For reference, my ferritin levels at 8 weeks were 80 ng/mL

thanks for all the beneficial information @Bernadette Abraham!

Nausea

I tried drinking bone broth and didn’t experience any symptoms and it helped with my nausea

Spicy food is a trigger for nausea, but tomatoes and oranges seem to help combat the nausea for now

I’ll be purchasing some lemon balm tea soon and fermenting some vegetables.

Coffee

I really enjoy the taste of coffee, so I was wondering if you have any suggestions to replace it that are safe for pregnancy?

@Bernadette Abraham Fever broke after the third day thankfully! I was hesitant to do the magic socks technique because my feet get chilblains easily in the winter if I don’t keep socks on.

 Thanks for all this information, super helpful! The information is more theoretical. I’m want to get pregnant in a few months, so I’m trying to gather as much information as possible about pregnancy, breastfeeding, and postpartum so I don’t feel overwhelmed during pregnancy looking for information if that makes sense.

I’ve seen sunflower lecithin being suggested for clogged ducts. What are your thoughts on that? Do you have any recommendations?

 so the last course of birth control I took was August 2020 (around the time my arm issues started). Before that, I took it in approximately September to December 2019. 

How long would the depletion of B vitamins effect remain after birth control medications are stopped? I presume it shouldn’t deplete B vitamins 2-3 later.

Is there a specific brand you recommend for the hair mineral test?

Thanks!

Thank you ! Would you recommend the same tests for my husband as well or another set of tests for him?

Hi Daniel,

I wanted to follow up on this post and say that I recently contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease from my son.

Since then, I am having a hard time falling asleep at night. Even though I’m exhausted, I am up until 3 AM despite going to bed at 9 or 10 PM. I feel tired before going to bed, and as soon as I lie down, I feel wide awake and have a lot of different thoughts.

I don’t feel anxious and my thoughts aren’t stressful in nature. They’ll be about random things.

When I wake up to tend to my son throughout the night, I’ll also feel wide awake and have a hard time going back to sleep. Before, I’d fall back asleep as soon as I was done nursing him. Tbh, the past week and a half, he has been waking up more and staying up for longer too because he is experience discomfort from being sick and teething too.

Would appreciate your input.

Thanks

Thanks for the information!

Why isn’t honey suitable for kids under 2? I know they generally don’t recommend it under the age of 1 because of risk of infant botulism, but I thought it would be okay now.

Thanks for the input and explaining how creatine works! I am breastfeeding, so now I’m wondering if it’s safe for me to take it. Here are the answers to your questions

– Is it easy for you to fall asleep, or do you lie awake before drifting off?

Depends on the day & how tired I am. Most days, I’ll fall asleep within 10-15 minutes of lying down.

– Even though your sleep is broken, does it feel deep in the moments you are asleep?

This is also dependent on the day. Most of the days, it does feel deep. I usually have quite a few dreams.

It’s interesting that when I sleep next to the baby, I’ll wake up usually only when he needs me or when he’s stirring. I will also fall back asleep faster.

When my husband is watching the baby on the weekends, I’ll sleep in a different room and he’ll bring the baby to me to nurse. Some nights I will only wake up when the baby is brought to me to nurse but some nights I wake up more frequently despite not having the baby with me. It’ll also take me longer to fall asleep the first time. My sleep also feels lighter when I’m away from my son [but I do wake up feeling more rested].

– How often are you waking up per night on average?

5-7 times on average on weekdays. 3-5 on weekends.

– When you wake up, is it always the baby, or also spontaneous wake-ups?

Most of the time it is the baby wanting to nurse or waking up himself

– When you wake up, does your heart race, or do you feel fairly calm?

Calm

– Do you wake up feeling wired or heavy?

In the morning, I usually feel pretty tired when I wake up. Sometimes, I won’t feel as tired if my son slept better too.

– Do you ever feel warm at night or wake between 2–4 AM?

No

A bit of background:

My son is now a little over 1 years old, so I have been dealing with frequent wake ups since he was born. We do cosleep so that helps reduce the time I’m up because I can nurse him right away, and fall back asleep soon after.

Unfortunately, I have a hard time napping during the day when he is napping unless I’m absolutely exhausted so I only sleep at night.

My son sleeps around 9.5-10 hours at night on average. I normally go to bed 1-2 hours after he sleeps, so I end up getting 7-8 hours of broken sleep every night.

I’m usually pretty tired most days, so I have had to cut down on the number of things I am able to do daily. I do rely on a low dose (less than 100 mg) of caffeine (matcha, black tea, or a small cup of coffee) to get through the day most days. I also can sometimes get migraines if the sleep has been particularly bad. My biggest concerns are always feeling tired and having a lot of brain fog

Supplements I take: prenatal, vitamin D & K2, cod liver oil, calcium. I plan on taking magnesium glycinate too. No medications

I’ll track these things over the next few days/week and get back to you.

Thanks for your help!

1. 1. No ovulation or period since giving birth.

   2. My skincare has remained the same. A gentle cleanser, vitamin C serum, moisturizer [all clean according to EWG Skin Deep]. The detergents I use are better in the US and rank usually between 1 and 2 on the EWG Skin Deep scale.

   3. Drinking water is filtered. Shower is not.

   4. Has happened indoors and outdoors, but I think it has happened indoors more. It could also just be because I spend the majority of my time indoors. The last flare up started the day after I was outside on a mountain.

   5. Have not done any bloodwork since giving birth.

   6. No family history of eczema, rosacea, or psoriasis.

   7. No other symptoms. I am tired more often but I think that’s also just chronic sleep deprivation

      8. Dandruff is worse in sweaty conditions or if I haven’t washed my hair in 4-5 days. It was worse when I was in the Middle East (due to the heat & humidity), but has been better since coming back. I do crave sugar a lot but I think it’s been because of just having low energy from not getting much sleep and my body wanting a quick source of energy.

      I also just remembered that the house we were living in in the ME did have some mold issues since it had water damage.

   I stopped derma planing for 2 weeks, and still had a flare up 1.5 weeks after.

   I am currently taking a few supplements: Thorne Prenatal, Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil, Seeking Health Vitamin D & K2 (occasionally), Magnesium Glycinate (occasionally), and Calcium (occasionally)

Not taking any medications

Thanks for the information! Is there a specific omega 3 supplement you’d recommend that’s gelatin free?

I’ve heard of omega 3 supplements going rancid and using cod liver oil instead. What are your thoughts on this?

They’re mandatory for the US green card.

Would love to hear your thoughts on what I can do to better support my body. Thanks!

Thanks for your response.

I was not iron deficient pre-pregnancy and neither was I in my first trimester. My providers redid blood work at 27 weeks, which is when I was diagnosed with mild anemia.

I can attach the screenshot of the labwork and the reference ranges they provide, but the reference ranges are for normal situations and not for pregnancy specifically.

I have been consuming iron rich foods, like red meat, eggs, nuts, lentils, and some leafy greens. I’ve been trying to consume them with vitamin C rich foods, which is why I think my ferritin levels did go up in the past month. I am concerned about my Hb and platelets being on the lower end, and not increasing.

I do not think I have a stomach acid problem because my stools have been quite regular and usually type 3/4. They are occasionally softer or harder but I’d suspect my organs being squished has something to do with that and progesterone.

My copper was not measured. I did not have iron deficiency or heavy periods before pregnancy.

I’m not sure if I have a simmering infection. I had a mild cause of the flu/covid (not sure which one because I didn’t get tested) three weeks ago (week 30 of pregnancy), and I got a cold sore on my chin two days ago (week 33). My WBC levels that were tested in the last week of August (week 32) seemed a bit higher and so did my neutrophils. I know WBC increase during pregnancy and remain high until delivery, so I’m not sure if it’s indicative of anything. Would love to hear your thoughts on it