Blogging: the new Pink: February 2010

prenatal vitamins

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Every women and every site I have consulted has stressed the importance of prenatal vitamins! They are oh so crucial during pregnancy, but what many women don't realize is how important they are to take while trying to get pregnant.

Folic acid, iron, and calcium are the key ingredients in prenatal vitamins. Calcium can prevent you from losing your own bone density, since your baby will need to use the minerals for growing their bones. Iron helps both of you get oxygen through your blood.

But folic acid is the most crucial. It can reduce your risk of having a baby with spina bifida. A baby with spina bifida, the most common 'neural tube' defect, is born with an unclosed spine. The exposed nerves are damaged, leading to varying degrees of paralysis, incontinence, and sometimes mental retardation. Wow! If I can prevent all that just by taking a vitamin, I'm all for it!

So why is it so important to take prenatals before getting preggers? Neural tube defects develop in the first 28 days, that's why. And many women don't even realize they are pregnant before that time, especially if the pregnancy is not planned. The Department of Health recommends taking at least 400 micrograms of folic acid each day while trying to get knocked up and 600 micrograms at least 12 weeks into pregnancy.

Look for a prenatal vitamin with the following:
400 mcg of folic acid
400 IU of vitamin D
200 to 300 mg of calcium
70 mg of vitamin C
3 mg of thiamine
2 mg of riboflavin
20 mg of niacine
6 mcg of vitamin B12
10 mg of vitamin E
15 mg of zinc
17 mg of iron

Personally, I chose to stick with my multi-vitamin. Since junior high, I have been taking Shaklee's Vita-Lea Iron Formula Dietary Supplement - which is specifically formulated for 'teens and women of childbearing age'. It has the necessary folic acid, calcium, and iron that I need. Plus I already have a full bottle in my cupboard! I may switch when I actually get pregnant, but I'll base that on my doctor's recommendation.

If you do take a multivitamin, make sure it doesn't contain more than the recommended daily allowance of 2,565 IU of vitamin A, unless it's all in a form called beta-carotene. Getting too much of a certain kind of vitamin A can cause birth defects.

To learn more visit http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/prenatal-vitamins or ask your doctor.

Good luck choosing the prenatal vitamin that is right for you! Do you have any recommendations?

curiosity got the best of me

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Remember that expired pregnancy test? The one I couldn't throw away? It was just sitting there in the drawer, staring up at me. Try me. Try me. Try me. Try me.

But Aunt Flo is already here, no point in even wasting my time ... But curiosity got the best of me, and I just had to try it anyway. There's no harm in a test run, right? The result ... (drum roll please)

Not Pregnant

Oh well, nothing I didn't already know. Now I guess I won't be so nervous to take one when the time actually comes. Right?

no beginners luck here

Well I guess the question of the expired pregnancy test is a mute point. Aunt Flo came to visit today. Am I disappointed? Am I relieved? I have no idea. Part of me just wanted it to happen right away. The other part of me was terrified that it might happen right away.

I certainly did not expect it to work on the first try, and I didn’t feel pregnant … not in the least, but part of me still felt like it could be true. Well I guess that means I can drink all the coffee and diet coke I want! For the next two weeks at least, until round two.

expired

Monday, February 15, 2010

After my niece was born a year and a half ago, I inherited a leftover pregnancy test from my sister-in-law. Many times since then I’ve been tempted to use it, but never mustered the gumption to go through with it. What if hubs found it? What would he think? I wasn’t ready at the time to have THAT conversation.

So once we decided to try for a baby, I tore apart the bathroom looking for the little tool. (Well not really, I’m too much of an organized perfectionist to tear anything apart, but you get the point.) Upon finding it I realized two problems: 1) there were no instructions; and 2) it expired 9 months ago.

The first problem was nothing that Google couldn’t fix. It didn’t take me long to find out that I could take that particular test as soon as three days before my period – great that meant Valentine’s Day!

The second problem Google could most likely answer, but not solve. I found it hard to get any real expert advice, but the general feeling in the online community was it’s better to just buy a new test and save yourself the anxiety. However, some did say that you are more likely to get a false-negative than a false-positive.

Well, I didn't FEEL pregnant - so it seemed like such a waste of time and money to go buy a new test. But I couldn't seem to throw the little thing away, so I stashed it back in my drawer ...