Diary of a Fit Mommy

Friday, July 12, 2013

BUMP WATCH- 10 Weeks 4 Days

*BUMP WATCH*

10 weeks 4 days pregnant.

Is that a little bump I see??

When I first met my husband, I learned that he had a milk allergy-no, not lactose intolerant. A REAL MILK ALLERGY! Meaning, if he had anything with milk, whey, or lactose in it, he would break out, his throat could swell shut, and it could cause mega GI distress-so much that he carries an Epi-pen around with him just in case. So this meant he couldnt have cows milk, butter, whey, yogurt, most white breads, milk chocolate, you name it.

Before we started dating my first thought about his milk allergy was, "Oh no! How on Earth would I cook for this guy?? Would this mean I would have to go dairy-free too? I cant do that!!"

But I married him anyway :)

Naturally, since we started dating and got married, I limited my dairy intake. I did not want to keep dairy in the house because I could not cook with it nor did I want to risk it being in any of my husband's foods. As time went on, I started trying new dairy free options such as coconut milk (my favorite!), almond milk, soy milk, and even rice milk (my least favorite). I even tried chocolate coconut milk ice cream from So Delicious brand and it tastes amazing! I started to think, "Wow, I can really do this!"

Before, I was so uneducated on dairy free options so I didnt know that anything out there like this existed. Im happy to say that to this day I am pretty much dairy free. I cook with "I Cant Believe Its Not Butter," coconut oil, or olive oil. If we want to eat cheese, we eat goat cheese (my husband is not allergic.) or Daiya cheese (a tofu/veggie based cheese.) When we order pizza, we ask them to not put cheese on it-surprisingly it tastes a lot better and is better the next day when reheated! For pastas, I use marina and wheat noodles, though i hear there is a dairy free cauliflower based "alfredo" sauce that I could make. For dessert, we eat dairy free ice cream brands or dark chocolate. He can have brownies that dont contain milk chocolate so that is a plus!

I was very surprised (and still am) at how EASY the dairy free life and cooking really is. I actually enjoy it! But once I learned how GOOD it is for you to go dairy-free, I started to enjoy it even more.

To start off, dairy is usually high in fat and is linked to heart disease. It also aggravates the digestive system because, well, humans were not meant to drink it because it was designed for baby cows. Studies show that cow's milk actually DEPLETES calcium from your bones because we barely absorb cows milk which leads to fractures. Did you know that almond milk has at least 30% MORE calcium than cows milk anyway? During pasteurization and homogenization, most of the calcium and nutrients are DESTROYED-not to mention the chemicals and toxins they add. Also, if you are trying to lose weight, dairy free is the way to go.

Below are some very informative links to why you should go dairy free.

Milk myths-http://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/

A doctor's reasoning for dairy free-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/dairy-free-dairy-6-reason_b_558876.html

Dr Oz's 28 day dairy free challenge: http://www.doctoroz.com/slideshow/28-day-dairy-free-challenge

An in-depth study: http://www.waoy.org/9.html

Interested in Dairy Free recipes? Here is a good place to start.
http://allrecipes.com/recipes/healthy-recipes/special-diets/dairy-free/
My Dairy Free Fudge Recipe: http://fitmommydiaries.blogspot.com/2013/05/peanut-apple-coconut-pecan-maple-fudge.html
My Diary Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie Recipe: http://fitmommydiaries.blogspot.com/2013/06/crustless-guilt-free-pumpkin-pie.html

Why I Choose Delayed Cord Clamping

Another topic that I will be faced with at the time of my baby's birth is when to cut the cord. Obviously, this is something that most women never think about-mainly because they dont know they have a choice!

Delayed cord clamping can be very beneficial for you baby in so many ways! You ever notice how there is still blood in the cord when its cut and clamped? Its for a reason! Most importantly, it gives your baby more blood-more red blood cells to be exact-to prevent ANEMIA, which is common in newborns because early cord clamping reduces the baby's red blood cells by 50%.

After birth, the cord is still pulsating with blood delivering to the baby because its not finished. If you delay the cutting by just a few extra minutes, your baby can get that extra iron it needs which can lead to better breastfeeding, transporting of oxygen, lower risk of jaundice, better muscle building, and important brain cell development.

See the difference after just 15 minutes?

Here is an amazing video explaining why you should not cut the baby's umbilical cord too early.

Giving Birth Naturally-Without Pain Meds & Epidural

Call me crazy. Ask me why in the world would I wouldn't want a pain free birth? Ill tell you why!

Although I am not due to give birth till February, I am still planning and learning about the birth process. During labor, you have the option these days to have an epidural or to have pain meds (or both). My personal opinion for wanting a natural epidural free birth without pain meds is the fact that not only are you drugged up during the process, your infant comes out affected sometimes as well because it passes through the placenta. Also, I feel that pain is part of the process of creating and having a baby-its the experience-and if you take that away, you are missing out on the full effect. Having a baby-let's face it-is not supposed to be butterflies and rainbows. ITS HARD WORK. Epidurals are not only dangerous for you (could lead to cardiac arrest and possible paralysis in mama or respiratory failure in the infant), they can be dangerous for baby too. Epidurals also prolong labor and they decrease your sense to push-or any feeling from your tummt downward!

Here's an amazing article on the effects.

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/epiduraltrip.asp

And another.

http://www.natural-motherhood.com/side-effects-of-epidural.html