Little earthquakes

So now we are 29 weeks pregnant, or 6.5 months. I'm feeling huge most of the time, although I still meet aquaintances who insist I look "tiny". I often explain to people that I have a long torso, or I'll say with a smile, "I wear it well". What can I say to people who express disbelief that I'm as far along as I say I am? One woman yesterday told me that when she was 3 months pregnant she looked as big as I am now. Well, I've gained 20 pounds and as far as I can tell it is all in my front body. Yes, 20 pounds! For the first time in my life I have to slide the scale weight over to the "150" mark. It is harder and harder to bend forward (like when putting on pants or shoes), and I'm feeling like my insides are cramped up under my rib cage (because they are).

Bob and I went to our 2 sessions of the Hypnobirthing class we signed up for. We learned the basics of hypnobirthing, and we'll have opportunities to go over it more with our doula later this month when we meet with her. I like the teachings of hypnobirthing, but unfortunately Bob and I weren't psyched about the teacher of our class. There was a lot that I read in the book that she didn't go over at all, or that I would have liked to hear in more detail. So I look forward to learning more about hypnobirthing from our doula, and I'll probably have to reread some parts of the book to get a firmer understanding.

Here's a photo that Bob took last night while I was mellowed out after a bath and watching my belly shake from the baby's movements. It reminded me of that Tori Amos song, "little earthquakes".


I went to two different prenatal yoga classes this week, to make up for skipping a class last week. I have a goal to go to at least one public yoga class each week. So now I've been to 4 different teachers' prenatal yoga classes, and I have to say I love Britt Fohrman's class! Going to a different teacher made me appreciate her even more. I feel lucky to have a teacher that I like so much. I trust her judgement and I appreciate her teachings. Every class she teaches is different from the previous class, and I am learning a lot about pregnancy and birth just through her yoga classes.

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.

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.

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

Technology pics

Bob and I went to a higher tech sonography center today because there was a fetal echo ordered for us. They did another quick body scan of the baby, and they used their 3D technology to make some pictures for us. You can see her face in the first picture, and then her legs in the second. Look at that cute big toe! The sonographer confirmed that it is a girl. Yay! I could feel her moving around a lot during the sonogram, and she did a half somersault during the exam. At first she was in breech position, which means her head was up and her butt was down and she was facing forward. Then she turned forward so that her head was down and facing away from the sonographer and her feet were up towards my head. So it was a challenge to get some face pictures after she turned, but we did get one. They printed out the face picture and put it in a paper frame that says "Baby's First Photo" and they gave us a CD with jpeg files of the other pictures. So high tech. Wow. We are thrilled that she is healthy and passing all the tests.

Baby kicks!

We felt the baby kick last night for the first time! It was pretty neat. And luckily, we were together the first time I felt her kick, so I was able to tell Bob right away and he put his hand on my belly and he felt it, too! It really surprised him and we both got pretty giddy. It was about 2:30 am, I'd already been asleep for hours while Bob was out at a show that his college friend's band was playing. He came home and we were talking a bit before going to sleep, when the baby makes a distinctive nudge towards my outer lower left belly. It was such a unique feeling. Then when it continued for several more minutes, and when Bob was able to feel it, too, I was better able to believe it. Yay! We felt the baby kicking! So cool.

First baby gift from us

Bob and I went to a "meet the doulas" event at Natural Resources in the Mission district over the weekend. We are still keeping our eyes and ears open for a doula that we really like. Natural Resources is a place that hosts many parenting classes, as well as a store that sells baby care items. We found this cute onesie with a giraffe on it that I fell in love with, so Bob bought it for us while I was in the rest room. So sweet! And I love the little giraffe. Whenever I see it, it makes me so happy! And it makes it seem more real that we will have a baby living with us next year.

We are 21 weeks along in the pregnancy, and everything is going well. I'm feeling healthy, I'm eating well, and sleeping as much as I am able. Bob is staying active by playing a lot of tennis and some Frisbee every weekend. We joined Netflix last week, and we've enjoyed watching a few films so far. It has been nice spending a lot of time at home together.