Week 25-37 of My Pregnancy

27 Weeks Pregnant, Classy
Starbucks Bathroom Pic!

I must apologize for not keeping up on my weekly blogging of my pregnancy! It just got to be too much trying to juggle a full time job, 2 kids and daily life and the exhaustion of being pregnant.

But I am back, and still pregnant, so I feel a bit of triumph at working on catching you all up on my progress and what I'm currently doing now.

I'm seeing a civilian doctor off post every week. I don't like them at all, feels like I've just been passed around from doctor to doctor and they tune me out when I have issues, claiming everything I feel is just normal. This is my 4th and I have a pretty good idea what normal is...but alas, I get cut off with phony sympathy and treated like I'm naive and uneducated. For now, I've just been going in and playing the part.

From week 25-32, I really didn't do anything of note. Just continued with a high protein diet, vitamins, and trying to sleep anytime I could.

At about 34 weeks, I could feel by his hiccups that his head was right under my rib cage. I did have a bit of anxiety about this, but instead of panicking, I started researching and watching home videos on breech birth. How AMAZING it is! Such a delicate hands-off miracle to witness. However, about a week after I settled myself at the possibility of a breech birth, I had 3 hours of intense contractions one night accompanied with violent moving on his part, and he flipped into place! Since this, his head has been in the proper position. **As a side note, I did read something that said breech babies tended to be born to mothers who didn't feel like they had much of a connection with their baby while in the womb....Needless to say, I did take more time to connect which "might" have helped him flip...I don't know, but figured it was worth mentioning.

34 Weeks Pregnant!

I am now sitting at 37 weeks. I have been drinking Red Raspberry Leaf Tea since about week 32. I add 2 teabags to my morning water bottle and have at least 1-2 cups hot in the evening. Red Raspberry Leaf Tea is for toning the uterus for the big day as well as keeping gingivitis at bay AND helps prevent postpartum hemorrhage. It also has a modest amount of vitamins and minerals, which I can't seem to get enough of these days.
   As of week 34, I've been taking organic alfalfa capsules. I started at about 4 a day, 2 in the morning and 2 at night. Now I'm taking about 2-3 capsules 3 times daily. This will give my baby a good dose of vitamin K which will help prevent jaundice AND it will help prevent postpartum hemorrhage as well. Love these dual purpose herbs!!

I do struggle with a little bit of swelling. I try my best to drink at least 1/2 gallon of just water daily. When I stay on top of this, it isn't as bad. I also take 1 capsule of high quality fish oil at night before bed. Fish oil is great for helping with internal inflammation, plus it's been linked to being a sleep aid...which at this point I need all the help I can get! Also, getting myself in the habit of taking fish oil regularly will help cut down on belly fat after my pregnancy...win, win, win is what I see.
     I push myself to keep walking!! I do squats and stretches anytime I sit too long or feel like I'm swelling...so far it seems to keep it under control.

I'm trying so hard to stay away from salty foods...but my body has been craving CARBS like none other and ladies I have NOT been shy about giving into it. I felt guilty at first, but now I have no shame. I am eating somewhat ferociously, loving pasta, pizza, cheeseburgers, no bull sandwiches...it's crazy. Then I looked up the weekly outlook on how my little guy is growing aaaand...found out he is putting on fat at a rapid rate, so that might explain my monster appetite! Just have to keep up on the water intake.

I weigh 182 pounds right now, the heaviest in my life!! I was 178 when I gave birth to my 3rd, so this is different for me.

I have my birth kit assembled and ready. I will be doing my next post in detail about my kit, so be sure and stop by to check it out.

~~Caroleena

How I Avoid Morning Sickness

I've been wanting to sit down and write about morning sickness for awhile so here goes!

     Firstly, I have successfully never thrown up during pregnancy unless it was a short bout of the flu 6 months pregnant with my first son, or overstimulation of the uterus for 24 hours a week before having my third son. Some people will say genetics...luck...all pregnancies are different, etc. While there may be some of that present, I worked hard to avoid morning sickness and found some keys to success:

1.   Good prenatal vitamins are a MUST. If the dosage is 1 a day, it's not a really good vitamin. You need quality and quantity. It's worth the money to invest in no morning sickness! I use Vita Natal Prenatal Vitamins (4-6 a day). I have tried other brands, but I keep going back to this one because it works. If I'm consistent in taking them, I don't notice nausea.

2.   MUST EAT PROTEIN!! I cannot stress this enough. While pregnant, your body is growing another human being. Fitness gurus constantly push getting protein to feed your muscles after working out so they can grow and repair...how much more so do you think you need to grow a baby?? If you do not eat it, you will most likely throw up and be nauseous all the time. More than likely, you'll end up with health issues later in pregnancy. Eat at least 90 grams of good quality protein a day.

3.   Stay hydrated, drink water. Because of the extra blood from pregnancy as well as placenta fluids and your organs working more than normal, your body will require more fluids than before. Keep yourself flushed and rejuvanated by drinking at least 1/2 a gallon a day, working your way to a gallon. This will also help ward off urinary tract infections. I like buying a 1 liter water bottle, like Aquafina or Dasani, then refilling it throughout the day. Four of these is a smidge over a gallon, so my bare minimum is 2 a day. I take this bottle wherever I go.

4.   Fruits and/or veggies at every meal. This may be difficult to incorporate...I know it was for me at first. Fruits and vegatables contain perfect balances of the vitamins and minerals our body needs and in perfect quantities for the body to digest. For example, most people think that drinking milk = getting a lot of calcium, but it needs magnesium in order for your body to digest it. If milk has no magnesium, then you're absorbing little to no calcium. However, if you eat a cup of raw spinach, it has the perfect digestable balance of calcium and magnesium, so even if there's a small amout, you're getting all of it instead of little to none from a huge quantity.

5.   Don't forget plenty of sleep! Give your body a break and let it rest! Being pregnant is a big adjustment, especially in the beginning, both for you and your body. Not sleeping enough can aggrevate morning sickness.

6.    Eat when you wake up. Don't put off eating once you wake up. Even if you don't feel like eating, or you've never been a breakfast person, grab something small like a banana or a fruit smoothie, even a piece of cheese. Morning sickness usually comes from your body searching for nutrients and not finding what it needs, so get a head start on it and feed yourself!

7.    Have a small snack before bed. Make it a yogurt cup (I love Chobani Greek Yogurt!), a handful of nuts, a cheese stick or 1 serving of cottage cheese. If you stick to something high protein, it'll last all night to help prevent morning sickness, PLUS when you are in post partum recovery mode, this is a great fat burning secret to already have established!

8.   Stay away from sugary treats and fried foods. Yes, I do have to touch on this one! These empty calories are no good and won't satisfy you, thus if they aren't contributing to your body's need for nutrients, you've basically wasted an opportunity to keep morning sickness at bay. Also, pigging out on these foods won't help weight gain, AND during pregnancy you're more prone to yeast infections. Foods and drinks high in sugar feed yeast.


         In the beginning stages of pregnancy, there's a lot going on. You've got the added blood running through your body, tons of new hormones getting themselves established, and a higher demand for nutrients suddenly required. I do mean nutrients, not calories. According to mainstream experts, it's only in the second trimester that you need 300 additional calories a day for your growing baby. However, in the beginning, it's nutrition that is a vital key in keeping morning sickness away. Focus on these key points, and you'll find yourself feeling energetic and empowered.  


~~ Caroleena