New You - April 26

But I need to make a GI appointment. I have been having some symptoms and am gradually getting concerned that they may not all be pregnancy-related.

If you are concerned about dropping off the homepage though, you could re-set your bookmark from http://www.thenewhomemaker.com to http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/tracker.

but it just isn't the same

Becky, make that appointment!

This is where I have to admit I need to make an appointment myself. I was due for my smear test before Christmas and haven't got around to it yet.

Just typing my last post made me pick the phone up and make the appointment

Becky, made your appointment yet?

Jana

I was looking at my hands just yesterday as I was driving...and I really need to committ to keeping them "greased up!" The skin is getting paper-y...yuck! I cut my nails over the week end and painted them with a base coat, a lovely sheer beige, and a top coat, so they look nice...but I've really got to work on the skin of my hands!

That's mine, then.....hand lotion as often as possible...which means I need to get a tube I can stick in my bookbag and another for my purse....

Be well!

Blessings,
Lenora
Love nurtures, develops, cares for,
Shelters, comforts, and makes a home for us.
~Laozi

It was 5 a.m.!

I'll do it this afternoon, I promise.

.......now that I have made my appointment I can be all self-righteous and nag you about yours

How are you feeling pregnancy wise? How far along are you now?

I will drink 16 oz of water before lunch every day!

Ugh, this no kitchen thing has been horrible for my weight-loss/fitness efforts!! But I did manage a salad for lunch and picked up soup for dinner, plus I'm tapping tonight, so that's going in the right direction.

Shaun
"Home is not the one tame place in a world of adventure; it is the one wild place in a world of rules and set tasks."
   -- G. K. Chesterton

I think I'm with Lenora and Jana on the moisturising, and I'd probably choose hands, except my lips seem to be really dry recently, so more lip balms for me! We have moisturiser in the car Lenora because the air-con gets to hands, face and lips quite badly.

Jana - don't aim too high. Morning and evening without specifying a body part is asking for trouble. Keep it small and specific to start with. We're all heading into busy summers so we need things we can stick with.

I think we can boast all our little triumphs too. Autumn/Fall is the time for big evaluation and planning, or January perhaps.

For me I was stuck to the computer doing heaps of frantic research yesterday afternoon, so I had the good sense to stay hydrated not with cold water which would bloat my stomach, but with green tea. It was quite successful for me.

Becky did you make that appointment?? The appointment itself isn't a small thing, but making it is a relatively tiny (and one-ff) act that can be done without overwhelming. I think we need to take a leaf out of the Flybabies, and go with really tiny babysteps. Think about the direction you want to be heading in, and see what tiny step you can take towards getting there.

Actually I got DD on this too a bit. I've had her commit to drinking chocolate milk every morning whie she has exams. She's been told she needs a high protein diet because of her minimal growth (!), and I particularly want her to have some protein in the morning. Chocolate milk isn't my ideal, but it's a compromise that works, and for the duration of her exams at least she needs a little boost. At the end of last year she started the same, but then it tailed off even before the end of the exams. She could live on plain carbs that girl - she'll eat plain, pasta, plain potatoes, plain bread, even plain rice quite happily. But proteins often involve chewing - she's not keen on milk, doesn't like even a tiny piece of fruit (or sometimes even fruit flavour) in yoghurt, rarely eats beancurd and cannot live entirely on eggs! DS could happily eat an egg sandwich every day for lunch if I let him but boiled is the one format of egg DD really can't stand. She's improved to reach that level even.

As if my own diet wasn't problem enough... good job one of my kids eats pretty well! And my cousins were impressed with their eating (quantity and range) when they visited recently, compared to their own grandchildren of similar ages. Of course I chose wisely where we would eat, but yes, compared to an ordinary British kid's diet they probably eat remarkably well!

Kerri.

Just wanted to say "Hello" and introduce myself. I'm Davida 47, I live in W.Va and have been married 25 years to a great guy. Should have this homemaking thing down pat but boy oh boy do I need help. So that's why I'm here. Looking forward to learning from this site and you ladies.

I have done well these last several days. I have a bottle by my bed in the kitchen and in the car, along with the ones already on my desk and purse!

Jana

I made the appointment this morning (fell asleep yesterday afternoon). So it's set for Friday afternoon.

Otherwise, just hanging in there.

everyone here knows what it's like to struggle with it all, so don't feel you should be an expert just because you've been doing it a while! Personally I think those of use who recognise this are the human beings, and the rest must just be machines, or they haven't evolved to our level yet!

this thread, for the sake of all lurkers and newbies, is where we repeatedly try to get back on the wagon of trying to look after ourselves better. Falling off is something we're good at, but getting back on every time is hard. Some people wanna lose weight, others want to eat better or find ways to move their bodies, there's a little internal soul searching, and basic caretaking stuff like moisturising, medical appointments (have you got any you should make??) and all the other niggly things we all know we should do more often.

We're struggling a bit at the moment, hence the back-to-basics mood, in the hopes that the easier stuff makes it possible for us all to DO something, no matter how small.

For constant support with keeping your house sane and tidy (and maybe clean too if you're fussy!) there's either Flybabies or the Decluttering thread. Flybabies is kind of the Navy Seals, and the rest of us are the new recruits, but you just need to find out the best fit for your style. Flybabies is based on Flylady (www.flylady.net) and is a daily thing, whereas the declutter thread has evolved to provide support for ex-Flybabies and anyone else who wants to make the effort, but can't quite handle the everyday stuff! We get to show off our triumphs large and small, complain and grumble or push each other on. Flybabies do the same.

I know it all needs it Jana, don't we all!! While your enthusiasm is high go for it, moisturise everything. But what is the priority that's still going to get moisturised every day (morning or evening) when you start slacking off?? Nothing personal, but we all have this problem... trying to do it all at once, then giving up because it was too much. Flylady 101 - babysteps! If you take nothing else away with you after a dose of flying, remember the babysteps.

anybody else not come up with something they can do?? Michele?? You're quiet... Hope, when you get in here see if you think of something. When you're busy it's even more important. I know this because I just passed out for my afternoon nap after less than 6hrs of sleep (important report to write and DH needed to talk it through afterwards). I feel rotten, but I've got lip balm on, I just slapped some cream on my hands, I had a bowle of jelly (jello) to cool me down (I showered before I napped even - this heat is crazy!) and I'm hoping to find the energy for some more packing. Meantime I'm procrastinating over here!

Kerri.

Chasing the wagon and running out of steam. Gosh my life is unsettled right now. See the de-clutter thread and you'll notice I'll be officially moved on the 10th of May.

The morning of the 11th will be my first "walk". You going to join me Honey? Anyone else? That is a lifestyle change I've been planning for some time now.

I will also be a 60 second drive from fresh produce, so would really like to start eating more salads and vegies. Problem for me right now is that I buy produce to last until the next time I get into the city to shop, which means it's not always that fresh when I get to using it and I throw alot of it away. My shopping habits will change a great deal. I was thinking of grocery shopping every couple of days, planning meals for 2 days at a time. It would be a quick trip, I would not have to stockpile food, and things would be fresh. I do believe I'd like to live that way. I'm up so early I could be at the store at 8:30 in the am before anyone else gets in the way, and parking would be a snap.

Right now, for the next 10 days, I just have to hang in here and try to eat somewhat sensibly(HA!).

Quizno's turkey/bacon/guacomole subs "rule"!!!

I feel like my chest/sinus/ear infection is trying to make a comeback. I sure hope not. It could just be all the dust blowing around right now, with the big winds and lack of a good rain. I'm being religious about all the vitamins and supplements and hoping for the best. I'm sleeping real good, so having no trouble getting adequate rest.

DH has a tooth that has come loose. It's his big back molar and it's making him real cranky. He has a night time tooth grinding problem that is the cause of his woes I think. He should have called the dentist last week when it started to bother him(he did not even tell me). Instead he decided to self doctor and bought some mouthwash . I will never understand the male mind. After a week of suffering, smelling like listerine, he finally fessed up and is going to have it dealt with on Monday. What a duffus! Cute but a duffus .

OK then, I'll have myself some breakfast now. Don't know what I'll eat for the rest of the day, as DH is eating pablum-like food. Maybe I'll grab myself one of those fore-mentioned subs .

Have a wise choice day all.

PS: Thanx Kerri for keeping us all motivated right now.

I'm so motivated I gotmyself a kidney infection. Actually I'm quite glad that's what it is, because it was messing up a lot of things, and if it wasn't the kidney infection it would have been the Crohn's. The kidney infection can be treated with a course of antibiotics and plenty of rest (and again - HA!), but if it was Crohn's I can bet it would be more complicated. So right now I'm thanking my lucky stars, assuming that the rest will be better once the infection has cleared up and I'm going back to bed again!

I hope you manage to keep to your positive lifestyle changes Hope. I know I'm hoping to do more walking when I'm out of this godawful climate. How can anyone tell they have a fever when the weather's like this and the air-con's dodgy!?!

Kerri.

I'm glad it's "just" a kidney infection, Kerri.

My doctor's appointment was fine. I'm back on Asacol, got some lab work done, etc. So I hope to be feeling better shortly!

No one has posted here for four days?? You can sure tell that the drill sergeants are busy/sick - come on Hope and Kerri, where are you?!

Yeah, I know I haven't posted here for even longer than everyone else, but only because I don't deserve to be here! I don't even pretend to be a New Me most of the time

Recently however, I have dug out some things from the back of the wardrobe and been wearing skirts, necessitating shaving of the legs - and I even did them properly, not just to the knee! (Not that my skirts are that short, of course ) I also bought two new tops, which is an event in itself, being the first items of clothing I have bought in a year! AND I have been using body lotion and painting my finger and toenails. Fingers pinky beige, toes tart red Just need to pluck the eyebrows and get a haircut and I will really feel like a New Me.

Come on the rest of you - where are you? Have you got out all your summer clothes yet?

sorry but I broke my best pair of shorts the other day, so I have a choice between one pair that's too tight, especially in my fragile state, and the pair I currently have on which are bright pink, covered in turquoise fishbones and ELASTICATED!!! For special occasions I have a skirt. Also elasticated. For everything else... there's nightdresses from M&S! You know, those short satiny ones, but not the cheap type that give off scary sparks when you turn the lights out.

any clothing is too much in this heat... as I proved to DH when he popped home for lunch today!! Sadly, any contact is too much contact in this heat too, let alone with me being invalided out for now.

not really up for this now, but I am looking to Hope to be motivating me on walking when I'm back in the UK. My physical strength and resistance seem to be at all-time lows and I need to work on taking care of that. A lot of things have been put off until after the move... don't let me make more excuses for it all when I actually get there.

right now I have a pain in my middle which could be related to anything, and a belly which can't decide if it's empty or full!! Owwww...

Kerri.

Eating poorly, cramping, cranky, tired, with bad hair and we won't even talk about the disgusting state of my feet. I just have not been making time for myself lately.

My big move will happen on Tuesday morning. I plan a nice long soak in my own personal bathtub for Tuesday night. It will be the start of my new footcare routine. I'll bet it's been a year since I've had a bath(I shower right now). I only want to bath if I know I'm the only person using it. Yeah....phobic. Wednesday morning I will be out early to walk, and will phone and make an appt to get my hair cut. Come on Tuesday...I'm ready!!!

Off with me now. I need some breakfast and some meds.

I realized I've been undereating for a couple of weeks, due to feeling so ill. Yesterday I made a deliberate effort to force down 2000 mostly-nutritious calories, and today I feel nearly human. (It helps that the Asacol is working a bit better each day.) Today, however, I've only had a cup of tea with a splash of milk, and a yogurt. Please remind me to eat! At least for the next week, until I am in the habit again. I remember to take my meds but I have trouble remembering to eat. I'll have 3 "meals" a day but it was tending to be a half-muffin at breakfast, a yogurt for lunch, and something equally paltry for dinner. So yesterday I added in snacks and was able to eat enough.

isn't it horrible when you don't even want to eat. You need to get some special treats in, whatever you wouldn't normally buy because it's too expensive (within reason). I bought ham the other day, and it helps keep me on track for lunch because it's gorgeous. I also like it when I've hard boiled a load of eggs so I can just grab one from the fridge, slice it up ad hey presto I've got a sandwich. Saves the agony of deciding what to eat. I also like sandwiches with Philadelphia and either cucumber or tomato on them if you're up to a little vegetation - I ate that all the time I was pregnant with my two - cucumbers for DD and tomatoes for DS.

I have found that having yoghurt on a comparatively empty stomach is quite uncomfortable for me - I tried having it for breakfast but that wasn't good at all. Better if I have it after lunch when I've got a decent foundation.

since you're eating so little aim for quality and convenience. Think of it as an investment in a healthy baby, saving future medical bills for both baby and you. Extra medical bills.

doesn't surprise me that the insides are acting up with the new arrival... the first sign I had of pregnancy was a kidney infection! And if Flo can cause upset it's almost inevitable that a baby will. Your intestines are jealous of the attention!!

I WILL soak my feet this afternoon. Like you Hope mine are awful. I had to put some cream on them last night because they were burning hot (our last air-con unit died) and too dry to cool out somehow. It was one of only two things on my list for yesterday and neither got done! Heck, I even need the haircut - seems like we're living parallel lives at the moment, and I'm fairly sure Flo's with you now because she's due here in a few days.

Honey, you sound like you've been putting in some real effort. I like red on toenails but would never have it on fingernails, so I can appreciate that. Shaving legs?? Gonna have to wait. Whatever the climate in the UK I can wear jeans through it for a few days and over here nobody cares tat I'm wearing shorts with my hairy legs. Though maybe I'd better shave in my shower before we leave rather than clogging my parents' plumbing the moment we arrive!

Kerri.

My unshaved legs are like Desperate Dan's chin. If I'm going to display them they need to be shaved at least twice a week!

I AM trying to make an effort. Bright polish on my toenails always gives me a boost - my fingers are always too short to have anything other than a neutral of some kind. Also, bright colours on my fingernails just chip too quickly and look awful. I hate chipped nail polish. My beige one is a bit chipped now, but you can't tell unless you look really closely! Sometimes I french manicure my fingers and my toes, but its fiddly.

I still haven't plucked the eyebrows (can't be bothered) or had the hair cut but I have put on a little make up most days this week. I feel so much better with a bit of make up on. My wardrobe is in serious needing of updating, so I'm trying to buy myself something to wear when I have a few quid.

I also need to commit to a daily walk, but I am procrastinating about that one. Waiting for the nice weather! Then I'll complain it's too hot.......

I can't even think of anything that would be a treat! Well, I had some ice cream last night, but that is risky overall. And then I forgot to eat dinner.

I think the banana I bought yesterday should be ripe now, so I can make a cereal topping and a couple of sandwiches out of that, which should help keep me on track.

That would be me . I can't cook, I have no groceries, I have no appetite.

Lets see, yesterday I ate
-1/2 cup of bran cereal w/skim milk
-1 bug(I have no idea what kind but it was of a good size, might have been a ladybug as we've got tons of them around)
-1/2 bag of Caramel Bites
-coffee

That's it!!! Pathetic eh? The least I could've done is drink some Slimfast, but I never thought of it. I'm going to have one for breakfast today.

Wednesday is walking day . Who wants to join me? It's only about 20 minutes of brisk walking, and you'll be better for it. Come on, don't leave me to do this alone.

You would not believe how wretched I look right now. I need some pampering. Digging around in the yard and the dirty old garage is not helping at all. I need a spa!!!!!

Jana

I must have done some yesterday because my legs hurt like hell. I know it was DH who did most of the heavy box moving to the car - better check if he's sore (maybe I can rub him later! ) - all I did was slide some across the floor so he didn't have to lift them too far. I did do a lot of moving and bending though.

I totally forgot which thread I was on, so I've cut what I wrote and will paste it over on the decluttering!

I have been eating lunch regularly, and breakfast quite often too since I've been getting hungry most mornings. Usually only a slice of dry raisin bread, but it works! Medication got dropped completely while I was ill, so I finally started up again yesterday. I couldn't stomach anything while I was feeling bad, so extra tablets were out. I'm going to check with my specialists later this month and maybe go back on prophylactic antibiotics to avoid another infection. Each one damages my kidneys so they aren't exactly desirable, and if they're going to cause this kind of trouble with the Crohn's too I can do without! Plus I think I'm going to be under a fair amount of stress for a few more months, so I don't want to risk getting another. But I have my GI appointment first, so with Becky's warning about another problem ringing in my ears, I shall first check whether he has any warnings to offer about going on low level long-term antibiotics. Probably he'll just tell me again to eat more yoghurt! I can live with that... an excuse to buy better yoghurt. I also have to see it as an investment in my children's intestinal health since they're at higher risk of intestinal problems with me having the Crohn's.

When I suggested treats Becky it depends entirely on what you normally don't buy because it's too expensive, but is healthy. For me it might be fancy ham, extra cheese just for munching (instead of just grating onto dinners!), salami (bought some the other day!), nice yoghurt on a regular basis, fruits (whatever you can tolerate), salad veg (risky stuff!)... things which are healthy but not necessarily cheap. When you aren't eating well you have to work harder to tempt you appetite. I find the chiller cabinets are the main source of tasty but expensive items - dried and canned are usually cheaper. Soya milk if you like it would be a good choice. Maybe some fresh tortellini or gnocchi would be appetising, or a dip to go with veg or crackers. Pâté is another favourite that I don't indulge in too often (tuna's cheaper and still very tasty for sandwiches!). I find I'm looking for strong, bright flavours when I feel rotten... nothing to bland, but some strong flavours appeal more than others. That's why I mentioned fruit and ham. The flavours are strong but very simple somehow. And ignore conventional meal rules for yourself... if you feel like a jam sandwich for dinner, but the thought of meat and two veg makes you feel ill, then go with the jam sandwich! Something rather than nothing. Progress not perfection!!

I'm off for my salami sandwich now, and the onion sprouts I found in the salad drawer yesterday... before it's too late. We squeezed a lovely ripe melon down yesterday, which was just as well since we had no veg with dinner, only baked beans with raisins (canned baked beans, curry powder and raisins - it's one of my mother's little tricks, but DD hates raisins!).

Kerri.

I found this link which describes exactly how I've been feeling-- disgusted by food-- except for also having this flare on top of it so that further reduces my wanting to eat. I'm only in week 14, so if it lets up by week 20 I should be all right. So that makes me feel much better and more hopeful that eating won't stay an arduous chore for the rest of this pregnancy. Today DH and I went out for some dessert and I had some chocolate chip pecan pie, which means I actually got enough calories today. The pie was so good that I didn't even find eating it objectionable, which is about the best I can do these days! Although I'm going to have a tuna sandwich tomorrow as my once-a-week fish treat, and I expect that to taste pretty good. If smoked salmon weren't off-limits I probably could eat that quite easily, but it's too dangerous.

That link is only working sometimes but not always. Since I can't re-post copyrighted material onto this site, it was about a woman who is 18 weeks along and feels "physically revolted by most foods." The midwife who answered her question said the problem usually resolves itself by 20 weeks, but to talk to her doctor, as long as some other miscellaneous advice.

and it's about how I felt too... I don't think it's that uncommon as the midwife suggests, just that most of us put it under the heading of nausea. I couldn't go anywhere near a foodcourt wen I was expecting DD, because the huge variety of Asian food smells were just too much. When I was feeling a bit better the Asian food I wanted first was North Indian (tandoori and naan, milder than southern Indian and rice), then Malay, which I rarely eat these days. Chinese was the least appealing of all because the tastes were too... nichte! Bland and boring. Korean hotplate was the next, and Japanese teppanyaki! Plus my all-time favourite of Thai food - give me green curry and a straw and I'm happy!

Sorry Becky... Didn't mean for that to deteriorate into a discussion of food. But maybe you should try looking at foods that you wouldn't normally consider when you're feeling ill. Look at the types of flavours that are repulsing you the most - is it sweet stuff or savoury for a start??

Not that I'm recommending violently spicy food for anyone who feels icky, or who is pregnant and feeling fine. I don't eat VERY spicy, so I'm only referrring to moderate spice in any of the things I mentioned.

Now I've got an itch for more north Indian, or maybe some Malay... oh heck! DH and I are trying to get round all our favourite restaurants/local foods before we leave.

Kerri.

There is no flavor that doesn't repulse me. Sweet is the easiest to choke down, so that's what I've been focussing on, but it's the act of eating itself that is so horrible. Eating is nothing but hard, unrelenting, unrewarding work. This is completely different from the nausea I was experiencing. I don't think of food and feel nauseated; I think of food and feel repulsed in a very different way. The closest I can describe is the way it feels to exercise when it's the last thing you want to do-- you force yourself, you suffer through the drudgery, and you may feel better afterwards, but the extent to which you feel better afterwards does not begin to make up for the resentment of the whole process. But you keep doing it because it's the right thing to do. Does that description help? It's not that there are flavors or anything I'm depriving myself of (except forbidden-for-pregnancy things like ham and limited-for-pregnancy things like fish) that I wish I could have; it's that I wish I could be on tube feeding and forget the whole arduous eating process. Liquid is okay, so I can have juice and milk without it bothering me.

I don't mean to clutter up this thread with my whining! I just was trying to explain the difference between this and nausea, and it's difficult to do with an intangible sensation. Anyway, I'll stop now. I mostly just need to be nagged to eat; no amount of advice on what to eat will tempt me, just reminding.

but it WILL pass... It probably feels like forever, but the good thing about pregnancy is that you know it isn't forever, and this will surely pass long before the end. One thing the midwife said makes sense - your body will eventually do the right thing for the baby, but it takes some adjustment, and your body has already withstood a lot of abuse over the years (not the deliberate kind I don't mean! ) so it probably takes longer for it to adjust to all the changes. If you can manage liquids can you manage Ensure?? I couldn't stand it, but I do remember having something similar when I couldn't stand anything else near the beginning. If you know that it's easier to get food down when you're half-distracted by other things do whatever it takes!! It will get better, and soon enough you'll be eating ravenously and wondering what you were worried about... I just hope it happens really soon for you! Not enjoying food is no fun.

that's a thought... why is ham forbidden for pregnancy?? I know - everyone's gonna think I have an obsession with ham soon - I think maybe I do. Like milk, because I can't drink loads of it I somehow want it more. When I couldn't stand it at all I really got cravings for it. I find it very thirst quenching somehow, and it probably does less damage than Coke, which I haven't drunk for a couple of weeks now, not since before the infection.

the New Me just had breakfast before 9am... the old me managed to make it white bread, butter and cinnamon sugar all toasted and yummy! Progress not perfection... I think it's a whole way of life for me! As long as I make two steps forward and one step back, instead of one step forward and two back I'm happy enough for now!

I'm kind of trying to think of ways I can get a daily walk into my new lifestyle without ending up walking to a shop and spending money ever day. Easy enough if you have a dog, but we're definitely not getting a dog just yet, if ever. Don't know if I'll be walking children to school, and somehow the idea of just walking by myself in a park doesn't quite appeal. I don't want it to look like exercise. I enjoy walking, but I do it more as a means to an end... to see the scenery or to get somewhere. I don't want to start making excuses for myself because like Hope I really do want to do this. The climate here has been my excuse up till now; I don't want to use the relatively friendly climate in the UK to become my new excuse. I know damn well that Hope's climate, especially in winter, is a very real hindrance, but I've been used to far hotter than an English summer, so that only leaves the very worst of winter weather as an excuse. If I could find a real purpose for walking I know I could keep it up, but I need the extra purpose to get me going. Much like the morning pages really... now I know they're good for me I know I won't really skip them permanently, even if I miss days here and there because of circumstances. I know walking's good, but it's not the same as feeing the daily benefit.

waffle is apparently my next course!! I tend to come here to think 'out loud'.

I got details of a good Malay restaurant last night, from my malay friend who's coming for lunch on Saturday. She's carefully avoided asking for lasagne, but I know she was dying to beg for it, so I'll do it. Which means I'll have to do it again for DH's birthday 4 days later or he'll never forgive me for making the effort for a friend but not for him! Better make and freeze large quantities of sauce either today or tomorrow to save myself some time. Oh, and I have bananas ready to make into cake so I want to do a couple of those today... again, probably one for Saturday and one for DH's birthday on Wednesday. Shame my heart-shaped pan isn't really big enough!

Kerri.

I know this is an issue in the US and Australia, and from what I remember it is also an issue in the UK. It may not be in Singapore, though. Hot ham is actually allowed for pregnancy, but any sort of cold deli meat, which is the way I prefer ham (plus the smell of hot ham cooking is kind of icky) can carry listeria bacteria, which can cause miscarriage/ stillbirth. Same for smoked salmon, plus of course smoked salmon also comes under the fish limitation. I have found a couple of recipes for smoked salmon casseroles, which sound fairly mediocre but I may try them, because the heating again would destroy the listeria bacteria (which rhymes). http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/lm_tearsheet.htm

but surely cooked ham should be okay?? As long as you don't plan on leaving it out of the fridge for a couple of hours before eating it. I guess it depends on how much you want ham... I can quite happily live without smoked salmon for sure!

Most of the food scares are highly overrated - yes, listeria is a real thing, but still... soft cheese I remember being the main source of fuss on that one. Remember all the fuss about eggs being bad for you, only have one a week... A few years later they turn round and say they are the most complete food, wonderfully good for you, eat as many as you like because they aren't even fattening. That's the way most food 'information' works. White bread's bad for you because it's too refined, but brown bread may contain LSD. Can't even drink the water because most of it's too heavily polluted, and so's the air we breathe, yada, yada, yada...

sorry, that turned into another rant - I seem to be in the mood for ranting this morning.

somebody else said something similar about this, but I forget who and what thread, so can't quote... but basically, choose your comfort level of risk. The analogy was cars. Life is full of risk, and whilst pregnancy means you tend to be more cautious about risks, one should always remember to keep it all in perspective and be sensible. I know you're sensible Becky, so I'm not actually aiming this at you per se - you're well used to knowing what risks you can and can't take with food. I just get very angry at all the nonsense surrounding food scares.

Kerri.

The US Department of Agriculture is well-known for its spotty inspections. They overinspect some plants and underinspect others, and there is no way to tell if your meat comes from an overinspected or underinspected processing plant. So listeria really is a serious danger in this country, and not a hysteria issue at all. Soft cheese is fine if it is pasteurized, which all cheese sold in the US is, so that is not such an issue. Cooked ham and hot dogs are fine if they are heated up to steaming (not eaten cold out of the refrigerated package, because they frequently become contaminated after cooking at the factory but before packaging), but see above re the smell of it cooking!

I don't actually have any desire for ham, it just sounds like more food to me. So it's not really a problem not to eat it.

Becky--

I have had really horrible morning sickness with all my pregnancies. I know that what you're going through is a little different, but I think that it's similar. When I am in that part of pregnancy, I just eat whatever I can stand. I seriously lived some days on twinkies and oj during my third pregnancy. When I start feeling better, then I start eating better. Every midwife/doctor I've seen has always said to eat whatever I could handle. That would not apply to worries about bacteria, but just to worries about nutritional value. So if you can eat sweet things, just go for it. Any calorie is better than none sometimes and this is one of those times.

Lauralyn

I am eating what I can force down. And maybe I'm not explaining it well, but EVEN non-nutritious food tastes bad. I keep getting advice to eat "whatever sounds good, even if it's bad for you," but there is nothing that sounds good a lot of the time, good or bad for me. I would have to force down Twinkies as much as broccoli.

However, this colitis flare-up has somewhat improved, and with that I am beginning to feel hunger sensations again today. So now after I eat, there is a sense of feeling full as opposed to hungry, which makes eating less bothersome than when it's just a matter of feeling a bit more energetic as opposed to a bit more tired. Which means the process of eating is still drudgery, but afterwards there is some kind of immediate reward-- I had been feeling equally uncomfortable before and after eating, so the whole business had been really pointless.

Guys, I am doing something new. I ordered the 8 Minutes in the Morning Kit (cards and a DVD with a mini book rather than a big book) after a good friend of mine recommended it. I did a little online research and it sounds reasonable. (No you don't turn into Cindy Crawford -- or whoever is the current equivalent, I'm dating myself here -- in 8 minutes, you just jump start your day a bit.)

Anyone seen it? Any thoughts? I am excited to try it -- it sounds very manageable,for the most part.

but I think I'll paste your post there Shaun rather than lose it here, because it may be good for people to know about...

Kerri.