The Week!

This is the week!  The week I am supposed to ovulate, that is.  Honestly, I don't know how I feel about it.  I am trying not to feel excited and thus set myself up for letdown if I don't get pregnant, but at the same time I feel like we have a pretty good chance this time.  This will be my fourth month off of birth control, which is about when most women who were on birth control can start to get pregnant.  So far we are keeping up with the every-other-day thing so I think we have pretty good chances of conceiving, but it is still difficult to be optimistic.  For some reason every time I hear about someone else's pregnancy I feel more pessimistic about the whole thing (and I have been hearing about it a lot lately!).  What makes it even harder is the fact that I can't really explain to myself exactly why I want a baby so bad!  Is that a cause for concern or is that normal?  I just feel like it's the right time for us to start a family.

Knowing I could conceive this week has also made me increasingly concerned about what I eat.  I have read that the first few weeks after conception (before you even know you are pregnant) are the most crucial in the baby's development so what I eat for the next three weeks is more important than what I eat the entire rest of my pregnancy!  My husband thinks I am worrying about it too much and that I should just eat what I normally eat, but I feel like I have to eat the absolute perfect diet in order to give my baby a good start.  I have no problem going without caffeine, herbal tea, soft cheeses, Cesar dressing, etc... and I don't drink alcohol, eat shellfish/most seafood, or use tobacco/drugs.  The problem is I have never been good at getting my fruits and veggies in.  I am doing way better now than I used to, but I worry it isn't enough.  I know my prenatal vitamin will cover all of the bases, but I still worry I'm not doing enough.  I know the stress isn't good for me, though.

One thing that has helped a lot in this department is Feed the Belly, by Frances Largeman-Roth, RD.  It covers all the basics in regards to nutrition during pregnancy and has a ton of recipes.  I have only tried one of the recipes so far, but there are quite a few that sound good.  I bought this book used on Amazon for around $5 or $6 including shipping.

While I'm on the topic of books, another I would highly recommend is the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy.  If you only buy one pregnancy book, this is the one to get!  It has everything I was looking for (besides good recipes which is why I bought Feed the Belly).  It has great weekly and monthly summaries of your pregnancy, too.  I got a great deal on this book (used) on Amazon as well.

My goal this week is to stay optimistic about getting pregnant, but to try not to think about it much.  I also want to really watch what I eat in case I do conceive.  I guess I'll see how it goes!