Feel like the Walking Dead!

Eat a lot of fruit. When I was pregnant, the main thing I craved was watermelon. I never had a problem with constipation.
=)

I just went through the exact same thing. I started taking a supplement called Expecta lipil DHA. There is something about omega fatty acids that make you less constipated. It really helped a lot and it's great for the baby's brain and eye development. It's not made from fish oil, so it's completely safe. I buy mine from Walmart. 30 day supply is about $11.
but they always come with a $2.00 off coupon in the box.
As far as the fatigue goes, I slept on my lunch breaks in my car. At night I would sleep with a pillow inbetween my knees and a small pillow to cuddle with. It made me much more comfortable getting better circulation.
Hope this helps, Trisha

By the way, don't ever take anything with out okaying it with your doctor first. I was told not to take anything like sleeping pills. It was something about affecting oxygen to the baby,

J.,
I'm not sure there is anything you can do about your energy level at this point. On top of being pregnant you have three other children. That is enough to drain anyone. You might want to try to eat more protein and fruits and vegetables. Stay away from caffeine. Although some is ok during a pregnancy, if you are already dragging during the day, coming down from the caffeine can make it worse (even if it's just a little).

For the constipation, contact your doctor and tell him/her what's going on. More than likely they'll suggest fiborcon or just eat more fiber. Which is what I suggest. Cut back on cheese.

Hope you get to feeling better.

J.,

You need lots of protein and lots of salads. There is a nutritional product that is completely safe called Nutritional Yeast Flakes. Put this powder in with protein powder and make yourself a protein shake twice a day. You can also take extra vitamin C which is water soluable and cannot hurt you or the baby. Vitamin C is excellent for fatigue. You could be aneamic which you can eat watermelon, apricots, raisins, and there are other foods righ in iron, but I forget which ones. Liver and liverwurst are fantastic for low iron counts.

Good luck,
D.

I only have one child, so I only have one experience. I believe that just like every baby, every pregnancy is different. Your body is working so hard to create a new life and on top of that you have 3 children to take care of and home school. No wonder you're so tired! At the ages your children are, they should be able to help you out quite a bit with household chores. Try to take it easy and take lots of naps whenever you can. Check with your OB to see if there is anything that you can take to help you sleep at night. I have heard that you can take a Tylenol PM or a Benadryl to help with that, but don't trust me - check with your OB first (especially in your first trimester).

As far as the constipation goes - my doctor prescribed prenatal plus vitamins (just the generic ones) that were supposed to help ease constipation some. She told me that it was common for regular over-the-counter prenatals to sometimes cause constipation - I think because of the extra iron. I know that the prenatal vitamins actually made one of my friends sick, so her doctor told her to try the Flintstones chewables for kids - he said it was okay as long as she was taking some kind of multi-vitamin. You could try that and see if your constipation eases up some. Maybe you could also check with your OB about using a stool softener once in a while. I had to use some after I had my c-section and it really helped a lot. A lot of them can be pretty expensive, but I got some fairly cheap from Publix (I think the brand is Fleet).

Hello J.,
I just had my 3rd child and I was pretty tired to the first couple of months. I worked a full time job but it got better with time.....Make sure you take your prenatals and talk to your OB about what you can take for the constipation. If you are taking iron pills those make you constipated. I was giving something for constipation with my second child but I can't recall the name so just talk to the OB......

It will get better......it's usually after the 3rd month

Congrats to you and May God Bless you with a wonderful, pain free, stress free, tired free, easy breezy calm cool and collective pregnancy.....

Good Luck!

Then next time you go to the doctor ask to test your thyroid. And- you'll feel better soon!!!

what you are feeling is compelelty normal, and not much you can do til it passes. Your body is excreting tons of growth hormone to build a baby. that, understandably makes you very tired. Remeber that every pregnancy is different, so what you experianced the first time, you may not hte 2nd or 3rd. Best thing to do is rest when you can. I know it is hard with other kids to take care of, but scedule breaks when you can. Eat high protien foods to help give you an energy boost. You may want to talk to your OB about taking an extra B12 supplement to help as well.

As far as the constipation, again compeletly normal. the uterus, even at this early stage, starts to press on the intestines making it harder for them to do their job. PLus pregnancy hormones tend to also slow down digestion. Drink plenty of fluids, a hydrated colon is less prone to consitipation. Eat high fiber foods as well. Aslo eat lots of fruits. I find that dried fruits work better at keeping you regular than fresh. STart slowly with adding high fiber foods though you don't want alot of gas pains to contend with. Swiching from whole wheat breads, and pastas also help as well

HTH
B.

I totally know how you feel. I am 26 and I am 10 weeks along in my 3rd pregnancy. I have been telling friends and family that I dont know what the deal is but I am exhausted. I have no energy. I can say that this week has been so much better than the last three weeks. I finally got enough energy the other day to clean the house and once I started I could not stop. Now I was dead on Friday but I actually got something done. Hopefully in the next few weeks it will get better for you too. I really dont have any advice because I am still somewhat there, but I just wanted you to know you are not alone!!!!! Hang in there!

Hi J.. My third pregnancy was the same way. I also had them 6 years apart. So I know exactly what you are going through. My doctor told me to take a tylenol pm at night to help me sleep and it also took the aches and pains away that I was enduring. As far as the constipation goes drink a lot of water. I found some foods that softened up my stool for the next day. Good luck. If you like we can chat more my email address is ____@____.com it sounds like you may have the same pregnancy as mine.
Amy