As part of my Bradley Method training I have to keep track of what I eat every day. The idea is to make sure I'm getting enough protein, not to count calories or carbs. One reason I like this program is that they basically encourage you to be a fatty. Well, okay, they don't so much encourage it as they don't discourage it. Most doctors and websites out there will say a gain of 25-35 pounds is healthy for most people during pregnancy. The Bradley Method says to eat 80 to 100 grams of protein, plus a quart - that's right, QUART - of milk, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and two eggs every day, and if in doing so you gain 75 pounds then that's okay. Unless you're eating really unhealthy food all the time then there's no need to worry about gaining weight during pregnancy. I mean what are you supposed to do, go on a diet? It's probably never a good idea to purposefully restrict nutrients at any point in pregnancy. Plus everyone gains weight differently, so it's not really fair to expect everyone to gain 25-35 pounds. I've gained about 12 so far (after I lost 10 and then gained that back), and from what I can tell it's all in my belly area. Since about week 20 when the nausea went away I've been doing surprisingly well with eating healthy. Keeping track of what I eat really helps that. When you have to write down everything you consume and then turn it in for someone else to examine it really makes you think twice before pigging out. I never have a problem getting enough protein, but eating five times a day helps that. I don't always eat two eggs a day but I am eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, Greek yogurt (my favorite new food discovery), yogurt, cheese, whole grains and milk. I love that we now always have a big bowl of fruit on the counter, spinach is always on hand and there are no less than six varieties of cheese in the fridge at all times. I love cheese.
Okay, so don't let me fool you into thinking I'm eating perfect all the time. My sweet tooth owns me at this point. I can't resist cookies! And chocolate milk. And brownies. So I usually have a little something sweet almost every day, with some milk of course so I can get my protein quota. I also love fries, always have, so I may have some of those once a week. But hey, fries and cookies have protein and other good things...I guess. I have to give up sashimi, all the good cheeses, real steak and wine for 40 weeks, so if I want a cookie here and there I'm going to have one!
I decided that the first thing I want to eat after I give birth is a medium rare filet marsala from Carrabba's and an Id roll from In the Raw, which I will wash down with a REGULAR triple grande nonfat caramel macchiato from Starbucks. [I would wash it all down with a bottle of Seven Deadly Zins but I will have to breastfeed so the booze will have to wait] The first person to bring me these items gets to hold the baby first (after Jimmy and I, of course). You have your assignment. Now make me proud.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Crunch Time. 30 weeks 4 days
I'm really bad at updating this blog thing. Not much has been going on lately I guess, at least nothing too exciting. Jimmy and I have completed five weeks of Bradley childbirth classes so we're almost halfway done and we've already learned so much. Going to the classes and practicing the relaxation methods and doing the daily exercises has significantly boosted my confidence about going into labor. However I still get pretty nervous if I start to think about actually pushing a baby out of my body. Even though I feel like I will be very prepared to go into labor and I'm reading and learning a lot, there are still a lot of unknowns. How will contractions really feel? How will I react to the pain? Will I be able to have a sense of humor about it and try to enjoy labor and delivery (this is what I'm aiming for but L&D can make a bitch crazy!). What if something goes wrong? Will I have the focus and patience to weigh all the options if I have to make a quick decision during all the pain? Of course Jimmy will be with me the whole time as my "coach" and he's learning all the same things I am so we can both make educated decisions throughout the process. I'm not spending too much time worrying about all this, but it does pop into my mind a few times a week. This labor thing will be no walk in the park, but I'm going to try to make the most of it with a positive, relaxed attitude.
I'm now in that stage of pregnancy where I have to go to the doctor every two weeks. Two weeks ago, on my birthday, I had an appointment which included an ultrasound. My doctor wanted to check out what she called "veinous lakes" on the placenta - I guess sometimes there can be too many of these, and my previous ultrasound had indicated this might be the case. Well it turns out everything looked fine, and we got to see Zoey for a few minutes after the ultrasound tech checked out the placenta. We got some really good pictures of her profile and face. She was again being modest, keeping her little legs crossed, so the tech couldn't confirm that she is in fact a girl. She said she could kind of see the three lines that indicate "female" so that was good enough for us. Zoey weighed about 2 pounds 11 ounces at 28 weeks, which my doctor said put her in the 32nd percentile for her size. If she stays on this pace then she'll be on the small side at birth, which is good news for me. I also had to do the glucose test to find out if I had developed gestational diabetes. This only affects about 4% of pregnant women so I wasn't too worried about it. They make you drink this very sweet, syrupy orange bevearge, then you have to wait an hour and have blood drawn. I chugged the stuff like a champ and then felt like I was going to fall asleep or pass out or hurl for the next hour. I thought for sure this was a bad sign. Turns out everything is fine! No diabetes for me. And thank goodness, I don't think I could give up cookies for the next 9 weeks.
I finally look undisputably pregnant. Well, at least I think so. Any time someone asks me how far along I am I get really baffled looks. I say "30 weeks," and then they stare off for a minute while they do the math (yes, that is seven and a half months, technically), then they stare at my belly for an uncomfortably long amount of time, and then I feel awkward because people are staring at me, and then they say, "Wow! Where is the baby?" This is good and bad. Good: I am not a big fat pregnant whale. Bad: I must just look fat to most people, and, considering I don't suck in or wear clothes that would hide my belly, those people must think I just like to let it all hang out. I mean they're just people, who obviously don't know me well, but I still don't like the stares.
My energy has been really good lately. I've been going on a lot of walks after work since the weather has been amazing. I still get tired early in the evening but other than that I've been feeling really well and as "normal" as can be expected. I haven't had any swelling, no jowls yet, just a belly that grows a little rounder every day!
What else has been going on..... did I mention I'm having a baby in or around nine weeks from now? So much to do, so little time.
I'm now in that stage of pregnancy where I have to go to the doctor every two weeks. Two weeks ago, on my birthday, I had an appointment which included an ultrasound. My doctor wanted to check out what she called "veinous lakes" on the placenta - I guess sometimes there can be too many of these, and my previous ultrasound had indicated this might be the case. Well it turns out everything looked fine, and we got to see Zoey for a few minutes after the ultrasound tech checked out the placenta. We got some really good pictures of her profile and face. She was again being modest, keeping her little legs crossed, so the tech couldn't confirm that she is in fact a girl. She said she could kind of see the three lines that indicate "female" so that was good enough for us. Zoey weighed about 2 pounds 11 ounces at 28 weeks, which my doctor said put her in the 32nd percentile for her size. If she stays on this pace then she'll be on the small side at birth, which is good news for me. I also had to do the glucose test to find out if I had developed gestational diabetes. This only affects about 4% of pregnant women so I wasn't too worried about it. They make you drink this very sweet, syrupy orange bevearge, then you have to wait an hour and have blood drawn. I chugged the stuff like a champ and then felt like I was going to fall asleep or pass out or hurl for the next hour. I thought for sure this was a bad sign. Turns out everything is fine! No diabetes for me. And thank goodness, I don't think I could give up cookies for the next 9 weeks.
I finally look undisputably pregnant. Well, at least I think so. Any time someone asks me how far along I am I get really baffled looks. I say "30 weeks," and then they stare off for a minute while they do the math (yes, that is seven and a half months, technically), then they stare at my belly for an uncomfortably long amount of time, and then I feel awkward because people are staring at me, and then they say, "Wow! Where is the baby?" This is good and bad. Good: I am not a big fat pregnant whale. Bad: I must just look fat to most people, and, considering I don't suck in or wear clothes that would hide my belly, those people must think I just like to let it all hang out. I mean they're just people, who obviously don't know me well, but I still don't like the stares.
My energy has been really good lately. I've been going on a lot of walks after work since the weather has been amazing. I still get tired early in the evening but other than that I've been feeling really well and as "normal" as can be expected. I haven't had any swelling, no jowls yet, just a belly that grows a little rounder every day!
What else has been going on..... did I mention I'm having a baby in or around nine weeks from now? So much to do, so little time.
- How far along?: 30 weeks
- Weight gain: 10 pounds (net)
- Maternity clothes: All the way. My regular shirts are too short to cover my belly, for the most part. Even some of my maternity pants that have the partial stretch band are getting to be uncomfortable, and I'm only going to get bigger!
- Sleep: My hips hurt throughout the night and for a good part of the morning. I've started wedging pillows around me to cushion my sides and belly, which makes turning over tricky. I get up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom now.
- Stretch marks: Nope! Thank you Burt's Bees Belly Balm. Woohoo!
- Movement: Zoey is doing acrobatics in there all the time. I think I felt her hiccuping the other day.
- Gender: Girl!!!
- Best moment of this week: The whole week has been pretty good - I've had a productive week at work and the weather has been lovely!
- Food cravings: Cookies, milk, anything sweet, and carbs (I can eat pasta every day). I'm back to hating chicken again.
- Belly button in or out: Still in! Told you so, Jimmy :)
- What I miss most: Booze. I could really go for a nice wheat beer on the patio after work.
- What I'm looking forward to: Baby shower next weekend!
- Milestones: Zoey's brain is getting wrinkly and is growing rapidly.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hello, third trimester! 27 weeks 3 days
Well, I've made it to the final stretch! I'm officially in the last stage of this odd and exciting journey, and I have to say I'm getting a bit freaked out. Jimmy and I took a tour of the hospital's labor and delivery wing last night. I was really excited to see where it's all going to go down, but it also kind of scared me! I think because that made it more real. I got to see where my daughter is going to be born. I'm going to have a baby. A girl baby. A girl baby that I have to take care of for the rest of my life. Oh man.
We started our Bradley classes two weeks ago and so far so good. I'm really glad we decided to do this; maybe I could have done it med-free if I simply put my mind to it, but I feel like the Bradley classes are really preparing me mentally and physically for this undertaking. Plus we have a great support group in our instructor and the other couples in our class. I think most of labor is going to be mental. I have to have the right attitude and I have to be relaxed and focused and I can deal with the pain. The pain is only temporary, right?... Right. And Jimmy is going to be there to distract me and make sure I'm relaxing. If he passes out I don't know what I'll do!
We had two baby showers last week, and they were a blast! Chase and Natalie threw one for my friends on February 21. We got so many lovely gifts from our wonderful friends; I feel so blessed and fortunate to know all of them. Jimmy's coworkers threw us a shower the next day, and they hooked us up too! At this point we have all the necessities, lots of adorable clothes and some fun stuff too. And we still have our family baby shower in April, which I'm so excited for. My mom and sister have been working hard on getting it all together and I know they're going to do a great job. Plus I'll get to spend a nice weekend with my family!
Belly Watch 2010: I think I'm finally starting to look preggo! I still haven't gained much weight but the belly is starting to round out. I got my first thoughtless comments from coworkers last week. Both were to the effect of, "Are you pregnant? Oh, I thought you were just gaining weight." Um, really? I know they weren't necessarily calling me fat, because I am pregnant after all so I have an excuse to have a belly, but they weren't exactly congratulating me either. It was more like, "Oh yeah, I noticed you have looked like a schlub lately and I would like to point this out to you in a very tactless manner. Not that I am in any way fit or attractive myself; however, I do like to make people feel as miserable as I do." Jerks. I have a feeling I'll be hearing more of these thoughtless comments over the next 13 weeks so I'm not going to let it get to me. I just find it kind of amazing that people think they can say whatever they want to a pregnant lady.
- How far along?: 27 weeks
- Weight gain: 3 pounds (net)
- Maternity clothes: All pants are now of the maternity variety. I had to make a weekday trip to Motherhood Maternity last week because my pre-preg pants with the Bella Band were getting sooo uncomfortable. Now I'm living large in these glorious maternity pants where the stretchy belly area goes practically up to my arm pits. They are heaven.
- Sleep: I have to get up at least once per night to go to the bathroom, and I always wake up before my alarm goes off. My hips had been hurting for the last few weeks so I had the genius idea of spooning a body pillow while I sleep - it's so comfortable! Now if I could only sleep in I would be so happy.
- Stretch marks: Nope! Thank you Burt's Bees Belly Balm.
- Movement: Frequent, and getting stronger. I can see it when she kicks now!
- Gender: Girl!!!
- Best moment of this week: My great body pillow idea :)
- Food cravings: I'm not having any weird pregnant lady cravings, but some things I really enjoy right now are Greek yogurt (yum!), milk, and cookies.
- Belly button in or out: In, but getting smaller...
- What I miss most: Again, my energy. I'm so tired all the time! And I'm usually happy to stay at home and relax. Not like me at all.
- What I'm looking forward to: Doctor appointment on my birthday next week - I get another ultrasound so I'm hoping everything looks perfect and they can tell us how big she is.
- Milestones: Zoey's eyes are open, and she weighs over two pounds.
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