Daphne Oz counts down to baby No. 3

You’re just a few weeks away from meeting your third baby(!), which means you’re probably starting to get uncomfortable as your wee one runs out of room. What are you doing to keep from feeling miserable during the final countdown?
I’d forgotten how quickly the last month makes you ready to give birth by making you uncomfortable! I’ve felt so good this whole pregnancy—almost to the point of forgetting I’m pregnant half the time because I’m busy with the other two and with work—but the last month really comes on pretty hard.

I walk a lot. I have to to keep my blood moving. By the third pregnancy your veins are all kind of wonky, so I walk a ton. Obviously, strenuous workouts are a distant memory, but I’ve been playing with my kids a lot. That’s something that’s always been a challenge for me. You know, you’re not supposed to pick up heavy things. My kids weigh a lot, and they’re always wanting to be lifted up and carried around, so I’m always fighting the urge to pick them up and every once in a while caving.

I’ve also invested in a couple prenatal massages—this last month in particular, just because my back was hurting. Honestly, the fact that I stayed active and was working out pretty consistently four or five times a week until I hit 20 weeks really has paid off. I’ve had less back pain than with the other two, but some light stretching and massages have also kept it at bay.

Before I go to bed I might do some aromatherapy, and if I’m not crashing I might try to take a bath or even just a warm shower. Something about warm water always feels very soothing and relaxing to me.

It’s no secret that food is a big part of your life. Have you had any particular cravings (or aversions) with this pregnancy? Are there any off-limits foods that you can’t wait to get back to once baby No. 3 debuts?
I feel like cravings-wise I’m always just big on carbs. I love pizza, I love bagels, I love croissants. Anything buttery and bready sounds amazing to me.

I don’t have a killer sweet tooth this pregnancy. I want tons of watermelon. I want tons of mango. I want nice berries. But in terms of actual desserts the only thing I’m really craving on a regular basis is a super fudgy brownie or a homemade chocolate chip cookie but anything beyond th—well, maybe some ice cream here and there. I would definitely say I’m more of a salty craver than a sweet one.

In terms of things that are off-limits that I can’t wait to eat again, it would be things like Uni sushi and oysters. I don’t know why, but for whatever reason during this pregnancy I’ve been really sad to miss out on raw fish. And I can’t wait to have my own glass of wine.

Are you planning on having sushi delivered to the hospital?
No! Definitely not. Any sushi that could be delivered I probably wouldn’t eat. My push present is always a bag of chips!

Your skin is impeccable—you’ve got the pregnancy glow mastered! Tell us what Instagram filters you’re using or what your other secrets might be.
Well hey, good filters and good lighting always help! And good makeup artists really help! But I do two things pretty regularly that I think are super important.

The first is I stay really hydrated. I can’t even tell you how much of a difference it makes in my skin. When I’m pregnant I limit myself to one Americano a day, but there have been years when—especially working early hours on TV—I would rely on coffee throughout the day, and it just sucks the moisture out of your skin. If I didn’t stay super hydrated with water, it was a disaster. I found that making sure I was drinking at least half my body weight in ounces of water was a really good guideline. It’s general lubrication of all membranes that make your skin glow, make your eyes brighter, all that jazz.

My friends call me “The Camel” because I drink so much water. I have always been the person who insisted that I wouldn’t drink certain types or brands of water because I can taste how different they are. Some people out there would say, “Water is water is water.” But it’s actually not. People have no idea. On food you can read the nutrition label and see the calories and make an informed decision based on that information. But for water—especially coming out of the tap—you have no idea what’s in it. Even for bottled water there’s not a lot of labeling standards in the U.S.! So, I recently found my new favorite water, which I’ve partnered with now, called Aqua Carpatica. When I describe to you how excited it makes me to have found the world’s most perfect water, it’s really ridiculous. I’m so excited! It comes from the last wild forest in Europe, the Carpathian Mountains, and there’s no human civilization anywhere nearby, so there’s no pollution or runoff into the water. It’s so clean and pure. Their whole policy is nitrate-free and sodium-free, so you know you’re getting the highest quality water out there.

The second thing that’s super important is probiotics. Digestion starts in your gut, and you can eat the best possible diet, but if you don’t have the gut bacteria to absorb it properly, it won’t matter at all. I am really diligent about eating a ton of probiotics, whether that’s fermented dairy, like kefir or yogurt, or sauerkraut. And you can obviously take supplements as well. But if I have good gut health I see it immediately in my skin.

Oh, and I have a great concealer from Chantecaille that I’m obsessed with. 

What are your favorite nourishing dishes for postpartum?
My go-to macro plate after giving birth is some salmon—either a fresh fillet or smoasted (smoked+roasted)—with a little bit of brown rice, a little bit of avocado, half a sweet potato and some massaged kale. All of that stuff you can make in advance! I’ll oftentimes put the potatoes on first thing in the morning, so that they’re ready by lunchtime when I’m hungry.

I also do a ton of oatmeal. I do it with coconut milk and a little maple syrup or slivered almonds and golden raisins. Or I’ll keep it savory and do a little olive oil and oregano and fresh herbs. My mom makes something called “gladiator oatmeal” that is fresh herbs and dates and Canadian bacon and olive oil. You just mix it all together, and it’s this wonderful sweet and savory combo that I love.

Also living in New York we totally do takeout sometimes.

What are you most looking forward to about the early days with your new addition?
A couple things. One, we didn’t know we were having a girl the first time around with our daughter Philomena, so everything was white and grey and yellow. We were just kind of unisex. But this time we found out we were having a girl, and I bought everything pink!

The newborn days are long and they’re exhausting, but they also are fleeting. You look back at pictures, and you can’t imagine the little people that you now know ever having been these dumplings. And that baby smell is so good.

I’m also excited to see her interacting with her older siblings. A lot of parents of three children or more who I’ve talked to have said—and I’ve noticed this with my first two—that they become best friends with each other. They take a lot of the work off me as a result because they just entertain each other endlessly. I’m really excited to see the third one jump into that mix and have her become one of the wolf pack.

Are you sharing her name?
We don’t have her name picked out yet, but we call her “Sugar.”

Well, you’ve got three weeks to figure it out.
Plenty of time! No big deal.

(This interview has been edited and condensed.)