Editors' Blogs
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The Preg Veg: One Breath at a Time
10/12/09
The continuation of my
birthing class this weekend had us diving into breathing techniques. We practiced several, including the Bradley Method, which is steady and evenly paced, and Lamaze, which tends to have quicker and shorter breaths. The best technique to use is of course the one that works best for you. Also, keep in mind this may vary as your labor progresses.
One of the universal breathing practices at the beginning and end of every contraction is to take a
cleansing breath. This consists of a long and deep inhale, followed by a similar exhale. Benefits of this breath is to offer extra oxygen to the baby, and to help you and your partner know when a contraction is beginning.
The explanation of why we do any breathing techniques at all, was the most interesting to me:
The main purpose is to keep the mother focused on something besides the pain, which is achieved with the rhythmic pacing of the breathing, as well as the mental distraction of trying to remember what to do. There’s nothing like a little diversion to keep your pain at bay.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: Must Remember to Relax
10/9/09
Many of us barrel into our third trimester like we’re Lynda Carter with a magic lasso and a pair of deflecting bracelets, but now, more than ever, is the time we should be slowing down to smell the roses.
Rather than getting caught up in the approaching deadline or the ever-growing discomforts, let me suggest taking a moment each day to contemplate the amazing occurrence happening right under your nose.
And as those pleasing thoughts calm your mind, why not lengthen that moment into a restful retreat. Consider taking a warm bath, getting a massage, or just kicking up your feet to read a favorite poem or book, or listen to your favorite music.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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Veganize It: Toffee Apples
When I first laid eyes on
VT’s recipe for
Toffee Apples, I knew I had to make them that very evening. They were just
too cute, and the process seemed surprisingly easy. There was just one caveat: as a vegan, I don’t eat dairy; however, the recipe called for 2 Tbs. unsalted butter.
Veganizing a non-vegan recipe isn’t always easy, which is why I usually stick to making recipes that are vegan from the get-go. But don’t discourage: any recipe can be veganized. It just takes a bit of culinary know-how and creativity.
VT’s
Ingredient Substitution Guide not only makes it a cinch to veganize any recipe, but can also help you make any recipe meatless, low-fat, allergen-free, or alchohol-free. And, it also offers simple swaps for hard-to-find ethnic ingredients. In addition to the
Ingredient Substitution Guide, I have the added bonus of being able to walk down the hall or send off a quick email to ask
VT’s Food Editor Mary Margaret Chappell for an extra helping of expert advice.
About the
Toffee Apples, Mary Margaret thought it would be fine to sub vegan margarine (I like
Earth Balance) instead of butter, but suggested waiting to add it until after the sugar, water, vinegar, and salt had reached crack stage (290°F). She knew for sure the sugar would work that way.
Now that I was confident with my substitution plan, my only dilemma was getting my hands on the most crisp apples around and enough chopsticks to spear them on.
Fortunately, I found some amazing Jonagolds (a cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathan) at my local Whole Foods and my stash of leftover chopsticks from takeout deliveries proved plentiful. My vegan
Toffee Apples couldn’t have turned out any prettier or more delicious. For variety, I rolled half of them in crispy brown rice cereal and the other half in shredded coconut. Not only was it love at first sight, but love at first bite too!
—Jolia Sidona Allen, Associate Editor and Web Editor
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The Preg Veg: Class is in Session
10/5/09
I was so excited yesterday to finally begin my birthing class and learn more about my magical upcoming event, and it did not disappoint. My instructor, Judy Chapman, a RN, certified nurse midwife, certified Lamaze Childbirth educator, and founder of the
Chapman Family Center, had our cozy group of seven couples engaged right from the start.
In the first three-hour session we learned all kinds of crucial stuff like smart pillow placement for better sleeping; things to bring to the hospital that can make a difference when you’re in labor, including a tennis ball for back massage; and the importance of doing Kegel exercises to build up your pelvic floor muscles for an easier delivery.
Judy also focused on the fear of giving birth, wanting to quickly dispel any myths or unwarranted worry. Apparently, all the Hollywood birth scenes with incessant screaming have tainted women’s view of labor. Go figure. There’s nothing like the calm, cool head of experience to convince expecting mothers otherwise.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: Hitting the Big 3-0 (weeks)
10/2/09
With only 10 weeks more to go, my peanut is more like a chestnut these days—at least it’s keeping seasonal. The baby’s new size and weight has ushered in frequent bouts of heartburn, simply due to the fact there’s more pressure on my stomach and intestines. To help keep this malady at bay the
American Pregnancy Association suggests eating smaller meals, waiting at least an hour after eating before lying down, and avoiding spicy and fatty foods.
I’ve also found that allowing a good three hours between my last meal and bedtime helps a lot. As for the salsa and hot sauce, I’ve stashed it away for another day, but the restrictions have also inspired me to find some new, delicious recipes, including this one:
Chilean Corn and Un-turkey Chowder at vegetariantimes.com.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: Natural Products Go Ga Ga
9/29/09
This past week I attended the Natural Products Expo East in Boston, and although it was a bit smaller than last year, it had no shortage of baby products. Here’s a highlight of a few companies I discovered to help save you some time on finding the perfect eco item for the one you love:
Green Sprouts has a wide range of eco friendly gear, from cornstarch hand teethers to adorable organic cotton wrist rattles.
I Play carries cute babywear items like organic cotton layettes adorned with forest friends and fruits and veggies. They even have an Itsy Bitsy Yoga line, which contains colorful animal print rompers and bodysuits, as well as matching yoga mats.
Jackson Reece makes an all-natural flushable and biodegradable baby wipe, which at the moment is only available in the UK, but they’re working on getting it into America soon.
I didn’t see any eco diaper products there, but rest assure I will be searching through the available options
tout de suite to determine the best way to deal with the inevitable, mess of—baby output. Until then, enjoy the pleasant scents of autumn.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: Eco Design on a Dime
9/21/09
The baby’s room is finished and by finding everything on Craigslist I’ve avoided the further manufacturing of products and saved myself a lot of cash. One really big score was the pre-shopping of a yard sale that had a ton of kids’ furniture. Not everyone is willing to let prospective buyers shop the day before, but if they are, it’s the way to go. Not only do you have first pick of everything, you also don’t have to fight through a crowd.
The walls of the room got a new look too. Since I don’t know the sex of my baby, I opted for gender-neutral colors, and used a combination of the
Little Yolo Sprout paint, with zero VOCs, and
Tierrafino’s Ipaint, an all-natural clay paint. The clay paint added a wonderful texture to the room and was a breeze to put on, and the bright orangey-yellow of the Sprout paint adds a bit of sun, even when there is none.
I’m waiting on bringing a crib in until my babe outgrows the cradle that I found. According to its previous owner the cradle has rocked over 25 infants to sleep (although you’d never know it from the great shape it’s in). Now I just need to replace the vinyl mattress with an eco friendly option to avoid any harmful chemicals near my baby—an investment which can easily made, since I saved so much on the other stuff.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: Weighing In
9/18/09
As we continue to grow like squash on a summer vine, you may be wondering, “Where is all the weight going?” Well, I found the answer to that little query, and it’s merely one click away. The Baby Center Web site has its own “
Weight Gain Estimator,” and all you have to do is enter your height and pre-pregnancy weight, and in return it calculates a weight gain range, and breaks it down to where it will go. Here’s mine so you can get an idea of how the pounds are distributed:
Maternal:
Uterus 2.39 lbs.
Breasts 1.0 lb.
Blood 3.09 lbs.
Water 4.15 lbs.
Fat 8.27 lbs.
Subtotal 18.89 lbs.
Fetal:
Fetus 7.5 lbs.
Placenta 1.6 lbs.
Amniotic Fluid 1.97 lbs.
Subtotal 11.07 lbs.
Total 29.96 lbs.
Even though the thought of 3 pounds of blood makes me queasy, I still think it’s a pretty cool tool. There’s nothing like feeling more in the know about the great little mystery going on in there.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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A Documentary with Definite Impact
Colin Beavan, a writer of two published historical novels, decided to do something new in the Fall of 2006. He devised a plan to make as little of an environmental impact as possible for one full year, while living in New York City with his wife Michelle and his 2-year-old daughter Isabella.
Although the plan was initially research for his next book, it soon turned into a documentary in the making (
No Impact Man). Major habits of the family had to be changed, including switching to a vegetarian diet, getting rid of the TV, using only self-propelled transit, giving up coffee and new clothes shopping, switching to reusable diapers, and only buying local food with no packaging. The couple also composted all of their food scraps and went without electricity for six months.
The many changes made to help the environment during this experiment were commendable, and no doubt will help viewers with ideas on how they too can make less of an impact, but it’s the human experience and struggle we witness in the film that makes it work so well. Comedy and emotion blossoms from these great moments that only real-life can produce. Like when Colin decides to do laundry in the bathtub using his feet. (A scene reminiscent of the famous “I Love Lucy” grape-squashing fiasco.) His two-year-old gladly joins in, and eventually his reluctant wife does too; and by the end they’ve shared a bonding experience none is likely to forget. Moments such as this not only entertain but also illustrate the emotional benefits of doing things differently and together.
Check it out for yourself.
No Impact Man opened in select theaters around the country Sept. 11. You can find a list of cities and dates at the film’s
Web site.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
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The Preg Veg: Bobbing into the Third Trimester
9/14/09
I’ve made it to week 28 of my pregnancy, which means my baby is close to 2 ½ pounds now, and is going to keep growing like crazy for the next 12 weeks until I deliver. Hard to believe, since it seems like just yesterday I started blogging about it all, but one glance at my belly confirms it in case I had any doubts (or can’t keep track, because of my
pregnancy brain).
Despite these changes, I don’t plan on retiring from my regular exercise schedule. Instead, I will be switching to some lower impact activities to help give my joints a break. Specifically, I’ve invested in a maternity swimsuit (whose enormous coverage is startling, but for its purposes I’m sure it’s lovely), and will be joining a nearby YMCA, so that I can swim three to four times a week.
This along with regular walks, pregnancy yoga, and continuing to eat healthy should keep me going strong (well, as strong as can be expected) as I head into that glorious home stretch.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: Call Me Itchy Belly
9/11/09
The last four weeks have seen some major belly growth, which explains why I keep reaching to scratch my tummy without even realizing it. Of course, I know I shouldn’t be doing this, since scratching irritates the skin even more, so instead I’m trying to apply something soothing every time I feel the itch sneak up.
Two great body products that are perfect for the job (and also happen to be organic and cruelty-free) come from the
OGmama Stretch Happy 360 line by Trillium Organics. First there’s the Belly Polish for gentle exfoliation while you’re in the shower. And let me just say that digging your fingers into the mix of oil and crystalline salt cubes is a lot of fun. Then, when you’re clean and dry, you can slather on the Belly Butter, which hydrates the skin with shea and cocoa butters. It’s dense and grainy, but rubs in smooth like a lavender-scented protective shield.
Most importantly, they make a nice duo for easy pampering at a time when we deserve it most.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: The Case of the Killer Leg Cramp
9/8/09
I woke up in the middle of the night this weekend—it was an attack of the leg cramp. After a minute of face-crunching pain from my calf muscle the ache subsided, but my memory of it lingered.
The next morning I opened up the
National Women’s Health Resource Center’s handy Pregnancy Planner that I happened to have in my bookshelf. As if by magic, I turned right to the page on “Common Physical Changes During Pregnancy.” The last thing on the list was leg cramps (and a type of restless legs syndrome), which is a common symptom when levels of iron or potassium are low.
The planner gives suggestions on how to remedy this problem, including stretching before bed, getting regular exercise, and adding a banana to your daily diet to give you more potassium, but if this is happening to you, you should also ask your doctor to test your iron levels to ensure an iron deficiency isn’t the cause.
In the meantime, the
Vegetarian Society of the UK has a list of food sources rich in iron, the top three of which are chickpeas, bran flakes, and spinach. With all this helpful information, hopefully we’ll sleep like babies tonight.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: Singing to the Sprout
9/4/09
I just learned that this week, my 26th week of pregnancy, is a sensory landmark for my lil’ sprout. The development of the hearing system has reached its completion, which means my sprout can now hear a lot of things that I probably don’t even want it to hear.
Studies have shown that
fetuses get excited when hearing the sound of their mother’s voice, as well as find comfort in
certain kinds of music. These acts have also been shown to create prenatal learning and memory. Once out of the womb, children have reacted with positive acknowledgment to both the songs and voices that they heard in utero. So in your spare time, don’t feel silly about singing a tune or reading a poem to your baby—you’ve got positive evidence behind it.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: Beads and Blessings
8/31/09
Preparing for the birth of my child by setting up a nursery is all well and fine, but it doesn’t address the physical act of giving birth. To get ready for that, I found a rite of passage ceremony performed by the Navajo Indians, which I think will work nicely. Adela Stockton talks about it in her book
Birth Space, Safe Place: Emotional Well-Being through Pregnancy and Birth.
The ceremony is known as Blessingway, and the aim of the modern interpretation for expecting mothers is to offer support for a successful birth and to celebrate the new life soon to come. Typically, th ritual includes females only, and has activities that pamper the mother like massages and hair brushing. (Can’t go wrong with that!) Every guest is also invited to bring one bead, as well as a symbolic symbol to share with the mother-to-be. The collection of beads are strung on a thread and worn during labour as a reminder of the abundance of positive support she has around her.
You can find out more in
Stockton’s book, which contains many topics on mental well-being during pregnancy.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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The Preg Veg: Drinking the Orange
8/28/09
Come week 25 to 28 you’ll likely be partaking in a test for gestational diabetes, a disease about 4 percent of pregnant women end up getting. I went through it last week, and assure you it’s much easier than the amnio, but I would recommend booking a morning appointment for the test. It makes chugging the orange, sugary glucose drink a little more difficult, but the extended fasting period a lot easier.
Managing to finish the drink in five minutes is really the hardest part, then it’s just a matter of getting to the doc within an hour to have your blood drawn, and waiting a day or two for the results.
For more info on the test and what a positive results means check out these articles at
Web MD and the
American Diabetes Association.
—Gabrielle Harradine, Market Editor
Gabrielle Harradine is VT's Market Editor and, more recently, The Preg Veg. She's navigating the joys and challenges of her very first pregnancy, and she's blogging here about her efforts to keep it healthy, green, and vegetarian.
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