We're Still Alive

I am sorry I have totally neglected this blog :( There are a couple reasons including the fact that the blogosphere is now blocked at my work **sigh**

We had an awesome weekend, though. Sometimes it's a good thing to run out of groceries and not feel like going to the store yet; this was one of those times. We had dinner on Friday at Kabob Palace, our favorite Afghani place across the street. Everyone there was happy we're having a baby! The staff always recognize us and give us the special treatment.

Saturday while Lane was reformatting our hard drive, I decided to clean out this big closet we use as storage and took everything out that we could donate. It was a big accomplishment, since we need to make some room for baby stuff. That night we went across the street in a different direction to Matsutake - the sushi/hibachi place. I really wanted sushi, but don't worry! I only ate the all cooked kind.

Even though we hardly ever eat out, I love that within a five minute walk we have the option of Spanish tapas, Italian, Thai, Afghani, Japanese, Greek, Ethiopian, Mexican, More Italian, and tons other places.

So later that night Torin and Raluca called to invite us to a last minute b-day celebration for Raluca. As soon as we got home from dinner, we got on the metro and had a great night out on the town in DC. Somehow, we ended up at a gay club - a first for me. We had a blast dancing all night. It was really strange to see guys in a roped off area dancing in their underwear and tennies, though. There was a really, really, really drunk girl oogling over the dancing guys unabashedly. She was grabbing the insides of their legs and smacking their butts with full force. I was a little embarassed for her.

After a couple of "off" weekends, we have brought back the big weekend breakfasts at home. A hearty omelet, roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes and a berrylicious smoothie do wonders :) After a well deserved nap following our wild evening adventures, we somehow managed to get the car washed, donate all the goodwill stuff and do all our grocery shopping. We had a brief unexpected excursion when the fire alarm for the whole building went off while we were cooking dinner (NOT because we were cooking dinner), so we got to be cold outside while 6 or 7 fire engines with about 15 firefighters came sauntering into our building. As far as we know, there was no fire.

After we got to bed, I don't even remember why, but Lane and I laughed about something until we cried. A perfect ending to a fabulous weekend.

Showing off for Daddy!

Tonight Lane felt the baby move for the first time!! He had his hand on my belly, and before I even told him the baby had kicked, he knew it. Baby Grover must have been showing off for Daddy or something, because that little rascal was moving around like crazy! We just giggled together as we felt the baby move over and over again.

Week 20

We're half way there, and I can hardly believe it!

Baby Grover's permanent teeth are starting to form behind the baby ones. Around this week, babies are supposed to start being more active at certain times of the day. I've noticed Baby kicking and moving around in the late mornings, around 1 or 2 in the afternoon, and also around 8 pm or so. By this time, Baby Grover can also hear sounds like my voice, heart beat, and stomach growling. Apparently, Baby Grover can hear outside noises too, and might even put its hands over its tiny ears if a loud sound is made nearby.

I am still feeling really great - totally normal, and regular energy levels, with the exception of some late night leg cramps.

evening update - so of course after I post this, I go to work and feel so yucky I decided to go home at lunch time. I hardly ate anything (soooo unlike me), and I slept all afternoon. So much for feeling normal still. I'm trying to figure out if this is pregnancy related or just some bug, since lots of people at work are sickies.

*May* Showers

I am SOO excited!!! I just got news that my sisters are going to give me a baby shower! My mom and Theresa in California have already made their flight arrangements, and Cynthia is going to fly in from Boston!

This is really wonderful news. I was bummed that they'd most likely miss out on all the fun. To know I'll get to share this special time with them in person, if only for a little while, is really exciting.

Yay for family!!!

Is Baby Grover a BOY or a GIRL!?!?

There's just a little more than ONE week to make your guess about Baby Grover's gender. While you're at it, take a guess at the other arrival stats - what day and time, and how big (or tiny) you think Baby Grover will be. Just click on the ExpectNet banner and make your best guess!!

March 3rd is our next ultrasound appointment. This is where we'll get to take a close look at all the baby's organs to make sure they are developing correctly. Baby Grover's gestational age will also be determined, giving us a more accurate estimate of the due date. And, extra special added bonus is that if our baby is an exhibitionist, we will also get to find out the gender. Many of Baby Grover's bones have hardened since our last ultrasound in mid December, and so much growth has happened since then. We are really excited to see how much our little guy or girl has changed!!

Pregnancy Hormones

What you can't tell from the picture in yesterday's post, is that I had just moments before overcome a bout of outrageous pregnancy hormones. I asked Lane to take a picture of me since it was Tuesday Picture Day, but he was somehow enthralled with a Subway commercial. Naturally, I started crying. Luckily this outrageousness lasted about 5 seconds, and then I was ready to smile for the camera. I'm glad that both Lane and I recognize that this craziness is all hormones.

Week 19

This week, hair is starting to form on Baby Grover's little head. Baby Grover's brain is really busy these days, specializing areas of the nerve cells that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. And as strange as it may sound, Baby Grover may already have developed a preference for the left or right hand!

These days I'm still feeling mostly normal. My only complaint is that I've started waking up all throughout the night again - not to pee, but because my knees are killing me!! I think it's because I'm producing super levels of a pregnancy hormone called relaxin. Relaxin loosens and widens the hip joints to make childbirth easier. But it also loosens other joints. boo. I'm feeling guilty about not exercising, and whenever I read about pregnancy exercise, I feel like someone is scolding me disapprovingly for not being more active. So, out of complete guilt, I decided to take a walk outside today in the 47 degree weather. It wasn't really *that* cold, but my walk lasted all of 7 minutes or so. So much for that.

and i'm really good at crying these days.

I'm a Walking Disaster

Someone please let me know - does pregnancy make you super clumsy?!?! Since Wednesday, I have grated my knuckles, sliced off part of my middle finger, cut my thumb, gotten a "paper" cut on a Costco cardboard box, dumped a pitcher of Brita water on the floor, and knocked over a big glass of water on our desk (full of papers and pictures and CDs). I swear I am not normally like this!! Am I doomed to 5 more months of this madness???

Strollers, as far as the eye can see.

We braved the overwhelming madness that is Babies R Us tonight. It really wasn't as scary as I thought it might be. That is probably because I did most of the registering online, and we only had to pick out a few big things. One of the good things about doing it online is that you can read all the reviews about the products instead of just reading a box to decide if it's going to work It's still crazy to see 30 different kinds of strollers, cribs, bassinets, gliders, entertainers, diaper bags, etc. all lined up next to each other.

I feel good to have this out of the way.

I Heart You, Craig's List

My sister-in-law Meliss had a great recommendation - look for used baby furniture, especially since you just don't use some items for very long and they're so expensive.

This was some super smart mom wisdom. So I started out my mission on Craig's List. Low and Behold, I found this beauty for $25 the same day!!

We never would have been able to transport it home without Katie helping to arrange for us to borrow Marc's Jeep, which worked perfectly. The changing table is really sturdy. It has a few scuff marks and some wear on the basket shelves, but I don't think Baby Grover will notice. And hey, I can live with some scuff marks if it means paying $25 instead of $200 or more. Besides, I really like this style better than the regular old changing tables out there.

And just to make me feel even more delighted about my steal of a deal, here are some links to other changing tables out there:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2559325

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2574660

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2574677

My next challenge will be scouting out a new dresser and glider. Wish me luck!

Another Pregnancy First

This morning on the metro, I got some of my first unsolicited pregnancy and childrearing advice from a complete stranger – a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy! I should have known that this would be an awkward conversation when it opened with him asking me, “Excuse me, ma’am, are you with child??” (who says that?!?!) He asked me if I was considering breastfeeding (No, I’m just 330 pages into The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding for kicks) and proceeded to tell me the thousands of reasons that I should.

But then he asked me if I was going to a midwife or doing a home birth. Imagine his surprise when I informed him I would be giving birth at a hospital!! Mr. Lieutenant Commander said he didn’t want to push anything on me, but this was something he felt strongly about (clearly!). He wrote down the name of his midwife from California who wrote a book in the 70s. Though it was really flaky, according to him since the entire decade was flaky, “I mean everyone had long hair”. Thankfully, a less flaky version was republished in the 90s.

Mr. Lieutenant Commander explained all the reasons you shouldn’t have an epidural, the complications, how it makes birth more difficult, etc. To comfort and assure me of his expertise in the subject, he proudly said he wasn’t just some hippie; after all, he studied physics at the Naval Academy. (Had he only known what a tree-hugging, recycling, California, non –religious, liberal hippie I am!) He also explained that this was SO important, he had actually had missed his stop on the metro so he could talk to me more. As he left, he gave me good wishes: “Best of luck to you in the Universe!”

Suddenly, I realized that I was on the wrong train, and had to transfer to another one and go back like 5 stops in order to get back on track. If he hadn’t talked to me the whole way, I could have switched a stop earlier much more easily.

It was all quite humorous in a way. I mean, I already knew and was mostly in agreement with all the things he was trying so hard to convince me of, but I just don’t understand why he felt so compelled to share his worldly knowledge with poor, helpless, unknowing me. I thought about telling him how I’ve read a lot about natural child birth, or that he didn’t need to convince me to breastfeed, because I had already made that decision. But I didn’t want to engage him any further. He was really trying to be nice. I couldn’t help but thinking the whole time I was being talked to, how I would definitely blog all about this experience.

Valentine's Day Menu

Lane and I aren't really that big on Valentine's Day. Maybe we're just too practical to go out to dinner on a night when every other couple is out as well. We feel rushed and like we spend too much money. This is why we usually just cook ourselves an extra special dinner and enjoy it together at home.

Lane usually isn't a big lamb eater, so I was surprised when he picked out a lamb roast for V-day dinner. I marinated it in red wine, dijon mustard, fresh mint, fresh rosemary, some thyme and salt and pepper. Unfortunately, I had a minor incident while cutting the rosemary. I missed the herbs and sliced a nice chunk of my middle finger off instead. After stopping to apply some pressure, putting into use some new breathing techniques I've been reading about, and bandaging my wound, I got back to work.

We also roasted some onions. This is one of Lane's favorite's that we learned from my brother, David. You take a whole sweet onion, and slice it almost half way down on both sides, so there are slits in it, but it's still together on the bottom. Put some slices of butter in the slits, some beef bouillon on top and a little more butter. Then wrap them in foil and cook them in the oven for about an hour. The onions are so tender and sweet, and taste like onion soup. mmm.

We made mashed potatoes with red potatoes, dumped some fresh spinach, fresh parsley, and some bacon I cooked up and whipped them all together until they were so nice and fluffy. The secret ingredient in these is sour cream.

I also sauteed up some asparagus and mushrooms together. They were delish. Over Lane's beer and my glass of milk (in a wine glass - Lane is so silly), we decided it was about our tenth Valentine's day together. But now that I actually get technical about it, I realize it was really our twelfth!!

Lane is my bestest friend. He takes such good care of me - even when I'm a crazy pregnant lady, we always have so much fun together, and I just know he's going to be a wonderful daddy.

Electoral Compass

This was is a pretty cool website Katie told me about: http://www.electoralcompass.com/ It maps out where your views are in relation to the presidential candidates.

Non Baby Update

Okay all you readers out there. I changed the settings so you don't need a google account to leave a comment.

The Potomac Primary

Good thing about the election - Our polling place is in the party room of our apartment lobby. It's icy and freezing outside, and we don't even have to leave the building to vote.

Bad thing about the election - Lane didn't turn in my change of address form and I forgot to ask him about it, so I couldn't participate :(

Lane went downstairs to vote and before I knew it, he was back. I thought the polls had closed before we were expecting them to or something, but no. He had already voted. It was that quick.
My current goal: turn in the change of address form at the DMV before November. Wow. I am ambitious.

Adventures in Moving

We aren't moving anywhere, not just yet. But our friends Torin & Raluca moved over the weekend and we helped them out. Torin introduced me to a completely new and revolutionary method of packing:

First, take one stretchy large trash bag. Then proceed to dump contents indiscriminately into the garbage bag until it is full to capacity. Do not look at, examine, or question whether you should be moving said contents to the new residence. Repeat. I have also found that this is the preferred method for other friends of mine.

I am serious OCD girl about packing, packaging, sorting, and labeling when I move so this was absolutely unfathomable for me. For example, when Lane and I moved to SLO, I knew we wouldn't be staying there (sad as it may be), and since we had a storage unit I seriously kept every box from our wedding and wedding shower. When we moved back to Gilroy, people would ask me which box went where, or what was in a box. They were shocked to see that the Kitchen Aid was in the Kitchen Aid box. My favorite new tip for moving is to go to Trader Joes for their wine boxes. I used bunches of them for moving our wine and glasses, etc.

Anyway, I quickly enlisted assistance of Raluca to get some newspaper and started carefully wrapping glass bottles and was back in my moving comfort zone.

Torin & Raluca moved to an awesome *house* by the metro. They have tons of space, a deck, a pool, and a huge yard. We're really happy for them and can't wait to go back for some raging parties :)

We went to a birthday celebration that night for friends of Torin & Raluca. It was good times.

Week 18

Starting this week, my heart is supposed to begin working 40 to 50% harder to support the pregnancy and Baby Grover is big enough to be cradled in the palm of my hand. Did you know that after I have a meal, Baby Grover gets all its nutrients within one to two hours? The little rascal continues to gently swoosh around in there.

Useful Baby Care Instructions

My friend Sarah sent me a hilarious email with "helpful" dos and don'ts of baby care. I laughed so hard I was crying. I had to share this with my faithful readers :)

Check it out:

http://allfunny.net/index.php/funny-pictures/proper-baby-care.html

Last Weekend - ages ago.

Lane and I got crazy last weekend when I decided we should venture to the abyss of the gym downstairs in our apartment building. We have lived here since Octber 2006 and have probably gone three times. ever. It's so intimidating and overwhelming. I never know what to do in there. So I hopped on a bike and rode it for 8 miles while watching the food network. What can I say?! I don't think anyone else at the gym was watching food TV. But you know what? I would have been watching the same show sitting on the couch in my living room. AND I made a delicious dinner that night that we wouldn't have had otherwise (thank you Rachael Ray). I made her Greek Goulash which had ground beef with cinnamon and oregano, eggplant, onions, garlic, spinach, tomato sauce, and orzo pasta with lemon zest and kalamata olives and feta cheese with pita chips. It was a delicious combination of flavors I don't normally eat together and we loved it.

Sunday we caught the super bowl with our friends Alex & Matt and Jess & Sean. A prerequisite for attendance was rooting for the Giants. I'm not really into football, but I paid attention most of the game, although we only needed to watch like the last 3 minutes. We can never pass up an opportunity to be with good friends and have lots of delicious food.

I was supposed to go to a knitting class tonight with some girls from work, but our instructor wasn't feeling well. We'v e rescheduled our crash course for Tuesday night instead. If it's anything like my efforts to learn how to crochet, it will be disastrous, but I figured I'd at least give it a go.

No, I did not just have a big Christmas dinner

Surprisingly, I've gotten a lot of the same reaction from various people when they've found out I'm pregnant. Several people said they just thought I was really enjoying the holidays, someone else said they just thought our unit always had a lot of snacks at work, and someone else said they just thought I had a really big Christmas dinner!! It's a baby, people. I'm surprised by how many people assumed I was chunking out. I wonder how many more have been wondering at how or why I've just "let myself go".

In other news, there were a couple of firsts today - Today, a sweet lady offered to give little pregnant ol' me her seat on the metro. At least *somebody* thinks I'm pregnant. AND, we got our first gifts for Baby Grover in the mail today!! We are so excited. Our friends Julie and Bill got us a Grover book (There's a Monster at the End of This Book!), a Grover stuffed animal, and a Burt's Bees Baby Starter Kit. Thanks, guys!!

And FOR SURE I felt the baby move tonight. yay for Baby Grover!

Week 17

Holy Moly, did I grow a lot this week, or what?!? Wowsers. I can't believe that in 3 weeks I will be half way done being pregnant! The time has flown by. It makes me nervous that we'll have enough time to take care of everything we need to before the baby arrives.

Today was my monthly doctor appointment. She confirmed that our baby has a 1 in 5,000 chance of having Down Syndrome, so that's really good. Had some extra blood work done today, and talked with the doctor about doulas and epidurals. I heard the baby's heartbeat again today. AND, I know I've gained weight over the past month (and have the pictures to prove it). According to the doctor's office, I gained only one pound in the past month. Either I was wearing some pretty heavy clothing last time, or the nurse didn't do a proper reading on the scale.

I need to make an ultrasound appointment in the next couple of weeks so we can take a look at all the baby's organs and find out the sex of the baby!! I'll be sure to schedule the appointment so Lane and I can both go together. I really want him to be there, and plus our last ultrasound appointment together was just fascinating.