A Thousand Words

How would you like something like this looming over you?

I feel like Sleeping Beauty except I don't fall asleep for 100 years every time I eat

I went to my first Dietitian appointment for the Bean yesterday; and in exchange for not having to take the yucky glucose test at 28 weeks; I was able to skip it all together and start monitoring my blood sugar a whole 14 weeks earlier than with the Peanut. So, now I have a spankin' new testing monitor with a small tube of testing strips, lancets and of course a chart that requires me to poke my finger before and after each meal so that I can keep the blood sugar under recommended levels. I have Gestational Diabetes (GD).

Gestational Diabetes is diagnosed in about 3- 5% of pregnancies; and if you have previously had gestational diabetes, are obese, have a family history of diabetes, have a history of giving birth to large babies or unexplained miscarriage, or are over the age of 35 while pregnant there is a higher risk of getting it. I, of course fit within two of the high risk categories which, according to my Doctors just slots me into having it without having to do the pesky tests.

The good news is that the Bean (or any baby whose Momma has had GD) will not be born with diabetes but there are risks for a baby if the conditioned is not controlled. These range from premature birth, becoming to large for a vaginal delivery, developing jaundice, developing diabetes later in life or in very rare cases, developing a chemical imbalance while in the womb that can result in a miscarriage. All very good reasons to put in the effort and keep the blood glucose levels under control.

For Momma, going untreated raises the chances of developing infections, pre-eclampsia, developing abnormal amniotic fluid levels as well as increasing the chance that your labor will be prolonged or that the baby will have to be delivered via C-section.

So this is a fond farewell to all the crap that I've been craving since the Bean came along and tossed in some handy food aversions and in exchange for strange eating. Good- bye cheesy puffs. So long dill pickle potato ships and ice cream sandwiches (such a tasty combo and one I would never ever eat outside of carrying the Bean).

Please wait for me cheese cake, I promise I'll make it up to you somehow, I'll try to sneak you in at least once (before I go on a monster hike and swim a few laps at the local pool perhaps). At least my gargantuan adoration of a nice tasty sandwich piled high with veggies and cheese can be fit into the plan with only the alteration of whole grain high fiber bread in place of the chewy Ciabatta that I have been lusting after for weeks now.

And now I promise to post a nice entry pull of lovely photographs and very few medical details surrounding the Bean soon, just to make up for all this wordiness.

A Thousand Words

A wordless warning to local fauna...

Because Marisa did it...

So after a long day at the beach; where I managed to sear the tops of my feet and almost wear the Peanut out. I sat on the couch with an ice pack on my tired old feet and did a little bit of catch up. One of my favourite blogs to follow is Elegant Bloggery and Marisa's latest post was a short interview with her youngest little munchkin. On a whim I decided to ask the Peanut the same questions to see what she'd answer. Keeping in mind that she'd spent a good solid day at the beach and had had a few tantrums on the way home; her answers were not too shabby.

1. What is something Momma always says to you?
um, I don't remember (this was a kind of half involved answer

2. What makes Momma happy?
Me!

3. What makes Momma sad?
Me away

4. How does your Momma make you laugh?
Tickling me!

5. What was your Momma like as a child?
um, Me? ( I think this question was a little confusing for her)

6. How old is your Momma?
one

7. How tall is your Momma?
this tall! (said with the barest of arm gestures which leads me to believe that I am rather puny)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Play with me

9. What does your Momma do when you're not around?
you take a nap (this is actually not too far from the truth)

10. What is your Momma really good at?
ummm, gluing stuff

11. If Momma became famous, what would it be for?
of gluing stuff

12. What is Momma not very good at?
you're not good at hooking up my new video game

13. What does your Momma do for her job?
Print out stuff for me to draw

14. What is your Momma's favorite food?
coffee (not exactly and lately with the Bean something I'm not able to stomach more than a sip or two)

15. What makes you proud of your Momma?
for not pee peeing on the floor (I am if nothing else pretty well potty trained)

16. If your Momma were a cartoon character, who would she be?
a beautiful princess (this I will take at face value)

17. What do you and your Momma do together?
puzzles

18. How are you and your Momma the same?
you have hair like me (not really)

19. How are you and your Momma different?
you are big and I am small

20. How do you know your Momma loves you?
Because I'm gorgeous! (very cute but now I'm wondering if I've given the impression that we love her because of how she looks?)

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to get a new ice pack for my feet, with any luck I'll cool off the burn enough to bypass any major damage...

How we spilled the Beans

Waiting to tell family in person that we are expecting was sooooo hard but well worth it.

In the end we let the Peanut do the spilling with a back up "Congratulations" card that I had made up in case things needed a little more explaining. Of course the Peanut was so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa that she was talking a mile a minute and we had to get her to repeat "I'm Going to be a big sister!" a few times before Grandma got it. My Pa got it right away and sat back laughing at my Mom until I handed over the card that also didn't seem to click right away. Perhaps my adamant proclamations that we were finished and that the Peanut was it, had a little something to do with her delayed reaction?

We told the Husband's Dad the same way. He has a little bit of a hearing problem so there was a little more of the same but the look on his face when he got it was priceless.

The rest of the trip was spent with each family faction in turn. The reason for the trip was for the Ma-in-Law (or my second Mom's) family reunion. In the 17 years I've been with the Husband I've only ever met a handful (and by handful, I mean less than 5 members) of her family. Seeing her inside a family environment, surrounded by people who opened their arms to her when she walked up was an amazing experience. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with the women (and more specifically the Grandma's and the Great Grandma's in the family which is probably one of the best places to be in a large family gathering like that. There's something about the bonding that goes on at the hearth that seems to be universal no matter where you go.

Staying with the Husband's Dad was a quieter experience other than our first day there, when we celebrated the Peanut's birthday. I had some friends from my first years of art school come over with their children and while the kids played we had an afternoon of catching up and remembering.

We finished up at my parents place with a trip to the zoo and a lot more time than I usually get with my baby sister. We got the Peanut to tell her the big news too. Since I'm showing quite a lot, and it's still pretty early and she's a single Mom of an almost 13 year old and almost 11 year old twins she was kind enough to laugh hysterically and tell me that she was glad it was me and not her since she was pretty sure that the odds of the Bean being the Beans were pretty high considering the size of my belly....

Which leads me to the results of our first ultrasound for the Bean. The Bean is just that; a single little being. The Bean is also 12 and a half weeks instead of 11 and a half; which bumps the due date up a little bit. We saw face, spine, hands and feet and of course a steady little heartbeat. Exactly what we wanted to see.

Holy Frijoles!

I'm just about to head to the bathroom for the last time before I fill it up for the ultrasound this morning. On the negative side ultrasounds are the most uncomfortable procedures that surround being pregnant. In the first trimester the bladder is a little on the abused side since from my experience with the Peanut and now the Bean it is used as an impromptu trampoline so that those itty bitty muscles can develop into ... if you'll excuse me for a moment while I attend to the above mentioned visit... OK where was I? Oh yeah; so that those little muscles can develop into tiny little balls of pure energy that will help to melt off the extra weight gained during pregnancy.

Now I'm waiting to measure out my four 8oz cups of water so that I can head out with the Peanut to see the Bean. As I mentioned Ultrasounds can be uncomfortable what with the bladder being pressed in by the uterus (or you know, being used as a bouncy castle by the fetus) in general then filled to capacity and made to hold that sloshing cargo while cold gel is spread over the belly. The bladder is then pressed on so that an image will appear on a tiny little screen so that A: a more exact delivery date can be found out. B: the reality that is the Bean that I know is in there but only as a concept can hit me like a brick wall and C: we can either breath a sigh of relief that the Bean is just the Bean or hyperventilate over the fact that instead of a single bean there is in fact more than one Bean (or; to be cheeky and I'm going to be cheeky; that I am in fact full of Beans)

That last one is weighing a little heavy on the mind today, what with my belly steadily popping out the way it has been. But we won't worry about that until I'm doing the uncomfortable pee pee dance in the waiting room of the radiology clinic. What I will think about is that I'll get to see the Bean and the connection that comes with the seeing can put the whole pregnancy bonding thing into a higher gear...

I'll post again soon with results and to share how the Beans were spilled on our Alberta Trip as well as a few photographs from said trip... wish me luck

A Thousand Words

the calm before another storm

We're back

and I'm exhausted. Also we're still unpacking and getting back into the groove of things. What with getting ready to go and being gone I've missed a few weeks of Bean updates. We are 11 weeks along and compared to the belly chart that we did with the Peanut my belly is in the ball park of 15 to 17 weeks (meaning when the Peanut was on the inside I got as big as I am now at about 15 and 17 weeks) We have an ultrasound on Friday where we'll find out how far along we are and if I'm full of Beans instead of just the one.

I'm hoping to post a Thousand Word post tomorrow using some of the photographs I was able to shoot while we were gone. In the meantime keep your fingers crossed for me, the Husband and the Peanut.

7 weeks

In one week we'll be getting ready for the Peanut's birthday party and our second trip to Alberta where the family will be given the news that there's a bean on the way.

I'm having serious return of pregnancy brain and can't recall whether I've mentioned that the Peanut has insisted that we are calling the new addition the Bean, it's not my first choice except I kind of said it out loud in reference to the Bean and she's latched so the bump is now the Bean.

It's been a tough three weeks. I'm itching to tell the world, and the Peanut has spilled the beans (pardon the pun) a few times and those people have been sworn to secrecy until I can tell my Mom in person. I'm also queasy and sooooooo tired. I can not express how thankful I am to the Peanut for allowing the odd nap here and there. I owe that child big time.

I was talking last week about how different this time is from last time. On the walk down the hill from an afternoon ice cream run today I couldn't help but noticing how surreal it feels to be out in the sun with my itty bump on display in my t-shirt. Maybe it's the fact that it's been as gray and cold as winter, but I'm thinking it's because I had a major case of dizziness yesterday that had me in bed by 7:30, up at 12:30 and awake until 3:30.

So speaking of telling the parents, I've been wracking my brain to figure out a fun way to share the news. There are so many cute and cheesy ways to do it. My favourite but totally not within our grasp was the couple who took family out to a restaurant and had the waitress include a special sheet that announced the baby and due date. Since we can't do that I'm making a hand sewn card with wishing flowers to announce that the Bean is due to set down roots in January.

6 Weeks

We're in Alberta for a few weeks; since our last trip proved a little light in the internet connections I've scheduled some posts so you won't miss me too much.

Well, last week we found out and confirmed and then the tummy party really started (link to there's a party in my tummy.

With the Peanut, morning sickness didn't quite get to the point where I actually got sick, as in run the the bathroom hand over my mouth sick. Last Wednesday, after heading out to get my blood tests done we made it home just in time for me to go running for the bathroom. But, but but, the landlord is working on the basement suite and the water was turned off that day. I won't get into too much detail because tales of heaving are not pleasant to read.

So on to other things: other things different this time around.

- We found out 6 weeks a earlier than with the Peanut.
- I am feeling way more tired and actually fall asleep in the middle of the day as well as hitting the sack earlier each night
- Food cravings and aversions, with the Peanut I couldn't eat eggs (except hard boiled and quiche), granny smith apples smeared with crunchy peanut butter and I had to drink V8 juice and suck on lemons.
This time I can't have onions or garlic. Roast beef turns my stomach, as do french fries, coffee (which is supposed to be off limits anyway) seeing certain foods on TV; pasta in meat sauce, meat loaf, deep fried things, most meat things click on the gag reflex... there isn't much that doesn't flare up on the food aversion scale; and what makes me ill one day may not be the same thing from day to day.
I am craving ketchup (something I rarely eat) watermelon or strawberries with lemon squeezed on, sandwiches (I'm loving sandwiches, on whole grain, with lettuce, tomato, salt and pepper with either ham or turkey, grilled cheese), and pudding.

Other than being tired and feeling it almost doesn't seem real yet. When we get to hear the heart beat for the first time; and see the Bean on the first ultrasound (we'll be setting that up for when we return from Alberta; cue tears and feelings of being completely overwhelmed) once again this post is scheduled, all of this happened in Early June in case you're into dates and all that.

5 weeks

We're in Alberta for a few weeks; since our last trip proved a little light in the internet connections I've scheduled some posts so you won't miss me too much.

and right on schedule, that is if we had a schedule or this was 100% planned or we knew what we should be expecting right now, Speaking of expecting: we are. Our due date is January 30th. I'm writing this post on May 31st but scheduling it for July 2nd when we'll be in our second trimester and a little more settled. Over the next few weeks I'll schedule other posts as well so that I can keep a record of what I'm feeling for the little bean in my belly. Those will probably be a little shorter than this one seeing as I'll also be posting for those weeks as well.

On the one hand; I knew it! and on the other; well, I am in a bit of a state of shock. You see we'd kind of resigned ourselves to being parents of an only child and possible adding the our family later via adoption if we felt we wanted another child. We'd been actively not not trying since the Peanut turned two figuring that we wouldn't try to stop anything from happening but not actively pursuing the whole getting knocked up scenario. If it was meant to be it would happen and if not, well that was good too.

Two years ago I thought I might have been; I was exhausted, my period had been light; on a whim I went in and had a test. It came back negative and I was sent in for some blood work that turned into another Doctor's appointment and a trip to the hospital for a sweet hour of drilling into my hipbone to collect bone marrow samples so that a blood specialist could sit me down to tell me that I'm healthy other than my body likes to fight off certain types of white blood cells, so when I get sick I stay sick longer and that I should make sure to wash my hands frequently.

This time, I was a week late, I started feeling nauseated on Saturday and the only thing that really sounded appealing to me was a glazed croissant and possibly poutine (fries, gravy and cheese curds) having both together would have been totally acceptable. The last two weeks I had been feeling utterly exhausted but I chalked it up to family stress and being on vacation to see family (which isn't a nice quiet vacation anyway) and all of a sudden (and this is getting into some really personal territory) my breasts were feeling a little tender. So with the period being a week late and the other symptoms thumbing their noses and blowing raspberries at me I made another appointment getting ready to hear the doctor tell me I was negative and then to talk to about why I thought I might be pregnant.

Instead I got an "Oh it's positive, when was your last menstruation?" followed by "You are 5 weeks pregnant" and a "Your estimated due date is January 30th" which; as I mentioned above, not what I was expecting to hear. So I'm a little shocked and a little scared; the Peanut's pregnancy wasn't all that easy peasy lemon squeasy. But as the Husband says this time we kind of have an idea of what's going on and what to expect. We'll be able to do things better this time around. For my part I can't help but also feel sad for the Peanut who is insisting that she's going to have a little brother. I'm pretty sure she has the concept of being a sister down but the actually having a little crying baby in the house taking all of Mommy's attention isn't going to go over too well. We'll see how things go; for now the bean is 2mm, less than a gram.