Oh my, the “You’re an awful mother and hate your baby and only care about yourself!”* crew are going to love this secret I’m about to spill.

I didn’t take official prenatal vitamins until well into my second trimester. A few months prior to conception I started taking Vitafusion Multi Vites Gummy Vitamins and I kept taking those same supplements through something like week 16.

Mmmmm, gummy vitamins. So much tastier than those horse pills I’m taking now.

I looked through  many days of Fitday nutrition analyses taken over a period of several years, and decided that, on average, I was meeting a vitamin and mineral intake that I felt comfortable with, folic acid of course being the one I was most concerned about. As some of you know I’m a big believer in the concept of “intuitive eating”, the idea that a persons body will tell them what areas they are deficient in, and at the beginning of my pregnancy I was eating spinach salad by the bowlful. And when I say “bowl” I don’t mean cereal bowls, I’m talking huge serving bowl sizes that had me smacking my lips and sometimes wanting more.

I don’t know for sure, but it’s possible that avoiding prenantals through my first trimester might have played a large part in my lack of morning sickness. Ultimately this decision not to switch felt right for me, and I guess we’ll find out in two months whether I’m going to have birth defects to deal with on account of this unorthodox decision!

When I started working with Sarah she recommended several different supplements to me. I bought five different bottles, came home and googled all of the ingredients, and decided to never take one, only take one for a short period of time to see if I thought it was beneficial for me, and have taken the other three regularly for the duration of my pregnancy.

The supplement I chose to avoid is made by Standard Process, called Trace Minerals-B-12. Though I think vitamin B12 is important, I didn’t like the idea of ingesting 32 mg of Manganese (the amount found in the recommended daily dosage) as there is some information out there that suggests excess manganese can negatively affect brain development and memory retention. Again, a look at my Fitday data over time made me feel comfortable that I would get enough manganese and B-12 without the supplement.

The supplement I decided to take on a trial basis is called Symplex F, and contains extracts from bovine ovary, adrenal, pituitary, and thyroid glands. Standard Process, the company that produces the supplement, claims that the hormones found within help to balance female sexual hormones. Sarah recommended it to help keep mood swings at bay and a smile on my face. I thought it sounded iffy but I decided to try it out anyway, just in case. I didn’t see any change and so I stopped taking it once the bottle ran out.

I am currently taking three different supplements, and will continue taking them for a period of time after baby comes as well.

Tuna Omega-3 Oil made by Standard Process. We believe (both husband and I!) that DHA in particular is so important for building a healthy brain and TH frequently asks me if I’ve been taking my fish oils regularly. I’ve also been working to fit in three servings of fish each week as well. We want a smart baby! If you’re stressed about mercury levels in fish oil supplements I would suggest starting with this NYTimes article on that very subject.

Choline made by Standard Process is my second supplement, and has also shown positive correlation with healthy brain development. Can you tell how badly we want a baby with a nice sturdy brain?

Last but not least are the yellow horse pills, MultiStart Prenatals by Dr. Michael Murphy. Packed with just about every vitamin and mineral I can imagine needing, I think they work fine and after checking to make sure they didn’t contain anything at a level I was uncomfortable with I went ahead and stocked up on them. I’m sure there are hundreds of prenatal vitamins that would work just as well, I didn’t feel like doing any more looking though.

I’m curious, what vitamins did you take through your pregnancy and why?

*Yes, there really are people who like to speak up and criticize my every admission that I’m not perfect,  already. I thought it wouldn’t start until baby gets here, but they like to get an early start. Happily, there are many more of you who say nice things and make me feel like I’m doing a good job. I like you guys!

We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

Revelation is how God talks to us. Through the Holy Ghost impressions are given and inspiration is received. We each have the ability to receive revelation for those we have stewardship over, so I can receive revelation regarding my own needs, the needs of my children, and even the needs of those who I have been called to teach and care for in my role as a visiting teacher (sisters in the LDS Church are paired up and given the names of other sisters in the ward to visit with at least once a month and care for). The bishop of our ward supplicates the Lord for revelation on how he should care for and direct the members of the ward. The prophet has the great responsibility of receiving revelation for the entire Church.

We can also receive inspiration for those in need, who may not fall under our stewardship at the time. I can’t think of a specific example from my own life, but I’ve heard of many wonderful instances where a family felt was overwhelmed and unable to pay their groceries, and a bag of food showed up on their doorstep. Or when a sister in the ward felt particularly overwhelmed while attempting to care for her children and another women showed up on her doorstep unasked and tidied up the house and helped care for the children. I believe God often inspires us to be the angels on earth that others need in times of trial.

The scriptures sometimes speak of visions, dreams, and visitations by angels, marvelous and glorious events that not everyone will experience in their lifetime. I know that in my own life, revelation is always much quieter, much more subtle. I must be actively working to draw as close to the Lord as possible if I want to hear the whisperings He sends through the power of the Holy Ghost. If a person is looking for guidance from God sometimes it may be difficult to know how to begin looking for it. LDS.org has a wonderful list of things that can be done to receive more guidance from the Holy Ghost:

Pray for guidance. The Lord said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8). In order to find and receive, we must seek and ask.

Be reverent. Reverence is profound respect and love. When we are reverent and peaceful, we invite revelation. Even when everything around us is in commotion, we can have a reverent attitude and be prepared to receive guidance from the Lord.

Be humble.Humility is closely related to reverence. When we are humble, we recognize our dependence on the Lord.

Keep the commandments. When we keep the commandments, we are prepared to receive, recognize, and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Partake of the sacrament worthily. The sacramental prayers teach how to receive the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit. When we partake of the sacrament, we witness to God that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of His Son and that we will always remember Him and keep His commandments. Our Heavenly Father promises that when we keep these covenants, we will always have the Spirit to be with us. (See D&C 20:77, 79.)

Study the scriptures every day. As we diligently study the scriptures, we learn from the examples of men and women whose lives have been blessed as they have followed the Lord’s revealed will. We also become more receptive to the Holy Ghost in our own lives. As we read and ponder, we may receive revelation about how a certain scripture passage applies to us or about anything else the Lord desires to communicate to us.

Take time to ponder. When we take time to ponder the truths of the gospel, we open our mind and heart to the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost (see 1 Nephi 11:1; D&C 76:19; 138:1–11). Pondering takes our thoughts from the trivial things of the world, helping us gain a more eternal perspective and bringing us closer to the Spirit.

When seeking specific guidance, we should study the matter out in our minds. At times the Lord’s communication will come only after we have studied a matter out in our minds.

Patiently seek God’s will. God reveals Himself “in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (see D&C 88:63–68). Revelation will often come line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. We should be patient and trust in the Lord’s timing

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built upon the idea that God still speaks to His children today, that He still has so much more He wants us to learn. Through the power of revelation Joseph Smith brought forth an ancient record called the Book of Mormon, a record of His children living in Ancient America, containing messages of hope, peace, joy, trials and tribulations similar to those found in the Bible. As LDS members we frequently use the term “modern revelation” to speak of official pronouncements from Church leaders, like those found in the book known as the Doctrine and Covenants and addresses from General Conference. We sustain our leaders as men called by God to serve in those capacities and believe that it is their stewardship to receive revelation for the areas which they have been called to preside over.

I am frequently asked why I choose to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Why do I believe that this is the same Church Jesus Christ founded upon the earth 2000 years ago? The power of personal revelation. I read the words of the leaders I believe are stewards over the earth today, just as great men from the Bible like Moses and Noah and Enoch were given responsibility over God’s children, and the Spirit of the Lord testifies to me that what I am reading is the truth. That following the teachings of the men who have guided the Church from the time of Joseph Smith until now (and continuing on into the future) will bring me not just happiness, but eternal joy, and that by following their teachings I can return to live with my Father in Heaven once again.

Usually I write posts focused on a single topic, which means I have dozens of drafts I never get around to. Maybe it’s time for me to start a brain dump tradition on Saturdays, where I buzz through all of the things I have on my mind. Try not to be overwhelmed.

Craft It Forward Partners

Random.org chose Laura, Ellie, Liz, Natalie, and Amy to be the (lucky?) ladies to receive something from me. (If you aren’t sure if you are one of those ladies, click on the names to be taken to the winning comment.) If you are one of those people and you don’t receive an email from me in the next week or so… email me with your address.

So many of you commented and said you would like to participate, if a few of you would be interested in starting your own Craft It Forward chain (you won’t get anything, but you’ll send something out to 5 people and hope it continues moving forward) email me and we’ll start a new post for those who are interested to comment once again. Fun!

Hair

I splurged and went to a real salon and had my hair dyed this week. I love it, and I admit to being hooked to plunking down a wad of cash once again. I thought I was past that! Somehow the stylist tricked me into agreeing to come back in 4 weeks to do it all over again (something about demi-permanent and such). I tried to take a before-and-after photo but in the awful light of my bedroom it looks exactly the same. TH said he could tell a difference though so it must look better. Maternity photos are next week!

Temple

I emailed the temple and told them I think I’m done serving. It’s something I’ve been wavering back and forth on for several weeks now, but I’ve been having a bit of a rough time lately and I’m no longer dependable enough to work a 5 hour shift (most of it standing). I feel sad and a bit flaky but I’m grateful for the opportunity I had and the things I’ve learned. Now, going as a regular patron for less than 2 hours won’t seem so hard anymore!

Jenna Cole in Austin

I would like to go to Austin within the next few weeks. Do you know anyone who might like to have me take their picture?

School

I took a final yesterday, which means I am one credit closer to graduating. I have no motivation, I don’t care, my degree means nothing to me. As I have told That Husband many times I just want to take care of baby, blog, and run my business. His parents offered me a cash reward for finishing though (a very substantial and gracious reward!) and today while I was forcing myself to write essays in the testing center I thought about how I would spend the money. The gift I came up with for myself is the only thing that will see me through to the end. I’ll tell you what it is when I’m a bit closer to the finish line.

Hoodies/Pants/Shirts

Once upon a time I embarked on a project, and then the project didn’t get done and now I’m stuck with some items I have no use for. I’m hoping there is a chance I might be able to sell them through my blog. The prices you see below include shipping (domestic only, if you are international and you want to purchase some you’ll need to pay the cost of getting them to you!) and are lower than you can find through any of the Google Shopping retailers. If you need some lounge wear, this is a great deal, and if you purchase more than one item I’ll lower your total cost. You’ve seen the hoodie and pants before if you read That Bride, as I wore them to get ready the morning of my wedding! These are all brand new, never worn, just a bit wrinkly from sitting in my closet for so long.

HYP Brand Lounge Pants, $15

1 Large, White

1 Small, Gray

1 Medium, Gray

1 Large, Gray

American Apparel Hoodie, $25 (I’m pretty sure this one retails for $42 on the AA website)

5 Medium, White

American Apparel Summer T, $12 (Very sheer, and retails for $21 on the AA site)

2 Medium, White

Canon Rebel XT

Now that I have my beloved Mark II my 50D has become my backup body and I don’t have any use for this Canon Rebel XT. I bought it used off of Craigslist and it comes with the body, an 18-55mm IS lens, two chargers, three batteries, and all original packaging. I was pulling things out of my photo closet when the body was knocked to the floor (no lens was on it) and the focusing mirror stopped flipping up correctly. I took it in to have it fixed (pricey ) but that means you are getting a camera that has been recently serviced and cleaned and in great working order! Asking $325.

Canon 70-200 2.8L IS USM

It’s time for me to get rid of this lens so I can buy this one. UV filter from day one, used-in-box with all original packaging, used a handful of times and in like new condition. $1550.

Ask Me Anything Moderating

I really didn’t want to do it. I wanted to keep a policy similar to the That Wife commenting rules, where I only censor comments that attack others, use foul language, or link to anti-Mormon sites, but that’s just not going to be possible. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why the haters seem to love to attack me so viciously on this site in particular. I’m blogging over here, every single day and if they really want to speak up they have plenty of opportunities to voice their opinions. I think the difference between here and there, is that That Wife is a community, where they likely realize that out-of-line, ridiculous, fearmongering will cause others to speak up and tell them to go away unless they have something constructive to say. On the Formspring site though, I think they feed off of the me versus them aspect of it. It’s not a community or a discussion, it’s a chance to corner me and pin me down and harp on me over and over and over and over, even though they aren’t trying to get anywhere with their “debate”, they just want to try make me look and feel stupid! So I’m going to start deleting questions that do nothing other than attack me, my beliefs, my husband, my relationships, my family, and everything else they’ve managed to think of thus far. That doesn’t mean I won’t be answering hard questions though, so please feel free to submit. I think you probably know if you’re asking your question out of curiosity or a desire to pummel my self-esteem into the ground. I should be able to tell the difference as well.

Before I delete them though, I thought you might enjoy seeing what they’ve managed to come up with. If you ask something like this, you won’t see me answering it, ever.

TH doesn’t think the first one is rude, but I think it was meant to be as I’m kind of thinking these first three were asked by the same person (I haven’t answered any of them so how could they know about the forehead size thing?) Unless you all are secretly discussing it behind my back… Probably in the secret Yahoo group dedicated to hating me!

It will be fascinating to see how my Brit Lit 1, American Lit 1, Jr. Tolkien&C.S. Lewis, Persuasive Writing, Senior Thesis, and Italian 202 classes turn me from a stupid, backwards person into whatever this questioner thinks they will. Sounds like I’ll be getting more than my moneys worth out of those classes!

This is rude to me AND my mother, and actually, it’s quite rude to all of the people who are dealing with the actual effects of FAS. It’s a serious thing!

The next two are along the same vein. This is why I think they like Formspring for the isolation they think they are pressing upon me, because if they really wanted to actually talk about this they easily could have contributed to the To Judge? post like everyone else did.

This one had to be edited for naughty language. I think the many, many great comments on that post proved that not everyone condemns me as such. Thanks again to all of those who contributed to the discussion in some way! Anonymous questioner… no thanks for you! (You probably wouldn’t get any soup either.)

And the most appalling of them all. TH hasn’t traveled in months so he must be going crazy lately! I wonder if they really know where he works? This one has been one of our favorites because if you know my husband AT ALL it’s so completely ridiculous. The intent here was obviously to plant seeds of doubt and ruin my relationship with my husband, but we actually think it’s quite funny and have had several giggle about it together!

All that aside, there are so many questions that I love and can’t wait to get to sitting in my inbox! I’m learning a lot about myself in the process of answering them, and I always get excited to see what topics you guys are going to cover next. Plus, I’ve realized that I’ll never, ever have the excuse that I have “nothing to post about” (wait, have I ever thought that?) because there are hundreds of possible posts that could be written based on the questions you have asked! If you ever see something that you would like me to expand on, drop me an email and let me know what the question was!

Oh, and one last thing. If you know TH’s real name (or his last name) I’ll be deleting your question if you use it. Just substitute TH for S—- and you are good to go!

And to end things I leave you with a new Costco favorite, Sun-Rype Mini Bites. 100% fruit and oh-so-chewy and delicious. Baby will love them too I’m sure!

I admit I’ve visited fellow Weddingbee blogger (you might know her as Mrs. Star!) Kate’s Etsy shop, The Redheaded Actress several times over the past few months. Back in November I wrote about my desire to explore the world of hair accessorization, and though I haven’t made/invested in anything yet, I’ve certainly done my fair share of Etsy window shopping since then.

Kate was sweet enough to offer up one winner a chance to choose one of three hair lovely accessories to spice up her wardrobe, The Pretty Lady, The Kelly, or The White Truffle. Valentines day is coming up my friends, and Kate told me she will ship this out in time for you to go out on the town on the 14th!* I have the perfect maternity dress for The Kelly, which is what I would be choosing if I could enter.

The Pretty Lady

The Kelly

The White Truffle

There are a few different ways for you to enter:

1. One entry when you comment below and tell us which one piece of the three you would like to have shipped to you if you win.

2. One entry when you tweet about this giveaway. You must include both a link to this post AND Kate’s shop in your tweet. Leave a comment below with a direct link to your tweet.

3. One entry for visiting Kate’s shop and hearting her entire shop or your favorite item. Leave a comment below letting me know what you hearted!

4. TWO entries for blogging about the giveaway. You must include both a link to this post AND Kate’s shop in your post if you would like to receive your two entries. Leave a comment below with a link to your post.

Contest closes at 11:59 pm on Monday, February 8th 2010. Good luck!

*Giveaway only open to those who can provide a US shipping address. Sorry international readers!

Appointment number 4 was my one-hour glucose screening gestational diabetes test, a huge deal for me because really high numbers could mean a transfer out of Sarah’s care and the end of my home birth hopes. I spent hours reading up online on all kinds of opinions surrounding what could be done to achieve the best results possible. It wasn’t about cheating the test, it was about staying away from the edge if I was tiptoeing close to it. If I really had gestational diabetes and the baby was at risk I don’t think there is anything I can do to avoid a hospital birth, and at that point I wouldn’t want to. If baby isn’t processing insulin properly s/he needs medical care. But I do think that diet can have mild effect on test results and so for the weeks leading up to the test I worked extra hard to limit my carbs, which actually felt really nice after a Christmas season of indulgence. In the days before I went on extra long walks to burn off as much sucrose (or is it glucose? I always mix the two up) as possible and drank water like it was going out of style. I’ll never know whether or not my actions made a difference on the test results but the intense focus on diet, exercise, and hydration definitely had a positive influence on some of my overall habits so I’m glad I did it.

The night before the test I grabbed a few nuts each time I got up to go to the bathroom, in hopes that it would keep my levels from spiking when I ate breakfast in the morning. For breakfast ate 4 whole eggs and 2 slices of bacon (no dairy), and then right at 9:30 am I measured out a glass of apple juice equivalent to 50 grams of sugar (my math skills are so bad I had to have TH do the calculations for me!) and downed it right before I walked out the door. My drive to the birth center was about 30 minutes, my appointment was about 30, and at 10:30 am she got the needle out and drew my blood. One reason I love Sarah? She *rocks* at drawing blood. The needle she uses is tiny, she gets the vein on the first try every time, and she’s lightning fast. I got a bit dizzy after it was over so it was a good thing I had a Larabar in my purse. Though I hate having my blood drawn I don’t usually get lightheaded like that. Another anomaly I can chalk up to the strange state known as pregnancy?

My appointment was on a Thursday and on Friday evening I texted her to find out if she knew the results yet. Her reply of “All is well” made my weekend! And it meant I could make my friend a birthday cake (that Clementine cake I posted last week) without feeling guilty that baby and I were struggling with each fingerful of batter I grabbed. Now that I’ve passed the gauntlet I let myself have some toast with my eggs in the morning, or a bowl of cereal. It feels like quite an indulgence after days and days of only bacon and eggs!

Pregnancy overall has still been really easy for me, so I didn’t have much else to talk about. I mentioned the redness in my legs in an earlier post, which I thought was a rash, but a doctor friend of mine took a look and unofficially diagnosed it as vascular changes from being pregnant, possibly from my uterus pressing on my pelvic vessels. If I elevate my legs, two minutes after putting them up my awful looking stumps turn fair and smooth once again. It’s really amazing actually! I have some swelling in my calves/feet each night but I’m still wearing my engagement ring so it hasn’t extended to my upper body at all. My blood pressure is still looking great, 97/70 and baby’s heart was thumping firmly at 144 bpm. I used the little strip to test all of my different levels and my consistently elevated leukocytes have Sarah a little worried. I’m going to pick up some cranberry pills and try to increase my water intake even more. I feel like I always have a mug in hand and straw to my lips already!

The most exciting thing about this appointment? My weight gain has slowed. FINALLY. My average has been close to 2 lbs/week throughout my pregnancy, but in the three weeks between appointment 3 and appointment 4 I only gained 3 lbs, and my home scale confirms that I’ve stayed at a similar pace since then. Early in my pregnancy I went through periods where I felt sick if I wasn’t eating constantly (or what felt like constantly) so I know my caloric intake has naturally decreased. My diet hasn’t changed although I have been working to make time spent walking a regular occurrence during my week.

I still haven’t had the Rhogam shot because That Husband still hasn’t had time to get his blood tested. Sarah was fine with me choosing to delay it, or not even get it at all if that’s what we want. If TH tests RH-Positive I’m going to get the shot for sure, but I don’t want it otherwise. I hope he can get the time to have his blood drawn within the next week. After that, my last big hurdle is pre-ecclampsia. As long as my blood pressure stays in an acceptable range I should be able to welcome baby into the world in our living room come April!