Pregnancy and PostPartum
I had zero nutritional expectations for myself during either pregnancy. Thankfully, I never had significant morning sickness. Unfortunately, I was just constantly sick. I always, always felt nauseous. The idea of any reheated meals made me want to vomit. Raw foods made me want to vomit. Smells made me want to vomit. Everything, all day, made me want to vomit.
My diet consisted of anything that sounded good. With my first pregnancy I ate Chipotle every day my first trimester. During my second pregnancy; for almost 4 months I ate two bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches from McDonald’s every morning at breakfast. I had no energy to care about my nutritional choices. Water made me want to throw up unless it was glacier cold and flavored.
For lunch I would eat from our school cafeteria so that it was presented to me hot. Occasionally I would bring something frozen to heat up and could stomach it. I wanted to dip everything in ranch. So, as my pregnancies progressed; I was able to get in some raw veggies with ranch. But mostly, I dipped pizza in ranch.
I applaud any pregnant lady that is able to stick to some sort of nutritional plan. I struggled so hard to want to eat anything so I stuck with highly palatable foods and gave in to all my cravings.
Around 36 weeks with boy pregnancies I found myself able to stomach my regular diet. I could begin eating shredded chicken, sweet potatoes, ground beef, rice...some of my more standard fare. With both I was able to start transitioning to a more complete nutritional program at the end.
The Jimmy John’s sandwich that I had in the hospital after Kennedy, and the Jimmy John’s sandwich I had in the hospital after Cade reign as the two best meals of my life. Both were a Beach club, extra Turkey, add Hot Peppers. Thinking about both of those sandwiches gives me chills, it’s a core memory.
I have breastfed both my babies and those first 8 weeks postpartum I focused on eating any time I felt hungry. When nursing your body is working so hard and in that immediate PP period your body is putting so much energy into healing. Somewhere between 1:00am-4:00am while awake feeding my newborns I would routinely eat a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Perfect Bar….another core memory.
Those first couple months are not the time to cut calories, feel guilty, or stress about “getting it together.” The only thing you need to get, is that baby in your arms, and someone to bring you snacks. That time goes by in a blink. Your body will naturally get rid of the bloating you had, when nursing your uterus will shrink quicker, and you will slowly find that you feel more and more like yourself.
During those first couple months there were 4 simple exercises I looked forward to doing while my kiddos napped. While lying in bed I would press my hand to my belly and breath against it. Then I’d flip over onto my stomach (a glorious position) and breath into my bed. Next, I’d get on all fours and rock my hips back and forth for several seconds. Finally, I’d lie down and raise my hips with coordinated breathing.
Pregnancy is a season; postpartum is forever. This is not a race mama. Do not put that kind of pressure on yourself. Enjoy the slowness of this season and lean into the new you, your new body, and newest little love.
