Food we can't eat...

The deal with lunchmeat is that there is an increased risk of exposure to Listeria bacteria, which can cause birth defects.  If you heat it to 140 degrees, it's okay to eat. 

the pp had it nailed. Same with the soft cheeses - I LOVE feta and would go through withdrawl if I couldn't eat it until after the baby came! lol

Just heat the cheese a bit and you are good to go. I am avoiding lunchmeat for the first trimester. RIght now the thought of heating the lunchmeat kind of turns my stomach! lol I have heard plenty of people who eat it through the entire pregnancy and are just fine!

I am the worst mother in the world.

I KNOW about these warnings and have for 5 years but I still eat my prepackaged lunchmeat straight from the package.

I eat my feta.

I change my cat litter.

I'm going to hell.

What's the deal with cat litter anyway, I know its harmful but what is it when you breathe it in?  I'm already making DH change the litter now "just incase" I am preggo.  HAHA, I'm using it to my full advantage!

Toxoplasmosis is a bacteria found in some cat's feces. It can only be spread to humans during like the first 48 hours that the cat contracts it and mostly it's only in outdoor cats. It also can be in gardens sandboxes, and flower beds .... cause you know how much cats love to poop there!

Look it up if your worried. You can still change the litter, just wash your hands thoroughly when done and don't touch your mouth until your hands are clean.

Then again, if you want.... just make DH do it, but you can still look up Toxoplasmosis for more info!

You're not a bad mom and not going to hell.  You're just taking risks that you feel are acceptable risks.  I was paranoid in my first pregnancy and if I'm ever pregnant again, I will do the same.  Any risk is not worth it to me.  Maybe that makes me a drama queen.  I'm ok with that. 

I have been CRAVING feta bad and have resisted, b/c i wasn't sure if it could be pasterized or not pasterized...heard it was NOT. I'm going to look for it though!

lunch meat is bad b/c of listeria... I know several people that said they were ok, but I decided to not take the risk. I think if it is very fresh (as in just cut), it is ok.

It's not the cat litter, it's the bacteria in the feces.  So, it's any outside garden/planting area that cats have access to, cat litter, open yard.. blah blah blah.   Look up Toxoplasmosis.  If you've been around cats all the time, you probably already have an immunity, and it's even something that you can have a simple blood test to see about, if you're really concerned if you have the immunity.  I've had cats all my life, but hubby did the litter the last 9 months on threats from his mom she's fly here and kill him if he let me touch it. 

And if you're really craving lunch meat, just take and heat it and make a grilled something with it.  I love to have grilled pastrami or roast beef, with thin sliced tomatoes, Colby jack cheese on a slice of sourdough cut in half.  I just toss the meat in and heat it on the side, then add it to the sandwich and finish grilling it all together.  It helps melt the cheese too!

And lastly, I do believe that Laughing Cow has the mini baby bells, and I would have sworn I saw them in Bleu Cheese, and they are pasteurized.

Baby bell comes in Bleu Cheese!  DAMN DAMN DAMN...Sometimes I wish I was in the States!  We have Baby Bell in Indonesia - but not bleu cheese...and we have bleu cheese...but not in my budget at $35+ per pound.  Bleu cheese w/sliced pears....MMmmmmm..mmmmm...good.  I used to get it in Belgium for $8 a kilo (2 pounds!)....

Cheese is ok as long as it's pasturized.

The thing with lunchmeat is that since you eat it cold it can carry bacteria due to it's nature.

If you eat it, just make sure you get it from somewhere where you know it is clean etc. And don't keep it too long. Of course if it makes you sick, pitch it and if it looks off or smells funky... it needs to go to.

If you heat it until "steaming" it kills all the bacteria so like boiling hot dogs eliminates that problem.

This is one of the areas I have "cheated" during this pregnancy. I just don't go to subway anymore because you never know whose washing what.

It's also more dangerous during the first trimester as the baby is smaller and a serious bacterial infection could hinder brain development.