Prenatal Vitamin – Playing House

The pregnant belly itch, that is! Beginning on Friday night, I had the itchiest dang belly ever. So much so, that it woke me up in the middle of the night all weekend. I have some argan oil next to my bed that I literally squeeze onto my belly (usually around 2 am) and then quickly go back to sleep.

I’ve been trying to combat the itch by loading up on Palmers Cocoa Butter Massage Lotion – compliments of my sister – the argan oil, any other lotion I find nearby, and am trying to drink as much water as possible. I’m hopeful that the combination will make my itching short-lived… or at least help in the prevention of evil stretch marks.

Besides the itching, the weekend was pretty low-key, just as I had hoped. We saw Last Vegas with my parents on Friday, which was actually entertaining and silly, did some cleaning / winter-prep around the house on Saturday and Sunday, and had Mark’s dad and step mom (Amy) over for a birthday dinner on Sunday evening. Because they were away for Amy’s son’s wedding in Hawaii, we hadn’t told them about the little baby boo yet. So, that was pretty fun! We used the same card and pregnancy test that we had used for our mothers, and actually, Mark’s dad seemed to register the note the quickest. They seem very excited for us.

Our “Hey, we’re pregnant” card!

Other than that, I got a good amount of rest this weekend and am feeling pretty good… minus the fact that it’s Monday, which means another week of work. On the positive, only two more days until our first appointment and we have family coming into town next week for my mom’s birthday party… so I have a feeling, this month is just going to fly!

Symptoms

As mentioned, I’ve got the itch. Other than that, I’ve been finding that my prenatal vitamin has been causing some severe nausea and a bit of a headache. It takes about an hour from the time I take the pill to the time the symptoms begin, but once they do, it’s pretty bad. I’m guessing it lasts about 45 or so minutes, which isn’t awful, but it’s definitely not pleasant.

In terms of exhaustion, I’m feeling better than I was at the beginning of last week, but I will say that I’m still pretty darn tired come 2:30 pm. That seems to be the magical time where my brain shuts off and my body starts begging for sleep. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t feel appropriate to put my head down at my desk. Plus, when I get to that point, it doesn’t feel like a cat nap will do it. My body is looking for some serious rest.

I also seem to have random waves of nausea throughout the day, especially when I’m getting hungry. It’s kind of a pain. I’ll feel nauseous until all of a sudden I’m ravenous.

BUT, enough complaining. Honestly, I’m feeling pretty great considering I’m sharing my energy and my body with another person. And, I’m feeling very excited. I’m thinking a grey and white nursery. Maybe later this week I’ll post some inspiration photos.

One more thing before I go, seems like the chat with the husband really helped. He’s been wonderful and amazing. Very sweet and nurturing.

As I mentioned before, beginning a few months before my pregnancy and up until Monday, I was taking Target brand Gummy Prenatal Vitamins with the VitaFusion Prenatal DHA + Folic Acid supplement. I can’t remember exactly what prompted me to look further into vitamins (maybe a babycenter.com email), but either way, I got to Googling. Pretty quickly, I came across this list of suggested prenatal vitamin ingredients from WebMD:

After comparing my gummy vits to WebMD’s list, I discovered that my supplements were falling short. There was no iron whatsoever in them and other values were too low. This prompted further Googling and the eventual purchase of Rainbow Light Prenatal One Multi Tablet and Oceans Mom Prenatal DHA from the Vitamin Shoppe.

Here’s my reasoning…

Rainbow Light Prenatal One Multi Tablet

PROs:

All requirements are met or exceeded
All ingredients are 100% natural
Only one pill per day (some vitamins required up to 6 per day!)
Rainbow Light is a well-reviewed brand
When I went to the Vitamin Shoppe, the guy confirmed my research – this brand is the most purchased at the store for Prenatals

CONs:

The pill is GIANT – make sure to take it during a time when you’re not feeling like you want to throw up… because this thing is big and smells funny.

Oceans Mom Prenatal DHA

PROs:

There weren’t a lot of options for DHA supplements, which are essentially Omega 3’s, so this choice was pretty simple.

CONs:

As with all fishy Omega 3’s, this thing smells like shit. The box says something about a “yummy strawberry flavor,” but I’m calling bluff. Just toss it in and knock it back.

As of now, I’m happy with my vitamin choices. However, I must mention that the first day I took the new vitamins, I was super shocked to see that my pee looked radioactive. I almost had to Google, “why is my pee so yellow pregnant.” (FYI: that’s my Googling technique… question and throw in the word pregnant.) Thankfully, before I could worry too much, I remembered I had switched vitamins and knew that this was just my body’s way of releasing the unneeded nutrients.

So, at this point, everything seems to be working and I’ve actually been feeling great. Maybe my new vitamins are part of my recent chipperness? Or maybe it’s just because I’m pregnant and beyond excited! Either or…

Symptoms

I’ve been feeling pretty darn great lately. I think I’m getting used to the faint nausea and it’s not really bothering me so much anymore. I’ve even been feeling way less bloated and way more myself – weight and everything is pretty normal. I’m guessing this has to do with the fact that I’ve been back to my normal diet which includes between 1200-1500 calories / day depending on exercise. (Yes, this seems low, but I am 5′ nothing. I’ve looked this number up and it is what it should be! Also, as an FYI, turns out you don’t actually get to “eat for two” when you’re pregnant. More like, increase your diet by 300 calories starting in your second trimester – sometimes first depending on your current weight situation. Google: “how much should I eat when pregnant” or check out this link from WebMD)

Last night after work – on my way to my bi-weekly mani with my mom and sister – I was feeling so uncomfortable. I wish I could have videoed the ride because I was literally using the automatic seat decline to move up and down for about 15 minutes, trying to find a comfortable position. I wasn’t crampy or anything… just achy and uncomfortable. I think the discomfort was mostly in my lower back. Again, it wasn’t pain at all… just couldn’t find a comfortable position. Thankfully, the joy of mani-time distracted me from any and all discomfort.

In terms of sleep, I became exhausted around 8 pm. Finally, just before 9, I had to call it quits. I collapsed in bed, and slept decently well. I turned on a few songs to fall asleep to and only remember hearing about 15 seconds of one. I woke up at around 1 to go to the bathroom and then I was out of bed around 5:45. All in all, pretty successful. Although I will say, I notice I’m not sleeping in the same way anymore. I’m a total back-sleeper normally and actually sometimes cross my arms over my chest to take full mummy form and then lay still for the complete duration of my sleep. This is not my reality anymore. I am constantly tossing and turning… from my back to my side and even onto my stomach, searching for a comfortable position. I think I’m going to do some research and invest in a pregnancy pillow. I feel like I want to be in a cocoon of pillow, totally nestled in. Keep you posted on any purchases.

Lastly, this morning I woke up feeling insecure about the fact that I’ve been feeling so great. Does feeling great equate to something happening (or not happening) to the baby? Or should I just relax and enjoy it while it lasts?