23 Weeks

The last two weeks have been hectic with extra work shifts and construction starting on the house.   So far the construction is going well and we have have a whole new closet in the bedroom with drawers and shelves and stuff!  The room already seems much bigger now that there's not heaping piles of clothes and junk in front of it.  There should be just another week with the contractors here.  The bathroom was completely gutted and the rotting area was larger than we initially thought.  Also, a large rat nest was found under the old tub that was removed which explains a lot of weird sounds.  Turnip used to stand next to the tub and bark at the drain.  No more!

Jake and I celebrated our second anniversary and the San Jose plans fell though since I didn't end up working that Monday night.  It was actually a pretty bummer of a day since I was still sleepy from work and the hammering and shop vac noises were constant.  Just to get a little rest I made a sheet fort on the deck with patio furniture.  It didn't really help me sleep but at least I got to lay down and close my eyes.  We'll celebrate at another time when things have settled a bit.  The one nice thing that happened is that Jake got to feel the baby move for the first time!  Oh, and there were sticky buns involved since that's our anniversary tradition.  We ate them the morning of the wedding so I make them for breakfast for our anniversary.  A tradition of yum:

In my spare time I've been relaxing my favorite way, by cooking up a storm with farmer's market goodies.  Here's some chickpea tabouli that sustained me through 2 days of work:

I've been craving Ethiopian food like crazy and last night made a feast.  Instead of the traditional Ethiopian bread, injera, I made a similiar bread of Indian origins calls uttapam.  It's a simple batter made of soaked rice and lentils then blended with some salt and baking powder.  My mom used to make these all the time when we were kids.  She'd put jam in them, called the "roll-ups" and we'd eat them for breakfast.  They are so good and versitile!  Also, a perfectly easy substute for the more complicated injera bread.

I made all my favorite Ethipian dishes, the gingery mixed veggie dish (on the left), spiced red lentils (top right) and spiced collards.  I don't know why I only made this like once a year.  They are so easy to make once you have all the spices on hand.  (Oh, and Pat, I'm going to need to make a Penzey's run when I'm in town!).

I am currently OBSESSED with this cookie bar recipe!  They are seriously the easiest dessert I've ever made and they taste amazing.  The dough is like magic.  I am currently making a double batch right now with chocolate and butterscotch chips to take to work. 

I also can't forget to send well wishes to my grandpa who's in the hospital currently.  Fortuneately the surgery on his hip went well and he's in recovery.  Luckily there is family to dote upon him and I wish I could be there too!  My uncle was also in the hospital but is now out and I hope they can find him the right longterm treatment so he doesn't have to back to the ER for an urgent cardiac situation!  I'll be in Michigan soon to give everyone hugs.

I'm off to work now and will be staying in a hotel in San Jose for three days.  I'm actually kinda excited about it!  Jake will come visit me on one of the days and being me some food.  I'll probably be eating a lot of take out as well.  I then have a glorious week off and promised myself I won't pick up any extra shifts.  My last paycheck was spetacular, but I'm really getting burnt out and all that stress is probably not good for me.

21 Weeks

We had the 20 week ultrasound last Thursday and according to Dr. Salvay everything was normal and the right size.  Not that we were worried, but it's good to hear!  Pumpkin was positioned with the head on my right side, butt on the left and feet pointing downwards during the scan.  Because of that position he couldn't get a good view of the heart so we'll be going back in a couple months to get that view.  Pumpkin weighs 14 ounces (as of last Thursday) and I can't remember the length.  I'm now 140 pounds and hungry all the time!  My appetite is monstrous.  I really don't want to turn in a pregnant she-beast in the next few months.  This is my favorite picture from the ultrasound:

 It's a fist if you can't tell and makes me think I have a little Cesar Chavez in there!

Jake took this picture of me last week as well.  My porch tomato plants are almost as tall as me.  (And yes, I wear this shirt all the time.)

I hope everyone back in Michigan is staying indoors with the AC on.  This heat wave better break before I arrive in MI!

20 weeks! Half-way there!

Very excited to be half done with gestation.  Not that it's been awful, but with all this baby preparing I just want to see and hold the darn thing!  My 20 week ultrasound and first midwife appointment got moved to this upcoming Thursday.  We've still decided to not know the sex of the baby much to the frustration of many of my coworkers.  For some reason San Jose people really want to know while Santa Cruz friends think the surprise is fun.  Nonetheless, everyone thinks it's a boy!

Construction on the house starts in two weeks and we're still making Ikea trips and Jake and our landlord are making lots of design decisions.  I feel like it's going to be a mess for the predicted two weeks it's going to take to finish.  I'm going to have to stay at friends houses in San Jose to day sleep because construction starts at 8am and they said they put in 10 hour days.  I can't really stay with the neighbor because she has cats.  We're already planning on getting a hotel in San Jose on July 26th because I work the night before so I can go there right from work and sleep, then Jake will meet me there later in the day and we can go out to a nice restaurant for our anniversary.  Yeah, we don't really want to spend our anniversary in San Jose, but it's just going to have to be that way this year.

Friday we went to Ikea and on a whim I emailed my cousin Tracy to see if she was available for dinner.  Luckily she was and Tina and John would be in town as well.  So Jake, Tracy, Tina and I went out to eat Friday night in Oakland and had a really nice time!  Here we are after eating with my really fat tummy:

And here's a bonus Turnip photo during a dog day afternoon (tired after a long swimmy session at the local swimmy hole):

18 weeks - Getting things done

Over the past week the number of baby items we've acquired have exploded!  We now have a changing table (no pad), crib, infant car seat, two nursing pillows, a small box of clothes (including some cloth diapers) and a small box of toys.  We bought the changing table and crib second hand and the rest was from Sandra and Matt whose boys have outgrown the clothes.  Right now things are going to go into our storage shed since we'll be renovating the bedrooms over the summer.  We're expecting a contractor to get rid of the rotting floors, putting in screens in the windows, then paint for the baby room, then new carpet. There's a lot to get done this summer!  Jake also has grand plans of putting in a new kitchen sink by himself.  I plan on doing a lot of gestating with my feet up, but I have a feeling that's not going to be allowed all the time!   Other tasks we've completed recently is buying our plane tickets home for August and started making calls about officially going on maternity leave.  Going on leave at this point seems like a bureaucratic mess since I have to apply for disability through the government (!) so I'm still not sure how much time I have off total.  Through work I have 12 weeks unpaid leave but with disability and something called CFRA I'll have a few more months on top of that. 
Otherwise I'm feeling good and trying to get more exercise.  I started swimming with Jake at the UCSC pool which feels great!  However, I am still really really tired all the time and sleep 10 hours a night if my schedule allows for it. 

Here's an updated belly photo (from a week ago though):

And here's a cute video of Turnip's otter-like swimming skills in the river (she's really been enjoying this and we're trying to take her at least once a week):

17 Weeks - or Starting the 5th Month!

I can't believe I'm 5 months already!  Though I still have 5 months to go since I just began the fifth month.  I had a check up on Friday (sans ultrasound) and everything appears to be going along fine.  Lab tests were fine and I wasn't even as anemic as I felt.  I've also found prenatal vitamins that don't make me throw up because they are in capsules instead of tablets and therefore don't have a strong smell.  In other weird pregnancy quirks, I also can't deal with the smell of the dish washer (clean or dirty) and grilled vegetables for some reason.  That's too bad because it's summer vegetable season and grilling season!  Hopefully the grilled veggie sensitivity will end with the pregnancy because I've always loved grilled veggies!  However, I'm gobbling up tons of fruit still and the market now has nectarines, peaches and pluots along with all the berries I still love.  I can't seem to get enough fruit!
The belly is getting more pronounced a little every day and Jake surprised me with this awesome pillow that makes sleeping a little more comfortable.  I'm glad I got this early on because the uncomfortable factor is only going to get worse.  Much worse.  I have a very short torso and am going to be very round and off center!  I'm going to need all the help I can get.
I'm still wishing I was back in Michigan because I such a nice time a couple weeks ago.  In addition to missing family I miss all the summer greenery and the crazy weather.  Unfortunately I didn't get to see a thunder storm but I'll have another opportunity later this summer.  Thanks to everyone at home who housed us, fed us and doted upon us.  We love you all very much!
Here in Santa Cruz, I had a lovely weekend and saw lots of friends I haven't seen in awhile.  However, today it's back to work for three days then I have the rest of the week off to get some regular life stuff done, prepare some baby related things and prepare for a co-worker's baby shower.  Our next prenatal appointment is in 3 weeks when we will have the 20 week ultrasound and will meet with the midwife for the first time.  The midwife is in the same practice as my MD so it's really convenient and all my medical records are available.  My doctor said that if she were to have another baby, she would be comfortable with any of the midwives in her practice (there are 3).  I'm so glad that she said that. 

Happy Father's Day to my daddy (who's on the road today) and to all the other dads in my life! 

Week 14

I just want to fast forward over the next three days and just get on the plane to Michigan!  I am not really in the mood to do two night shifts before leaving.  I'm in vacation mode!  And going to Michigan is the closest thing I get to a vacation this year.

Not much to report otherwise.  All my blood work that I had done recently came out well and there are no concerns from any of the doctors.  My next appointment is in two Fridays after I get back home from Michigan.  Still feeling good though I did throw up yesterday in a guttural response when Turnip threw up inside the house.  I've never done that before and I don't even do that at work when patients throw up!  Oh well, I just have a super sensitive stomach when it comes to gross dog things now.

I've got a lot to do before I leave and not much to say, so I'll just leave this post short and sweet. 

13 Weeks - Second Trimester!

It's finally happened!  I'm out of that horrible first trimester!  Feeling great but I'm still sleeping a lot (like 12 hours last night a lot).  It may have something to do with being away in Sacramento all weekend being a bridesmaid in Jen's wedding.  It was a lovely affair and all went very smoothly.  I never knew standing and looking pretty in front of people was so tiring! I don't have many pictures, but Jake took this cute one of me and Charlotte before the wedding.  Charlotte made those flower bouquets!  More pictures to come when I can get my hands on them.  Jen looked fabulous as well. 

On our way home from Sacramento we stopped at Ikea to look at baby stuff.  We're not sure what to do with a crib - get something between $100-$200 at Ikea that looks okay (and quickly looks worn) or get something $500+ at a nice store (like Land of Nod) that will look great for years and can be converted into a nice toddler bed when the time comes.  I did get a crib duvet cover and baby blankets because they had an adorable vegetable pattern.  It's hard to see in the photo but it has tomatoes, artichokes, carrots and the like wearing pants.  They also had matching swaddling blankets.  The nursery might be veggie themed!  Ikea also had some great fabric for curtains but the pattern went the wrong way for our needs.  I've got awhile to deal with this so I can take my time deciding. 

Not much else to report but I'm working 5 days before I leave for Michigan on June 1st.  I really enjoyed getting out of town last weekend and am really looking forward to getting out of state for awhile.  It's been a long time!  Jake will be insanely busy over the next two weeks because he's hosting an academic conference at our house the first week of June, wrapping up his class and preparing for graduation stuff (friends are graduating). 

I hope to get some belly photos soon because my stomach is popping out a bit.  Especially after I eat!  Until next time...