Hello Alicia!
I had a pretty breezy pregnancy—a breeziness which I completely attribute to this super-healthy VEGAN lifeSTYLE.
I did work out, and I ate raw for the majority, (although I did have my days of Vegan cake & ice cream indulgences, some cheese-free pizza when I was desperate and far from the grocer's, and some hearty veg stews.) The blender, however, became my best friend, allowing me to maintain my raw Vegan lifestyle to a very large extent. I was able to jog and do modified versions of intense fitness routines to keep myself sane, friendly, fit, and able-bodied for our life to come, which turned-out to be a very rewarding feat: I did not need to buy ANY maternity clothes, and our son is INCREDIBLY strong for a 3-week old newborn, who, I must add, scored 100% on his APGAR tests and ALL of his other subsequent tests in the hospital and from our family doctor! As for me, I gained weight (30 lbs) steadily and healthfully for the duration of the pregnancy. (Many pregnant people who were due after me thought I was only a few months into my pregnancy and did not believe that I was due before them. The weight certainly distributed itself well and mobility was not too much of an issue for me—again, totally attributing this to the lifeSTYLE. I did not cut calories or attempt to lose weight for the duration of the pregnancy and I ALWAYS ate when I was hungry!)
SPECIFIC ANSWERS TO THE REST OF YOUR QUESTIONS:
Naysayers/Peace of Mind:
For the most part, I think people who know me are scared to give me a hard time about my lifestyle now that I am so well-rehearsed in defending it. They kept their comments swift, soft, and seldom. I read those in my immediate family articles about healthy Vegan pregnancies and they supported me in saying that I was following a much healthier lifestyle than an average Vegan. To quell comments about Omegas, which some said I was not getting enough of without eating eggs or fish, I consumed nuts, seeds, avocado, Tahini butter, and Echium oil. For my VEGAN multivitamin, which I did find a few brands of, but was unable to keep down for the first four months, I instead drank Vega and dumped it into my oats and smoothies. It truly assisted me nutritionally for that extra boost and made me worry much less about any deprivation issues. The Physician's Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM,) a group of Vegan, against-animal-testing doctors and veterinarians also had recommendations on their website which made me feel much more confident about remaining Vegan for the pregnancy. Fortunately for my state-of-mind, all of the doctors and obstetricians whom I saw at the hospital—though none of them Vegan--said my diet would not threaten the baby's health. It was quite the contrary to the owner of the health food store who, not only said I was harming my baby by being a Vegan, also tried to sell us Krill Oil—insisting that it was a Vegan product! Pffft! She needs to try my VEGAN breast milk!
By “cravings for naughty foods” do you mean animal-derived foods, or just fatty foods?
I had some meat and dairy cravings but I shoved some Tofurkey slices into subs when I had to quell the obsessive urges and that suited me fine... Well, not exactly. I always bloated from the salt and became exceedingly thirsty, but I'd manage okay by going back to my trusty banana smoothies with added kale, chard, or spinach. That usually took my anxiety away. Then I'd do a workout-video and sweat it out—modified positions, of course. Any time I craved dairy, I'd just make the smoothie extra thick with banana and I'd add dates to lessen the sugar cravings, so that my trips down the dark road of processed food were infrequent and shorter-lived. I ate much less ice cream from the store because of my stash of frozen bananas, which when whipped in a blender, taste like the clouds of Heaven and their natural sugar content doesn't give me a regretful headache.
Partner Involvement:
I basically just asked for whatever I needed, whether that be time to myself to work-out, read, and meditate, or for food to be prepared FOR me, instead of BY me. That, and I had a lot of instances whereI just needed to be heard and understood. This was not a problem, and I rarely had to even ask at all, as most of my needs were anticipated and my feelings were generally accepted—even the really outlandish, over-reactive ones. What I didn't ask for, I was offered and encouraged to do, like going for jogs, which were always accompanied by my husband and our dog. My body was so comfortable most of the time that I would forget to ask for massages, although people didn't seem to understand how I wouldn't require them. Neither of us ever even thought of massages! It wasn't a “bad” thing... We just swam and ran and it never became an issue, given that it was mid-summer and I was rarely stiff or uncomfortable! Sometimes I'd just ask for a massage to make myself “feel” like we were “doing the right thing,” only to wind-up feeling like I was merely playing the part of a stereotypical pregnant woman... so I'd make my husband stop and turn around so that I could massage HIM for working so hard in taking care of ME. Hey HE was the one who REALLY needed it!
I did a number of “silent days” where I did not speak to anyone, and just meditated. I tried to include my husband in this area of not talking by remaining silent at home too... This was very hard for me. I had to ask him to STOP offering me things for these days, because it made me want to talk to him! I had to tell him to let me do things for myself during these times... But this was by the end of the pregnancy, during which time I was at my largest and he was so used to making me tea and food that he found it hard not to—albeit silently-- offer me tea and food. He took care of my “social responsibilities” during these times of meditation, by calling my parents on my behalf to give them updates on my well-being and reporting back to me that everything on their end was fine.
I posted a photo in my album wherein I am dressed in black pants and a cropped shirt, which my husband took of me just 24 hours before I went into labour. It's due to his support that I was able to help myself through this journey of pregnancy and come-out so in-shape. He was always carting fruit from the grocer when all I wanted to do was sleep, meditate, do my videos, or just lay on the floor with our cats.
Do feel free to message me for more details and please have a look at some more pregnancy photos on my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/mariko.turtledove
Love Mariko <3
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