Pregnancy : Making Sure that Babies and Moms Get the Needed Essential Nutrients
Yes, our little baby Brie is SEVEN months old, ALREADY!
She’s crawling all over the place. She’s pulling herself up and standing while holding onto a furniture (or my legs!). She has started to recognise me and will crawl towards me when I extend my arms towards her. She’s very curious about her world (and puts everything that she manages to hold into her mouth!)
Everything is just happening so fast, I feel.
I mean, I looked at her today and thought, ‘Hey, I still totally remember how it was like when she was still in my tummy!’
Really. It felt like it’s not that really long ago when I was still writing about my pregnancy, about how I lost my appetite for many weeks, how I LOST weight in my last trimester, etc.
[Click HERE to read my week-by-week pregnancy journal]
Right until today, I sometimes still have people asking me about what I ate when I was pregnant with Brie, whether I avoided particular foods or drinks, what happened when I lost my appetite during pregnancy, etc.
I guess when it comes to pregnancy, moms are just naturally concerned about their babies’ health, their own, and whether they’re eating right, and are getting the essential nutrients needed everyday throughout their pregnancy?
Anyway.
I recently came across this info on the web, and I thought I should share it here today for the benefits of many moms-to-be out there.
It’s a little check-list on what we should (at the very least!) be eating during pregnancy!
WHAT A PREGNANT WOMAN SHOULD AT LEAST INCLUDE IN HER DAILY DIET:
– Five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables (including at least one serving of a dark orange vegetable, two servings of dark green leafy vegetables, and one serving of citrus fruit)
– Six servings of enriched, whole-grain breads and cereals.
– Three servings of milk products
– Two to three servings of extra-lean meats, chicken without the skin, fish, or cooked dried beans and peas
– Eight glasses of water
…
…
When I was pregnant with Brie, I did see such a chart and the first thing that came to mind was, ‘Now, how on earth can I ever include ALL those things in my daily diet?’
I mean, I know that we should really be eating a balanced diet, nutritious meals, etc when we’re pregnant. But um, realistically? Can pregnant moms really include all those listed in their daily diet? (read: Amidst their daily busy-ness with work / caring for older children / housework / everything else).
(I know I personally found it tough)
Actually, you know what? I remember some moms did share with me their ‘nutrition situation issues’, and they said something like:
“I can’t quite cook at home, so will eating out at coffee shops and food courts provide enough goodness to me and my baby?”
“I don’t think I eat enough vegetables and fruits everyday. Actually, on some days, I don’t eat them at all!”
“I know I should be having a ‘balanced diet’, but I work and I’m busy caring for my older son too. Often, I have not much time to look after myself, let alone ensure that I eat all the essential nutrients needed for me and my growing baby inside!”
…
Have you ever felt that way too?
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I thought one of the things that pregnant mommies should be grateful for these days is that we now have the choice to take nutritional milk powder that is specially designed to meet the needs of pregnant moms and their growing babies inside.
Because really, amidst our daily busy-ness, we should not neglect the fact that we DO need these essential nutrients to stay healthy and well. For babies’ and moms’ sake.
ie. Pregnant mommies NEED Calcium, Iron, DHA, and also Folate (more commonly known as Folic Acid to some).
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Extra info:
Folate, taken before and during early pregnancy, helps in the mental/normal and overall development of foetus.
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Oh btw, I thought I should highlight to you that out of the many different brands we have here in Singapore, I recently found out that ANMUM actually is “Singapore Mums’ Number 1 Choice for 15 years running”!
For 15 years!
AND, Moms prefer to go with ANMUM Materna during their pregnancy because:
– It is High in Calcium, Iron and contains DHA and High Folate!
– It’s been established and trusted by other moms for more than a decade!
– It tastes better and is not too sweet =)
If you haven’t given ANMUM Materna a go, … check it out, I say! Give it a try, and find out for yourself why it’s been so well endorsed by Mommies for 15 years!
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Anyway.
If you’re a mom-to-be, here’s wishing you a healthy pregnancy journey, and a smooth delivery too!
Jia yo! =)
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[Added: 23 Jan 2012]
Thanks to all who have shared their practical tips on ‘What we can do to ensure we stay healthy and get the needed nutrients during pregnancy’!
There are 5 GV movie tickets to be given away, and here are the 5 randomly chosen winners!
– Lisa
– Jen
– Foong Meiyi
– Ria
– Jane
Congrats!! A little Chinese New Year gift to you! =)
Please email your mailing address to me (leonny[at]oureverydaythings[dot]com), so the tickets can be sent to you! Hope you enjoy your little break at the movies! =)
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Hello there!
Happy Lunar New Year, everyone!!
Thanks for sharing your practical tips on how to stay healthy during pregnancy! Five winners have been randomly selected and announced on this blog post. Do check it out yeah!
Have a great long weekend spent with your loved ones!!
Your daughter is such a darling! During my pregnancy i threw up alot, but to make sure my baby darling had sufficient nutrients i forced myself to take a little of everything then. The key then was to eat the right things, not the quantity. In fact during the duration of the pregnancy i lost weight!
Keeping a positive mindset also helped in many ways too! It made me feel excited most of the time about being a new mum.
Eat everything in moderation but avoid raw food. And most important, drink more milk and don’t skip multi-vitamin.
When I was pregnant with my daughter Anastasia, I did two things: first, I stopped making excuses for why I couldn’t cook at home (takes too long, too tiring, inconvenient,….). I found that when I took the focus of myself, but concentrated on how what I ate could affect my baby for the rest of her life, then everything just seemed to fall into place. All of a sudden, I would wake up a few minutes early and make porridge with tons of fruit while I showered and I had lots of energy to try cooking new and healthy food (Having lots of guinea pigs is encouraging too!!!).
Second, I exercised. Well, not by myself of course, I found a group of friends and would get them to walk to the HSBC Treetop walk with me or my husband and I would just walk to the library together. Every little bit helps, even if its only 15 mins a day.
Hope these tips help!
I had gestational diabetes. It is hundreds of holes being made in me before I learnt what I should eat in moderation. I feel that diabetes or not, some form of carbohydrates such as rice is still needed. Don’t try to do without them otherwise you will feel hungry and over eat to compensate.
Don’t try to lose weight while being pregnant. Lots of time and chance to do that later!
I had a pretty tough pregnanct with lots of vomiting so I always tried to satisfy any food cravings I had as that’s the body’s way of replenishing the necessary nutrients!
eggs, milk and some durians does the trick to fatten by baby thru his last trimester…if not i needed to induce the baby out early..
Loads of fruits and fish make mommy and baby great! Milk to begin and end the day. Why? Calcium to start the day off and somehow milk just give a better sleep, especially a glass of warm milk. As much as we can, a balanced milk if not always have a cereal bar on hand so you are never hungry. Smile more too during pregnancy as it makes up your well being as well as the little one.
Multi-vitamins n fish oil prescribed by my gynae. Drink more milk & eat more fish. When I was pregnant with 2nd baby, had constipation problem, so I need to make effort to eat more fruits.
Never missed boiled egg, milk and cereal for breakfast !
And take fish oil (contain DHA) which prescribed by my gynae daily.
Eat lesser meal but more frequent than as usual (I know this trick only when I was 5-6 months pregnant, but never too late to change 🙂 )
For both my pregnancies, I made sure I drink Anmum milk twice a day, very religiously took the folic acid tablets, multi-vitamins n fish oil prescribed by my gynae. I naturally love fruits so that helps. I remember one fruit I particularly craved for are apples. I needed one everyday. Later, I came across an article saying that apples are great for babies, in utero and out! So give in to ur cravings, albeit the healthy ones, as that’s your body telling you what it needs.
I have small light meals but more infrequency. I ensure wholemeal bread is included in one of the meals.