Menu planning insanity and baby update!

K and I were talking last night about how happy, blessed and lucky we are to have the midwife we have! We both feel like we are in the right place and we like and trust our midwife so much. She is also an ND, which is a Naturopath Doctor, an awesome additional resource to have! We got to see her last night for our regular pre-natal appointment. I love our appointments with her and I am already looking forward to our next appointment with her in September. Last night we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for a long time! It was soooooo cool! I teared up (of course) and Kyle just looked amazed. It was strong and just perfect! For those of you who are using old wives’ tales to try to figure out if we are having a boy or a girl, the heart rate was 159-161 bpm. Baby is doing great and I am on the right track!

I also have a wonderful, comprehensive guideline from our midwife of foods to eat to minimize the effects and growth of the fibroid. Combine that with the list of things you are supposed to eat for a healthy baby and mom during pregnancy and it gets a little overwhelming! I sat at the dining room table last night with a notebook and tried to make a menu for today. It was pretty hard!

Here is what a well-balanced pregnancy diet consists of:
Daily- two eggs, two servings of seafood, chicken, beef, pork or beans, two good servings of fresh green leafy veggies, 4 or more slices of whole wheat bread or cornmeal, a piece of citrus fruit, 3 pats of butter, other fruits and veggies.
Then add in: a serving of whole grain cereal (oatmeal), a yellow or orange colored fruit or veggie 5x/week, whole baked potato 3x/week

Now for the fibroid minimizing I need to also add in this: Increase complex carbs such as veggies, sea veggies & fruits, consume 70-100 grams of protein every day, cruciferous veggies every day (cauliflower, broccoli, kale, watercress, radishes), legumes & rye every day, 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed every day.

Then I cannot eat any of this stuff: sugar, refined carbs, refined foods, saturated fats, hydrogenated anything, chocolate (I know, a death sentence!), black tea, caffeine, and artificial sweeteners.

See the dining room table dilemma late night? It took me close to 30 minutes and I am sure it still needs some work, but here is what today’s menu/diet consists of. All stuff is organic unless otherwise mentioned. Oh, as a side note, I also found out that I am not eating frequently enough or getting enough protein.

Breakfast: whole grain oatmeal with 2 T flaxseed meal
AM snack: kiwi fruit with protein shake
Lunch: Quinoa with broccoli & tomato, hard boiled egg, fruit
PM snack: cheese, broccoli with cabbage & carrots, almonds
Dinner: Turkey burger patty on slice of rye bread with ½ avocado & dark green mixed lettuce salad
Bedtime snack: citrus fruit with hard boiled egg
To drink all day: purified water and caffeine free herbal teas without sweeteners

So, I will be spending lots of time planning menus and learning how to cook and eat without any processed foods. Bye bye pizza! It is not a bad thing though. This whole food whole grain lifestyle is a better, healthier lifestyle. It just requires a little learning curve. I am excited to be healthier, to treat my body with respect and to teach my child from the beginning that food is a source of nutrition and fuel for our body.