I am nearing the end of my pregnancy, with only 4 more weeks left. As the due date approaches, I find eating to be more difficult. Having the common third trimester side effect of heartburn, I am quite honestly less than enthusiastic about food lately, which, for me, is an odd feeling. At this point, the baby is putting so much pressure on my stomach, that I rarely am able to finish a full meal. So, what is a pregnant foodie to do at this point?
The key to staying healthy and getting the proper nutrition needed for both me and the baby is eating smaller meals, or basically grazing throughout the day. Usually, under non-pregnancy circumstances, I do not advocate grazing, as I feel eating three well-balanced meals should be enough to steady the blood sugar and keep up one’s energy throughout the day. It’s important to allow the body to digest in peace, so to say, without constantly adding more food to process. However, at this stage in pregnancy, the stomach can only handle so much, and the baby is constantly taking energy from the food I eat, so I must continue to feed it (and me). Crackers, raw veggies like cucumbers, peppers, and carrots (the juicy veggies to keep me hydrated as well), raw juices (apple, carrot, ginger has been a MUST in the morning to help combat heartburn), soups, and small balanced meals (starch, protein, veggies), have been my go-to these weeks. I actually find this to be an interesting practice in portion-control, something so many of us struggle with.
With the final stage of pregnancy also comes the tendency to reflect, organize and develop more self-awareness (often referred to as “nesting”). It just so happens I am in this stage during Autumn, which is the ideal season for these practices. Leaves are falling, the weather is cooling, and we start to turn inward as we prepare for winter. I think it benefits everyone to take a bit more time this month to reflect on what is going well in life, what needs to change, where we need more structure/organization, and how to “clean things out,” – discard what we do not need in our houses, bodies or lives. Along with this practice, reflecting on positive affirmations or goals you’ve set for yourself, can be a helpful tool in developing the self-awareness you have been looking for.
We all need to take time throughout the year to organize our lives, be more aware of our bodies, and try to control our compulsions. Now is the perfect time to dive in. These are the lessons I am learning in my final weeks of pregnancy. After all, there is no waiting – the baby will arrive when she is ready and I have no idea when that will be, so now’s the time to get started. I encourage you to take that same attitude and start “nesting” today!
