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Pregnancy, Thoughts, Weekend

5 Thoughts [weekend recap + pregnancy supplements]

October 29, 2018 By Robyn 16 Comments

1. Weekend

Last weekend was so relaxing! One of my friends recently had a baby boy so Nick and I brought them over dinner on Friday night. I made this herbed chicken stew which I’d 100% make again – so cozy and delicious – plus a spinach salad with Trader Joe’s candied pumpkin seeds (a dream!) + cranberries + goat cheese + honey balsamic vinaigrette. We ate baked brie + crackers and apple slices before dinner and then finished dinner with these epic baked apples I posted a couple weeks ago when I shared apple recipes I wanted to make. So easy and delicious and you should make them as soon as you possibly can. They’d also be awesome for breakfast with some full fat yogurt or on top of oatmeal or with ice cream. Yes, ice cream for breakfast…sounds good to me.

Saturday was one of those days where you get things done you’ve been procrastinating. We cleaned out and organized the apt, put together some furniture…meaning Nick put together furniture while I grocery shopped and then we spent Saturday night with just the two of us. We strolled around the neighborhood and ended up at Bar Lyon for dinner. If you’re in Boston and want a cozy spot for dinner with amazing food and good vibes, go here. We loved it and can’t wait to go back! I ordered the burger because that’s all I was craving. Nick went with the mussels. We split bacon + gruyere cheese puffs and a roasted carrot and beet salad to start – both were incredible.

Sunday was church, a long walk (it is the epitome of fall here and I can’t get enough) and then we had friends over for the Bears vs Patriots game. I’m not even going to pretend to be some avid football fan, I’m just not. But I do enjoy watching games with other people and socializing – so while the boys watched intensely, I ate charcuterie and chatted. Sunday evening I made this kale, butternut, sausage soup I found on Pinterest for lunch this week, did this 20 min stretchy yoga video, read, ate leftover baked apples + ice cream and was in bed by 9pm. It felt soooo good to have a slower, low key weekend.

2. Pregnancy Supplements

I have gotten several DMs about pregnancy supplements so thought I’d share a few of my thoughts here. I talked about this a little in my weekly newsletter a few weeks ago (you can sign up here if you’d like) so I’m going to expand upon that. I’m not a pregnancy supplement guru, rather I’m sharing some basic supplements that I would recommend based on personal experience and my knowledge of the research. If you have certain health conditions or other medical concerns, this might look different for you so check with your health care provider.

Prenatal Vitamin| Pregnant or not, I recommend any woman of childbearing age who is sexually active and has any chance of becoming pregnant to take a prenatal vitamin. After doing some research, I decided on this Garden of Life prenatal vitamin and strongly recommend it – it’s not the cheapest at $20/month, but it’s not the most expensive and it’s made of high quality, whole food ingredients. I like it because it has a good amount of Vitamin D3 (1400 IUs – the highest I’ve seen out of the prenatals I’ve looked into) and folic acid (800 mcg) in addition to a comprehensive blend of other vitamins/minerals (more than I saw in other brands) along with a digestive blend, fruit and veggie blend and probiotics. And they are pretty much tasteless and not horse pills! Now, will any prenatal vitamin do? YES. The most important thing is that you are taking something. This is just a brand I recommend because it sits well in my tummy and doesn’t make you want to vom when you take it. I have a friend who’s insurance covered her prenatal vitamins so she took the one recommended by her doc that was covered – I’d recommend checking in about that with your doctor, free prenatals sound good to me too.

Fish Oil | There’s research that shows omega 3’s (EPA and DHA) are beneficial for baby’s neurological development and breast milk production along with lowering the risk of developing various pregnancy complications. If you are pregnant and haven’t been taking fish oil, it is OKAY. My OB never recommended I take fish oil, it’s something I researched on my own so even if I wasn’t taking it, I’m going to healthily assume me + baby would still be plenty healthy. You could eat a lot of omega 3 rich foods to meet your needs, but I find that almost impossible with food aversions and especially since fish consumption is limited in pregnancy due to mercury toxicity. You’ll want to look for a high quality brand that has been purified so it doesn’t contain mercury. I love this brand because it’s wild caught, has been purified and works out to cost about $4/month. I recommend just taking 1 capsule which will give you roughly the recommend daily dosage for pregnancy (300mg DHA) but if you want to take 2, check with your health care provider.

Those are the ones I’m taking and “normal” healthy pregnancy, should be all you need. I also took a daily greens supplement during the first trimester when I couldn’t look at vegetables. Do you need to take a greens supplement for you and baby to be healthy and be getting the nutrients you need. No, not at all. I figured it couldn’t hurt and my OB gave the green light so I did.

3. Halloween plans

What you are doing for Halloween?? I haven’t lived in a place where trick or treaters come around in so long. In New York, I lived in buildings where there weren’t trick or treaters, so it’s been since like 2013 when I was living in Charlottesville. This year we will definitely have trick or treaters and I’m excited to sit on our stoop with our neighbors and pass out candy. Our neighborhood is supposedly “the place” to trick or treat in Boston, so I hear. Obviously that means I’m going to overbuy candy and make sure there are no pretzels, mounds, almond joys or the black and orange taffy because I remember hating those candies growing up and being bummed when the candy ran out. Anyone else?!  My mom will be in town this week too so that should fun and then later we’ll head over to a friend’s house for a low key Halloween get together – but there won’t be costumes which might sound lame, but in reality…the last thing I want to worry about right now is what I’ll be for Halloween. But I’d love to hear your plans!

4. this instagram post by Marci Evans

I had to share this instagram post by Marci because I feel like it’s such an important message. In a society that values and praises thinness and weight loss, it makes total sense that someone would desire weight loss. Actually, I’d argue it’s natural to desire weight loss in our culture. If anything, I expect clients who come to us to desire weight loss. I thought Marci worded this issue so beautifully.

5. The next book I’m reading

I just started Ann Voskamp’s, The Broken Way. I’ve started this book a few times, but never finished so now I’m committing myself to finishing sometimes in the hopefully near future. Her books are packed with so much good stuff and lots of thought provoking sentences that I can only read so much at a time because I need time to digest! So maybe I’ll get this finished by 2019? Here’s for some wishful thinking. I’ll report back when I finish.

This week is a full one with clients and wrapping up some projects, but my mom comes in tomorrow evening for a few days so that should be fun! What’s on tap for you this week?


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Filed Under: Pregnancy, Thoughts, Weekend

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Comments

  1. Anna says

    October 29, 2018 at 10:06 am

    Hi Robyn! Could you expand a bit on what you meant when you said that, even if you’re not pregnant, prenatal vitamins can be beneficial? Is this because of the risk that you COULD get pregnant and it’s good to be prepared? Because it helps with healthy reproductive function in general? Is it beneficial even if you have no plans of having a baby ever, just for the sake of your own cycle and feminine health? I found this advice intriguing and would love to hear more!
    Enjoy your Halloween in Boston! Sounds like a blast.

    Reply
    • Bre says

      October 29, 2018 at 1:29 pm

      ^^^I second Anna’s question! 🙂

      Reply
    • Robyn says

      October 29, 2018 at 6:40 pm

      Yes! It’s recommended that if you are of reproductive age and sexually active and could become pregnant – take a prenatal to ensure you are getting adequate folic acid to prevent neural tube defects (the brain and spinal cord develop early, likely know you were pregnant) Other than that, you should be getting adequate nutrition from your diet and would not want to take a prenatal simply for “general health” as the vitamins are to meet the unique needs of pregnant and lactating women. Hope that helps! I’ll clear that up in the post 🙂

      Reply
      • Anna says

        October 30, 2018 at 4:04 pm

        Thanks so much for your clarification, Robyn!

        Reply
  2. Julia says

    October 29, 2018 at 11:49 am

    Great post! I’m curious what your thoughts are on choline supplementation during pregnancy?

    Reply
    • Robyn says

      October 29, 2018 at 6:41 pm

      I haven’t heard about it or read up on it so it’s not something I could speak to but would love to hear more if you want to ask on Thursday’s live instagram Q&A!

      Reply
      • Lindsay says

        October 30, 2018 at 12:40 pm

        Robyn – I recently wrote a blog post on choline and its importance especially during pregnancy for growth and development of the fetus. 9 out of 10 Americans do not currently consume enough choline on a daily basis. It is definitely a micronutrient that is not talked about enough, especially related to pre-conception nutrition and prenatal nutrition.

        Reply
  3. Cas says

    October 29, 2018 at 2:26 pm

    It seems like the vitamins are $31 for 90 which would be a month’s worth at 3 per day. How did you come up with $20?

    Reply
    • Robyn says

      October 29, 2018 at 6:42 pm

      The one I linked to is the 180 capsule bottle (3/day for 2 months) which is ~$41 vs $31 for 90 capsules so I buy the bigger size since it saves you quite a bit!

      Reply
  4. Emily Swanson says

    October 29, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    That comment about losing weight; that was SOOO sweet of Marci to write that. And also, I LOVE relaxing weekends too. I stayed off of Instagram for about a day and a half pretty much completely, and that was just the restful reset I needed. A long walk in the fall colors just sounds wonderful.

    Reply
    • Robyn says

      October 29, 2018 at 6:44 pm

      I love being off social media over the weekend!!

      Reply
  5. Syd says

    October 29, 2018 at 8:49 pm

    Hey Robyn, thanks so much for talking about the supplements you’re taking/would recommend. I’ve seen some fodder on the internet about methylated folate being better than folic acid. Some of the things I’ve read have gone so far as to suggest that there is a link between supplementing folic acid and cancer. Though apparently there is no such link with methylated folate? Do you know of any research on this? What is your take?

    Reply
  6. Heather says

    October 30, 2018 at 10:03 am

    Thanks for sharing more on your recommendations for pregnancy supplementation! Would you be willing to share what you specifically suggest looking for in a prenatal vitamin in order to compare with other products? Thanks so much!

    Reply
  7. Kathleen Mulholland says

    October 30, 2018 at 9:36 pm

    Just a thought- if you have a lot of trick or treaters, considering having some “allergy friendly” options. Dots, skittles, and smarties are allergy free, and my kids also like glow sticks, stickers, or bouncy balls. My son has a severe nut allergy and so many candies have nuts or traces of nuts.

    Thanks for sharing! We are also enjoying fall around here.

    Reply
  8. Kelsey says

    December 31, 2018 at 5:51 pm

    Hi Robyn!
    Love this post! Thanks for sharing a little bit of your experience. I’m also an RD and I get asked ALL THE TIME about which prenatals are “best” to take. I noticed that the vitamin you recommend contains vitex and am wondering if that’s a safe recommendation for the majority of women? Obviously, checking with your OB is a good idea before taking anything 🙂 but, I”m wondering if vitex is safe for women to consume or if there’s a chance it can affect ovulation since it can stimulate progesterone I believe. Thanks!

    Reply
  9. Dawn says

    November 20, 2019 at 11:03 am

    Remarkable! Its truly remarkable paragraph, I have
    got much clear idea regarding from this article.

    Reply

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A non-diet dietitian and nurse practitioner helping women find peace with food, accept their natural body size and heal from hormonal issues and period problems.

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I have yet to experience postpartum myself, but I've had many clients and readers that have been through that season of life. Or perhaps you are currently living through the postpartum period. Every woman's body is different, therefore every woman's experience after giving birth will be different. What works for one woman, might not work for the next. While one woman might go through postpartum and adjust to newborn life quiet seamlessly, another woman might find it much more difficult. She might need the support of medication, therapy, extra help and many other things. One way is not better than the other - they are simply two different ways of navigating the postpartum period. I hope this post helps you better care for yourself, whatever that means for you. There's no right or wrong way to care for yourself as a mom or your new baby.

Postpartum Hormones: what’s happening in your body and how to care for yourself

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A little way I’m learning to enjoy these years o A little way I’m learning to enjoy these years of getting to spend so much time with my kids: aka another way I’m discovering some pockets of peace so my heart & mind & soul don’t crumble under the reality of dependent & emotionally dysregulated tiny humans.  About once a week we go somewhere for baked goods. We drive or walk, buy something buttery & then find a beautiful, relatively quiet outdoor spot where the boys can romp and I can sit and think my thoughts while I watch them play. This past week we were found ourselves at the Wool Factory where the boys threw rocks & whatever else off the bridge while I ate 90% of this almond 🥐 from @coucourachou that will blow your mind. Boys ate the other 10% bc they were busy playing and didn’t ask for more quickly enough 😜  I’m finding *for me* playgrounds have a time & place but they aren’t where I enjoy motherhood & my two toddlers the most. Baked goods & a pretty outdoor spot without high drops my 15 month old could launch himself off of…I’m here for it.
I brought this bag of snacks along when I took the I brought this bag of snacks along when I took the boys to hike out at one of our favorite spots last week and when I ripped it open I was regretting my choice to share them with my kids. @baresnacks randomly sent me a box of snacks and I usually eat free food we receive or give it to a friend/neighbor and move on. But I felt it my duty to tell you about these bc they are THAT GOOD. I’m not getting paid and this isn’t sponsored - I was just shocked at how tasty these were and felt you needed to know. We ate them with some buttery roasted nuts and the combo was 👌🏻 but they are good just on their own.  The boys climbed rocks and swam in the reservoir - leave it to my almost 3 year old to want to strip down naked and fully submerge himself in chilly water on a sixty degree morning. “Mama can I get super nakey?” Sure baby. Sure. This is your childhood.
It’s a hard sell to get me to accept an offer of It’s a hard sell to get me to accept an offer of extended alone time away from the babies to just be. And that isn’t something that’s best for me, it’s an area I gotta grow in. So this afternoon when Nick pushed me out the door and was like - get out of here plzzzz - I walked to my favorite cafe and ordered a thick pastrami sandwich and sat there for a good LONG while before taking a long, peaceful walk in the rain to wrap up the afternoon. Note to self: stop being such a control freak and go be by yourself sometimes.
a girlfriend brought me a 🍪 the size of my face a girlfriend brought me a 🍪 the size of my face from @mariebettecafe this morning when she came to get her toddler who played with us all morning and it is v good. even better when paired with an iced latte 😍
#AlignPartner I left off a few weeks ago sharing a #AlignPartner I left off a few weeks ago sharing about how taking @alignprobiotic regularly has improved my digestive regularity.  And I’m still taking them! I’ve permanently added Align 24/7 Digestive Support* into the roundup of supplements I take before bed (prenatal, vitamin D, choline & DHA - all which help keep me healthy while breastfeeding) so I can keep seeing the benefits.  Just because you see benefits, doesn’t mean you should stop taking your probiotic. Keep taking Align daily (under the supervision and recommendation of your health care provider of course) to keep seeing the benefits!  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - one of my favorite parts of Align probiotics is that they don’t need refrigeration AND they come in a convenient little blister pack that has the days labeled. It’s the little things people! #MyAlignGuutJourney #guthealth  *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
I realized it was going to be a long, hot afternoo I realized it was going to be a long, hot afternoon (91 and muggy in MAY 🤯) when a toddler nap was refused and a baby nap was cut wildly short ....so my tired mom brain pulled out two plastic storage bins, filled them up with soap & hose water and striped ‘em down naked in the yard. Two hours later, it was almost time for an early dinner and I had magically been able to sit for most of that time and we already had baths checked off the list. 👍🏻 I’m archiving this idea for my future self, hope it helps another tired mama out.
#AlignPartner I left off a month ago sharing about #AlignPartner I left off a month ago sharing about getting better at doing the basics to care for myself which included taking my supplements and @alignprobiotic regularly.  Probiotics take time to work so I wanted to give it a full month to see the full effects of @alignprobiotic. So here are my honest thoughts: it took a few weeks to notice any differences, but near the end of the month I did notice some changes in my digestive balance - even while traveling! I’m not someone who experiences occasional gas, bloating or abdominal discomfort frequently enough to notice a difference, so I don’t feel like I can comment on how well Align works for those benefits.  All in all though, taking @alignprobiotic was a positive experience and I really appreciated how the capsules don’t need to be stored in the fridge, making it convenient to take them with me anywhere #MyAlignGuutJourney #guthealth  *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Where we will spend a good majority of our summer. Where we will spend a good majority of our summer. Because the swampy VA summer has already begun (it’s in the low 90s today 🥵 lord help) and creeks are our retreat - not only from the heat but also from the noisy world. I need this just (if not more) than they do! We’ll be at the splash pads and pools too, but the quietness of the creek...my mental health is so about it. And it’s hours of play for them! Win win.  A couple things to note: this scene also included a few toddler reminders on finding another direction to throw rocks instead of at his brother - so not all is serene 🤪 and also, yes I am now that mom who buys the same clothing for both kids bc it keeps things simple & i think i kinda like it too 🤷🏻‍♀️
Things I love about midwifery among many: the appo Things I love about midwifery among many: the appointments, no matter how long, feel so unhurried. 
Just walked in from an appointment with my midwife because I was due for a Pap test + an overall wellness visit. My last pap was during my first trimester with Cal which feels like a jillion years ago, but it’s only actually been three years. Life changes so fast! Pre-baby life feels like a whole other life.  I’m wayyyy overdue for a visit to my PCP bc I’ve been under OBGYN or midwifery care for the majority of the past three years while having babies, but I am pretty good with keeping up with my paps. It seems women often think they need pap and/or HPV testing way more frequently than they do (and providers sometimes perform these tests more frequently than necessary - remember more testing doesn’t always mean better outcomes!)  So if you need it, here’s a quick little reminder on this chilly spring Friday afternoon on how often you need this testing (these are the recommendations from ACOG)  Women aged 21–29 years should have a Pap test alone every 3 years. HPV testing is not recommended.  Women aged 30–65 years should have a Pap test and an HPV test (aka co-testing) every 5 years (preferred). It also is acceptable to have a Pap test alone every 3 years.  If you get abnormal results, this testing frequency could change - but for healthy women with normal results, you actually don’t need testing as frequently as you might think. Which is great news for those of you who hate the speculum.  Ok, off to finish up some things on the to-do list (including cleaning this kitchen) during nap time and then come 5 o’clock, crack an IPA with our neighbors 🍻
#AlignPartner Over the past seven months since bec #AlignPartner Over the past seven months since becoming a mom of two, caring for myself has gotten shoved to the back burner. And it's been a challenge to make it a priority. My routine-resistant personality has upsides and downsides when it comes to motherhood. So I'm starting small this year with a consistent bedtime routine that includes taking my supplements and @alignprobiotic and hoping as that becomes consistent, my mornings will naturally shift too.  In short my bedtime currently goes like this….jammies & face care when putting the babies to bed. Before I go to bed (anytime between 9pm and 12am...) I’ll pump, take my supplements and fill my water. Then I go upstairs and brush my teeth. And then get in bed. The kicker: 70% of the time I find myself finishing up tasks on my phone IN BED. I hate this habit.  Back to supplements. This is something I have been able to stick with. On top of fish oil, my prenatal, choline and vitamin D, I recently added @AlignProbiotic 24/7 Digestive Support*§ to see if it helps with abdominal discomfort and regularity because when I don’t drink coffee or am traveling that can get thrown off.  I’ll be taking it every day for the next 28 days since it takes TIME for our bodies to adjust to probiotics - and I'll be taking you guys along with me as I share my honest thoughts. Many people think if they don’t see changes within the first 7-10 days then the probiotic isn’t working, but that’s not the case. I’m giving myself more than just a week or two and instead a full month to see the full benefits. I’ll keep you posted over the next month. Check out my stories to learn more! #MyAlignGutJourney #guthealth
 
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
We had an AFTERNOON today. Toddler didn’t care f We had an AFTERNOON today. Toddler didn’t care for a nap. Putting baby down was harder than I wanted it to be. Miraculously, I had a moment of clarity as I was covered in tiny humans and decided I wasn’t doing the nap battle thing a on 60 degree, gorgeous, sunny spring day 🙅🏻‍♀️ so I piled both babies into the car half naked, opened the sun roof, put on white noise for them and an audio book for me and drank a kombucha as I drove a meal to a postpartum mama. Thirty five minutes later we had a sleeping baby and a toddler who at least had a rest. Baby transferred without waking HALLELUJAH and although my toddler didn’t nap today (lord help) at least we got soaked in breezy sunshine 😎🤘🏻💆🏻‍♀️
We veered from our usual Friday night homemade piz We veered from our usual Friday night homemade pizza (minus the dough, we leave that to @albemarlebakingco) because we are eating pizza tomorrow with some friends - instead I called my mom and asked her how she makes her chicken fingers and we fried up a big ole batch of chicken nugs 🙌🏻🤤 along with a sheet pan full of sweet potato fries and a simple arugula salad dressed with parmesean, olive oil and s&p. Oh and my moms honey mustard recipe for dipping. It’s SO DANG GOOD.  Over the past 6ish months we’ve been practicing (and practicing and practicing bc it doesn’t come naturally) unplugging from technology and slowing down and resting and just being for one day a week. Some call it Shabbat. Some call it Sabbath. Maybe you call it something different. All I know is IT IS SO GOOD FOR MY WEARY SOUL and the day I look forward to ALL WEEK. Sundown on Friday to sundown Saturday. Nothing but rest. For us that means hiking (or something outside) and napping and reading and being with friends and eating really good food. And drinking some really good wine or craft beer. Sometimes whiskey. 😛  And because I know I’ll get asked about the chicken finger recipe and also because it’s too good not to share and Momma Coale said I could, here ya go:  Cut chicken breast into thin strips or small pieces (I prefer nug size bc the breading to chicken ratio is perfection). Salt and pepper those babies really well. Then dredge them in all purpose flour, then egg, then panko - just like you would bread anything else. Then fry them up in a light oil - I use avocado oil because that’s our everyday oil. You could also use canola or peanut oil. Just fill a pan with an inch or so of oil on medium high heat. They only take 2-3 minutes per side. You can always temp them to make sure they are at least 165 degrees F to really make sure they are done. Dunk in all the sauces and enjoy!  Happy weekend!

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