Pregnancy Advice

I thought, since I'm currently pregnant, I would start by sharing about my two pregnancies and the similarities and differences I’ve seen with them. First, let me say that I consider it a total miracle and blessing to be pregnant at all. I know that all life is truly a miracle and gift from Him, but sometimes it’s hard not to question things when you want to get pregnant so much and can’t (and you’re married and pursuing the Lord with all you are) and then you hear of unwed teens getting pregnant, abortions, child abuse, etc. If you want to read about our battle with infertility, please click here.

Our daughter, Lydia was born in August 2006, (click here to read our birth story) and I’m currently 27 weeks pregnant with twins. For the most part, these two pregnancies have been very similar. One of the early symptoms I had during the two week wait - “TTW” – with both pregnancies was weight loss. This time around, from Day 1, I had an incredible hunger as soon as I woke up in the morning – to the point where I could tell my blood sugar was dipping really low and I needed to eat (this lasted the first month). Both times I had insomnia a lot in the first couple months (I think from the sheer excitement and joy!) and this time around my stomach was already getting firm by the time I could take a pregnancy test and find out if I really was pregnant.

Around 7 weeks, to the exact same day, the nauseous started both times. I never threw up (although I often thought I would feel so much better if I had) and it lasted until around 12 weeks. I was very tired in the first trimester this time with twins. In fact, with Lydia I never really missed a beat and wondered why so many pregnant women said they were tired – whew, do I now I understand! Both times, though, my second trimester has been great and I can honestly say that I feel better pregnant than not. I love being pregnant and during my second trimester I walked every morning, cooked, and did whatever else I needed to do. So far my weight gain has also been identical; although I’m quite sure my belly is bigger this time around! Also, my iron levels this time have dropped quickly and I’m now anemic and have to start taking iron supplements. (I honestly don’t know if this was even monitored with my first pregnancy, but, since it’s so common with twins my doctor has been monitoring it closely.) I knew they had been dropping for the past several months and did a lot of research of natural remedies – I tried several and just spent the last month taking 2 T. of liquid chlorophyll everyday only to find my levels stayed the same (it did maintain them and keep it from dropping and for many women it helps their iron levels rise so I’d definitely recommend trying this route first!). So, now I’m left with taking iron supplements which I know can cause constipation, among other things, but at least I know I’ve tried the natural remedies first.

With Lydia, I went to a midwifery unit during my pregnancy. I had one ultrasound – at the very beginning – only to make sure I was pregnant with just one baby. We declined most all testing, including the gestational diabetes test later in the pregnancy (I figured I never ate sugar anyway so what did drinking a cup of sugar really prove?), and had the most wonderful surprise of our lives to find out the sex of our baby when she was born. This time around we also declined most testing, but we have had several ultrasounds and are told we’re having two boys – I figure we won’t really be sure until they’re born!

Currently, our biggest prayer request – besides of course having healthy babies! – is wanting to make sure I am able to deliver them with a doctor who is experienced with delivering twins vaginally because I really want the chance to birth these babies naturally (and right now they are breech). Where we live overseas, the c-section rate is as high as 90% - and that’s for vertex singletons! Doctors are skilled with surgery, but not necessarily with natural delivery, and especially of twins. This issue has become very complicated and we are praying for grace and wisdom for everyone involved in the decision-making process (yes, unfortunately, it goes beyond just us).

This is why the importance of selecting the right doctor for you cannot be understated!! Most doctors today do not like delivering twins vaginally; rare is the doctor who would even consider giving a woman carrying breech twins the chance at a natural birth. Yet, those doctors do exist! We researched and researched (I started by calling midwives in the area I wanted to deliver to find out what doctors were more sympathetic to natural childbirth). We ended up finding a perinatologist (additional training beyond an OB) whose specialty is with multiples and breech and prefers to allow a woman the chance to birth naturally rather than just scheduling a c-section. I tell you this to encourage you that you CAN find skilled doctors who are sympathetic to your wishes, just be persistent in looking!

Well, I’m sure there’s so much more I could share, so if you have questions about my experiences please leave a comment or question! Let me close by sharing some of the resources I’ve enjoyed, as well as specific advice I’d give:

1. READ, READ, READ! Here’s some things that I strongly recommend:

• Daily pregnancy journal – I used this one with both pregnancies


• The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth


• Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way

2. Take a childbirth class: I recommend a BRADLEY COURSE

3. Nutrition – this is huge. I can’t say that I ate differently pregnant than before because I really try to cook/eat healthy. If anything, I ate worse pregnant because during the first trimester there were times I ate things like Pizza Hut – agh!! But, here’s the basics:
Brewer Diet (Also, check out http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/ - I couldn't get this link to work as I typed this but it is the website I used for my informaton on the Brewer Diet.) In a nutshell, the Brewer Diet is good because it deals with the importance of protein. This cannot be understated! Dr. Brewer was an OBGYN who found that in 20 years of practice he NEVER saw a case of preeclampsia or eclampsia among women who followed his protein recommendations. There are many other health benefits to eating protein, especially while pregnant. The problem with this diet, though, is he does not deal with the QUALITY of the food you eat. So, you also need to check out the Weston Price Organization and read through what it means to truly eat healthy. For more information about how we eat, check out these posts (one, two, three, four, five) I wrote on POH that deal with different aspects of nutrition.

4. Make sure you choose your doctor or midwife wisely!

5. ENJOY every moment of the short season that you are pregnant!!