Staying healthy before and after conceiving

Not all pregnancies are planned. Jerrid and I have tried to have a baby before but after being unsuccessful a couple of times we gave up and decided that it might be a better idea to wait a little bit longer. Then I suddenly found out I was pregnant. It's funny how it all worked out.

Before we had ever thought about conceiving I knew it would be a good idea to make sure I was healthy enough for a baby in the first place. It's always good to know that you are ready health wise as well as being ready in other aspects of raising a child.

As soon as I had intended to become pregnant within the near future, even if it was in the next couple of years, I wanted to make sure I was healthy. I would continue my visits to the ob-gyn but would ask more questions, had some blood tests done, an early pap-smear, and started taking prenatal vitamins. Prenatals are great to take even before becoming pregnant because it allows your body to stock up on all the nutrients and vitamins it will need to sustain your developing baby.

Along with Prenatals I would take a Prenatal Omega-3 DHA tablet. DHA is very important to your developing baby because the baby's brain is primarily all fatty acid that is derived from EPA and DHA. The prenatal DHa is extremely important to the development of your little ones brain and eyes. You should intake at least 400mg of DHA a day for your babys mental development. Its an amazing little pill that also made me feel better and more lively!

Some of the prenatal vitamins that may be prescribed to you are very expensive. I took them for a few months but when it got a little crazy to afford $50 pills a month, I went to Whole Foods and purchases Prenatal tablets there along with DHA tablets and my blood tests came back beautifully!

Omega-3 is also very beneficial to you! I'm sure you have heard about the incredible medical benefits of fish oil and how it is healthy for your heart, mood, and brain function. The same goes for your little growing baby! Besides taking your daily DHA tablet, consuming a healthy portion of fish per week is also a great way to load up on the healthy nutrients that your changing body needs!

While consuming fish is very important and healthy, you must be careful about how much fish you consume and what kind of fish you are eating. Some fish may contain high levels of mercury which are o be avoided. Fish such as Shark, Swordfish, King Mackarel, and Tilefish contain high levels of mercury which should be avoided by small children and women who are childbearing or nursing.

Our beloved tuna also may contain enough mercury to be harmful if a lot is consumed. It is said to only consume around 6ounces of tuna per week. That goes for anyone, but pregnant women in particular. Albacore tuna contains even more mercury than regular tuna. Light tuna is a safer alternative.

Safe fish to eat are Salmon, Tialpia and other primarily farm raised fish. Other seafood that is very low in mercury is shrimp and shellfish.

Here are some great sites with a charts showing different fish, their mercury levels, and how much is safe to consume per week.

• American Pregnancy Association
• What you need to know about mercury and fish
• Fish and Levels of Mercury and Omega 3 Fatty Acid

Another great way to load up on DHA is to eat pecans, almonds, and walnuts. Nuts have additional nutrients as well!

Drinking plenty of water is very important. You should always keep yourself hydrated and stay cool! Getting overheated can lead to sever discomfort and could even cause cramps and other terrible after effects. When I had first gotten pregnanct I still continued to take my hot baths which I loved. This was a horrible idea. I would feel terrible and very dizzy. I learned not to do that anymore, and infact it could be very dangerous. That is why you are warned to stay away from hot tubs and jacuzzi's if you are pregnant. Becoming overheated is very dangerous. If you are to be out in the hot sun for a long period of time, make sure you keep yourself hydrated and try to rest as much as possible. Your body is changing and you need to recognize that. You can no longer do the same things you used to do. Even if you think you can, you have to settle down and think about your little baby and how much strain you could possibly be putting on them.

Stay healthy and always remember:

HAPPY MOMMY = HAPPY BABY!

Next post:

• Are you really eating for 2? Is that healthy for you and your baby?

Future Posts:

• Healthy Nutrition: No Raw Foods
• Healthy Nutrition: Control your fat and sugar intake
• Hot Mama: Tips to stay sexy without all the chemicals in products

Gender Prediction Myths

IS IT A BOY OR A GIRL?

The minute I got pregnant I wanted to know whether or not I was having a boy or a girl. I searched the internet to the world's end and came across nothing that truly answered my questions, nor did anything truly make sense.

All throughout history, people have been attempting to put together ways to predict the sex of the baby in the womb. Back when people did not have the same technology as now, people would use all types of practices to try to predict the sex.

Wrong or right, you have a 50/50 chance of being correct. Which is a very large chance...basically flipping a coin. Unless you believe in that silly wedding ring swinging thing.

Here are some of the myths of sex prediction in pregnancy:

You're more likely to be carrying a boy if...

• Your baby's heartbeat is lower than 140 beats per minute
• you're carrying all out front
• you're carrying low
• you're blooming in pregnancy
• you didn't suffer from morning sickness in your first trimester
• your right breast is bigger than your left
• you look at yourself in the mirror for at least a minute and your pupils dilate
• you crave salty food or protein, such as cheese and meat
• your feet become cold more quickly than before you were pregnant
• you tie your wedding ring to some thread, hang it over your stomach and it moves in circles
• your skin becomes dry
• you combine your age at the time of conception with the number of the month you conceived and the resulting number is even
• your hair has become more full-bodied and shiny during pregnancy
• the hair on your legs has been growing faster during pregnancy
• you are more prone to headaches
• your pillow faces north when you sleep
• you're asked to show your hands and you present them palms down
• you lie on your left side when sleeping
• your urine is bright yellow
• you were the more aggressive partner during love-making when you conceived
• you eat a clove of garlic and the smell seeps out of your pores
• your previous child's first word was "dada".

You're more likely to be having a girl if...

• Your baby's heartbeat is faster than 140 beats per minute
• you're carrying all round
• you're carrying high
• you've missed the "blooming" period altogether
• you suffered morning sickness during your first twelve weeks
• your left breast is bigger than your right
• you look at yourself in the mirror for at least a minute, but your pupils don't dilate
• you crave sweet things, such as juice, fruit and sweets
• you tie your wedding ring to some thread, hang it over your stomach and it swings from side to side
• your skin is soft
• you are more moody than usual
• you're asked to show your hands and you present them palms up
• you were the less aggressive partner during love-making when you conceived
• you eat a clove of garlic, but you don't smell of it
• you combine your age at the time of conception with the number of the month you conceived and the resulting number is odd
• your hair has become thinner and dull during pregnancy
• you lie on your right side when sleeping
• your pillow faces south when you sleep
• your urine is dull yellow
• your previous child's first word was "mama".

You would really have to be a silly goose to believe these. I am having a boy and I crave sweets, I sleep on whatever side I feel like sleeping on, I had morning sickness during my first trimester.

Then there is the Chinese Calendar which predicted that I would be having a girl. People swear by this calendar too. I have heard so many stories of people predicting the sex of their babies with this calendar, not understanding that the calendar is working on a very close form of 50/50 chance which makes it hard to believe that it has a 90% success rate as the chart states. The chart is based on 81 boy squares to 87 girl squares which is close to perfectly half of 168 which is how many boxes there are in total. Then compared to 14 ages and 12 months...randomly spread out colors referring to boy or girl...umm...where is the relevance? How could such a percentage even be stated? That is just silly!

It could only be one or the other...so there is the same chance of being wrong as there is of being correct. You might as well flip a coin, you would have the same chance of being correct.

As legend would have it, the Chinese Gender Chart was buried in a royal tomb over 700 years ago. Recently discovered, the chart has been used to predict the gender of an unborn child based on the mother's age and month of conception.

Simply find the age of the mother at the time of conception on the chart below and then follow across to the month the baby was conceived to find the predicted gender. Although this chart is said to have a success rate of over 90 percent, keep in mind that this is solely for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

Another silly myth I heard about pregnancy is that your partner will gain weight due to your hormones. So, now pregnancy is contagious? This myth is ridiculous. The only way that your partner would gain weight due to your pregnancy is if the pregnancy directly affects and changes your partners lifestyle. If your partner stays home from work to take care of you, eats more because of you, and just stays on the couch lounging around with you, yes he will gain weight. Anyone would with a change like that in their lifestyle. If your partner continues to take care of themselves, does not change their schedule drastically and stays active...they will not change. It is all relative. Since I've become pregnant, Jerrid has lost weight because he is active all day, he takes care of me, he does not just lounge around all day and eat. Pregnancy is not contagious.

It is fun to try to predict your baby's sex and read all the silly myths, but don't take these myths as fact. They are fun but are not 100% accurate. Most of them were incorrect for me, and may have been correct for others. In no way should someone assume these are factual. The only TRUE way to find out the gender of your baby and whether your baby is healthy is through an ultrasound or another medical screening tests.

Have fun and stay safe!!

Intro: Baby Blabber

Welcome to my Pregnancy Blog!

I found this adorable template and thought it would be a great idea to start a blog about my pregnancy to be able to keep track of the milestones in my pregnancy and also to help other women with their pregnancy questions.

I am 28 weeks pregnant with a boy!

My name is Katrina. I am 23 years old and reside in sunny South Florida. I was a substitute teacher and Pre-K specialist after college. I later became certified to teach Social Studies and during my search for a career in education, I found out I was expecting a little blessing! I stuck to subbing and teaching the lower grades up until I was 4 months when I decided to put my career on hold for a bit to give my undivided attention to my pregnancy. This is my first pregnancy so i'm very paranoid about everything, but that is just the type of person that I am.

My fiance, Jerrid, is a 24 year old football player and is working on his professional football career.


We are both very excited to be parents and cannot wait for the arrival of our little boy!

We have decided to name our little bundle of joy after his daddy!

Here is a little bit of info on my pregnancy:

• I am 28 weeks along - 7 months
• I am having a boy
• I was the girl who googled every possible little bit of nonsense about pregnancy
• The Chinese Calendar was wrong for me
• The Old Wives tales about pregnancy are all wrong
• I'm craving Fruit Loops and cookies
• At this point right now, I am very energetic and excited
• My morning sickness stopped right at the 4th month mark, but prior to that I learned how to cope with it very well.