Two more weeks to go!?!?

Taaa-daaa!!!! Baby's room is put together.....somewhat.... Well it's been in this state for a couple of weeks now. Sure there are things I'd like to add to the room, like a nice carpet, a glider and ottoman, extra shelf for baby stuff, and my robot vinyl graphics I have. But, things are going to be changing this summer. I'm going to make due with what I have now, and with the financial situation I'm in there isn't much choice. It would be nice to have bambino's room put together in a way I've imagined it to be, but alas that's not going to be the case. Sure, I wish things were different, I hope that things will get better, but that's been 2+ long years of hoping, and not much has changed, if anything it's gotten a bit worse. I don't think I would've imagined me having to struggle so much through my pregnancy, with health issues, job issues, all the other issues that fall on my shoulders and mind. But, as my lot in life, nothing ever comes with ease. (Not that I expect it to, but a break would be nice)

I've decided to forgo putting up my cool giant robot vinyl graphics on the wall for now. I don't think we're going to be living in this apartment much longer. Although, I do love the apartment, neighborhood, people, my ice/water dispenser, and washer & dryer, when it comes down to it I simply can't afford to live here. I feel like I've been moving forward so long, to only now have to work my may backwards. Reality is, I'm going to pop a baby soon, and will have one latched to my boob for at least two months. That's two months of no income, two months of bills, two months of diapers....not sure how I'm going to survive. But I suppose I've always made due with less and this is no different than any other time. It weighs heavily on me that this situation I'm in is such a burden on so many people in my life. I am truly thankful to my friends and family who have helped me out and been so supportive. With out their love and kindness, I'm not sure if I would have made it this far.

But enough of my boo-hoo stuff....news about the little guy! Induction date is set. Whoaaa, it's in two weeks. TWO WEEKS!!!! Where has the time gone? If he doesn't pop out on his own, I'll be strolling into the hospital on May 25th 2010 to start my induction, which means he probably won't arrive until the next day. It's exciting and scary all at the same time. I'm ready but not ready all in the same breathe. There is still a bunch of things I need to do, and with all of my doctors appointments it's been hard to get them done on my own. I'll probably start doing all those wacky things women do to try to get the moving out. I'm hoping that by doing that stuff, it can speedy up my birth process and help the little guy out with less complications. On a positive note, I'll be able to eat hot dogs for Memorial day weekend!!! Yummmm....hot dogs :)

9 months!!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 5/5/10 also marks me being pregnant for nine months! I can't believe that I'm already here, time is whizzing by so fast. The little man has to bake for at least one more week for him to be out of the preemie range. However, I haven't felt any contractions yet, and I'm no where near dilated. But, getting around has been hard lately, my center of gravity is all out of whack!

Nick and I did a mini portrait session this past weekend to mark our journey of pregnancy. It's been long and difficult, with plenty of challenges, but we know in the end it'll all be worth it. There were a couple of additional ideas for the portrait, but I got tired quick. Although I had a nice long cable release to take the photos, I still had to run back and forth to check the images. It was kind of tricky. If we're up to it in the next couple of weeks, we may do the other ideas we had, they're really silly and fun, but we'll see how these last couple of weeks go. The little guy is going to be so tired of me taking photos all the time, but I may be too tired to take them. HA! We'll see!

As I approach the end of my pregnancy, I'm becoming a familiar face at the hospital. Especially this week! I don't think bambino likes all the monitoring, but it has to be done. He's been doing excellent in the NST tests, moving and kicking around like a healthy baby. The sonograms have been a little bit more difficult. They are time consuming, and he always moves into a position that makes it difficult for the tech. It's like he knows! So far, my fluids have been measuring ok, and his kidneys are ok, but I have to ask the doc to make sure. I still have to find a pediatrician for him, and sort out the whole not having health insurance thing and how he falls into it. But the count down definitely begins! If I do have an induction, there are only about 20 days left. EEEEEEKKKKKK!!!!

Ooops...where does the time go!?!?

Heh..heh...Here is Aubrey and me at the baby shower, her and Erin threw for me :) It was on April 17th, I'm about 33 weeks and 3 days, she is about 6 weeks behind me. Baby Bumps!!!

Some people have told me that the 3rd trimester of pregnancy can seem long and dragged out. For me, that's not true. Where has the time gone!!! I can't believe that's it's been over three weeks since my last blog, shame on me, I've been a slacker. Well, just in the sense of sitting down and writing a blog I guess. Overall, things have been super busy and moving at warp speed. There is just not enough time in the day! Well.... I suppose I could cut back on my napping and sleeping, but hey, gotta get that now while I can!

I am 35 weeks along today, two more weeks to go and I'll be considered full term. Which means, if Bambino stays in and bakes for another 2 weeks, he's basically fully developed and good to enter the world. My doctors appointments have tripled since last time. I'll be seeing either one of my doctors every week, I have 2 NST's (non-stress test) a week, and two AFI sonograms a week. Sure, you're thinking, not bad just schedule them all in one day. WRONG!!! I can't because just between the NST and the AFI appointments they can range from 30 minutes to 2 hrs or more, so they have to been done on separate days so appointments don't run into each other. So, if you're doing the math in your head, that means that there will be weeks where I go to the doctor every single day. Who knew that getting pregnant would turn my body upside down and inside out!

Good news is that the little guy has been doing well. With such close observation and me sticking to my schedule and diet, he is normal and so far is average in size. Well....the tech said his head is maybe 4 days ahead in size.... big brain :) heh..heh.... Oh and she did say she saw hair, I wonder if he's going to have a full head of hair when he makes his debut? He's been kicking rolling and playing everyday, we have a good time together. He enjoys ice cream, just like his daddy :) Still no name yet for the little man, I'm stumped!

As for how I'm feeling lately, it's been up and down. Blame it on the hormones, blame it on our situation, blame it on the economy, whatever it is, I'm moody and I'm up and down like a roller coaster. Thankfully, I haven't had heart burn, no weird cravings, no swollen anything, no vomiting, etc.... Only thing that bothers me lately is a sore back, and hips that hurt when I sleep at night. It's like I have restless leg syndrome or something. Oh, and the 4 visits to the bathroom every night. No contractions, I don't know what they feel like yet. The tech today said that I'm no where near being dilated either.

So a quick recap of the last three weeks. We got to see our new niece Adriana, she looks just like Craig! Nanna visited us, got to go eat peking duck, and have a second shower with some local friends. We've been working hard to clean and get Bambino's room up and organized. We're almost there! Been washing and folding his little clothes, getting prepped. Got his car seat inspected and checked by the local police dept. Went to a breast feeding class and learned way more than I ever thought I wanted to about boobies. Finally got my computer back up and running in our bedroom. Went to see the cherry blossoms and Tulip garden with Ba Ngoi and Aunt My. Finally, Nick won 3rd at the annual Shaui Chaio Tournament! Goooo Nick!

I've got some new tidbits and photos to post for this blog, so hopefully I'll be good and post at least twice a week from here on out! Next week: I'll hit the milestone of 9 months pregnant :)

32 weeks and the clock is ticking away!

Wow! 32 weeks pregnant today! Which means I have approximately 8 weeks or less to go at this point. Sorry for no graphic or image this posting, my computer is still buried in the corner as Nick and I try to clear out our shared office for the baby's room. We've made a lot of progress so far. I've thrown out about 6 bags full of just paper stuff. Maybe, another 2-3 bags/boxes of just random stuff. It actually feels really good to purge all of this "stuff." Today, Nick and I took 25 lbs. worth of old bills, invoices, papers with important info on them to shred. Yup, 25 lbs, and that doesn't include what I've already shredded at home. All of this purging really makes me think about how much money was spent on things in the past 10 years, and why do we hold on to so much stuff? Either way, with the little man coming soon, and us being forced to do this, it's been really nice to get rid of all these things. It's like we're preparing for a whole new chapter in our lives, as we move on out of our twenties.

Yesterday was another routine OB appointment. I got to meet the last doctor in the practice, Dr. Horton, she was very nice, and a lot younger than I expected. I'm about 165 lbs right now, so I've gained about 10 lbs so far in my pregnancy, and about 1/2 lbs from my last visit. Our little man is measuring right where he should be for 32 weeks, so he's growing right on pace. Which is a huge relief for me. I fear him being under or over developed with my Gestational Diabetes, but things seem to be so good so far. I have my first NST test this Friday, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will go well, and that I won't have to sit there for 3+ hours. I'll have to do two each week from here on out. Next week, I'll also go see Dr. Ghidini for another NST at INOVA Alexandria, and do my 32 week sonogram. I'm going to be closely monitored until his big arrival, but I know it's just to make sure he's doing good and try to avoid any potential complications that can occur fairly suddenly. But, with that said, I've been trying my best to stay healthy and positive :)

Now if only the weather would cooperate! It's been about 90 degrees for the past 3 days here, and it's only April!! I'm so glad that I won't be pregnant in the middle of summer, it's been miserable in this heat. Upside, is that all the trees and flowers have burst into bloom. It's so beautiful out! And I use this heat as an excuse to eat a half cup of ice cream. Yummmm......ice cream. Thankfully, after tonight, the weather gods are going to bring back spring with 60 degree weather. Yay!!! Air conditioning in our place won't get turned over until the first of May, so the summer heat will have to hold off until then.... please!!!!

I'm hoping to have baby's room put together by weekends end, so maybe there will be some photos soon. Nick and I are brainstorming some humorous ideas for our first family preggors portrait. So if all goes well, there should be some interesting images in future posts!

Easter & a new addition to the family!

Meet Adriana Masi!!! She was born last night, to proud parents Craig & Marissa :) What a wonderful easter surprise for them! I believe Marissa was in labor for 21 hours, and pushing for an hour. Man....little man you better make it easy for mama in a couple of months. Can't wait to meet the little lass when Craig & Marissa return to Maryland!

Today is Easter, Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. Me, hmmmm....we don't celebrate Easter. It's actually one of those holidays that has perplexed me since I was a kid. My parents couldn't really explain it to me, but that's because we're Buddhist. I never understood all the odd rituals of baskets, eggs, bunnies, and church. How does it all fit together? I asked Nick, since his family celebrates it. But, he sorta gave me a so/so answer, so we looked it up. Ohhh.... resurrection of Christ, ok that explains the religious part. Now, what about the easter bunny, sugar highs, and all the eggs?!?! We'll I guess it stems from pagan rituals before Catholicism sorta appropriated it, so says the article Nick read to me. But, being Buddhist, I have not adorned my home in pastels, or will be eating a ham dinner, or cracking out on baskets of sugary treats (not that I can have them anyway). I have a much bigger task to tackle!

Our home at the moment is upside down! We're trying to clear out our shared office to make room for bambino. Why the urgency, one may ask? Well....we have the crib and dresser sitting in our living room, they're two huge boxes. Plus, I want to get it opened and assembled just to make sure there isn't anything wrong with it or missing. Plus, I'm less than 9 weeks away, less because you never know when this little guy is going to decide to arrive. So trying to make room in this apartment has been difficult. It's like playing a game of musical chairs with stuff and furniture. Things are just being rotated from room to room. We're trying really hard to get rid of stuff, but with so much stuff, ahhhhhhh!!!! But it's all coming together. It'll feel good once we have it done, hopefully soon. This next week is when I start going to the doctors and hospitals twice to three times a week. I'm not sure how much time that'll leave me to do all the other little things I need done.

Can I also mention how beautiful it's been outside? Cherry blossoms are in bloom, the weather is warm and sunny, and Spring (or in my case Spring cleaning) is in the air! Oh, sorry no food blog this past Friday! But we finally hooked my computer back up today, just enough time for a quick break from cleaning to post todays blog :)

Let the nesting begin!

April Fools! Though, I'm never clever enough to come up with one that people will actually fall for! HA!

Let the nesting process begin. Above is a photo of our shared office, which is always in constant chaos and clutter. That room somehow is going to be transformed into little bambinos room....somehow. Our crib and dresser/changing table got delivered yesterday. We need to clear out this room ASAP so we can put the new furniture together, and make sure it all got delivered in one piece. Although, I find it kind of ironic that on the box it says it was packaged in Vietnam...heh..heh...go figure.

It's definitely time to get spring cleaning and de-cluttering underway. No time like now to get rid of all that stuff both Nick and I have been holding onto for so long. Gotta make room for this little guy and all the new stuff that comes along with him. I'm really excited though. Although, I won't be doing the Super Mario brothers full wall decals I originally wanted to. (we rent, and I don't want to go through all that effort and have to take it down. Who knows when we might have to move again. It might be sooner, it might be later) So, I'll hold off on that until we have a more permanent residence, if that ever happens..... But I do have some giant robot decals for the walls. Hopefully we can afford to get a carpet for his room. I think I'll feel much better when there is some semblance of a baby's room.

So hopefully in a couple of weeks, I'll be able to blog and post an after photo!

3/27/10 Baby Shower!

Good thing I love light blue! Because there is going to be a lot of it in my future, or well the little man's future :) We traveled this past weekend to central New York for Bambino's first baby shower. It was hosted by my mother in law, family friends and Nick's relatives were there. So many sweet treats. We had lots of fun visiting with everyone, and we got just enough gifts to fit in our suitcases for the flight home, perfecto! Well, except for the stroller, that will have to find it's way back to us at a later date, but I don't see myself carting the little guy anywhere soon, well at least not until he's at least a month old. We've got one more shower in April, and a meet'n greet 1 month old celebration in the future. I really can't wait to meet the little guy!

As for pregnancy developments, nothing new as of late. I've gotten a break this week, with no doctors appointments. I have to get a refill on my NPH insulin & 30 mL syringes tomorrow, which might have an insurance hiccup. But thankfully I have an OB nurse I work with who works for the insurance company, so if I get rejected for the refill, I can call her and see if she can get the insurance to override it. I think I have enough to get me through tonights shot, but not tomorrow mornings.....eeeekkk. The joys of the healthcare system, ugggghhhh....

I'll have to enjoy my break, although brief, from going to the doctors/hospital. I'm 31 weeks today, which means 9 weeks or less to go until the little guy arrives. Once next week starts I'll be a regular at both hospitals. Sunday (easter) I get to do my 24hr urine collection, and drop it off at the hospital Monday morning. Tuesday, I'm back for my regular OB check up, I get to meet another OB doctor in the practice, Dr. Horton. Later that evening, both Nick and I will be getting a tour of the Birthing Inn at the hospital. The following Friday, I have my first Non-stress test. I'll be in twice a week for those from here on out, hopefully he'll do well and I won't have to sit there for hours on end. But overall, he seems to be developing well, and very active! He likes to wake me up in the morning with his crazy rolls and hard stretches, or kick to remind me it's feeding time! I'm really able to feel him now, and his little limbs, it tickles me from the inside! hee.hee..hee

Patty-poke and roll

30 weeks pregnant today, and less than 10 weeks to go little man! Let me tell you, I need all the weeks I can get. Both Nick and I are mentally and emotionally prepared for our new arrival. However, financially and home wise we are not. Besides the pregnant woman wandering around the house, I don't think you could really tell that in 2 months time there's going to be a wee one whizzing all over the place. Guess we better buckle down and get to work!

Speaking of work, our little guy has been working hard, kicking, punching, and rolling around. These are all very new sensations for me. Nothing like sitting around and seeing your stomach twitch and form shapes right in front of your eyes. Trying to decipher if that is an elbow, knee, or foot poking out of the side of my ribcage. It's an unusual emotion to experience, something between delight and excitement. To think that there isn't much between him and the outside world. At this point he can hear, see, taste, and feel. But on those occasional days where he decides to be kind of quiet, terror and paranoia set in. "Is he ok in there?" "Do I need to go to the hospital?" "Is he just sleepy today?" I guess this is my first taste of being a parent. That constant worry feeling that your child is ok. Better get use to it, huh?

As hokey as it may sound, I've been trying to play a little game with him. I call it Patty-poke. When I can sense that he's up and moving, and he starts to prod a little. I poke in a certain area about three times, going "boop-boop-boop." He usually will kick or punch back. I switch up the spot slightly to see if he'll move and respond to where I'm poking him. He usually does!!! It's really fun to see him respond. When he does a good job, I tell him so out loud. A little praise, a little love, and an all over belly rub. It's kind of like when you comfort a child by rubbing his back, I'm starting early by rubbing my belly. I hope all this play time we have together helps us bond even earlier. I've even gotten Nick in the action, it's so much fun already, we can't wait until we can actually meet him!!!

Playing with our little guy and already getting a response from him really brings joy to me. I think Nick really enjoys seeing me play with him too. I guess that's when that sort of motherly look sets in, that unconditional love thing people talk about. I savor every moment I feel him move, roll, kick, or punch. Makes me feel l like, he's saying, "hello! world I'm in here!" or "Hi mom, it's me." I talk to the little guy every chance I can. Asking him if he enjoyed to food we just ate, if he liked the game we just played, or if he wants to hear more music. We tell him we love him all the time. Nick tells him good morning, every morning. We both hope that he can hear and feel all of this. We encourage him to grow healthy and be happy. With everything that has gone on with this pregnancy, all the difficult moments, all the challenges, at least we can verbally and physically give him encouragement to develop and be healthy. Most of all, that there will be two parents here ready to love him!

Food Friday was delayed by 70 degree weather!

Spring is here, whoot whoot! Well, technically the first day of spring was yesterday. However, it's been beautiful all week! Which means less time inside and more time outside. Until my allergies catch up with me and I imprison myself indoors to save my nose and eyes from constant irritation. So far, I can sort of deal....sort of......

I can't wait to grill! Fire that baby up, but then again, how healthy are grill marks, hmmmm.... but that subject is for another day. Today, I'm going to share a fairly easy salmon dish I like to make. I know it's not Friday, but Sunday Salmon work for anyone???

Now I'm all about sustainable fish, blah, blah, blah, but being on such a tight budget that can be hard to attain and afford. What I use for this meal is typically, individually wrapped frozen salmon fillets. By all means, if you can get it fresh, filleted and skinned, go for it. Me, it's called the Costco bag in the freezer section. Why? honestly, it's a time and money thing. I only thaw what I need to eat or make. Fish isn't really one of those sort of "left over" meals.

I don't have a name for this, let's call it my salmon and asian salsa bake...or something....heh..heh

Thaw your salmon fillets, remember your portion control :)

I like to rinse and pat them dry, sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder to both sides.

Pre-heat oven to 375-400, depends on your oven.

Prepare a baking sheet with foil and drizzle extra virgin olive oil on it.

Chop-Chop-Chippity-Chop

Finely chop, 4 cloves of garlic, Ginger ( the size of a fat thumb approx), one medium onion (red onion if you want it really colorful), red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper (optional it's really for color), and some jalapeños if you want an extra spicy kick.

I like to chop the above by hand, but you can use a food processor. Just be careful not to make it too fine, you don't want a slush slurry.

Mix all together, sprinkle a little salt and pepper to taste.

On the oiled baking sheet, put down a little bit of the mixture down. I like doing this so the fish doesn't stick to pan, and if it does burn it's just the salsa mix, the fish will be saved :) Then, put the lightly seasoned salmon on top. Now just add a small pat of butter on top of the salmon fillet. And, now put a healthy portion of the salsa mix on top. Before popping it in the oven to bake, I will drizzle a small amount of low sodium soy sauce on top. Now Bake! I can't really say how long, just because it depends on how hot your oven really is, and how thick your salmon fillets are. Plus, I have a tendency to over cook my proteins because I'm paranoid like that. But, when your salmon is cooked it should be nice and flaky, with a light pink color. You should smell the wonderful spice of the fresh ginger, and the salsa is probably reduced a bit with some nice browning.

Serve with some cooked brown rice, or another option is garlic mash and oven roasted asparagus spears. I like this, because it's light, easy, and it has a nice ginger spice kick to it. ENJOY!

Stress Mess

Stress is the catalyst for so many issues in life. Sure there are exercises, foods, self help books/dvds, and a myriad of other products and articles that tell you how to live a stress free life. But can we really avoid being stressed? The lifestyle and society we live in today, is it even possible to live a life where stress isn't part of the daily thought?

This crossed my mind today as my always dependable car wasn't so dependable this afternoon. As it stuttered and stalled, then completely shut itself down with no warning. I thought to myself, "really, you're going to do this to me NOW! Honestly, haven't enough things gone completely wrong for me? great one more thing for me to worry and STRESS about!?!?" I've broken down emotionally too many times in the last two years in tears, hysteria, and panic attacks. Todays snafu was just another drop in the "my life sucks" bucket. My pregnancy hormones must have been absent today, otherwise I would've been balling my eyes out about another crappy issue.

This today, could've just set me off into being depressed and stressed for the remainder of the day. But, I have this blog to vent, thus I spent all that pent up frustration making my stressed graphic for today's blog entry. Of course, being stressed out about the situation wasn't going to get me anywhere either. High stress levels can make blood pressure rise, blood glucose rise, and probably a domino effect on to other health related issues. And we all know, that I don't need any additional health issues at the moment. Sorry, my plate is full, please move on to the next person. Plus, babies in the womb are very receptive to the mother's emotions and emotional state. Ya, I don't want to pop out a baby who is already predisposed to being a "stress ball."

If I try my best to avoid stressful situations, they still fall in my lap. What's a girl to do? With bills, money issues, health issues, family drama, husband's employment issues, and just plain life in general problems, do you blame me for not being able to fall asleep? Sure, I can go and do breathing exercises, eat a bowl of blue berries, or Zen out somewhere, but at the end of the day it doesn't solve the issues that stress me out. I know life isn't easy because my life has never been easy. It's only been complicated, I just sometimes wish it would ease up a bit and give me break.

Of course there is always perspective. The upside today was that I wasn't stranded, I stalled out before I even left the neighborhood parking lot, and my uncle hopefully can help me fix it. Sure, sometimes we all have our self pity moments, but there are always people who are much worse off. I always remind myself of this every time I feel hopeless. I can spend my time stressing about stuff, but it doesn't help solve my problems. I'm also lucky enough to have a supportive group of people around me, not everyone has that.

Tomorrow is another day, it'll bring challenges & solutions, but all I can do is deal with each day as it comes :) Focusing on enjoying the smaller moments in a day that make me smile, like playing patty-cake poke with the little man inside of me.

Spring Forward.....zzzzzzz

I just realized that this Sunday March 14th is Daylight Savings time. I always hate this one, because I always feel like I'm losing an hour of sleep in the morning. Although in a month or so, it'll be worth it when the sun is still up at 8 pm. Which means I can sneak a good mini walk in after dinner. I haven't been able to get those walks in because it's just been way too cold, too much snow, just plain dark, or I'm eating dinner late. But isn't daylight saving time a little early this year? I always remembered it happening the Sunday before returning back to school from Easter/spring break.

I'm wondering how this change in time is going to screw up my insulin and eating pattern. I know that my body will adjust in time, but I've been noticing a slight change is enough to throw it all off. For example, last night I got a little caught up in Skyping and was late taking my insulin shot for the evening and eating my before bed snack. By doing so, my morning fasting blood glucose number was a little high, and bumped my post breakfast number off too. I find that my weekend numbers have a tendency to be higher than the numbers I get during the week. I have to admit though, it's harder to keep track of time on the weekends, and count carbs when you're out. Overall my glucose numbers seem to be good, I usually only have one spike in the day.

Now I just placed a refill order for my insulin pick up tomorrow. I have a 20 day supply listed on my prescription, and the last time I refilled it was on 2/22/10. So in theory, I should be able to get it refilled and picked up tomorrow with no issues. At least, that's what I hope. Every time I have to go to the pharmacy there's always some problem. Which causes me to make multiple trips and phone calls just to sort it out. Hopefully, it'll be smooth sailing tomorrow for pick up because I think I only have enough of my one type of insulin for my morning dosage.

Springing forward, I'm always trying to map out my days now. Plan ahead or plan things around my eating, testing, and shot schedule. It gets tricky. Most of the time it's manageable, bring my glucose meter with me, or pack a snack. The only time that planning ahead gets a little funky, is dinner time. I have to take an insulin shot 30 mins before I eat my dinner. Typically, it's no big deal when I'm eating at home, at moms, or a friends house. I know how long or when dinner will be ready so I can always take my shot accordingly. But it's when you go out to dinner. I can't really take my shot before I leave my house, traveling time, seating time, and how long does it really take the restaurant to serve me my food? Which means I have to take my insulin with me. I'm still not comfortable doing the shot in public, I mean it still freaks me out, so I'm sure it'll freak other people out. Do I do the shot in my car? in the bathroom? Where and What do other people do? As of now, I sit at a table with my needle, insulin, and a swab. It usually takes me a couple of try's to draw my insulin.(darn air bubbles) Then I have to squeeze a section of my belly, swab it with alcohol, and inject. How am I suppose to do this in a bathroom? Plus, bathrooms are icky, eeeewwwww. I tried injecting myself standing up once, ouch!

I guess for now I'll probably have to give myself the injection in my car before entering the restaurant. That'll be easiest bet, and I won't feel so self conscious doing it in front of people. I did think about pre-loading my syringe, but then I run the risk of the plunger getting pushed, and me losing insulin before I can inject myself. Either way, I'll sort out some plan by tomorrow. I'm meeting an old college friend out for dinner tomorrow night. Congrats to her too! She became an auntie yesterday :)

Food Friday! Pita pockets with veggies and beef

Food Friday! Yum! I'll try to share some of my food and snacking habits during this pregnancy on Fridays. This week it's going to be pita pockets with ground beef. It's basically like a taco, but in pita pocket form. Why I like this so much? Taco shells break on you, and you can typically stuff these things pretty good. Plus, I've got almost every food group in one bite! You can't beat that! BTW, I never measure, but I'll give you the jest on how to make one of these.

The meat part!

I like to use the leanest ground beef there is. Of course you can use ground turkey, pork, chicken, whatever protein that floats your boat.

-Brown your meat throughly (being pregnant I always make sure things are cooked well done) I like to sprinkle just a little kosher salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Drain all the fat out, yes all of it! the meat will look dry, but we'll fix that later on.

-Once it's drained, add chopped onion, I like to use a medium to large size one, but I like onions. Use more or less depending on your own taste. Add 1/2 bulb of chopped garlic. I know, you're thinking it's a lot of garlic. I love garlic, it's good for you and tasty. Cook it until the onions are soft and a little transparent.

-Now to add the seasonings. I eyeball this, typically just sprinkling it to cover the top of the meat. Add, a little salt, fresh ground black pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, chili flakes, cumin, coriander, paprika, sugar, and more cayenne if you like it spicy. Seasonings make it flavorful, but be careful to not use too much salt or sugar. I typically will only do a couple of pinches of kosher salt, and add maybe 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar. I have to watch my sodium and carb intake.

-Mix everything evenly, making sure all the seasoning is incorporated into the meat well. Now add a little bit of water, just enough to make the beef moist. Usually about 1/4 cup will do,but it depends on how much beef you cooked in the first place. Another option is to add some fresh salsa, something low sodium, low sugar, fresh if you have it.

-Now let it all sit and mingle together for an additional 5-10 mins. Sure, you could've just used taco seasoning mix and got something similar, but I always find it way too salty, and who needs all the extra junk they put in those things.

CHOP, CHOP, CHOP!

Put whatever veggies you like into your pita pocket. However for this recipe I prefer the following chopped:

-Lettuce, the greener the better

-Pepper, green/red/yellow

-jalapeno

-tomato

Other items to include: sour cream, shredded cheese, and saracha hot sauce.

Assembly, teamwork now!

I would suggest buying whole wheat pita pockets. In my case I bought whole wheat low carb pita pockets. I guess they use a low carb recipe when they make their pitas. Compare how many carbs are in one pita serving, it'll vary from brand to brand. Mine happens to be 17 grams of carbs in one pita. Which means for me, I can have about two of them, which is more than enough.

-Cut the pita in half. I like to stick them in the toaster on the lowest setting to get them warm.

-carefully open them, spread a little sour cream in, add meat (consider how much meat you should be eating, portion size is important, a little meat goes a long way in these things)

-I like to squirt a little extra hot sauce on top of the meat. Add some shredded cheese on top. Then add the veggies.

-The idea here is that your pita pocket is probably should have 80% veggies, 15% meat, and 5% dairy (cheese & sour cream)

Chow down and Enjoy!

To OB healthy, wish things were simpler

"The lotus grows from the mud up to the clear sunlight"

Nature is so resilient, beauty can grow from some of the most unexpected places. I guess one has to always hope and continue having hope that things will work out for the positive. Positive thinking will lead to positive things.....at least that's what I hope.

Every time I go to any health related appointment, I'm never sure what I'm going to expect and experience. Alas, today was another one of those days. I suppose today the OB office was in "emergency"mode. Everyone seem to be on edge and a bit frazzled, yet always had enough in them to smile and be pleasant. I had my routine pee in a cup, lets weigh you (I gained 1/2 lb, not much, but good), and check your blood pressure stuff done. I was caught off guard during my weigh in when the nurse asked if I was planning on getting my tubes tied if I got a cesarean. I thought to myself, "huh? tubes tied at 31? after first child? What! they already listed me as a cesarean birth!?!?" I muttered a, "uh, no." I must have looked puzzled enough for her to say, "we have to ask, because you never know." I'm hoping that things will go well in the end that I'll be able to have another kid. Kids need siblings, at least I'd like to have at least two. The thought of having my tubes tied has never crossed my mind.

My OB has a student/MD in training with her, I have no clue what the trainee's name is. She fumbles a little bit today with finding the baby's heart beat, measuring me, and doing the routine stuff. Though, I think the day has really been rough on her. Baby's heart beat was 150-155, in a good range, my tummy measurements seem good too. My glucose levels though always read like a roller coaster ride, up and down, up and down. For the most part they have been fairly close to what my target range is. Though, I have the feeling the OB's hate having to do the math to figure out what they should change my insulin dosages to. Good news is, the OB decided to only increase my insulin dosages for my 2 evening shots. I still have to report my numbers to the specialist at the other hospital on Monday.

Now for the sorta sucky stuff that came up in my visit. I have to start monitoring little man's kick counts for a two hour period. If he doesn't do 10 kicks w/in that amount of time, they suggest I go to the hospital, asap. Now that is sorta scary. He's been kinda quiet lately, don't babies have off days too? You know, the kind of days where they just want to sleep? It's just one more thing that makes me nervous. Of course the specialist also requested that I get more blood work done. I think to check on my thyroids and some other organ, oh, and a urine culture. Nothing like trying to pump out pee within a 45 minute time frame. I really hope I don't have another bladder infection or UTI, that would really blow! I've been to the lab so many times now, that the guy who has to register me as a patient is always like,"you're here, again? weren't you just here?" He doesn't even need to ask to see my insurance cards anymore, and just glances at my I.D. The lab tech woman also was commenting on how often I've been in there. I've had my blood drawn so many times now that both of my arms have bruises on them from where the needle is inserted. Next thing you know, I'll have tracks, and people will think I'm some sort of junkie.

I'm always telling my husband to never assume anything....I needed to do that today! I finally got around to asking my OB again about traveling (Aubrey had mention to me that I really should ask again). I assumed that she would be ok with me traveling up until, ehh, 6 weeks or so before my due date. WRONG! My OB was not happy about me going anywhere out of state. I mean, I just crossed over into my third trimester yesterday, really? She basically forbids me to leave after 32 weeks, but since my trip is in two weeks, we met at a compromise. (I'll be approx.30-31 weeks along by the time I go on my trip) I have to go in right before my trip so she can check on me and the baby to make sure things are ok. I assured her that it was only a weekend trip. And no sitting in a car for 8 hrs. either, fly so the traveling time is shorter. She's even contemplating on having me bring copies of my medical records just in case. I know my pregnancy is considered high risk, but now I'm thinking could it become a super emergency high risk pregnancy?

Driving back home from the hospital today with my arm sore and my gas tank on empty, I thought to myself, OB knows best and it's better to be cautious. I'm bracing myself for all the possible things that could come up in the next couple of months. Hopefully all of these tests, visits, monitoring, and being cautious will help me and the baby have the healthiest outcome that is possible in my situation. Positive thinking and lots of Hope!

Happy first day of your 3rd Trimester!!!

Happy Entering your Third Trimester Day Little Guy!!!

Yup, I'm on track for that last leg of this journey. And to celebrate it, I'm sharing this blog with the world, well, with my family and friends. Oh, and made a little website for the wee guy. Unfortunately, my husband had to fly out of town today, boooo! He's off to do his final training phase for Krav Maga. Yes, once again he's sharpening his killing skills. Now, just how does one earn income from doing that?!?!

My first trimester seem to fly by fairly quickly, but my second one felt really long. I think that's just due to all the complications that came up. I hear that this last one goes by fairly quickly too. I'm just wondering how big I'll get. I don't own a full length mirror in my house, so I'm not really sure how pregnant I look. I'll catch a reflection once and awhile, and be like, whoaaa I'm pregnant looking. Silly, I know.

Maybe I'll treat myself to a fudge pop, yummmmm.....

Visit http://www.annmasi.com for more info about upcoming stuff related to the little soybean :)

The second trimester highs and lows

Our soybean has grown into a mini me & nick at 22 weeks. And it's a boy!!!

I think at this point the little guy is approximately the size of a subway sandwich, and a little over a pound or so. He was definitely a shy guy, and didn't want to show his face to us. The tech tried several times to get us a good profile or face image, but the little man was determined not to let us see. So we went home with just this image of him. Which was fine with us, we wanted to wait until the big day to see his little mug anyway. However, he wasn't afraid to show his junk to the world, legs were wide open to let us know that he was a BOY :) My mom tells me that his soul runs deep already because by hiding his face he's telling us, "hey mom & dad! I'm not finished developing yet! So no peeking until I pop out!"

After the back and forth about getting approved for Medicaid during my first trimester, the second one was full of new obstacles. It started off with a UTI, which meant I got to spend 7 days on antibiotics. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can not swallow pills. It was a very very long week. At my next midwives appt. I was nervous that I might have another UTI, but instead they found that I was spilling sugar in my urine. Which at the moment I thought it was because of my lunch right before the appointment. You know, chick-fil-a sandwich with a soda and ice cream cone. So, they scheduled me for an hour glucose test at my next appointment.

Sigh....I fail my glucose test miserably. Thus, for the rest of my second trimester, I face some of my biggest fears and hope for the best. At 20 weeks, I'm diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. (for most pregnancies this test isn't done until the 26-28th week) I get put on the low carb diet, and for me, they put me on the most minimal one I could be on while I was pregnant. Wondering what that is?

Breakfast: 2 carb choices

Mid morning snack: 1-2 carb choices

Lunch: 2-3 carb choices

Mid afternoon snack: 2 carb choices

Dinner: 2-3 carb choices

Before bed snack: 2 carb choices

Example of a 1 carb choice is one slice of bread or 1/2 banana or 1/3 cups of rice or 3 oreo cookies

My eating habits were going to change dramatically. No longer was I the blissful pregnant woman encouraged to eat for two and indulge on cravings and food whims. Grocery shopping was a more thoughtful process, looking at labels, spending more time in the produce section, and brown was good white is bad. Since almost all liquids contain some sort of carbs in them, I'm basically only drinking water. Milk surprisingly has become a treat to drink, I try to fit it in my day when I can. However, managing my carb choices is tricky, I have to make sure that I fit in fruits, dairy, veggies, and grains into my diet everyday. Unfortunately, just being on a low carb diet and mild exercise wasn't enough to control my Gestational diabetes. My blood glucose wasn't getting any lower than 200 on a daily basis. What's the normal range? You want your blood glucose to be no lower than 60 and no higher than 120. Yup, I was no where close.

Panic sets in for the nurses, diabetes educators, and for us! At this point, I'm bumped into the "high risk pregnancy" category. They skip the oral medication for me and send me straight to insulin shots. The thought of using needles gave me chills and panic attacks. I was freaked out about giving myself one shot a day, no less than actually having to do 4 shots a day! (which for a 3 week period ended up being 5 shots a day) In the tummy at that! Imagine a 1/2" needle into your own pregnant stomach, uggggh! To top things off, I had to say good bye to the midwife practice, and begin seeing a whole new set of doctors.

All of this started a wave of doctors visits, lab tests, insurance issues, nurse calls, and a lot of time just managing the Gestational diabetes. It's basically become a full time job just to make sure that I'm testing my blood 4 times a day, and doing my insulin 4 times a day, and eating my 6 meals. Somehow, life fits in there too.

Near the end of my second trimester, I get to add another doctor to my roster. Now, I'm also seeing a specialist to co-manage my pregnancy with the new OB doctors. We have a fetal echo done around the 26th week of pregnancy. With gestational diabetes, we run the risk of our little man being under developed or way over developed. Thankfully, with my diligence in trying everything I can to manage my health issues, the little guy seemed to be right on track! He was the correct size, weight, and all signs so far point to an average healthy baby. Although, the biggest hurdles will come in my third trimester, where monitoring the little man will increase three fold because that's when he'll grow the most. I hope I'll be able to keep him full term and avoid a c-section! So far I've only gained 7 lbs, but the next phase is going to be a whopper!

Hello there little soybean!

8 weeks and 6 days old: that was back in October

Nick and I were both excited and nervous at our Midwives appointment. It was our visual confirmation that there was in fact a little person growing inside of me. We actually got our 1st peek a couple weeks prior, when I thought I was at 8 weeks, the little bean was only a speck of rice with a blinking dot for a heart beat. This time around little soybean did a little dance for us, moving his head and grooving his arms. It brought tears to both of us.

Breaking the news to our family was the most fun part! Getting married 2 years ago was way overdue, and of course having kids was on everyone's mind. It only took, what? 10 years of being together for us to decide to start a family, heh..heh.., ya we're slow movers. However, with all good news, there is always the bad to follow it. At this point, both Nick and I were unemployed and I had just received my last unemployment check in September. How are we going to pay for this?!?!

Let the trials and tribulations of applying for Medicaid begin. I have to say that my primary stress during my 1st trimester was all about how we were going to be able to pay for all the doctors visits and birth. At this point we were paying out of pocket, and that was a big OUCH to our already dwindling bank account. I'll have to admit that my view on healthcare in general isn't a positive one. I hate going to doctors, needles give me the chills, and insurance is a racket. But thankfully by the time I hit my 2nd trimester, we got approved for Medicaid. Which was a hail Mary, because what comes up during my 2nd trimester. If we didn't get approved for medicaid, we would be royally screwed!

In terms of how I was feeling in the beginning of my pregnancy can be summed up in one word- sleepy....zzzzz...zzzz... I don't think I've ever slept so much in my life. I'd be in a coma almost after every meal (though this could of been a result of something else). I actually only vomited maybe 3-4 times, nauseous all the time, yes. Food cravings, not really. Though, I found myself eating healthier, not only because it was the right thing to do during pregnancy, but it made me feel better. Eating fast food, comfort food, or anything generally considered not so great for you, made me feel like crap.

But soon things turn stressful and my 2nd trimester is full of different issues than my first......