little feet, big sky

After watching this CHOW OBSESSIVES on pizza, I really wanted to make homemade pizza from scratch. We have plenty of basil in the garden and are always hacking it down to make pesto. We picked up some buffalo mozzarella ($8) and heirloom tomatoes ($2) from the Hollywood Farmers’ market. I really wanted to make my own pizza dough, but time was running out and I ended up buying some from the prepared foods guy at Whole Foods ($4) and froze it as soon as I got home.

Of course, I didn’t get it out of the freezer to thaw three hours in advance, so I found a nifty quick way to do it. Get a gallon ziploc bag and spray the inside with cooking spray, then toss the lump of frozen dough in and seal tightly. Then fill your sink or a large bowl with hot water from the tap and let the bag sit in it. I came back to mine about an hour & a half later to find it completely thawed. :-)

The spouse rolled out the dough, and we spread down some olive oil with crushed garlic, then the basil and tomatoes and the mozzarella last. A light sprinkle of sea salt and into the oven it went. In hindsight, I figure we could have rolled out the pizza a bit more thinly, and also maybe put the mozzarella down first. Perhaps a super-thin layer of tomato sauce would have been nice, too. But the end result was fabulous anyway.

The Pregnancy Book by William and Martha Sears is, by far, my favorite book to refer to during pregnancy. It’s broken out by month, and covers what to expect roughly each month. Of course, pregnancy is not textbook, so there’s a lot of wiggle room between what’s covered this month and what I’m experiencing, but it’s close enough. (And the index at the back is quite thorough for looking up something specific when you need it.)

I love that the Sears mentality and “voice” in this book (and their entire library) is so non-judgemental, for a book catering to natural pregnancy. The material is relevant to home, hospital and birth center births, and you get the feeling that they are genuinely after what is best for a healthy mother and baby. Everything is covered in here, from diet and nutrition, to exercise and emotional support. I had really painful leg cramps at night for a while and was able to look it up in the index, read through suggested diet changes and some stretching exercises and haven’t suffered from it since. (The trick is to slowly and gently flex your foot so your toes are pointing at you; something I can even do half asleep now if I feel a cramp coming on!)

Honestly, this book puts “What to Expect…” to shame. If you know someone newly pregnant, give them this book instead. :-)

I’ve had an easy time so far with weight gain in terms of eating well and gaining just the right amount. Thought I’d share some tips from various sources & just from my own meandering experience. :-)

• Pick one type of indulgent junk food to keep in the house and toss the rest. Don’t think too hard about it being wasteful, or if you just can’t do that, try giving it to friends or taking it to work to leave in the lunchroom. :-) Chances are good that there are only so many Doritos you can eat repeatedly.
• Stock up on fresh fruits and keep fruit juices to a minimum. Drinking lots of fruit juice may seem healthy at first glance, but fruit sugar is still sugar. Eating your fruit whole increases the time it takes for the sugar to hit. You can only eat a few oranges at a time, whereas one 8 oz. glass of juice probably has the sugar of say 6-8 oranges, without the fiber to slow the sugar rush. Pregnant women are already more insulin-resistant (meaning that you have a higher blood sugar than normal by default) and pushing those blood sugar numbers up can lead to serious complications and interventions later in pregnancy. Plus, fiber is good in helping you feel full.
• Cut the caffeine & sodas. Your baby really doesn’t need extra sugar or caffeine. My rationale is that the effect of caffeine or sugar on a person is similar to stress: the heart races, the adrenaline picks up, etc. It’s been proven that babies exposed to stress in the womb can suffer all sorts of problems, mainly because while we can respond with the fight-or-flight instinct, our pre-birth babies can do neither! I love my crazy caffeine drinks (candy, chocolates, etc ), but I don’t want my baby to be any more stressed or jittery than he/she would be after birth, so it’s a temporary sacrifice on my part.
• Start your morning with whole grains and a huge glass of water. This has been a lifesaver for me in terms of keeping those freak hunger attacks under control until lunch. For something cold and quick, I’ve taken to Kashi’s GoLean Crunch with a mix of almond and regular milk. If I want something hot, I whip up some quinoa, topped with fresh fruit, a bit of yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup. The water is a must for preventing constipation, another delightful pregnancy experience.
• Drink only water. You really do need those annoying 6-8 glasses of water a day when you’re pregnant, in spite of the hassle of peeing every few hours. If you have trouble with this one (as I do), cut out all other drinks other than water. I’ve taken to drinking my water at home with a mere splash of juice in it for flavor. Treat yourself to the occasional tea once a week, or a soda or coffee once a month.
• Evaluate your meal choices and ask yourself nutritionally, “Would I give this to my two-year-old?” If it’s junk food, overly greasy, has few natural ingredients, has a high sugar content, your answer will most likely be no, and that’s a good sign that you should find something better. Remember that your baby only gets the nutrition that you give yourself.
• Get used to eating half portions. Your stomach (and intestines) are getting squeezed and pushed, so you’re likely to suffer indigestion, heartburn, and bloating. When eating out, I eat about half, or until I just start to feel full, then ask for the rest to go. If this is tough because it’s really tasty, a friend recommended boxing up half to go before even eating. I find I’m usually hungry again within an hour or two and can finish off the other portion then.
• Walk around for at least 30 minutes after eating. Failing that, remain upright (sit, stand) to let gravity help your food digest.

Overall, just make the best choices you can, and feel good about doing right by your child. The better you eat now, the more your taste buds will change and you’ll eat better later. In turn, you’ll pass on healthy eating habits to your children. :-)

The Pregnancyandbaby.com blog had some great tips for entertaining curious babies:

Move activities to a better setting: Say your little one discovers that overturning a water cup results in mass fun and mess. No scolding, a simple, “We don’t pour water on the carpet” will do. Move your baby’s fun to the tub or an empty outside wading pool. Give her cups, sponges, and squirters, and let her go to town.

- Pregnancy & Baby Blog » Blog Archive » Supporting curious babies