Pregnant & Autistic Diet

[Negangirlxx]

Hi 👋🏻

I’ve recently found out that I am pregnant. I am in my 30’s, and I have Asperger’s, which means my diet is very restricted, due to issues with textures, taste, smells, etc.

I’ve got 5mg Folic Acid from the doc, and Pregnacare, but I’m so worried about keeping this baby healthy with my crap diet.

I don’t eat fruit, and the only veg I eat at the moment, is potatoes, and onion. Mostly cos I have issues with the texture of the food itself, not so much the taste. I’m very much the classic “beige food diet”. I can drink fruit Smoothies, and fruit juices, as long as they don’t have bits in, same with yoghurts and soups.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. I’d love ideas on snacks and meals, to keep this bub healthy.

And yes, I know the importance of a balanced diet, I’ve been to nutritionists, and even hypnotherapists, but unfortunately, the Autism always wins. No matter how much I’d love to have a more varied diet. So please, no hate.

My dd with asd gets her produce entirely in smoothie form. Spinach blends in amazingly well. It makes the smoothie an interesting color, but it doesn’t really change the taste substantially.

just mix some frozen fruit of your choice, spinach, juice/water and maybe some honey if you need a sweetener.

So many brilliant tips and tricks that I’m going to put to use.

Thank You for all the reassurance too. It really does help reduce my worry about my diet.

You have all been so wonderful and judgement free, thank you.

I will also look into things like vegetable crisps and stuff like that too. Definitely worth exploring cos I do eat lentil chips when they take my fancy.

I just remembered that DH puts ginger root in his vegetable smoothies. It completely downs out the taste of the spinach, kale and carrots it is mostly made of. It looks vile but just tastes gingery. Might be worth trying if your IBS can cope with ginger.

Also try taking 100% rda of magnesium. It really really helps with digestive problems, and most people are defficient anyway

I'd try not to worry too much as baby will take what it needs from you. I had hyperemesis with mine so with one the only things that I managed to keep down were milky ways and space raiders. Dd was fit and well in spite of this although neither she nor I could eat either of those nowadays.

https://wiltshirefarmfoods.com/ready-meals/level-4-meals?product_list_order=name&product_list_dir=asc

Something like this might work too

Don't give up on the baby food idea either, my nearly adult DCs still have the occasional Ella's fruit smoothie pouch 😁
My eldest is 22 and is healthy despite me living on dry rice Krispies for the first 13 weeks of my Pg (bad morning sickness).

I was thinking about the pouches, and also the little healthy baby snack things, like the alternative crisps they sell. I know some adult vegans who eat some of them, as sometimes they can be “accidentally vegan” snacks.

The Irish subsisted on a diet of mainly potatoes and buttermilk and were generally very healthy. Just try to avoid additives as much as possible. The thing to care of is that your body will take nutrients from you before harming your baby.

If it helps, I believe that in a lot of countries potatoes are counted as veg. They're actually very nutritious, with quite a lot of vitamins, especially if you eat the skin (maybe less so as chips though ;)

I survived pregnancy on pre-made mash, gravy, haribo and strawberries. Dts are totally fine. Also ASD.

Buy a good quality slow juicer and juice all your fruits and veggies. Get a Jason Vale juice book and you will be very happy and healthy with that!

It's pretty common for folks to have issues with textures and smells in pregnancy but if you already had a limited diet before pregnancy, might be more prone to running low or running out of important vitamins/minerals.

You don't always have to eat them in foods, you can try supplements or herbs.

Do you have any issues tolerating warm or cool teas? You can get many nutrients from herbs, like Nettles. Try herbs/supplements if you are worried.

The thing that folks don't usually talk about when it comes to nutrition is that the pregnancy will take what is required as long as you have it stored and most of the time the baby will do fine but its deficiencies from lack of getting certain vitamins and minerals that cause other pregnancy complications like blood pressure issues etc.

Look out for ready meals that have some of your five a day in. I like the M&S veggie lasagne which is 2 of your 5 a day. Don’t beat yourself up. I’m autistic and was terrified how I’d cope with pregnancy and birth but it’s been much better than I expected. Be as kind to yourself as you can. Fruit juice is also my friend when pregnant!

Soup can be pure veg. OP isn't describing a bad diet at all.

, says she who lived on chocolate & crisps for most of early pregnancy.

That sounds like a good idea.
I tend to do better with drinks cos I can just whack them back easily, rather than actual food that requires chewing. If that makes sense? 😂

I really do appreciate every single message I’ve had so far.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who has had this experience. It makes me feel a bit less lonely and a bit more normal, which is nice, for someone who has never felt normal in her life.

I spent the first few months of my pregnancy throwing everything up and I'm not on the spectrum (although I am ND). Babies tend to get what they need. At points in my pregnancy the only things I could keep down were:

Popcorn
Pineapple (which in large quantities may mean a miscarriage risk)
Oat fudge bars
Tea (not water)

Not all of these were at the same time. DD is a very healthy tween with a diverse and healthy diet! Make sure you have vitamins and minerals because you will suffer otherwise! And as many safeish foods (smoothies) as is OK.

Please remember that one wonderful thing about being an ND parent is that if you have an ND kid, you can help navigate the world with them. My NT DH really struggles with some aspects of DD like her clothes sensitivity. I was like, "no seams, no labels, no rough stuff, no tight stuff, no loose stuff, challenge accepted".

Thank you for that.
I really appreciate those kind words.

I know if I had a ND child then I would be able to understand them & support them, but I do still worry, as I know how hard it can be to navigate life as a ND person.

My little boy will only eat veg when it's completely blended veg. So I blend him a roast dinner-- everything I would put on a plate including gravy and it goes completely smooth and he really likes it. It tastes lush tbh. You could put it in a soup maker (I have the morphy Richards one) and it would be a puree texture. You could increase the potatoes and roast onions so that it's safe ingredients with other bits of veg thrown in. Honestly I often wonder if I could get away with eating a pureed roast dinner like my son!

Also I had hypermesis and at one point managed one apple and some crispy duck a day (weird I know!) and ended up losing 2st baby was completely healthy... They're like little vampires taking everything they need and leaving you feeling knackered!!

I know if I had a ND child then I would be able to understand them & support them, but I do still worry, as I know how hard it can be to navigate life as a ND person.

Of course! We all worry. I know though that DD's life with ADHD is immeasurably easier than mine was. Partly the world is better. And partly I can help.

You're already caring for them and they aren't even here yet. You're already doing the hard work. And worrying is just what we do as mums.

Thank you so much. That’s so lovely.
That’s genuinely made me cry.
I’m such an emotional wreck at the moment! 😭

I understand your worry about having an autistic child. My husband and I are both on the spectrum so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if our children are too. I take comfort at least in knowing they won’t have to go through what we did with the diagnostic process. We were both diagnosed in our 30s after years and years of suffering through school, Uni, work etc. That hatred that we carried for ourselves for not fitting in or being able to do what everyone else was doing and not understanding why is something our children won’t have to go through. We get it, we understand it and if necessary we can get them diagnosed early and help them to understand themselves too so they can get the support they need. Everybody’s autistic journey is different but with parents who understand it really is a hundred times easier. Apologies, I know it isn’t the point of your post but please don’t worry. You’re doing completely the right thing already by controlling what you can control to have a healthy baby. You’ll be a great mother.

I was diagnosed in my late twenties, so I know exactly what you mean.

Thank you for being so kind.

If you are able to do a more varied diet through blending things, red lentils don’t have a strong taste and are a good iron hit! And if you prefer things to stay more beige, cannellini beans blend really well and are also a good source of iron and protein x

Thank you for all of the advice.

Unfortunately, I have had a miscarriage, but I do appreciate the advice from everyone who took the time to respond.