2nd Trimester Begins & Cute Baby Room

The second trimester starts today!! After a few weeks of starting to feel really good, I've felt renewed nausea and exhaustion since last Wednesday, particularly when in metro or cars. Yesterday was one of my worst days of queasiness, and today I do feel better. I'm on a major kick to get at least 60 grams of protein per day and we stocked up on all kinds of great soy products, lobster ravioli, etc and together with shaved almonds in everything possible - I'm going to reach the 60/day!

Jose and I added a cute sailboat border to the newly painted baby's room. We think that sailboats work for boys and girls, and will know the active little baby's gender on April 6th!!

Prenatal Yoga and Dr Visit

I went to my first prenatal yoga class today! It was great to get this stretching and breathing, and to be in a room of pregnant women!! We started sharing our names, due dates, feelings and any questions. Two women had reached their due date today! Another was having contractions, and is expecting next week. A handful of others were like me - between 13 and 18 weeks, showing but not with a big round belly. I heard 3 people talking about the same hospital that we'll go to if we stay with current doctor, and also got another doula recommendation. What great advice from Emmanuelle and Rita to seek resources and community via this class!! How nice that my nausea was down enough to go and enjoy!

I have been feeling a lot better lately, but did get a major swoop of nausea last night on the metro, and also in the middle of the night. The Dr today told me that this is just still normal while my baby moves from 1st to 2nd trimester. Today's Dr was warmer and nicer (also gay) than the last male Dr we had seen. The exam was pretty basic today, just basically getting my blood pressure, weight and baby's heartbeat. He/she was at 159/minute - definitely showing us that he/she is there!!

We are smitten with this baby more and more each day, and can't stop gazing at the cute sonogram pictures from last week (scanner at work still broken, but will post soon). We have a really great baby!!

We have also done more research into day care options, and will go do visits the week after next (more crazy work deadlines for me next week so difficult to get away). I am feeling better about our to do list, and finding the right day care, and doula if we take that option.

Finally, Jose painted the baby's room a light sky blue this past weekend, and we ordered a cute sailboat border!! We figure that for boys or girls, sailboats are hopeful and fun - and are a great reminder of my special Mom.

9 months pregnant prediction!

 We went shopping today for dresses for good friends Keri and Jay's wedding in Mexico in April. The photo to the left shows me at 3 months pregnant, and then further below with a 7 months "belly" attached - showing what I might look like at TEN months!!!

Jose and I are smitten by our baby's cute, wonderful head (additional photos coming soon from sonogram). And I continue to be happily amazed at our baby's funny little active ways - pushing back with his/her little hand at the sonogram sensor and showing off for us! I have caught myself a few times becoming the adoring, doting Mom! I guess this is how Moms are - we are meant to be awed and smitten by our unique and beautiful babies and children!

In other good news, we got another call from the Doctor's office to confirm that all the additional blood tests associated with the ultrascreen have come back normal/negative for any birth defects. What a happy feeling! And since last Tuesday, I've felt some declining of the nausea! I still feel more tired than usual, can get dizzy easily, and am very hungry every 2-3 hours,  but am so happy to feel less queasy! I am hoping to go to prenatal yoga this coming week.


We are 13 weeks today, and so by next Sunday will officially start the 2nd trimester!!!

Cute and Healthy Baby!

12 week, 3 days sonogram photos in! This is a photo Jose took of the screen, and I will have more photos once our scanner is working at my office. 

SO the great news on the ultra screen –the baby is normal and no defects of any kind were detected from this sonogram or my blood work. 

The next really fun news is that the baby has a personality! The person doing the sonogram noted that it is a very active baby! The baby had its hand up like a high five a few times, and was pushing away on the sonogram instrument when the technician would push in! And apparently the baby was kicking at my bladder, but I can still not feel anything. His/her feet look really good, larger than mine, comparatively, which is good because I have small but wide weird feet. I really love the baby’s head - very big, round and I guess Hamilton/Cabrera like. There is another photo to come that shows the baby kind of just chilling out, with a big cute head, gazing out and happily contemplating the future. 

Next sonogram won’t be until about another month and half, and we will be able to learn the baby’s gender at that time!

Big TO DOs - plesae input!

I have some big “to do” items, besides our starting to plan for the guest to baby room transformation. If anyone has any insights, I’d really appreciate you contacting me on these big TO DOs:

Find child care options and get on waiting lists  -in DC, they say you should get on waiting lists before you conceive! I have not been able to quickly find a list based on internet searches, so it’s a bit tricky.

I have done google searches of course, and put out questions on babycenter DC groups, but really don’t have a sense of where to even start calling. So I’m really looking for any direct advice on DC, advice based on others’ experiences in or out of DC, and even advice on how to do my search better.

Looking into birthing doulas and potential Doctor change - as shared in another post, I felt that our Doctor was pretty “one size fits all” and didn’t really add any personal tips that I was hoping for. 

I like the idea of the doula for the extra emotional support they provide, and the more I think about it, the more I would like another supportive person involved in the pregnancy, and potentially there for the birth besides Jose. 

I’d maybe even be able to get a recommendation for a different Doctor via a doula, as there’s no way of knowing how personal a doctor might be from going through my insurance providers’ list of doctors.

If anyone has any tips on either of these, please let me know!

Eating, Sleeping, and Growing Belly

We are a few days into week 11, and the baby is now the size of a fig! At 11 weeks, growing babies are supposed to be doing all kinds of movements and flips, but you don’t feel these yet, because he/she is just not that big.

I’m still very tired, and nauseous around certain hours of the day, and feel pretty good after eating, and pretty bad before eating. I don’t yet have that renewed energy and reduced nausea I’ve read and heard about starting soon, but am looking forward to it!!

Here is an example of my day: wake up VERY hungry after sweating all night. Even with the heat turned down and extra blankets for Jose, I am an oven all night long! Enjoy fresh juice (not coffee or anything hot which turns me off) and healthy cereals with fiber, flax, fruits, etc. Get on the metro and make sure I get a seat, make it out of the metro and do the short walk to my office, arrive feeling ok, then by mid morning start feeling nauseous and must put on the sea-bands. Start feeling ravenous around 11am, and eat an apple with almond butter. Work and attend meetings over next few hours, and change meeting times if I must to get lunch not too long after 12:30! Feel very good after lunch. 2 hours later, start feeling very hungry and eat Greek yogurt (more protein!) By 4 , feel exhausted. By 5, feel really exhausted and a bit nauseous again. Eat some dried figs, nuts or healthy zucchini bread and then start the journey home about 6:30. The nights I have my group or individual grieving therapy are really hard, because I’m just so tired and hungry by this time! Get home about 7 normal nights and really need hummus and carrots. Chill out until Jose gets home. Eat about 8:30/9 and become very tired by 10.

Life really is so focused now on eating and sleeping! I try to get walks in when I am feeling good, but have to be careful as I can easily get exhausted, and so don’t walk too far from home or office.

Every day I look at my belly, and it’s clearly growing, but I keep asking myself when it will really pop out! This will of course happen soon enough. At this point, only a few pairs of pants still fit my waist, and I’m starting to wish for spring with easier skirts.

Other great news – another sonogram scheduled for next week!! Hopefully we will see the little berry/fig actually moving around!!

Growing Belly Photos