I know exactly what you mean about falling off the “vegan wagon.” I planned homebirths for both of my children and had very supportive midwives who encouraged me to maintain any dietary habits that seemed beneficial. I was a lackluster vegetarian before my first pregnancy and I ended up basically on a fast-food diet by the end. That was a terrible experience and I really regretted that, but I just could not convince myself to eat anything else.

When my daughter came along two years later, I’d just finished my first very healthy, wonderful year as a vegan and I really wanted to have a healthier pregnancy. I didn’t manage to stay vegan, though. I don’t know what it is about pregnancy, but anything the least bit healthy turns me right off. Greens, beans, grains, tomatoes, most fruit – all of these things grossed me out during both pregnancies. It was infuriating to know what I SHOULD be eating and be so completely incapable of doing it! I might have been convinced that I needed whatever I was craving, except that most of my cravings were for things that NOBODY should be eating, not arguably healthy in any way. I still got through that pregnancy much better than the first, but I went through a few weeks of eating almost nothing but cheese and grapes. Hang in there! As you are soon to discover, babies are amazingly resilient.

Green smoothies are a terrific idea. I wish I’d known about them during my pregnancies. I also had terrible nausea for both pregnancies and crippling exhaustion with my second. Nothing seemed to help. After I had my second baby (after, of course!), I did a lot of research and found that B vitamins get depleted very quickly in pregnancy, especially B-6, which is strongly connected to fatigue and nausea. I’m not having more kids, but if I were, I would plan to take a multi-B complex with high levels of B-6 and B-12 to plan for that nausea and exhaustion.

Good luck with your pregnancy! I hope you’ll share more details as you progress.