Six Month Belly!

Six months! Third trimester here I come!

So we had our OB appointment on Wednesday, and I got the results of my glucose test. I'm a failure, friends of the interweb. The only thing I've ever failed in my life. Okay, I didn't actually fail. The official cut-off to be concerned about gestational diabetes is 140, and I was 139. So my OB, being the awesome and thorough doctor that she is, still wants me to take the 3 hour glucose test. Yes, three hours. Sad... I'm sure everything will be fine, just a bummer to have to not only fast, but sit in the lab for three hours on a Saturday. But as Trip recommended, best to get it out of the way this weekend so that I can enjoy my New Years Eve dinner at La Fondue (and that vat of chocolate!). I guess going from hardly eating any sugar at all to eating about four cookies a day probably hasn't been the best thing for my system, so I should probably chill out on the sweets a bit. The sacrifices we make... :p

Everything else is great. My belly measured 28 cm, which means baby is growing perfectly (Just so you know, the measurements I have been taking are around my waist. The measurements my OB takes are from the top of the pubic bone to the top of my uterus, and should be about the same in centimeters as the number of weeks of pregnancy). Heartbeat sounded good, too. Now is the time I start going to the OB every two weeks, so I doubt Tripple will be able to go to all of them (which he has so far), but I think I'll be alright. :)

My backaches have actually subsided, which could be due to the regular pre-natal massages I'm now getting (loooooove those!). I highly recommend a good pre-natal massage at least once a month. If anything, it forces you to lay still for an hour (something that gets pretty hard to do once the whole "nesting" thing starts). I'm sure the backaches will start up again as I continue to grow, so I'm enjoying the painless moments while I can.

We had a lovely Christmas Eve with friends at Adam and Renee's house. Four boys running around, all under the age of 3. Can't wait for our little guy to join in the fun! Christmas Day was a bit of a bummer, as I woke up with an awful sore throat -- symptoms of the same cold Trip suffered from early in the week. So we decided it was better for us to stay home instead of making the trip to Sacramento. We stayed in our jammies all day, watching movies, drinking tea (since I can't take anything) and taking naps. So besides not being with family, I guess it really wasn't that bad.

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Oh, and here it is, the six month belly!

117# and 35"

Baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long

My progress:

One Month: 100# and 24"

Two Months: 101# and 25"

Three Months: 104# and 31"

Four Months: 107# and 31.5"

Five Months: 112# and 33"

Six Months: 117# and 35"

Happy Birthday to Tripple, and Some Catch Up

Sorry friends of the interwebs -- I didn't post at all last week. My goal is to at least post once a week, and I would really love to post two or three times. So shame on me for slacking.

Last week was my last week of the Fall semester at Academy of Art, as was it the last week of one of Trip's graduate courses. Work has been project after project, and Trip was wrapping things up before his 2-week holiday break (man am I in the wrong profession!). So needless to say there has been some serious cramming going on. Good thing is that we really didn't do any Christmas shopping this year, so I've been relieved of that annual stress-fest. For the past few years, my family has done the Secret Santa thing, but this year I was inspired by a wonderfully heartwarming story I saw on the news about a company that decided that, because the food banks are so low this year, they would donate their $4500 holiday party budget to a food bank. So instead of drawing names, my family agreed to donate to a charity of our choice. Trip and I did the Second Harvest Food Bank and the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. Christmas shopping -- CHECK! Now next year I realize will be quite different, as our son's first Christmas is sure to be an extravaganza (to say the least). But let me tell you, I have definitely enjoyed being mellow this year.

Speaking of the peanut (or English cucumber, as BabyCenter claims a 26 week baby is the same size as), everything seems to be going along smoothly. We have our 6 month appointment this Wednesday (6 months?!?), so I'll be sure to give an update, with new belly pics. I swear, the belly (among other things...) has been growing on a daily basis. As has my appetite, so go figure. At this visit our OB said she would schedule another ultrasound, just to make sure my placenta has moved up. I'm so looking forward to getting another peek at the little guy!

It was Tripple's birthday yesterday, and we had a really nice dinner at our favorite vegetarian restaurant, with a few of our favorite people. My birthday gift to him was driving him and Adam downtown to see a hip hop show on Friday, then picking them up at 1:30A. I think that wins me some Wife of the Year awards, don't you? I was a trooper again on Saturday night, when we went to a friend's party, where we stayed until after 1AM. I figure I better let Trip have some fun before it's all about the baby. Plus he deserves a little R&R after a hard first semester at work, some pretty demanding graduate school courses, and all the extra works he's had to pick up around the house (painting, kitty litter duty, cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms, carrying things up and down the stairs for me, and cooking dinner most nights -- yup, he's a keeper).

Okay, I've rambled enough... I'll try to post soon after my appointment on Wednesday -- Christmas Eve!

Glucola and Truffles.

I had my 1-Hour glucose test this morning, for gestational diabetes (a standard test for pregnant women between 25 and 28 weeks). I knew the glucola was not going to be tasty -- I can't even drink a Coke because it is too sugary for me -- so this was a bit of a challenge. I had fruit punch flavor, which actually wasn't too bad, as long as I drank it fast (you have to drink it within 5 minutes anyway), and didn't think about it.

I drank it in the car on my way to the lab, so still had half an hour to kill before they could draw blood. I was playing solitaire on my iPhone when the nausea hit me. I was a little unprepared for that. Trip warned me this morning that it would probably make me feel sick, but I didn't give it much thought. Ugh... sitting there for half an hour trying not to get sick was no fun at all.

So they called me exactly 30 minutes later to draw blood. I had a younger technician, who was very sweet and asked me if I had a fear of needles. I told her no, I just felt a little queasy. "Oh, that's why you look a little pale." No, it's December and I'm half British. I am pale. Thanks for pointing that out.

While she was checking both my arms and deciding on a vein, there was an elderly couple in the chair next to me. The wife was the one giving blood, and she was clearly not happy about it. She literally had both her hands over her eyes as her husband wheeled her in, and it took two technicians to calm her down. As soon as they pricked her she yelled, "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW, NOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW," at the top of her lungs. No joke. Talk about an uncomfortable moment -- for her, and the other five of us sitting there about to go through the same thing.

Okay, focus on the technician.... She's sweet, she knows what she's doing. After checking each arm twice, she decided on the arm and vein she was going to attack, pricked me, and started filling the vials. As I was intently focused on her, I noticed she had a bump under her lap coat.

ME: "Oh, I just noticed you're pregnant, too. Congratulations."

TECHNICIAN: "Thanks!"

ME: "How far along are you?"

TECHNICIAN: "I'm seven months."

ME: "Oh wow, you look great!"

TECHNICIAN: "Thanks! Ya, I noticed how much bigger you are than me, and your not even six months yet, right? I mean, you're all belly. But it's so big already."

Wow, she is full of compliments, isn't she? Okay, first off, "it" is my son, so back off woman. Second, I'm proud of my big beautiful belly. It proves to all those haters that you can give birth to a healthy baby without meat. He's obviously doing just fine with tofu and beans, thank you very much.

So after calling Tripple and yelling at him for impregnating me with a freak of nature (kidding, of course. I just had to tell him that story), I went home, made myself a yogurt and flaxseed smoothie, followed by some truffles. To which my son thanked me by apparently doing cartwheels.

YellowPageGoesGreen.org

I don't know about you, but it seriously seems like we get a new phone book once a month. First of all, I can't remember the last time I used a phone book. Umm... there is something called the interwebs, people.

So every time we receive a new phone book, we literally walk it straight over the the recycle bin. I don't even want to think of the carbon footprint of that whole industry. So I was pleasantly surprised when I came across the Movement Against Unsolicited Phone Book Delivery. Just click here to sign up to remove your home or office from receiving the telephone directories! Awesomeness!

Who ever came up with this brilliant plan, I love you. Truly, from the bottom of my heart.

Thanksgiving is for Lovahs '08.

Man, am I exhausted. It's been a busy week for the Johnsons. Trip's mom is in town for almost two weeks, we hosted Thanksgiving, made a trip to Sacramento, another to San Francisco, and up to Summit Road to cut down our Christmas tree.

We'll start with Thanksgiving... My parents came the night before so that they could cook the turkey for all the meat-eaters (meaning everyone except Trip and I). There were 11 of us, and it was really wonderful. I filled up early on butternut squash soup, then casseroles (yes -- the broccoli casserole was a hit again), and of course dessert. And bit more dessert. And then some more. A few of us went for a little walk afterwards, which probably saved me from heartburn hell. Although baby did somersaults all night from all the sugar I fed him. Bad mommy.

Baby is thankful for Mommy being such a piggy.

The next day Trip and I went with Zack and Vicky and their kids to cut down a Christmas tree. Now, if you remember from last year, I did quite a bit of research and tried to find the "greenest" (as in eco-friendly) option for a Christmas tree -- which was to get a live tree. Well, apparently you also need a green thumb to go along with that live tree... something I apparently do not have. So we gave that tree to a better home, where it could be planted and flourish. After more research, we decided our next best option would be to cut down our own tree at a tree farm. So it was perfect timing when Zack and Vicky invited us along.

Purdy!

Saturday we went to Sacramento to go to my parent's house, and then headed to Old Sac for some piddling and dinner at the Firehouse (which, by the way, was one of the best meals I've ever had. And I've had some good meals.)

Adam and Nay watching the train conductor having a heck of a time trying to connect.

Trip, Rachel, Nay and I all took Monday off (and Amii joined us, who always has Mondays off -- great job on waking up early, girl!), and we took my mother-in-law to the new California Academy of Sciences. Another great excursion! The  aquariums are mind-blowing, and the rain forest is truly a unique experience. 

Leave it to Amii to provide the biggest laugh of the day. "Control, some lady dropped her hairbrush on the Living Roof." Hil-ar-i-ous. 

The Living Roof... and Amii's Brush.

So it's been a busy Thanksgiving holiday, as I'm sure it has for all of you.

I'M THANKFUL FOR:

• The most amazing partner, the love of my life, my best friend.
  
• The most loving and caring family a girl could ever ask for. I know without a doubt any of us would do anything for each other. 
  
• The best in-laws in the world. Like, for reals. 
  
• Friends that love me unconditionally, just as I love them.
• Two kitties that always seem to know when we need a kissy or some nuggles.
  
• And of course, our amazing little miracle, that now moves whenever he hears his daddy whistle. <sniff sniff>