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Maternal PKU is stressing, there is no doubt about it. I can tell you that is you work hard at diet and exercise and maintain a good sleeping schedule, your chances for a heathly baby improve greatly. I've been through it twice. I suggest two books: :What To Expect When Expecting" -an informational guide for your pregnancy, and "Expect The Unexpected When Expecting -a satirical take-off from the first book to lighten your mood. I also suggest LaMaze and baby classes at their appropriate times during your pregnancy. Do not despair if things don't go right during class; I failed diapering. Thesupport from a loving family and friends is a very strong component in this situation. I gained 51lbs for every year my husband, Chris, and I have been togetherbecause he's that good at cooking! He's very loving and supportive too. He's the best man in the world; I wouldn't have married him otherwise. The only time we fight is when my diet isn't 100%. It always ends the same way; he asks me, "When's the last time you had your formula?" I hate it when he is right! How do you know if you are pregnant? Well, the first thing you should do if you suspect you're pregnant, is take a phenylalanine level blood test to see where your diert stands so you know what changes to make, if any, if you are pregnant. Take a urine pregnancy test and if that comes out positive, notify your PKU doctor and see your Obstetrician ad request a quantitative blood test to assure that you're pregnant and exactly how far along you are. Nausea is a part of the frist three month, but it doesn't have to be. My OB suggested I buy B6 at my local pharmacy and take it three times a day and it helped, but not as much as the prenatal vitamin that has a B6 time-release in it. Your solution depends on your OB. DO NOT take and medication except your prenatal vitamin, PKU formula and maybe B6 durring the first three months which is called you first trimester. Keep in mind that your doctor has the best plan for you. I could not handle the pernatal vitamin the second time around and had to take Flinstone Vitamins, instead. Basically, by the time you find out your're you're already a third done with your first trimester. What a comforting thought! You may have to increase your formula intake per day and maybe even increase your phe intake per day, depending on your blood level. Durring preganacy, I took my spot (Blood phenylalanine test) weekly ti ensure my levels and give myself some peace of mind. It does get hard, because if I didn't eat every couple of hours, my stonach would flop. I wouldusually eat breakfast, then wait two hours to do a spot and eat something immediately after. Drink two quarts of water and liquids per day. Remember that watr is a natural diuretic so that your body will urinate out the excess. It is also a natural laxative, which will help with your constipation if your're experiencing it at this time. And don't forget the all important food pyramid that you can get from your nutritionist. It's a lot to remember and organize, but you can do it! I find it helps to keep track of my daily intkes by making an excel spreadsheet.I think it's important to get extra ultrasounds for PKU purposes by a perinatologist throught your pergnancy. It's a good thing I had them beacuse that's how we found out my fluid was gone and they had to induce me the first time and had to c-section me the second time. I had a terrible experience and many complications both times, but the one thing that did go right was my PKU diet. None of the complications were due to PKU. Make sure you have an OB that you like to get the ost out of your pregnancy. A good high-risk OB will have you meet all the doctors in the practice to make sure you're comfortable in knowing the OB who ends up delivering you, if not the one you're primarily signed up with. Also, your case should be discusses weekly amoung the doctors in the practice to ensure everyone is well aware of you specific case. Make sure to read up on hazards at home (microwave, hair dryer, etc.) and hazards at work (chemicals, cleaning supplies, etc.) *DO NOT empty the kitty litter-taxoplasmosis! |
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