After the first time to feel baby’s movement, I began to get used to his/her movements everyday. With the time going, I began to identify the pattern of his/her movements.
1. Increased movements before meal: breakfast, lunch and dinner. It seems baby knows “it is time for dinner”. Sometimes around 11 am when I was engaged into work, baby began to jolt. If I didn’t stand up to eat something or begin to prepare the lunch, he/she would increase the activity, sometimes even rolled over in my tummy.
Sometimes I didn’t have any feelings of hungry, but baby was restless in my tummy. If I didn’t eat anything, then 1 hour later I would feel hungry. After identifying this pattern, whenever I feel baby’s activities, I will grab something quick or immediately begin to prepare for dinner, therefore I will have something to eat when I do feel the need to eat something.
2. Regular activities at night. Since I like to go to bed and get up at regular hours, I wish my baby will do the same thing after birth. After a period of time of erratic movements at night, I began to notice that baby form a pattern of activities. For example, a lot of times I go to bed at 9 pm. Sometimes when I stay a little bit late, baby begins to act up. This activity has become more and more regular that I can even set my watch by it.
3. No long-time sitting still. It seems my baby doesn’t like me sitting at one position too long. He/she seems to want me stand up, take a walk, or do something else rather than just sitting for a long time. If I ignore his/her movements, he/she will keep bumping and kicking until I surrender. Therefore, nowadays as soon as I feel his/her restlessness, I will stand up, walk around, do something else and then come back to work.
4. Music is good, but not rock-and-roll. Every time when I play Mozart music for the baby, he/she is always quiet. I interpret that he/she likes the music. However, if the music is not smooth and beautiful melody but loud and noisy rock-and-roll or heavy medal, the baby will immediately kick me to show his/her disapproval.
5. Increased activities with mommy’s anxiety. According to the fetal/prenatal education theory, a mother’s stress, anxiety, and depression during pregnancy can affect the baby’s development.
My personal experience proves the validity of this theory. When I am worried and anxious about life events, the baby’s movements become more frequent, agitated, and obvious. If I toss and turn at night because I cannot fall into sleep, I can feel the increased rolling and kicking of the baby in my tummy.
6. Interact with mommy. The most interesting thing is baby interacts with me via his/her movements. Sometimes when I feel his/her activities, I will pat gently on the tummy by some rhythm. And then baby reacts to me when I stop; if I pat again, he/she stops and then reacts to me when I stop. We can keep interacting like this for up to 30 minutes, then baby becomes quiet, probably goes to sleep.
Dear readers, welcome to share your experience of your baby’s fetal movements. It is good to understand what they want, even we cannot see them and hear what they say. 
Besides healthy eating, there are some special concerns my practitioner told me to be careful with. I put down into today’s post and share with you. Hope these tips will help you too!
Special concerns:
Weight Gain: Pregnancy is NOT the time to lose weight, even if you are overweight. During pregnancy, the average weight gain for a normal weight female is 25-35 pounds.
Typically, you will gain 1-3 pounds in the first 3 months and approximately ¾ -1 pound per week the remainder of your pregnancy.
If you are gaining weight too fast:
- Limit high-fat foods and sweets in your diet. Examples include soda, candy, cookies and cakes. Choose more low fat options such as fruit, yogurt, gelatin or pudding.
- Reduce margarine, sour cream, mayonnaise, butter and salad dressings. Try low calorie varieties.
- Avoid fried foods. Do not fry meat. Bake or broil instead. Remove the skin from chicken. Avoid foods such as French fries or doughnuts.
Nausea: Nausea is not a sickness, but rather a symptom of several conditions, many of which are not related to the stomach. Nausea is often indicative of an underlying condition elsewhere in the body.
Nausea is also a common symptom of pregnancy. Mild nausea experienced during pregnancy can be normal, and should not be considered an immediate cause for alarm..
Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Keep crackers by your bed and eat a few prior to getting out of bed. Lie down or sit quietly after eating. Avoid fried and high fat foods. Drink liquids between meals instead of with them.
Constipation: is caused by decreased bowel motility secondary to elevated progesterone (normal in pregnancy), which can lead to greater absorption of water.
Drink 6-8 cups of water every day. Eat plenty of fiber, which can be found in foods such as raw fruits, vegetables, whole gains, cooked dried beans and high-fiber cereals.
Fetal/prenatal education, in my understanding, is a comprehensive system including creating a solid physical foundation and friendly emotional environment for the baby. Therefore, providing a balanced nutrition and physical well-being to the baby is part of the fetal/prenatal education.
A balanced diet is more than simply increase how much you eat. You need to consider what to eat during pregnancy. Your body needs increased amounts of vitamins, protein, minerals and calories. It is important to eat a diet based on these increased needs to make sure you are getting the proper nutritional and daily recommendations from each food group.
It is essential to follow these simple guidelines to ensure a healthy pregnancy. You are responsible for making healthy choices for both you and your baby.
The following Food Guide Pyramid is the advice given from my practitioner. I present here to share with other mothers-to-be. Hope it may help you achieve a healthy eating!
Milk, Yogurt and Cheese (4 servings/day)
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 ounce of cheese
- 1 1/3 cups of cottage cheese
- 1 ½ cups of ice cream
- 1 cup of yogurt or custard
Meat, Poultry, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts (2-3 servings/day or 6-7 oz)
- Beef
- Chicken
- Lamb
- Eggs 1 egg = 1 oz meat
- Cheese 1 slice = 1 oz meat
- Peanut Butter 2 Tbsp = 1 oz meat
- Turkey
- Pork
- Organ Meats
Fruits (3-4 servings/day)
- 1 serving = 1 medium fruit
- ½ cup juice or fruit
Vegetables (4-5 servings/day)
- 1 serving = ½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw vegetabless
Choose one good source of Vitamin C daily. Examples include: Broccoli, Grapefruit, Orange Juice, Cabbage, Greens, Strawberries, Cantaloupe, Oranges, and Tomatoes
Choose one good source of Vitamin A every other day. Examples include: Dark Green vegetables, orange vegetables, Apricots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, and Carrots
Bread, Cereals, Rice and Pasta (9-11servings/day, 1 serving = ½ cup or 1 slice)
- Bagels
- Breads
- Noodels
- Macaroni
- Cereals
- Rice
- Spaghetti
Fats & Oils
- only small amounts of margarine, salad dressings and oils
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