Sleepy Times

Lately I can't get enough sleep. Last night I went to bed at probably 9:30 or so and I woke up at 7:30 this morning. 10 hours of sleep! It's such a challenge finding a comfortable position these days, even with the Snoogle pillow. And I also get too hot and then too cold during the night. Morning workouts are like a joke these days. I have been going to the gym more and more in the evening. It feels better because I throw on my clothes right when I get home from work and head to the gym. The exercise in the evening gives me energy and makes me feel good after being at work all day sitting at my desk. I will probably have to continue with evening workouts on most days since mornings have become ROUGH in this last trimester. I am so looking forward to my two week vacation coming up. A friend from Martinique is coming so it will be an active NYC vacation. I already made a list of some things that we could do while she is here. As long as I have a few snacks and a bottle of water in my bag, we should be good. I am going to pretend to be a tourist. Other than the annoyance of the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, everything else should be fun. On the days it's really hot, I will suggest indoor stuff like museums, movies, or maybe a trip to the beach. Apparently we are in for another heatwave starting this weekend, fun times for the pregnant lady! And it's the worst being on the subway when it's extra hot. All those people, all that funk (NYCers please your get your hygiene in check!) and a barely air conditioned subway car make for a horrible evening commute for little ole me.
Still don't have a name for this little baby...

Family Dinner Time

Yesterday B and I headed to Connecticut to have an early dinner with my parents and my brother. It was really great. My mom was saying that she doesn't want to be called granny. She said the baby is going to call her "mere" and my dad "pere". My dad didn't agree, LOL! My mom even found a bassinet which was really nice since the baby will probably be sleeping in the bedroom for quite sometime. My brother has even agreed to babysit! Will see how that goes...I can't really imagine him changing diapers. I asked my mom if I looked fat...and she said I did! I was like "Um...okay". That is only going to make me work harder in the gym NOW and after the baby is here to get back in shape, better shape than I was before I got pregnant. The topic of winter holiday came up and I know I definitely want to go to Chicago in December because it would be the first time that many of my extended family will see little Bojangles. I know Granny is going to go bananas for him, her first great grand child.
On another note, I am in the process of interviewing homebirth midwives. I have decided that hospital birth is not for me, and if this pregnancy remains low risk, I intend on bringing little Bojangles into the world at home in a small pool of water. B is all for it and will be present to interview with all the midwives. More on that to come...

Pregnancy Overload

Right now I am sort of feeling overwhelmed by this whole pregnancy thing. Just because I feel like every waking moment something to do with being pregnant has to enter my mind. Hiring and interviewing a midwife, childcare, maternity leave, etc... These are the things that wake me up in the middle of the night. I am banning myself from buying or borrowing anymore pregnancy books, I want to read something that has nothing to do with childbirth and babies. I am in the mood for a good sci-fi novel actually. Only thing that gives me relief lately is the weather; it's nice and cool outside which I love. During the heat wave, I was having trouble sleeping because I was so hot. I even shunned my Snoogle for awhile because I just felt too hot to touch anything. Meanwhile, it seems like I can't get enough sleep. I have been averaging like 10 hours of sleep lately. Tonight I have to go to the gym because I just couldn't get up this morning. As long as I go tonight and tomorrow morning, I will have met my goal for gym attendance for the week. I may even put in extra credit on Saturday morning, for some reason going to the gym on Saturday morning puts me in a great mood. I spoke to my doula for a long time yesterday; she's awesome and I love the fact that she is a young mother; she had her son last October. She really helps me and reassures me. She is having a doctor come and speak at her store about alignment in pregnancy on Saturday afternoon. It's free so I'm game. My back is all messed up, especially the right side. Yesterday, I had a little pregnancy weight gain freak out. I mean it's been so hot lately, I know I was probably retaining some water but I still freaked out. This morning my weight was back to "normal", reflecting a 11.5 weight gain since December/January. I have tried to come to terms with the fact that I may end up gaining as much as 25 pounds, which to me sounds like SO much. According to my BMI before getting pregnant, a 15-25 pounds weight gain would be appropriate for me. I was about 7 pounds overweight before. I was wishing so hard to only gain 15 pounds, but considering I am at the 11.5 mark now with 3 months to go, I can't imagine not getting to at least 20 pounds. It seems like a lot of women end up gaining a lot more than 25 pounds these days due to poor diet, sedentary lifestyle and "cravings", so I guess I should consider myself lucky that I am still in control although I will admit I ate a cookie last night. One cookie and it was really good. One thing I really indulge in on a daily basis is fortified Eden Soymilk. I love it because it is a great source for calcium, folate, B12 and protein. I know protein is something I struggle with so I definitely drink the soymilk pretty liberally; one serving has 11 grams of protein. I also like the carob flavor they sell too. I know some pregnant women eat like a pint of ice cream everyday. I would feel gross if I ate a pint of soy ice cream every night. The baby is squishing my stomach so I feel like stuffing myself with anything would be asking for trouble. I like to feel energized after I eat, not sluggish and bloated. Even drinking too much can cause that not so great feeling. Anyway, it's Thursday, almost the weekend and only one more week after that until I get to take a nice vacation. It's not the wonderful vacation abroad that I had planned but I do intend on making the most of it and doing stuff in the city and its environs and attending summer events that I would normally be too tired to go to. I wonder what's on the menu for lunch today?
Pickles and ice cream is definitely NOT on the menu! Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! LOL! Later people!

A Day at the Beach

Here's me at Long Beach yesterday. I will be 7 months this coming Wednesday. As you can see, I am still rocking my bikini with pride! It was fun yesterday getting out of the city. It definitely made me think about how much I really don't want to raise my son in the city. I want to have a lawn and backyard for him to play in. I want him to be able to ride his bike in the street. I want him to be able to roll around on grass. I really like city life for just me but for me and my little family, I want a house. I would love to live somewhere kind of country, with fruit bearing trees and a garden. Or it would be nice to live on a somewhat cosmopolitan island, the best of nature mixed with access to arts and cultures. I hear St. Martin is pretty diverse and has a lot of stuff going on. Hopefully in the next few years B and I will have an idea of where we may want to go from here.
Anyway, the beach was fun! We got the one day getaway package to Long Island which included a round trip ticket on the Long Island Railroad and beach admission all for 18 dollars each. We ate junk food on the boardwalk and then hung out on the sand. We only went into the water like twice because it was REALLY cold. Refreshing, yes, but you wouldn't want to just hang out in water at that temperature for long periods of time. After we left the beach, we found this cute little diner across the street from the train station. B had a grilled chicken caesar salad and I had a veggie burger and salad. We both got dessert to go since we didn't want to miss our train. Overall it was a lovely day. I was so pooped when we got home, I went to bed around 10pm. Woke up this morning and went to the gym. I was feeling so good on the elliptical machine, I ended up doing 65 minutes of cardio on it! This week I went to the gym 4 times so I am feeling cool about that. Five times would have been better but oh well. I find myself getting concerned about my every changing figure but I am like "Hey I am pregnant, I can't wear the same things I used to." But I definitely want to keep up the exercise until the day I go into labor and start up my postpartum fitness game plan shortly after delivery. Gradually of course. I will start with walking on the treadmill and eventually build up to running. Weights will be added probably a month or so after the delivery. Anyway, the little boo in my belly wants to eat breakfast so I need to honor his wishes! Later y'all! Oh and by the way, I passed my glucose challenge test with flying colors! Yay! I don't have gestational diabetes!

No more uptown events for me!

Last night I went to an event at the Studio Museum in Harlem for several artists' exhibition openings. So first thing that went wrong was that there was supposed to be catered hors d'heurves and such but I guess at the last minute they decided to go cheap and easy and just do fresh popped popcorn. The non alcoholic beverage choices were only sodas and water. Can a sister get some juice or something? No cranberry and seltzer? booooooooooooooooooo! Anyway, so there I was with B, tired from work yet looking so cute with my new dress on, annoyed because not only wasn't there any food besides popcorn, but there was nowhere really to sit and my back was really aching. All this weight that is going to my belly is really effecting my posture and my back just hurts when I sit or stand for too long. My only relief is the Snoogle and I sure as hell can't be lugging that thing around NYC and curling up with it when I get the urge! What I really need is a prenatal massage, I am totally about to invest in that. I rather use my money for that than maternity clothes that I will probably never where again after October. But I digress, I don't think I can do events far from home in the middle of the week like that anymore. Only if I know there will be seating available, standing for like 2 and a half hours at this stage in the game is painful. And my feet hurt too. I definitely was not amused last night. It felt so good to get home around 11pm and crash. I feel fine today. Woke up this morning and went to the gym to do some cardio. I am trying to keep myself in the gym 4-5 times a week. Okay this post is boring, I am going to stop now before it gets worse!

Maternity Tour at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital

Yesterday evening B and I took the maternity tour at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital. It was cool because it answered a lot of my questions about giving birth there. But I will say this: I was underwhelmed by the labor and delivery floor and the birthing center. The labor rooms seem tiny and the private and semi-private postpartum rooms seemed tiny as well. The birthing center suites are a nice size, but they don't really look as nice as they are portrayed on the website in the photos. I guess I had romanticized the birthing center but even still I would like to give birth there since it seems like a homebirth would be out of my price range for now. I would probably end up paying 5,000 out of pocket which to me can be better invested in me and my child's future. Unfortunately, none of the homebirth midwives in NYC are in-network for my insurance. For me, I really can't justify the extra cost. So I am staying in-network and working with my midwife. I will see her on Thursday and discuss things further. Right now I just want to focus on my health and it can be hard when people are stressing me out. Stroller choices are stressing me out too! I don't want an ugly Graco travel system! Bump that noise! But I digress, I need to sign up for the "Introduction to the Birthing Center" class and the "Early Discharge from the Birthing Center" class which are mandatory for women who want to use the Birthing Center. Luckily they take place on the same day, 2 hours for each class. I left a message yesterday about registering for the classes. They say that it takes 2 full business days for them to get back to you so hopefully I will hear from them by Thursday. I just ate my lunch and now I feel like having dessert. Yesterday I grabbed some animal cracker from Duane Reade before an afternoon meeting. They were the old school kind in the box with the string handle. And they were good! This is not a pregnancy craving...I just like food and have been known to get excited about rediscovered forgotten treats even pre-prego so this is nothing new! And according to the box, the crackers are a "good source of calcium". I am sold! I will probably jam on over to Duane Reade a little later. Tonight is my first prenatal yoga class, hosted at my doula's baby store, The Stork Store. I need some damn "om" in my life, LOL! Breathe in..Breathe out!

Moody and Picky with Your 'Buds!

Yesterday B and I were hanging out in Fort Greene and he wanted me to order something from the restaurant we were having a drink at. (Of course mine was a "virgin") I looked at the menu and was just like "Ug, I don't want any of this". And then he asked me what I wanted and I said deep dish pizza. Yeah...can't get that anywhere around where we live or where we were yesterday. I know there is a Pizzeria Uno in the village but we weren't trying to go all the way to Manhattan. So I just told him that I just didn't really like many things these days. Not because of morning sickness or nausea because I STILL haven't experienced either. The worst I get is the occasional heartburn. I just get turned off by a lot of things. I used to LOVE the food at Night of the Cookers, the restaurant were at. But when we got food from there the other day, I could only take a few bites. It smelled gross to me. It was just candied sweet potatoes, collard greens and macaroni and cheese. Three things I LOVE but for some reason could barely look at that day. It just smelled funny to me. So B kept on asking "So what do you want to get for dinner?" And I kept avoiding the question because I just really couldn't think of anything and my virgin strawberry dacquari was giving me heartburn! He said I was just being "moody and picky with my 'buds". LOL! Most pregnant women have food aversions but also strong cravings. I have the aversions but no cravings so it makes lunch and dinner time difficult to say the least. Finally we ended up at an overpriced health/grocery store a block away and after combing the aisles for probably 15 minutes, I managed to pick out soy milk, lentil soup and organic saltines. Yeah the dinner of champions, I know! After we got home, we began watching Hellboy-the first one- while we ate our prospective dinners. He had sides from the restaurant and I had my warmed lentil soup and organic saltine crackers. I could only finish half a can of the soup, I put the rest away for today. So now I am signing off so that I can show B the doc "The Business of Being Born". I want him to be on the same page with me when it comes to being knowledgeable about birthing options in NYC and the struggle to give birth on your own terms.

Sheela-Na-Gig!

Meet Sheela-Na-Gig! Although there are many theories of her origin as a relic, it is commonly agreed upon that she is of northern european descent. She may have been a deity whose main purpose was to help women in childbirth. I like her! I plan on buying one to bring to the birthing center.

Glucose Tolerance Test and Snoogle Salvation

I haven't updated in about a week, because I guess I really had nothing to talk about. Today I had to go in to do the glucose tolerance test, GTT, to see if I have gestational diabetes. I REALLY don't think I have it, considering how little weight I have gained(at the 8 pound mark at 6 and a half months) and my exercise habits. But we will soon know definitively next Thursday at my appointment. So many women dread this test but to me it's more annoying than dreadful. I just hated having to sit there for an hour. Basically you drink this orange liquid glucose which basically tastes like flat orange soda, not bad at all. And then after an hour they draw your blood to see how much your glucose level has gone up based on the drink. I have done this test a few different times, actually I believe I did a 5 hour glucose tolerance test when I was 10 that involved hourly blood AND urine samples so this was a piece of cake. I just sat in the waiting room and read "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by the country's leading midwife, Ina May Gaskin. I am really looking forward to using the birthing center at St. Luke's Roosevelt so hopefully my blood sugar is all good. What also sucked about the test was that I couldn't have any juice or fruit before it. So now I am totally getting down with some organic grapes as I type.

I am totally feeling good these days. A couple of weeks ago I was having trouble sleeping because I am a stomach sleeper for real and for obvious reasons I have to temporarily abandon that practice. So I was in insomnia hell, unable to find a comfortable position on either of my sides. And then came...the Snoogle! Ladies and Gentlemen, the Snoogle has saved my life. Well not really but it is really comfy and allows me to have a good night's sleep! Before, the side sleeping made my back hurt and I was just an insomniac by night and a zombie by day. Now with the Snoogle, not only do I feel comfortable but I fall asleep easily. Last night I was looking forward to watching the Family Guy at 7:30 and the Hell's Kitchen finale at 9 but I didn't even make it to 7:15! I was out like a light and didn't really get up until 4 am. I felt fresh to go the gym and get to work. Thanks Snoogle! I even made a theme song about the Snoogle to the tune of the Flipper television theme song: "They call you Snoogle, Snoogle...." Okay so I have to work on the lyrics but suffice to say that the Snoogle is a knocked up girl's best friend!

Finally Found My Provider!

Today I had my second prenatal appointment since discovering that I am pregnant. I actually have changed providers because I wanted to give birth at the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Birthing Center. See image below:
All rooms are equipped with Jacuzzis, showers, wood floors and double beds! If everyone thing goes to plan, I will be bringing Baby Bojangles into the world there. I just have to pray that I am considered low risk or else I will be "risked out" of the Birthing Center and will have to deliver on the regular Labor and Delivery floor. Which wouldn't be the worst thing ever since as of today I am seeing a midwife for my prenatal care and she is really nice. She is really committed to letting women give birth on their own terms and she is very supportive of natural birth and the emotional, holistic aspect of birth. I have to get a test for Gestation Diabetes but I am have a feeling that I don't have that. My blood sugar looked fine and dandy when I had a fasting blood sugar test done at the end of May. And I feel fine, I would think I would feel like crap if I had GD but we will see. If I don't have GD, that would definitely make it easier for me to be considered eligible for the Birthing Center. According to mayoclinic.com:
"Rarely, gestational diabetes may cause excessive thirst or increased urination. For most women, however, gestational diabetes doesn't cause noticeable signs or symptoms."
Oh crap! So I guess I really wouldn't know if I had it, would I? Well I guess I am just going to have a "wait and see" attitude about this one. In any case, I am really excited to be seeing a midwife in lieu of a doctor because to be real, that's what I really wanted in the first place. I just was feeling frazzled with insurance and the fact that I had only had one prenatal so far and I am 6 months along already. But luckily, le Bon Dieu gave me a flower and I was able to get into a Ob/GYN practice that has a midwife. They are actually hiring another one soon apparently.
Okay so a little more than half an hour left before I can blow this popstand and head back to Brooknam. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be okay enough to go to the beach like I had planned. I need a belly tan. Yeah I plan on rockin' a 'kini with a pregnant pot belly! Don't hate! There are supposed to be "a T-storm or two" tomorrow according to accuweather.com. Boooooooooooooooo! Bojangles wants to get his ocean swim on! Until next time folks!

"I'm crunchy, but not THAT crunchy!"

My doula called me yesterday to answer some questions that I had asked her over e-mail. Nothing major, just inquiring about prenatal yoga, childbirth prep classes and just shooting the shit. So our conversation took an interesting turn. I asked her "Um did you do anything with your placenta?" She said "It's in my freezer." "What are you planning on doing with it?", I asked. She said that when they get a house, she wants to plant it in her garden or under a tree. I thought that was nice. I said "Oh I thought you were going to say that you were putting it in a smoothie or something!" LOL! She said "I'm crunchy but I'm not THAT crunchy!" I told her that although I guess some people would consider me "crunchy"(all natural, hippie, alternative type moms, also known as "granola") to some extent, the thought of taking bites out my placenta, aka afterbirth, while it's still warm just makes me want to hurl. Some people like to freeze it and put it in a smoothie. Or they cook it up. There are actually websites devoted to recipes for the placenta. I was like "Um......no." I definitely believe in the power of the placenta and its nutrients though. So my happy medium will be having my doula dehydrate it and then put the powder in capsules. Apparently consumption of the placenta, even in capsule or tincture form helps stave off postpartum depression. I have researched things like lotus birth, which is when you leave the baby attached to the placenta until the umbilical cord naturally falls off in a few days. I also I have read things about delayed clamping, where you do not clamp the umbilical cord until after you have birthed the placenta and it has stopped pulsating. I believe I am going to opt for the latter. I can't imagine carrying around a stinky placenta for like 3 or 4 days. Apparently you have to massage it with oils and clean it... Yeah lotus birth seems a little bit too crunchy for me. Another idea that seem a little too extreme for me was frying the placenta up with onions and garlic. I don't eat red meat and I RARELY eat fish, so even if technically the placenta is not animal flesh, it would still freak me out to be chowing down on my own afterbirth. I was explaining the lotus birth to B and he was like "Ok now you are going too far, that's just WEIRD!" LOL In some of my next posts I plan on discussing the controversial topic of co-sleeping and also the concept of "attached parenting"(new to me!). Later people!