Eating things you "shouldn't"

[Ocean Star]

Just wondering if people are sticking ridgedly to what you "shouldn't" eat or do you think its all just a bit extreme. I haven't eaten any mould ripened cheese (I love this), peanuts (also love), pate (can live without), or shellfish (can't stand so no great loss), but I did have a fried egg with a runny yolk yesterday.

My friend, who has 2 children, thinks i'm mad to stop eating the food i like. She recons she ate whatever she fancied and thinks I'm worrying far too much. The sandwich van at work does these lovely bree and bacon baguettes and she thinks I should just have one. What do you guys think?

 

[vickie]

I have given up the soft cheeses etc and pates...but no way am i giving up runny eggs...as long as the whites are cooked ive eaten them throught out all my 3 previous pregnancys

 

[Charlie:-)]

I gave up cheeses, pate and bloody meat, but had runny boiled eggs every Saturday and peanut butter on toast yum! I also had shellfish if cooked and bought by me but I never had it in a restaurant. On the other end of the scale friend at work was a few weeks ahead of me and she used to scrutinise all food labels and wouldn't touch anything on the "things to avoid" list, she used to tell me off all the time for eating mayo and peanuts, I think im just too relaxed compared to some other people TBH

 

[HannahD]

I'm in 2 minds as to whether to carry on eating the things I love. Part of me doesn't want to risk it then the other part reckons what the hell, the risk is soooooo small.

I am missing my dippy eggs so will probably go back to eating them. I don't like soft cheese, rarely eat shelfish or peanuts but am gutted I can't have a nice bloody steak

I think i'll give it until i'm out of Tri 1 and the imminent danger's gone then start eating them again.

 

[*Rainbow*]

Deleted

 

[vickie]

My step mum made one of her famous dishes last week...Brie bake...its fapping gorgeous but told her i couldnt eat brie so bless her she made it with normal cheddar instead..wasnt quite as good but damn near close

 

[*Rainbow*]

Deleted

 

[Potbelijo]

*drools* Deep fried brie with cumberland sauce... mmmm

I'm missing my rare steaks with blue cheese crumbled on them and poached eggs. OH is under strict instructions for my coming home from the hospital meal

 

[*Rainbow*]

Deleted

 

[buddabun]

I have cut out most things that are 'bad' for me. I wouldn't normally bother with the eggs but I just don't trust em over here.

I am being rigid about the cheese and rare meats thing as listeriosis can be quite nasty for foetuses. All the 'food poisoning' risks (i.e. shellfish etc) I am not so bothered about but the nasty diseases like listeriosis I am trying to avoid. The risk is low. But still.

I will most probably go back to my runny yolks in second or third tri. It's just early on when you have to worry really.

I am not worrying too much about caffeine. I'll stick to no more than 2 cans of coke a day (and not every day) but tbh it helps my nausea with such miraculous results that I can't stay away too long

 

[ninnypants]

well already my OH is not letting me anywhere near things Im not allowed. the night I found out I was pg we were about to have margharitas - he promply said none for me and I'd been drinking one most nights that week! And coffee - had to get decaf ground coffee.
we almost made pizza with salami/chirizo etc and I thought no can do. dammit!!

 

[Jade&Evie]

I don't drink much and I don't eat eggs, blue cheese or pate anyway so I don't really have to give anything up!

I never bothered giving up salami, peanut butter etc last time

 

[kim83]

You ladies have made me feel so much better!

I've been literally dieing for a runny egg!! But had compleatly crossed it off thinking something would happen! Now guess what I'm having for lunch?

I'm quite lucky because I don't like shellfish, pate or any of the not allowed foods just my eggs

My mum can't believe the list we have now I was her last baby (25 years ago) and they didn't even get any lists of what you could or couldn't do, even drinking or smoking wasn't mentioned and I've turned out fine well thats questionable!

 

[trixipaws]

i dont really need to give up anything dont like all the banned foods anyway. but i'm craving peanut butter, and i cant have it coz babydaddys allergic!

 

[splashmonkey]

I have to say I've got a bit more relaxed about the forbidden list to be honest. I never gave up caffeine, apparently there's no evidence whatsoever of harm to your baby, so hey ho - most people find they go off coffee but since I haven't I keep drinking it! And I never gave up alcohol either - I stick to the1-2 units 1-2 times a week guideline (in fact not even that normally). I started off being rigid about cheeses and pate and I still don't eat them raw - like budda says the effects of listeria are just too nasty, however small the chances - but if they're fully cooked (i.e. piping hot through) then that kills the bacteria so it's fine. I'm starting to be a bit more relaxed about red meat too - again, if it's piping hot through, and I say it can be and still be at least pink in the middle - then it should be fine. I've never listened to the shellfish stuff, it's very very inconsistent and I think is only an issue if anything's raw, so munch away on them prawns! I started off avoiding eggs but then read about how lion stamped eggs are from salmonella inoculated hens anyway, so they don't have salmonella - the only reason they won't change the advice, despite thousands of lion eggs being tested and not one being infected, is that there could be salmonella on the shells as it's present in our environment anyway. Well, if it's present in our environment, then it could be anywhere so what's the difference! So I'm back on runny eggs now as long as they're lion ones (most british ones are but make sure you check as soem of the cheapy ones aren't). As for peanuts, the advice I heard is you only need to avoid if you or OH have family history of (significant) allergy, either to nuts or anything else. Oh, and the salami/cold meats thing, again if it's cooked there's no question it's fine, but also in the UK they don't reckon it's a signficant enough risk to tell us to avoid it, so I've never taken any notice! Sorry, I seem to have got a bit carried away, apologies ladies!

 

[buddabun]

I wouldn't dare touch the cold cuts out here

I'm with you on the shellfish. Same goes for sushi. As long as it's from a reputable place I'll risk the food poisoning (when I can stomach fish that is. At the mo it's a no go).

I normally have my steak rare so I think I'm only going to move up to medium... I think with done there is just no point for me. I may as well have something else. There's a really decent steak place near here that I feel confident will not poison me.

I am sticking off the pate for the vitamin A things as I have seen what nasty retinol can do. Again, you'd have to eat an awful lot of the stuff to do damage but seeing the foetal deformities that can result from it during my uni courses was enough to put me off even risking it.

I'm going to eat Camembert and Brie if they're cooked (i.e. deep fried *drool*) but, I think I will wait for second tri for that too.

It's the risk/reward thing at the end of the day. I stopped drinking pineapple juice during my 2ww (and ever since) purely because I was convinced that that is what caused me to m/c those two times. I used to drink gallons of the stuff (at least 2L a day) and seeing as it is used as a labour inducer due to stimulating uterine contractions I thought "why risk it?". It's no skin off my nose (although I did get withdrawal ) and I don't want to take the risk. Mr B laughs and yes it is ridiculous but if it makes me feel better that I am doing everything I can to help my baby then why not?

The risks are so small with food poisoning, listeriosis and the like, but I still can't bring myself to risk it, not this early anyway.

Essay over

 

[doozer]

I have been trying not to drive myself mad with the 'list'.

I have eaten steak - nice and pink in the midde...
I have had the odd glass of red wine (but just red cos I figure its got antioxidants in it so its practicay health food!)
I have had runny eggs...but I only get lion mark organic ones...
I have eaten nuts...
I had a small piece of Camembert last night...oops...

I almost ate a pate canape...but couldnt bring myself to do it...dunno why...

The way I see it, people have been having babies since the beginning of time...in different countries (in my case, I'm talking about Spain as I used to live there) they dont follow the same guidelines and their birth defect/mc rate is no different to the UK...there they eat chorizo/salami/cured ham, they eat liver...

I have felt so rubbish recently thay anythign I feel like I allow myself to eat...hence my eating a whole jar of Green and Blacks organic chocolate spread over the weekend...

 

[BabySols]

I don't really eat anything off the banned list anyway and i don't drink or smoke but i have had a couple of snickers bars so i guess i'm eating peanuts. At the moment to be honest i am struggling to eat anything at all, if i can smell something cooking i can't eat it and i'm eating about half the amount i normally do

 

[ninnypants]

...all this chat about runny eggs - I want runny eggs and chips now dammit!!!

Lucikily neither thom or I are allergic to peanuts so im gonna continue to eat peanut butter on toast - its my saviour snack!

 

[tattybear85]

i was eating brie throughout my pregnancy i got told as long as its pasturised(which most behind cheese counter is) you can eat it!!!!