What I Ate Wednesday + this&that

I’ve been trying  to eat just a tad bit healthier since I’ve been struggling to finish proper meals. Keywords are tad and bit.

Since I hit my 3rd trimester, as if on cue, I would get uncomfortably full on small portions of food. I would feel distention and feel like a balloon ready to pop. My belly button has been making all kinds of silly faces at me for the past week as well. It looks like the end of a tied balloon.

Me this morning. Sitting in Caribbean traffic. It never crossed my mind that there would be traffic here of all places. I am now a true islander.

Breakfast consisted of my pre-pregnancy regulars: unsweetened venti iced shaken black tea lemonade with 2 granny smith apples sprinkled with cinnamon & half a tablespoon of Teddie’s peanut butter.

Tina from Carrots ‘n’ Cake always talks about Teddie’s so I decided to buy a jar yesterday. It’s delicious! Definitely more of a roasted peanut butter flavor than the JIF I always buy.

 My state of apples in disarray. I was juggling too many different things at once and dropped my tupperware of apples.   I managed to salvage some from the ruin.

This soy yogurt tasted horrible. I remember eating some pre-pregnancy and it tasting just fine. Have my taste buds changed or was it just a bad carton?

Lunch was a peanut butter & apricot jam sandwich with a soft baked chocolate chip cookie & a fruit salad.

Unpictured are a small bag of Original Ruffles and some Cheetos Puffs. They were tasty.

Copious amount of hot green/grain tea. I love this stuff!

Dinner: 2 baked chicken tenders with romaine lettuce, raw onion and green olives with Italian dressing. Oh yeah. Squirts of ketchup. Simple yet satisfying.

Paul has been the only one using the oven so far. He thinks I’m scared of using it since I gave myself a 2nd degree burn on my hand a few months ago.   Perhaps. It was the first time I smelled flesh burning. And the first time I tasted it.

When I burn myself with something, the first thing I do on instinct is to suck on it until I can get some ice cubes or aloe vera. This was my first true burn and let me tell you that burnt skin does not taste very pleasant. After my minut burning mishap, I can only imagine what true burn sufferers have to go through.

I think the scar is going to be permanent. I can’t even remember how many layers of skin this burn went through.

And I don’t know about you but I don’t particularly think this is a very sound investment.   Takes laziness/leisure to another level!

Pregnancy: 29 weeks + something-odd days

I’m almost hitting 30 weeks but thought I should stick to the nitty gritty.

How Far Along: 29 weeks & something-odd days. I can’t tell anymore because it always changes when I go in for a check-up.

*This is just a guideline and the exact weekly breakdown may differ from source to source.

Weeks	1 – 4	5 – 8	9 – 13	14 – 17	18 – 21	22 – 26	27 – 30	31 – 35	36 – 40
Which Month are you in?	You are in your first month	You are in your second month	You are in your third month	You are in your fourth month	You are in your fifth month	You are in your sixth month	You are in your seventh month	You are in your eighth month	You are in your ninth month
This is Month	one	two	three	four	five	six	seven	eight	nine
Trimester	first			second			third

Weight gain: I honestly have no idea. The number on the scale has been scaring me so I haven’t been checking for the past 2 weeks. I’m going in for a check-up next week anyway.   It has to be 30+ by now.
Maternity clothes? I’m still mixing and matching some maternity clothes in with my pre-pregnancy clothes. Like the maxi dress and the black cardigan above; I wore this all the time pre-pregnancy. Well, now my boobs are popping out from every which way and I have to wear a tank top to cover my modesty but other than that, finding clothes that fit haven’t been that much of a hindrance.
Stretch marks? Nope. Thank goodness! I hope I have none or get only a few squiggly lines under my belly button like my mom.
Sleep: It’s been ok but I’ll go into some of the symptoms that have been waking me up at night.
Movement: His movements are definitely stronger than ever. I guess I’m probably going to say this with every new update.   I usually feel him move or kick about after a meal or if I’m lying down. Now, it’s a little more frequent but nothing crazy. I get a big *WHOMP* from him at least twice day now.
Food cravings: As of last week, I’ve been craving more sweets and incredibly, chicken.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.
Gender: Boy
Symptoms:

• Tailbone pain on my right side. It feels like a metal screw that didn’t get screwed in properly. This usually happens when I’ve been on my feet for too long, sitting at work without a quick break, if I roll over too suddenly, …. basically anytime.
• I get shortness of breath at times when I’m lying down. It disappears quickly but it’s alarming when it happens.
• My voracious appetite from my last update dissipated at last and am now struggling to finish a proper meal without feeling like a balloon ready to pop. I get full quickly and feel distention with almost every meal.
• I’ve been dealing with some itchiness around my belly. As I noted above in my sleep section, sleep has been ok but not great because I would wake up from time to time from feeling itchy! It doesn’t seem serious but it is cumbersome.
• My charley-horse cramps, heartburn/constipation & Braxton-Hicks contractions barely pop up anymore. Awesome!

Belly button in or out? In. However, it seems to be fighting very hard to stay in.

Wedding rings on or off? Off. I can still wear them but it’s getting to that uncomfortable stage. My hands are definitely poofier and fatter.

Best Moment of the week? Hitting my 3rd trimester! I also had my first baby dream. I somehow woke up to my baby crying and I instinctively already knew what to do. It was amazing. It was also strange that I seemed to have zipped through labor & delivery without any memory or pain of it.

Looking Forward to: Spending more quality time with my husband before baby’s arrival.

Question

• I’ve heard that boys carry low and pointy and girls are high up and rounder. Do you think that is the case? So far, this rings true for me and my co-worker who is carrying a girl. Many co-workers have noted the differences in our bellies but I honestly think it just depends on the mother’s body type and how the baby is positioned. Yes/No?
• My co-worker says her girl bounces all over the place and she can feel her every which way. In contrast, my baby boy is as lazy as ever and has only now started to make his presence known by thumping here and there with the occasional pats and pokes. And they are usually centered around my lower abdomen or my pelvic region. So yes, he is very low and very particular in his ways. I hope he’s not as stubborn as his parents!

Do you have a half-assed friend?

I apologize for the expletive but I didn’t know how else to word this post.

This is taken from iVillage‘s compilation of toxic people that we need to kick out of our life.

The Half-Assed Friend

She forgets to return calls for months, doesn’t acknowledge your special occasions and is generally MIA. When you do make plans, she’s always rescheduling at the last minute or showing up super late.

“You should dump this ‘friend’ because she does not respect your time or your life,” says LeRoy. “You need to spend that time with those who do appreciate you as a friend and who are interested in your life.”
The verdict: Time to move on to someone who has friendship to give.

I have been weeding through my friends list like a bloodhound on code red. I must have deleted over 150 “friends” on Facebook and honestly? I can’t remember more than a handful that I’ve deleted. There were more “friends of friends” than anything and people I can’t even recall talking to since grade school.

But of the most hurtful? It has to be the close friends that still haven’t acknowledged my pregnancy. I announced in February and still nothing. Not a peep. And to the very close friend who was even my bridesmaid that I called & informed myself? I haven’t heard from her in 2 months since. Oh, and they are all from the same group of girls. Coincidence I think not. I am amazed to put it lightly.

I didn’t think it would be this hard but I’m still finding it hard to cut this particular friend out of my life. I have known her for more than a decade and have been close as thieves for more than half. I love her tremendously and am confused, hurt, disappointed, angry… it feels like a break-up. I believe I’ve done more than enough on my share to reach out to her.

Where I’ve lost friends, I have in their place found amazing support and love from others who have reached out and kept me sane. I can’t thank them enough for their kindness.

There’s nothing left to be done but to let go and wish this particular friend well. I’m going to be a mama in a matter of 2 months. I don’t have time for this shit.

Let’s all stare at the pregnant lady.

I know it can’t be helped. I admit – I think I looked a second longer than necessary when I saw a pregnant woman.

But now that the shoe is on the other foot, it sure feels strange when you feel like you’re being stared at wherever you go. It feels like I’m on The Truman Show, a specimen under a microscope or being viewed with the wrong end of a telescope.

Some of the things that might run through my head when I catch people staring:

• “Is there something in my nose?”
• “Did my dress get caught in my underwear?”
• “Did a boob unknowingly flop out?!”
• “Can that stranger tell that I gained 30 pounds already?”
• “She’s probably trying to guess how far along I am. I bet she’s going to come over here and ask me… Yup. Here she comes.”

The worst ones are the people that judge you about your food choices. “You know. You shouldn’t be eating/drinking that. You’re pregnant.”  Especially when it’s coming from someone that A) you don’t know or B) a co-worker who is an alcoholic who smokes like a chimney and has a mental disorder.

However, on the flip side: This article from Momaroo states that people stare at the pregnant lady because she is “glowing” from her pregnancy. We, pregnant ladies might think that we are hideous and more troll-esque than stunning but that just might not be the case…? Thoughts?

What I Ate Wednesday + First big baby purchase!

I realized that I hadn’t done a What I Ate Wednesday post in awhile. Oops. Hence why I am being proactive and writing it the day before.

My mornings have been starting a little earlier due to crazy island traffic. Just to show you how these one-lane roads can infuriate the tranquilest of minds:

These are one of the main roads home and it kills me every time. This is a narrow one lane for a T-intersection that offers no light or stop sign for opposing traffic. There are cars coming from both sides and we just have to wish for the best when we make that horrific left turn. Gah!

Back to my eats for today: The morning started off with a iced soy coffee with 2 granny smith apples smothered with cinnamon and Justin’s almond butter. These days I have to get my fair share of carbs+fat+protein to feel satisfied and feel okay.

Lunch was probably not the best but I was running late and grabbed whatever I saw thawing in the fridge. I remember seeing these @ Costco too. It was yummy.

Couldn’t finish the Diet Coke though for some reason…… Honestly? It was giving me gas.

I had some unsalted almonds mixed in with some delicious Trader Joe’s Honey Sesame Almonds as my snack throughout the day. I’m so glad I brought back 2 bags with me!

Dinner: Paul and I had chicken breast with munster cheese, lemony asparagus and basmati rice. Everything was simply seasoned with salt, black pepper and a whole lemon. My belly was happy.

And for our first big baby purchase…

This is originally less than $100 in the states. We bought it on the island and it was closer to $250. RIDICULOUS!!!