Seven Month Belly!

I know, I lagged a bit this month. Although depending on what book or what site you are getting your info from, your eighth month can start at 31 weeks or 32 weeks. As of today I am 32 weeks, so maybe I'm not a week late posting after all (and can you believe I'm in my eighth month?).

So, I thought I felt baby boy a lot last month. I can't believe the movements I feel now! And not only do I feel more powerful kicks and nudges, but I SEE them too. It's pretty amazing (or kinda freaky -- depending on who you ask. I say amazing!). The cutest new development this month are the hiccups he gets every night, right at bedtime -- although they don't make getting to sleep very easy. But hey, I'd much rather feel his movements then get a good night's sleep. Getting me ready for parenthood I suppose!

I only gained 3 pounds this month, but my belly measured exactly 30 cm at 30 weeks, so baby is growing well. My OB said my belly, "is big and round and perfect", so I'm not worried. :) I can tell you I am definitely not skimping on eating. I eat about every three hours now, which is the best way to keep the heartburn at bay. And now that I know my glucose level is good, I am definitely not skimping on the sweets either. Tripple surprised me with a chocolate cake the other night, and I've almost finished it -- all by myself (how awesome is my husband?!).

The nursery is really coming together. So exciting!! Uncle Adam has proven to be invaluable with his carpentry skills, building the crib and changer in no time and putting in all the new baseboards. We just have some rearranging and decorating to do, and then I'll take some pics and post!

8 weeks to go! I'm now going to the OB every two weeks, and my last four weeks I will go every week. We have an appointment on Friday for an ultrasound, so we're very excited to sneak another peak. We haven't seen him since 20 weeks, so we can't wait to see what he looks like now. Hopefully we'll get some good pictures to post. He doesn't like to stay still for very long, so we'll see if he cooperates. 

I want to thank those of you that have already spoiled this boy with some extremely thoughtful and generous gifts. Trip and I are so grateful, from the bottom of our hearts. It's so amazing to know we are bringing this precious boy into the world knowing how much he is loved by so many!

Well here it is... Look at that belleh! I think the profile pic doesn't really do the belly justice, but I think the straight on photo you really get a sense of how he is filling me up!

120# and 36.5"

At 31 weeks baby weighs about 3.3 lbs. and measures over 16 inches long, about the weight of four navel oranges.

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" 

Seven Months: 120# and 36.5"

Eat Less Meat. Save the Planet.

Ideal Bite had a really great tip yesterday that I thought I would share:

Don't wanna give up meat altogether?

The Bite
Try for a happy medium - go meatless at least once a week for ginormous environmental and health benefits, without compromising your taste for the occasional sustainably raised burger.

The Benefits

• More-than-middling health payoffs. Compared to meat eaters, vegetarians have lower rates of diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, and obesity.
  
• Coming together for the planet. Livestock accounts for 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and 8% of water use - and a meatless diet is 50% more effective at cutting CO2 than switching from a standard car to a hybrid.

Wanna Try?

• Try cutting out meat one day a week. Meat substitutes and eco-focused cookbooks make it easier.
  
• 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian - facts to help you stick with it ($3).

I created a poster on this same subject matter for a course last semester:

Giving up meat just once a week is not only good for you, but the environment. Start a family tradition -- Meatless Mondays! :)

10 Weeks To Go!

I just saw my little countdown widget (yes, the one with the scary floating baby fetus), and it said "10 Weeks to go". 10 Weeks, people! How is that possible! We have so much to do, so much to plan. We haven't even started our baby classes yet. Ahhh!

Okay, breath... 

The crazy Capricorn planner in me needs to settle down. 

In reality, we have gotten a lot done. The nursery has been painted, the crib arrived (thanks Mom & Daddy!), the mattress is on its way (thanks Auntie Nay Nay!), the registry is complete, the first aid kit has been put together (if anyone wants the list we received from our Infant CPR and Emergencies class, please let me know!), the shopping list for baby's essentials is ready to go, and the rest of our prenatal classes have been scheduled: Intro to Pediatrics in a few weeks, then our birthing classes, and then Breastfeeding Your Newborn. 

So I think we are on the right track, got our ducks in a row. But that doesn't mean I don't wake up in the middle of the night thinking, "We have no idea what we are doing. How are we going to do this?" (that and, "Is this seriously the seventh time I've had to go pee tonight?" or, "Why is there a cat sleeping on my head?"). I guess it's the whole new parent thing, this feeling like we are no where near prepared for our baby's arrival. Anxiety is to be expected, right? This is normal, right? Hopefully? Please?

Oh ya, and then there is the whole name thing. We do have a short list of names we are considering, but we really want to see his little face before we decide on anything, so I haven't really stressed much on that (Let's be real, people... you know I'll be stressing on that in a few weeks. In due time.). 

Everything is fine! It's all going to be great! La la la la la.

la... la...

la.

Yikes.

Happy New Year!

2009 is going to be an awesome year! Okay, so the whole baby thing is an automatic awesome factor... :) But I just know this is going to be a great year. For one thing, I'll FINALLY be done with my BFA and Trip will be done with his credentials and grad school. We'll be able to focus on our wonderful son. I can't wait! 

First, I should update you all on the whole gestational diabetes thing. So, I went in on Tuesday for the three-hour glucose screening test (I know I said I would go on Saturday, but I really didn't want to waste a Saturday morning at the hospital). The fasting part wasn't so bad. The glucola part, however, was even worse this time around. They give you double the amount of glucose for this test, and drinking that on top of an empty stomach is not fun at all. I thought I was going to get sick, but the technician told me if I did I wouldn't be able to finish the test, so I made sure I didn't. Pregnant and fasting = no bueno. Suck it up, girlfriend, cause you are not doing this again.

Three hours and three blood draws later, they couldn't get a full vial out of me for the fourth and final draw. The technician I had for the final draw was the same pregnant lady I had for my one hour test. Funny. She had to call over an expert blood person (technical term) to make sure what she was able to get was enough, and thank goodness it was. My poor little veins couldn't take anymore. Three days later and I am still bruised!

So my doctor's office called on New Years Eve with the results. My stomach dropped at first, as my OB said she would only call if there was cause for concern. But she just wanted to call and tell me my results were great, and to have a good New Years. Hurray! Chocolate for all!

Back to New Years (and chocolate)... Trip and I started the evening with dinner at La Fondue, where we literally ate until we felt ill. In fact, Tripple said we can't go there anymore because we always feel obligated to eat everything, which is way more than anyone other than Michael Phelps should consume in one sitting. So we said we'll just go for dessert from now on. :) Put a bowl full of bittersweet chocolate in front of me and suddenly I have more room to eat!

After dinner we went to Adam and Renee's for a really nice, intimate New Years with about 15 people. My friend Linda, who is due about three weeks after me, was there, so I had someone to talk baby with all night. Which of course we did. It's so great to talk to someone that is going through the same aches, pains and emotions that you are. 

So now it's New Years Day, and we started it out right by cooking a traditional Southern New Years meal (well, the vegetarian take): black eyed peas (eating one for every day is supposed to bring you good luck!), collard greens (to bring you money -- we need that!), corn bread, fried okra and squash, and Nay brought over a green bean casserole. Dessert was more Californian -- a simple fruit salad of pears, pineapple, oranges and banana. I have a feeling we'll be eating the black eyed peas for a fews days. Does that mean we'll have extra extra good luck?

Like I said, I know without a doubt this is going to be a great year. Lots of changes, lots of big milestones, lots of great times with family and friends!

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.