Livin La Vida Legging September 9, 2010

Eighteen weeks three days and how many hours…Another good day on the books!  Allergies are still hanging around but I swear the neti pot and my Himalayan Salt Lamps are helping tremendously!  The weather has changed to fall and I couldn’t be more excited!  Fall just might be my favorite time of the year.   The foliage is so beautiful and the weather in Chicago is wonderful which makes for amazing fashion.  I am living la vida leggings lately and loving it!  I got my shipment form bloomies yesterday and found a few successful pieces which I am beyond excited about.  Mainly I ordered a couple of dolman sleeve dresses that are beyond perfect with leggings.  Because I am 5’9 a lot of “dresses” these days tend to be on the short side and work perfectly with a pair of leggings.  The dolman sleeves make a lot of room in the tummy region so accommodating to the bump.   I tried these little numbers on and shoved a throw pillow underneath and am thinking these are going to work for awhile – yay!  Could that be more exciting?

Unfortunately my shopping high came to a swift halt after a lovely conversation with my mother – go figure.   She lives in Ohio and I moved to Chicago almost fifteen years ago and you would think she would be over it….but she’s not!   I seriously cannot get through a conversation without a snide remark from her about how her grandchild won’t know her.  My personal favorite is was when I was asking her about cribs last night she made all these snide remarks about how she doesn’t know what cribs are like in Chicago.  Seriously?  Is there a special manufacturer that only makes cribs for people in Chicago?  I kept telling her we have all the same stores for babies that she does because they are chains and even those that aren’t sell pretty much the same stuff-  she wanted no part of it.  I also mentioned that it might be nice to get a convertible crib with matching furniture that the baby will be able to use for awhile – apparently I couldn’t be more wrong in my thinking and no one in Ohio does it that way.   People buy one crib and then get a bed and other furniture after they are done with the nursery.  I also should be wearing maternity clothes instead of trying to get away without wearing them because that is what people in Ohio do. Is there an opposite of wind beneath my wings? Like I care what my cousins that I never talk to do!  Note to self do not punish the baby for the rest of his/her life if he/she decides to move out of town!

On another note has anyone researched or participated in activities that allegedly help your baby become smarter?   We have been listening to classical music during the commute back to work.   I recognize that a lot of the studies surrounding classical music have come out bunk.  I just figure that it is better than my baby recognizing Howard Stern’s voice!  I did read that DHA is apparently very important during the last trimester as that is when all the brain and retina development happens rapidly.  Check- in my PNV!  Apparently- eating proteins and specifically eggs helps as well.   Gives new meaning to the word egghead does it not?  Luckily I start every weekday morning with an egg or two so got that one covered as well.  I also read that there is a correlation to morning sickness and baby brilliance.  Because morning sickness is caused by the surge in pregnancy hormones the theory is the stronger the surge- the better the development.  So to all the ladies out there worshipping the porcelain gods out there- you might just be taking one for the team and growing that intelligent baby!  Any other suggestions out there on how to mother the next Einstein or Bill Gates?

Kick it up a notch! September 8, 2010

Hi fellow pregos- how is your week going?   Mine not so bad!   I am feeling pretty good today and last night was actually able to do stuff when I got home from work-  a miracle-  I normally crash on the couch and can only muster up enough energy to make dinner -if that.   I went through my closet last night and bid my pants adieu!  So long suckers!  I also put away all my skirts and tops that just aren’t going to happen for me anymore.  Kinda of hated it- kinda loved it.  Now I have a good idea of what is available to me right now- and it isn’t so bad.  I will be putting a lot of stuff on ebay this week though since I likely won’t be wearing any of these clothes for a long while and have no idea what will fit me-  I feel the urge to purge!

Do any of you have pets?   My husband is convinced that my dogs know that I am expecting.  My little one likes to nestle on my stomach and the big one seems to be by my side a lot more these days.  My thoughts are that it is because I have been home so much more now but he thinks otherwise….thoughts?  Do pets have an intuition?  We have two family rooms in our house which are pretty much his and hers.  Mainly because I fill the Tivo with my trash reality TV shows and need a place to watch them in private. The doggies usually join me there even when hubby is home. It is the only room in the house that our Bernese Mountain Dog  is allowed on the couch and when I am not in fetal position sometimes he joins me with his head on my lap.  I am sure this is not helping my allergies but I can’t resist he is amazingly sweet and it is wondy!  Last night hubby came up for one of our shared programs-  Chopped- (who doesn’t’ love that show?) I told him I would take the chaise so he could experience the couch love with our Berner.  I am still laughing at what transpired.  Hubby, who I might add is 6’4, was crouched in the corner of the couch leaving all the room for our dog excitedly ready to sit with him.  The dog wanted no part of it and kept jumping down to lay on the floor by me.  Since the Berner is his dog- hubby was just sitting there all looking sad so he got up and grabbed my Havanese and had him lay on the couch with him.  Oh the games we play!

Speaking of playing- I don’t’ feel like my baby is doing much of it.  I don’t know if it is because this is my first go around but I am just not getting the fluttering sensation very often…is this a cause for concern- or do I just not recognize what it feels like?   I am 18 weeks and 2 days and am not feeling a lot of movement.  This baby needs to kick it up a notch!  What I do feel is like myorgans need to rearrange all the time and when I stand up I almost feel like motion sickness or something for a sec.  I call it my body getting re-organ-ized.  Is that the baby moving?  I read that it can also be mistaken for feeling of hunger.  I do feel like I am starving in the morning I did tell hubby last night after eating dinner that I still felt hungry- was that really my baby moving to thank me for a delicious meal- or me subconsciously coming up with a reason to eat a piece of the AMAZING banana cake my MIL made me?  I might add-  I am feeling some hunger right now- Should I be getting a kick out of this?

Allergies, headaches, and bleeding gums oh my! August 31, 2010

Another day….another ailment

Pregnancy is my newest frenemy.   What can I say this past weekend sucked.  I was totally sidelined with a sinus issues and a major headache.  So not fun.   I did manage to make it out to eat Saturday night with my hubby but can I share something with you?  I totally had to fake it.  He works so hard and is trying to balance everything so I didn’t want to complain-  but by the time he got home from work and I mustered up the energy to get ready it was pretty late when we got there and I was feeling exhausted, but power through I did and had a good time.    Sunday was not however funday.  I had the worst headache ever and my allergies were in high gear.   I also found that I have a new ailment in that my gums are starting to feel sensitive and bleeding a little when I brush my teeth.   I swear it’s like I am getting the full on pregnancy- I get to experience it all! Is there pregnancy symptom I haven’t had?  Because of my old hague status I have made a decision to go pregnancy au natural- which means that I am not taking any drugs and have changed all of my cosmetics and toiletries to all natural products.  In addition to the normal items to avoid during pregnancy I am also avoiding high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners of any kind, and trying to eat and drink as many organic products as I can.  It hasn’t been that hard but now that it seems I have developed allergies…..I must admit I am feeling a little challenged here.  I want this to go away and am determined to find something that can help me.

I spent a good part of the evening researching “natural” remedies to cure my myriad of maladies.  The funny thing is that half of the natural cures I found are also not recommended for pregnant women.  Seriously is there no love for the PL?  After a lot of leg work, I placed an order online yesterday for what I am hoping will help me.  Let’s break it down.  For the allergies, I ordered Himalayan salt rock lamps.  They are supposed to clean the air and provide a soothing and relaxing light.  They looked cool in the picture and I got an amazing deal on them so even if they don’t clean the air I can still put them out somewhere in the house.   Next comes the Neti Pot.   Are any of you familiar with it?  Allegedly it is supposed to work wonders on sinus infections and allergies by using this little pot to pour salt water up through your nose.   Sexy- I think not.  But since I had yet another hurling episode this morning from gagging while brushing my teeth I figure it has to be better than that!  While we are on the subject of teeth I also ordered some tea tree oil and neem toothpaste which is supposed to be great for the gums and dental health along with some tea tree oil mouthwash.   I am also rinsing during the day with salt water.  Very salty am I.  Hopefully relieving these issues will help with my horrendous headaches.  If not I also ordered some eucalyptus oil to use for a little aroma therapy since the plant I put in my shower doesn’t seem to be doing anything except looking good.

Speaking of therapy….omg I did some AMAZING retail therapy-  I ordered the most amazing boots on the planet.  They are leopard print and fabulous!  These were not a planned purchase but I could not pass them up on Rue la la– plus I had a credit there so forget about it a done deal.  I had to include a picture because they are to die- they are seriously going to rock my pregnancy world!  They will completely take any black outfit on to a new level.  I get giddy just thinking about them.  They are a little tight in my calf region so I am going to need to keep up the walking to and yoga to keep those suckers from growing.  I am also not opposed to stretching them if anyone has any suggestions on how to do that.  I have been doing my Yoga for Pregnancy Video which I would recommend.  It isn’t too challenging and I rather enjoy doing it.  I will say that you need to be prepared with equipment.  The first time through I missed the screen where it told me what I needed and I ended up scrambling.   I don’t have a good chair for this- for some reason all our chairs on that floor are bar stool height or too soft  so I really have to improvise.  I also don’t have a yoga block so another adjustment needed there but overall pretty good and I feel good after doing the video.  So excited for all my new products to arrive and can’t wait to report back to you!  Let me know if you have any other suggestions for dealing with these all these issues I am willing to try anything!

Let’s talk about Sex Baby August 26, 2010

We had our sixteen week appointment yesterday and as usual  we asked a lot of questions.   The allergies I am experiencing are of course normal and I can take Claritin or Sudafed if want to.  Since I am going for pregnancy au natural I will do none of the above.   Other suggestions were to get an air filter in the rooms I spend the most time in.  I am sure that my Bernese Mountain Dog isn’t helping too much either with all his hair!  Time to take out the furminator.  We also did another round of genetic screening and this is the last one.   It was a blood test no big deal.  I  learned that my doctor will not do a scheduled c-section which I was kind of interested in so that is off the table.  Their rationale is that during a c-section because there is an incision there is a risk of damaging the uterus which could ultimately affect your chances of another pregnancy.  I did not know that.  I guess I will just have to get my back into pushing uhhh….we’ll save that for another entry- so not looking forward to that.  Add this to another one of my many issues!

We also got to hear the heartbeat again.  This time it was a lot stronger than before.   Because I have been a psycho about taking all these online gender tests I had to find out what our bpm were and it was around 160 bpm- nice!  I don’t know about you but we are anxious to find out the sex of our baby.  I feel like then I will truly be pregnant and can begin to plan names, rooms, outfits etc.  Our doctor told me that none of the old wives tales are legitimate and that the most accurate way to find out is at the twenty week ultrasound.  She said that we could do an ultrasound sooner and at our own expense- but that they are hard to read and often inaccurate for that reason.  She said that the 3D ultrasounds are better in the last trimester because you can see so much more detail and that she wouldn’t recommend one until much later if we wanted to go that route.  Apparently the intelligender test is highly in accurate and all the other wives tales are just plain that tales….  Personally I don’t really care if we have a boy or girl- I would be excited about either- I am sure it will matter much more on our second.  My hubby really wants a boy so for that reason alone I am hoping it is a boy.   Also we have this extremely annoying sig ot in our family that keeps insisting it is a girl and I would like to prove him wrong.  I mean he seriously acts like he knows for sure it is a girl and is very uppty about it-  so annoying.  I highly doubt he has some sort of special psychic power to know this information and he knows hubby wants a boy- so shut up already.  Additionally all the online tests I take say it is a girl too so it will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Are you familiar with the whole hamburger turtle analogy?   Apparently that is how you tell the sex on an ultrasound.  Pretty funny.  The girl’s lady parts look like a hamburger and the boy’s manilihood looks like a turtle.  Who knew I was once a hamburger? Will the turtle come out of its shell?  From what I understand on ultrasounds done earlier than 18 weeks they are hard to read – I mean the parts are so tiny now so as time goes on and the baby grows it is easier to tell.   Isn’t funny how obsessed we get with looking at a baby’s privates?

Gag me with a toothbrush? August 25, 2010

Another day….another pregnancy symptom.   At least I can say that it isn’t boring.  In fact quite and adventure.  I think the woozy/nausea section of this pregnancy has somewhat passed.   I feel OK when I wake up in the morning in that regard but what I have now are a whole new set of issues.  I think I may have some sort of pregnancy allergies.   Not severe or anything but more I often than not I have a sore throat, watery eyes, and every morning wake up with the worst post nasal drip.  I am about to get gross here girls but feel like this needs to be discussed.  Every morning I have this phlegm in the back of my throat- additionally I don’t know about you but my gag reflex is beyond sensitive right now.  What this results in is that if I move my tongue around at all- which you need to when thoroughly brushing your teeth I start to gag.  This is not just a little gag but major then the phlegm in the back of my throat seems like it sits on my gag reflex and next thing you know I am on my knees praying to the porcelain goddess.  Is this not the worst way to start a day?  My mouth is drooling and my stomach is majorly upset for the rest of the day making eating increasingly difficult.  I feel so gross that literally nothing sounds good.  I seriously feel like Rocky in Rocky IV-  I can’t win!  This has been my morning the last 4/5 days.   Today I made it through but feel like my teeth didn’t get as good of a brushing as they could and still had a little gagage.

I also am getting major food aversions from smell.  I like buffalo chicken wings and have had an interest in them for awhile.  The problem is that I can’t order them anywhere because I love them with blue cheese dressing and as you know blue cheese dressing is off limits unless it is pasteurized.   I can tell you from experience, because I have asked everywhere- restaurants that serve chicken wings cannot tell you if their dressing is pasteurized.   Also, most of the bottled dressings in the store are not made with pasteurized milk.  Having this conundrum, I figured I would make my own version.  I made and amazing buffalo marinade for chicken breasts and made my homemade ranch dressing (made with greek style yogurt instead of sour cream).  I also cut up some organic vegetables thinking this would be a great healthy dinner. I was so excited.    Wrong.  The chicken strips were too little to grill so we made them in the grill pan inside.   The smell of the cooking chicken was so awful to me that I couldn’t even eat them!  It was so bad that I couldn’t even eat in the kitchen and moved to the dining room and could only manage the vegetables and dip.   After that, I had to go to another floor in the house because the scent was permeating that air and I found it revolting.  Just thinking about it turns my stomach.   Will I ever get to eat a chicken wing?  I still have hope but it won’t be for awhile.  I did find that T Marzetti’s blue cheese dressing is the only one at my grocery store that says made with pastueruzed milk.   Maybe in a week I will be ready again and will just order up some wings so I don’t have to smell them cooking.  Oy vay!