Monday, January 14, 2008

6 months pregnant


We are 6 months pregnant now. Here's a picture that shows my belly (photo by Bob). I've been getting a lot of feedback from people who see me and think I don't look 6 months pregnant. They say I look "tiny" or just a little over weight. However, I saw my midwife today who measured my belly and said I am the perfect size. When I told her that people tell me I look small, she said it is because I have a long torso. She said women with short torsos have the opposite appearance, and those are the women who always get asked if they are having twins when they are not.

So my glucose test came back normal. Yay! However my other lab results show that I am anemic. I have to try taking the iron supplements again. I'd tried taking them a few months ago, but I thought they were affecting my digestion so I stopped taking them. The midwife said to try taking it every other day or every 3rd day.

Bob and I found a doula we like a lot. She is also a yoga teacher, and I've gone to her prenatal yoga class the last 2 weeks. I enjoy her class a lot, and it is good to get to know her better through her teaching, and also to get used to relaxing or moving in response to her voice and instructions.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Orange soda test

On Monday I went to the blood lab at St. Luke's hospital for my glucose tolerance test. It is a standard test that every pregnant woman gets these days, since pregnant women have a risk of becoming diabetic while pregnant. I'd heard about women who got a false positive on the test because they ate too many sweets before taking the test, and so I was careful about what I ate that morning. I even consulted with our family diabetes expert to figure out what foods I could eat that wouldn't spike my blood sugar (thanks, Lee Ann!). I heard women complain about the syrupy sweet stuff they make you drink, but I didn't think it was bad at all. I am not a soda drinker, so to me it just tasted like orange soda and it was fine. The only bad part was that it was very cold and I had to drink it in 5 minutes or less so I got that brain-freeze feeling momentarily. But really, it was no problem. And today I scheduled a cleaning with my dentist (my teeth did feel a bit sugar coated during the hour that I had to wait in the lab until they drew my blood). I will find out the results next Monday at my next midwife visit. I think it will be normal.

I'm so happy to be feeling better! Although I am still congested, it is sooooo much better than it was! I'm no longer going through a box of Puffs Plus a day. Now I'm down to using about 1/7 box a day. But a patient at work today said "oh, you sound like you have a cold!" and I explained that this is actually me almost recovered from the cold I had a week before Christmas. Pregnant women tend to be more congested in general. We have more fluids going through our bodies--more blood, more mucus, etc. My allergist told me that at this point it might just be "pregnancy rhinitis" that is bothering me, and not the remnants of a cold. He said it will go away after the baby is born. I'm hoping that it is left over from the cold, though, and that I can clear it up in the next coupla weeks. I've been using a nasal saline rinse twice a day, and that helps a little. My voice still sounds funny, though. Pregnant women aren't supposed to use decongestants, otherwise I'm sure Sudafed would help a lot.

On Sunday Bob and I went to a baby supply store in the Richmond district to look at crib options. We decided to start with a co-sleeper and see how long that lasts us. We don't really have room for a crib in our one bedroom apartment, and I like the idea of having baby right next to us while we sleep to make feedings and care-taking easier. While we were in the neighborhood, we ate lunch at a Thai restaurant we like called Be My Guest. On the walk to the restaurant Bob spotted this sign for a bar and he showed me how to hold my hand up and then took a picture:

We had a fun time out together after so many days of just resting at home. Resting at home was fun, too, don't get me wrong. But it was nice to be outside.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Holidays 2007

Merry Christmas! Bob and I spent Christmas Eve and Day with Bob's side of the family, then flew to NJ for a few days to see Jen's side. Unfortunately, we were both under the weather throughout all festivities, but it was good to spend time with family. Now we are finally recovering from the holiday viruses we had, and so a blog update is in order!

Here's a picture of Bob and Jen on Christmas Eve, so you can see how big the belly is getting... (click picture to enlarge)


From left to right we have Brian, Michelle (Bob's sister), Dr. Don, Sylvia (Bob's mom), Bob and Jen.


Bob officiated a wedding the day after Christmas. Here is Minister Bob (center) with the bride and groom, Celina and Philip. Congratulations!


And this photo was taken in our New Jersey hotel room, since we were too sick to get out much. From left to right you see Lee Ann, Jason (Jen's brother), Jessie (Jen's mom), Jen and Bob


More blogging yet to come. In the mean time, take care!
~ Jen