Pregnant Mom Wants Better Stuff In Belly

As my toddlers reached for the diet soda my husband was slurping or the bag of chips my pregnant belly was craving, it hit me that the new year is a great time to make healthier choices. New year's resolutions usually fall by the wayside around late January, but this one needs to happen.

I make a point of offering my children balanced meals. When I prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner, I try to include a protein, vegetable, fruit, dairy and whatever they need nutritionally. I always worry they are not getting something, despite their constantly growing bodies. They love all types of foods -- but they are also quick to spit out something they loved the day before.

As my children gobble up fresh strawberries, green beans, yogurt and other healthy items, I look at my bowl of cereal or English muffin with Country Crock and wonder, "Why am I not eating those veggies too?"

I wouldn't call myself an unhealthy eater. While I have been known to dabble in fast food -- two cheeseburger meal from McDonald's anyone? -- I don't make a habit of going through drive-thrus. With twins, it's hard to find energy to prepare food for myself, making quick and easy meals much easier. There are decent prepackaged options out there, but home cooking is always better, right?

Being pregnant is supposed to make me a health food nut. I hear so many pregnant ladies talk about how pregnancy helped them eat better. Sure, I crave salads, but I also want French fries and tons of eggs and the occasional fountain soda. I take my prenatal vitamin, hoping that it will fill the gap of what my diet lacks. But I have to remember that I'm setting an example with everything I do.

I only have to see my son and daughter mimicking my expressions to know that they are little copycats. If I don't want them drinking soda like their dad or crunching chips like me, I have to find ways to eliminate or limit these bad choices big time. It's hard to explain to a toddler that a drink is just for big people when it comes in a cup with a straw just like his or her milk.

Our pediatrician is pretty upfront about what kids do and do not need. I asked him about the red dye 40 controversy, how it makes kids crazy or something similar. He simply said, "Why would you give them something with dye in it?" I tried to explain that some fruit snacks have it.

"So why not give them a piece of fruit?" he said.

It makes sense that we shouldn't give our children "fruit-like" food or any food that claims to be as good as something off the branch. But life is hectic, fruit goes bad and it's not always easy to provide a meal that covers the food pyramid without going astray now and then.

Then the grandparents arrive with juice, doughnuts, cookies, chocolate and other treats that don't deserve much of a place in my children's food repertoire. I explain to them that the kids don't need junk. I try to use my pediatrician as an excuse.

"He doesn't want them having juice because it's full of sugar."

But some people -- relatives, even -- would rather see a kid get excited about chocolate than listen to me.

And, honestly, I don't want to become the mom who locks soda bottles in the liquor cabinet as I saw other kids' parents do growing up. I don't want my kids to have this weird relationship with food, where everything has to be whole grain or from the farm. Moderation is key, and that's what I plan to teach them.

"You can have a cookie after you eat your lunch," I say.

So being consistent with healthy meals for them is going to be a challenge, I'm sure, but I realize that starting with myself is a good way to let the healthy choices trickle down. If I'm eating a fast food meal, of course they are going to want a taste. But if my plate is loaded with healthy items like theirs, then they can eat away.

Eating better also will help me get back to pre-baby body after our second son arrives in a few weeks. I am lucky that I can get away with the occasional junk meal, but that's not always going to be the case. So it's time to bear down and make better decisions about what goes into my belly. I love veggies and fruit and would rather get them from the vine than from a vitamin.

I know the grandparents and other visitors will continue to sabotage our healthy efforts. Luckily, my husband is also on board with limiting the junk he consumes in front of the little ones. He can crack open a soda in the car on the way to work or have a bowl of ice cream after they go to bed -- or skip it altogether.

Now I just have to find a way to curb Jack's foul language. Perhaps the image of his mini copycats walking in to the room slurping on a giant soda and using four-letter words to describe the weather will do the trick.

Laura Lewis Brown is the mother of infant twins. Her column appears every other Thursday.