The second news we got wasn't so good. I'm pretty anemic. Normal levels for a woman are 12-15 but pregnancy takes a bit of iron from you so a typical pregnant women runs between 11-12. I'm at 9.1 - not good. And we really want it up before the birth since even if I don't lose a lot of blood, I'll just feel really crappy with a level like that. The plan right now is for me to double how much floradix I'm taking, eat at least one serving of red meat every day (I normally only eat about one, maybe two, servings a week), and increase my other iron source intakes (spinach, walnuts, prune juice?). So now I'm off to the grocery store!
But, other than the iron thing, everything looks great. Baby is measure right on target size wise, I'm not having any other problems, it's just a waiting game. Right now I want baby to hang out until I've had at least a week or two of intense iron eating but there are worse things in the world than "forcing" yourself to have spinach steak salads for lunch every day right?
PS - On another semi-Nigel related note. Mothering Magazine is a awesome hippie-type parenting magazine (in other words - not just a booklet of ads) and right now you can get a free one-year digital subscription by going here and using the code CDIGM. I was actually at Barnes and Noble today and thought about buying it but I'm so glad I waited!
:/ hope you get your iron levels up! there are steaks at the supermarkets that have spinach with cheese rolled into a steak. i think that'd be pretty easy to make aside from the prepackaged ones, and would taste pretty good too. I know you have to avoid the soft cheeses, but maybe you could substitute something else?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the coupon for Mothering! I really like your blog. It is so nice to hear from another Republican mom that is also a little bit crunchy. Good luck with your delivery! Looking forward to reading your experiences with motherhood.
ReplyDeleteStacie - Nice to "meet" you.
ReplyDeleteIt was great to meet you last week! I just discovered your blog tonight. I was reading in "Nourishing Traditions" again today. It suggests at least one serving a week of free-range liver for pregnant women. I'm sure low iron levels during pregnancy is one reason why. I hope you can get yours up! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! I'm also really interested to find out how your friend got the free needle set. I *really* want a complete set in a handy dandy organizer but can't cough up $40 for each (knit/crochet).
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