Author Archives: Chantel

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Never eat a pregnant woman’s ice cream

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Wednesday was a long day at work. I came home, had dinner, and then had to go out for another hour or so for a work function, which happened to be at a restaurant. I declined to get dessert at the restaurant because I knew I had a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream awaiting me in the freezer.

As I’m driving home, I start salivating over my chocolatey goodness at home.

Get home, park, walk upstairs, unlock the door and freeze… on Blake’s TV tray: an empty pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream.

Now, before getting hysterical, I went to the freezer to make sure that my pint of ice cream was still there, thinking maybe Blake had seen mine in the freezer and went to the store to get some for himself (yeah, I don’t know why). Open the freezer and there’s an empty space where my ice cream had been.

Hormones raging, my eyes brimmed with tears. Who eats a pregnant woman’s ice cream?!?!

Needless to say, there was a junk food run that evening.

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28 Weeks/7 Months/Start of third trimester!

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My weird preggo belly at 6 weeks - not really showing yet.

So we’re in the final stretch now.  10 weeks and 5 days til my due date of November 17.

Of course, I’m getting huge. I mentioned on a previous post that I have always had a strange stomach that indents at the belly button, giving the appearance of two stomachs. Because I don’t have the round, “normal” looking preggo belly, I’ve been avoiding taking photos of me pregnant – I just end up looking fat. However, I figured it’d be fun to see the difference – and boy what a difference!

My weird preggo belly at 28 weeks - almost looks normal.

I’m feeling good. Only really complaint is tiredness. Still no weird cravings. I just like food. Mmm…

Update on baby growth from BabyCenter.com (girl pronouns changes to boy pronouns):

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He’s also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

What baby looks like in the womb ->

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Blake builds baby bed

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Today Blake decided to put together the baby bed from IKEA. See the photos below of the adventure. Now we need to get a mattress.

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Motherhood Maternity shares personal info

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I keep receiving these ads for cord blood storage. Without ever having requested information from the company. I’m convinced that Motherhood Maternity is selling my information. Which makes me mad. They have my information from the first time I bought something there. They ask for your address and phone number. I gave them my address because they said they mail coupons.

I was looking at their website to buy something because I had a gift card because I bought something at a store and returned it the next day, finding out you can’t get your money back. Was all set to buy a cute dress and then they asked for my phone number all mandatorily.

It’s clear in their privacy policy that they share your info, but I wasn’t told that in the store when I signed up.

At times we may also share your personal information with other companies or organizations that have a product or service we believe may be of interest to you or that would like to contact you to ask your opinion of various topics that may be of interest to you and/or may help them serve you better. However, you always have the right to direct us not to share your information with third parties (see “Choice” below).

To get off those mailing lists, you have to email them, per their website:

We believe that choice is one of the most important privacy principles. You have the choice not to submit any personally identifiable information to us (although under such circumstances you would be unable to purchase items from the Retail Web Sites or participate in our contests and sweepstakes). You also may choose to submit only those mandatory fields of data absolutely required for purchases and contest participation. Finally, you may choose to limit the use of or access to your personally identifiable information by requesting that we refrain from sharing all such information with any third parties. You may “opt out” in this way at any time simply by contacting us at ci@motherhood.com, or at the address and phone number listed at the end of this privacy policy.

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Doc appointment on Tuesday 8/24

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I woke up Tuesday morning convinced that I was dying.

I was sure that when I went to my doc appointment that morning, I was going to be diagnosed with pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension) and gestational diabetes, requiring bed rest, causing me to lose my job, and ultimately our apartment, and then life as we knew it.

See, my ankles and feet were crazy bloated/swollen/FAT to the point that I only had a pair of flip flops I could maneuver over the girth, I had a terrible headache which persisted for three days by then, my vision was blurry, I was gaining weight despite exercising and vigorously watching my calories, and I just was not feeling great.

So I go to my doctor’s appointment. Nurse checked my urine. No sugars or proteins. She checked my blood pressure. “Great!” Well below the threshold for pre-eclampsia. Doc reads my test results from the glucose test I’d done a few weeks ago. No gestational diabetes. I’m in great shape!

Any hormonal woman can tell you that if you’re feeling like crap, the last thing you want to hear is that it’s all in your head.

So I whined.

Me: “Why does my head hurt?”

Doc: “Is it your sinuses?”

Me: “No. My cheeks don’t hurt.”

Doc: “There are sinuses in your forehead and the back of your neck.”

Me: Damn. “Ok, it’s my sinuses.”

Doc: “The weather’s been pretty bad the past few days…”

Me: “Fine, it’s my sinuses. Why are my feet so fat?”

Doc: “You’re pregnant.”

So basically, I’m very healthy, baby’s healthy, and I was just whining like a child. 🙂

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Funny man-pregnancy book

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This book sounds funny – I love Kevin Nealon:

Kevin Nealon back in pre-pregnancy jeans

September 1, 2008

Saturday Night Live alum and Weeds actor Kevin Nealon spoke with The Cradle about his own “pregnancy symptoms” when his wife Susan Yeagley was pregnant with their son Gable. Nealon documented his experience in the book, Yes, You’re Pregnant, But What About Me?

Nealon jokes that he did gain sympathy weight and is “barely able to fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans.” He says, “During the pregnancy I had those jeans with the elastic stretch band along the waist and also along the cuffs, since I was getting ‘cankles.’”

What was his biggest fear? “The biggest fear, of course, is whose baby is it really? No, only kidding. It was nobody’s “love child” except for mine. My biggest fear was for the health and well-being of my wife and child. I dealt with those fears as most people would: I stuffed my face with as much food as possible… mostly sweets and carbs. The other fear was whether or not I would be able to withstand the actual delivery of the baby. I’m not good with blood or placenta.”

Is you man experiencing any pregnancy symptoms, such as weight gain or nausea? Click here to read about the “Pregnant” dads or sympathetic pregnancy.
kevin-nealon-pregnancy.jpg

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Cankles

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Cankles!

Today I was sitting in one of the vision rehab classes at work, looking for photo ops of students doing interesting things. I look down and suddenly notice that I no longer have ankles! Now, I knew something was off because it’s been progressively more and more unpleasant to wear any other footwear but flip-flops, but when did I get cankles?

For those who have known me, the only thin/narrow things about me are my fingers and my feet… no mas!

For someone who has lost 75 pounds in recent years, seeing yourself get huge everywhere is daunting… yes I know I’m pregnant and growing a baby and all but I also have hormones which haven’t been too friendly in the self-esteem arena… stupid karma.

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Razor extender thingy for pregnant shaving

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I saw this gadget in a pregnancy magazine a few months ago and thought, “How stupid is that?!”

However, as I’ve gotten bigger, and more tired and less flexible, I’ve begun to resemble a man, frequently opting to wear long pants in the Florida heat to avoid shaving.

Just tonight, I attempted to shave in the bath to avoid slipping and dying in the shower and even that’s frickin’ hard! (Yes, karma is a mother…)

So now I’m kind of drooling over this stupid gadget…

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26 Weeks – 6 1/2 Months

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Preggo-ness at 26 weeks

Getting bigger and bigger by the day. By most people’s accounts, I just look chubby, not necessarily pregnant. I’ve always had a weird stomach that kind of goes in at the belly button. As the baby gets bigger that indent is starting to fill in and I almost have a normal looking belly. Woo hoo! It’s been fun so far when random people feel my belly (always without my permission) and go, “There’s the baby.” My reaction is usually, “Nope, that’s fat. That’s the baby.”

Update from BabyCenter.com:

The network of nerves in your baby’s ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner’s as you chat with each other. He’s inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he’s born and takes that first gulp of air. And he’s continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you’re having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

See what baby looks like at 26 weeks.