I’ve had pregnancy dreams many times before.
But last night I had a dream that I actually gave birth to a baby (an adorable blond boy with big blue eyes that looked suspiciously identical to a baby in a photo posted on a friend’s Facebook page).
It was a quick and painless delivery that took place in my bed, if you must know. And I recall thinking in the dream, “Wow. That was way easier than the Internet led me to believe.”
It was… Weird.
But I think it was a dream derived from yesterday’s events. Which took place in Target, as these events tend to do.
I shall tell you all about it. But first, a wee bit of back story.
A couple of years ago, my father suggested I start taking pre-natal vitamins.
I think my response was to give him a horrified look.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever have kids,” I told him. Which was a fact he very well knew.
“And if I DO, it won’t be for at least five years.”
(Ha, Self of Two Years Ago. How the tables have turned.)
He said that was fine. I should take pre-natal vitamins for five years.
—SIDE NOTE—
My father LIKELY recommended I start taking the vitamins Just in Case. It’s not like you need to build up some sort of folic acid stockpile in your system or anything. (At least, I don’t think so.) (Even if “folic acid stockpile” is a THING or even POSSIBLE.) But unintended pregnancies DO happen, I’m told. So, I’m guessing his feeling was “better safe than sorry.”
—END SIDE NOTE—
Because I trust my father’s judgment – he is, after all, a doctor, one who deals with pregnancy and childbirth DAILY – I looked into the pre-natal vitamins.
But I can’t swallow big pills. And pre-natal vitamins are rather large and terrifying.
(And before you helpfully suggest, as my husband and mother both have, that I simply cut them in half, NO. That does not work. Because then you have a) sharp edges that increase Throat Sticking Likelihood and b) the cut end allows you to taste the horrible pill taste more acutely. Blech.)
Anyway, so I kind of gave up on the pre-natal vitamin front.
But once my husband and I decided pretty definitively that we were going to eventually, you know, go for the baby thing, I decided I better get serious. And I picked up a bottle of folic acid supplements, which I take (most) every day. (The folic acid pills are teeny and very manageable.)
I told my father on our vacation (when I Broke the News About the Future Possibility of Babies) that I was taking them, and he once again recommended I go for the full-on pre-natal vitamins.
He was concerned, it seemed, about my iron intake. And pre-natal vitamins typically include iron.
So my husband and I (and by “my husband and I” I mean “I, with my husband standing bored in the background, urging me to hurry up”) have been looking for iron supplements. (Iron supplements are tough to find, by the way. Possibly because of things I do not understand or care about.)
My husband did mention that iron has the unpleasant side effect of, ahem, stopping you up. So he wasn’t really keen on the idea of iron supplements. And then I looked them up, and now I am not keen on the idea of iron supplements. Because, according to the National Institutes of Health, it seems that iron supplements have a wide variety of side effects… Plus, pretty much everything can inhibit your absorption of the things… And they are “LIKELY UNSAFE” for lots of issues.
So I decided maybe pre-natal vitamins were the way to go. They typically include iron, I’m guessing in the right amount and with the right combination of other vitamins and minerals to enhance absorption or whatever.
(Although some of the pre-natals I looked at included Vitamin C calcium or some other vitamin I don’t really know zzzzzzzzzzzzzz, which, sayeth the NIH, doesn’t really work with iron. So maybe the supplement makers don’t know anything.)
ANYWAY, this is all to say that my husband and I have been standing helplessly in front of rows of vitamins in every grocery store we’ve visited in the past, oh, month.
If you’ve ever been in a supplement aisle in a grocery store, you will know that there are approximately twenty skadrillion choices. And really, how do I, the idiot consumer, know which brand is better than the others? (I usually pick the bottle that has the smallest pills.)
Usually one or the other of us gets fed up and we leave, supplement-less. But yesterday, we went to Target, and holy arugula, we were DETERMINED to leave there with some feather licking pre-natal vitamins.
So we’re standing in the aisle, and my husband is shaking his head disgustedly at how expensive some of these supplements are. And he is telling me to just get the Target version of the pre-natal vitamins. And I am telling HIM that they are TOO BIG. And he is telling me that they are even perforated in the middle so I can easily cut them in half. And I am explaining to him about sharp edges and taste issues and he is rolling his eyes because he just DOES NOT GET IT.
And then we see the jars of chewable pre-natal vitamins.
My husband makes two important and valuable points:
1. I do not like Tums or cough drops or zinc tablets, so there’s a strong likelihood that I will not like these.
2. They are expensive, and yet you have to take two at a time, so they will only last for 45 days.
And then he spots the Target version of chewable PNVs. (I am kicking myself for not acronymizing in the first place. And yet I am too lazy to go back and acronymize all the 10,000 places where I spelled out “pre-natal vitamins.”)
So I look critically at the ingredient list. Iron is noticeably ABSENT, so I notify my husband.
He points out – again, in the middle of the supplement aisle – that iron is a show stopper. (The show being… you know.)
We have been oblivious, to this point, of the very nice woman, approximately my mom’s age, who is standing to my right.
But now, she kind of catches my eye and smiles, and says, “My daughter just went through the same thing.”
And I smile back, because she’s being nice and motherly, and she – encouraged by my smile – continues: “I just know she was standing here the same way as you, trying to make the same decision!”
Now, Internet. You know that I am the type of person who appreciates advice. Or, at least, opinions. I mean, I ask YOU for advice all the time and you have never steered me wrong! Here I am, in the middle of the Target supplement aisle, with no Twitter to consult or blog readers to address. But there is this nice woman, obviously willing to talk.
So I ask her what her daughter had decided.
And the woman helpfully recommends the chewable PNVs.
—SIDE NOTE—
The chewable PNVs are made of that same jelly-like solid that gumdrops are made of. And right on the front of the label it says “GUMMIES” in big letters.
Now, my whole life I have pronounced that word “GUHmees.” Like “guppies,” only chewy.
But this very nice woman pronounced it “GOOmees.”
Maybe this is a regional thing? Or maybe I have been pronouncing it wrong my whole life?
—END SIDE NOTE—
But then she elaborates. Her daughter’s doctor had suggested the chewable PNVs BECAUSE they didn’t have iron.
Now Internet. While I am willing to engage in small talk in a superstore aisle, I find that there is no need to tell anyone my whole life story.
So as this woman is explaining how the non-iron chewable PNVs are clearly the right choice, I am allowing her to make a couple of assumptions that I do not correct. (Because it is really none of her business… And also, because she likely doesn’t CARE about our business.)
Assumption 1. That I am currently pregnant (which, honestly, considering I was wearing workout pants and a giant red sweatshirt that belongs to my husband, wasn’t unbelievable. I mean, I could have EASILY been packing a baby under there.).
Assumption 2. That I do not care about iron content.
“I’ve heard that iron can make you nauseous,” I interject at one point. Because I HAVE heard that, Internet. And who wants to be nauseous?
She gives me a sympathetic look and says, “Yes, it can make you nauseous. And you don’t need THAT on top of already feeling crummy!”
So, Assumption 3: That I am currently suffering from morning sickness.
Now that she has given us her thoughts on the matter, she turns back to the supplements she was looking for (which she also told us about, but that’s a different story). And I turn back to my husband and the chewable non-iron containing PNVs and I am at a complete loss.
Do I continue discussing the PNVs with my husband, ignoring this woman who is still RIGHT THERE beside us?
Do I just grab the non-iron ones to prevent any conflict?
Do we leave the supplement aisle and return another day?
NO. We are going to leave with some frog band PNVs, come hell or high water.
So I quietly ask my husband if there is any point to buying the vitamins that don’t have iron.
Not quietly enough, apparently, as the woman looks over. So I find myself explaining, in as quick a manner as possible, that my father thinks I need the ones with iron so this is my very problem, especially if they, you know, stop the show and cause nausea and all that, as no one wants that.
And she smiles at me sort of perplexedly and asks, “So how far along are you?”
I could have lied, Internet. But I do not like lying, even to strangers. And yet, there was no way I was going to launch into the whole spiel about a 2013 baby and how my father wants me to start taking PNVs now, just in case.
So I went with the half lie: “Oh we’re not pregnant YET. We’re trying.”
Yes.
I said “we’re trying” to a complete stranger in the middle of Target.
That’s when I grabbed the bottle of chewable NON-IRON PNVs and got the hell out of there.
They are still in the trunk of my car. I have not yet mustered the energy to retrieve them, so I’m not sure what they taste like.
But I had a few sour patch kids for breakfast, so that’s got to count for SOMETHING.
Haha- I totally understand the vitamin thing- I can’t swallow pills, and you totally can’t cut them in half or they’re like daggers in your throat!
I’ve actually been taking 2 Flinstones chewables, which do have iron, as well as plenty of folic acid. So that’s an option (but you probably will have to suffer through the taste if you don’t like Tums). But I actually started with the gummy ones in 1st tri- you don’t really need any iron supplementation until probably 2nd tri (my doctor was fine with this). The gummy ones were fine and they had DHA which I liked. Though the taste did kind of make me feel ill but so did most things in 1st tri- I just would take them right before bed and that helped.
Early on I also tried liquid prenatal- you can find it on Amazon. That was fine and I could mix with juice- but I can’t remember whether it had iron or not- I want to say not. You could check though. Good luck!
Flintstone freaking vitamins? Genius.
Two things. You like lists right?
1. Pre-natal vitamins are just good for women in general… trying for a baby or not. My Gyno recommended taking them when I was a teenager.
2. I don’t take PNVs. I take flintstone vitamins, because after comparing the amounts of vitamins in those little dino-themed pills… they were almost exactly the same. They even have iron in them. I checked. They are a lot cheaper than PNVs, and you could even get one that is “+iron” if you’re looking for more than the regular dino-pills have in them.
http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=flintstones+vitamins&x=0&y=0
I DO like lists!
I switch back and forth between the gummy PNV from Target and Flinstones (which have iron, and therefore taste like pennies). I…just pick whichever one is cheaper during that Target run. I’m not even trying to get pregnant yet, so I figure I’m ok.
Oh man…I’m sorry but I absolutely love that story. But not because you felt awkward, but because I wonder how that lady felt after you responded! awkwardness all around.
Oh, and my doctor told my Mom I should take PNV when I was like, 16 because my Iron is always low. So my Mom (being a good mother) went out and bought me plenty and I HATED taking them. I felt like I was going to choke whenever I tried to swallow the dang things. Eventually I stopped taking them (I convinced myself they “made me gain weight” -i think I read that somewhere and ran with it- HA!) and as life would have it within the last several weeks I’ve considered going to get them again.
“Frog band”—LOVE.
I THINK—but I am suddenly uncertain, because supplements are CONFUSING—that vitamin C improves the body’s ability to absorb iron, but that calcium inhibits it. And if I am right, DO NOT ASK ME why all three are in many multivitamins, but my GUESS, if you DO ask me, is that they inhibit each other SOME, but not enough to be problematic in these quantities and for these applications. So that, for example, someone taking iron to correct a deficiency might be told not to take it with foods containing calcium, but for general preventative supplementation it wouldn’t usually be an issue.
My prenatal vitamin made me nauseated and crampy in the first trimester, so the OB had me skip it. (I couldn’t quite bring myself to skip it, but went to every other day.) The folic acid is what you need ahead of time—and everything else, as my OB put it, “the baby can just suck out of what YOU need.” That is, the baby will get enough calcium if the baby has to take it STRAIGHT OUT OF YOUR BONES. (You may want those bones yourself, though, which is the reason for the prenatals.)
I say gummies like guppies. Or, for that matter, like gum.
Supplements ARE confusing. Your logic makes sense, though. Some cross-inhibition, but not enough to outweigh the benefits.
OK, a few things:
1. It is pronounced Guh-mies-they are gummy, chewy. Not goo-my. 🙂
2. It is a good idea to take PNV before, during and after pregnancy. I was still taking them (while breastfeeding and beyond) then got pregnant again and it’s just good. I mean, it’s a multivitamin, so it’s not like it’s NOT good for you.
3. I take the Target ones, but I don’t have pill issues. 🙂
4. I would take the gummy ones and not worry about iron until you get pregnant and they test your iron levels-then you may have to take a supplement. And you will get constipated. But, that’s okay because constipation comes with pregnancy and you will make it. Then you can take another pill! 🙂 To take a dump.
Love the random advice from the lady-I wonder if it was my mom……….
Unless you are German, or eating German gummies… then it is pronounced “goo-mee”. 🙂
Hah! Okay, so it’s been like 5 years since I went to med school, but I think there *is* more or less a folic acid stockpile, and part of the reason you should start taking PNVs early is that it can take like 4-6 months before a deficiency in your diet depletes your stores. You need to take the vitamins for at least that long to make sure that you have enough when your body needs it (which is usually so early in the pregnancy that if you start taking PNV’s after the fact, it’s too late). Ask your hubs, I might be making shit up, but I think that’s more or less the deal.
For what it’s worth, I used to take the ginormous PNVs with the DHA and other fanciness, but they made me barfy. I take the non-goomy up&ups now, and don’t find them to be too big (for me), and don’t think that the iron content is a noticeable show-stopper. There is 800 mcg folic acid and 28 mg of iron in mine.
Goomies. That’s funny. It is most definitely GUMmies, like GUM.
I also took the off-brands prior to getting pregnant and my kids are (relatively) okay and then took the ones the doctor prescribed when I got pregnant and was breastfeeding. But those were bigger (and also made me sick, but here’s a tip–I found if I took them before bed, I was significantly less sick), so if you find one now that works, I would stick with it!
I wonder if that lady also pronounces gum “Goom”.
Ha, that is just too hilarious…I just started the whole PNV thing this last week. I just got the generic Walgreens ones, though…I’m too cheap 🙂
Goomies is not regional, the over-sharer was just WRONG!
I took the Target brand PNV pills for both of my pregnancies. (healthy baby boys) – I took them at night, which COMPLETELY relieved me of any nausea that I had when I took them in the morning. And, I never noticed any “show stopping” so I don’t think it’s a massive amount of iron.
I started on PNVs well before even “trying” (squirm) to get pregnant. It was a good habit to get into and I also had a certain comfort level if I had accidentally gotten pregnant.
Good luck to you — let us know how the goomies taste!
Why don’t you just tell your dad to start sending you monthly orders from Omaha Steaks so you can EAT your iron?
Mmmm…. steaks….
Just saying.
I know a couple of ladies who have just taken the Flinstone vitamins. They said they have basically the same % as PNV.
I have the same swallowing pill problems. I can do it if they’re little and if I swallow them one at a time.
If you need iron, but in a non-constipation way, try Floradix. It is a liquid iron plant-based supplement. It doesn’t have as much iron in it as regular iron supplements, but it doesn’t make you constipated, either. It tastes…eh…fermented raisins, perhaps?…but I found it way easier to get down than the Big Pill.
Iron is in most PNVs, but it does cause constipation (and most PNVs cause nausea too), so many prescription PNVs have a stool softener as well. Just an FYI, in the event you ever get ones prescribed by your dr and wonder why the hell you are going 5 times a day.
Lastly, as everyone else has said–Flintstones + a folic acid supplement. Every OB I’ve had has recommended them in lieu of the PNV.
For all of those people who are saying that the GOOmy lady is crazy and just doesn’t know how to say the word – they need to do some research.
Gummy candies are a German creation. They were first made by Hans Riegel. He’s German. By the way.
In German the “u” is an “oo” sound.
Perhaps the woman had visited Germany, or knows some one who is from there – because it is said a GOOmy in Germany. 🙂
My OB told me two Flintstones vitamins are the same as one prenatal. But I went with the prenatals because I don’t have an issue with pills (I believe my record is nine pills swallowed in one swallow) and it ended up being cheaper. Once I actually was pregnant, I switched to the prenatals with the DHA.
I do not like nosy people in the Target.
I’m totally going to start calling them Goomies!
I started taking prenatals when I was a teenager. Basically, it’s just extra folic acid and calcium – and often extra iron. Otherwise it’s just your basic multivitamin. I have no pill issues so I cannot relate to most of your concerns. But if you take the ones with no iron, you can rest assured that during the 10,000 tests they run on you when you become pregnant, one of the things they’ll check is your iron level. If you need extra iron, they’ll let you know. Otherwise I wouldn’t worry.
It’s interesting to me to hear that Vitamin C doesn’t work with Iron because I thought that Vitamin C actually helped with the absorbtion of iron. To the point where my doctor encouraged me to take my iron supplements with Orange Juice. I need to look into this.
Yeah, I am just an idiot. I wrote “Vitamin C” when I meant “Calcium.” (I think.) Which starts with a C, so, clearly, they are the same thing.
Also, I just shouldn’t be talking about vitamin interactions because zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Yep. I am not pregnant, but we are TTC. I take 2 Flinstone Vitamins. The regular kind of PNV’s made me sick NOT pregnant. I can’t imagine trying to swallow a big pill WHILST pregnant & sick!
Oh I completely sympathize with the overwhelming “skazillion”(ha!) choices in the vitamin section.
Ps/ It is GUMMIES! As in “guh” not “goo”. At least here in America! 🙂
I don’t really know anything about PNVs, but I take Flinstone’s vitamins and I’ve heard they’re pretty much the same thing!
LOVED this story!!! I smiled the entire time I was reading it!
I take the Nature Made Prenatal Vitamins with DHA, but they’re super ginormous! I can swallow anything 😉 Ha. jk.
Anyway, they contain 27mg of iron, but my doctor just told me that I’m STILL low on iron and need to take more supplements. Bleh. If it helps, he advised me to take Slow Fe.
Ack! My boyfriend the (not OB-GYN) resident has been urging me for a long time to get more regular about taking my vitamins to prepare for future conception plans. But I didn’t know they were supposed to be PNVs. I just thought those were what you took after you were pregnant. I’ve been taking a Woman’s One-A-Day multi once daily, which does have folic acid and iron in it, along with a Cranberry pill once a day, Glucosamine three times a day, Calcium Citrate twice a day, and Fish Oil three times a day. But I’ve been taking Calcium and my One-A-Day together and never knew that that could be decreasing my iron absorption. I have so much to learn still.
I’ve had dreams like that before, in which I’ve birthed a child and woken up thinking, “Gosh, I barely felt that!” I kind of think it’s my biological clock trying to jumpstart. It hasn’t exactly worked yet, but that’s still my theory.
I took the CVS brand prenatals. They are small, about the size of a tylenol. The instructions say to take 2 if your pregnant, but just one otherwise (if you just want to take it as a multi-vitamin). So, it’s like they cut in half for you!
I can totally see myself having a similar freak out in the grocery store aisle. Those are IMPORTANT issues!
Ohhhhhh. my GOODNESS. I do not know how i came across your blog, but i did… AND I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!! I have only read this one post but i can already tell you will be one of my favorite blogs to read. I just had to share. Usually I don’t comment, but you are just too funny and so relateable (except… i’m *not* trying… heck I’m not even married (or engaged!) but I feel like I can relate to you!! Yeah.. don’t ask. I guess i can just see that happening to me in ohhhh, you know, 5 or so years… LOVE IT!!
Well the good news is that you get a 3 month supply FREE when you actually DO get pregnant and go to the Dr. It’s super fab. And if you read my post you KNOW how I feel about “trying.” 😉
omg I would have done the same thing. I am so socially awkward that the other day I refused to ask for help while I was in the store with my boyfriend desperately trying to find solarcaine for an awful sunburn I got this weekend. I kept looking around the aisle and went back and forth for ages and he kept saying “why don’t we just ask someone?!” Finally, after the umpteenth time of him asking if we could talk to the store employee standing in the same aisle as us for help…. I buckled and said “ok yes, ask someone. I just don’t like talking to people.” So of course I made him do it.
All of that and still no solarcaine 🙁
This is like, five hundred more words than I would EVER exchange with a person in Target and I am DYING over this. I love that this woman offered up so much thought and commentary via her daughter – that’s kind of cute.
But the part where you engage her and then feel like you can’t lie to her is killing me because if I DID get trapped in a conversation like that, I would totally do the exact same thing and then run away and wonder what in the hell just happened.
She was so sweet and helpful – I just couldn’t ignore her, you know? (My husband could, apparently. He was right beside me and did nothing more than smile, shrug, or nod.)
But man, this is only HALF the conversation! She wanted our opinion on B vitamins. Which involved a rather long and detailed story about her other child.
Gotta love strangers who ask too many questions!
I too took 2 flintstones while pregnant….my Maternal/Fetal told me to do it since I couldn’t stomach the regular PNV.
I’m one of those people that everyone has to talk to…strangers everywhere just randomly give me advice or tell me their life stories.
Your blog cracks me up. 🙂
The show must go on! I don’t like the idea of show stoppers, especially when your still a good ways out from the operation’s planned start date. (Is that vague enough?)
I take a plain old generic women’s multi vitamin and an extra folic acid to get me to 800mcg/day. So far everyone’s been fine with that.
I laughed that you pulled out the “we’re trying” to randomly intrusive Target lady. It’s starting…welcome to the dark side.
I fully approve of your euphemism usage.
And I blushed for about an HOUR after I told her we’re… you know. SO EMBARRASSING.
I am 11 weeks pregnant and I take the non-iron gummy prenatals for a couple reasons.
1. They are easier on your stomach. Once I’m feeling better, I may switch to regular prenatals with iron, but for now I think these are fine. Otherwise, I’m just trying to get iron from my diet. Steak and spinach FTW!
2. I feel like I’m getting a little treat. Which is silly. BUT IT WORKS FOR ME.
I have been taking the “Nature Made Liquid Softgel Prenatal Mulit+DHA” from Target for 6+years now. It started out as “just in case” and then…long story. I tried several of them and I like this one best. It is kinda like a gel capsule (goes down easy) and although it is kinda big, it doesn’t seem big since it goes down so easy. I take them at night so I have never noticed any nausea. They are kinda pricy – $20 for 60 days but my neonatal hubby approves so that is what I take! Big plus to taking prenatal vitamins – healthier hair and nails that are stronger and grow faster!
That is probably the most awkward thing I’ve ever read. Seriously. How do these types of things happen to you in such abundance?? I
That is probably the most awkward thing I’ve ever read. Seriously. How do these types of things happen to you in such abundance?? I probably would have just acted really miffed after informing Intrusive Woman that there is no bun in the oven, that in reality, it’s just a sweatshirt – just as an escape route!
Oh gosh! I am many years away from babies but you already got me thinking about this, ahaha. I’ve had problems with Iron, every time I go to donate blood they tell me my iron levels are too low. But when I take vitamins with iron, they make me throw up. Which once made me very nervous that I was throwing up my breakfast for a different reason! lol
Whoops ^ accidently left my comment under my school account. That one above was me 🙂
LOL OMG YOU! LOL Ok. Not that you’re asking for advice, but I did go through the vitamin thing. Except no one told me to take some before or while we were “trying”. Anyways, I took prenatals (the one a day ones were the most recommended by all I know) and I had to take additional iron supplements because I became a little anemic during pg. Anyways…eat lots of fiber and you’ll be okay. I made sure to eat tons of fiber. On a totally different note, I can’t believe you told a person in a store isle that you were trying. lol. Which in retrospect is totally fine because it’s about the whole babies thing. But if you think about it, anytime you tell people you’re trying, aren’t you really just telling them that you’re having sex? This one always got me. Jon and I have a ton of fun with this one because we “got pregnant” pretty much the same weekend my best friend had her baby…when really it means that everyone now know that we were having sex that day…unprotected baby making sex. Yet somehow when it comes to talking about pregnancies or babies, it is ok to divulge this information. Oh weird weird american world. this ends up overly long and drawn out comment. I hope no one but you reads this.
You make me giggle! 🙂
And YES, that is EXACTLY why I hate “we’re trying.” So. Freaking. Embarrassing.
“And I recall thinking in the dream, “Wow. That was way easier than the Internet led me to believe.””
This just made me spit out my coffee I was laughing so hard. I love it!
The awkward Target encounter reminded me of last weekend. I thought I was…well..with child. So I ran to Target to get a pregnancy test. The elderly lady checking me out definitely looked at my hand to ensure I was married as she was scanning my EPTs and asked me if this was good news. Um, holy awkward. Seriously? What should I have said to that?!?! So rude!
NO WAY. “Not judgmental” needs to be a pre-req for any position where you’re scanning people’s personal items right in front of them.
That has to be up there with “Was your baby an accident?” and “Wow, I thought you were too old to procreate.” in terms of sheer stupid assholery.
First, it’s definitely GUH-mees.
Second: I take Rainbow Light PNVs…Don’t know if they have EVERYTHING…but they’re not massive in size like some others and they came highly recommended!
GOOMIES. I have never heard that before in my life but I find it to be hilarious. Goomies.
My friend told me to start taking prenatal vitamins because my immune system has been kind of spastic lately, she said she started taking them and, bonus, it did nice things for her hair and nails. I was like BUT I WILL FEEL WEIRD BUYING PRENATAL VITAMINS but then I remembered that sometimes I buy maternity clothes off the clearance rack at Target and am always armed with a defense should the cashier get congratulatory: I’m not pregnant, just fat.
Also I took some iron supplements for a while, if you get the slow-release kind they are better for you and aren’t supposed to make you nauseous. I never had nausea or, um, other issues. I never took them that long… I used to donate plasma and my iron levels were frequently low so they recommended them to me so I could, you know, donate. I’m borderline anemic sometimes so I tried to find a multivitamin with some iron in it to create a happy medium and I just realized I’m acting just like the Target lady. Oops.
Speaking of… awkward. I always feel weird chatting with strangers in stores but for some reason the health section seems like an even more awkward place.
Also: goomies.
It’s even stranger when you dream about giving birth…and you’re a guy…trust me, I know.
I took *cough* Flintstone vitamins and a supplement of Folgard because prenatals made me throw up harder than I was already throwing up and Zofran was hardly doing the job.
I think any multivitamin with iron would be fine, esp. since you already have the folic acid on it’s own.