Pregnancy Menu

[patty1955]

My daughter had the same restrictions (from the doctor) and has two beautiful kids. I ate everything, drank coffee, a six pack a day of Pepsi and wine and had three beautiful children. The only real restriction I was given was cigarettes and the morning sickness enforced that one.

Go ahead and follow the recommendations, but remember, if you can't see it in your food, if probably won't hurt you.

[Sapphire723]

First, congratulations!

Second, if you have any concerns just ask to meet the Executive Chef. This is a common practice for those who have dietary issues. You will find him (or her on Connie) to be helpful. They may even offer to prepare some special meals for you.

 

Thank you! Thank you very much for both the congrats and the suggestion! :D We are going to be first time in AQ, so while I can't take full advantage of the Persian Gardens, I've heard that Blu is very accommodating with meals.

[spookwife]

all the stress you are putting yourself through freaking out about all this is worse for Junior than any of the easily avoidable foods( and of that list only the high mercury fishes and shellfish are really truly necessary to be wary about)

 

Quite frankly the US is too hung up on some things. I have Aussie friends who drank moderately( one glass of red wine a week ) during pregnancy and it is quite normal for their doctors to say there is nothing wrong with that, eating meat medium(* not well done which is just plain evil on all levels) and having the occasional BLT.

 

we'd have fewer kids with food allergies and sensitivities if Mom was allowed to maintain a normal diet while the Bun was in the oven.

[Sapphire723]

My daughter had the same restrictions (from the doctor) and has two beautiful kids. I ate everything, drank coffee, a six pack a day of Pepsi and wine and had three beautiful children. The only real restriction I was given was cigarettes and the morning sickness enforced that one.

Go ahead and follow the recommendations, but remember, if you can't see it in your food, if probably won't hurt you.

 

Thanks for sharing about you and your daughter! I know that my generation of moms has been given a much bigger list of Don'ts than previous generations, so I am trying to not go crazy about them (I turned out ok, after all :D).

[Orator]

Thank you! Thank you very much for both the congrats and the suggestion! :D We are going to be first time in AQ, so while I can't take full advantage of the Persian Gardens, I've heard that Blu is very accommodating with meals.

 

Blu is excellent. Blu also has a dedicated Chef who supervises the preparation of the meals. Speak directly to him about any needs or concerns.

[Still Dreaming]

Congratulations!

 

My daughter just had her second and she had the exact same list!!

 

I applaud you for trying to give birth to the healthiest possible baby you can!

[Iamcruzin]

My daughter had the same restrictions (from the doctor) and has two beautiful kids. I ate everything, drank coffee, a six pack a day of Pepsi and wine and had three beautiful children. The only real restriction I was given was cigarettes and the morning sickness enforced that one.

Go ahead and follow the recommendations, but remember, if you can't see it in your food, if probably won't hurt you.

 

When my mother was pregnant with me in 1960 women were smoking like chimneys and drinking like fish. Fortunately for me she never smoked and never drank.

[Sapphire723]

Blu is excellent. Blu also has a dedicated Chef who supervises the preparation of the meals. Speak directly to him about any needs or concerns.

 

Good to know! Thank you. We ended up upgrading our cabin, because I wasn't going to splurge on a drink package! :D

[jerseygirl3]

Thank you for the well wishing. I'm doing my best to not get wound up about the small things, but I did run down the list of things I knew off hand with my doctor and she agreed that these were foods I should avoid until the baby arrives.

 

Other things I'm currently giving up based on my doctor's recommendations are medication for my ADHD (which is making working and getting things done wonderful), electric blankets (great when it's below zero this week!), hot yoga, my monthly 1.5 hour deep tissue massage (down to 1 hour prenatal massage) along with the .5 hour hot tub time at the spa, facial peels, laser hair removal, and spray tans. I'm not sure if these are all standard in other countries, but in the US, it seems like the doctors are leaning towards recommending caution. Or at least my doctors are.

 

 

 

 

Just an FYI. Once you have a newborn all those luxe treatments will go bye bye. At least until the child graduates from college and is off your payroll!!! Lol

 

 

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[Sapphire723]

Congratulations!

 

My daughter just had her second and she had the exact same list!!

 

I applaud you for trying to give birth to the healthiest possible baby you can!

 

Thank you very much! I was beginning to think I was a weirdo for trying to follow such a list.

[Sapphire723]

Just an FYI. Once you have a newborn all those luxe treatments will go bye bye. At least until the child graduates from college and is off your payroll!!! Lol

 

 

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LOL! As long as I can still cruise, I'm sure I will survive. :p

[Wastegirl]

I can understand your caution and I come from an era where we ate most everything during pregnancy. Having a problem myself that was related to my iron levels that resulted in difficulties in a first failed pregnancy, I know that once you are successfully pregnant with a healthy baby you want to make sure that you do everything right, even if other people think you are nuts. I just know I ended up with a lovely baby girl and my effort was worth it.

 

If you are worried I understand a lot of cruise lines have very good Vegetarian Menus where the only issue would be milk products and cruise lines would not use unpasteurised product as it does not keep long enough for them to store, but you can easily check this. You just need to speak to the Maître-D who can organise the vegetarian options for you, or go Vegan which would cut out any food issues. If you still have a craving for meat you can then just order a plain steak or lamb chop well done, cut it open when it arrives and check before consuming.

 

I know when I was pregnant I ate plain food anyway because anything too rich just made me ill.

[Searanger]

Personally I wouldn't advertise that you are expecting. Even though you can sail up to 24 weeks prior to your due date, you will be required to complete a questionnaire on embarkation if you disclose you are pregnant. It then becomes a third party decision if you may or may not be allowed to board the ship. You wouldn't be the first pregnant women denied boarding...best to keep your condition to yourself.

 

See this link: As one example.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/hamilton-woman-barred-from-boarding-cruise-ship-because-she-was-pregnant-1.2717375

Edited January 9, 2015 by Searanger

[csg0325]

My husband is allergic to nitrates but found plenty to eat! Just avoided things he would normally avoid at home. Based on your list I'm positive you'll still have many choices :) Have a great time and enjoy!

 

 

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[sparky-elpaso]

all the stress you are putting yourself through freaking out about all this is worse for Junior than any of the easily avoidable foods( and of that list only the high mercury fishes and shellfish are really truly necessary to be wary about)

 

Quite frankly the US is too hung up on some things. I have Aussie friends who drank moderately( one glass of red wine a week ) during pregnancy and it is quite normal for their doctors to say there is nothing wrong with that, eating meat medium(* not well done which is just plain evil on all levels) and having the occasional BLT.

 

we'd have fewer kids with food allergies and sensitivities if Mom was allowed to maintain a normal diet while the Bun was in the oven.

 

Absolutely agree with this.

 

Before I was pregnant I remember thinking that women who had "cravings" for something were nuts - until it happened to me. And it was for a really healthy thing - potato chips and french onion dip. :eek: I asked my doctor and he said that as long as I didn't do it too often it was okay. So about once a month I would have chips and dip for lunch and then behave myself the rest of the time. Both kids (now 40 and 41) turned out fine.

[Sapphire723]

Personally I wouldn't advertise that you are expecting. Even though you can sail up to 24 weeks prior to your due date, you will be required to complete a questionnaire on embarkation if you disclose you are pregnant. It then becomes a third party decision if you may or may not be allowed to board the ship. You wouldn't be the first pregnant women denied boarding...best to keep your condition to yourself.

 

See this link: As one example.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/hamilton-woman-barred-from-boarding-cruise-ship-because-she-was-pregnant-1.2717375

 

Thank you for sharing the article. I already checked with Celebrity and I am ok to board. The agent I spoke with recommended I get a note from my doctor saying that I was fit to travel and confirming how far along I was. Based on the story you shared, had the woman brought this note with her, there would not have been a problem.

 

While it might save me a bit of trouble, I don't feel comfortable being dishonest with Celebrity. I hope my honesty does not ruin my vacation.

[celle]

It seems as if many of these things are easily avoidable, but after going out to eat a few times, I realized that sometimes it's harder to avoid certain things as it may not be an apparent ingredient as per the menu listing. It's not outrageously impossible, but I do sometimes have to ask about things. The whole point of my post was to see if there was already a system in place that easily identified this sort of thing like they might have for other dietary restrictions.

 

Congratulations on your pregnancy. I'm sure it's very precious to you. However, I think you are over-thinking this.

 

It's not going to do you or your baby any harm if you unwittingly eat some of those foods a few times. By all means avoid them when you can, but it won't be the end of the world if you make a mistake now and then.

 

Heavens, there are thousands of us who ate all or most of those foods during our pregnancies and had completely normal babies.

 

No, there is no special Pregnancy Diet menu.

As for getting help from the wait staff - good luck with that one. It's enough of a problem that they often don't speak English very well, without expecting them to help you choose items suitable for a diet they've probably never heard of.

 

I had enough trouble explaining a simple vegetarian diet to them (no meat, no fish). One waiter's solution when I told him I don't eat meat or fish was "Why don't you have the chicken then, Madam?"

[Sapphire723]

 

I had enough trouble explaining a simple vegetarian diet to them (no meat, no fish). One waiter's solution when I told him I don't eat meat or fish was "Why don't you have the chicken then, Madam?"

 

LOL... now that Friends is on Netflix, I've been rewatching some old episodes. Your story reminds me of when Phoebe is re-explaining what it means to be vegetarian and says "Nothing with a face!"

[still-learning]

This is my first pregnancy and it was a hard one to come by at that, so I may be erring on extra cautious. That being said, there's so many things they tell pregnant women to avoid these days, and I didn't realize how much of it was in some of the foods I might regularly eat.

 

Here's just a few of the things that I can think of off the top of my head. Typically, I end up having to look up certain things if I'm not sure.

 

 

• No sushi
  
• no booze
  
• caffeine <200mg/day
  
• no lunch meat
  
• no raw egg
  
• no unpasteurized milk
  
• no cheese made with unpasteurized milk
  
• no unpasteurized juice
  
• no bacon with nitrates
  
• no sausage with nitrates
  
• no raw meat
  
• no meat that isn't well done
  
• no fish with high mercury content
  
• limited fish with other levels of mercury (preferably wild caught)
  
• no hot dogs
  
• no raw shellfish
  
• liver
  
• pate containing liver
  

 

What an exciting time, Congratulations!

 

This is a good itemized list of items to avoid. Perhaps by consolidating the list it may feel less complicated or overwhelming, each item above falls into these categories;

 

• Avoid all raw animal proteins, unpasteurized dairy products and juices as these could possibly contain pathogens which can cause illness. Cook proteins well to reduce risk.
  
• Avoid Nitrates which is all processed meat products
  
• Avoid/limit alcohol depending on your doc's advice
  
• Limit caffeine
  
• Avoid mercury
  

Ironically women used to be encourage to eat more liver during pregnancy as it's considered a nutrition powerhouse. Now liver is avoided or reduced to prevent an overdose of Vitamin A and/or Retinol.

 

Thank you for the well wishing. I'm doing my best to not get wound up about the small things, but I did run down the list of things I knew off hand with my doctor and she agreed that these were foods I should avoid until the baby arrives.

 

Other things I'm currently giving up based on my doctor's recommendations are medication for my ADHD (which is making working and getting things done wonderful), electric blankets (great when it's below zero this week!), hot yoga, my monthly 1.5 hour deep tissue massage (down to 1 hour prenatal massage) along with the .5 hour hot tub time at the spa, facial peels, laser hair removal, and spray tans. I'm not sure if these are all standard in other countries, but in the US, it seems like the doctors are leaning towards recommending caution. Or at least my doctors are.

 

• no prescription or over the counter medicines unless approved by your doctor
  
• Avoid anything that can elevate your body temperature
  
• Avoid unnecessary exposure to chemicals with cosmetic treatments
  

It really is less complicated than it might seem at first. Best wishes and remember to enjoy this experience. :)

[JFontaine]

Sapphire - my niece is also pregnant in CT. She has a very similar list, only longer. Have a great cruise and all the best to you.

[Iamthesea]

Thank you very much! I was beginning to think I was a weirdo for trying to follow such a list.

 

LOL... now that Friends is on Netflix, I've been rewatching some old episodes. Your story reminds me of when Phoebe is re-explaining what it means to be vegetarian and says "Nothing with a face!"

 

If you missed The McCarthy's last week, please get it on Demand. It was a hoot about pregnancy!

 

 

When I was pregnant with my first child, 34 years ago, the doctor told me to eat liver (yuck) and drink plenty of Apple Juice :confused:. My main cravings were Alaskan King Crab legs and Krispie Cream donuts. I had plenty of both and gained a whopping 50lbs! :eek: I had a healthy beautiful daughter. Around the same time, a pregnant friend of mine ate very little, exercised like a fiend, and ended up having a very premature baby with special needs. :(

 

My 2nd child, another beautiful healthy daughter arrived 3 years later. White wine was my weakness with her. With a doctors blessing, I was allowed 1 glass a week. More when I was nursing!

 

My 3rd child, a handsome son, was born very healthy. I cannot remember what foods I craved with him, but I still had no restrictions. I must have overdone it with him, too. I gained 40lbs!

 

OP, the purpose of telling you the above is to let you know that you do not need to be so uptight with what you can and cannot do during. Relax and be sensible. Most of all enjoy watching that baby grow.:)

 

My 2nd daughter went through her first pregnancy 2 years ago. She also had a healthy baby after watching her diet and taking weekly Yoga classes. However, the little guy was 3 weeks early. My daughter was traveling by car when she went into labor. She thankfully got home in time. Though I never heard my daughter mention dietary restrictions while pregnant, she did tell me recently about a similar list like yours that she followed. I was surprised!

 

It sounds like you may be a seasoned cruiser, so I assume that you do not get seasick. If I am wrong, you need to discuss with your doctor about preventative measures allowed to take. Having morning sickness is a cinch compared to being seasick. :rolleyes:

 

Congratulations and have a fabulous pre-baby cruise!!!

[ghstudio]

Given your concerns and fears, you might want to consider putting off the cruise. The food concerns are going to drive you (and those around you) nuts...and I don't mean to scare you in any way but I'm sure you realize that should something go amiss, the doctor on board may not be the best to handle the situation...and the hospitals at the ports are, in many cases not up to the capabilities of US hospitals.

 

Of course many who are pregnant do cruise...it's a personal decision....but consider that worrying about everything may actually cause more risk than trying to follow that "do not eat" list.

 

Try to enjoy yourself.....and ignore that vast source of medical mis-knowledge, and the people and sites with a mission, be it sales, religious, self promotion or ignorance....I.E. ignore the internet.

Edited January 9, 2015 by ghstudio

[waterbug123]

It seems as if many of these things are easily avoidable, but after going out to eat a few times, I realized that sometimes it's harder to avoid certain things as it may not be an apparent ingredient as per the menu listing. It's not outrageously impossible, but I do sometimes have to ask about things. The whole point of my post was to see if there was already a system in place that easily identified this sort of thing like they might have for other dietary restrictions.

 

The short answer is no, there is not already a system in place to identify a "pregnancy menu."

 

That said, most of what you listed is VERY easy to avoid without even asking. They aren't going to sneak raw fish into your entree so for the most part just attention to the menu descriptions. The only things I can see that you might have questions about are the pasteurization (don't worry, all milk etc. served on a cruise ship will be pasteurized) and the nitrates/nitritres (all the bacon and processed meat that is served on a cruise ship is likely to have this in it so avoid.)

[mtn_couple]

I haven't cruised pregnant, but have cruised a fair bit and have also had a baby just a few years ago. I had a similar list (I'm in Australia). The things on your list are pretty easy to avoid. Just make sure your food is cooked well and served hot. Don't eat anything from the buffet that looks like it's been sitting there for a long time. There's heaps of selection, you'll be fine. The Aussie pregnancy diet also forbids salad unless you've prepared it yourself due to lettuce etc possibly not being washed properly and soft serve ice cream due to the machines not being cleaned properly. Also make sure you wash your hands regularly and sanitise regularly to reduce the risk of Norovirus. Keep an eye on the ships staff and if they seem to up the sanitisation regime, perhaps stick to your cabin for a few days to avoid catching anything.

 

Most importantly, relax and enjoy your baby-moon as we call it in Aus.....

[cruisead]

For those of us who are over 50, do any of you remember anyone in your class with food allergies? Nowadays, all you hear about are hundreds of thousands of kids with peanut, and other food allergies. Recent studies have pointed to the fact that these allergies can be attributed to moms being so strict with their pregnancy diets. What a mother ingests can impart certain immunities to their fetus, and therefore can avoid so many of these allergies.

 

I also tend to think that the OP, who has admitted to being ADD, might be stressing on all this because she's off her medications (which she also admitted). I agree with others that stress during pregnancy can be more dangerous than eating bacon or munching on a few peanuts.