After you find out the amazing news that you are expecting a little bundle, it’s time to start taking your eating habits seriously (if not, before you even conceive). There are so many foods to avoid and to start consuming regularly that sometimes it’s hard to keep track of. I ended up having them memorized after a couple of months being terrified that I was having too much fish or not enough iron. Here are some quick tips to help keep your eating habits on track during your 9 month journey:

-Take those prenatal vitamins! The over-the-counter ones are fine if your doctor doesn’t give you a prescription version (which you may want if you have a sensitive tummy). Be mindful of the ingredients in these, watch for any allergies you may have and ask your doctor for their favorite recommendations. Another thing to note is that folic acid helps prevent spina bifida and other birth defects, so make sure your prenatal vitamins are high in folic acid. You should also be eating foods that are rich in folic acid such as spinach and turnip greens, dried beans, and liver!

-Pay attention to calories. You should be getting 300 MORE per day than you were before you got pregnant! Woo hoo!

-Make sure you’re getting enough of your vitamins from the foods you eat, vitamins from food and vitamins from supplements are not created equal, so you want to be getting the majority of nutrients from the foods you are eating. I ate a ton of Spinach and Kale to make up for the lack of iron I was getting.

-This is obvious, but, you have to cut out alcohol and nicotine to avoid birth defects and other complications, if you are heavy smoker your doctor may recommend that you cut back gradually over a two week period to get to 0 cigarettes per day to avoid any stress on the baby from quitting cold turkey.

-Limit caffeine to no more than 300mg per day (1-2 cups).

-Avoid seafood with high mercury levels, raw foods, deli meat, and soft cheeses because some of these are not pasteurized.

-Eat fresh fruits and vegetables to avoid constipation and get a variety of vitamins and minerals. These are so important! I used to keep an apple in my purse with some carrot sticks too.

-Make sure you are consuming enough calcium (approximately 1000mg per day) each day. Remember, your little one is growing bones….they are taking all they can from you in this department, so get enough to cover both of you!

The most important thing to remember is that you are growing a little person inside of you. They need a lot of vitamins and nutrition to grow into healthy, beautiful babies. You also need these nutrients to keep strong and healthy during your pregnancy. Be creative, when you’re having a craving for ice cream, top it off with some fresh strawberries!

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 11:33 am and is filed under Adventures in Pregnancy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.