I'm a morning person

Never in a million years would I ever have thought that these words would apply to me. But I am up at 5 each morning... thankfully most times I can go back to sleep. Around 3 o'clock the exhaustion sets in. Sometimes I'll nap, and sometimes I'll work through it. Either way, I'm pretty useless after 4. I try to do work in 15 minute spurts to clean up or do some laundry... just doing the best I can. :)

This morning I had my first official pregnancy bloodwork done. The phlebotomist was AWESOME! He even gave me a Garfield bandaid. After I went shopping and bought two dresses for summer/fall. Dresses are ideal right now because they don't put any pressure on my belly. The baby does not like to be squished. Waistbands are the enemy.

I also had lunch with my college cheerleading coach today. It was so fun to catch up with an old friend. I can't believe it's been ten years since college... Baby A will definitely need one of these:

Right now Baby A is the world's smallest Friar Fan!

Breakfast (pre-bloodwork) - one hard-boiled egg; bowl of berries
Breakfast (post-bloodwork) - banana; Naked Truth fruit juice
Snack - organic granola bar
Lunch - two pieces bruschetta; spinach salad
Snack - whole wheat soft pretzel with organic honey peanut butter; OJ
Dinner - cheese tortellini in an organic garlic tomato sauce

Baby's First World Cup

I will comfort you. ;)

Unfortunately, it was a sad day for Portuguese soccer. JA and I went into the Ironbound section to watch the game... heartbreaking. The only good thing was that I got to eat some yummy food and felt pretty good this afternoon. This evening, however, is another story. Blech! The only thing making me feel better is envisioning that flickering heartbeat from yesterday. When I remember that, everything feels fantastic! :)

Breakfast - Total raisin bran; bowl of berries
Snack - handful of almonds; Kashi protein/fiber bar
Lunch - hummus, cucumbers, tomato, red onions, mixed greens on whole grain flat bread
Dinner - Portuguese vegetable soup; Portuguese bread; two boiled potatoes; gingerale (Can you tell we went to a Portuguese restaurant?)
Snack - PB&J; chocolate soy milk

Belly

Since we got a chance to see the peanut today, I thought I might take a belly pic to show our progress. Still not much happening, which is a good thing. I've heard that most people don't show with their first until 14-20 weeks... so I have at least 6 weeks to go! The receptionist at the doctor's office told me I was going to make the cutest little pregnant lady. Bless her heart!

Can you tell which picture was taken on June 6 and which one was taken on June 28?

If you guessed the one on the left is June 28... you're right!

Meet the little peanut

I will forever have the image of that little flickering heartbeat in my mind. Coolest moment of my life...

JA and I celebrated by going to Tashmoo, our favorite restaurant in Mo-town. I had lost three pounds from my appointment in March, so I figured a few nachos would be OK. They are the tastiest!

At eight weeks, here's what's happening with the baby:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Breakfast - Total raisin bran; 1% organic milk; two hard boiled eggs

Snack - bowl of blueberries, cherries, and raspberries; handful of almonds

Lunch - nachos; half a veggie wrap (yay - I ate veggies!)

Snack - JA's french fries - but I only ate like 10!  :)

Dinner - left over veggie wrap; half a baked potato

Dessert - Vitamin Water

Bloat

On one of the message boards I visit I have the chance to talk with other moms-to-be who are also due in February. It's very cool because we are all in similar places in our pregnancies. A few weeks ago I noticed a lot of posts about "bloat". I didn't really know what they were talking about since I hadn't experienced this. Oh, how ignorance is bliss! I walked by a mirror today and caught a glimpse of my belly post-lunch. Holy cow! I looked about four months along, instead of two. I plan to take a belly pic today, and I'm not sure they'll be any "sucking it in" this time around. :)  Oh well... this is my body's way of slowing down digestion in order to get lots of nutrients for Baby A. I can live with that...

The food aversions are really kicking in lately. I am really only wanting carbs - bread, chips, potatoes, etc... I'm trying to eat some veggies, but they make me gag, so it's been a little tough. Fruits are still OK though, so I try to eat lots of those.

Breakfast - handful of almonds; egg and cheese on an english muffin; OJ
Snack - terra chips
Lunch - Amy's cheese enchilladas
Snack - french fries from John's combo meal; Vitamin Water
Dinner - veggie burger half a veggie burger; ear of corn
Dessert - fresh blueberries, raspberries, and cherries

Pig Roast

JA and I are attending a housewarming party today for friends of ours that used to live in Mo-town but have moved "to the country." This is funny if you know where we live. I'm excited to see them and their new home (and maybe swim in the pool!) but we don't plan on sharing our news today. I want to (1) make this day about them and their accomplishment and (2) tell some of our closer friends first.

Our anniversary dinner last night was delish! I had a salad, pasta dish, and a yummy chocolate peanut butter dessert. Today's party is a pig roast, so I think I'll be sticking to side dishes. :)

Oink oink... today's pig roast should erase my meat cravings.

Breakfast - eggs on whole grain toast

Snack - banana

Lunch - hummus and veggies (tomato, cucumber, red onion, mixed greens) on whole grain; potato chips

Snack - strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry smoothie

I also went to my first prenatal yoga class this morning. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I'm glad that the instructor is conservative and knowledgeable. On the other, I'm convinced a great-grandmother could have done the class. I haven't tried Alice's Pilates videos yet... hopefully they will be better.

Anniversary

Today JA and I are celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary. We met in 1997, were engaged in 2003, married in 2005, and are expecting in 2011.  Who'd have thought that the cute boy I met after cheerleading practice 13 years ago would end up as my husband and baby daddy? Seems like just yesterday...

We are celebrating with a dinner out tonight, so that slot will remain TBD until tomorrow...

Breakfast - egg and cheese on english muffin

Snack - 1/2 baked potato wth broccoli and cheese

Lunch - tomato and mozzarella wrap; Terra chips; banana; chocolate chip cookie

Snack - peach; sour candies

Dinner - something special!

Report cards are done!

And I am exhausted... so this will be short and sweet. :)

Breakfast - egg and cheese on a croissant; OJ
Snack - pita chips and hummus
Lunch - Amy's veggie burrito; almonds; tortilla chips and bean dip; strawberries
Snack - chocolate chip cookie and apple juice
Snack - Greek pomegranate yogurt
Dinner - salad sub; 1/2 broccoli and cheese baked potato

I Did It!

I made it through my presentation without crying, but I did make a few moms cry. :)  My kids were amazing! I'm so proud of all their hard work. Two days left of school... so much to do! I've been trying to clean up a little bit every day, but I'm so exhausted I just want to sit down and relax sleep. Tomorrow I'm supposed to work at ModelBride after school. What was I thinking when I agreed to that?!


Breakfast - egg and cheese on an everything bagel
Snack - pita chips and hummus
Lunch - slice of margarita pizza; handful of almonds; strawberries; carrots and ranch dip
Snack - handful of animal crackers; Greek raspberry yogurt
Snack - bowl of Total cereal
Dinner - slice of pizza; 2 breadsticks with marinara sauce
Snack - sour candies

Field Day!

Today was our grade level end-of-year party. Nothing like 80 nine-year-olds running around in 90-degree weather! We had a really fun time, and as I may have mentioned before, I really love my class. Don't tell anyone, but they are my favorite!

After school I spent about two hours putting together our class books for tomorrow's writing celebration. I don't even want to think about how many trees I had to use! But I have to admit, they look amazing. I can't wait for tomorrow... the kids have worked incredibly hard. The only thing I'm worried about is my part of the presentation. I wrote something about each of my students and I'm going to have the song For Good playing in the background. I practiced about five times tonight in the hopes that I won't cry tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Here's today's food journal:

Breakfast - egg and cheese on everything bagel; decaf caramel latte with skim milk
Snack - I can't remember - crazy pregnancy brain!
Lunch - garden salad; handful of almonds; pita chips and hummus
Snack - Greek peach yogurt
Dinner - Subway Veggie Delight; Baked Lays; OJ
Snack - handful of sour candies (supposed to help the nausea?)

More Friends

Tom and Stacy came over tonight and we got to share our news with them. It never gets old! It was a great end to a crazy day. Today was the first day of the last week of school. I feel like I'm at the circus - life is so crazy! Crazy, but good. :)

I am exhausted, so this post will be short and sweet.

Breakfast - egg and cheese on a croissant
Snack - pita chips and hummus; Greek blueberry yogurt
Lunch - Amy's veggie burrito; strawberries
Snack - apple; Terra chips
Dinner - two slices of pizza (yum!)

I should have eaten a salad with dinner tonight to get more veggies... vow to do better tomorrow!

Fathers

Today is John's unofficial first Father's Day! The baby got him some new pillows, in the hopes that he'll be getting lots of rest in preparation for all those sleepless nights ahead. We are both very fortunate to have wonderful fathers and I know that John will be joining their ranks. Baby A is going to have the best daddy and granddaddies in the world!

On the pregnancy side of things, the nausea is creeping up on me more and more. I can't really ride in the passenger seat anymore... I feel a lot better when I drive, but still feel a little sick. I am seven weeks today and morning sickness is supposed to be over by the end of your first trimester. That means just seven weeks left! :)

I also went to church today for the first time in a long time. It felt really good. I've been praying a lot lately and I felt like it would be a good thing. So off I went at 6:40 this morning. I stopped at DD, because there was obviously no way I was making through an hour without food. :)  I attended the 7 AM mass (no music!) and then stopped at the bakery. I was home by 8:15 and ready to start the day. Of course, getting up this early means (1) I'm going to eat breakfast twice, and (2) I'm going to need a nap.

Breakfast #1 - egg and cheese on an english muffin; OJ
Snack - Kashi protein/fiber bar
Breakfast #2 - egg and red pepper frittata; one blueberry pancake
Lunch - slice of American on a sandwich thin
Snack - stuffed grape leaf; pita chips and hummus
Dinner - toast with peanut butter; glass of chcolate soy milk

Princess Party

Today JA and I went to our friends' daughter's second birthday party. It was a princess party! Lots of little kiddos running around and having fun. We also got to see our friends' eight- and ten-month-old babies. It's hard to imagine that we'll have a little one like that next year. Very cool...

On the way to the party I had John pull over so we could switch. I was feeling really nauseated in the passenger seat, but felt much better driving. We stayed at the party for about four hours. By the end, my back was pretty achy and we were both tired! I managed to have only one little bite of sugar cookie too. All around, a good day. :)

Breakfast - two eggs on a bun with ketchup
Snack - handful of almonds; SoyJoy berry bar
Lunch - bruschetta; pretzel thins and red pepper hummus
Dinner - garden salad; pasta salad; potato salad
Dessert - Total raisin bran

Bunco!

The neighborhood ladies got together tonight for our first round of Bunco. I had never heard of this dice game before, but it was really fun! We had so much fun laughing and talking. I got to meet some new neighbors and I managed to keep our little secret. Maybe I'll share it at our next gathering in July... :)

Today was another one of those come-home-from-work-and-immediately-pass-out-on-the-couch kind of days. So incrediby tired. After I napped for about two hours(!) I felt better and even managed to make JA a gourmet meal of hotdogs. Go me.

Here's what my meals consisted of today:

Breakfast - egg white and cheese on an english muffin
Snack - handful of almonds and a lowfat blueberry muffin
Lunch - veggies and tofu in a yellow curry sauce; jasmine rice
Snack - Kashi protein and fiber bar; bowl of Total raisin bran
Dinner - two stuffed shells; garden salad
Dessert - fruit salad (strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, melon)

Birthday

Today is my 32nd birthday. Yahoo! I love birthdays, not matter how old I get. Each year God gives me is a blessing and a gift, and I feel especially blessed this year. Baby A is the best gift I could ever want. Of course, real gifts are nice too. :) Today I was surprised at work with balloons and chocolate covered strawberries from Lauren and Carl, beautiful pink roses from JA, and I bought my new nifty gadget. Say hello to my little friend.

Warning: New parents armed with a video camera.

I'm the proud new owner of a Flip Ultra HD video camera. Baby A will be well documented on his journey through life. Molly and Maggie will be my test subjects.

Oh, days like this make me regret ever starting this food journal. But, alas, birthday cupcakes come but once a year. And it was totally worth it.

Breakfast - whole wheat everything bagel with light veggie cream cheese

Snack - watermelon

Lunch - veggie chili and tortilla chips; apple sauce

Snack - cupcake

Dinner - Thai salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, tofu, peanut sauce); yellow curry with veggies and tofu; jasmine rice

Dessert - fresh mango slices

Belly Pics

No progress yet... in fact, I think my belly looks smaller today than it did last week! Must be all those meatball subs I'm not eating. ;) Or I just sucked it in better today.

                                                      June 6                                   June 16

Meat

I was very hungry after school today (didn't eat enough at lunch) so I decided to stop at Subway. My staple is the Veggie Delight (9-grain bread, lettuce, tomato, spinach, cucumbers, green peppers, red onions, banana peppers, pickles, and honey mustard). It is delish! And that is what I ended up getting... but only because I managed to overcome the sudden urge to get a meatball sub. That's right... two years of vegetarianism would have gone down the drain just like that. Baby wanted meatballs... and cheese (of course). How strange. I've heard of it happening during pregnancy, but I never thought it would happen to me... or so soon. But seriously, I still want one.

Mooo... eat me Vanessa!

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast - egg white and cheese on an everything bagel (I liked it so much yesterday!)

Snack - green grapes

Lunch - handful of almonds, whole grain crackers, green grapes

Snack/Lunch #2 - Veggie Delight sandwich

Dinner - veggie chili and tortilla chips

Patience

I usually consider myself a pretty patient person. I teach eight- and nine-year-olds, I have two rescue dogs, I'm married to JA... ha ha. But there's something about being pregnant that makes me very impatient! We found out about Baby A on May 27th so it's only been 2 1/2 weeks. I feel like time is traveling so slowly! It's also the end of the school year and these last few weeks are crawling for me... le sigh. My back is improving slowly, but surely. Another thing I'm getting impatient about - I just want it to be better already!

I felt pretty good today. My "afternoon" sickness kicked in a little around 2 o'clock. The best way to describe it is feeling carsick (but I'm not in the car). I also feel like I have a lump in my throat that I can't swallow down. Weird right?

Today I went shopping for our friends' daughter's two-year birthday party, which is on Saturday. I had so much fun looking at all the little clothes! I got her a couple of dresses, a tank and shorts, and John's favorite, a little nightgown. If we have a daughter he wants one for her. :)

Daddy's Princess

Here's what I ate today...

Breakfast - egg white and cheese on an everything bagel

Snack - Greek strawberry yogurt

Lunch - spaghetti with broccoli, snap peas, and peas; cheese and crackers; apple sauce

Snack - handful of peanuts

Dinner - veggie burger on a bun

Snack - popcorn

I Heart Books

As a teacher, I am all about books. So I obviously headed over to a nearby bookstore as soon as we found out we are expecting and combed the shelves for some good pregnancy books. Holy crow was there a huge selection! Surprisingly, I did not purchase What To Expect When You're Expecting. I heard it focused too much on all the things that can go wrong, and that's not my style. I did pick up three and are mostly enjoying them, to varying degrees. My friend Alice also sent me the fourth one, along with her pregnancy pilates videos. So sweet!

So I am obviously keeping busy and trying to read as much information as I can. I read a selection of the first book aloud to John each night. It documents what's happening with the baby each day. For example, today's section told us the baby's arms are looking less like flippers and more like paddles. Ha! Finally, I signed up for this website which sends me weekly updates. Here's what they had to say about six weeks. (Oh, and I am still taking belly pics each week, but haven't gotten around to posting them. Once school is out next week, I think I'll have more time.

This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil.

So that's what new with Baby A. Today's food journal isn't stellar... oops! I vow to do better tomorrow. I'm also still walking like a 90-year-old woman, though I can lie down and sit without pain.

Breakfast - egg and cheese on a croissant

Snack - Greek strawberry yogurt tortilla chips and guacamole (the yogurt tasted bad so I tossed it!)

Lunch - spaghetti with broccoli, snap peas, and peas; red grapes; chocolate pudding

Snack - nachos (consider it a pizza substitute - never met a cheese/bread product I didn't love)

Dinner - grilled veggie wrap (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers); half a baked potato

Oh my aching back!

Ugh... I threw out my back on Friday morning. I've done it twice before. The first time I was picking up a suitcase off the bed. The second time I was cleaning the shower. And on Friday, I bent down to pick up my lunch bag off the floor. As you can see, I engage in some pretty insane behavior in order to cause this injury. Man... getting old really stinks!

If I could get x-rays, this is what mine would look like.

First things first - let's catch up on the food journal. This is as accurate as I can remember because most of Friday was spent in a haze of intense back pain. I guess I should note here that the past two times I've done this I've been able to down these lovely little things called pain pills. Not so much this time...

Friday
Breakfast - egg and cheese on whole grain toast (had to peel the cheese off and toss it - just couldn't eat it!)
Snack - blue corn tortilla chips
Lunch - mixed veggies (broccoli, celery, carrots, string beans) and brown rice; wonton chips; Vitamin water
Dinner - toast with peanut butter

Saturday
Breakfast - Total cereal
Snack - Greek pomegranate yogurt
Lunch - half a bean burrito (whole wheat tortilla, brown rice, black beans, pico de gallo, cheese, and guacamole)
Snack - red grapes
Dinner - rest of my burrito

Sunday
Breakfast - Total cereal
Snack - Vitamin water; apple
Lunch - tortilla chips and guacamole
Dinner - spaghetti with broccoli, snap peas, and peas
Dessert - lemon Italian ice