Olive

Olive You

Week 9

 My Baby’s Development:  Good-bye embryo, hello fetus!  Now the size of a green olive, my baby has grown about an inch since last week. Tiny muscles are beginning to form, so while he/she might not be ready to pump iron, he’s/she’s gearing up to move both arms and legs.  They say I might be able to hear something at my next visit but guess what? I already have last week.  The head has straightened out and is more fully developed, the ears are much more prominent, and some new organs (the liver, spleen, and gallbladder) are forming. My baby fetus is also making spontaneous movements of his or her arms and legs now that minuscule muscles are beginning to develop, though I won't feel my tiny dancer for at least another two months.

Moi:  They say - Chances are you've never felt so tired in your life and for good reason: Your body is working overtime preparing for motherhood as it develops the placenta, your baby's lifeline. However, they must have never endured a roller derby practice!  At the same time, your metabolism and hormone levels are surging, which triggers a decrease in blood sugar and blood pressure. The result of all this: pregnancy fatigue.  Relief is around the corner as your energy level increases (and morning sickness decreases) over the next few weeks once placenta construction is completed.  The most benign and typical type of vaginal bleeding during pregnancy is called "implantation bleeding" and comes from the spot in the uterus your little fetus has chosen to implant. If the bleeding continues, your doctor or mid-wife will probably recommend that you avoid any heavy/high-energy activities and avoid sex. You may also be placed on modified bed-rest to improve implantation.

Frequent urination:  “Extravagant” should be my word because it just seems to fit these days.  I pee and pee and pee.  If there were a pee fairy, I’d be freakin’ rich!

Breast tenderness and change: OHMG my nuggets are so tender.  Not the kind that you think hmmm, can you spare some bbq sauce.  I feel like I got hit with a dodge ball in both. I think I’ve gained like .25 ounces in boobage.  Not much but definatley a subtle change. Can there be a boob fairy? Please?

Excessive saliva: Thankfully not yet.

Heartburn and indigestion:  Chew some sugarless gum. Chewing increases saliva, which then neutralizes the acid in your stomach. Tums or Rolaids also eases the burn (and gives you a calcium boost to boot). So far no heartburn for me. Yay!

Flatulence: Got enough gas to rival a frat boy?  But if you’d like to keep those embarrassing explosions to a minimum, try opting for small meals that won’t overload your digestive system as much as large meals do. I’m kinda glad at this point that I sleep alone because sometimes I feel like I’m in fraternity: ‘Lamda Gassy Beta Phew’.

Bloating: To keep that gassy, bloated feeling to a minimum, eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of water to avoid constipation (see below), which can aggravate bloating. I think I need to hook myself up to an IV on some days…yesterday I felt like a bloated puffy fish it was uncomfortable and it sucked.

Constipation: To avoid even more bloating, try to get those bowels moving at their normal (or prepregnancy normal) pace. Besides drinking lots of water, have a go at fruit and vegetable juices to make you go. You could try hot water and lemon first thing in the morning (or last thing at night) — some pregnant women swear by it!  Not so far, I have flaxseed and it will be my best friend

Increased sense of smell: You would think I have an aardvarks nose with my sense of smell these days.

Total weight gain/loss: Lost 1 more pound since 2 weeks ago (Total is 10.4 pounds that I’ve lost since Sept 1^st).

Sleep:  I-N-T-E-R-R-U-P-T-E-D  from visiting the powder room so often I think I actually sleepwalk there just because I’m so use to it now

Food Cravings: Fruit and Veggies.  Thankfully!

Best moment this week:  When the father said he still loves me. Were going through a bumpy road right now.  Also when my cousin sent me a ultrasound pic of a blueberry. Haha cute.

Movement: just my patas to the toilet.

Gender: Everyone says a boy but I’m hoping for a girl. In any case, as long as he or she are healthy and has all limbs joints and happy, then I’m happy!

Labor Signs: None!

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss: Sleeping through the night, being able to skate and some of my friends who were in my life who I've sadly lost touch with.

What I am looking forward to: My nuggets growing, hey although its temporary, it's safer than a boob job! And when talking to my BFF Rosa, her son will only be a year older than my kid.

Weekly Wisdom: Tell the ones you love, that you love them.  When someone means so much, don’t let stupid things get in the way, soften your heart, smash your pride and enjoy what time we have with one another.  We never know when that time will be up.  Sometimes I have to remind myself as well.

Milestones: Still losing weight and yes I’m still eating.

On a sadder note, my previous supervisor Dio Sanchez passed away this past Monday and I was lucky enough to send him an email to let him know that I'm growing a little human inside of me.  My current supervisor Theresa let him know in person and he smiled.  In my email I let him know of the wonderful traits he shared with his children that I would love to pass on with my little one, to be vested in his/her future and to not only teach them, but learn along beside them.

Raspberry

I kind of think of Raspberry Tart from my childhood favorite cartoon 'Strawberry Shortcake'

Although its a sweet little charactor my baby is actually graduated from the size of a Blueberry to the size of a large fruit 'Raspberry'

Week 8 - Raspberry

Week 8

My Baby's Development:  My baby is growing at an amazing rate — about a millimeter every day — and now is the size of a large raspberry. My little berry is looking a lot less reptilian (even though he/she has webbed fingers [which are differentiating now] and toes, the tail is just about gone) and a lot more baby-like these days, as the upper lip is forming, the protruding tip of that cute button nose, and tiny (and very thin) eyelids, eyelids, legs, and back continue to take shape. The heart is beating at the incredible rate of 150 times per minute. Even though I can't yet feel it, he/she is now making spontaneous movements by twitching his/her tiny trunk and limb buds.  The

Moi:
My baby's digs are growing, too. Amniotic fluid increases at a rate of about two tablespoons per week to accommodate my womb's growing tenant.

Fatigue: goodness yes! I went to Target and Old Navy the other day and after I was pooped! Well I did some house cleaning and made breakfast too so that may be taken into account.  But last night I was cleaning my room, made dinner, went to the store and was pretty much okay.  Maybe because I was able to eat better and had more nutrition to help me through the day.

Nausea and vomiting: ugh, still here. Every. Single. Day. Well i didn't chuck yesterday so that was good.

Food cravings and aversions: I'm not craving much, just mostly can't stand meat.  The other day my cousin was talking to me and she had corn chips and guac and i had to plug my nose, it was gross.  Weird because i love both of those.  And alcohol, eww makes me kind of gag, especially on the breath of someone.

Flatulence: Along with the bloating and constipation comes that other common scourge of pregnancy: flatulence (aka farting). The (aptly named) hormone relaxin, along with progesterone, is working to relax the muscles in your body, including those in your gastrointestinal tract. This causes food to move along more slowly, which leads to indigestion and gassiness. What can you do about it (except apologize to those around you)? Try to relax when you eat — tension can cause you to swallow air along with your food, which can form gas pockets in your belly. Have to remember this. lol otherwise: No comment!

Bloating: Those swell pregnancy hormones may cause you to swell as they slow down your metabolism. Try to drink lots of fluid and follow a healthy diet to avoid constipation, which only aggravates your bloated feeling.  I do have to drink, more water which I'm doing but I can't tell much because im always chucking.

Constipation: Fiber can be your BFF in the fight against those sluggish intestines, so add some fiber to every meal. But pace yourself if you’re not used to a fiber-rich diet or you’ll find yourself gassier than ever before: For instance, replace that white rice with brown and serve it along with your roasted chicken and veggies but don’t overload your system with a dish of brown rice, tofu, and broccoli.  This is helpful, I haven't been yet but I'd like to avoid this at all costs.  Flaxseed, where are you?!

Increased sense of smell: If your heightened sense of smell is making mealtime preparation unbearable, switch to foods that you don’t have to cook. If there’s a window in the kitchen, leave it open. Or just cook the foods you can stand to eat.  This is a must. I almost gagged when slicing garlic and the mushrooms last night but I wanted pasta so bad, I had to suck it up and cook. It was an easy no tomatoe, no cream sauce based pasta.  Light and tasty.

Increased vaginal discharge: Yet another bodily fluid introduced to you courtesy of estrogen — leukorrhea, a thin, milky vaginal discharge. (When estrogen increases blood flow to the pelvic area, it stimulates the body’s mucous membranes.) Leukorrhea protects the birth canal from infection by maintaining a healthy balance of bacteria, so don’t try to douche or wash it away.

Occasional headaches: Not so much thankfully.

Occasional faintness or dizziness: Again not so much thankfully.

I love dairy

I love dairy, but apparently not as much as this homeboy

I love dairy and am so glad that I can drink/eat it.  I heard that many folks can't and don't have the taste for it.  I love greek yogurt and love milk.  Besides my mom lost a tooth when she was preggo with me so I def need to be on the safe side and increase my milk intake.  Especially since it's a protein and Im not eating much meat these days.

All milk that I buy are from Cows NOT treated with the growth hormone: rBST (wikipedia it)

Why do I choose to drink Organic milk? Well mostly for health reasons that I choose to believe. 

I got this today from Orgnaic Milk Review site  (10/12/10) and check it out:
One requirement of organic milk is that the cows are not treated with antibiotics. Organic milk cows must have access to pasture.  They cannot be treated with BGH – bovine growth hormone, which increases milk production. People feel this is important because there is concern that BGH hormones in milk could lead to higher levels of IGF – insulin growth factor – which is linked with cancer and that it could raise the risk of other hormone-related cancers. They can only be fed grain or grass that is not treated with pesticides.  Check out #6 on the list of the 7 foods experts won't eat.

I usually buy my Organic Milk at Costco but here are other one's that I really really like:

TJ's Organic Cream on Top Milk 
for some odd reason, this taste different....not sure how but just taste better to me.  Maybe the name leads me to believe it tastes better but I do like buying it.

Straus Family Creamery
okay, this one is one of my fav's as well.  Is it because the cool bottle and cap that I can reuse over and over for other liquids or it just tastes better? Not sure but I do like it.

Clover Organic Farms Organic Milk
yup, this one is a good one too.

Blueberries do not like meat!

Every single time I eat meat, I get sick. 

This weekend at my sisters baby shower, I ate some mmm good meatballs.  They were so good that 'blueberry' made me taste them again.  Ugh.

Yesterday (Monday) was a county observed holiday.  So I made some GF banana pancakes with Turkey sausages.  I could only eat the sausages if I had some Agave Nectar on them.  Or I felt like I was going to get sick.

Today I went to Starbucks and got a Chai Tea Latte.  Then I took my friend to McD's for a coffee and she got me a sausage mcmuffin.  It tasted good but 1/2 hour later, it and the chai tea were revisiting the entry point.  So I will keep in mind, no meat for now.

But I have to do my best to be GF while preggo because I do not want to look into the nursery room and see my kid looking like this:

Blueberries heartbeat

Today was my 2nd doctor's visit.  I heard the heartbeat.

But it was there!  I'm trying to upload for you to hear what i'm talking about, but it's not working =( so just imagaine it sounding like a cross mix of Pac-Man and a Washing Machine.

Here is a picture to see the little Blueberry:

It looks more like....i don't know but if your new to looking at these kinds of pictures, it's the lighter side of the black cashew looking part.  Not much to look at this point huh?

Tip - Sick Bag

I have this bag at work that I use for when 'Mary' comes along.

But being that I won't be needing those items for a while I will have to change what's inside of it.

So...here are the tools for my sick bag:

     * Toothbrush (if you don't brush after you chuck, your gross)
     * Toothpaste (you need this with the toothbrush, duh)
     * Mouthwash (I prefer this as an after just to be sure, I never know who I will run into in the lobby)
     * Hard Candies (because this tends to keep me from doing 2 chucks in a row)
     * Rubber Band (or headband whichever comes in handy to hold your hair back when your chucking)
     * Hair Clip (to hold the long parts of your hair out of the way)
     * Black Liquid Eyeliner (well for me, mine comes off from the tears that fall out from gagging)

Yup, those are my tools.  I like to hit the trial sized bin, but I do keep a regular sized toothbrush and toothpaste in my bag.

Happy No Matter What

I know they say to wait.  To wait to tell anyone because anything can happen from now until the 3rd month I believe.

But in my case, I figure this.  At this point, I may need all the prayers I can, so yes I'm telling you and you and him and her and them.  Because I feel that a combination of everyone's prayers is mightier than mine alone.  I won't be alone in this in the future so why start off like that now.

If in the worst case at my appointment next week there is no heartbeat, then that is God's will and I'll go from there.  I will be sad and disappointed but I will look at it as, it's been a lot of years I mean A LOT of years since I was last pregnant so....God is letting me know, it's still a possibility....in the future.

If in the best case at my appointment there is a heartbeat, I'll still need those prayers for a healthy baby.

I thought for a long time I was infertile or what not because it's been so long.  I was using contraceptives but guess what? They are not 100% safe as I am being made aware of.  My prayers were always hoping that one day I'd be pregant.  I never planned on now.  I had other plans to attend too, but we can't control what's laid out for us.  I had to unswitch my medical coverage, I wanted to lose a lot more weight before I could even think about wanting this to happen and more but I'm happy no matter what.

I feel blessed and this is a miracle.  This will be my mantra.  Happy No Matter What.  That is all that I can be. I cannot start this off negatively, I wouldn't want my child to ask me one day, "Hey mom, what did you think when you found out?"  "Oh, kid, you were unplanned and the thought of you stretching out my cooter made me miserable and I wasn't happy at all....or excited." 

I'm the evolution of an unplanned pregnancy.  I know what it's like in some instances that I won't share here.  I was the mud in the tire that got stuck but in the end, I turned out fine.  Why? Because I came into the world with so much love that I never missed out on anything else.  This world is ugly enough and negative enough that I can't do that or let myself believe that. Even if my hormones or life tosses water soaked sponges at my face, I will do my best to smile, breathe and keep moving.  Even if my facial muscles hurt, if I'm out of breath and I feel like I'm walking with cement buckets on my shoes.

Now I'm not going to throw a pity party.  Because right now I see the road as such:

What may right now seem as a long and lonely road, there is light.  How that light beams upon me is in God's hands and I will be okay with whichever path it leads me too next.

I like to view this as: after I've hit that beam of light, this is what it will look like next:

Even more light.