Paleo and pregnancy... The first trimester

The alternative to this title would be, "I haven't eaten Paleo since I was five weeks pregnant".

If you have been following along with my story you will know that at the beginning of the year I started a Paleo lifestyle to try and help heal my endometriosis, and improve my chances of baby making.

And awesomely, we are 13 weeks pregnant. Which rocks the cazbah.

Not so awesome, (but totally, totally worth it) is the morning sickness. And the food aversion.
So how does this fit in (or rather, not fit in) with the Paleo?

At 5 weeks and 2 days, the morning sickness started. At first it was just a little nausea, so I tried ginger tea. And then the nausea went ape shit. It got to like, def con level two. And like yeah, no vegetables and no meat sounded appealing at all.

Like, actually none. In fact, I was happy if I could keep the blandest things down. Like, a pita bread. Or crackers.

Anyway, I started googling Paleo and pregnancy, to see if I was the only one who had this aversion during their first trimester. And like, what the hell was this nausea? I knew nausea happened, but this was so bad, it made me cry.

But no, apparently it is quite normal. And apparently a lot of women who follow Paleo simply can't continue it during pregnancy.

But dude, let me tell you something. I felt so guilty. So guilty.

Since January, I had really become quite invested in this Paleo idea. I love the idea that I had been setting up this healthy spot for baby to grow. And I loved the improved health I had been seeing. And suddenly, I coudn't stomach it. I felt so bad. And was really down on myself. All the things I had been reading about the stuff that now was the only thing I could eat. My smoothies made me barf. The smell of meat made me gag. It just wasn't happening.

Finally Rob and I had a big talk.
He reminded me that the most important thing for baby, is that I am happy and eating and feeling better. It is better that I am eating something and sustaining myself and baby.

And I read this, and I guess it really helped:

Source: Oh Gravy, Tumblr, click on image to see!

I started keeping a list on my phone of foods that I could eat and foods that were a no go. Although often it changed on a daily basis, the things I could generally eat were, grapes, cherries, pita bread, crackers and sweet potatoes. When I have been able to, I have had Paleo broths, which have helped settle my stomach and also made me feel like I was nourishing wee one.

So, I am not saying that Paleo and pregnancy is impossible. But for me, in the first trimester, I just physically couldn't stomach it. In all honesty, no matter how hard I tried, the food aversions were just to strong. And it stressed me out. Which is far worse for baby then eating chips.

I am hoping that the second trimester will bring a stop to the nausea, and as soon as that happens, I have smoothies and Paleo recipes ready to go. But for now, I think it is important to remember not to put too much pressure on myself. I believe that baby needs you to be happy and functioning to develop properly.

I will keep the updates coming as baby grows, and I see how Paleo will fit in with the rest of the pregnancy. I would love to hear other peoples experiences?! This is my honest experience, and I am keen to see what happened for you..