Category Archives: Pregnancy Nutrition

Weight gain and calories

Everything I’ve read seems to indicate that you need about 200 or 300 extra calories a day when you’re pregnant with one baby but if you’re pregnant with twins you need about twice that. The thing is, I won’t have a scan until about twelve weeks and in the meantime I’m getting really hungry. However, I’m concerned that I may be putting on too much weight (even though the weight gain only seems to be on my tummy and inside my bra). If it’s only one baby then maybe I’m gaining too much in the first trimester. But if it’s two then maybe I’m eating the right amount. It’s a bit of a tricky one.

I’m trying to stick to healthy snacks and meals so I really hope that I’m doing the right thing. No-one wants to put on far too much weight. I’m going to have to carry it around all summer! I can’t wait until I have the scan and get some guidance from a midwife. My doctor saw me a week ago, but just to write down a few dates and ask if I was taking folic acid. Doctors leave it all to the midwives nowadays and rarely interfere. I think I’m going to have a lot of questions to ask my midwife!

Shopping

We haven’t yet told family that we’re expecting and don’t want to let them know until Saturday which is Tim’s mum’s 60th birthday. I won’t be drinking at the party and I’m sure that will not go un-noticed. I’ll be nine weeks pregnant by then and we know it will make his mum so happy. Our baby will be the first grandchild on both sides so we anticipate a lot of excitement when we finally spill the beans!

As a Christmas/60th birthday treat I’ve taken my mother-in-law to Manchester for a day of shopping, lunch and a musical. Only two days to go before her birthday and it’s very hard not letting the cat out of the bag. This morning we’ve been round the Arndale Centre and if only she knew! We’ve spent our time looking in M&S etc. at women’s fashion, completely bypassing anything baby related, even though I’ve been dying to go and look in the maternity and baby departments. I cast a wistful glance in the direction of the Disney Store as we sailed by, knowing full well that a week later she would have dragged me in! We don’t have a Disney Store near us but if you go to www.disneystore.co.uk at least you can still shop online. Not quite as good as walking round stroking all the cute fluffy animals and trying to make some purchasing decisions but arguably quicker!

All day I’ve been hoping that my mother-in-law hasn’t noticed that something is a bit different. It’s cold and of course raining in Manchester and I’ve got a big coat on and massive scarf to try and hide my expanding tummy! I’m a lot hungrier than normal, but I counteracted that by having a large breakfast at 5.30am when I woke up (totally ravenous!) before going to pick her up and catch the train. I couldn’t finish the big coffee she bought me – poor little thing, I didn’t want to give it a sudden caffeine overload! My handbag is stuffed with little packs of Organix dried fruit so if I really felt like I was starving then I could eat a handful of raisins in the loo! I think the Organix dried fruit boxes are really designed for kids’ lunchboxes but I find they’re ideal to keep in your handbag for when hunger suddenly just comes out of nowhere and you want to try and stay healthy. I picked mine up in a supermarket so you don’t have to go to a health food store to get them.

When we were in the theatre I bravely ordered a G&T (as we were supposed to be having a girlie birthday celebration) but was very relieved when my mother-in-law went off to the loo and I could hastily swap it for some 7UP that I’d been hiding in my bag. I appeared to drink my G&T in the interval but was instead grateful that I’d downed the 7UP. During the first half I’d started to feel rather nauseous (hunger probably!) and the 7UP kept it in check during the afternoon. I couldn’t stop myself from yawning constantly at the end of the day but I think I got away with it!

Spa treatments – and cheese

Before I was pregnant I booked myself in (with a close friend) for a pamper day at an excellent local spa. This was a belated 30th birthday celebration for the both of us. I love chilling out in spas and pools and was really looking forward to visiting this one for the first time. I’m normally a big fan of saunas, steam rooms, Jacuzzis and the like and was really disappointed when I learned that these are definitely not allowed when pregnant. Tiny as the baby is, it can still overheat which can damage its developing nervous system. When your core temperature rises, the amniotic fluid can heat up and the poor baby has no way of keeping cool. I don’t think unborn babies like hot baths like we do!

So, a relaxing pedicure was on the cards instead. As my friend treated me to a pedicure she joked that I soon wouldn’t be able to see my feet so she wanted me to make the most of them now! Half an hour later I was looking at my pink toenails and my newly invigorated legs and wishing that I could have a leg massage like this every day. My friend had decided by then that we must come back later in the pregnancy and was already asking the therapists about special pregnancy massages and treatments, busy planning a baby shower.

I may have missed out on the hot and cold experiences at the spa but on the plus side I attacked the lunch buffet with gusto – and without feeling guilty about it! I’m trying not to eat for two (I know that I only need a bit extra every day) but I think it’s incredible how hungry I feel sometimes. My friend had to choose cheese and biscuits for dessert though. I love blue cheese, smelly cheese, brie etc. It’s another forbidden fruit when pregnant (unless you grill it or bake it). That’s because of the risk of listeria I think. So I watched as my so-called friend indulged in Stilton (claiming it was the best she’d ever had!) and camembert. I tried not to covet her cheese. But it was very hard indeed, even though I’d just had a great meal. Why do I want what I can’t have? Cheese has been one of my pregnant cravings and up until now I’ve managed to limit myself to hard cheeses that are convenient to snack on like Babybel. But now I know what I’m missing out on it’s going to be hard to stay disciplined. I think baked/grilled cheese is the way for me.

Dairy

I read that if you have a lot of dairy products it’s supposed to be good for ovulation – I wasn’t sure how much a lot really was, but as the ‘O’ day approached I did try to increase my milk intake as well as buying more yogurt. I love greek yogurt with honey so felt quite happy to indulge in the organic versions available in most supermarkets (Rachel’s/Yeo Valley are both very good).  I also tried to have more scrambled egg (not a hardship as it’s one of my favourites!).

Vitamins

I wanted to make sure that I was getting the right levels of vitamins, minerals and folic acid etc. before trying to conceive. I spotted the Sanatogen Mother & Father To Be supplements on a 3 for 2 offer in my local supermarket. Tim immediately got on board and started to take his blue-lidded vitamins with plenty of zinc to keep his system in good order. Well, I got pregnant so I think that the supplements were a good buy!