Group Raw Pregnancy Thread

[NuttyRawMom]

Calling all preggo raw vegan mommies-to-be!!

I thought that since it seems to be the trend around here, we should gather together under one thread (or maybe start a yahoo group??) to discuss our pregnancies as they develop....which could turn into a new raw baby thread as time goes on! Doesn't matter how far along you are or how raw you are, I would love to share this with you!

I will start and anyone who wants to join in, please do! I found out definitely 3 days ago that I am pregnant after not 'starting' on schedule Christmas day. What a present! I had to wait until Wedsnesday when the stores re-opened here to buy a test for proof and how impatient I was! This is my 4th child and we are so very excited. My due date is Sept. 3rd.

First pregnancy was SAD, second was high raw vegan halfway through (when I first discovered it!), and third was sadly back to sad, yet with a lot of benefits of raw thrown in (lots and lots of salad, juicing, etc...). After going on/off for so long and finally going 100% raw, I feel this is the way to be for life! I am confident and excited to try this pregnancy 100% raw.

Luckily, I have not suffered with morning sickness in my previous pregnancies, and we will see how this one plays out as I am only 4 1/2 weeks along and am still feeling fine.

How is everyone else doing in your pregnancies? I would also love to hear from those of you who are further along and have travelled the road longer than me! Good luck and congrats to all.

[RebeccaI]

I am 16 weeks pregnant with #7 - first pregnancy that has been anything but totally SAD. Would love to get to know other raw mamas on this board. ;)

There is a yahoo group if you are interested rawpregnancy@yahoogroups.com - nice ladies and great information!

Hope to see you soon!

[Angelic Light]

Hi,

I am pregnant with my fourth child - 26 weeks. I am due in April.

I am vegan, about 50% raw at the moment and all my children are vegan too..

Love Catherine
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Angelic Light]

I forgot to say congratulations[I] NuttyRawMom on your new pregnancy!!

[NuttyRawMom]

Thanks Catherine!

And congrats to you and Rebecca. Number 4 for two of us and 7 (wow!) for another. Experienced moms so far...anyone out there new(er) to this?

You two are also much further along than I am. How has it been so far? Has it been any different than previous pregnancies with the addition of raw? Rebecca, how raw are you/do you want to be?

So far, I have noticed that my weight loss came to a stop after I got pregnant (before I knew I was wondering why!). I have lost a total of 15 kg on raw and want to lose another 15 (+/-) more. I was hoping to get my body into the shape I want it to be in before trying for our next, but as this was a surprise for us, looks like it will have to wait. I don't want to worry about weight issues this time. Hopefully just knowing I am choosing the best foods will help me with that.

Also, I noticed that I am not feeling 'satisfied' on lighter raw fare like I usually am. Even if I were to eat enough salad for 3 people with nuts and avocados and such, I feel like it just didn't hit the spot. This has been my usual lunch for so long now (of course, in realistic proportions!), it is surprising to me to suddenly feel this way. I seem to be craving more sweets, too. Today, after lunch I made raw chocolate for me and the kids and yep, it sure did hit the spot!;)

I am staying open to eating cooked vegan if the need arises during this time, but so far, so good. I would really like to come out in the end with an all raw pregnancy.

Good luck to you and I hope all is well.

[bonbon]

Hi all! I have just passed the 36 week mark - due date 31 January!

Funny thing is that I got pregnant right after I did a spring detox cleaning and was preparing to go 100% raw! Anyway, although I did not have morning sickness, I did have an aversion to fresh fruits and vegetables!! I craved a lot of meat and dairy and gave in to my cravings so I would feel better...

Second trimester I found myself in New Orleans most of the time for work (not a very raw-friendly town!!) and was able to begin eating at least salads...

Now, as I get closer to the birth day I am trying to focus more on eating as raw as possible (getting as much high-water content food in me as possible) - helps me sleep better and hopefully the birth will be as painless as possible (haha!). Also drinking raspberry leaf tea (3x/day) and Alissa's green smoothies...

I'm also eager to check out the yahoo group (will sign up today). I keep track of my daily nutrition intake using fitday.com just to ensure I get the amount required.

Looking forward to chatting with you all!
:)

[RebeccaI]

I am 100% raw - though I have been dealing with some HORRIBLE cravings lately! Ugh! Never done anything like this before but I just feel sooo good. The weight is continuing to drop if I stay raw - but I had a significant amount to lose too - if I give in to cravings it coming RUNNING back!

Congratulations to all of you! BonBon - will be sending thoughts and prayers your way as your due date gets closer. Whoohooo! Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?

How many girls/boys to y'all have? Our children are 15yo DD, would be 9yo DD (in heaven), 8yo DS, 6yo DD, 4yo DS and 18 month DD.

Hope you all are feeling awesome!

[Caroline]

Hi! I am 17 weeks pregnant with #5 and totally excited. I have been trying to go raw since last March. I have been off and on but keep coming back to raw.

I have finally done it! I am on day 3 and feel pretty good. Day 1 and 2 were rough but today has been much better. I am so pumped to do this pregnancy raw.

I have been reading posts for months now but just registered. So, hello to all!

[NuttyRawMom]

Hi and welcome to the thread Caroline and Bonbon!

Bonbon - wow, you are almost there! Keep us up to date with how things are going as you are approaching the finish line (or should I say the new start line? :))

Caroline - congrats on making it to day 3 and beyond.

I love raw and it feels so good. On the other hand, I have had my first experience with morning sickness ever and it has thrown me way off. (I knew I had it too easy each time before and it's as if this is payback.) It isn't just morning sickness, more like all day sickness and it is triggered or exaggerated by motion sickness (riding in a car kills me, no more dancing/twirling/playing silly with my other kids). At first, I tried to find raw foods that helped. Heavier things like my favorite Sesame Vanilla Shake from Karen Knowler worked well, but then even those things didn't work. I had a bad experience with a dehydrator recipe and things have gone down hill since. I can't even think of salad (tragic for me since I eat a large one every day!). I have for the past week tried everything from raw to cooked, healthy to junk.

NOTHING except drinking lots of water helps. I don't know what to do. I am going back to pure water and fresh juices to see if I can clear out my system again and hope that helps. At least I can still get my greens in by juicing. I figure that this is the closest I can get to food and hopefully get the benefits that the water brings to settle my stomach. I will let you know how it goes...

I was (still am!) looking forward to a raw pregnancy. Hopefully my 1 week detour will not keep me off track to get back on the path!:(

And Rebecca - my kids are 6 1/2 yo DS, 4 yoDD, and 21 month DD.

[IamLoved]

Hello,

I am 6 1/2 weeks pregnant. I am almost afraid to post here because we suffered a miscarriage this fall at 8 weeks. I am really wanting to stay raw for this pregnancy but I am having horrible morning sickness. Like someone else said it is not just morning sickness but all day sickness. I can't eat salads. I just tried eating some bananas and it made me sick. Mind you I don't actually throw up, I just feel horrid, sick to my stomach, queasy. I don't know what to do. I am already overweight, I want to eat raw because it is the best thing for me and our baby, but UGH I just feel so sick.
Help!!

We have 5 children here on Earth ages 9,6,5,almost 4 and 2 and one little baby in heaven.

[Purl]

I'm not pg, but I wanted to congratulate you all! It's so awesome to see some people having larger families. we have 4 dc-and people seemed -shocked- at such a "big" family. lol!

Praying for happy, healthy raw pregnancies for you all! :cool:

[NuttyRawMom]

Thanks for your encouragement and prayers, Purl! I love the idea of a larger family and even this is baby number 4 for us, my hubby and I still dream of twins! ;)

[NuttyRawMom]

Hi Missionary Mama, welcome to our thread!

My husband was reading over my shoulder and asked if I posted what you wrote...our morning sickness symptoms sound sooo alike! I can't find any food that settles my stomach and have had unrelenting nausea for over a week now. I am 7 weeks today, due Sept 3. This is my first time to experience it at all.

So far I have found drinking large amounts of water to be helpful. Waiting too long to eat, eating to much, eating high fat foods, and motion sickness seem to be triggers. I have been paying close attention trying to figure this one out! I can't eat salads no matter how I try! I am really disappointed on this one. I was 100% starting out, but not since trying to get over this. I have tried anything, but even cooked foods haven't helped. So, I decided to go back to all raw and stop looking for cooked food relief because it just hasn't worked!

As of now, I still have the sick feeling, but in the last day or so it hasn't been so extreme. Juicing has worked for me to up my greens intake (my family does a daily carrot, spinach, beet juice and it tastes sweet like carrots...kids like it and so do I!) as well as some smoothies. The heavier smoothies like choc/banana with greens work, but lighter fruit smoothies like apples or pineapple turn my stomach.

My suggestion is that if you have found cooked helps your nausea settle down, opt for healthy cooked vegan foods like potatoes, brown rice, or whole grains with lightly steamed veggies and eat as much raw as possible. Then, as you feel better, try to up it more with less cooked. What do you think? I personally wanted to go back to all raw asap as I struggle with junk temptations even when eating healthy cooked...uuuggghh!

I am sorry to hear about your loss. We lost a baby between our first and second child 4 years ago. I was almost 13 weeks, just at that turning point of the second trimester when the chances are supposed to go down. It was a very hard time for me and I understand your fears of not wanting to speak up about this new pregnancy. I wanted to say that I am thankful every day for the beautiful little girl I have now who wouldn't be here had we not lost the first baby. I know that you can never 'replace' the one you lost, but you can pour all your love and energy into the ones you have and the new one you now have growing inside you!

I hope this helps in some way. Sorry this was so long, but I felt like I needed to share! You are in my prayers!

[IamLoved]

nuttyrawmom,

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement. You know I find that I still feel yucky when I eat cooked, just not so much. I think it is the thought that, hey if I eat that I will feel better nd then I don't and I still feel yuck, and on top of that I feel bad for not staying raw.

Wow, I am due Sept 3rd as well! LMP was Nov 27th, and that was the date given by the nurse at the Dr. office. Neat. Someone else had said exactly what you said about if I hadn't lost our other baby we wouldn't be having this one. It is a nice thought. I just need to make it through these next few weeks. We lost our baby before at 8 weeks. They did an ultrasound and the baby was measuring 8 weeks, right on target, but no heartbeat. So we have an ultrasound scheduled for next Friday to see if everything is ok. It was a really horrible time for me and I ate very badly in my depression and gained lots of weight which made me more depressed. A very vicious cycle. I don't want to gain a ton of weight and I want to be raw. I just feel so much better when I am.

Thanks for the tips on food. I am going to try some smoothies with spinach. I am not getting in any veggies, they just aren't sitting well. Isn't it awful that when your pregnant you can stomach healthy stuff like salad but french fries go down just fine? Not fair.

Well tomorrow is a new day and hopefully I can make it through raw. I think I just need to ralize that I don't feel any better eating cooked, I justthink I will. I will do a smoothie and some juice. and lay down when I am not feeling well.

Thanks for the prayers, they are most welcome!

[MaineMomof4]

Hey everyone I'm trying to do a raw food diet with my husband and 3 kids. Any suggestions on recipes, books, websites, words of wisdom? I have a 5 year old (boy) 3 1/2 year old (boy) 1 1/2 year old (boy) and FINALLY a baby girl due in March. My 3 1/2 year old will eat everything and anything, 5 year old is ok but can be picky and 1 1/2 year old is the same and can't eat certain things like salad, carrots, celery, and hard produce or veggies. Just worrying about the kids eating enough and getting enough calories and vitamins. I feel like I don't have enough to offer them or enough variety to keep the oldest and youngest satisfied. Any feedback or input would be GREATLY appreciated. We did try Almond and Hemp milk and the baby and my 3 1/2 year old loved them but no go with my 5 year old. Any thoughts on juicing (Champion juicer?), Vitamix blenders, or dehydrators? THANKS A BUNCH!

[Purl]

I love the idea of a larger family and even this is baby number 4 for us, my hubby and I still dream of twins! ;)

then your screen name fits you well! j/k
:p (did you know I have twins?)

[IamLoved]

Mainemomof4

Hi,

I was just wondering where you lived. We are also in Maine in the Augusta area. I would be happy to help you out with meal ideas if you email me.

deschenefmly@usadatanet.net

We have a girl who is almost 10, then 3 boys aged 6,5 and almost 4 and a little girl age 2.

welcome to the boards!

Alisha

[MaineMomof4]

Are you still thinking of starting a group on Yahoo or just chatting here? This is my 4th baby due in March and I have been healthy eating and doing organic but discovered raw is the way to go but having some trouble sticking with it since I don't know much yet and all the bad food (bad meaning the so called healthy dead food) is CALLING ME! Any advice?? By the way my friend is due Sept. 3rd too but she is a junk food junky, just uneducated and doesn't really believe a lot of what I tell her, too bad huh =( Well congrats and keep up the good work!

[MaineMomof4]

Hi, I live in Bangor, only 1 hour from Augusta =) My husband and I moved back here about 3 1/2 years ago from New York. I grew up here but my hubby is from New York. Much cheaper here but I do miss some of the conveniences in New York sometimes. Have you lived in Maine your whole life? Talk to you soon!

[Angelic Light]

Congratulations to all the pregnant mamas!!

How are you all doing? Hope everyone is fine...

I am now 34 weeks pregnant. It has flown by so fast!!

Has anyone had their babies yet?

Love Catherine
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[MaineMomof4]

Hello all. I've been 2cm for over 2 weeks now and at my appointment on Monday they said I was 3 1/2cm and 80% efaced. Who knows could be any day now, I'm supposed to go in next Wed. or Thurs. if I make it that long. Wish me luck!

[RebeccaI]

Hey y'all

I just passed the 24 week mark. Little one is very active. :rolleyes: I feel absolutely incredible - better than with any other pregnancy. Whoohooo! Still losing about 1/2 pound per week - yay! - butt is continuing to shrink but the belly is definitely growing! :D

Hope you all are doing! Praying for y'all!

Blessings ~

[elian]

Well, I have been away from this board for quite awhile... At the first half of December I had been 100% raw for well over a month and a half. Then I "broke" at a wedding and with Christmas and a trip right around the corner I didn't worry too much about it... though I ate a lot of raw... mostly high raw except on my trip at the beginning of Jan. When I returned I just could NOT get back to much raw. About a week later the only thing I wanted/craved was carbs... cooked carbs. That entire week I knew something was up and I felt terrible. I thought it was just from eating the carbs. By Friday I decided to do a test and found out that we were pregnant with our second child (our first is 7).

So, now this is a over a month later and I'm just now getting to where I can fix ANY food... much less something raw. I have hardly had any raw to be honest. I've had an all day sickness sometimes. Now I'm feeling better and that I can venture back into at least a partially raw world. However, I don't know if I can handle foods in the dehydrator smelling up the house (this morning I threw up just from smelling myself go to the bathroom!)

Most of my fruits don't taste as well as before. I'm just now getting back to eating A raw piece daily. Pineapple usually is heaven for me... but not lately. I'm going to try again this week. About the time I found out I was preg I had ordered a case (9) young coconuts. I actually let them go bad and had to throw them away because I didn't have the desire or strength to at least open them up and freeze them away.

Anyway, I'm writing all this to share my journey with others who might be in the same boat. My plan is to work back to atleast a 50% raw diet. I'm going to see if I can handle a smoothie again or some juices.

[IamLoved]

Hi everyone,

I have been gone for awhile. I had morning sickness so bad I couldn't eat raw. It was very upsetting. But now I am back on raw. Yippee. Yesterday was my 1rst 100% raw day in such a long time and I am so happy that I made it through. I am finally able to enjoy fruit and vegetables again.

Elian - just wanted to encourage you. I am 15 weeks along, due Sept 3rd but not expecting baby until the middle of September. We are notriously late. I had really bad morning sickness too. It will pass and then you will love raw again. Good luck!

[Rawsome Ginger]

HI there! I am a little over 22 weeks and finally feeling better after 14 weeks of being sick!! Still having a hard time with raw veggies. Even my veggie juices. Am in love with fruit though. Haven't been able to be 100% raw. I have one meal a day cooked. I eat less being pregnant. And very light. I seem to get full very easy. Am gaining weight though, if I get back to 100% do you guys think I will drop some of it off?

[sherahtaylor]

Hi everyone ~

Just found out this morning I'm pregnant with baby #6! I don't even know when my last period was, but I should be due somewhere around November-December. This will be my 2nd raw pregnancy - my first was in August when I got pregnant after doing a 30-day master cleanse and was 100% raw for 5 days, then conceived. I was 100% raw with no cheating whatsoever for 2 1/2 months, when I miscarried late October.

It was really sad but I also did have a 3 month old baby when I got pregnant in the first place, so I was both sad & happy that I would be able to have more time with my sweet little Marie. She needed her momma a bit longer.

My baby would have been due this May, and now here I am pregnant again! I just found out about raw late last summer in August, so all my previous pregnancies (five babies in 7 years) were SAD. I always, without fail, gain 45-50lbs and am VERY sick for three long months.

With my first raw pregnancy I felt sooooo good! I was barely nauseous at all, for about 3 weeks, then it went away - I don't know if that was because the baby stopped thriving at that point or not. I also continued to lose weight but very slowly, 9lbs total in about 3 months. Still, I was elated because that was so different from all five of my previous pregnancies.

So far I haven't been sick one iota with this pregnancy - I estimate that I'm maybe 6-8 weeks along. Usually I am sick by this time and remain that way until a good 12-14 weeks. Guess we'll see! I also have a blog that details each day:

http://sherahsjourney.blogspot.com/

[elian]

Congratulations Sherah. I am now at 18+ weeks and my sickness finally ended last week. I had virtually no sickness 7 years ago with my first non-raw pregnancy. I'm still not 100% raw, but working on it. Good luck!

Elian

[IamLoved]

Hi Sherah!

I saw a post from you in the raw pregnancy yahoo groups and I wanted to respond but since I saw you here as well I figured I could just do it here! Congrats on your pregnancy!!

I wanted to write to you for a couple reasons.

First I am pregnant with baby #6 right now too. Our children are sort of close in age. Mine are 10, 6, 5, 4 and 2.
I also suffered a miscarriage this fall. Mine was the end of Sept. We had an ulrasound done and found no heartbeat. Four weeks later, when I still had not miscarried naturally, we did another ultrasound to be sure and then had a D&C. It was really really a hard time for us. I am sure that you felt as we did. We had already had 5 very successful pregnancies, so we were very shocked to encounter a problem. I had one regular cycle and then go pregnant again in Dec. I am now 19 weeks along, back on raw, and very excited.
We are also letting God take control of our family size.

I guess that is it. Just wanted to say hello! Congrats again and let us know when you find out how far along you are.

We are also planning on having a home birth this time around. I am se excited about it!

Alisha

[sherahtaylor]

Thanks for writing - I'm excited to see how far along I am too - it's weird not knowing. I've always known with all my other babies. 19 weeks...wow! You're like halfway there already! A home birth will be so awesome - I'd love to do that, but I'm not quite brave enough I don't think. I wish it was possible to have a home birth INSIDE the hospital, you know? LOL

[shalom]

hello everyone!

I am 6 months prego w/ #3! and to quote NuttRawMom,

"First pregnancy was SAD, second was high raw vegan halfway through (when I first discovered it!), and third was sadly back to sad, yet with a lot of benefits of raw thrown in (lots and lots of salad, juicing, etc...). After going on/off for so long and finally going 100% raw, I feel this is the way to be for life! I am confident and excited to try this pregnancy 100% raw."

That is totally me!! But i am in the part where it is my 3rd, vegan cooked w/ a lot of raw thrown in.....and i am sick of teetering!!

I can't wait to jump back in...

hhmmmmm...gotta go shopping......:p

[dogmd]

I am now 5 months pregnant and tired of craving junk...

Going to transition back into as high of percentage of raw that I can. Just taking it 1 day at a time.

Good to have this website and thread.:D

[dogmd]

This week was wonderful.. I ate 100% raw for breakfast and lunch and then had a huge salad with a little cooked chicken daily. This seemed to keep me satisfied and I just had my check-up today. I have only gained 10 pounds and I am 5 months pregnant now. I am going to try to slowly increase my raw percentage and hopefully continue to do well this pregnancy.

Hope everyone else is doing well.