Radiant Recovery Basics for Pregnant and Nursing Moms (and Dads)


Welcome to the Resource page for sugar-sensitive folks who are pregnant or nursing. We hope this will give you a good sense of issues and concerns important for sugar-sensitive moms.

If you are new to the program, start by checking out the main radiant Recovery Page.

http://www.radiantrecovery.com

Click on the Getting Started link that is on the left side. Then here is a link where the steps are explained:

http://www.radiantrecovery.com/resourcecenter/doingthesteps.html

If you don’t have it yet, get a copy of the updated edition of Potatoes Not Prozac. You can get it at any book store or you can order it from our store.

Come and join our Pregnancy and Nursing Yahoo! Group at:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/radiantpregnancyandnursing/

Let’s Get Started.

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.

Things to be careful about

1. 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.
2. Don’t take drugs. If you are on anti-depressants, speak with your doctor about options during pregnancy. Google and read about the drugs you are taking. Be informed and assertive to get information. If you are on drugs for ADD, work with your doctor about a plan to stop before pregnancy. If you make this decision, you can also check out www.theroadback.org. They are very knowledgeable about the issues and can guide you in working with your health care provider.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Stay away from fish that is known to be high in mercury and heavy metals. This is a pretty straightforward thing to Google.
6. Limit the amount of soy you are having. Having tofu sometimes is fine, but do not use a soy shake or drink soy milk.

1. 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.
   
   
2. Start taking a good prenatal vitamin mix with 400 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.
   
   
3. Work on your own food program as best you can.

• 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.
  
  
• 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.
  
  Getting Steady: working the steps while pregnant (planning for baby)
  
  Pregnancy is not a disease. It is a normal and natural state for a women’s body. Doing the food is the safest and healthiest way for a sugar-sensitive woman to get steady and stable. It makes the process simple and fun. The key is eating more than you think would be the best amount. You do this by adding the snacks. No one expects you to have huge amounts of food. Simply eat more frequently. Snacks mid morning, mid afternoon and before bed are going to make things really easy. The art of the pregnant step three
  
  You may have noticed that I have not commented a lot on your sugar use. This is intentional. Some women find that they naturally progress through the steps to step 6 while pregnant and the sugar simply falls away. This is wonderful if it happens. It is fine if it does not. It is way better to have your focus on a quality step three than to fret about the sugar. What you want to avoid is big spikes and trying to “stop”…that will affect baby way more than you.
  
  Having said this, I do think it is useful to think about shaping your baby’s little sugar-sensitive brain. If you have less sugar during pregnancy, it will affect the set point of your baby’s sugar sensitivity. My own hunch is that much of colic is actually sugar withdrawal. I have seen that babyies whose mother’s are on step six are way more settled, relaxed and focused in the first few months. It is simply something to think about.
  
  Learn about snacks. They will make a huge difference for you. We have listed some suggestions below. Click here for a fabulous snack planner. You can print this and give to all those people who want to help you. Tell them you would like them delivered on Sundays.
  
  
  • Hard cheese with triscuits, RyVita, Wasa or Rice cakes
  • Almonds and an apple
  • Sugar-free peanut or almond butter on bread, rice cake, etc
  • Shake made with whey protein isolate
  • Tuna salad on WW bread, rice cake, etc [use certified tuna]
  • Hard boiled eggs with cut up veggies
  • Egg salad on rice cakes, etc
  • Plain yoghurt with grated apple with peel (or other fruit) and 1 Tablespoon of whey protein isolate
  • Turkey on bread, rice cakes, etc
  • Cheese with an apple
  • Leftovers from another meal
  • Chicken and brown rice
  
  
  If your doctor speaks with you about your sodium levels, change your snacks to low-sodium options. I love the little book called Cooking Without a Grain of Salt. She is oblivious to the use of sweeteners, but the tone and information is wonderful. And these days, there are a lot of low sodium options available. The key is reading labels.
  
  Pregnancy Concerns
  
  There are a few things to be mindful of as you progress. Let’s take a look at a few. The first is the dreaded GTT (Glucose tolerance test). Your doctor may tell you that you need to take a glucose tolerance test to test for gestational diabetes. First of all, remember that your doctor is working for YOU, not the other way around. The GTT test does not have to be done routinely. Many doctors simply operate on the protocol they use and have not really thought about alternatives. Helen was working with a midwife and here is the information she was given:
  
  

  She told me to fast starting at midnight. Go to the office first thing in the morning and have my fasting blood drawn. Then go out and have breakfast- protein and complex carb like I eat anyway. Then come back in 2 hours and have my blood taken again. She said that will tell her everything she needs to know. Now it is a bit of a pain because the test will take all morning instead of an hour, but I think it is worth it.

  
  
  And if you are at risk for gestational diabetes and you and your health care provider need to do the GTT, note that I have been told the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists did a study that showed that 18 Brach's Jelly Beans (the small ones) had exactly 50 ml of glucose and was a valid alternative to the glucola for the gestation diabetes test. Women also tolerated the jellybeans much better with fewer side effects such as headache and nausea/vomiting. Maybe your care provider has heard of this and/or is willing to look into it to let you try it.
  
  Sleep
  
  Sleep can be a concern both in early and late pregnancy. Low blood sugar will make sleep problems work. Snack before bed and keep something by the bed so if you get up in the night, you can have something before going back to sleep.
  
  Lower Back pain
  
  Lower back pain can occur in the first trimester of pregnancy. This is as a result of hormonal changes that loosen your joints and the ligaments that attach your pelvic bones to your spine.
  
  Exercise helps to strengthen abdominal and lower back muscles. Swimming is a wonderful option because, not only does it strengthen the muscles, it also takes the strain off the joints.
  
  Labor and Delivery
  
  Just when you feel that you cannot stand another minute of your being pregnant, here is baby boo ready to be there. Remember that labor and delivery are hard work. Have your husband or partner or family help you by having good program food for you during this time. If you will be delivering in a hospital, take good food. Plan a cooler. Choose the things you love most.
  
  Be mindful of the hormonal and neurochemical impact of labor and delivery. While you are pregnant, your beta-endorphin is very high. It went up at ovulation and stayed up when you got pregnant. Labor makes it spike. Nursing maintains it. If you decide not to nurse, your BE level will drop. And this is what causes post partum depression. Talk with us on the list about things you can do to protect against this.
  
  You will be very, very tired after labor and delivery. This is normal. It is designed to keep you doing nothing but resting, sleeping and being with your new baby. Do not be surprised if all you want to do is sleep when you are not feeding the baby. This is the best time to call in all the offers of “How can I help?” Have your husband or partner or mom or best friend coordinate. Have people do the laundry, vacuum, take care of the other kids, get the groceries, walk the dog. You rest. And let your husband or partner buffer all the people who are excited and want to see you and the baby. Wait for 6 or 8 weeks and rest.
  
  Let your hormones and neurochemicals settle down. Do BE-raising things. Spend quiet time with your immediate family. Sleep. Be with the baby. Sleep some more. George’s Restore is a wonder drink for this time period. The particular type of protein in it helps to make breast milk. So it is your friend!