Diet

(A little bit of warning: this post contains some TMI.)

One of the things I LOVE about my midwives is they use medication as a final resort, and will recommend all natural and holistic remedies first.  This has been wonderful in my one and only complaint/struggle with pregnancy so far.  Something(s) that I had NO idea were common with pregnancy so I have been totally caught off guard with it all.  I have never once heard any pregnant woman talk about either of these:

vaginal discharge

yeast infections

First, vaginal discharge.  Holy cow, where is this stuff coming from and when will it end?? 

Apparently its very normal and common and just something you put up with for the time being. 

And invest in panty liners.

Second, thanks partly to all the discharge, yeast infections!  I swear I have been battling a yeast infection(s) non stop since week 5 or 6.  As soon as I think its getting better, its back with a vengeance.  And the only sign/symptom is the itchiness.  And omg, talk about miserable.  First, upon recommendation in the booklet the midwives gave me, I started taking garlic pills.  Then I added probiotics.  Then I started eating plain yogurt like its going out of style.  Then I started drinking a shot of apple cider vinegar every night before bed. 

At one point when emailing with my sister she said, "I know you want to go this natural route, but I would have popped a diflucan and been done with it."  lol

At my last appointment I was talking about my issue with this and my midwife said it sounds systemic.  So, she grabbed a clear glass, filled it with water and had me work up a wad of spit and spit it into the water.  We let it sit for about an hour (during our visit) and when we came back to the glass, the spit looked stringy in the water. 

Systemic, check. 

So, we went over my food diary that I had been keeping and she pointed out everything I had been eating that was carbs and sugars, which the yeast feed on.  That, and they gave me a bottle to start rinsing with diluted apple cider vinegar. 

So, between garlic, probiotics, apple cider vinegar shots and rinses, plain yogurt and cutting back on sugars and simple carbs, I think its on its way out!  Hallelujah!!!  And I feel good about evrything I am doing and have done, AND have learned in the future how to combat the problem.  Yay!

And speaking of diet, the midwives focus so much time and energy on your diet.  And I absolutely LOVE this!  They work really hard at making sure you know what you should be eating and things to limit and avoid.  It's AMAZING how much of pregnancy is affeced by your diet alone, and how much can be prevented!  Overall, I feel like I eat really healthy.  Partly beacuse I am fairly health conscious and partly because that's just what I enjoy eating.  I HATE sodas, I just don't like fried foods very much, I'm not a big snacker, and sweets never appeal to me.  That doesn't mean I'm a granola nut, because I love some good ole southern home cooking which isnt that good for you, but in the grand scheme of things I think I eat very well. 

Well...apparently for pregnancy, not so much.  For one, I don't eat NEAR enough protein.  I should be getting 80-100 grams a day, and I don't know how much I eat, but I know for sure its no where NEAR that amount.  So, I'm having to supplement with a protein shake.  I'm not a sweet eater and don't like sugary drinks, but holy cow, the 100% pure, and natural juice that I drink when I have something other than water???  FULL of sugar.  I usually have 4oz OJ diluted with 4oz water in the morning and then 8oz OJ diluted with 8oz water at night (water the rest of the day) and apparently thats about the equivalent of eating 12 oranges with no benefit of the fiber....and one wouldn't just sit down and eat 12 oranges.  Stuff like this has been such a great learning lesson for me now and in the future!

So I'm really tying to focus on protein, protein, protein, along with minimal complex carbs, little to no simple carbs and sugar, more fruit, and more raspberry leaf tea.

Oh, and not to overhydrate.  When I really focus on drinking water, I sometime drink TOO much that I feel crappy toward the end of the day.  I had no idea you could OVERhydrate!  So I need to focus on staying at my 1oz per 2lbs and not going crazy over the water.