Pregnant! Relieve My Fears!

[Melzo]

I just found out I am pregnant! On Valentine's Day none the less!! I am soo worried about having a miscarriage that I just need everyone to tell me that I am worrying about nothing. I am about 7 weeks along now and will not have my first appointment til next week. For anyone who has talked to me, knows that I am a very statistical type of person. So when I hear that 83% of women experience a miscarriage, it makes me EXTREMELY nervous. What do I do?

[penguin]

So when I hear that 83% of women experience a miscarriage, it makes me EXTREMELY nervous.

Congratulations! All you can do is make sure to eat right, take care of yourself, and make sure you're getting enough vitamins.

Miscarriages are awful, but it's nature's way of stopping something that's going wrong in the pregnancy. Also, if you look at the statistics, most people don't have a problem getting pregnant again.

Hope everything goes well for you, and congrats again!

[cgilsing]

First of all Congratulations!!!

It totally normal to be worried at this stage in the game too! I'm 6 months pregnant and just now starting to relax some! I understand your concerns. Pregnancy puts you in such a fragile situation. It opens up possibilities not only for great joy, but also pain. Stay close to your Dr. and ask them ANYTHING you need to. I don't know your whole situation, but if your here than I'm sure that celiac disease is part of your worries. Stay on a strict diet and that is one worry you can forget about! Good luck to you! Keep us posted on how you are doing ok! {{{{hugs}}}}

[tarnalberry]

I just found out I am pregnant! On Valentine's Day none the less!! I am soo worried about having a miscarriage that I just need everyone to tell me that I am worrying about nothing. I am about 7 weeks along now and will not have my first appointment til next week. For anyone who has talked to me, knows that I am a very statistical type of person. So when I hear that 83% of women experience a miscarriage, it makes me EXTREMELY nervous. What do I do?

1. stick to the gluten-free diet and you won't have a higher risk than anyone else

2. most miscarriages that occur in statistics like that are ones that occur REALLY early, before most people know they are pregnant, and so that statistic no longer applies to your situaiton.

[StrongerToday]

Are you religious or beleive in a "higher power"? Now's a great time to put your faith in them.

Just take good care of yourself, take your vitamins (I took mine at lunch), stock up on gluten-free snacks to keep with you!

[plantime]

Stick carefully to the gluten-free diet, you should be fine. As Tiffany said, as long as you stay on the gluten-free diet, you have no more chance than any other woman of having a miscarriage.

[jodikris]

I have DH and I guess that means I have celiac. I gave birth to a healthy baby girl in Sept. 29th 2004 so don't lose hope. I was diagnosed with DH before i was pregnant and I ate gluten (unfortunately) cuz my blood test was inconclusive....well my DH was AWFUL during the entire pregnancy and she was still fine. She did only weigh 6 lbs 9.5 but still she was very healthy!

[Melzo]

THANK YOU! Just reading your responses has helped to calm my nerves a bit. I am being VERY, VERY careful about eating gluten free stuff. AND, I am also taking my prenatal vitamins. Anything else I should know? If I talk to some people, they tell me to "eat crackers to help with morning sickness," etc... Stuff that really doesn't apply to me. I would love to hear from all of you about some "CELIAC POINTERS" so to speak.

[cgilsing]

Did you check with your Dr. to make sure your prenatal vitamin if gluten-free? I didn't have any trouble getting one, but it's just something to check on....especially since you are going to be taking it every day for the next 9 months I wish I had a magical cure for morning sickness....but I don't! Really the thing that I found most helpful (and I know this sounds silly) is seabands. THey are little wristbands you wear that are supposed to help through accupuncture. My husband swears it was the placebo effect working, not the bands....but at that point I didn't care if it was the bands or the placebo effect as long as something was helping!! Take heart in that it generally doesn't last that long!

[KayJay]

Congratulations! I had really bad morning sickness and I found that the only thing that helped we has some meds. from the doctor. I was worried to take them but too sick not too. My baby is very smart and healthy so I would do it again for sure

I was told not to eat out because of hidden gluten I did eat out some but very rarely. Take your vitimins and relax.

[Melzo]

I actually had found gluten free prenatal vitamins at Cosco (not sure if it is a nation wide store) but is similar to Sam's Club. ALL of their supplements are gluten-free so I usually choose those ones. I have my vit. B, calcium, and iron supplements from them. They have a website if anyone is interested: www.naturemade.com

I have been trying to eat at home mostly. If I go out I will just have a salad or something that is hard to mess up. Even though I have had my share of messed up salads!!!

So far, I haven't had full blown morning sickness - just a little queasy sometimes. However, I feel it coming on if you can believe that one! One of these days I'm just going to blow chunks. Any day now...........

Starting to get really constipated. I have been drinking prune juice (yuck). Any suggestions?

[cgilsing]

I've been fighting constipation the whole time I've been pregnant. Try going on walks as often as possible, eat dried fruit for a snack, drink lots of water, metamucil is gluten-free, avoid bananas and cheese, and if all else fails (I had a tearful conversation with my pharmasist on a Friday evening at 4:45 after finding out my OBGYN closed at 4:30 and facing yet another weekend of painful constipation and he suggested these) glycerine suppositories . They aren't pleasent by any means, but both my Dr. and my pharmsist say they are safe for occational use while pregnant. Be sure to talk to your Dr. before you do that though, I don't want to give advice that your Dr. doesn't approve of.

[StrongerToday]

I always woke up and had a glass of the Premium OJ (not from concentrate) with calcium and -sigh- graham crackers. (Obviously this was before my wheat free days.) I also always carried snack bars in my purse. I just got some great ones - Boomi Bars. Lara bars are good too. Both have a good source of fiber too.

My OB told me if I got C to watch a movie, have a big bowl of popcorn and ots of water.

Feel good!

[Generic]

I had 2 fairly normal pregnancies (no complications due to to celiac). With my son I had morning sickness almost the whole time, at all hours of the day.

As for the constipation problems. I made my own trail mixes. I used various types of nuts, dried fruits and some m&m's for a little treat. I snacked on them quite often, as I was always hungry. It is a healthy snack, full of vitamins and protein and high in fiber.

I had problems gaining weight so a nutritionist suggested i make "proteins balls". They were made out of dry chocolate instant breakfast powder mixed with peanut butter. Kinda weird but it worked.

Congratulations! Don't stress yourself.

[skoki-mom]

Congratulations!!! What everyone else said..........just eat well, get lots of rest, and the rest is pretty much out of your hands. I have had 2 healthy babies, long before I was dx with celiac disease. Besides the morning sickness, I had very normal and healthy pregnancies and labours. I did have a miscarriage in between my 2 girls, and it was very early, around 8 weeks. It was a disappointing time in my life, but I went on to have my beautiful daughter. Try to relax and enjoy this wonderful time in your life!!

[hapi2bgf]

Congrats soon-to-be Mama!

My second child is 11 mths now. My pregnancy was long and stressful from work and worrying about wether or not something I was doing would screw up the pregnancy or what would happen at the hospital, etc. You name it and I worried about it. In the end, the labor was faster and less painful than the first child. However, one of my biggest concerns nearly came true - made it to the hospital (in the city) and the baby was born 1 hour and 20 min later!!!! YIKES! She is still happy, smart, funny, and early for walking and teeth.

Be extremely careful of your foods while pregnant. I am very careful and still got glutened 6 times while pregnant - bird food, eating out, samples from a fellow gluten-free at a store, etc. Through it all the baby was fine.

With the first child I was sick but didn't know I had Celiacs. That child is perfect too.

I say get a journal and write to your baby - the first baby is a unique experience. Relax and enjoy every moment of it. If you need help or advice, we are all always here. Later in the pregnancy start looking at breast feeding vs nursing and all the products you will be using on this baby and feeding the baby.

Enjoy the fact that you are pregnant and let the worrying happen later

[JanetG823]

I can totally understand where you are coming from. When I became pregnant, I was terrified. Least of my worries at that time was the whole Gluten Free thing. However, when I starting thinking about it, I couldn't find ANYONE who went thru a pregnancy and had Celiac Disease.

My son is now 20 months old (almost 21) and is perfectly Healthy and Happy! My pregnancy was actually better than a lot of my friends who were pregnant at the same time. I have to admit, I did 'cheat' a little during my pregnancy, I am not as strict as a lot of celiacs are and should be. I have the occassional slip up with small trace amounts (I don't go overboard and have a normal pizza or crackers or piece of bread), but occassionally have something that may have been cross contaminated). In my case - Celiac had NOTHING to do with anything of my pregnancy/delivery. I made sure my doctor knew I had it and made sure after he was born that his pediatrician knew it too.

All you can do is hope, pray, and wish for the best in your pregnancy. It's true, if miscarriage happens, it's a sign that something was terribly wrong and it was natures way of fixing it. I don't believe Celiac Disease should have any bearing on your mind about miscarriages.

As everyone says, Eat Well, Take care of yourself by trying not to stress, Rest and limit your reading of what you need to do. Too much reading of books telling you what to do will make you crazy too! A great book - What to Expect when your Expecting! You can find it in any store, baby store, or book store.

Good Luck - Email if you wish to chat!

Janet

Mom to Healthy 21 month old Justin!

[Melzo]

metamucil is gluten-free,

Is it also safe to use while I am pregnant????? Won't hurt the baby????