Radiant Recovery® Basics for Pregnant Moms
Getting Ready To Make a Radiant Baby
Having a baby is a huge change in your life. Sometimes it is a thoughtful and well-planned decision and other times it is simply an unexpected gift that drops in. What we want to do in this discussion is offer you some tips about the sugar sensitive part of baby making. There are thousands of resources to learn all about pregnancy and parenting. This little one will focus on the key things for your special body.
Kathleen's suggestions about things to be careful about
- Do not drink alcohol at all. If you are even remotely thinking of having a baby, stop drinking. If you find this difficult, contact us and we can give you some specific suggestions about what to do.
- Don’t take drugs. Google and read about the drugs you are taking. Be informed and assertive to get information. If you are on drugs for depression or ADD, work with your doctor about a plan to stop before pregnancy.
- Wean yourself off of caffeine. It is a far stronger drug than most people realize. Read the article about caffeine detox that is in the resource center.
- Wean yourself off of sugar-free products. The hardest is usually Nutrasweet® (i.e. Diet Coke) or aspartame. It is not something you want to put in baby’s brain. Do not go cold turkey. Use the same detox process outlined in the caffeine article.
- Stay away from fish that is known to be high in mercury and heavy metals. This is a pretty straightforward thing to Google.
- Limit the amount of soy you are having. Having tofu sometimes is fine, but do not use a soy shake or drink soy milk.
Things to add in
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 Start taking fish oil. Get a product that has a higher percentage of DHA. DHA makes baby brain. Make sure to choose a brand that is certified free of heavy metals. We recommend Nordic Naturals products and carry them in our store.
- Start taking a good prenatal vitamin mix with 600 mcg of folic acid. Make sure dad is taking vitamins too. Have dad take 15 mg of zinc if it is not included in his vitamins.
- Get steady with your own food program. The PnP plan is a super support for making a baby.
Now you are pregnant
If you are now pregnant, congratulations! Again, we know that you will have lots of fun exploring resources. Personally, I am particularly fond of the National Geographic - In the Womb production. Seeing 3 D images of the baby growing is mind boggling…and it can give you such a sense of what your little one is doing throughout the entire process. It will also bring dad or your partner into the process a lot more.
Morning sickness
Some of your first inklings that you were pregnant may have come with a wave of morning sickness. Two things cause morning sickness: hormones and low blood sugar. You have less control over the hormone part and lots of control over the blood sugar part.
The key is in not letting your blood sugar drop down into the danger zone for you. Your baby will be sucking up glucose in a big way. Baby says “Oh, I think I will grow a finger today” and grabs your glucose to do it. And all of a sudden, you feel like the bottom dropped out. In your mind you wouldn’t think it would take much to grow a finger, but your body will go “whew” with the impact. Your sugar level tanks and you feel sick. It will help you cope with the nausea, if you think of your baby growing an ear this afternoon.
Keep your blood sugar up and stable by EATING throughout the day. You want to stay in front of the low blood sugar nausea. Not eating will make it worse, way worse.
- Eat every 2.5 hours (Meal, snack, Meal, snack, Meal, snack). Many women find that having a shake made with whey protein isolate mixed in oat milk or almond milk is very soothing. You can sip it a little at a time. If you add baby oatmeal flakes to the shake and a little pureed fruit, it will settle your stomach. You might even leave a shake by your bed so if you wake in the night you can sip it then. We love the taste of George’s® Restore and many women tell us that the taste and texture is particularly comforting in pregnancy. Whey protein isolate is an ideal option for pregnancy because the proteins are so bioavailable. Your body can give them to baby quickly.
- Have a protein and carb snack before you go to bed. Usually you won’t feel sick at that time in the evening, and getting your blood sugar up then will help protect you in the morning. Even if you are on step 4 and have been having an evening potato, shift to a protein/carb snack before bed.
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 Orange – make orange zest from the peel of a whole orange. Place zest in a bag and sniff it when you start to feel nauseous; orange candies if you are not off sugars. The scent of orange evokes beta-endorphin that will calm nausea.
- Ginger – ginger helps with nausea. Try sipping ginger ale or sucking on hard ginger candy if you are not yet on step 7. Mild ginger tea may be soothing. Do not take ginger supplements. There is some evidence that concentrated forms of ginger can affect the baby’s development.
- Have yogurt to encourage friendly bacteria to colonize your intestines. This can help with nausea and vomiting. Use a sweetened one, it will help the nausea as well.
• Broth – homemade works best, but bouillon may help too; drink it warm. Check the labels and make sure to have a low-sodium variety.
•  Water – sip water throughout the day. Ice cold helps many. Warm water helps others. Carry a water bottle and have at least a liter each day.
• Dry crackers are a good choice if you feel like you can’t cope with anything. Look for salt-free varieties.
• Acupressure – wear acupressure bands, usually found in pharmacies next to seasickness medicines.
• If you have an acupuncturist who is skilled with pregnancy, make a visit. It can work wonders.
• Nap as often as you can. Rest will help keep you balanced.
• Seltzer – sip on seltzer water. If you get something like Pellegrino you will get the advantage of the minerals as well. Don’t use a high-sodium seltzer like club soda.
Some women get food aversions during this early period of pregnancy. They will be way worse if your blood sugar is low. Most of the aversions are triggered by smell. Using nose clips will help. Now, you don’t need to use a clothes pin, you can use swimmer's nose clips and just laugh at what weird things your body responds to. I still remember how the smell of tuna affected me more than 40 years ago. If you need to, stay out of the kitchen and ask your family and friends to make you program-friendly foods that you can just heat and eat. Ask dad or your partner to help on this one.
Eating smaller meals more frequently will help with heartburn.
There are some well-known pregnancy manuals that speak a lot about “losing weight” while pregnant, or knowing your BMI and all sorts of other things like that. This is scary to me. Pregnancy is NOT the time for you to be thinking about weight loss. The quality and quantity of your meals directly affects your baby. So we want both of you to be well nourished. If you are doing the steps, your body will know what to do about your weight. Having a solid step three in place will keep both of you settled and sane.
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