Pregnancy Do’s and Don’ts: Part 1

After finding out I was pregnant the first thing I did (aside from telling my husband, of course) was go straight to Google. What can I eat? What should I avoid? Are manicures and pedicures okay? What about wearing makeup? Can I have feta cheese in my salads?

Great thing about Google is that you can typically find answers to most questions. Bad thing about Google is that you can also scare yourself just by reading the comments other moms or moms-to-be have left on certain sites. That’s when I stopped the researching and made a list to ask my doctor at my first appointment two weeks later.

While there isn’t a lot I’ve had to give up there are a few things I have had to completely cut out of my life for the meantime (list to expand per series):

• Soda. I am the person that enjoys a mini-can of Coke Zero at dinner almost every night. Giving up soda or only limiting it to when I feel really sick has been somewhat difficult.
• 3-cups of coffee. I’d usually have three cups of coffee per day. Now I’m only allowing my self either one cup of freshly brewed coffee or a cappuccino from my local Starbucks or Peet’s. Why cappuccino? Less caffeine content than in a brewed cup of coffee. Or, if I’m feeling really excited about not drinking coffee (said no one ever), I go for a cup or two of decaf.
• Tuna salad. I absolutely love albacore tuna. Tuna salad sandwiches and tuna melts have been a hard thing to give up.
• Moldy cheeses. Yes, this means blue cheese, goat cheese, any unprocessed cheeses… But what about feta? It’s my favorite of the cheeses and can be considered a moldy cheese since it’s crumbly. I asked my doctor and she said that as long as it has been pasteurized (as all milk and cheese products should be while you’re pregnant), then I’m OK to have small amounts. Phew! That was a close one.
• Wine. Duh. Need I say more? I’m counting down the months to when I can bust out a big glass of red wine and truly enjoy it. That being said, it probably won’t be as exciting as I’m imagining, since I’ll be breastfeeding for as long as possible, and I’d hate to “pump and dump.”
• High-heeled shoes. Sticking to flats and chucks. Why? Because I can be somewhat of a klutz when I’m not pregnant and I want to avoid any chance of falling.
• Certain body washes & face washes. I was using Dove body wash for the longest time mainly because I love the way my skin feels afterwards. I then started reading the ingredients and realized they aren’t the best for your skin when you’re pregnant. So, I’ve since switched to Aveeno and I’ve been loving it! The oatmeal wash is absolutely amazing and smells divine. As for face wash, I was using Proactiv for my acne breakouts and have since had to stop due to the Retin-A-like chemicals in it. I’ll go back eventually, but cutting out a majority of processed sugars (except for the occasional Oreo or ice cream binge), my skin is looking pretty good. I’m sticking to natural products as much as I can.

Now, if you know me, you know that I absolutely love makeup. I love watching YouTube tutorials, I have my own makeup blog and it’s a collection I keep up-to-date (my husband collects Lego, I collect makeup of all shapes, kinds and sizes). Makeup – and mani/pedis – were two things I really couldn’t bare to part with. Parting with my acrylic nails was hard enough (due to the acetone nail techs use to remove them), so having to give up my favorite makeup brands was something I wasn’t willing to do.

Lucky for me, since I 99.9% wear cruelty-free and/or vegan makeup brands, I didn’t have to part with any of my makeup products (with the exception of my MAC Russian Red lipstick – which I only wear during winter anyway). The brands I wear most often are tarte cosmetics, Too Faced Cosmetics, Urban Decay and ColourPop. When pregnant, one must steer clear of parabens and phthalates, which thankfully, these brands don’t put in their products! At least, I haven’t found these chemicals when reading the ingredients label.

Manicures and pedicures are also something that I’ve struggled to do less of. I love a good pedicure and miss my acrylic nails, so when I’m able to schedule a mani/pedi, I’m excited. I’ve had to watch out for nail polishes, too. Most nail polish brands feature toluene, phthalate and formaldehyde, so when I was trying to find a subtle pink color, I was looking for brands that carry nail polishes that are 7-free. 7-free nail polishes mean that they don’t have seven harmful chemicals (toluene, DBP, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, TPHP and xylene). The best brand I’ve found that actually lasts a long time and has great color payoff is Zoya. Check them out.

I know this is a lot of information, but I’m curious to learn about what you have had to give up or didn’t give up when you were pregnant! Leave a comment below.