Vitamin and Nutrition while pregnant questions...

Hi there. I will be 12 weeks pregnant tomorrow (1/5) at 3 1/2 years post op. I'm trying to be good about taking all of my vitamins and supplements except that I'm having a hard time with the prenatals and the calcium. I just received an order today from Bariatriceating that has a nice protein sampler in it and some vitamin and calcium samples also so that I can see what will agree with me. I had to start making protein smoothies because I was losing hair like mad and carbs were really all that soothed my tummy.

What I'd like to know is... what have others taken to maintain a healthy level of nutrition during pregnancy? I plan to breastfeed exclusively since I have with all of my children... so I don't want to let myself get unhealthy because I won't have any time after the baby to work on it either. kwim? Thanks for any help!

Mary - anxiously awaiting July 20th... only 4 days shy of my 4 year surgiversary!

I cannot stress how important it is that you find a regimen that works for you -- baby will bleed you dry and leave you nothing left.  They will take all that you have and then you won't have any stores left.

Be sure that you are getting regular bloodwork to ascertain your nutritional status as well.

Congrats on your pregnancy!  Fortunately now that you're 12w your tummy should start to calm down and the morning sickness should be leaving.  Taking your vitamins are a MUST!  Your baby is going to take what s/he needs and you are going to be the one to suffer the most.  I found that the prenatal that went down the easiest for me was the One Source brand.  One dose is 2 pills daily so I took 4 (which was recommended by my surgeon & okayed by my OB/GYN.  I did 2x the prenatal, b complex, sublingual b12 & calcium.  I also added 3-4 snacks during the day to get in the added calories.  Both of my babies (both post op) were perfectly healthy.  Good luck!!

This is what I take each day and have had great labs so far 2 times since I got pg in July (I get labs every 3 months since I got pg):

wake up:
1 Centrum chewable, 1000 mcg sublingual b12, and 500 mg vitamin C (to help w/iron absorption mainly)

2 hrs later- mid morning (w/a snack): 500 mg Calcium Citrate

early afternoon (w/snack)- 500 mg CC

w/dinner- 500 mg CC

just before bed- 1 prenatal and folic acid (800 mcg)

I plan to continue take the prenatal after I have the baby too, while I am breastfeeding too.  I asked my bariatric surgeon how much protein I should be getting in a day and he said to shoot for 40-60 gms a day.  He said that the 100 gms a day is something that a body builder should shoot for and that half of that or around 60 gms is a great number for a pg lady like me.   I have read on babycenter.com that elevated levels of progesterone and hormones from the pregnancy can cause hair loss in some women.   It can even happen after you have your baby too, the hair loss!



 

Thanks ladies. I have been trying to increase my protein intake immensely but it seems like I have to increase everything and eat/drink constantly! I have been getting horrible heart racing and shakes when I go more than an hour without eating. I spoke with my doctor and was told to increase my protein and complex carb intake, eat hourly and increase my water intake. Well... being a bypass patient means I don't eat and drink at the same time so I feel like I'm constantly focused on ingesting something... and making sure I take my vitamins in the process!!! It's sooooo time consuming. In the end, all I care about is having a healthy baby with a mom that is healthy enough to care for the baby and the rest of my crew. In the mean time, I may need to whine about all of this darn responsibility though. I have 7 children and NEVER had any pregnancy complications! lol.

about the hair loss, I looked on americanpregnancy.org and this is what it said:

Approximately 90% of your hair is growing at any one time, while the other 10% enter a resting phase. Every two to three months the resting hair falls out and allows new hair to grow in its place. Telogen effluvium is the excessive shedding of hair that occurs one to five months following pregnancy. This is not uncommon, affecting somewhere between 40 to 50% of women; but like most changes during pregnancy, it is temporary.

It also has a whole article about hair loss if you are interested in reading it, just click on the link above.  GL to you!