Lots to Catch Up On

Birthdays, Ultrasounds, Reviews & Success Stories & Operation Beautiful Stuff!  It’s been an eventful week since my last post!

Birthday Milestone: I turn 30 the day after tomorrow.  Yes, I’m an April Fools Day baby!  I gotta say, it was really fun having your birthday on April Fools Day growing up.  It just seemed more special for some reason.  I think it had partly to do with it being a fun day at school and that my birthday usually fell around Easter time when Spring was starting to take some serious shape and you get fun Spring time Easter presents like skipping ropes and sneakers and candy.  Spring always represented a great time of year for all of those reasons.

Now, I’m 29 and turning 30.  I’ll stop yas all right there into thinking that this is one of those “Whoa is me” situations because to be quite honest, that’s one of my pet peeves!  If a person thinks that they are “old” when they are 30, then you have set yourself up for feeling “old” for your entire life!  Right?!  I have sooo much to look forward to this year and while one of them is turning a new “decade” old, the other is that I get to become a Mom!  I feel nothing but EXCITEMENT for this new stage in my life and I can’t express that quite enough.  I feel like I’ve done everything I had set myself to do up until this point and I’m ready to be a Mom and experience life in a whole new way.  There are days when tears come to my eyes just thinking about this baby and our new “family.”

Baby News: The husband and I had our detailed anatomy ultrasound last week and it was really incredible!  The little peanut was in there moving around like a little champ and we got to see his/her heart, brain, spine, organs, limbs, umbilical cord and even a clear view of a little tootsie!  I was exactly 21 weeks the day of the ultrasound and the technician told us that the baby was measuring 21 weeks and 1 day and weighed about 14 oz.  They don’t tell you any details usually, so I was surprised that she even told us that much.  I see my doctor again next week, so hopefully I’ll get the low down on all the details of the measurements and further reassurance that everything is A-OK.  It was great to hear that everything was normal on my maternal serum screenings and a healthy baby is really ALL that we could ask for.  Okay, I will stop with the cheese for a few minutes ;-)
I’m feeling little peanut every day now and it’s like nothing else I could ever imagine. </cheese> 
So I wanted to thank you all again for all of your input and advice about the Baby Must Haves below and if you haven’t yet commented, please don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or send me an email at ANY time with your thoughts and advice.  I just love hearing it and don’t feel like I’ve already heard it before, because I actually like it when I hear the same thing more than once because it shows me that it’s a shared opinion, so keep the advice coming!  There were soooo many great things that you’ve brought to my attention and I think I’ve decided not to get that crib/change table set that I pictured below.

Baby Gear Reviews: Speaking of baby furniture and gear, I am hoping to have the opportunity to review for you something of that nature and I couldn’t be more excited!  I will let you know the details of that when I know for sure :-)

Prenatal Yoga Review: I ordered the second and third trimester yoga DVDs from Fit By Sarah and will let yas know what I think of that in the near future too.

Other Reviews: There will be another rather “unusual” review (for me) that I’ll be doing on the blog in the near future that doesn’t involve food or babies!  It’s only unusual because it’s not a normal subject matter for me on the blog, but if you like jewelry and accessories, you might be interested, so keep your eyes peeled for that too.

Exciting Success Story News: I have been asked by Sparkpeople/Babyfit to be a success story for their website(s).  What an honour!! Babyfit is Sparkpeople for pregnant women.  I signed up for it when I was trying to become adjusted to my new calorie ranges and it’s a fantastic website and community for pregnant women with LOADS of information and tools.  I gotta tell yas, when I got the email from them, it touched me very much because it’s a difficult thing to wrap your head around when you are “gaining” weight, but are considered an inspiration to other pregnant moms.  I sometimes feel disappointed that my pregnancy weight gain is not going to fall in the range that it is “supposed” to be given my pre-pregnancy start weight, but I guess that’s also indicative of real life.

Operation Beautiful: My pregnancy OB Notes are up on the Operation Beautiful site.  If you haven’t yet checked out Operation Beautiful, I absolutely encourage you to do it and to participate!  It’s such an amazing feeling and a movement that is so incredibly important in my heart.
I saw my 13 year old cousin post a profile picture of herself on facebook and the caption read “…i may be annoying, and expecially i may be ugly..” Then this is the flow of comments that proceeded:

Commenter: i disagree with ur caption
Commenter: ur not ugly so dont think it
Cousin: yes i am ugly and i will think it..........and ________ part of it do you disagree with
Commenter: you are not ugly ok
Cousin: hahaha yeee i am.....thats why the guys i want.....dont want me
Commenter: Ur not ugly i am so dont think ur ugly :)
Cousin: i am so ugly because the guys i want dont want me I AM UGLYYYYY !!!!!
Commenter: no your not ugly. this pic is perdy of u, i like your make up :)
Cousin: ummm #1. i am ugly, #2. thanks
Commenter: no iam ugly
Commenter: NO YOUR NOT
Commenter: yes i am

Commenter: holly f**k ppl ok listen i am the ugly one here.......
Commenter: No ur not i am
Cousin: uhhh no i am ugly and alot of ppl think so .......so yee
Commenter: IAM OK NAW EVER ONE THINKS I AM UGLY
Cousin: NO I AM UGLY and stop saying you are ok
Commenter: Im the uglyest person on earth so there
Cousin: oh no youre not....i am
Commenter: im ulgyer then u..ur very pretty
Commenter:  u guys are both very pretty unlike me :(
Cousin: look im ugly so lets leave it at that.....ok
Commenter: No leave it that i am ugly
Cousin: NO untill someone else says im pretty then i say im ugly
Commenter: jezz...calm down...ur pretty...there sumone said ur pretty so haha
Cousin: haha lol niceee......and i meant soeone who hasnt already said it in this comment....but i guess if were gonna argue over it...i guess i loseee :(...lol :)
Commenter: lol i kno u lose soo good
Cousin: hahah ok i give up....you iwn i lose
Commenter: lol
Cousin: lol
Commenter: yupp mhm
Cousin: uhuh
Commenter: I disagree with the ugly part >.>
Cousin: :) i know ya doo :) hehe

I can’t get this out of my head.  Someone on Twitter told me that that’s how teenagers talk to each other these days and I just can’t wrap my head around it.  I sent her an OB note and told her and her friends to check out the site.  Then I sent her a note in the mail.
This makes me a very concerned parent already! :-S

Baby Furniture & Must Haves

It’s now time for us to get serious about researching the baby items that we need and filtering out all of the things that we don’t need and are unnecessary.  This is why it’s so important to get the input from your friends and family who have been there and done that!  We figure the things that we need the most and take top priority are:

• car seat (you gotta take the baby home! we're going to get one of those "travel system" stroller all in one jobs)
• bassinette (baby is going to sleep beside me during the first few months for feedings)
• glider & ottoman for the nursery for feedings
• nursing pillow (the “my brest friend” because it goes behind you and latches)
• breast pump (just in case) *Although hubby jokes that he can rig up something with his "compressor" in the garage [insert nervous laugh here lol]
• crib (although not "really" super urgent if we're using the bassinette at first, but will still get one in advance)
• changing table
• baby monitor? (nowadays there are ones with VIDEO! How great would that be when you are training a toddler!)
• burb cloths, diapers (still debating disposable or cloth), wipes, wipe warmer, receiving blankets, baby clothes, thermometer & general baby toiletries

Sooooo, I'm putting a call out for advice from any of you lovely people who have any suggestions as to what where the "must haves" for you after you had the baby home. What did you think you needed, but didn't once you got into the swing of things etc.? What are your recommendations for the stroller/car seat travel systems? Experiences?
And I came across this great crib and change table set that caught my eye simply because the change table seems to make more sense to me than most other ones. This one you are facing the baby "bum on" :-D as opposed to “side on” which seems like it would be more awkward than if you were facing the little peanut to do the job. It comes as a set (the bed converts into a toddler bed, day bed and adult bed) and the change table becomes one "side" of the crib:

So another question to you guys is: Would having the change table attached like that give the baby something to climb onto when they got a bit older and create a safety hazard, or would they be ready for a toddler bed by the time that would be a concern? Also Farmgirl pointed out that it can be really inconvenient if the front rail doesn't drop down and can make it more awkward to lay the baby down once they are already asleep and picking them up etc. I don't know for sure, but I don't think that front rail drops down by looking at it. So what is your take on that?

Any tips and advice from you lovely folks is always appreciated :-)

Pregnant & Beautiful

Here we are bloggies, we’re half way through at 20 weeks! I gotta tell yas, these days have been treating me well and I feel 10000% better than I did first trimester and I can’t stress that enough!  I’m enjoying every second of it and the weather lately is making that easy! Our baby is now roughly the length of a banana from head to toes!!

Here’s what Babycentre.com is saying about our baby at the half way point:

How your baby's growing:
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

Congratulations! You've hit the halfway mark in your pregnancy. The top of your uterus is about level with your belly button, and you've likely gained around 10 pounds. Expect to gain another pound or so each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.) Make sure you're getting enough iron, a mineral that's used primarily to make hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen). During pregnancy, your body needs more iron to keep up with your expanding blood volume, as well as for your growing baby and the placenta. Red meat is one of the best sources of iron for pregnant women. Poultry (especially the dark meat) and shellfish also contain iron. Some common non-meat sources of iron include legumes, soy-based products, spinach, prune juice, raisins, and iron-fortified cereals.

If you haven't already signed up for a childbirth education class, you may want to look into one, especially if you're a first-timer. A structured class will help prepare you and your partner for the rigors of labor and delivery. Most hospitals and birth centers offer classes, either as weekly meetings or as a single intensive, one-day session. Many communities have independent instructors as well. Ask your friends, family members, or caregiver for recommendations.

I can’t believe that we are half way there already! I felt him/her move for the first time earlier in the week.  It was so incredible!  It wasn’t the “fluttery” feeling that I was told to expect to feel, but rather it was more like a “thud” of being kicked on the inside of my abdomen.  It felt strange, but immediately amazing to know s/he is in there growing and getting stronger!  I have my big “anatomy” ultrasound next Thursday and we are soooo looking forward to it to see how much s/he has grown up from the last time we saw him/her 10 weeks prior.  I hope the little peanut is awake so that we can she him/her being as active as last time!

Operation Beautiful

As you know, the husband and I are going on a trip in April to Florida and so I’ve been doing my best to start making sure I have enough light and summery maternity clothing!  During my lunch hour I popped over the mall to Motherhood Maternity where I have found a few good maternity staple items of clothing already.

I figured this would be a wonderful opportunity to spread some of the Operation Beautiful love knowing how difficult it was in the beginning to embrace the changes that are happening to my body and decided I’d leave a note in the changing room:

I could have gotten some better shots, but the store wasn’t that busy and the lady was hovering outside of my changing room to check on me and I’m pretty sure she was wondering what the heck I was doing because you could hear my camera making mechanical noises! lol

 
Every woman needs to know that she is beautiful, especially when she is experiencing one of nature’s grandest miracles that life has to offer :-)

Woosh Woosh Woosh…

I never knew that it could be the most delightful sound ever!  Today was my first doctor’s appointment with my pre-natal doctor and I finally had the opportunity to hear the baby’s heartbeat!  S/he was a strong 160!! I am 19 weeks along today and while I haven’t yet started to feel the baby move, I did get to hear the baby move while we were listening to the heartbeat with the Doppler!  It was almost like the baby kicked the microphone :-)  The doc pointed out that old wives tales predict that I’m carrying a girl with a heart rate on the high end and that goes along as well with my results with the Chinese calendar that my friend Jacki got me to do for fun, so we shall see!  My doctor told me that those two “predictors” were accurate for her both times.  In reality, it’s a 50-50 chance, but it’s kind of fun to imagine having a little girl (while not committing to it at the same time!).  The husband is constantly asking me what “I” think it is, trying to get the slightest hint of any kind of “intuition” of what we could be having because he wants to know!  We’re going to wait until s/he is born to find out basically because I’m the one who wants to wait and I think the wait will be well worth it :-)  For now, hopefully this little very unscientific prediction will give him something to satisfy his curiosity for the time being! lol

My doctor is very happy and pleased with my overall health and she could not be a nicer, more inviting, more cheerful and enthusiastic doctor!!!  I am OVER THE MOON at how much I like her and that alone puts my mind at ease knowing that I like the doctor that is going to delivery my baby and who is so positive and young at heart!  There’s nothing worse than feeling intimidated by your care provider and I have been there before and it can be traumatizing!  Especially for something that I will remember for the rest of my life :-)

She was of course interested in all the usual health factors and I of course was nervous about the weight part.  I am already around 20 lbs approaching the half way mark and my range is “supposed” to cap at 25! Eeeesh!  But she was so great about it and was actually more interested in my activity level and said she would never “wrap my knuckles” about weight gain and is satisfied that I know how to eat healthily.  She said that it’s actually more important that I keep being active and getting on the ball with that before 20 weeks can really bring down the risks of developing gestational diabetes.  I was really happy to hear that!  First trimester for me (and many women) was pretty much a right off because I was so miserable and sick and I just couldn’t get myself motivated to do much of any exercise other than the pre-natal yoga class once a week because I was so tired when I got home from work even when the nausea let up.  Now I’m hitting the streets during my lunch hours and on the weekends and getting in 45 – 60 minutes of good walking in about 4-5 times per week and with the sun shining here in Halifax and the weather improving, it is doing wonders for me all around.  This Friday is my last pre-natal class and I was initially going to sign up for the next session, but truth be told, I don’t particularly like the Friday night time slot because that has always been my laziest time of the week after work.  I just simply don’t want to do anything but relax on Friday nights.  So I ended up ordering Fit By Sarah’s 2nd & 3rd Trimester Pre-natal Yoga DVDs 3 weeks ago that I just received in the mail today!  I can’t wait to try them out and tell ya’ll what I think!

I found out about them from the PregTASTIC podcast I found on iTunes that I have been listening to in my car every day and I have to say, this podcast has been the BEST resource to learn about pregnancy in general on a peer level as well as from experts.  It’s a round table of pregnant women who chat about their ups and downs from week to week and usually they will have an expert of some kind on a certain pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding topic and  when their baby arrives, they come back to share their “birth story” and it truly is an amazing resource.  Because the women who host the show are pregnant, they know exactly what to ask the guests and they always ask the same questions I feel like I would want to ask.  So I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is pregnant or planning to be or know someone else who you might know who is pregnant.  Because of that podcast I’m starting to feel much more confident about all of the unknowns about child birth, breastfeeding and being a new mom. :-)

So all in all everything has been going really well lately and I’m definitely enjoying my second trimester more than my first!  There was a time when I thought the “honeymoon” trimester would never come!  And BEST of all, the husband and I are going on a “baby moon”!!  Since we are no longer going to Jamaica for our friends’ wedding in June, we decided to go to Orlando!!  Neither of us have ever been before and we’re going for 10 days in a month’s time!  Sooooo excited!  We’ve rented a condo and plan on hitting up Disney, Seaworld, Bush Gardens etc. etc. and 10 days will give us enough time to relax and enjoy the parks!  I was so lucky that my buddy Shari sent me her Disney planning books!  Thanks again Shari! :-)

For those of you who have been to Orlando, what were your favourite places, restaurants, shopping etc?

Peace with Pregnancy Weight Gain

I have shared with you already about the anxiety and apprehension that I had felt in the beginning of my pregnancy, not only with the unknowns of being a first time Mom and motherhood in general, and let’s face it, the “process” of giving birth, but of the inevitable process of pregnancy that is the dreaded weight gain.

Not only was the mere “idea” of gaining back pounds on my already overweight body a devastating concept after having lost so much, the fear was compounded in the beginning because it was happening before my very eyes as the pounds were starting to pile on at a frightening rapid speed. 10 pounds seemed to happen over night. My theory about that initial gain still remains that my long term weight loss efforts, coupled with my inability to perform “sweat inducing” meaningful exercise during most of the weight loss due to injuries I sustained in a car accident, is the main underlying cause.  Excuse? Maybe some, because I by all means I do not claim that I was even close to making stellar choices during that first trimester.  But regardless of that, I think it is a very solid underlying explanation.

So here I am now at 18 weeks!  Nearing the half way point!  I am now up a total of 17 lbs.  Previous logic would predict that this would cause some sort of stroke in my mind, especially since I am only 8 lbs away from my “recommended” weight gain through the entire pregnancy.  Scary? Maybe, but not near the degree that I once thought it would be.

I can honestly say that while I do have my moments of anxiety and panic over this (especially seeing myself in picture form!), I see my belly filling out to be less “muffin top” and more “baby bump!” No wait, “basketball bump!”  How could I possibly be upset when I see what’s really going on in there? I have been doing well becoming adjusted to my new daily calorie range (no I don’t count) and I have been making good nutritional choices and doing so many things right and my fears of becoming 300 lbs again just simply isn’t making sense.

I am at peace with pregnancy weight gain.

It occurred to me that it just simply isn’t possible for me to reach 300 lbs EVER.AGAIN.  Even if I come out on the other side of this pregnancy say, 30 lbs above my pregnancy start weight, then I’ll deal with it and do what it takes to get my body back.

It’s easy to feel those negative and fearful feelings when you’re feeling so miserable and emotional and especially when it hits right on the button that can affect you the most, but now that I’m no longer there, I feel nothing but happiness, excitement and love for my baby and my family.  It get choked up thinking about what it’s going to be like being a Mom to this little miracle in there.  Cliché? Yes, but clichés exist for a very good reason ;-)

18 Weeks, + 17 lbs and the luckiest girl on the planet:

The Pregnant Palette

I’ve made Roni’s Southwest Turkey Burgers before and remembered how great they were and that they freeze really well, so I decided to make them again.  I am SUCH a southwest flavour fan.

The Mix:

    * 8oz extra Lean Ground Turkey
    * 1/3 of a red bell pepper diced small
    * 1/3 of a green bell pepper diced small
    * 1/3 of a yellow bell pepper diced small
    * ½ of a small onion diced small
    * 1 medium button mushroom diced small
    * 1 egg white (I added more)
    * ¼ cup quick oats
    * 1 tsp chili powder (I used Epicure Chipotle Chili powder and the flavour really popped!)
    * ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
    * ½ tsp cumin
    * 1 tsp dried cilantro (I used fresh cilantro – YUM!)
    * Salt & pepper

The patties were HUGE, and I got 5 enormous patties out of them.  I grilled them on the Foreman and topped one with sliced fresh avocado, cream cheese, salsa and a bed of greens:

I have to say, while I’ve never had a problem eating “healthy food,” there’s something about being pregnant that makes healthy food more appealing than it’s ever been. And not just in an “eating healthy is the right thing to do” kinda way, but in a “I truly want healthy foods” kinda way.  First trimester wasn’t quite like that at all since I was completely miserable and I seem to remember not being able to even entertain the thought of a salad and all I wanted was carby things to try to tame my tummy.  I am sooooooo happy that the nausea seems to have passed, although my desire for bready things still seems to be a reoccurring theme!

So far my less than stellar moments have included: pizza (I doubt that will ever change!), some more meals out (brunch foods, pasta, and there were wings), ice cream which changed to frozen yogurt, which is now Pete’s Gelato, spicy plaintain chips and my strange craving for the occasional drink of Pepsi. 

The one thing that I found the strangest is that I used to have to really restrain myself to a small serving of dark chocolate every day, but now I don’t even think about it and I’d rather have fruit & yogurt instead.  That.is.strange. The idea of canned pears, Liberte Greek Yogurt, cinnamon and honey makes me drool.

I’ve cut out artificial sweeteners altogether and don’t drink coffee on a regular basis anymore, so of the 2-3 cups I may have per week, I normally use organic cane sugar.  I’ll use honey to sweeten my yogurt if berries or something else isn’t quite cutting it.

Another strange observation is that I have tried on several occasions to have different variations of green smoothies with some of the Amazing Grass products that I have, and so far I haven’t been able to finish them!  I want so badly to have those as often as possible, since they are so full of organic fruits and vegetables which is pretty much the perfect meal for being pregnant!  But, so far not much luck!  I’m thinking next time I’ll try and restrain from adding 93484 things into the mix and just have milk, spinach, ONE fruit and amazing meal of some kind.  Hopefully that might tame down the pregnant palette alarm bells?!

Food staples of late: eggs, Dempsters Healthy Way whole wheat bread, nut butter, calcium fortified skim milk, Tropicana calcium & Vit. D fortified OJ, Liberte Greek Yogurt, Liberte anything Mediterranean yogurt, trail mix, granola, cream cheese, hearty country bread & cheese, hummus, apples, pears, kiwi, chicken, pork

What are your food staples of late?

Pease Please

Newfies rejoice.

One of my favourite parts of a Newfoundland Jiggs Dinner is the “Pease Pudding.” It’s not something that we have every day, because it takes a while to cook as a part of the traditional “boiled dinner” and to make it you place dried split yellow peas in a cloth bag and boil it in water for hours, then mix it up with butter, salt and pepper.  So given the amount of time it takes to make, it’s a rare treat.  That is until…

I found it at Pete’s Frootique!  Pete’s always has the most obscure things that you would never find anywhere else in the city and it looks like this one’s from all the way in the UK. As it turns out, pease pudding originated in England (fun fact :-P)  I thought, why the heck not give it a try because what have I got to lose?  It’s only peas!

Speaking of which, the ingredients are pretty much just the same as homemade: Rehydrated yellow peas, water, salt, spices.

Nutritionals: per 100g: 94 cals, 15.9g carbs, 0.5g of which sugars, 0.7g fat, 0.1g of which is saturates, 1,7g fibre,0.2g sodium

 

It never looks like much more than yellow mashed potatoes, but if you like traditional pease pudding, this quick and easy version did not disappoint and you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference!

        

I had it as a side dish with a pork schnitzel and a collard green sauté for a delicious and absolutely healthy complete meal.

Glad I picked up another can in good faith!