Taking it Easy

Up till now, aside from general stomach ickiness and an expanding waistline, pregnancy hasn’t changed my lifestyle much. Sure, sometimes I go to bed around 8:30pm. However, I suspect pregnancy may be a convenient scapegoat rather than the real cause of this phenomenon.

On Christmas Eve, I stumbled over an ethernet cable and managed to break a small piece of my big toe. This effectively put a stop to my normal exercise routine. Last Monday, I cautiously started doing my morning step aerobics. Step aerobics are much easier than walking as it doesn’t require bending one’s toe if you’re careful. I felt a little more out of breath than normal but put it down to not exercising at all for almost a week and a half.

Tuesday I got up and exercised again. Tuesday afternoon I got what felt like a Braxton Hicks contraction except it stayed tight for most of the afternoon. I drank plenty of water and squirmed around in my office chair but it didn’t go away. I was trying to figure out whether or not this was a problem. It didn’t hurt at all so I decided this was probably just some weird variation that I hadn’t run into before. On the way home, I called mom to talk to her and casually mentioned the weird tightness. She told me to call my doctor so I did. My doctor said I should go home and lay down and do nothing for the rest of the evening and give her a call in the morning if it still hadn’t gone away. I called Jaeger and told him he was responsible for dinner and then got home and laid down on the couch. He fixed a very nice meal.

The next morning I felt normal again but decided I should skip exercising. I haven’t had a reoccurrance of the multi-hour tightening but in the afternoons, after a simple endeavor such as climbing the stairs, I can immediately feel it tightening up again. I find a smidgen alarming since Calvin won’t be full term till early March.

Cleaning the house last week took almost twice as long as normal because I kept sitting down waiting for the tightening to stop. I’m seriously thinking about paying a house cleaner to come and clean house for the next several months. I still feel in great shape so it’s a little exasperating that this one little thing is keeping me from my normal activities. However, Calvin will be here soon enough. I certainly want to avoid anything that would put me on bed rest. I’d go insane. I just have to keep reminding myself to pay attention to what I’m doing instead of blindly charging ahead :-)

Candy

As I mentioned previously, life since Thanksgiving has been very busy. One of the things that has been occupying my time is making Christmas candy. Every year, mom makes Peanut Butter and Coconut balls as well as a variety of other candies.

Up till last year, I hadn’t followed the tradition and made Christmas Candy mainly because I couldn’t figure out what to do with the vast quantities of candy that would result. However, last year it occurred to me that I could inflict the candy upon the staff within the library district. I mostly stuck to the “traditional” Christmas candies last year. However, this time I decided to experiment a bit more.

The first 4 I had made last year. I received compliments on several of the remaining candies but I think the only new one I’ll make again is the Almond Balls. They are the same recipe as the peanut butter balls except you use almond butter instead of peanut butter and substitute ground roasted almonds instead of the graham crackers. I was hoping the Apricot balls would turn out like See’s Apricot bon bons but they were a bit of a disappointment. Oh well, that just means I’ll have to try something new next year :-)

Ripples

Up until around Thanksgiving I had nothing new worth posting. Since Thanksgiving I haven’t had time to post anything :-) However, the numerous airport delays I’ve experienced today have given me ample time to relax and write a couple of paragraphs. At first, the delays were almost nice as it allowed me a chance to do absolutely nothing. However, now I’m ready for my journey to be over.

Everything is going well with the pregnancy. Towards the beginning of November I had my 20 week anatomy scan and learned that we are having a boy. His name is Calvin. The pictures from the 13 week ultrasound were much clearer than it was in the 20 week. It must have been because he was bigger and it was harder to get all of him within the screen. I know the ultrasound tech isn’t allowed to say anything indicating whether or not there is a problem. However, throughout the process she kept saying things like, “and your 13 week ultrasound was normal?” The first time didn’t make me nervous. However, around the third time she asked I started to get worried. I’m still not sure why she was asking but at my latest doctors visit they confirmed that everything on this ultrasound did look normal :-)

I started feeling little flutters of movement around the middle of November. However, within just the last couple of weeks, I’ve started seeing him move. It’s odd, yet comforting, to see my stomach ripple. This usually happens as I go to bed and so Jaeger hasn’t had much of a chance to observe this yet. Up till just a couple of days ago, Calvin mostly moved when I got up or went to bed. However, yesterday he was very active in the middle of the day too.

Bethany, Jaeger’s sister, is getting married right after Christmas so last Monday I had to go shopping for an appropriate dress to wear for the wedding. I had really been dreading the shopping experience. In my unpregnant state, I enjoy shopping, especially at a thrift store where it turns into a treasure hunt. Since becoming pregnant, shopping has become much less exciting. However, my shopping experience Monday turned out to be great. There were quite a few “normal” dresses that fit me. In fact, I somehow managed to fit into a normal, non-maternity, size 6 dress. It was a little tight around the bust but I could have worn it. My main problem was finding a dress that didn’t show too much of my breasts. By necessity I’ve had to become a little less self-conscious about showing cleavage Apparently, maternity outfits assume you want to show off your newly enhanced cleavage. However, I did manage to find a couple of dresses that I felt comfortable in. The dress I finally bought didn’t even cost as much as my Jaeger’s tux rental did :-) Of course, I haven’t shopped for shoes yet so that’ll probably eat up all the difference.

I’m still not use to the idea of being pregnant. Most of the time I just feel like I’ve gained a lot of weight. I assume at some point my disbelief will lift and this will start feeling like reality?

Hemp Milk

I don’t like drinking cow’s milk (though I use it in baking/cooking) so I’m always looking for good alternatives. My default choice is soymilk. However, some days I will eat daily bowl of oatmeal with soymilk, have a veggie burger with soy in it and follow-up with tofu for dinner. While I believe soy is a healthy food, I also believe every food should be eaten in moderation. I’m aware of other milk alternatives such as rice and almond milk. However, I’ve resisted using them because they aren’t the nutritional equivalent of milk/soymilk, particular with regards to protein.

Sunday, as I was wandering the aisles of vitamin cottage, I ran across hemp milk. Many of the natural, particularly vegan, cookbooks I’ve run across recently praise the nutritional virtues of hemp seed but I hadn’t seen hemp milk before. It was horribly expensive, about twice what normal soy milk costs. However, I was intrigued by the nutritional facts. One cup of hemp milk contains 5 grams of protein and 20% of the RDA for iron. I’ve become especially interested in these two nutrients since becoming pregnant. In addition, it claims to have 1.2 grams of Omega-3 (though it’s in the ALA form).

How does it taste? In my opinion, not great by itself. I’m not sure I can describe the taste exactly but it’s more savory than I prefer for a plain drink. However, I tried watering it down and using it as a substitute for mushroom soup in Garbanzo Pot Pie and I think it worked pretty well.

Hemp Milk probably won’t become a staple in my pantry but I might buy it occasionally for a savory base in some entrees.

Childbirth Classes

My husband and I unexpectedly attended our first childbirth class Sunday night. I’ve been debating what type of childbirth method I want to learn. As previously discussed I’m probably going to get an epidural. However, I still want to be as prepared as possible for the labor experience.

After considering the pros and cons of Lamaze, Bradley, and Hynobirthing/Hynobabies, I decided that parts of the Bradley Method were exactly what I was looking for. Truthfully, the McMoyler Method most closely fits my birth philosophy and I’ll probably end up ordering the video. However, I wanted an in-person childbirth class that Jaeger and I could go to together.

I really like that the Bradley Method takes a holistic approach to birth. I feel like most of the other childbirth methods ignore the pregnancy until you get to labor. However, the Bradley method starts out by discussing good nutrition and exercise. Everything I’ve read implies that labor is one of the most grueling experiences a woman will ever go through. With that in mind, it seems training and getting/keeping your body healthy would be essential aspects of any labor preparation.

I don’t like how negatively the Bradley method perceives modern medical practices. One of the common lines I continually hear is that women have been giving birth naturally for thousands of years. True, but a lot more women and babies use to die than do now*. Like many things in life, I think you need a good balance between “natural” births and medical interventions.

Given my conflicting feelings about the Bradley method, I wasn’t sure it would make sense to take the class. Saturday night I got online to explore what classes were available if I decided I did want to take a Bradley class. Of the three instructors in our area, one taught Saturday mornings which wouldn’t work for me and the second one was out on maternity leave until April. There was only one other class offered within our area. I emailed the instructor to see what her class schedule and openings would be like. Sunday morning I checked my email and the instructor had responded that she had a class starting that night. I talked my conflicting feelings over with Jaeger and eventually we decided to go ahead and attend the class.

The class was pretty much what I expected, both in terms of hopes and fears. Overall, I think it will be a good experience. I’m also planning to take the birthing class offered through the hospital in order to give me a better idea of their standard approach.

*According to The Best Birth by Sarah McMoyler since 1900 there has been a 90 percent drop in infant mortality and a 99 percent drop in maternal mortality.

American Pizza

Today I tried making American Pizza using the leftover dough from my previous pizza making attempt. Unfortunately, I managed to roll the dough too thin and Jaeger thinks it needed more toppings. However, he liked my pizza sauce and also I think the cheese mixture was about right.

Notes for next time:

  • The pizza crust is about right but make sure not to roll it as thin
  • The pizza sauce was good. I used about 1/2 cup for the pizza (more than that would probably make it too soggy)
  • I created this pizza with olives and artichokes. Jaeger thought the toppings were a little sparse and suggested adding the following next time: mushrooms (obviously just on his side :-) ), peppers, tomato (if possible)
  • I also like the cheese mixture which consisted of 5 oz mozzarella, 2 oz swiss and 1 oz Parmesan

Ice Cream Maker

For Jaeger’s and my birthdays, my parents bought us a compressor ice cream maker. I’ve been wanting one of these for a while because I like ice cream but don’t like the mess that the ice and salt require.

After some mix-up with the shipping (the ice cream maker seller mistakenly addressed it to someone else on our street who, unfortunately, does not speak English), I unpacked the ice cream maker Wednesday night. According to the instructions, I was suppose to let it sit for 24 hrs before using it.

I asked Jaeger what type of ice cream he’d like to try and he decided on French Vanilla. Thursday night, I went and gathered the ingredients. Vanilla Bean can be pretty expensive but I was happy to discover that Vitamin Cottage sells them at a fairly reasonable price. French Vanilla Ice Cream requires first making a custard and then chilling it. It was obvious that chilling was going to take too long so I decided we’d have the ice cream Friday night with Apple Pie.

The Apple Pie tasted fine but I managed to mess up the crust (I don’t know why I have such trouble with pie crusts). The ice cream maker worked great. I’m not a huge fan of vanilla ice cream but it tasted fine to me and Jaeger seemed to like it.

It occurred to me that if you stopped the ice cream making when the ice cream was still fairly soft, you could mix in other stuff and probably have a Dairy Queen blizzard-like consistency. Something to try another day, perhaps in summer :-)

In Search of the Perfect Pizza

I haven’t been experimenting in the kitchen as much as normal since I’ve been pregnant. In the first trimester I had an aversion to vegetables. Thus, the only thing I felt like making were desserts, not the best plan for my weight. To the distress of my doctor, even avoiding excessive kitchen time, I gained ten pounds in my first trimester. Now that I’m in the second trimester, my aversion to vegetables has diminished somewhat. I’m not back up to my normal vegetable eating habits but it’s been better.

This morning I woke up with the urge to make pumpkin scones. After discovering that none of my cookbooks suggested a suitable recipe, I turned to the internet. I stumbled on a pumpkin scone recipe from a blog called Morning Coffee and Afternoon Tea. After some fairly minor modifications, I came up with my own version (as Jaeger will tell you, I am incapable of following a recipe exactly). Jaeger and I agreed that they turned out quite well. I also suspect that this would be fairly easy to make vegan by using margarine instead of butter and soy yogurt instead of regular yogurt.

Buoyed by my success with the scones, I decided to try making pizza once again. Pizza is one of those items that I find incredibly hard to make at home. I’ve tried time and again to make decent pizza only to have Jaeger stare reproachfully at me*.

I finally have perfected the pizza dough to my satisfaction. Rose Levy Beranbaum provides a very good chapter on the theory of pizza dough in her The Bread Bible. However, I prefer a variation of McNair’s pizza dough recipe. You can see my variation of it here.

Today, I tried making a potato leek pizza inspired by a recipe in McNair’s Vegetarian Pizza book. I haven’t refined it to my satisfaction so I’m not putting it on my recipe website but here’s a synopsis of the topping:

I took 1 lb of fingerling potatoes (red or yukon would work fine) and thinly sliced them. Next, I finely sliced 1 cup of leeks (onions would work but leeks have such a nice flavor). I mixed the leeks and potatoes together and added 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 minced cloves of garlic, 2 tsp salt (way too much, next time I’ll try 1 tsp), freshly ground black pepper, and 3 tbs finely chopped fresh rosemary. The oven was already preheating for the pizza so I mixed the potato topping ingredients together and then spread out on a baking sheet to roast in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.

Next, I rolled out the pizza dough and brush it with extra-virgin olive oil and then thinly spread yogurt on the dough (about 3 tbs). Once the potatoes had cooled, I sprinkled them on top of the pizza. In another bowl, I combined 2 oz swiss cheese, 1 oz Parmesan, and 5 oz mozzarella cheese. I sprinkled the cheese over the pizza and then popped it into the oven for around 10 minutes.

Conclusions: As noted above, the potatoes were way too salty. In general, the flavor combination was good but as Jaeger mentioned, it was missing something. I think next time I might try substituting 2 oz of the mozzarella for feta which might give the pizza more of a bite. In an attempt to liven it up a bit, Jaeger tried adding ketchup to the finished product :-) Out of morbid curiosity, I did the same for a couple of bites. It actually wasn’t a horrible combination but neither was it very compelling.

I froze half of the pizza dough recipe. Later this week I’ll probably defrost it and make yet another attempt at an American pizza. Based on my experiments today, I think 8 oz of cheese is about right and the mozzarella/swiss/Parmesan mixture seemed good.

* I should note that about 3/4 of the baleful staring is usually a result of my trying to make a more “exotic” pizza such as the ones we had in Rome a couple of years back (though most of his family and I liked my Spinach and Artichoke Pizza I tried a while back). In spite of this, he’s never been impressed with my normal American pizza attempts either.

Awkward Stage

At 17 weeks, I think I’m in the awkward stage of pregnancy. In my first trimester, as long as I ate constantly, I rarely threw up but I did have the general miserable feeling. I heard this would likely go away in second trimester and I would start glowing. In fact, several people have claimed that I’m glowing now but I think it’s their imagination. It wasn’t until around week 16 that I started feeling normal again. However, “normal” now feels strange. I’m back to the strange feeling that I’m not pregnant after all. Allegedly I might feel baby move any day now but so far nothing (though I understand this is normal with first babies).

This awkward feeling extends to my wardrobe. A couple of years ago I lost about 20 pounds. Once my normal clothes were too tight, I switched to my bigger, older clothes. In fact, this might be the first time since my teen years that the clothing manufacturers and I agree what the waist to hip ratio should be. Previously, it was the rare pair of pants that didn’t require belt. However, the days of my larger clothes fitting are almost gone. I’ve slowly started to ease into maternity clothing. However, I’m still too small for most of them to fit comfortably.

Monday I went shopping for maternity clothing. I’ve already determined that the thrift stores have almost no maternity clothing. I don’t remember the last time I paid more than $20 for a single piece of clothing and I had no urge to start. However, maternity clothing is expensive. Fortunately, I found a used maternity clothing store called Fuzzy Kiwi. It has odd hours but my day off was Monday so I managed to get down there to view their selection. There were still too many items that fit awkwardly on me but I did manage to buy a couple of items that look decent, or will soon. The prices were more than I’d pay at a thrift store (and I did go over the $20 mark for some dresses) but it was still significantly cheaper than new. I stopped by Target on the way home and was pleasantly surprised to find a good pair of maternity work pants for a very reasonable price. (I mention that I don’t believe in paying too much money for clothes but I also like high quality clothing which usually has meant avoiding Target/Walmart/etc. Thrift stores provide much better quality clothing at cheaper prices).

Hopefully, I have enough clothing to last me for a couple more months. While I know I’m going to need more clothes, I doubt I’ll look forward to clothes shopping until after baby has arrived.

I’m Alive and Pregnant

I know I haven’t posted anything here in eons. The main reason is I’m pregnant and its hard for me to think about anything else. Jaeger and I wanted to wait until I was out of the risky 1st trimester before informing the world (thus the lack of entries). However, I’m now a solid 15 weeks. We also had a genetic screening done around week 13 and the results came back normal. I have been keeping an anonymous pregnancy blog on the side. I’m going to try to back-post the entries from there onto this site (the first pregnancy related entry will be this one). For a video of my latest ultrasound, you can visit Jaeger’s entry here.