Importance of vitamin B during pregnancy

Natural News posted that University of Nottingham, England conducted a research on sheep and found

The embryos from the eggs of B-deficient sheep were significantly more likely to be obese and to experience high blood pressure in adulthood, and the effect was particularly pronounced in males.

Prior research in humans has indicated that women who are deficient in folate (a form of vitamin B-9) during the first 28 days of pregnancy, before signs of pregnancy usually appear, are significantly more likely to bear children who have spinal bifida and ancephaly. Supplementation with folate or folic acid after this time period will have no effect on a child that has already developed a neural tube defect.

While I can't seem to find any more information on this subject so I'll post a picture of a kitten. And ladies - take your vitamins :)

I've missed a couple of magnesiums and such last two days and my migraine hit me upside my head this morning coupled with nightmares.
Yay. -.-

Thanks for the comments!

Thank you everyone for posting your comments. I know sometimes I don't get back to them immediately, mostly due to the fact that this blog doesn't seem a built in future to let me know about it, but once in a while I got post by post and see if anyone has commented.

I'm very glad that I have peeps that follow my blog now and then. Granted sometimes they're not as entertaining as the first post, but due to some stress and stress in the family due to pregnancy and all those fun things that come with it, my fun side has been damaged a little.

Sure would love comments on how to make things easier on younger husbands who feel a lot of pressure from recent marriage and money, not to mention of having a baby on the way. :p

Morning sickness and migraines.

We all know how we can start feeling nauseous when the migraine comes around.
However it's hard to tell if it's migraines causing it or if it's pregnancy.

Here's a link to Nature News' interesting suggestion as to why pregnant women have morning sickness.

"It may be that the nausea women feel towards certain foodstuffs could be helpful, and that although it is inconvenient and miserable, their nausea could be Mother Nature's way of avoiding problems in pregnancy for both mother and fetus."

Perhaps then we - the pregnant women - should take this into consideration, it very well could be true :)

And here's the baby.

I did promise a picture. Here it is.

Headache during the day, thirst by night.

After eating a giant piece of watermelon I finally drifted off for a nap.

Upon waking up however, I had an incredible thirst take over. I guess that watermelon is too sweet. Even though it didn't taste like it.

Don't particularly like drinking water, so generally I try drinking anything mixed with water, or sparkling water, which tastes much better. This time around, drinking anything just made my stomach grumble.

Hello chicken soup. Well chicken broth I should say. Returned the balance of liquid back in place.

Also taking a nap thwarted my headache... sort of. Eyes are still sensitive, but auras seemed to have passed.

Of course the dreams are quite interesting when you listen to military channel while snoozing. I think I got shot in the head several times in combat and it just bounced the bullets off like they were rubber. Hurt too!

I'd call my own body a punk, but I like it.

headaches, heat and smoke in the air.

Headaches during the heat are bad. But something tells me that the smoke in the air is making things even worse than usual.

I've been taking my magnesium and calcium like a good girl, and thinking that's what has been making me feel better in the overall picture. However my auras are pretty insane. And while I've been lucky not to get one of my blinding migraines - it's letting me know that it's just around the corner.

Despite the fact that the weather is slightly more cooled off than usual, the quality of air is more than questionable.

Local KCRA News channel enlightens us:

A rash of fires ignited over the weekend by lightning has fouled air around the region, resulting in overcast skies over the capital. Visibility was cut to just four miles in Sacramento and less than two miles in Truckee and Marysville.

Migraine finally hit.

Started off nice and gentle during the focus group earlier today (about which I'll make a post shortly). And to dismay of my honey, finally caught up with me when I got home. Full blown auras, enough to make anyone go coo coo driving with very dim lights home.

Might have to take some Tylenol.

Doctor visit, doctor's office, migraines and pregnancy.

Finally!

I got poked, prodded, questioned, and annoyed.

It took me weeks to get ready for this appointment. Finally it came and I got so entranced by auras, that nice doctor with her tired smile and her over caffeinated, but equally as nice busy nurse, were barely noticeable. Well until the poked things painfully like. Then I definitely noticed.

Luckily my hubby was there and kept true to being my wingman, calling out answers on my family history if I spaced out too much, so all was good.

I finally realize that I completely snap out of reality when my auras kick in. It must be a similar effect as to those unfortunates who have to pay for this sort of kick on daily basis.

I am as of today exactly 9 weeks and 4 days along. Seriously - I must have had my instincts kick in like the very day I got pregnant or something. The early pregnancy test is around here somewhere with the date on it. I ought to double check it and see. Just for curiosity sake.

We both got to see baby flip around, his heart-beat going strong. Guess he or she is an energetic kind of kid :) Everything the doctor said and didn’t say led me to believe that everything is well with this pregnancy, and both baby and I are healthy as almonds.

I thwarted my migraine this time around by consuming minimal amount of green tea latte.
Must tell you however, the things that set my auras wild were the ceiling lights in the doctor's office. They always have what could be described as having a paralyzing effect. I should consider bringing some sunglasses with me in next time.
I’ll post the picture up as soon as I get it scanned :)

Excercise.

"The researchers hypothesized that maternal exercise during pregnancy can have a beneficial effect on fetal cardiac programming by reducing fetal heart rate and increasing heart rate variability. "

posted Paula on Wegohealth.com

“I felt like I didn’t have any energy to do anything, so I lay on the couch and gained a lot of weight. Then, with my second girl, I realize that even if you still didn’t feel that good, you’re still capable of moving about.

A former step aerobics instructor Wendy Beggs was quoted by Wicked Local Burlington

I can totally agree Mrs. Beggs. Nausea is extreme with me, and it seems to drain my body. Least until recently.

Get up and go
Believe it or not, one of the best ways to recover your lost energy is to take some regular exercise. It can also strengthen your muscles to help you carry the extra weight, improve your joints, and make it easier for you to give birth to your baby. If you’ve been keeping fit, then you can continue doing the exercise you usually do as long as you’re comfortable. Don’t suddenly start vigorous activities if you weren’t doing any before – now is not the time to take up rugby! If you go to a class, tell the teacher you’re pregnant. Swimming, yoga and walking are all good pregnancy exercises.

Quoted from Bounty.com a pretty cool website for expecting moms.


So dear friends, apparently rugby and football are out of the question. No worries, there's still gun ranges... J/k

Anyways, it seems like I've been a lazy bum, so definitely should get off my rump and give myself and baby a little bit more exercise.

Kitchen Table Medicine.

Very cool stuff on Kitchen Table Medicine.

Dr. Nicole had an interesting post about when to take your vitamins. Wish she would have talked about it a little more, but regardless - her posts are very interesting and informative.

Dr. Nicole wrote:

Minerals such as calcium and magnesium that serve as natural muscle relaxants can be taken in the evening to ensure a good night’s sleep.

I asked her a question in regards to taking these vitamins and staying awake instead of going to sleep at night - here's waiting for the answer :)

Regardless, my dear readers, do yourselves a favor if you're into natural remedies whatsoever - and read her site. I like it, refreshing ^.^

Exercise.

My sweetheart and I decided to do some exercises last night. I ended up plastered on the floor and lazy just after 20 push ups and roughly 100 crunches. Quite pathetic. But at least some sort of exercise.

This is a very healthy thing for me to do in general, considering prior to pregnancy I was active, healthy, and taking my vitamins and supplements on regular basis.

It controlled my headaches, but sometimes triggered them. Things like running and such did.

Yesterday however - besides my headache coming on, and my stomach getting overly upset over some soup I had, I also got my usual cramp in my lower abdomen area again.

Sleep settled my stomach and migraine, pink gross stuff in a bottle helped.

My appointment with my doctors is just around the corner. Finally I get to find out if its a kitten or a kid! And see what sort of wisdom my doctors have to share with me.

Sleep patterns

Here I was, posting something about stress and insomnia to Migraine Girl, and now I can't sleep properly at nights myself.

My body's going through some weird changes with this pregnancy, and while noise affects my mood, just about everything will set me off. My own hubby is keeping his distance from me, simply because I might give him rabies.

Yesterday I could hardly eat anything for majority of the day. Decided to at least get some milk in my stomach (I did take all my vitamins and they all stayed down) and perhaps calm my nausea, and it came back up in completely different texture. Gross. -.-

This morning I woke up ten times, and went back to sleep, after I got 8 hours finally couldn't stand it no more. Had to roll out and grab some cereal for breakfast. That seems to stay in my stomach okay, but still feels upset.

Stress levels are at a high level. Headache is not hitting me yet, but sensitivity to light and noise are there. Stomach ache is there too.

Migraine's coming.

How do I know my migraine's coming?

Well at first there are many many auras. Which are fun! Later they get only slightly annoying. Things like driving at night becomes extra fun, cause I see things normally aren't there.
Ah.. squiggly line... how I love thee.

Then there's misfiring in my brain, something major. I can tell it's misfiring. And I can tell it's major. Can't quite remember what.

You'd think I remember these little details. My brain seems to be so happy forgetting though...

With pregnancy, definitely nausea.
Pregnancy you say? Nausea?? Naw...

Well, since I can't tell when I'm nauseated due to migraine or when I'm nauseated because what should be rice pudding tastes horribly wrong, it's bit confusing, but it's there so it makes on the list.

Then there's a headache before the headache. It's possible I can get several of these during the week. They're just annoying little things. Come crawling up on my head, nagging at me slightly. I learned to recognize them long ago.

And then... the grand finale.
Either a very tiny man with a very big hammer moves into my head, and pounds away on one side until I at least buckle to my knees on that side.
Or my scalp feels like it wants to dearly depart me.
Or my eyes want to perceive every little bit of information in super great deal and soak in as much light as possible. Along with my ears. Causing most excruciating pain in case any aforementioned info gets through. (Latter just makes me real fun at parties, I name that song before the music goes on :D ... j/k)

And it's usually just a mixture of all of the above.

I received news from the "headache before headache" yesterday, that my dearly beloved migraine is coming back from her tiny vacation she has taken in the first trimester.

Granted I've had some migraines, but their pain level was really laughable.
And since I awoke extra early this morning with my dinner slowly making it back up the pipe, my stomach and neither regions cramping, and my eyes fascinated with that thing called morning sun, I'm guessing my guest is just around the bend.

Hopefully my dinner will stay, however I know I aggravated my stomach last night by eating something out of the ordinary. Home made country fried chicken with corn on the cob, killer mashed potatoes and some family salad. Killer mashed potatoes only because I finally just learned how to make them the right way, (with very moderate butter) and they taste oh so good.

Anyways, I'll try to keep you posted. Last night I felt great, up until I actually did something productive, after which I felt crampy and later simply passed out. So hopefully tonight is a little different.

Mind's a-twitter

Thought I was groggy when I first woke up. Went to the bathroom and had trouble peeing, also felt weird pain in my stomach. Then I sneezed. Then it felt like my abdominal muscles were going to jump out, it relaxed moments later, but pain was quite bad for the moment.

Everything seems to be just fine now... but...

Definitely woke me up.

O_O


Now for the breakfast, vitamins and talking more to my husband.

I give up.

In regards to prenatal vitamins and calcium.

Baby Center writes:

Calcium is one of the nutrients that you won't find a full day's supply of in your prenatal vitamin and mineral supplement. Most prenatal vitamins contain between 100 and 200 milligrams (mg) of calcium, but some don't contain any. That's because calcium is a particularly bulky mineral, and the pills are already big enough!

So ladies, due to the fact that non of the vitamins are FDA approved, it's quite possible that we get 0 to "barely enough" calcium in each vitamin. And the fantastic reason is cause they're just too big.

Since there were some studies made on kittens and overdose of vitamin A - it's most likely that the safest way for you to take extra calcium is by combining magnesium and calcium, and taking your daily amount as a supplement to your prenatal vitamins.

Since I got so scared of being pregnant in the beginning I hope low levels of calcium haven't done severe damage to me or the baby. I simply refused to take anything on the side to supplement my prenatal vitamins. Ever since Raingem convinced me to take extra magnesium and calcium - I have been getting better. My mind's a lot clearer now - so after reading the very same articles from the beginning of my pregnancy I finally see the parts that got skipped.

Last night.

Felt like utter crap. Couldn't even post. Between an oncoming migraine and feeling like I'm gonna puke my guts out or my body's going to break in two.

Today feel a little better - but still crappy.

ah... wonder if it's tied into being stressed.

Moodswings and cokes.

Low energy level often spells disaster to those around me. Once I get tired, I get usually cranky and either go to sleep or just get anal.
Not a great thing for a pregnant woman to do considering that stress levels are crucial at this stage.

However maintaining a healthy diet and including tiny amounts of caffeine kind of helps.

It also helps the pounding migraines that I get now and then. Since I take absolutely nothing for in terms of painkillers - during hot season my migraines slightly increase. Very moderate intake of caffeine takes the edge off.

Nausea is at an all times high tho. Quite possibly due to the high stress levels.

Moodswings are at an all time high as of late as well.

San Francisco

My husband and I took off in the middle of the day to take a short trip to San Francisco.

It was beautiful. Cold, smelly in places, with lights specifically aimed at those who have migraines, and yet beautiful.

Overcast and the pressure changes going into San Francisco were a little bit unnerving.

So is the cat that keeps rubbing herself against my keyboard trying to look cute so I'd pet her.

Thought I was going to get into a loop of a headache, but instead i ended up with a mild indigestion (guess my kid doesn't like salted pretzels as much as I do).

Auras did attack me later on on the way home. The neon like green sign above the exit off the toll bridge blinked wildly into my eyes, and I couldn't seem to read the letters as well as my loving husband. But all ended up well. I found the $4 and he was able to read the amount to me well in advance for me to find it.

The calcium supplements are helping. My bones and teeth do not seem so brittle anymore, and some of those bone bruises feel like they're healing up.

Now I must tend to the kitty, who now is pushing my arm off with her paw. Good night. ^.^

Fantastically stressed.

Today I had to attend a wedding.

While it was a happy occasion, I got all sorts of things swimming in front of my eyes, and could have sworn I was about to pass out several times.
My only saving grace is that I had my husband right there next to me the entire ordeal supporting me with his sweet smile and that happy glimmer in his eyes.

It made me carry on, and when I got home my lovely one and I got into a long discussion trying to get ourselves to become better partners and hopefully better parents to our children.

Speaking of children, my little one is expanding my stomach gently ever so. With my migraines recently it's been kind of scary - since seeing stars and having floaty things in front of your vision is just the sort of thing you don't want to see while pregnant.

I'm still feeling stressed out to the max. Feel like I need a day off. Perhaps soon.

stress

is debilitating. Pregnant women should stay away from it or learn how to manage it.

Things that can trigger it are numerous. But all of them can be dealt with through discussion, understanding, sleep and breathing techniques.

Discussion and understanding are those things that are easily supplied by your loved ones.
Sleep is self explanatory - don't really want to get too much of it, but you still need at least 8 hours or so.
Breathing techniques on the other hand can be obtained here.

Finally!

A comprehensive chart for eating healthy while pregnant.

Your Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
Most pregnant women need 300 extra calories per day to support a baby's growth. so eat smart and make healthy food choices. Try to eat foods from each of the five food groups every day. They provide important nutrients that you and your baby need.

Be sure to watch your serving sizes; you may be eating more than you need to.

March of Dimes has a thorough guide on this subject.

Before I came across many sites that barely touched diets for pregnant women, or went into this overly long and detailed explanations that simply made your mind race with... "wow that's a lot of food for one day". So finally, I come across something more sensible.

I urge the ladies that are pregnant everywhere - to listen to their bodies, and read less about negative things and what not. Don't wait til it's too late - eat healthy, take your prenatal vitamins, take your calcium or iron supplements and magnesium. It's silly to do what I've done the last month or two. Trying to abstain from things that were lacking in my diet. Prenatal vitamins are simply not enough sometimes.

rant.

Last night I started ranting this to my sibling and it was suggested for me to rant about it here in my blog.

I have not been taking calcium / magnesium supplements due to every site and every nurse / doctor that hasn't seen me personally - saying that taking extra minerals and extra vitamins might harm the kid.

Well I'm annoyed. That and I started taking extra calcium / magnesium supplements as of last night. My joints hurt, my gums are beginning to bleed and all my pains take literally months to heal.

Example: I hurt my hand approximately two months ago by taking excess energy out on the most guiltiest looking fridge, and it still hurts. The bruise is gone, everything is gone, but so is the strength of those finger joints in certain positions.

I used to be able to heal injuries in matter of days - not months.

When you ask the nurse straight question like: should I take the supplemental calcium and magnesium to the prenatal vitamin? She flat out said no.

Granted, I'm my own person and should take responsibility - but I made a choice of not taking enough calcium and magnesium simply because I thought I was following a professional advice, which should be more educated that than my body. ... Right?

Guess not. Hence the banana, milk, cheese craving in the last week. That's not pregnancy cravings, that's my body crying for some calcium.

Anyways, duties call.

Ciao.

Daily migraine.

Heat, sun, Barnes and Nobles.

Only thing kept me going was some hot chocolate followed by green tea frapucino at star bucks. Migraine still got the best of me. Despite the fact that there was no sharp pains that are normally likely to occur, every smell, sound and light affected me in worst way possible.

Day's over however and I'm back in my dimly lit house with computer on lap so I'm good. After a short while I'm going to get some sleep - hopefully not ten hours like it's been lately, and get some stuff done tomorrow.

Oh and I found magical drink = sparkling mineral water. It's the best. :D

Junk food.

I thought I liked burgers, and for a time I craved them. I had them three times in a row, and now my stomach is totally rebelling.

Today my migraine was at a minimal, increasing only towards the night time. Now it's pretty much full blown and out there, paired with nausea and all that good stuff, not fun.

I'm trying to follow the nurse's advice and not eat and drink at the same time, but I'm still having a hard time.
It appears that I can barely taste salt in my food or pepper so that's been annoying as well.

Other than that I'm doing okay.

Mornings, food and Alice in Wonderland.

It took me a little while to explain adventures of Alice in Wonderland. But alas, I think I am finally victorious. My husband wants to watch the movie.

His desire to understand children and people afflicted with migraines is most commendable.

This morning I woke up with an intense feeling of morning sickness. I took it fairly easy, but my mistake was in not waking up early enough to eat a cracker or two.
When I checked last my weight actually dropped 3lbs instead of gaining any further. I did as the nurse suggested and drank only a while after eating, and didn't eat things that were obviously going to make me puke, however I did stick with something high in both carbohydrates and proteins.

In and Out burger. To be exact. 39gms of carbohydrates and 16gms of protein. With 390 calories intake, it seems a lot, but rest of my day is pretty damn healthy, all that chicken rice soup and what not. Plus I get more water or Gatorade (which has been a godsend during times of my feeling horrible) in between.
Hamburger did leave me parched, since normally I like to digest my food with a liquid of some sort. But I followed through and voila, nausea is at a minimum today.

Granted, as soon as I feel it coming on I have to curb it by eating a little bit more soup or at least a cracker or two.

My migraines were present in form of a sinus pressure immeasurable today and yesterday. Not totally intolerable but still quite annoying.

To add on to the trouble there's also the fact that my allergies are wrecking havoc upon my nose. Half the time I can smell like superman, other times my nose is horribly plugged up and I can barely stand the headache.

Oh well - there was one more thing = I do exercise moderately at least every other day somehow, and today there was the strangest sensation of having my hip grinding away on itself and pain shooting all the way through my left leg and left arm. As strange as that may be - I figure it's just my back going out of whack yet again.

Cramps today were pretty minimal, increasing towards the evening.

That's all for today's report of my daily aches and pains.

Nurse advice

Called the nurse tonight. Mentioned to her my nausea and vomiting and slight but constant cramping.
Her advice on nausea and vomiting was to break down my meals in 6 different. To separate my meals from my drinks. To eat raspberries, suck on ginger slices or lemon slices to help with nausea. I mentioned that I can't really drink water cause of it's horrible taste, so the nurse suggested I drink herbal teas, ginger drinks or mix water with little bit of juice.

Today my stress is to the maximum. The hormonal change is busting my chops literally and making me mad as a wet hen. Anything that's out of norm and I start splitting the chips in the bedroom door. Which is ridiculous and my husband tells me to mellow out before I hurt the baby.

He's got a good point, I think I'll go to sleep.

Morning sickness.

Most horrible feeling ever. Constant but mild nausea throughout the day finally pushed me over the edge and sent me packing to my closest bathroom purging my body of those unnecessary fruits and vitamins that i took mere 30 minutes before.

Ah, got to love the controversy of how your body needs but can't have.

Ginger supposedly helps this. I took some hints from former pregnant ladies to drink ginger ale. No good. On the flip side it could be because calorie free / sugar free ginger ale is just gross.

I felt like milk might take things on a different route, but it made things worse.
Went with that liquid yogurt that's tasty and comes in a bottle, also light on calories but full on protein and those pesky vitamins we need to take. However it's tipping my stomach dangerously, warning to come out and make a mess.

Daily routine didn't involve me calling the nurses station. I'm anticipating lack of results. Must call tomorrow morning. Didn't realize that they don't work after business hours.

WEC

World Extreme Cage fighting.

Watching the light-weights is where it's at for the peeps like me who like martial arts.
It's fascinating how light/feather weights bring the sexy back into mixed martial arts.

My cramps are coming back a little more today. Migraine is not as pronounced, because I've tried taking Magnesium and Calcium supplements - it's helping a little. But still somewhat disoriented all day. Could be partially cause of nausea and cramps, could be partially cause of the auras.

My sense of smell again has tripled in the last day. Therefore my grilled salmon with onions and noodles with vegetables came out awesome, versus dangerous for your health.

Must call the nurses tomorrow. And also going to start practicing relaxation techniques tomorrow.
I'll keep this blog posted on my condition.

Week ends and new life beginnings.

Well ladies and gentlemen,

We did it.

No - we already did that, hence I'm knocked up. But we did that other thing.
Gone to Lake Tahoe and got married. ! Finally !

It was exciting, wonderful, stressful, mind boggling, pure and fascinating all at the same time. And only at one point scary. But I think it's because of my inability to pull my wedding dress zipper up close by myself. And we were trying to keep the tradition and not let him see the dress til the very end.

Location was wonderful, migraine was actually leaving me alone for the ceremony long enough to get tongue tied while repeating some of the vows, and our minister was very kind and understanding.

On the way to Lake Tahoe my migraines were the worst. Apparently change in altitude (equals to less atmospheric pressure) made it absolutely horrendous on blood vessels (makes them dilate). Therefore going up to places for migraineurs is a no-no.

I made it fine however, and despite increased nausea and occasional stress attacks we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

The worst part and at the same time one of the highlights of this get-away was a comedy club where my eyesight was cut by 75% - which with me generally leads to more nausea and incredible sleepiness. Comedians were quite cheerful however so it was no trouble staying awake. Some sugary stuff in form of virgin strawberry daiquiri and some ginger ale later to maintain the insides of my stomach where they belong.

Since my husband and I came back my siblings kept pointing out that I look tired and worn out. Which I feel to a degree. Truthfully this pregnancy has been extremely tiresome for me. My get-away has prevented me from taking some time out for myself and calling UC Davis 24 hour hot line for nurses and asking them about this in specific.
Tomorrow I'll be able to do that just to make sure that I can indeed supplement my prenatal vitamins with something or perhaps change them altogether so that I get more magnesium and calcium and perhaps (this is hearsay) iron - which is supposedly increases energy levels during pregnancy somehow.

Nausea and sharp, yet short headaches right now are main problems. Migraines are not as painful as they can be, but the light show continues as per schedule. This morning was pretty nice since I got about 9 hours of sleep, but still I was much more sensitive to light than usual.
And while I got much more tired throughout the day I'm still feeling okay, with exception of my normal dull ache in my head and light nausea that should be fixed with a tomato sucker.

In lieu of unhappiness and discontent with my migraine Gary and I are excited. Our new life has just begun. We both wonder what this marriage has in store for us. We got a pretty good idea and have great outlook on it. I'm sure we'll do great.

As far as the baby. Still doing fine, gives me just the stomach troubles and keeps me tired - in time this will be fixed. My next appointment with the doc is creeping up on us. Hopefully it will be as insightful as the literature that was given to us at the first appointment.