Photo Shoot

I'm 15 weeks and 4 days now, creeping closer and closer to 4 months! Yesterday afternoon we visited two baby stores for research. We registered at the second, Babies R Us. In the end we were there walking around with the gun for an hour and a half and by the end I needed to sit down! We had a nice dinner together in San Carlos before coming home and doing the first proper photo shoot of me. This is partly my fault because I'm not a very cooperative photo subject, but we were able to take several nice shots.

You can also see our backyard which has been under construction the past few weeks.

Shoulda touched up my makeup before the shoot. And I could do with a hair trim.

This dress is super comfortable now but I can tell it's not going to last me the whole summer. My growing breasts are already not getting the support they need in it! Maybe I can sew extra support into it. . . right now it's too skimpy to wear more than a bralet and it's not doing my chest any favors. :-P

15 Weeks

I'm 15 weeks today, woo hoo! One week until my 16-week check-up. I'm feeling good, hope everything is good on the inside. At this point baby is squirming around like crazy, although I can't feel anything yet. She's also sensitive to light and sounds.

I've been doing mad research this week, on baby gear and cars. We'll be buying a new car in the next 6 months and I've been researching my top picks and features that we want. The baby gear is pretty daunting. This is nothing like the wedding registry we did where at least I'm familiar with the items. This is all new territory and there is so much stuff out there. On the one hand we are lucky for all the advances in technology and selection that is out there. On the other hand our moms had it much easier because there was less stuff to weed through. Aaah!!

Pickles!

I read today that pickles are a common pregnancy craving. I've always liked pickles, but they've definitely been a craving lately. Kosher dills and bread and butter sweet pickles, as a snack or with lunch. Ketchup too. Tomato juice in the morning if I feel peckish between breakfast and lunch.

Cooking

I baked a loaf of bread today, first time in months! It was nice to feel the dough in my hands again.
I made the loaf to go with a crockpot dish. I went big because a friend of Ray's will be here for dinner and I wanted to make something nice for us. We had chicken with peppers and mushrooms- delicious! The bread was an excellent pair with the saucy stew.

12 week picture

Ray took a photo of me last Saturday when we got home from dinner. We haven't taken any pictures of my changing body until now; honestly I had having my picture taken when I don't feel good and that's been too often until now. This is 12 weeks and 3 days.

I'm wearing a Bella Band over my pants for two reasons: #1 I cannot button them, and #2 it's actually quite comfortable to have something over my belly right now. It smooths everything out too, a great bonus.

Not much different but there is definitely a tiny bump there. Goodbye flat abs, I hope to see you again someday!

My First Mother's Day

I didn't think of it in advance, but I guess this was my first Mother's Day! Mother to be counts, right?

To Ray it does; he surprised me with some gifts when we were at my parents' house celebrating the day. After brunch (with Dad's yummy french toast and cheese eggs) and just before tea (I made a peach slab pie for that, yum!) I found a stack of presents next to Mom's. Very sweet! He gave me a bunch of books- really for both of us, on baby names and purchasing all the gear we'll need- and a small sleeping pillow. I've been sticking an awkward pillow between my legs lately, it's more comfortable, but not quite the right shape. This one looks like an apostrophe, you sleep with it between your legs to keep your hips in better alignment and rest your head/belly area on the upper half. It was great last night!
~
I've been so tired lately. Those words don't even cover it actually- dog tired. We were out to lunch a few days ago and suddenly it swept over me like a blanket. I could barely keep my eyes open and others at the table noticed. I was pretty embarassed! We went home earlier than planned and I could barely function the rest of the day. This seems to be my one lingering pregnancy symptom, my morning sickness seems to be truly over. When you think about it I am a 24/7 baby factory, so it's not a hug surprise to be tired!
~
I forgot to add the other day, my weight gain seems to be ok. I gained about 7 pounds during the first trimester, a teeny bit more than I should have. It's harder than I thought it would be to stay on track, it's a really fine line between getting enough and having too much. I am staying as active as possible, especially because exercise is still good for me and great for baby. If I can just keep the weight gain in check and retain muscle tone, I'll be pretty happy.

Visits from Mom are always good

This morning Mom came to visit me; it was nice to have a visitor during the day, especially her. We stopped by a farmers market in town before hanging out at home and doing some knitting. She's gotten me started on some baby blankets, from a book she got out of the library. The pattern is simple but lovely, so I'm planning to make a blanket and washcloth set for us, but also a set for our friends Dan and Linda who are having a girl in August.

The visit was really nice, low key and pleasant as it always is with Mom. Later in the afternoon I had my 12 week doctor's appointment- I'm 12 weeks today! All looks good, it was a quick appointment. I think they'll mostly be quick from now unless there is an issue. We got to hear our baby's heartbeat very briefly. It was the first time, and very cool.

I'm feeling much better, more normal. I still don't really look pregnant, just fat. Looking forward to this awkward stage being over!

One of my Top Favorite Doctor Visits of All Time

This morning I had my 12 week ultrasound. We came home with these pictures of our little peanut:


waving "hi!"

At this point our baby's head is kinda big (in all three shots, the body is on the left, the head on the right). This will normalize in the coming weeks. But he/she looks healthy and on track so far. I can't describe what it was like for us to see him/her squirming around on the screen. There is really a little person in there!

Right after the ultrasound I went to get a blood test. We're having the full integrated screening done for our baby: this ultrasound and two blood tests will show the probability for such conditions as Down Syndrome and a few others. It's not complete until the second blood test at 16 weeks, but thus far the indicators are good. Yay!

Return of the Salad

So exciting because I've been able to eat salads again this week! Salad is my standard and favorite lunch. They are healthy, flavorful, crunchy, and delicious. This is good news, I'm slowly getting on the mend, out of that horrid morning sickness and back to some normal.

I had a greek salad with some seared shrimp, tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta on Monday; a roasted beet salad with feta and fresh corn on Tuesday; and another mish mosh salad with beans on Wednesday. Watermelon is also a great snack, with some nuts for protein.

I feel fairly bloated and kinda fat at this point, 11 weeks. Many of my regular pants aren't fitting anymore, so I spend a lot of time in sweats.

One more week to go to 3 months!

Blueberry Crumble

I wanted something homemade with berries for Saturday dessert so I made a blueberry crumble. Ate wwaayy too much of it too. Oh boy, but you know what- I'm just happy to be enjoying food just a bit again.

LGRC

I haven't been able to go near the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company in a while. Just the thought of the coffee bean smell would send me over the edge. But today, I was able to go and sit. I brought some cereal and yogurt and ordered a milky soy latte (lighter on the coffee flavor) and worked, even ran into Dad who sat with me for a while. Grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at Los Gatos Gourmet (very best pb&j ever) and had lunch at their house so I could see Mom too.
~
On the way home I stopped at Walgreens and got the H1N1 vaccine. Glad to have that checked off my list!

Home Improvements

We're looking into house cooling solutions for the summer. In this area air conditioning is a rarity because it can be cooler here. But for a few weeks in the summer it's positively stifling; our house conducts heat too well also, which makes the evenings and nights really uncomfortable. Since I'm pregnant this summer we'll try to make it a bit more comfy.

Central air is a wonderful luxury, but such a pain to install! It's a big to-do and expensive; not feeling too positive about it.
~

On the flipside, meals around here have a bit more variety. I still feel gross and sick, but I can stomach different foods which is a positive improvement. Dry grilled cheese with crudites and dip, homemade chicken burritos, cabbage slaw, more eggs with cheese in an omelet. The crudites with dip thing is getting a lot of repeats- I don't usually eat veggies this way but it's super appealing now. Maybe because it's simple?

My favorite young Mom

is my cousin Katie. She's two years older than I, the daughter of my mom's oldest sister. She was the first in our generation to marry and the first to start a family. I always looked up to her as a kid and enjoy her company as an adult. She and her husband Andrew used to live here in California but relocated to Pittsburgh for his job a few years ago. Boo.

They've been here the past week and yesterday Katie came for a visit. She and Drew, their 17-month-old son. Oh, and the 5-month girl fetus she's carrying: she's pregnant with their second!

It was a great visit, so nice to talk to someone about how I'm feeling, how she's feeling, even just be with someone who knows all these things.

We went to dinner with them that evening at a favorite local spot- so nice to get out with some great friends.

First Ultrasound

Hurray for Different Food!

spinach lentil soup and veggie brown rice sushi

Eggs and Toast, Eggs and Toast

Pretty much my diet at the moment.

I put two saltines by the bed last night, and I ate them this morning before getting up. I think it helped. I feel pretty crappy first thing, but exercising actually helps and I was able to get a nice workout in this morning. Breakfast: more egg whites with a Kodiak pancake.

Breakfast and Lunch- Thurs, March 25th

I've wanted to snap more pictures of what I'm eating these days. It's not working out so well.

Part of the problem is that I'm definitely experiencing nausea the past two days. I get relief while I'm eating, hence the excitement to chow down right away. Lots of things that I would normally eat are not appealing, especially OATMEAL which is one of my favorite things. It was not interesting to me this morning. Other things I usually have and now don't want: Coffeemate (usually can't drink coffee without it), Splenda (as I said before, it's my sweetener of choice but not anymore), salad (what am I going to eat for lunch?!), canned fish (there goes one protein option).

This morning I was nauseous when I woke up but was able to do my morning exercise through it. It actually went away while I was 'working out.' 40 minutes trying to keep my heart rate below 140 hardly feels like a workout. Feels more like pathetic. After the workout I made the following:

• 1/4 cup 100% egg whites + 1/4 cup southwestern egg beaters, scrambled
• 1/3 cup portion of Kodiak Cakes pancake, with sliced apple and sprinkle of cinnamon added
• strawberry freezer jam and a bit of sugar free Aunt Jemima's on the side
• coffee with fat free half & half

There are 18 grams of protein in this breakfast (7g Kodiak Cake, 5g egg beaters, 6g egg whites).

:~:

Lunch was tricky in the planning; my regular salad fixings were gag worthy. The concept of anything raw seems to bother me. At 10:30am I decided some fresh bread would be nice, but that would mean delaying lunch to eat it 3 hours later. I knew that wasn't going to feel very good, so I decided to space lunch out. It ended up working very well.

Unpictured:
1. At noon I ate the last of the asparagus I roasted last night. I reheated it so it wouldn't bother me. **Asparagus is full of folate and vitamins K and A. Folate helps development of the alien's cardiovascular system so I feel great eating it.
2. While making my sandwich I ate the end piece of the delicious bread I decided to make, with some butter.
3. More fizzy juice (sparkling water + pineapple orange juice)
4. some decaf french press coffee with ff half & half

The bread has a bit of barley flour mixed with bread and whole wheat flours, and a hit of cinnamon. (I was out of bread flour so subbed some oat flour, which is the reason (I think) that my bread didn't rise very much.) Despite its density it was delicious when I put into it. I put a bit of butter on the end piece and sliced a nice thick one for an open-faced sandwich. I tore up some spinach for a bit of green (I couldn't handle much) and topped it with some freshly roasted tomatoes. I fried some more egg whites into a pancake and topped it with some shredded white cheddar.

The result was absolutely scrumptious (smaller than it looks- that's a salad plate, compared to the dinner plate holding those giant pancakes).

About 7 grams of protein in lunch (6g egg whites, I'll estimate about 1g from cheese).

~

Yesterday's Meals

Breakfast:

• rolled oats with dried fruit (raisins, apricots, apples) at Los Gatos Roasting Company, with small spoon of dark chocolate peanut butter and a sprinkle of raw sugar
• coffee (75% decaf, 25% regular) with half & half and sprinkle of cinnamon and cocoa

Lunch:

• Turkey Stack sandwich from Los Gatos Gourmet- roasted turkey, tomato, greens, housemade aoili on ciabatta bread
• steamed green cabbage with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt (didn't finish)

Afternoon snack:

• 6 cubes of cantaloupe with 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese and tsp TJ's pumpkin butter

Dinner:

• 1 giant Kodiak Cakes pancake, spread with strawberry freezer jam
• 2 egg whites scrambled with white cheddar
• 2 oranges

Liquids:

• first cup coffee with caffeine (negative)
• half sized refill of decaf only
• fizzy juice #1 with lunch
• extra large fizzy juice #2 in the afternoon
• last fizzy juice with dinner

Return of the Queasy

Today has been six weeks since the beginning of my last period. If you count that way I'm six weeks today. Still so early, but gosh darnnit I'm just as pregnant now as I will be at 10 or 12 weeks. Cause nothing is going to happen, I will have this baby in November!!!


I haven't felt queasy for about a week. Queasy is a step down from nauseous, which I haven't really felt yet. I'm really hoping I stay in the realm of queasy because it's totally manageable. Right now I can keep to my usual routine of waiting a few hours to eat in the morning, but that might change. Yesterday I had to eat some egg whites when I woke up before my workout, I don't think I would have made it through. After the workout, I made this delicious breakfast: pancakes with yogurt, more egg whites, and strawberry freezer jam made by Mom

There's nothing too strange about this meal, but I normally crave oats every single morning. Not only could I pass on them, but dare I say they weren't as appealing? Certainly the peanut butter I've been adding didn't sound that great. And my coffee! I usually add a packet of Splenda to it and it tasted nasty! I didn't finish it, and I haven't had any more Splenda since then. The idea of its strong sweetness is just GROSS to me.

I've been hungry before bed every night so I justified I trip to the yogurt place for some dessert; I grabbed it before making dinner and pulled it out around 7:15. I still had an orange afterwards, but I didn't need to get up for something to nibble.

This morning I was pretty queasy; I woke up at 7:00am and didn't eat breakfast until 8:45, so I'm not sure if the waiting wasn't helpful. I didn't feel like eating yet. I had oatmeal with a tiny bit of peanut butter added at the coffee shop (the pb didn't bother me, but it wasn't as delicious as I usually find it), and some coffee, 75% decaf, 25% caf, with half and half and no Splenda. Still doesn't sound appealing. I even added a bit of real sugar to my oats instead of Splenda.

And, I'm craving meat! I don't eat meat, haven't for a while except teeny bits here and there, and I really want a roast beef sandwich or some lamb for lunch. I must need iron??!!

Tired & Exercise

Fatigue continues to be my main symptom. I haven't had any new ones yet, and I'm really hoping that I can avoid any vomiting or bad nausea during our trip to Paris and London in a week and a half.

I slept well last night, in my own bed after two nights at Mom and Dad's. Ray slept on the couch which he likes to do on weekends, and he told me that I was dead to the world at 6:30am when he came to get his book.
~~

I ordered a heart rate monitor from Amazon this week. I can still exercise as long as I feel good, but I need to keep my heart rate below 140; if my heart is pounding, so is the little alien's and its forming over the past two weeks. I also need to keep length to 40-50 minutes at a time. I did a good 40 minutes this morning and the monitor was very helpful. My average heart rate was 128, and the max was 145. I have it set to beep when it goes above 140, but I don't believe the few moments it goes above have a negative effect. It happens so quickly that its hard to prevent.