What's up with my strong cravings for all things dairy right now??  Well, I did some investigating and check this out:

Did you know, the amount of calcium your intestines absorb during pregnancy doubles?!   

Another fun fact…about 80% of the calcium present in the baby’s skeleton at the end of pregnancy crossed the placenta during the third trimester  and is mostly derived from the calcium in mom’s diet during pregnancy.  The calcium mom eats seems to be the main way our bodies adapt to meet those high calcium demands during pregnancy (1).  Amazing!  Maybe that explains the cravings and my baby needs the calcium with only 6 weeks left to grow.

How much do I need?  When pregnant, you need 1,000 mg calcium per day  and pregnant teenagers need 1,300 mg calcium per day  (4).  A prenatal supplement isn’t going to provide a lot of calcium, and if needed, additional calcium can be supplemented alongside the prenatal supplement, especially in the third trimester of pregnancy.  Calcium can be obta...

I’m pregnant with baby #2, due in March!  For the past 8 months, I’ve been devoted to giving this baby the best start to life.

Let’s talk Prenatal Supplements:  It all starts with a quality prenatal supplement.  Even with the most solid diet, there are a handful of nutrients especially important during pregnancy.  All pregnant women need more iron and folic acid.  There are so many prenatal vitamins on the market, how do you go about choosing a quality prenatal supplement?  Choose a prenatal vitamin that includes only the most active or absorbable forms of nutrients.  For example, folic acid as 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate or folinic acid, vitamin B6 as Pyridoxal 5’-Phosphate, and vitamin B12 as Methylcobalamin. 

Folic Acid Side Note:  Did you know all women of child-bearing age are strongly encouraged to take 400 mcg of folic acid every day, even if not planning or trying to conceive?  This is because folic acid is critical for preventing neural tube defects and folic acid works only if tak...