Some common compaints while pregnant but why do they happen –
Nausea for me was slight while pregnant, the first few weeks I felt a little off and somethimes pukey but after that it went away. I do know some pregnant mums who have been horribly sick and some all day. Is it as the “old wives tale” says a sign of a boy or a girl? Or is it to do with something else.

Believe it or not nausea is a good thing its your body’s natural way of keeping out the nasty things not good for you and your baby.
Eating small frequent meals, fresh fruit if you can’t face a meal. Avoid strong smelling and spiced foods and eat fresh grated ginger in salads or drink ginger tea. I love the pukka brand of teas and they do a ginger one. www.pukkaherbs.com

Some other common complaints that happen during pregnancy are constipation and indigestion. In the case of constipation this is caused by the increased pressure of the bowels from the uterus. Along with that a lot of women are prescribed Iron supplements which can be hard to digest. Drink plenty of water and try adding ground flax seeds to breakfast or salads.

Indigestion is caused as the baby grows and you increase in size it can put pressure on your stomach and other organs. Again eating small meals and not overly spiced ones should help. Do not drink water with your meal but afterwards. Also if eating fruit, eat it before your meal and not afterwards.

Sleep related complaints. For most of my pregnancy I had problems sleeping. Most nights I would go to bed about 9.30pm or 10pm. Totally exhausted and wake at 2am for some hours some nights, wide awake ready for the day ahead. I did try everything. All the relaxing aids. Cammomile tea, having relaxing baths. I also used one of the Bach flower remedies, they have some which are safe to use during pregnancy. www.nelsonsnaturalworld.com

I do think some of these things helped and making sure I was in a comfortable position, lots of comfy pillows.

Swollen and achy legs, lots of women suffer from this especially from the 3rd trimester on. I worked standing all day, so I did get into the habit of coming home and raising my legs up for 20 or so minutes. I did again get achy legs towards the end of my pregnancy. I wouldn’t say it was very painful just uncomfortable.
The swelling is called odema and is caused due to women retaining more fluid while pregnant.

Gentle exercise such as walking, swimming, yoga or tai chi are helpful. Don’t sit with your legs crossed. Also you can get some support stockings. I’ll admit I did wear these towards the end of pregnancy while working.
Its very important if you do suffer from swelling to tell your doctor.

These are just some complaints and I guess most of the time you forget about it as they are only minor. I think with all of them it is important to eat a healthy balanced diet, drink plenty of water, get some exercise and be good to yourself. Put the feet up when you can, have a massage, go for a swim or take a relaxing class and bond with your little one growing inside. Enjoy…

I didn’t plan to write on swine flu as I do believe the media are giving us plenty of coverage on this topic. But having chatted to friends and family I do think its a big concern and one that may increase over the coming months here in Ireland.

While pregnant there is a whole lot to be concerned about and at the moment swine flu is a big concern pregnant or not. We know that pregnant women are in one of the high risk groups for swine flu. As in pregnancy the immune system is naturally suppressed and therefore pregnant women are more likely to catch flu of any type. Therefore its important to keep well by keeping your immune system well. Eat fresh foods, rest as much as you can and have plenty of nice walks in the autumn sunshine.

If you do experience any flu like symptons, high temperature, sore throat, cough, runny nose, vomiting/diarrhoea, aching muscles contact your doctor immediately.

The HSE have advised this week that pregnant women in Ireland will be one of the first groups to receive the swine flu vaccince from the middle to the end of October. www.hse.ie

For now keep well and enjoy this special time x

Over the next couple of posts I am going to chat about one of my true loves (other than my boyfriend or my little growing baby) but cheese.

As a cheesemonger in my fifth month of pregnancy I am quite concerned about all the different advice on what to and what not to eat. Whats good for you and baby and whats not.

Take cheese for example, most doctors and the like tell you to avoid all un-pasteurised cheese. Firstly not only is this incorrect, you are depleting your body of necessary calcium and nutrients which you and your growing baby need.

I work on a busy retail counter and the majority of pregnant women that buy cheese tell me they have decided not to eat any cheese rather than take the risk. Usually they are buying for family and friends and feeling miserable as they can’t have any.

In my view all pasteurised cheese is not safe.

Pasteurisation is when the milk used to make the cheese is heated up to 72 degrees celsius for 20 to 30 seconds killing any bacteria good or bad that may be in the milk. Then lactic bacterria (made in a labroatory) is added to the milk to help generate the correct paste for the cheese.

Traditionally cheese was made as a way of storing nutrients in milk. Evidence shows that Unpasteurised milk has a higher nutritional value , providing more vitamins and minerals than pasteurised. It also has a better flavour, with none of the deterioration in quality.

Soft Cheese’s like Brie, Camembert even while pasteurised (which doctors say is safe) can still be contaminated with Listeria. This is because these are considered as young cheese’s. Therefore pasteurised or not I would not eat them. Wheras Parmigiano Reggiano, or any aged hard cheese,  I would be happy to eat as these cheese’s are too dry and high in salt for listeria to survive. Listeria is attracted to the soft young cheese’s.

There is nothing nicer than having a piece of cheese with some delicious oatcakes, dittys (my favourite) www.dittysbakery.com

Don’t get me wrong I do love some pasteurised Farmhouse cheeses that are available especially the Irish ones.

Recently I can’t get enough of Coolea Mature. Made in West Cork with cow’s milk, this chesse has a lovely mild, creamy flavour with a long lasting after taste. They also won Gold at the British Cheese awards in 2007. www.cooleacheese.com
Another favourite is Gubbeen which is also pasteurised and comes smoked too. Delicious washed rind cheese also made in Cork by the Ferguson family. www.gubbeen.com

Bluebell Falls Goats cheese is a recent find and it’s a delicious cheese made by Paul Keane in Co. Clare. He has a soft Goats Cheese but the one I am eating these days is his mature Goats Milk Cheese. Paul uses a method called thermisiation, a form of pasteurisation. The milk is heated to 65 degrees which kills off most bacteria but not killing off certain enzymes.

While pasteurisation is a debatable subject, I do believe some advice been given is not only misleading but can also lead mum- to- be making wrong food choices.  Therefore depleting mum and baby of necessary vitamins and nutrients.

foodBump is an idea I came up with when I was six weeks pregnant. Awaiting our first scan at 12 weeks and keeping our secret, I found it hard to find real advice on what I could and couldn’t eat. I’m a very excited expecting mum along with a very excited protective Dad to be. We love food but at this point in our pregnancy everything I eat or don’t eat worries us. 

We trawled the Internet and nightly read every pregnancy book that exists. The most frustrating thing would be the amount of conflicting information out there. None of the advice we  found was from people who liked to eat good food instead it was from the medical profession giving blanket advice that air on the side of caution.

And then there was the guilt……the guilt if what I ingest will harm my baby. And for nine months (actually more like ten) you are in a worked up state of what you can and cannot eat. or then you have concerned friends/family members/colleagues or just random passer by’s telling you about something else you should not eat. I quietly struggled with all this and decided I needed to do something that I felt was not been done. I started a food diary which in turn became foodBump

(usual disclaimer I applies: I am not a doctor, and if you are pregnant you should speak with yours before following any of my advice)

My hope for foodBump is to share some of my beautiful pregnancy story with you while generating chat and making us mindful of what we eat pregnant or not.

Enjoy…..