Nourishing Your Baby While Still Pregnant

There are many things to consider when you begin to think about feeding your new baby. From the moment of conception, you begin to feed your child. I remember when I found out I was pregnant. Immediate panic came over me, not because I was pregnant, but because we had been on vacation. On our vacation we had gone out every night and lay by the pool during the day drinking cocktails. As I scheduled my first doctor's appointment I began to ponder the amount of damage I had done to our unborn baby. She was probably floating around burping and rubbing her beer gut. My worrying amused my husband; he tried to assure me that most women didn't know the minute they are pregnant and have likely done the same thing. This may be true but were these women also drinking about a gallon of caffeine a day? I stopped drinking coffee and diet coke that morning; my massive headache came that afternoon and carried on for five more days. 
I finally made it to my first doctor's appointment where my pregnancy was confirmed. The doctor began to ask us a series of questions about our medical history and our family medical history. Then I heard the question I was dreading, "do you drink alcohol and if so how often." I told the doctor that since I found out I was pregnant I had not had a sip, nor did I plan to; however prior to finding out we were on vacation and we had indulged in a couple of drinks a day. I thought the doctor would be horrified but it seems that he too was amused by my concern. He assured me that no permanent damage had been done and that I should stay on my current path and hold the drinks for the next nine months. 
The doctor said I could have a cup of coffee a day, but to a caffeine addict that is like opening a can of worms. I chose to avoid caffeine altogether. Thank goodness for club soda! Club soda was my go-to drink when we went out to dinner or with our friends, it was cool, refreshing, filled my craving for soda and was not loaded with sugar or calories. I tried to always eat balanced meals so that my baby was getting all the nutrients she needed to grow big and strong. This proved to be a little difficult in my first trimester when all I was craving was McDonald's breakfast sandwiches. I know what you are thinking: how could she want those in the first trimester when pretty much everything makes you want to puke? But I did, therefore I would try to leave the house after 10am, so I wasn't tempted to swing by and indulge in a sausage biscuit. 
My pregnancy continued to progress and I continued to get bigger; I tried to stick to my regular eating habits and only indulge on occasion. This worked pretty well, in my 7th month I was on track to gain about 25 lbs. This was when my hunger set in, I was famished 90% of the time. Again, while I tried to eat healthy, sometimes I couldn't resist a toasted cherry pop tart or one of those huge amazing muffins from Costco. I ended up gaining about 35 lbs, this was more than I wanted but it could have been worse. My mother gained 63 lbs with my little brother; even though he was a 10-pound baby it took her a long time to lose all the weight. 
I was comfortable with my weight gain; I allowed myself to indulge on occasion and never deprived my baby when she was hungry. I think this is the best balance when feeding your fetus. My daughter arrived in the late afternoon on January 11th, she was 7 lbs 6 oz and absolutely perfect. It turns out the doctor was right and our vacation had not affected her. She is and continues to be the best thing in our life. I'm glad I was able to make the right choices for her to ensure her health and well being while I was pregnant. It is a long nine months but you will reap all the benefits when you meet your healthy baby at the finish line.