Excuse Me, I Have a Question...

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me an email with a suggestion for a blog topic.  This may have just been her ploy to get me to blog as it had been several days since I had last blogged...I took the bait (finally).

Here is an excerpt from the email:

Hey Liz!

Do you take requests for your blog posts? I have a few ideas, if you're interested.

As  someone who has never had a baby, I'm curious about what happens to a mother's body after pregnancy. For example, I heard (from Oprah, although she's never had children - surely a great sadness for our world/future) that a woman's shoe size can increase, and that her arches can flatten a bit. Have you talked to other moms who had that happen? And what about food and drinks? Obviously you didn't drink during pregnancy, but it's ok to drink some when breastfeeding, right? How long do you have to wait before it's ok to breastfeed after having a glass or two of wine? Some of my friends stayed away from foods I wouldn't have thought to stay away from during pregnancy (like feta). Did you stay away from anything when you were pregnant, for safety reasons? Have you gone back to them? (And what about asparagus? It makes a person's pee smell funny - does that happen to the baby if the mom has asparagus?)

Now, I will try my best to answer these questions.  Please keep in mind that these are merely my opinions and I am not a doctor, although I play one on TV.

I have heard of several moms that have experienced an increase in shoe size.  Some even said that their feet got a half size bigger with each pregnancy.  As you know, my feet became quite swollen while I was pregnant and I had to be more selective of my shoe choices.  Once the swelling went down, my normal (boat like) shoe size returned.  I have not heard about arches flattening due to pregnancy.

I did not drink during pregnancy, but I do know several people who enjoyed a glass of wine here and there while pregnant.  You can drink while you are breastfeeding.  When and how much you can drink depends on who you talk to.  I've heard that you can have a glass or two of wine and nurse.  I've also heard that if you drink, you should "pump and dump".  I've heard that as long as you aren't slurring, you are good to nurse without "pumping and dumping".  I think this is one of those things that is left up the individual.  I'm certainly not drinking often.  I think I've had two beers since I had Jack.

I stayed away from alcohol, sushi, unpasteurized cheeses, cold deli meats, and raw/undercooked meats.  A lot of people say to not drink diet drinks or excessive amount of caffeine.  I had already kicked my Coke Zero habit so I was good on that front.  Most cheeses in America are pasteurized so I was still able to enjoy feta and other soft cheeses if I wanted.  Ten days after delivering Jack, Dave and I went out for sushi.  I was in heaven!

I have not had any asparagus since I had Jack so I'm not sure about the reaction.  I will put some on the menu for this week and report back to you!

Thank you for giving me something to blog about.  If anyone else has a topic for me, just let me know and I'll fit it in...eventually ;)