I'm pregnant

[Beachbnny]

... and I'm freakin. I'm happily married, we do want children, and are in an ok place to start a family. Ideally we would have waited another 2 years and traveled and enjoyed being married a little longer but life is like that sometimes.

It's still very very early. So far I've only told my best friend, who has a 10 year old son, and my husband... of course- lol.

I need advice- like for real. Books to get? Sites to trust? What's up with flaxseed being bad? Supplements? Help a sista out! I'm going to see the doctor Monday but would like to be pretty prepared in case he's an idiot and has problems with my veg*ism.

HELP!!!

[Skylark]

Congrats! If you have cats, I hear you're not supposed to come in contact with cat poop during pregnancy. When my mother has been pregnant, my dad took over emptying the litter box.

As far as good books and sites to trust, I have no idea. I'm sure others will be happy to supply their suggestions.

Not to be a wet blanket, but it's still early, so there are a lot of things that could go wrong. You might want to keep it in the back of your mind that no matter what you do right, you could miscarry just like that.

[IamJen]

Yay! I'm the first one to congratulate you! :)

I'll leave the practical stuff to the mommies. My only advice (from having gone through miscarriages with gal pals) would be to wait to tell. I know it sounds a bit morbid, but mmyeah.

Oh! and check out the baby names thread. :p

[IamJen]

damn that skylark :brood:

[Skylark]

Looks like Jen and I are thinking the same, though I got to be the first VBer to congratulate beachbnny. Na-na-na-na-na. ;)

[Amy SF]

No advice, but congratulations! :baby:

[Iria]

I don't have any advice either, but congrats!

[Whit]

Congratulations!

[Beachbnny]

Thanx! :) Oh it is nice to be congratulated! Haven't been able to hear that yet.... thank you!

And yes I do know about possible complications, and the effects of telling people too early. I've had that happen before and this feels differently. I can't explain it, and there is always risk... but I feel different.

I do know about the cat thing- thank you! She was an outdoor kitty when she found me and I just take care of her food and vet needs. There's no "indoor bathroom" for my cat.

:baby: <---- cute!!! I hadn't seen that yet... awww!

[Thalia]

congratulations. Is that why your avatar is a rabbit?

[Beachbnny]

Lol... no, my avatar is a bunny cause that's been my nickname since I was about 12.... :) I had my picture up for awhile, sometimes I get brave like that.

[nookle]

Congrats for you! Glad to hear you're happy and excited! My little pod is almost a year now, so it wasn't that long ago that I did what you're doing now, and I did a lot of research about a lot of stuff (too much free time :) ), so I think I know a fair bit about a lot of stuff - feel absolutely free - I even encourage you - to pm me with any questions.

I have heard nothing, nor read anything about flax being a problem. I ate a lot of flax when I was pregnant.... in my smoothies every morning. And my little lady is smart, fat and healthy! :)

[jenna]

Congratulations :)

[goettling]

Congrats! There is a ton of great info and message boards for new mommies. Get lots of rest, walking is good, and eat fortified iron foods. Take your vits always. It does help alot. And mostly just enjoy. :D

There is a book that has been around for years. I know they have like a million copies at the library. It may be updated now, not sure but good info.

http://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-Youre-Expecting-Third/dp/0761121323

[FafaFrappy]

First of all, CONGRATS! :baby:

This: http://www.amazon.com/Bouncing-Back-After-Your-Pregnancy/dp/0738206067

and this: http://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-First-Year-Second/dp/0761129588/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-2772349-9644057?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189732609&sr=1-2

Still going through my first year, with mine! :smitten:

Also, I used this: http://www.parentingweekly.com/pregnancy/index.asp

Helped me track my pregnancy week-by-week, by email! I loved it!

[Peacefully_Anna]

Yaaaaa! That's awesome! So is my sister! When are you do?

[Carrot Cake]

OH BABIES! congrats- and you thought your life had already started :)

sooooo, I read in another one of your posts that you are a new military wife (sorry, I didn't look to see how old it was).... anyways.... I happen to be one too! and I'm fresh out of the service myself. so I pretty much have all the angles

so anything you wanna know... anything thing at all- totally ask :D

[LadyFaile]

congrats :)

[Cyrillia]

Congratulations. We're going to start trying as soon as our wedding is over - I can't wait, and hope everything goes really well for you! :)

[veggielove]

Congrats!!! My baby is 2 months old, my doctor did not have any problem with my veg*nism. I have heard things about flax, but also know many women who took it and their babies are fine.... I personally purchased some pretty expensive vegetarian DHA supplements, which I still take since I'm breastfeeding... but I wanted to make sure my baby was getting DHA, not just ALA omega 3s.

[skyguyx5]

About the litter box thing- there is a shot you can get to get your body ammuned to what ever it is thats bad for the baby.. Im not sure of the name though... sorry...

Congrats on the big belly!!!:juggle::hamster::up:

[animallover7249]

Congrats! My family has been having babies recently. My baby cousin is 3 years old (in december).
My cousin robert's baby will be 1 next month!
My cousin, Torri, (Robert's sister) had a baby last month.
My aunt and uncle also had their first baby last month.

My Brother's fiance had a miscarriage last month.

[Cornflower]

Congrats! I know where you're coming from...I got pregnant 2 months after we were married, and while I've always loved babies, it was a bit soon to give up our "couple time" in life! But, I wouldn't trade my sweet kiddos for the world, of course!

I'm the mom of two little boys, 2 and 4 years old (both vegan and super healthy by the way!).

The best advice I can give you is to FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS. There are a lot of really great parenting books out there, but the trouble is that many of them offer conflicting advice, and the authors think that their way is the only way and if you do it the other way, your child will turn out all messed up! :eek: Obviously that's not true in most cases, so take all advice with a grain of salt and do what feels right to YOU. ;)

That said, I do have some book recommendations:

The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy (http://www.amazon.com/Girlfriends-Guide-Pregnancy-Vicki-Iovine/dp/141652472X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8520899-2031226?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189913887&sr=8-1) by Vicki Iovine

The Expectant Father (http://www.amazon.com/Expectant-Father-Advice-Dads-Be/dp/0789205386/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8520899-2031226?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189913944&sr=1-1) by Armin A. Brott

The Pregnancy Book (http://www.amazon.com/Pregnancy-Book-Month-Month-Everything/dp/0316779148/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8520899-2031226?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189914067&sr=1-1) and The Baby Book (http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Book-Everything-Revised-Updated/dp/0316778001/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-8520899-2031226?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189914008&sr=1-2) by Dr. Sears (and all of his other books are great too!)

The Happiest Baby on the Block (http://www.amazon.com/Happiest-Baby-Block-Crying-Longer/dp/B0006J021C/ref=pd_sim_b_3_img/002-8520899-2031226?ie=UTF8&qid=1189914008&sr=1-2) by Dr. Harvy Karp (this offers really great tips for calming a fussy baby)

There are a lot of other good ones, but those are my favorites, off the top of my head! I know that when I became pregnant, I wanted to read everything I could get my hands on about pregnancy and babies!

Oh, I'd also recommend the website www.babycenter.com They have forums, including birth boards of other moms who are due the same month that you are. This can be a wonderful support network because the other moms are in the same stage of pregnancy as you, and will have babies the same age as you, then toddlers, etc.

[MRSSHF]

First off, congratulations! Being a parent is such a wonderful, indescribable experience.

Re. the flax thing, I did some research and it turns out that flax contains a small amount of cyanide, but taking flax has never been proven to be harmful to a mother or her baby. If you are concerned, eat walnuts for the EFAs. FWIW, I used an oil blend that contained flax while I was pregnant, along with a pre-natal vitamin with "Vegan Guard", and I had a completely healthy 9 pound 9 ounce baby who is now off the charts in height, is at least 17 pounds at only 14 weeks, and is bright, happy and is ahead of the curve cognitively.

For books, the best book I've ever seen is actually for dads, but it's loaded with great information. It's called Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook for New Dads (http://www.amazon.com/Be-Prepared-Practical-Handbook-Dads/dp/0743251547/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/102-8147019-9336124).

Do not get what to Expect When You're Expecting. Chances are, someone else will buy it for you, and it's full of the 500,000 things that can go wrong. I just got stressed out reading it and consequently learned little.

Definitely get The Happiest Baby on the Block. If your hospital offers it, I would actually recommend that you take the Happiest Baby class, which will probably come with the book and the DVD. Our baby wasn't at all colicky, but even if you have a "good" baby, this book will tell you what newborns prefer (like swaddling) so you can keep your baby as happy and secure as possible while he or she is adjusting to a big world.

Take the childbirth preparation classes at your hospital. Take the breastfeeding classes. Take as many of the classes as you can. I learned so much, and I was a much less stressed mommy since I already had some grasp as to what to do.

Get as much rest as you can, keep exercising (nothing strenuous you aren't already doing), and try Yoga (make sure you tell your teacher you are preggers), and make sure you drink plenty of water.

[mazikeen]

Congratulations!!! Don't have any words of advice, but I wish you all the best. :sunny: