9 Weeks

The days and weeks seem to be flying by, I'm 9 weeks already!

I'm feeling less tired and nauseous over the past few days. I still need an afternoon rest most days and eating can be difficult sometimes but for the most part I feel really good. The herbs my Chinese doctor gave me for fatigue are really helping and the acupuncture has done wonders.

In my quiet moments alone with my baby I can feel movements, little tumbles and bumps. Most will say it's too early to feel movement but I've been pregnant before and I know the difference between the movements of digestion and the movements of a baby.

I'm enjoying my gorgeous round belly, I feel so full and happy. I've been getting some occasional lower back pain, nothing too bad and nothing a bit of yoga can't fix.

My two favorite smells at the moment are cola and Vegemite. It's a pity I can't have either of them! I might have to invest in some gluten free Vegemite substitute and some caffeine free organic cola.

I had another dream about giving birth, it was calm and quiet with no noticeable contractions. In my dream I woke to find the baby already crowing. Dave was downstairs and I really wanted India to be there to see it so I didn't send her to get him. The baby came out quickly and there was no crying as she took in her new world. She looked just like India.

The little baby is the size of an olive now. I'm so excited, everything is just perfect.

8 Weeks

The weeks are flying by. I'm listening to my body, getting plenty of rest and eating lots of great food. I can't get enough fruit at the moment. Oranges are divine. I was eating more dairy than normal and craving ice cream for a few days, I think it was the warm weather and the need for extra protein. I'm all for cooking from scratch- soaking beans and then cooking them and using them right away; but my need to eat all the time and my slight fussiness at times has made it difficult to think ahead that far. I asked Dave to get me some canned beans so I would have instant food and a preferable source of protein when I need it. I've hardly had any dairy since digging into those cans so I'm feeling much better about what I'm eating.

I'm thirsty all the time and drink constantly through the night which means that I'm also waking up to go to the toilet 5 times a night. I have also been waking up at 3am every night and not being able to get back to sleep. At least when the baby is born I will be used to waking up all night. I remember it being like this when I was pregnant with India.

I've been a bit stressed. Work related. Yesterday my Chinese doctor said she could feel the stress in my pulse. I've been trying not to worry myself and focus on all the beautiful things happening inside me. I'm looking forward to finishing work in a few weeks and being able to spend more time with my family and growing belly.

I got some acupuncture done yesterday to soothe my stress and the little bit of morning sickness I have. I'm so glad that I haven't been as sick this time round, I think it has a lot to do with how I'm managing it. The acupuncture helps and it also helps that usually i can rest when I need to and I'm making sure I eat regular meals and snack throughout the day (and night).

Half my wardrobe is too small and I'm in desperate need of a new bra.

My beautiful baby is growing fast, my little jelly bean. It sure has plenty of room in there at the moment, my belly is so big!

Belly!

So, I'm only 7 weeks and wasn't expecting to start showing for another month at least but last Thursday at 7 weeks and 1 day my belly just kind of popped out. I'm guessing that it's because my uterus and body have stretched before so my body kind of just knows what to do.

This morning I pulled out my nice stretchy belly belt that I kept from when I was pregnant with Indi. Half my wardrobe doesn't fit me already and with all this gorgeous spring weather we are having I want to be able to keep wearing shorts.

I thought I should take some more photos as proof of my giant belly. I'm loving the roundness of it and have been smothering it with all kinds of delicious oils- coconut, sesame, cocoa butter...

Yoga in the First Trimester

If you are feeling tired and nauseous, yoga is probably the last thing on your mind. Until I started feeling sick I managed a consistent daily practice and even got up at 5am to do yoga for an hour before work.

At the moment I'm too tired to get up that early and if I don't eat as soon as I get out of bed I feel terrible. My solution is to make an effort to do yoga in small bouts throughout my day; and this I can assure you will be necessary if you want to continue a consistent yoga practice after the baby is born, so it's not a bad thing to get used to the idea now.

When you are feeling pretty flat, I think the best thing is choose asana (poses) that are relaxing and make you feel good. Just listen to your body, it will tell you what it needs. If asana is out of the question at the moment try to include pranayama (breathing) exercises as they increase oxygen flow and can help when you are particularly nauseous or tired. Meditation can help to calm your mind and centre you if you are struggling to get through your day. Meditation also gives you a chance to connect with your baby in this early stage when you feel lost in nausea and exhaustion.

Here are a couple of my favorites to help you through these sometimes difficult few weeks.

-Extended Balasana (Child's pose)

Kneel on the floor with knees slightly apart. As you exhale lean forward bringing your head to the floor and extending you arms out straight above your head. Stay hear with your breath for a minute or more. If lowering your head to the floor makes you dizzy, try resting it on a block or bolster instead.
This pose can help with lower back pain and releasing tension between the shoulder blades; and gently stretches the hips, ankles, knees and spine. It also calms the mind and releases stress and anxiety.

-Reclined Baddha Konasna (butterfly)

As your belly becomes bigger it becomes more and more important to support the weight in supine positions so as not to put excess pressure on the Vena Cava. Uses bolsters or a bean bag and pillows to prop you up as you lie back and relax in this asana. Begin sitting with the soles of your feet together, letting your knees fall out to the side. For a more supported pose, place blocks or blankets under the knees. Slowly lie back using your hands to guide you and rest with you hands placed on the floor palms up. Stay in this pose breathing slowly for several minutes.
This pose gently opens the hips, which is great preparation for birth. It also counteracts the forward rounding of the spine and opens the chest and back. Baddha Konasana gently stimulates the digestive system which can become sluggish during pregnancy.

-Belly breathing 

Sit comfortably on the floor or a chair. Place your hands on your belly and close your eyes. As you breathe in draw the breath down into your abdomen as you let your belly expand. As you exhale feel your belly gently contract as you completely empty your lungs. Keep your breath slow and deliberate and stay here for several breaths or several minutes.

Belly breathing makes the most efficient use of each breath by allowing the lungs to expand fully. It increases oxygen flow to you and your baby bringing you energy and relaxing your mind and body. It also allows carbon dioxide and toxins to be released efficiently as you exhale. 

7 Weeks

It really feels like a lot is happening inside me now. My belly is growing fast, much faster than it did with India.
I'm finding solace in the fact I feel so tired and sick most of the time because it means everything is going well.
I can't get enough artichoke hearts at the moment, I'm devouring as many as I can.
Early this morning I felt a bit of movement in my belly. Some would say it's too early for that but it's my body and just because the baby is small doesn't mean I can't feel it.

My baby is already the size of a little bean, complete with arms and legs!

 

So excited, so tired, so sick, but  loving every minute!

6 Weeks

I felt a big change on Sunday, I think the baby had a growth spurt. The change in my belly is noticeable to Dave now, before now when I got him to feel my belly I'm pretty sure he couldn't feel what I was feeling. It's still early days I know so the rest of the world can't see what we can.

All week I've been feeling a slight undertone of nausea until yesterday when morning sickness really kicked in. I had acupuncture yesterday and I was feeling less sick this morning. Hopefully it stays as just morning sickness and not all day sickness. I'm pretty lucky to have the most awesome daughter in the world, she's been making me breakfast in bed, it does wonders for morning sickness!

India has been singing songs that she's made up to the baby, it's so lovely and makes me so happy. Right now I'm watching her meditate in preparation for her headstands against the wall. That definitely gives me the warm fuzzies!

This week my little baby is the size of a lentil. Oh baby lentil you are doing so much growing!

Dreaming

I had a beautiful dream about birth last night. In my dream I woke to find the baby's had already showing. There were no noticeable contractions but with one push the baby's head came out. Somehow I got out of bed and went to the kitchen where I squatted down and lifted the baby as he came out. Holding him in my arms I witnessed his first breath which was calm and beautiful.

Breakfast

All this gorgeous Melbourne spring weather deserves an awesome raw breakfast.
Orange, banana, strawberry and raspberry fruit smoothie with homemade linseed and chia seed crackers.

2 oranges, 1 banana, a few strawberries and a hand full of frozen raspberries make for the ultimate smoothie.

I made crackers in the dehydrator last night. First I soaked some linseeds and chia seeds in 1.5 times as much water for a few hours. I added a pinch of salt and some yeast flakes for extra flavour and spread out spoonfuls onto the dehydrator tray. I just put the dehydrator on in the evening and by morning I have yummy crackers.

5 Weeks

Mama's been quite tired this week. Loving the early nights and lazy days. I'll be back to work again next week so I'm making the most of my rest and the beautiful Melbourne spring weather.

I've been enjoying yoga and I'm continuing to eat well. Last week slow cooked chunks of carrot in curry was my thing, as well as sauerkraut; but this week I think it's eggplant. Eggplant on homemade pizza, eggplant curry, eggplant anything would be good. I'm still keen on the sauerkraut but that's nothing unusual for me.

I went to a Chinese doctor yesterday, I'm hoping that one day my food sensitivities will disappear. It feels like I've been trying to work this out forever. Anyway, it's probably to do with my liver so I'm taking some interesting herbs and I'll see where that goes. I've also been taking milk thistle extract for my liver and since I started about 5 days ago I haven't felt at all queasy. Milk thistle is great for your liver and considering the liver is where all these crazy new hormones are getting processed I think it's been helping my liver to function better. Here's hoping I don't get morning sickness!

India is so excited about being a big sister, she can't wait. She's already set aside some of her toys for the baby. She also decided to announce the news to the ladies in the health food shop.

Here's a picture of the doting big sister loving my belly.

The little baby-to-be is now about 2mm long. Growing so fast! I can feel my uterus getting bigger everyday. Not a lot for all you outsiders to see but here's me at 5 weeks.

Natural Remedies for Colds

I've got a cold at the moment so I'm feeling pretty run down and tired. I've read that it's not uncommon to get sick in the first weeks of pregnancy because your body suppresses its immune system so that it is less likely to reject the embryo as something foreign.

In keeping with my ideals of avoiding drugs at all costs during the preconception period, pregnancy and while breastfeeding (and as a general rule for my own health and well being) I choose not to have any pharmaceutical drugs (yes, this includes paracetamol, ibuprofen and the like) and stick to natural ways of boosting my immune response and getting over colds.

Here is a list of natural remedies to try when you are feeling under the weather, and these remedies are great whether you are pregnant or not so use these as your first point of call before you decide that you need to head to the doctor.

Ginger, lemon and honey tea

- 1 tsp grated ginger

- ½ - 1 lemon juiced

- 1 tsp honey (preferably raw honey)

- Enough boiling water to fill your favourite mug.

Put ginger, lemon and honey in a mug and top with boiling water. Go and sit down and put your feet up for 10mins to enjoy you hot drink.

Echinacea tea

- 1 tsp Echinacea leaves in 1 cup of boiling water. Leave for3-5mins before drinking.

Garlic

- Everyone knows that garlic is good for you but unless you are putting it into every meal you eat, it can be hard to get enough of it into you. My naturopath suggests swallowing garlic like a tablet. If you have around three cloves a day it shouldn’t give you garlic breath, but any more than that might.

Raspberry leaf tea

- Not only is raspberry leaf good for toning you uterus, it is also good for sore throats so a cup a day is a must! Here's a great blog entry I found on Raspberry leaf if you want to find out some more info. http://journeytocrunchville.wordpress.com/2008/07/28/red-raspberry-leaf-tea-what-every-pregnant-woman-needs/

- 1tsp raspberry leaf in 1 cup of boiling water. Let the tea steep for 3-5 mins before drinking.

Vitamin C

- Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and great when you feel a cold coming on. You can take around 2g daily to ward off colds and combat free radicals. Vitamin C usually comes in 500g tablets, your body can only process 500g of vitamin C a time so you need to spread out taking tablets throughout the day otherwise you just end up weeing out all the vitamin C that you body can’t process.

Liquorice root tea

Liquorice root boosts immune system and reduces inflammation; it is anti-allergenic (great for hay fever) and soothes headaches. Along with many other amazing beneficial properties, this is one to include in your diet.

- 1tsp dried liquorice root in 1 cup of boiling water. Leave for 3-5 mins before drinking