37 weeks + 3 days and 2 days off elimination

I AM SO HEAVY!!!!!

Well not heavy as in scales heavy - I'm still 10 stone and 2lbs. My pre-pregnancy weight was 8 stone 4 lbs so I've done really well and hit the target range of weight gain right at the bottom end. If you start your pregnancy at a "normal" or ideal weight for your frame then you should aim to put on between 25-35lbs. I'm slighlty under that at 22lbs but then I still have just under 3 weeks to go so I should be dead on.

Anyway, I digress. What I mean is, I FEEL so heavy. This little one is no longer little and has taken over my entire body...I can't breathe 'cos his feet are in my diaphragm, I can't lie on my side because I find myself resting on his back, I can't sit properly to eat my dinner 'cos his head is way down in my pelvis and I have to spread my legs so wide I can't sit comfortably and I ALWAYS get food down my front 'cos I can't lean forward over the table and I can't sleep 'cos it's bl*ody uncomfortable - AGGGGHHHH!

I've heard it so many times from relatives, friends and clients and not really understood quite how much of a drag it is. I always knew it was uncomfortable towards the end but I never realised just how much of your body is taken over!

So I thought with just a few weeks to go I'd relax and take a week off Elimination, go out for a last dinner with my friends and then get back on it for the last two weeks of pregnancy.

In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman,


"Big Mistake, BIG, HUGE"

I had two days of eating non-elimination food -

Sunday: 1 chocolate truffle, 1 foam banana candy, 1 mocha
Monday: 1 decaf caramel latte, 1 magnum ice-cream

And I felt like dog poo! I was really nauseous, had terrible heartburn, really tired and lethargic and on top of that I felt quite down emotionally.

So that was enough, I am back on it with a vengeance and not coming off until the baby is born!

Please take my advice and don't do what I did and quit your elimination before the time is up! It's just not worth it - you don't want to spend your last weeks feeling rotten because you've let up on your nutrition!

Elimination Day 15 - Baby has turned! Yipee!

Day 15 cravings

Elimination has been really easy this time around until it got to the weekend. Friday night was a full moon and as those of you that know me will know, I'm like a werewolf..(no I don't grow fur and start chasing rabbits!), I am regular as clockwork with the lunar cycle and bang, there it was, PMT, a craving for chocolate, coffee and all the stuff I shouldn't be eating. I did well though. Just ignored it, but I was quite surpised that I am still craving coffee today. I mean, I haven't even had caffeine since I found out I was pregnant, so what's that all about?

Maybe it's the comfort association of a hot milky drink. I'd also love a hot chocolate but that's not going to happen for another couple of weeks so I guess I should just get over it!

The great thing is, the tops of my thighs look a lot slimmer, the water I was holding there has disappeared - they look like they did before I fell pregnant and my hip bones which were always quite prominent anyway, are now very clearly defined - there's no fat left there!

The Obstetrician

I went to see my obstetrician this morning and she scanned me to see where the baby is lying and thankfully he's turned! I thought he had a couple of days ago as I felt a sharp pain in my side, that I put down to a Braxton Hicks contraction, but later when I looked in the mirror, my bump looked like it had dropped.

So I am really chuffed! I wasn't keen on having him palpated and now he can rest easy until the big day arrives.

Don't forget if you are on Elimination, make it easy on yourself with quick recipes that are 100% compatible with your diet and ready in less than 15 minutes. The Elimination Cookbook has been my saviour during my pregnancy and I'm sure you'll find the same!