Nutrition

At the beginning of my pregnancy, I met with the dietician that works in my perinatologists' office. This is one of the main reasons I started this blog - try as I might, I could not find hardly any information about what to eat or how much weight to gain for triplets anywhere on the internet! Even though that consultation cost me almost $300, I feel like I finally got the information I needed to make educated decisions about what to eat, what supplements to take, etc. while pregnant with triplets.

Now, this information is the perfect scenario. I will be completely honest, I have NOT been able to meet most of these guidelines on a daily basis. In the first trimester it was hard because I gagged on everything I ate or threw it up. Now in the second it's getting hard because I am not as hungry now that space is at an ever-diminishing minimum inside my stomach,  and the fact that it is harder to walk from place to place or stand long enough to fix my food. Sometimes I plain forget to eat, and sometimes I put it off because I am too tired to walk out to the kitchen or have no idea what I will eat once I get there. Though I am not nauseous much anymore, nothing really ever sounds good. I am sure third trimester will be even tougher.

But I also believe that nutrition is one of the most important things we can do to control how long our babies stay in our ovens to cook.  So I am really trying to get better and will continue to try to reach these guidelines and ideals!

Disclaimer: These guidelines were tailored to me and my body. They are not meant to replace your doctors' or dieticians' advice. Please consult your doctor for further information. If he/she thinks these are good guidelines for you, then you just saved $300 in dieticians' fees :o)

SUPPLEMENTS

Folic Acid: 1000 mcg minimum per day, up to 2 mg/day. Spread out the intake of folic acid throughout the day. For my extra folic acid not included in my everyday prenatal vitamin,  I use Carlson Labs Folic Acid Supplements. I have used this brand ever since it was recommended to me by a PCOS guru and I like it.

DHA: 300-600 mg/day. My dietician recommended Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA. I actually already had these on hand since I had found these to be the best according to my own research. I love them.

Calcium: up to 2,000 mg/day (through supplements or food sources).

Iron: at least 30g/day just from supplements. My dietician recommended Ferro Sequels, since iron can be tough on your stomach.  I already had New Chapter Every Woman's Iron Support so I have continued to use these. I like that they are very natural, and I haven't had a single problem with them being too hard on my stomach.

Vitamin D: 1000 IU/day. Carlson Labs also makes this in a supplement.

DIETARY GUIDELINES

I was counseled to gain approximately one pound per week. If you are a skinnier person you may want to ask your doctor if you should be gaining more.

Calories per day for triplets: 2500 to 2700 calories per day. Yikes!!! And I'm only supposed to gain a pound a week? But believe it or not, it really does work out to about that! It's amazing. And no, you can't make up those calories in cookies and cake. Sorry ladies.

The big one, PROTEIN: 115 grams of protein PER DAY. Say what? Do you know how hard that is? This is the one I have struggled with the most and yet I feel it's the most important. It is TOUGH to get that 115 grams! 18% of your calories should come directly from protein.

Fruit: 3 servings per day. Beware of the dirty dozen and buy organic versions of these.

Vegetables: Believe it or not, my dietician forgot to go over this one with me. But I would be willing to bet you need at least 3 servings, just like fruits. Again, watch out for the dirty dozen.

Dairy: 3 servings/day

Stay away from sugars. My dietician recommends Stevia in the Raw or Splenda if you must have that sugar taste.

Sample Meal Plans

The most important thing is to eat small meals and snack throughout the day to keep your blood sugars regulated and help avoid the onset of gestational diabetes. My dietician suggested breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack.

(These are basic meal plan ideas for any pregnancy - see, even dieticians don't have a lot of information on triplets, it's just so rare! My dietician suggested that since I am pregnant with triplets, I would need to up their protein above what these suggest, and add about 500 calories)

Breakfasts: 

*1/4 c. granola, 1/2 c. light yogurt, and 3/4 strawberries

*Veggie omelet, 2 slices whole wheat toast, 1 tsp margarine

*1 waffle with 2 T walnuts, 1 T sugar-free syrup, 1/2 c. peaches, 1/2 c. low-fat cottage cheese

*Whole wheat English muffin with 2 T peanut butter

* 3/4 c. Multi-Grain Cheerios, 1/2 c. fat-free milk, 1/2 small banana

*2 slices whole wheat toast, 2 tsp low fat strawberry cream cheese

*Smoothie made with 1 container light vanilla yogurt, 3/4 c. berries, ice cubes

Lunches:

*6" wheat pita bread, gyros meat, lettuce, tomato

*Caesar salad w/grilled chicken, 1 wheat roll, 1 c. fat free milk

*Grilled Panini sandwich: turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato. Green salad, crystal light

*Quesadilla w/low fat cheese on medium tortilla, green salad, diet root beer

* Grilled ham and cheese sandwich, green salad, diet 7-Up

*Salad w/taco meat and cheese, 1/4 salsa, 1 oz baked tortilla chips

*2 fish tacos, green salad

Dinners:

*2 chicken or beef tacos, 1/3 c. spanish rice, green salad

*Stir fry: 3 oz lean chicken, beef, or pork, 1 c. vegetables, 2/3 c. brown rice, green salad

*3 oz. grilled salmon, 2/3 c. noodles, 1/2 c. green beans

*3 oz pork loin, grilled, 1 c. baked potato, 1 tsp margarine, 1/2 c. carrots, green salad

*2" x 3" lasagna, 1/2 c. broccoli, green salad

*2 chicken enchiladas, 1/2 c. boiled pinto beans, green salad

*3 oz. steak or lean hamburger, 2/3 c. brown rice, 1/2 c. asparagus, green salad

Snack Ideas:

*6 Tricuits, 17 small grapes
*1 oz string cheese, 10 Wheat Thins, 1 orange
*40 goldfish crackers, 1 cup milk
*1 container light yogurt, 3/4 c. blueberries
*Small wheat bagel, 2 tsp. low fat cream cheese
*1 oz pretzels, 1 c. cantoloupe
*1/2 English muffin, 1 Tbs, peanut butter, 1 pear
*3 graham crackers, 1 cup milk
*1/2 toasted English muffin w/ 1 Tbs spaghetti sauce and 1 Tbs mozzarella cheese, 1 apple
*1/2 c, Chex Mix, 1 1/4 c. watermelon
*3 c. light popcorn, 2 plums
*1 carton light yogurt, 1 peach
*1/2 c. low fat cottage cheese, 1 1/4 c. strawberries, 3 graham crackers
*1 oz string cheese, 10 Wheat Thins, 1/2 c. pineapple
*1 oz string cheese, 6 saltine crackers, 1 c. fat free milk
*1 container light yogurt, 3 graham cracker squares
*1 slice whole wheat toast, 1 Tbs peanut butter, 1 c. fat free milk
*1/2 sandwich, 1 c. fat free milk
*1 c. sugar free cocoa, 1 slice whole wheat toast, 1 tsp margarine
*1 container light yogurt, 5 vanilla wafers
*1/2 small bagel, 1 tsp light blueberry cream cheese, 1 c. fat free milk