When I was pregnant with my daughter I didn't really have too many cravings. There were certainly times where "Ooh! That sounds good!" would pop up, (including one afternoon where it occurred to me that red hots would be much better than hot sauce on my veggie burger, thus leaving my husband to conclude at the time that I was now officially weird) but as far as repetitive cravings went I only really had one.
Avacado Maki rolls.
They were my favorite snack/treat partly because they were yummy AND good for me and partly because they were cold. My daughter was born at the beginning of August after all!
So this time around I just assumed they would be at the top of my list and was prepared to reach for the chopsticks. But the two or three times my hubs has brought me maki, thinking to make my preggo day, I've felt bad because they didn't appeal in the least!
Near the end of my first trimester, out of necessity, I developed an obsession with mashed potatoes. Why? They are bland enough they don't upset my tummy and they stay in! Plus, most restaurants carry them and will happily bring a dish of this out within minutes if you rub your growing tummy and say you need them with your ice water. :-)
Now that we are just over 18 weeks I am so over the mashed potatoes. Apparently as of about four days ago. I went to order them at dinner and realized they didn't sound good at all. I was shocked!
Now what was I supposed to order to tide the beasts before my meal arrived?
Then my roving eyes zoomed in on another item on the menu.
Mozzarella sticks!
Sure they're breaded and fried, but most places you get them they aren't very greasy. They even come with marinara sauce which contains cooked tomatoes, which is a good source of lycopene.
And who doesn't love all that protein and calcium in the hot, gooey, cheesy middle?
I realized last night as I dove into my second veggie burger of the day that although the hot and gooey mozzarella sticks were my new favorite 'get something in my tummy' treat with all that protein, my favorite food is currently the veggie burger.
Not boca burger by the way. Um, eww. That is not a burger, it's just gross. Don't put veggie burger on your menu if it's a soy/boca burger because, hello..."There' no veggies in it!!!"
A veggie burger should have veggies and rice in it and be cooked up with cheese on top, a wheat bun and crisp lettuce, tomato and pickle. With mustard and ketchup of course!
If you can't handle that...don't put it on your menu, just be honest!
So, thank you to Hill Street Cafe, Fuddruckers, and Islands!
And boo on you to Johnny Rockets and their Boca burger and to Buffalo Wild Wings for switching from a Gardenburger to a yucky Boca. It was perfect, why did you change????
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The OB Adventure
When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter I went to my PCP, did a urine test and when it was confirmed, she gave me the name of an OB nearby that came highly recommended.
I called Dr. Travias' office and made an appointment. We liked him right away, he put us at ease and nine months later he helped deliver our daughter and kept us both safe and healthy in the process. The nurse at my one week checkup even said he could have been a plastic surgeon my scar was so beautiful from my c-section.
Boy were we spoiled!
Just over two years later, as some of you know, we decided to try for baby number two. As I've said I had now done my research and felt that I was more informed about the birthing process and wanted to do all I could to increase my chances for a successful VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) and avoid if possible a second c-section.
On the recommendation of a friend, who had just gone through a successful VBAC with her second daughter, I met with Dr. Brock at Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills. He has a great VBAC success rate and is not the kind of doctor to rush into or push a c-section simply because it's more convenient for him.
We liked him and decided he was the doctor for us and didn't really mind that he was in Beverly Hills and we were in Burbank because in the worst traffic it is only about 90 minutes and how fast could my labor go right?
Then we found out we were having twins and my stress level, even though I'm not supposed to let it, went up. Now I was looking at having a 90 minute drive to the hospital with the increased complication of a multiple birth. Let the paranoid 'what-ifs' begin!
I was assured that Cedars possesses one of the best NICUs in Southern California and that since we would be delivering there we wouldn't have to worry about the babies having to be transferred from another hospital to the fabulous NICU.
Then we realized we were going to have to move sooner than anticipated and oh my gosh. Bring on the stress, which I know, I know, I'm supposed to be avoiding like the plague and convincing this body of mine to ooze calm so that my babies have the best environment possible and stay in as long as they can.
So now I'm looking at the possibility of having to move just a bit further from the hospital to find the right apartment for us, and I know I shouldn't feel like I have to choose an apartment based on ONE trip to the hospital. But I'm also thinking what if I end up on bedrest, in the hospital? I would be up to 90 minutes away from my daughter and husband, and them from me. What if my babies, God forbid, come early and need to spend days, even weeks, in the NICU. I would be 90 minutes from my babies.
Welcome to my brain.
So after all my careful planning to orchestrate this wonderful second birth I am feeling like I need to start over. I looked into it on the advice of a friend and Huntington Hospital in Pasadena also has a Level III NICU, the best and most state-of-the-art, and they are a hell of a lot closer to Burbank or Glendale or wherever we find a new, and bigger apartment.
That same wonderful friend also recommended a great OB in Pasadena. But I can't help but feel weird trying to switch OBs in the middle like this. I have my 20 week ultrasound and check-up in around three weeks and I'm starting to think that once that is done I'm going to have to decide whether to jump through the hoops of finding the new OB, changing my insurance to a new group, and gearing my focus toward a different hospital...
Now that it's 'on paper', so to speak, it looks ridiculously simple. But when all this is jumbling around in my head with the housework I'm behind on, the purging that needs to happen so we make sure to not just pack up junk and take it with us again, and the packing of essentials that needs to happen, all so I can unpack it all and THEN start the full-on nesting process, while of course maintaining my calm and resting as much as I can in hopes of not getting put on bedrest, you can see how insane the mind of any preggo, even a vegetarian one, can become.
Deep breath. Here's hoping sharing this craziness, with whoever you are out there reading it, in some way helps ease the burden and help it all fall into place and make sense in my head.
Veggie Mama Out!
I called Dr. Travias' office and made an appointment. We liked him right away, he put us at ease and nine months later he helped deliver our daughter and kept us both safe and healthy in the process. The nurse at my one week checkup even said he could have been a plastic surgeon my scar was so beautiful from my c-section.
Boy were we spoiled!
Just over two years later, as some of you know, we decided to try for baby number two. As I've said I had now done my research and felt that I was more informed about the birthing process and wanted to do all I could to increase my chances for a successful VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) and avoid if possible a second c-section.
On the recommendation of a friend, who had just gone through a successful VBAC with her second daughter, I met with Dr. Brock at Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills. He has a great VBAC success rate and is not the kind of doctor to rush into or push a c-section simply because it's more convenient for him.
We liked him and decided he was the doctor for us and didn't really mind that he was in Beverly Hills and we were in Burbank because in the worst traffic it is only about 90 minutes and how fast could my labor go right?
Then we found out we were having twins and my stress level, even though I'm not supposed to let it, went up. Now I was looking at having a 90 minute drive to the hospital with the increased complication of a multiple birth. Let the paranoid 'what-ifs' begin!
I was assured that Cedars possesses one of the best NICUs in Southern California and that since we would be delivering there we wouldn't have to worry about the babies having to be transferred from another hospital to the fabulous NICU.
Then we realized we were going to have to move sooner than anticipated and oh my gosh. Bring on the stress, which I know, I know, I'm supposed to be avoiding like the plague and convincing this body of mine to ooze calm so that my babies have the best environment possible and stay in as long as they can.
So now I'm looking at the possibility of having to move just a bit further from the hospital to find the right apartment for us, and I know I shouldn't feel like I have to choose an apartment based on ONE trip to the hospital. But I'm also thinking what if I end up on bedrest, in the hospital? I would be up to 90 minutes away from my daughter and husband, and them from me. What if my babies, God forbid, come early and need to spend days, even weeks, in the NICU. I would be 90 minutes from my babies.
Welcome to my brain.
So after all my careful planning to orchestrate this wonderful second birth I am feeling like I need to start over. I looked into it on the advice of a friend and Huntington Hospital in Pasadena also has a Level III NICU, the best and most state-of-the-art, and they are a hell of a lot closer to Burbank or Glendale or wherever we find a new, and bigger apartment.
That same wonderful friend also recommended a great OB in Pasadena. But I can't help but feel weird trying to switch OBs in the middle like this. I have my 20 week ultrasound and check-up in around three weeks and I'm starting to think that once that is done I'm going to have to decide whether to jump through the hoops of finding the new OB, changing my insurance to a new group, and gearing my focus toward a different hospital...
Now that it's 'on paper', so to speak, it looks ridiculously simple. But when all this is jumbling around in my head with the housework I'm behind on, the purging that needs to happen so we make sure to not just pack up junk and take it with us again, and the packing of essentials that needs to happen, all so I can unpack it all and THEN start the full-on nesting process, while of course maintaining my calm and resting as much as I can in hopes of not getting put on bedrest, you can see how insane the mind of any preggo, even a vegetarian one, can become.
Deep breath. Here's hoping sharing this craziness, with whoever you are out there reading it, in some way helps ease the burden and help it all fall into place and make sense in my head.
Veggie Mama Out!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Grapes, Grapes, Glorious Grapes
So as we live in the San Fernando Valley and it's mid-June already things are heating up. I feel large already but know that even if I look 7 months pregnant, it doesn't change the fact that I still have five months to get bigger!
In order to keep cool, as the heat is already getting to me and exhausting, I have a wonderful water bottle I keep close at hand and full of ice water. The more I read, the more I hear from other Moms that when you are having twins hydrating is twice as important!
I have also found myself drawn to the wonderful farmer's markets in the area as they have the freshest and healthiest produce for a growing vegetarian belly. The last two weekends I've found myself snacking my way through the Montrose Farmer's Market enjoying the fruity flavors of summer from the organic and pesticide free local growers: cantaloupes, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and more!
I even found organic grapes, FINALLY, at my local Henry's Farmers Market grocer. I have the a/c going, a fan blowing on me and a nearly constant bowl of cold organic grapes fresh from the fridge in a bowl beside me.
Heaven!
I've read that what you eat can change the taste of the amniotic fluid, so I guess the babies are swimming in organic fruit punch these days. :-)
I am trying to make sure I eat plenty of protein, including Luna Protein bars for snacks, since there are two people growing in there. I have craved eggs and cheese a fair amount, finding myself ordering breakfast burritos at restaurants instead of simple scrambled eggs. Rocky Cola Cafe, in Montrose, CA makes a wonderful breakfast burrito, especially if you have them hold the meat and add in spinach and mushrooms. Delicious!
My favorite food remains potatoes right now though. They are bland enough they settle happily into even a slightly upset stomach and simple enough they don't upset my stomach. I've become an expert at sitting down at a restaurant and ordering a side of mashed potatoes with my glass of water, shamelessly patting my growing tummy in emphasis, so I can eat immediately when we go out. Meals just tend to go better that way. I'm remembering these things slowly.
One way this pregnancy is definitely differing from my last is sugars. As a rule we don't buy anything with high fructose corn syrup and avoid refined sugar in general. But on the rare occasion I 'treat' myself with a doughnut or ice cream out, I find myself reeling from the sugar. My body simply can't handle it. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had it down that as long as I ate some good protein I could chase it with something sweet and sinful. Not the case with these two. At least I can hope this means they won't suffer from sweet tooths.
By the time I finish this pregnancy, incidentally my last by choice, I will feel I have it all down just in time to be done. LOL
In order to keep cool, as the heat is already getting to me and exhausting, I have a wonderful water bottle I keep close at hand and full of ice water. The more I read, the more I hear from other Moms that when you are having twins hydrating is twice as important!
I have also found myself drawn to the wonderful farmer's markets in the area as they have the freshest and healthiest produce for a growing vegetarian belly. The last two weekends I've found myself snacking my way through the Montrose Farmer's Market enjoying the fruity flavors of summer from the organic and pesticide free local growers: cantaloupes, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and more!
I even found organic grapes, FINALLY, at my local Henry's Farmers Market grocer. I have the a/c going, a fan blowing on me and a nearly constant bowl of cold organic grapes fresh from the fridge in a bowl beside me.
Heaven!
I've read that what you eat can change the taste of the amniotic fluid, so I guess the babies are swimming in organic fruit punch these days. :-)
I am trying to make sure I eat plenty of protein, including Luna Protein bars for snacks, since there are two people growing in there. I have craved eggs and cheese a fair amount, finding myself ordering breakfast burritos at restaurants instead of simple scrambled eggs. Rocky Cola Cafe, in Montrose, CA makes a wonderful breakfast burrito, especially if you have them hold the meat and add in spinach and mushrooms. Delicious!
My favorite food remains potatoes right now though. They are bland enough they settle happily into even a slightly upset stomach and simple enough they don't upset my stomach. I've become an expert at sitting down at a restaurant and ordering a side of mashed potatoes with my glass of water, shamelessly patting my growing tummy in emphasis, so I can eat immediately when we go out. Meals just tend to go better that way. I'm remembering these things slowly.
One way this pregnancy is definitely differing from my last is sugars. As a rule we don't buy anything with high fructose corn syrup and avoid refined sugar in general. But on the rare occasion I 'treat' myself with a doughnut or ice cream out, I find myself reeling from the sugar. My body simply can't handle it. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had it down that as long as I ate some good protein I could chase it with something sweet and sinful. Not the case with these two. At least I can hope this means they won't suffer from sweet tooths.
By the time I finish this pregnancy, incidentally my last by choice, I will feel I have it all down just in time to be done. LOL
Oh My! Where to begin...
So here I am 17 weeks pregnant and still a vegetarian. No meat cravings as yet this pregnancy, but plenty of surprises.
Just to bring you up to date:
You may have noticed that around 5 weeks pregnant I stopped writing. This is because at 5 weeks I started puking. I was so sick it was all I could do to function and try and keep ANY calories in me.
Then we went in for our 8 week appointment with my new OB and had our first ultrasound. For those of you that have not had this fun early ultrasound the technician takes what look like a large dildo with a cord, it even has a latex cover that looks a great deal like a condom, and 'places' it up and in. Such a treat.
So I'm laying back, thinking of England, and the tv on the wall in front of me (which is connected to her little monitor on the ultrasound machine that I can't see) suddenly is filled with what looks like a large black balloon. In this balloon is a small skeleton creature that looks like an alien.
There was my baby. I noticed another small 'something' near the top of the balloon, but assumed naively I was most likely looking at the placenta.
Then I hear those magic words, "Oh! There's two."
To which I replied, "Two what?"
You guessed it. My husband and my sister who were right next to me looked as shocked as I felt.
Twins!?!
She pointed out that in addition to my alien, the small bat-like creature cuddled up at the top of my uterus was baby b.
I remember sitting at the desk in my doctor's office waiting to see him after the ultrasound was done and just being speechless. He came in, said hello, and sat down to begin looking over the results.
Much like I had, he stopped, looked up at me, looked down again. Re-read the results and looked at me again mouth slightly agape.
I just looked at him for a second and then said, "Yeah."
Once his shock passed, mine took a bit longer, he switched the usual 8 week talk to a twin preggo talk. Although my due date was calculated at November 23rd, he said full term for twins is 38 weeks. So my 'real' due date is now November 9th. You will get bigger sooner, you will be more tired, you 'could' end up on bed rest from August on.
All of which I nodded and filed away to process later as I was experiencing shock at the time and unable to process much.
We then headed across the hall for the joy of a pelvic exam and the siphoning of my blood for testing. Somewhere in the middle of this process I remember feeling all the blood drain from my face as I broke out in a sweat and the room moved on its own. I think this is when the 'two' part sank in.
Once I laid down and had a snack and some water, my brain turned back on and I started processing. Two babies...two carseats...two cribs...so much for not having to do much shopping for my second pregnancy!
We went in at 12 weeks for our BUN study ultrasound where they look at your baby, or in my case babies, and search for any indication of genetic abnormalities. I was still tossing my cookies, but, thanks to Tums and a wonderful Zofran prescription, not as much.
Instead of an alien and a bat, the last four weeks my body had created two little people with noses and personality. We were amazed!
Baby A spent the entire time the technician was trying to get a profile shot, to gauge for downs syndrome, dancing like a wild monkey. Once she got the picture she needed she moved on to Baby B. This was my calm baby, just chilling out. Despite the feet of Baby A trying to bounce off Baby B's head. :-)
However, I learned quickly that calm did not guarantee cooperation. Each time the technician got ready to snap the same profile picture of Baby B, my ornery baby would reach up and touch his/her nose. The technician has to have a profile picture that includes the nose and the back of the neck. So each time she almost had that shot, little Baby B would go 'nana-nana-boo-boo' and she'd have to try again. It probably took as long to take my 'calm' baby's picture as my crazy dancing monkey.
Each baby was measured at around 5 cm in length from head to rump. They were officially little people with the cutest hands, feet and noses I'd seen in three years!
Now I am finally not throwing up. It's been a week since I last hurled. Yeah!
We will go in for an ultrasound in about three weeks and, hopefully, find out the gender of our two little miracles. We still don't know if they are identical or not.
I can't help it, I am hoping for one of each. My husband is hoping for at least one boy or he will be horribly outnumbered, and my sister and mother have decided I'm having two boys. My father's isn't particular at all, his only request is two healthy babies to play with and shower with love!
We shall see who, beyond my father, gets what they want...
Just to bring you up to date:
You may have noticed that around 5 weeks pregnant I stopped writing. This is because at 5 weeks I started puking. I was so sick it was all I could do to function and try and keep ANY calories in me.
Then we went in for our 8 week appointment with my new OB and had our first ultrasound. For those of you that have not had this fun early ultrasound the technician takes what look like a large dildo with a cord, it even has a latex cover that looks a great deal like a condom, and 'places' it up and in. Such a treat.
So I'm laying back, thinking of England, and the tv on the wall in front of me (which is connected to her little monitor on the ultrasound machine that I can't see) suddenly is filled with what looks like a large black balloon. In this balloon is a small skeleton creature that looks like an alien.
There was my baby. I noticed another small 'something' near the top of the balloon, but assumed naively I was most likely looking at the placenta.
Then I hear those magic words, "Oh! There's two."
To which I replied, "Two what?"
You guessed it. My husband and my sister who were right next to me looked as shocked as I felt.
Twins!?!
She pointed out that in addition to my alien, the small bat-like creature cuddled up at the top of my uterus was baby b.
I remember sitting at the desk in my doctor's office waiting to see him after the ultrasound was done and just being speechless. He came in, said hello, and sat down to begin looking over the results.
Much like I had, he stopped, looked up at me, looked down again. Re-read the results and looked at me again mouth slightly agape.
I just looked at him for a second and then said, "Yeah."
Once his shock passed, mine took a bit longer, he switched the usual 8 week talk to a twin preggo talk. Although my due date was calculated at November 23rd, he said full term for twins is 38 weeks. So my 'real' due date is now November 9th. You will get bigger sooner, you will be more tired, you 'could' end up on bed rest from August on.
All of which I nodded and filed away to process later as I was experiencing shock at the time and unable to process much.
We then headed across the hall for the joy of a pelvic exam and the siphoning of my blood for testing. Somewhere in the middle of this process I remember feeling all the blood drain from my face as I broke out in a sweat and the room moved on its own. I think this is when the 'two' part sank in.
Once I laid down and had a snack and some water, my brain turned back on and I started processing. Two babies...two carseats...two cribs...so much for not having to do much shopping for my second pregnancy!
We went in at 12 weeks for our BUN study ultrasound where they look at your baby, or in my case babies, and search for any indication of genetic abnormalities. I was still tossing my cookies, but, thanks to Tums and a wonderful Zofran prescription, not as much.
Instead of an alien and a bat, the last four weeks my body had created two little people with noses and personality. We were amazed!
Baby A spent the entire time the technician was trying to get a profile shot, to gauge for downs syndrome, dancing like a wild monkey. Once she got the picture she needed she moved on to Baby B. This was my calm baby, just chilling out. Despite the feet of Baby A trying to bounce off Baby B's head. :-)
However, I learned quickly that calm did not guarantee cooperation. Each time the technician got ready to snap the same profile picture of Baby B, my ornery baby would reach up and touch his/her nose. The technician has to have a profile picture that includes the nose and the back of the neck. So each time she almost had that shot, little Baby B would go 'nana-nana-boo-boo' and she'd have to try again. It probably took as long to take my 'calm' baby's picture as my crazy dancing monkey.
Each baby was measured at around 5 cm in length from head to rump. They were officially little people with the cutest hands, feet and noses I'd seen in three years!
Now I am finally not throwing up. It's been a week since I last hurled. Yeah!
We will go in for an ultrasound in about three weeks and, hopefully, find out the gender of our two little miracles. We still don't know if they are identical or not.
I can't help it, I am hoping for one of each. My husband is hoping for at least one boy or he will be horribly outnumbered, and my sister and mother have decided I'm having two boys. My father's isn't particular at all, his only request is two healthy babies to play with and shower with love!
We shall see who, beyond my father, gets what they want...
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