[written on 7/31/12, at the beginning of the 13th week]
Honestly, the reason I didn’t blog about being pregnant for the first trimester is because I’m extremely paranoid. You never know what can happen in those early weeks and being a nurse made me overly cautious (ignorance is bliss…I still had my maternity books…not good).
But beyond that, I knew I was seriously sparing you all from some really not good stuff. Cabo was an interesting vacation, for lack of a better word. I had quite a bit of nausea and my energy level was pathetic. The week that followed it was the most miserable I’ve felt to date. Fortunately, I’ve been doing much better since then, with only a few blips of morning sickness here and there.
During those few weeks that I was struggling, I was cursing the fact that I had a food blog. I detested food. I didn’t want to eat it, let alone think about it. But the weird thing about being nauseous, is that food alleviates it. So I was forced to think of things that didn’t sound horrible…which was hard. And changed constantly.
Poor Kyle had to do a few on demand grocery runs. One day I had naked juices and nothing else all day. It was the only thing I could stomach.
Lots of OJ and Kombucha too. [FYI I did a ton of research before consuming Kombucha to make sure it was safe]
And then there were the days I lived off organic saltines. There were a lot of those.
My saviors.
But I think this is my favorite conversation of all time.
After throwing up twice in the airport in Cabo, my poor empty stomach was struggling. I only barely held down the in flight snack. And by the time we got home it was late late late and all I’d eaten the whole day was five mini pretzels. The idea of pizza sounded not only tolerable, but actually good. Dare I say yummy? What a foreign feeling. I seized it and sent Kyle to the co-op.
Vegan Daiya pizza in bed. It was almost like I wasn’t pregnant. 🙂
I know people are always curious about cravings, but the only thing I can really think of is tomato stuff. I’ve never been a huge fan of marinara sauce – or tomatoes in general. But lately I seem to be enjoying tomato soup, pizza, and pasta in a major way.
You may recall my random spaghetti-o’s purchase. And the few times I made lasagna and manicotti. And there have been many co-op pizza runs. But I’ve also had kinda a lot of tomato soup too. Crock-pot and canned.
So friends, that’s that.
And for all the people who commented on my non-FODMAPs meals over the last few months…now you know why I was eating abnormally.
I’m choosing food that I can tolerate because I need to eat. My choices impact another person now. So if the only thing that sounds good is wheat bread with hummus, I’m going to eat it, because this little chickpea needs nutrition. 🙂
A lot of people have been asking questions, so rather than continue to answer them individually in the comments section I’m going to cluster them into Q&A sections within my posts. So feel free to ask whatever (as long as it’s not judgmental) and I promise I’ll give it my best shot.
i have not reached this stage yet in my life, but when my best friend was pregnant with her first kiddo a few yrs back, i looked up EVERYTHING in my old “maternal-child” textbook 🙂 i didn’t tell her everything of course because that would just freak anyone out!
i was wondering about those spaghetti-o’s a while back…it was so unlike you! haha 😉
is there anything in your pre-pregnancy vegan diet that you can’t have now? (due to be pregnant, not due to nausea/intolerance)
I’m seriously so happy for you! I know we went back and forth in a few emails a while ago since we were going through the same things – what steps did you take before you conceived?
Congratulations!!
Hi Elise,
One more time Congratulations.
Since I have IBS as well I am curious how it affect your pregnancy. Do you still have your symptoms, such as bloating, constipation etc. Is it worst or easier and how do you handle this? I would appreciate your thoughts on that matter. Thank you
Even though I’ll never have kids or relate to any of these pregnancy posts, I’m really glad you’re sharing what’s going on with you (and your diet) simply because I care about you! I mean that in a non-creepy way, of course, but it’s all part of your journey. I would also KILL for a Daiya pizza. Those are unheard of in my ‘hood.
P.S. Throwing up in an airport bathroom has to be the worst. thing. ever. Thank goodness that too has passed…
Hey Elise – it’s so interesting to hear all this stuff! Even though I’m years away from wanting to have kids, it’s definitely something I think about for my future, and it’s fun to follow blogs of women who tell their stories. I’m looking forward to more posts!
I’m so so so excited for you Elise! 🙂 I’m currently 10 weeks pregnant, therefore I can relate to the strange cravings! I can’t wait to see what else is in store for you! Looking forward to more pregnancy posts!
So excited and happy for the two of you! I’m glad your finally starting to feel like your normal self again. Love the texts between you & the hubs. You guys are adorable <3
Ahhh I’m so happy for you! Haha not so happy about the sickness though! I hope your stomach is doing a little better. I’m sure being a nurse while pregnant has it’s ups and downs, lots of information in how to be healthy but I think when I’m pregnant I’d like to be blissfully unaware… especially of that whole giving birth thing…
I craved pizza constantly that first trimester…that’s got to be a good sign, right?! <3
Congratulations!! I totally understand the morning sickness, I had it bad with both of my pregnancies. Hopefully it will pass soon!!
I could not imagine flying during the first trimester or even now at almost 20 weeks for that matter. Even just riding in a lift (or elevator as you call it), makes my stomach turn LOL! Thank goodness the worst is behind us. Those days of not being able to face anything and really just feeling out of control where food is concerned, were just plain awful. Here’s to only good things ahead!
gosh i’m so sorry to hear about the nausea. such a bummer. i hope it clears up quickly. thank goodness for data pizza:)
Hey! I was curious about your vitamin and other supplementation regimen. I am vegan myself and am always doing research on how to maintain a healthy vegan pregnancy. I figured you would have some good advice 🙂
Hi Elise,
I didn’t comment on your 1st pregnancy post but I’ve been wanting to – congratulations!! I’m so happy for you and Kyle. I really appreciate the time and work you obviously put into your blog. You’re great and I’m excited for you!
you and kyle are gonna make amazing parents! ah cannot wait.
congrats katie!!!
My advice when pregnant is to eat whatever sounds good no matter what it is or what time. I am speaking from experience as I had morning sickness 24/7 from the time I got pregnant until I delivered my baby. At one point, I was eating popsicles for a few days as that was the only thing I didn’t throw up and my doctor wanted the calories.
i know right? un/fortunately i witnessed 4 vaginal births (no c-sections) while on my ob rotation in nursing school. its not pretty and i wish i hadnt seen it!!! haha.
ill take it!
haha…thanks jessie. our friends make fun of us and compare us to claire and phil from modern family.
i agree…i always found it fascinating to read…even when i wasnt even thinking of getting pregnant or anything. its just such interesting stuff. especially because everyone is so different and no experience is the same.
it was probably the grossest thing ive ever done in my life. i felt like death.
its so much easier to blog now that i can be open about everything. it was hard for a while there…i wanted to go into more detail so badly, but i was too nervous to let anyone know!
Congratulations!! As a mother of four, I second the advice to eat what sounds good when it sounds good. Pregnancy appetites and tolerances are fickle. 🙂 One of the things I loved the most about being pregnant was that all of your senses were heightened…you’re not just tired but exhausted, not just hungry but starving, not just wanting something but seriously craving it. Enjoy every second (even the bad stuff) because it flies by. Before you know it, your baby will be a senior in high school *sniff* *sniff*.
Oh congratulations!!
So glad you’re feeling better about food! I look forward to your posts on your pregnancy! You’ll be so glad you have a record of everything that went on.
Yay babies!!!
Elise, I’m so happy for you! I was catching up on your blog just now and scrolled back to read the news. Sending you and Kyle a HUGE congratulations: I’m delighted that your family is expanding, and know how much joy you’ll both take in the transformation. Mazel Tov from DC!!!!
When I was pregnant with B, ketchup was the most AMAZING thing ever. I still enjoy it way more than I ever did pre-pregnancy. And one time while pregnant, I cried because the pizza I ordered had white sauce when I thought it had tomato. It was a crisis.
p.s. I’m friggin’ ecstatic for you and Kyle.
I’m behind on my reader but a HUGE congratulations to you and Kyle! I hope you’re feeling much better soon!!
Congrats on the expected little one!!! As a nursing student I’d love to hear more about how being pregnant affects your day in the hospital and the food you pack. (Hopefully not too terribly yet 🙂
I am telling you that childbirth can be such an amazing experience! You have plenty of time to do some research on pain management techniques that don’t have any side effects and find yourself a good doula 🙂
My sister and I are obsessed with your blog. We talk about you and your blog often as though we are real life good friends. I have been telling her for a while now that you were expecting. We could not be happier for you and Kyle both. I have two girls and dream everyday for just one more. Pregnancy, delivery, and motherhood cannot be topped. It is the very best. Everyone says it, but do enjoy every minute. Congratulations!
Funny those food intolerances/preferences during pregnancy, eh? When I was pregnant I thought I wasn’t really having ‘cravings’ in the classic sense, but when I look back at all the samosas (some days that was all I could stomach – all the grease that I wouldn’t normally eat!), bean and cheese quesadillas (oh, how I craved cheese at the last stage of my pregnancy – there went veganism!), and – strangely – toaster waffles (like the frozen eggo kind; why that in particular? Who knows), I realize I had very strange eating patterns while preggo. But when you feel sick and blood-sugary from hunger at the same time, you eat what you can stomach, right? Anyway, good luck with the rest of the pregnancy – in some ways it gets easier (as in some ways it gets harder – waddling, for instance!).
I don’t know why, but a few weeks ago, I hadn’t checked your blog in a bit and when I came back, I was convinced you had announced you were pregnant while I was away. I was never quite sure what tipped me off, and I eventually let it go thinking after I didn’t find an entry saying as much. I’m so happy to hear that are expecting! Congrats to you and Kyle!
thanks ashley! looks like your intuition was right on after all…
so true!
and thanks for the heads up on the waddling 🙂
hi athena!! it may sound weird, but it makes me so happy that i have friends all over that i dont even know about…it still blows my mind that anyone reads since i basically write assuming my mom is the only one who reads (and even that is sporadic at best). haha. anyway, thanks so much for the congrats 🙂
thanks crissy!! and great question 🙂
thank you kristy!
thats so funny because last month we were at the sac airport and i was struuuuugling and nothing sounded good at all but i knew i needed to eat something. i smelled fries at a bar and immediately my mind went to ketchup… cravings are so funny. im still waiting on my first melt down. i keep hearing stories of crazy hormones, but thats pretty much the only symptom thats MIA.
ps thank you!! 🙂
thank you so much gena 🙂 we are completely 100% thrilled about this and its so fun to share in the excitement with family and friends.
thank you mimi! thats so true…itll be so fun to read back on 🙂
awww…thanks ammie 🙂 youre dead on about the extreme nature of symptoms. ill savor every moment!
thanks roberta!
thanks so much anne!
flying is hopefully out of the picture for a while…youre right it was NOT fun.
thanks joya! its already muuuuch better.
on a completely unrelated topic, i would like you to know that i just received a facebook message from healthy surprise informing me that i won their contest. they did this thing where you were supposed to take the box that all the goodies arrived in, use it for something “clever” and post a picture of it on their facebook page. so, obviously, i took a picture of rusty inside the box. and he just so happened to be licking his face when i took the picture. AND I WON. which means i get a free box of healthy surprise shit in the mail.
i share this with you because your blog inspired me to subscribe to healthy surprise.
miss you. love you. xoxo
Oh dear dear pregnancy! Yeah… I am sorry that you’ve been sick. I was very lucky (and I always acknowledge it) that I was not morning sick at all. My mother, and grandmother, tell me that’s because I was having a boy, but that is TOTALLY unscientific and completely unreliable (unlike the “wedding ring gender test” which has been 100% correct in my experience!).
That said, even though I was never morning sick, I did have a decreased appetite in the first 3 months. I actually lost 5 pounds, which scared me to death, and lost my taste for sweets & dairy, and I could not even smell or be around seafood or LOOK at an egg. Though I was lacto-vegetarian for 10 years at that point, I suddenly became a raging carnivore. It was like I was possessed.
One thing that made me chuckle, though, is your craving for all things tomato. I always loved tomato sauce, soup, etc., but never was a big fan of raw tomato until just before I took a pregnancy test, I found myself slicing tomatoes to eat on top of bread! Wonder why this is a common craving??
Enjoy your pregnancy! It’s a memorable time in more ways than one!!
ok, so i already know the sex. sooo, there goes that theory 🙂
whats the wedding ring test?
kyles co-worker said if you crave savory its a boy and sweet its a girl…and its been randomly true a few times now. who knows. those tests are always so amusing.
so i guess tomatoes must be a thing!?!
dude that is SOOO awesome. youre officially rusty’s pimp. and now youll have another vegan snack food binge in a few weeks. better savor those home free cookies!!
I don’t blame you at all for keeping the news under wraps until after the first trimester. That’s exactly what I would have done! Pregnancy can be so unpredictable so better safe than sorry.
I’m glad that the worst of your morning sickness/nausea seems to have passed- I feel like that’s going to be the worst part. You’re lucky to have Kyle running around, making sure your cravings are satisfied- what a trooper!
Oh, and daiya pizza in bed sounds like heaven to me…and I’m not even pregnant. haha. No shame.
Um, congrats on the pregnancy! Why did I miss this?!?!
Sooo happy for you guys. It is going to be exciting watching your pregnancy progress 🙂
All I could eat for the first 20 weeks was cheese, tomato and bread. Listen to your body, that’s all you can do – and Daiya pizza sounds perfect!
Ah, I was totally wondering about things that didn’t seem FODMAPS approved. I was just guessing you used some sort of hippie magic to get around these things and would share with us later. Being preggers is totally hippie magic right?
Catching up on your past 5 ish posts this morning! So excited for you and Kyle! 🙂
Congratulations!!! Would love to have updates on how FODMAPs palys a role throughout the later stages of your pregnancy.
Hi! Ok, put Kyle’s wedding ring on a string. You lie down on your back and he holds the ring over your belly. If it swings in a circle, it’s a girl; if it swings in a straight line, it’s a boy!
I had done the ring test at 10 weeks and it said boy, but an ultrasound at 16 weeks said girl… I had a boy! So ring: correct! My sister-in-law did the ring thing, it said boy, and sure enough it was a boy! Everyone I know who’s done it, it’s been absolutely correct. I’d be curious to know if this works for you!!!
I’ve also heard that if you carry tight and high it’s a boy (true for me) and wide & low is a girl. Big appetite = boy, morning sickness = girl. All kinds of myths to have fun with!! I like the savory/sweet thing, that was true for me, too.
Congrats to you! Barfing sucks but babies are awesome! 🙂
Hey Elise! I have been reading your blog for over two years (but never commented) and I am SO excited for you and Kyle!!!! My question was about your exercise routine. I noticed a while back you weren’t really talking about it anymore, so I was curious how it has changed (as i’m sure it has) since becoming pregnant?
Whoa! you’re preggers? That’s exciting news! Where have I been!? Congratulations to the both of you!!
thanks leng!
hi janie! thanks for the q.
good question meg.
thanks abby!!
if only!!
congrats lou!!!!!!!!! i saw the photo on your post today and you are gorgeous! hugely happy for you guys 🙂
thank you!
Congratulations Elise!! Sooo happy for you!! Can’t wait to follow you along on your journey, best of luck and health!
thank you genevieve!
Congratulations!!! So happy for you 🙂
thanks kim 🙂
Elise, any chance you remember the source stating that kombucha is safe to drink during pregnancy? I just found out I’m pregnant (!!!) and I’m paranoid about everything I consume now. I’ve been trying to found out the alcohol content of GT’s kombucha, but I haven’t had any luck. I’m guessing it’s minimal, but I would love some reassurance. The thought of not drinking kombucha makes me sad!
congrats megan!! i don’t have a source to link to but i googled the crap out of it back when i was pregnant…its WAY less alcohol (negligible really) than having a glass of wine or sips of whatever, which are technically okay as well. now I’m certainly not going to be the one to give you the go ahead to drink while pregnant, but my personal opinion is that we are kinda uptight about it here in the us.
big picture: other fermented items are safe during pregnancy (in fact they are highly recommended) so considering kombucha is tea thats fermented id think the bigger concern would be making sure the caffeine from the tea isn’t excessive (which i doubt it is but who knows).
i will say, if you make your own, id probably not drink that stuff while pregnant. just to be safe.
Thanks Elise! I drink GT’s kombucha, and I actually like to dilute it with a little sparkling water because I find it a tad sweet. Given that, and the fact that I don’t even drink a whole bottle at a time, I think I’m going to chill out about it. 🙂
i think enjoying some watered down GT’s is totally safe then. <-- my 2 cents