(44) Little Presents - Due in December 2013

[Kaiecee]

i would love a big glass of cold milk but with all my pregnancies ive been intolerant to milk and milk products but i do love my frappaccinos from starbucks and i force myself to no throw it up and i had the worse craving the other day for kraft dinner but only the way dh makes it which he did

about the drinking topic i dont drink even when im not pregnant i have when i was younger but there should not be a big issue with half a beer and yes everyone has their own opinion but its not like u drank a case of 24

 

[DHBH0930]

Same as a lot of you, I never drink even when not pregnant. Never really acquired the taste, I would occasionally have a fruity alcoholic drink but all I liked about it was the fruity taste So not I'm not having even a tiny but of alcohol while pregnant, though 1/2 a beer very occasionally shouldn't cause any troubles. I'm just a super paranoid person so I personally wouldn't risk it.

I was like you Kaiecee and normally had no trouble with milk, till I got pregnant. Then seemed to be lactose intolerant and of course was craving milk! However the past couple weeks it seems I'm over that hump in the pregnancy and making up for it, me and my husband went through 2 gallons in 6 days!

In the first trimester I wanted nothing sweet, now I want ice cream and cake everyday! I need to admit I made a batch of cookie dough with no eggs and ate all the dough this week I hid it from my DH in the freezer...mmmm cold cookie dough...I want to make another batch!

 

[AJCart]

I, personally, won't drink at all while I'm pregnant. Like somebody else mentioned there has been no proven "safe" amount so I would rather not take the chance.

I'm the complete opposite with milk as you guys. I have always been a bit lactose intolerant, until I got pregnant! Now I can't go a day without having at least a glass or 2 of milk!

 

[ready2Bmum]

I choose not to drink at all in pregnancy, although I believe the odd small drink is fine. For me one little glass of something would be pointless, I'd want more! I'm not a massive drinker but if I do, I like to know I can have a few glasses if I want. I would only be teasing myself!

 

[Lara310809]

I've had alcohol in every single one of my pregnancies and so far, only healthy pregnancies and babies for me. I'm not really a drinker anyway, and neither is my husband. We have very little alcohol in the house, and actually the only stock we have was either left here by someone else when they visited, or was given to me on my 21st birthday which was a "bring a bottle" occasion; I just turned 29 and we still have it unopened LOL.

If I drink during pregnancy I have drinks with lower alcohol content, like beer for example, only I make it a shandy by diluting 50/50 with lemonade. I might have a small glass of champagne at a wedding. I wouldn't have spirits or even a large glass of wine. I have never exceeded the NHS guideline of 2 units per week, and I wouldn't, though I don't believe a one-off infraction would harm your baby. To my knowledge, it's the ladies that drink regularly and to excess each time, that are at risk of harming their babies. I am not ashamed of drinking in pregnancy, because in my mind it's safe and the NHS (the health service in the UK) wouldn't say it was okay to do if it wasn't.

In the UK and here they say to keep alcohol consumption under 2 units per week, and more recently they said one glass of wine per day was okay. I actually think that amount is irresponsible (to be fair it wasn't midwives that said it; I think scientists made that claim), but if I want a drink as a one-off, I'll have it.

You certainly shoudln't feel guilty about doing so. And for me, beer and lager tastes delicious, and I actually craved it for 6 months of my first pregnancy. To avoid such a strong craving was awful, so every now and then I did give in and I had a shandy, and it was so worth it. One of my colleagues even dared to tell me I was poisoning my baby by having a HALF of SHANDY. I told him where to go. You can of course tell me I'm doing wrong, but to be so blatant and rude to my face wasn't called for. I remember it was my first beer in about 2 months, and it was a half, and a shandy, and he still opted to throw his opinion at me.

I had about 4 pints of shandy in the entire pregnancy, and when beer was on my mind 24/7 I think I did pretty well to only have that much. My craving for beer was insatiable; I needed the taste and the coolness of it all the time; and nothing else helped me. I did try non-alcoholic beer, which sadly made me vomit as soon as I drank it; had I been able to stomach it I certainly would have had that instead

 

[Lara310809]

For the ladies that are having heartburn/reflux; are any of you getting it from alkaline foods? I have Googled it and the trigger foods seem to be acidic (like tomatoes), spicy (like curry), carbonated (like pop), caffeinated (like coffee) and oily/greasy (like pizza).

Not one site mentioned alkaline foods. My most recent ones have been cucumber, watermelon and ice water, of all things I thought watery foods were supposed to help. I don't know how I'm going to get through the next four months if I'm getting it with even the most alkaline of foods.

 

[Hoping girl 2]

I'm with those who don't drink at all. All things I've read from the NHS and from studying psychology at university say that although it is unlikely small amounts will harm the baby, there is not enough evidence to fully support this statement yet. NHS advises to stop completely but says that if you choose not to, then the guidelines they give should minimise the risk but not completely erase it.

Now I fully believe the odd drink here and there will truly be ok, but personally I'd rather not take the very small risk anything would go wrong... It'd be my luck to be one of those very few women whose babies are harmed with the smallest amount of drink!

Lara - poor you! I'm lucky I'm not getting any reflux yet. Is it only watery foods that bring it on? I suffered from gastritis when I was younger and it was watery food that brought it on, and doctor said it was because the watery food diluted the stomach acids an made them harder to absorb so they stayed in your stomach longer, and as the watery food couldn't neutralise them, the acid was worse than when I ate anything else. Maybe your case is similar? Hope it gets better soon! Xx

 

[Lara310809]

Lara - poor you! I'm lucky I'm not getting any reflux yet. Is it only watery foods that bring it on? I suffered from gastritis when I was younger and it was watery food that brought it on, and doctor said it was because the watery food diluted the stomach acids an made them harder to absorb so they stayed in your stomach longer, and as the watery food couldn't neutralise them, the acid was worse than when I ate anything else. Maybe your case is similar? Hope it gets better soon! Xx

No, it's most things unfortunately. In past pregnancies I had it but only with trigger foods, so it was more bearable. But this just seems a bit ridiculous I've never heard of gastritis, so I'll look into that. Perhaps something I read from that can help me with this.

 

[brit3435]

I've been having bad indigestion too and I hardly had any with my first pregnancy. Mine is the worst in the evening and it doesn't matter what I eat for dinner it's still bad. My nightly ice cream snack right before bed seems to help some though

 

[SugarBeth]

Anyone else having lower back pain and what do you do to help ease it? Mine is mostly on my left side. I'm wondering if it would be safe to use our jetted bathtub at this point? Also anyone know if heating pads are safe?

Thanks ladies!

I have terrible lower back pain. Mine is from sciatic pain, and goes all the way down my leg and locks everything up. I remember last pregnancy they recommended putting cold packs on the spot and deep massages. I hated the cold, so this time I just have my husband doing deep massages for as long as I can stand (which is usually only about 30 seconds!) It completely unlocks the muscles. I also go to a chiropractor every other month or so, that helps SO much.

What are people's thoughts on having half a beer?

The recommended alcohol consumption is usually one unit per week, but they can't prove completely that it's safe or unsafe. I'd say half a beer is under the guidelines (the same guidelines they use for caffeine and certain foods during pregnancy that most women follow) so I'm sure it's fine. Personally, I crave beer ONLY in pregnancy, I don't even like it outside of pregnancy. I stick with the nonalcoholic kind when I need it though, just because if it's a craving, I don't want to be counting sips and have a cut off. Usually I have one or two in pregnancy and then the craving is over.

So what guilty pleasures/cravings have you all enjoyed now that you're pregnant? I can't get enough milkshakes and hamburgers. I'm guessing my lil' one needs calcium and iron so I'm not going to argue!!

I love Taco Bell crunchy tacos (usually I hate the crunch shell!), hamburgers, and hot wings. Definitely love meat! With my daughter, it was steak and mushrooms and onions at least once a week. Actually, that doesn't sound bad at all right now...

I'm the complete opposite with milk as you guys. I have always been a bit lactose intolerant, until I got pregnant! Now I can't go a day without having at least a glass or 2 of milk!

I was the same way last pregnancy. I struggled with dairy most of my life, and then I got pregnant with my daughter and it was the total opposite! I loved it. It stuck around for a few months after I had her before it went away. This time I don't seem to have that, but my allergy doesn't seem as bad anymore either so I can handle it.

For the ladies that are having heartburn/reflux; are any of you getting it from alkaline foods? I have Googled it and the trigger foods seem to be acidic (like tomatoes), spicy (like curry), carbonated (like pop), caffeinated (like coffee) and oily/greasy (like pizza).

Not one site mentioned alkaline foods. My most recent ones have been cucumber, watermelon and ice water, of all things I thought watery foods were supposed to help. I don't know how I'm going to get through the next four months if I'm getting it with even the most alkaline of foods.

If I'm going to get heartburn, it's going to be no matter what I eat. I can have literally nothing for hours and get heartburn. I can have watermelon and a glass of water and get heartburn just as bad as if I eat something acidic. There's no helping me, it's going to happen if it wants to happen! lol

 

[AJCart]

Add me in as another who gets the heartburn no matter what, even if I haven't eaten recently.

 

[Kaiecee]

Me too it just came on super quick

 

[DHBH0930]

Anyone else having trouble with their wedding ring not fitting anymore? I woke up today and it felt so comfortable, it took a good amount of effort to get it off and there is no getting it back on I hate not being able to wear my rings!

What have you ladies done for past or current pregnancy when this has happened?

I'm debating, I've heard others suggest getting something cheap to wear in its place. So you still look married and don't need to readjust to wearing a ring again.

Or getting it sized, it's just so expensive to resize them though.

I've heard it can take a while after birth till they fit again, some say they never fit again and ending up having to get them resized... I have skinny fingers and like it pretty sung since I worry about it falling off, it's a 5.5 right now. Part of me thinks I won't ever have fingers that size again so might as well resize it now so I can continue to wear it.... Ugh I don't know what to do!!!

 

[SugarBeth]

That just happened to me this morning! For the second day in a row, they were tight so I finally put them away in their box. Last pregnancy they were never tight, I even wore them when I was delivering her, but this time I'm gaining faster so I guess that changes it. The fact that it's summer might also be affecting it.

I'm not going to resize them just to resize them again after pregnancy, and I don't feel like investing in a fake ring so I'm just going to go ringless for a few months.

 

[Hoping girl 2]

Anyone else having trouble with their wedding ring not fitting anymore? I woke up today and it felt so comfortable, it took a good amount of effort to get it off and there is no getting it back on I hate not being able to wear my rings!

What have you ladies done for past or current pregnancy when this has happened?

I'm debating, I've heard others suggest getting something cheap to wear in its place. So you still look married and don't need to readjust to wearing a ring again.

Or getting it sized, it's just so expensive to resize them though.

I've heard it can take a while after birth till they fit again, some say they never fit again and ending up having to get them resized... I have skinny fingers and like it pretty sung since I worry about it falling off, it's a 5.5 right now. Part of me thinks I won't ever have fingers that size again so might as well resize it now so I can continue to wear it.... Ugh I don't know what to do!!!

When I went on holiday last week it was so hot my hands swelled up horribly and I couldn't wear my rings, so I used them around my neck on a chain. I know it was only for a weekend - they now fit again - but I'm sure they'll stop fitting again soon, I might wear them that way again. I don't want to resize them and then have to change their size again after pregnancy, especially as I want more than one child

 

[brit3435]

DHBH my wedding ring stopped fitting around 20 weeks in my last pregnancy I had to use oil to get it off! I didn't wear anything for the rest of my pregnancy and my ring fit again by my 6 week pp checkup. I worried some about looking pregnant and not married but I think it happens to alot of ladies

My wedding ring fits fine so far this pregnancy and I never had it resized so I think I was just retaining more water with my last pregnancy

I would just take it off and not worry about it, even if you got it resized or bought something temporary it may not fit by 30 weeks either. My fingers looked like sausages by 36 weeks with my daughter

 

[DHBH0930]

I was thinking about putting them on a chain too, but I'm such a paranoid person, I worry about the chain breaking and loosing my rings.

For a "replacement" ring, when I say cheap, I mean cheap. Like a $10 costume jewelry type ring, something simple. Since I too don't want to make an investment on something I wear for a matter of months. I may even have something buried somewhere in a jewelry box.

 

[DHBH0930]

Found a pretty sapphire and diamond ring my parents got me as a graduation gift years ago that easily fits. I'm just going to wear this for the rest of the pregnancy till my wedding ring fits again after birth. It may be silly, but I don't like the idea of not wearing anything... I will still miss my wedding/engagement ring, but its safely put away and now my finger is comfortable.

 

[Lara310809]

I wouldn't waste money getting your ring resized. A friend of mine though had some crazy swelling in her pregnancy, and within a couple of hours suddenly she couldn't get the rings off. She had to go to a jeweller to get them CUT off. Thnakfully being a jeweller he did it while being able to save the state of the ring, so it could be fixed at a later date. If you go to the hospital to do it they won't consider things like that, and your ring could be ruined

I was scared by that story, so I removed mine pretty early in my first pregnancy and bought a cheap silver band to wear instead. It cost around £5 ($7). You can also wear your rings on a necklace though. I preferred to keep mine safe at home and just wear the cheap one. My second pregnancy I wore the cheap one too. My fingers have never really swollen though; I just did it as a precaution.

 

[DHBH0930]

I wouldn't waste money getting your ring resized. A friend of mine though had some crazy swelling in her pregnancy, and within a couple of hours suddenly she couldn't get the rings off. She had to go to a jeweller to get them CUT off. Thnakfully being a jeweller he did it while being able to save the state of the ring, so it could be fixed at a later date. If you go to the hospital to do it they won't consider things like that, and your ring could be ruined

I was scared by that story, so I removed mine pretty early in my first pregnancy and bought a cheap silver band to wear instead. It cost around £5 ($7). You can also wear your rings on a necklace though. I preferred to keep mine safe at home and just wear the cheap one. My second pregnancy I wore the cheap one too. My fingers have never really swollen though; I just did it as a precaution.

That's what my friend warned me about. She had trouble getting them off when she went into labor, the hospital said they would have to cut them off, she was thankfully finally able to get it off so they didn't have to destroy her rings. I've been keeping an eye on mine, since like I said I already had them fit snugly. It was hurting this morning and I had to use cold water and lots of soap to get it off. Glad I didn't have to get them cut off! Also glad I had a larger ring laying around to wear temporarily, I would have done the same as you and bought a cheap $7 ring if I hadn't, since I worry about something so expensive hanging off a chain (I've broken plenty of necklace chains, so I'm not taking any chances!)