You Are What You Eat

I'm sure I'm not the only first time mother to feel this way, and I'm confident that I wont be the last. Despite all the happiness and wonder that comes with having a baby, there is also an equal, if not greater, amount of fear. Not the fear of child birth (not yet anyways, that will come later) but the fear of messing up and doing something I shouldn't thus potentially hurting this developing baby inside of me. What if I sneeze too hard? Are the hot showers I take too hot? My salad had feta cheese on it and I ate it, will that hurt my baby? A million other what if's run through my head and it's never ending. I mean in the beginning we read what we can about what not to do, but there are always people out there who impose their own theories on you. Family and cultural beliefs that are not based on medical fact but rather cultural folklore, no matter how silly they may seem, they plant this "what if its true" seed in your brain and it can really mess with your head.

"Don't eat watermelon or anything that cools your body temperature" says my dad "it messes with your Che". WHAT? "your Che, balance. You have to keep balance, so don't drink to many cold drinks" he continued. This to me sounded ridiculous, but everything I'm presented with watermelon, guess what I don't eat it...totally messed with my head. I've always been a pretty private person when it comes to people giving me advise, I usually take it with a grain of salt and not really pay too much attention. However, since I'm dealing with uncharted territory here I tend to give a bit more attention when it comes to the stuff people say. But at the same time I know some if it is complete bull$hit; but I can't help to stand on the side of caution.

For example, tea. I'm Chinese and we drink tea...lots and lots of tea, jasmine tea , green tea, orange pekoe, Hong Kong "special" tea. But some teas have caffeine which should be limited when pregnant. When I refused some jasmine tea at dim sum one morning on a visit back home to Toronto my sister said "Really? tell that to all those pregnant Chinese women we see drinking tea with dinner." She made a good point, I mean didn't China have one of the worlds largest populations? Tea hadn't hindered the birth rate of my peoples; was this another bull$hit theory? Yet, I still don't drink tea, any tea.

So here is a list of 10 things I've been steering clear of of far, some may have medical proof to back it up and some are just things people have told me and have messed with my head. I guess some things we'll just never know but better safe then sorry I say.

1. Caffeine (Cola, Coffee, certain teas)

2. Deli meats

3. Unpasteurized dairy (goat cheese, blue cheese)

4. Shellfish (I limit this to once a week in limited amounts)

5. Watermelon, ginseng and other foods that "cool your Che" (thanks dad)

6. Sushi

7. High mercury fish such as swordfish

8. Sugar (possible danger of gestational diabetes)

9. Unwashed fruits and veggies

10. Undercooked meats (I used to like my steak med-rare)

All I know is this, when baby is out, I'm going to for all-you-can eat sushi, drinking lots of green tea and cola with a super sugary dessert, and maybe some watermelon too.