmare!!!

)))about caffeinated drinks, how come my mom drank coffee while she was pregnant with us three kids and nothing happened to us? (((


Are you sure about that?LOL

Hi Dawn,
I had to give up going to the hot springs near by. My midwife said they could raise your body temp too high, which is bad for baby, so that was hard for me. I had a prenatal massage when I was about 5 mths along and it was GREAT, I wanted to continue going regularly, but I couldn't afford the massages that actually had the pregnancy table (a massage table with a belly cut out type thing so that you could lay on your stomach), so I had to give those up. I wonder why your doctor says it's a no go, I've known lots of mamas who got massages their entire pregnancy. Oh, I understand about not being used to being pregnant, I think as soon as I got used to it I was in labor. Although I LOVED being pregnant, I was glad to have my body back, I felt like the mothership that had been taken over by an alien, lol.

Mountain Lady...

Well I never quite heard it described like that before... LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Singleparentcoach:
)))about caffeinated drinks, how come my mom drank coffee while she was pregnant with us three kids and nothing happened to us? (((


Are you sure about that?LOL

LOL, now that I think about it... I think I know now why my two brothers are the way they are! LOL. Maybe my mom consumed less coffee when she had me.

come on, I read somewhere that pregnant women can drink up to three cups a day and it won't harm the baby! Would decaf be okay?

Mountainlady, I also love being pregnant. It was during my pregnancy when I started to be sooo vain. I kept on putting moisturizers and learned how to apply makeup (I never wore makeup nor moisturized my skin before my pregnancy). But I also can't wait to get my original body back, I'm not used to all this weight gain -- I can't even climb a flight of stairs now without losing my breath, while I used to climb mountains before the "alien invasion"!

Dawn

I think that avoiding all caffeine is best. But decaf would be the choice if you were still in need of caffeine because it does have some caffeine in it. I wouldn't get overly consumed in every precaution otherwise we get too paranoid. So I think if you want a decaf coffee, go for it. Enjoy it.