Pregnancy, Diet and Holistic Living

I'm 34 weeks pregnant, in case you didn't know. This is my second pregnancy and I've been blessed both times with an easy go at it. No nausea, no crazy mood swings, no cravings (besides the best food on Earth: CHOCOLATE, but I always crave that!). But I did a few things differently this go-round. Although I had a very good diet for my first pregnancy, it was not optimal and I ended up gaining 45 pounds (I'm 5'2" and started at 105 pounds, ended up around 150!). I ended up having terrible joint pains in my knees and hips due to putting on so much weight so quickly. AND it took almost 3 years to get it off! This pregnancy, I've gained about 25 pounds thus far.

I'm going to keep a daily journal here of my last few weeks of pregnancy, my birth and 4th trimester (the 3 months after birth). I've done many searches on the internet for holistic pregnancy, raw pregnancy, home births and am surprised at the small amount of information there is. Most of the people I know are quite apprehensive of home births, vegan/raw eating while pregnant and a basic holistic way of approaching pregnancy.

Let this be inspiration for you to feel empowered and confident in your womanhood, trust your body and trust nature. Our bodies have been giving birth for millions of years - why have we lost the confidence in them?

I'm having a home birth with a magnificent midwife (which is covered 100% by insurance, by the way, so even the insurance company feels confident that its safe). I had a checkup this past weekend. Here's how it went:

On the drive there, I guzzled a huge bottle of water or green drink. By the time I got to her office, I had to pee, of course. She gave me a stick and a cup. I peed in the cup and put the stick in the urine for 2 minutes. This stick gauges my protein, glucose, leukocyte levels which all came up normal.

She then checked my blood pressure which was 98 over 50. That's normal for me.

I then lay back and she checked the baby. No electronics or fancy equipment - just hands. She pokes around, pushing her hands into my belly searching for the position of the baby. The baby is finally head down (after 2 solid weeks of turning around in circles every day). She takes her stethoscope and checks the baby's heartbeat. Its 142 bpm (a normal fetal heartbeat at this stage is anywhere between 125 and 160 bpm). We called my husband and son in from playing to listen to the heartbeat.

I then weigh myself and my weight hasn't fluctuated in over a month. The baby is growing beautifully though, so there are no worries.

This entire process took about 15 minutes.

There is nor has been any kind of ultrasound or sonogram. I just haven't felt the need or want for one. I told myself that if the feeling of wanting an ultrasound came up, I would do it.

My midwife, Martha asked if I wanted to reserve a birthing pool. I decided yes, in case I want to birth this child outside (we have a beautiful large clawfoot tub if I decide to do it inside). I also will have a mattress protector if I want to give birth on the bed or on the floor. I'm basically ready to give birth wherever I feel most comfortable. I wouldn't have that option in a hospital.

That's it! I go back in two weeks for another checkup.

As for today...

So, today I am 34 weeks. My belly is quite large (pictures are to come this weekend) due to my small frame. Don't know if its a boy or a girl. I have had only dreams of girls this pregnancy. Last pregnancy, I had dreams of only boys. I've also had dreams recently that the baby just slips out, so only time will tell.

Good energy today. I didn't get tired midday like I have been lately. That could also be because we didn't do anything this afternoon except sit around, so my body got to rest. Baby is really active right now (its about 9pm). This usually goes on until 11pm. I'm pretty hungry though, so I'm going to put some sort of snack together which is something I don't usually do this late.

I'll always write a log of my daily food as well:

Daily Food

Upon waking I always drink a copious amount of water. It ends up being about 2-3 liters.

I didn't make green juice this morning like I usually do, but had a green drink made with Vitamineral Green by Healthforce Nutritionals and water. Lucian had a glass too as he does every morning.

We then made some "vanilla milk" which is raw almond-hemp milk with ground vanilla and raw honey blended all up. Its full of protein and omegas. (recipe and photo will come at a later date)

Lucian ate some cherries while I made some toast for us. We had Ezekiel bread, which is sprouted grain bread and spread raw almond butter on it. I usually have fresh fruit for breakfast, but felt like having something heavier this morning.

Morning snack was at a playgroup, so I had some kiwi and cherries that we brought to share.

Lunch was kelp noodles (which are these raw awesome seaweed thingies that are like noodles and marinated in sauce of choice). We had kelp noodles with chopped tomatoes, avocado, sprouted garbanzo beans and a sauce of shoyu soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar and water. I topped mine off with 2 huge handfuls of raw sesame seeds (calcium slam!).

Snack was banana ice cream! Simply put: frozen peeled bananas processed through a homogenizing juicer (or you can process them in a food processor). It comes out just like soft serve ice cream. I even make a chocolate sauce to put on them made from cocoa powder, maple syrup or dates and a little olive oil. A guiltless dessert!

Dinner tonight was strange. My son suddenly felt ill, got a fever, headache and became exhausted, so I had a huge salad with no dressing and some bread. I'll have a snack now as I'm pretty hungry.

This pregnancy is quite healthful: no processed foods, no dairy, an abundance of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, minimal grain products like bread and pasta (although quinoa has been great!) and sometimes I'll have an egg or some salmon if it strikes my fancy. So, I guess I would consider myself eating predominantly raw foods throughout this pregnancy. There's not much info on raw food pregnancies, so I'm happy to be doing this and documenting how great I feel and how ACTIVE baby is!

as for supplements, I couldn't swallow the prenatals in my first trimester, so I haven't been taking them. I eat so well and make sure I get all the balanced nutrients I need, that I don't think I need them. I certainly feel great. I've taken a little bit of fish oil here and there, but other than that, I'm keeping all natural from foods - the most assimilable nutrients on Earth.

I'll include some videos as we go along as well.

I'd love to hear your feedback and comments. If there's anything you'd like me to include, please comment below.

I'll continue to update with recipes and photos as that's a passion I cannot live without.

xoxo