Puttering Around and WIAW

Today was Day Two of being home. While I enjoyed the relaxed feel of the day, I also had to hold myself back a bit from doing too much. Bending and lifting are particularly difficult for me now, so I'm working on simpler stuff around the house and resting often.



I woke up this morning around 6, as Terry was heading out for work. I don't think sleeping any later is in the cards for me, but I'm trying to take a nap each day if I feel tired. After he left, I made some pancake batter that we can enjoy the rest of the week. I topped mine with peanut butter this morning for a boost of protein--YUM!

I spent the morning relaxing on the couch, going through some of our pregnancy exercises, writing a post about what we have in our hospital bag.

Scout had no problem with my choice to relax this morning. Also, I looked excellent.

By midmorning I was itching to move around and be productive, so I did a tiny bit of redecorating and finally hung up some pictures!

I ate lunch a little early--leftovers from last night's dinner, which was a super simple meal of eggplant, zucchini, and onion sauteed in olive oil and then tossed with whole wheat penne and store-bought marinara. So simple and delicious! And a great meal we can make again once baby is here, because it takes a total of 20 minutes to make. Today I added mozzarella to my bowl, which took the flavor up another notch.

Leftovers always look more disgusting but taste more delicious than the originals. 

For lunch dessert, which is absolutely a thing, I had a spoon of peanut butter topped with chocolate chips plus a glass of milk.

Scout and I spent some time running around (well, he ran, I threw his toys) a few times today, and I baked some banana bread muffins! We're freezing some for ourselves for after the baby arrives (perfect midnight snack) and we're also planning to bring some to the nurses at our hospital.

By then my back ached enough to encourage me to sit down for a bit, so I spent some more time relaxing on the couch. I'm finding a remarkable number of ways to keep myself busy while not being up and about!


Around 3:30 I felt hungry again and made myself some scrambled eggs with turkey and cheese, a recent favorite snack.

The only time I got out of the house today was to grab a few essentials at Trader Joe's. I love how close it is to our house now! One mile away, so when I'm not so pregnant we can just walk down for small trips like this.


For dinner I whipped up some tuna salad and created grilled tuna melts with a big green salad on the side (completely forgot to take a picture). That tuna salad will make another appearance later this week for lunch on Friday. Get excited.

I was excited for dessert tonight: homemade ice cream with chocolate chips. Delicious way to end the day!

Hope you had a great Wednesday. See you tomorrow for what will likely be my last pregnancy update!

All Our Bags are Packed...

As with everything else pregnancy-, labor-, and childrearing-related, every source has a different opinion on what to bring to the hospital. I've seen lists that suggest you don't need much--just a change of clothes and an outfit for baby. I've seen lists that imply you should pack up a moving truck to bring with you to the hospital because you need to pack everything in your house. And I've seen everything in between.

So again, we had to make a judgment call to determine what we feel is most important for whatever time we're in the hospital. The big obstacles:

• Since we moved, our hospital is now at least 40 minutes away (without traffic, which is almost never). That means Terry won't be able to easily just pop back home for anything we forgot. Luckily the grandparents will be around, so if there's something crucial left behind we can send them to grab it.
• As with every couple, we can't know for sure how long we'll be in the hospital. Our hospital recommends planning for 1-2 nights for a vaginal birth and 4-5 nights for a C-section, so we're packing for about 3 nights. If we need more than that, Terry will need to make a trip home.

With all that said, here's what we finally decided to bring to the hospital (and don't worry, I made a gorgeous, color-coded spreadsheet to help us stay organized), all packed in a carry-on size suitcase:

For Mom (<--I'm still completely bewildered that that's me!)

• Bathrobe: I actually bought a light cotton robe (in navy--most people I talked to recommend dark colors so stains aren't as much of a concern) for $20 at Target. It'll be great in case I'm chilly and will make nursing easy.
• Nightgown: Similarly, I bought an inexpensive, short nightgown. It's not technically a maternity gown, but it's super soft and wide enough that it fits my belly. And it's black, again to prevent stains.
• Other comfy clothes: I have some soft pajama shorts, two tank tops from Motherhood, two tank tops from Target (not maternity, but in a larger size so they aren't tight), and a pair of leggings in case it's chilly.
• Underwear and nursing bras: I bought a nursing bra and a nursing tank top from Target, both of which are stretchy and comfy and inexpensive. I'm also packing several pairs of my own underwear, although I understand that apparently the hospital provides disposable mesh undies, which I'm sure will be just fine.
• Socks and slippers: A few pairs of thick, fuzzy socks to walk from the bed to the bathroom (our hospital has private rooms with bathrooms attached, but I assume I'll be cold) and a pair of slippers for walking the halls.
• Flip flops: For walking around the halls and leaving the hospital. 
• Coming home outfit: I actually haven't packed this one yet! I think I'll go with something comfy that I've felt good in throughout my pregnancy, in hopes that we'll get a few family photos leaving the hospital. 
• Nursing pads
• Nursing cover

For Dad

• 3 shirts
• 2 pairs of shorts
• Pajamas
• Shoes 

Cosmetics

• The usual stuff: toothbrushes, toothpaste, contact solution, glasses, face wash, lotion, hair brush, makeup, etc.
• Hand wash: Since we had our birth classes at the hospital, I noticed that I hated the smell of the hand wash in the bathrooms. I bought a small hand wash to bring along so that I don't get sick of the smell.
• Witch hazel: Seems like a pretty universal recommendation for helping the healing process along.
• Mouthwash: For freshening up during labor without having to brush my teeth. 
• Thick pads, another fairly universal recommendation.
• Chapstick

Miscellaneous

• Our birth class notes and books for reference during labor (more useful at home than at the hospital, but still worth packing). 
• My breastfeeding book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League.
• A journal, for jotting down memories about the day.
• Camera, charged and ready to go
• Cell phone charger
• Water bottles
• Snacks from home: Lara bars, fruit, etc.
• Pillows for labor and for sleeping.
• Cash for parking (we never have cash, so we needed to pre-pack this one).
• Copies of our birth plan
• Insurance cards and IDs
• Some homemade muffins for the nurses, as a thank you

For Baby: I'm putting all these items in our diaper bag, so that we can leave them in the car when we first arrive and Terry can go back for them later.

• Two receiving blankets (one is slightly more boyish, one a little more girly).
• Swaddling blanket, just because I love it and think it's super cute for coming home. 
• A few onesies
• A few side-snap t-shirts: Apparently these help protect the belly button.
• Baby's coming home outfit: Neither Terry nor I truly understands the hype surrounding this monumentally important outfit, but we still chose a cute one for baby's trip home!
• Socks (2) and mittens (2)

It seems like a LOT! But it all fits in our small carry-on and the diaper bag, except the pillows. I'm sure we'll find some items completely useless, and I'm sure there are a few things we haven't thought of. But I also know we'll be just fine, and we can buy any emergency items if needed.

Low Impact Leg Workout

This weekend (today counted as part of the weekend, because Terry and I attended a graduation ceremony) absolutely wore me out. I've noticed a little dip in my energy level these last two weeks, but I think now I'm at a point where one or two short, close outings should be my limit!

As I mentioned yesterday, we had the pleasure of visiting some of our best friends on Saturday, and we also spent a few hours at UCLA, mingling with other alumni and enjoying the big campaign kickoff event. I'm finding myself less and less excited about being social, but I think it's mostly how tired I feel. After Sunday's graduation party and today's graduation ceremony, I am totally beat. I could have fallen asleep at the restaurant after the ceremony today (and I did fall asleep on the way home!).

And now...we wait!

I thought I'd share a little workout I did last week, when I wasn't terrified that any sort of movement would put me into labor (we're really hoping for one more week to rest). I hadn't worked my legs in a while, so I did the following:

Twenty minutes, no equipment, and you're done! Here are some notes:

Squats: While you don't need equipment for squats to be effective, you can certainly add weights or mix it up with one-legged squats.

Plie Squats: These guys are just the best. Again, you can add weights for more challenge.

Clamshells: Here's a visual of the exercise. You should feel it in your glutes and outer hip.

Hip Abductors: You have lots of options for this one! I did them on the ground, lying on my side, but you can also do them on a ball, standing (<--In my professional opinion, this demonstration illustrates the range of motion a bit too high), or with a band.


Hope you enjoy that one! Great for travel or a quick workout at home. Happy Tuesday!

Nursery Photos and a Tiring Weekend

Yesterday, Terry and I woke up feeling particularly productive and took the opportunity to get the nursery photo-ready. I told my dad today that I don't think we'll ever feel like it's "done," but at least we feel a lot better now. So here's our little one's bedroom.

The crib, a gift from Terry's parents, along with several pillows. Two of the pillows and the orange blanket were homemade gifts from my friend Amanda's mom. I also never saw the need for a crib skirt until we assembled our crib. The bottom just looked...like something was missing. And the cat kept trying to crawl through the bars to get under the crib. So we bought a little skirt from Buy Buy Baby.

Our friends Heidi and Ed bought us these adorable wall hangings off of our Target registry. I love them!

My parents gave us this dresser, and we swapped out the handles. It's perfect for our changing pad. Above the dresser we have a Tim Burton numbers print, which we actually bought several years ago at a LACMA event. Terry is a huge Tim Burton fan.

The armoire used to be in our bedroom, but now it doesn't work there, so we will use it for additional storage in the baby's room. The bookcase to the left was a gift from Terry's aunts.

In the very far corner of the room you can sort of see the hamper I spent weeks trying to find. I wanted something wicker-ish and well made, but it wasn't easy. I found it at Bed Bath and Beyond but still need a hamper liner.

The bookcase actually houses all of our regular books (not just baby/kids books), but it works in the room.

Here's the entry to the room, a print from my aunt from our baby shower.

We decided to place the glider out in the den/living room area instead of the bedroom. I love the little elephant pillow my mom found!

The elephant blanket across the chair is extra special--a gift from Terry that he gave me when we found out we were pregnant.

Terry and I are both so excited that the room is officially functional and really quite nice for the little one. While the baby will mostly be in our room for the first several weeks, it's a big weight off our shoulders to have the room ready!


The rest of our weekend has flown by, as usual. Friday night we stayed home and took it easy, which turned out to be a great idea. On Saturday morning, as I mentioned, we tackled a lot of last minute nursery projects and then headed out to finally visit our friends Heidi and Ed and their little girl!

Kayla is a little over two weeks old and absolutely adorable. She's super sweet and mellow, and her parents are doing a terrific job. On the way home Terry and I couldn't stop talking about how relaxed and natural they seem as parents. It's clearly a role they were both born to fulfill! They're doing wonderfully and look remarkably refreshed. They make it seem deceptively easy...

It was also great to catch up with Heidi and Ed and our other friends Katie and Corey and their little toddler Ainsley. It's so great to see our friends doing such wonderful jobs as parents. I hope we can do the same!

After our unfortunately short visit, Terry and I headed down to UCLA for an alumni event.

Here's one reason I love my alma mater:

Yay for a healthy campus!

Go Bruins!

Today I was exhausted, likely from yesterday's busy schedule. We took the morning super easy and then headed out to celebrate a family friend's graduation from Clemson. Then we came home for a very mellow night and some kitten cuddles.

Tomorrow we'll be up bright and early for a graduation ceremony, and that's essentially our last "big event" before we hole up in the house and rest up for baby. Terry will still be going to work and I'll still be running an errand or two here and there (not to mention weekly doctor appointments), but no more long drives or crazy days!

Fun Facts Friday

Today was my last day of work! I'll still be working via e-mail a little, but I'm officially off starting Monday. I can't believe how quickly that year flew. I'm trying to avoid planning too many things to do while I'm off, for two reasons: 1) I know I'll find plenty to do to keep myself busy, and I want to avoid overworking; and 2) I am certain that if I plan a whole bunch of projects I'll end up happening to go into labor way earlier than planned!

It's been HOT lately. San Diego is on fire (stay safe down there...). But thankfully, we're supposed to see ten-degree drops each day this weekend. I hope that's happening, because we have two outdoor events to attend this weekend, and this pregnant lady just can't hang in the heat the way I used to.

While subbing today, I read The Giver. The students were in the middle of it, and I had never read it before, so I just dove in. On days like this, when the kids have partner work all day, I usually find lots of ways to stay busy, but today seemed perfect for enjoying what turned out to be a great book!

We're checking out local farmers' markets! I sincerely miss our old market and its proximity to our apartment, but now we have several new options to explore. Today we stopped on the way home from work to check out a market right next to the beach. It's tiny (only about 15 booths), but we discovered that our favorite tamale booth (from our previous market) also has a booth here! We had been meaning to grab frozen tamales to keep for meals after the baby arrives, so it worked out perfectly!

I love this new-to-me website, Healthy Child Healthy World. As we registered and shopped for baby items, I felt completely overwhelmed trying to figure out the safest options for our little one. This website, which I unfortunately discovered only today, helps clarify a lot of questions, like which plastics are safe (look for #1, 2, 4, and 5). At least it's a great resource for when I have questions in the future. It also seems to have a lot of great tips for living healthier and helping the environment.

We're just about done shopping for baby. ...For now. We had a great time grabbing some essentials at Buy Buy Baby this week, and we have just a couple more things we need to order on Amazon. Then I'll finally take some photos of the nursery. (Please cross your fingers that baby won't make an appearance before then! We're hoping for two more weeks...)

Look at that stud of a dad-to-be.

Bruschetta is back! We also stopped at a local bakery for bread and made bruschetta for dinner. One of my favorite summer meals!

It was delicious.

Hope you had a wonderful Friday!!!

Prep and Updates

Another week of inconsistent blog posts, but as we near the end of pregnancy I find myself less eager to sit in front of a computer when I can be hanging out with Terry or playing with Scout. I know I'll still be able to do those things with a baby, but perhaps not in the same way, so I'm soaking up this time while I can.

Yesterday I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from our doctor's appointment (more on that later) to grab some staples as well as the necessities for this week's meals. I stocked up on a few items we want to have at the ready for when baby comes:

• peanut butter
• bananas
• a whole chicken to freeze so we can throw it in the crock pot one day
• whole wheat pasta

When my mom was visiting last week, she made me feel better about all this meal prep. While I do want to have lots of food stocked up, I can still plan to be in the kitchen at least a little. Of course I'll avoid crazy complicated meals and steer clear of big baking projects, but I can still plan to make small, easy meals here and there. And of course I also have a wonderful, helpful husband who knows his way around the kitchen (and the grill!). 

My mom has also been busy at home making some freezer meals for us--pasta sauce and chili verde (yum!). We have a few meals ready in the freezer, too: a homemade pizza crust and sauce, that whole chicken I mentioned, pork shoulder (we can use it for carnitas or slow cooker pulled pork), some ground beef for whatever purpose. 

We're assuming the first few days home will be the most hectic, between settling in and having the grandparents around, but those visitors will be more than happy to help us with food, so I'm not worried. Between snacks and take out, we'll have plenty to eat. 

But we've started brainstorming easy meals that aren't necessarily freezer-friendly but are easy enough to make without too much fuss and without creating too many dirty dishes:

• Roasted vegetables and whole wheat pasta in marinara sauce
• Sandwiches, either grilled or cold
• BBQ anything--burgers, chicken, whatever Terry wants to make
• Breakfasts for dinner (pancakes, eggs, French toast)
• Soup--tomato bisque, broccoli cheese, anything Ina Garten recommends
• Slow cooker refried beans (to make burritos)
• Vegetable quesadillas

I'm feeling a lot less panicked about needing to have a million meals ready to reheat, because I know Terry and I will figure it out and get meals on the table. 

Along with meal prep (or at least thinking about meal prep), we're slowly getting to a point where we're somewhat ready for this kid to take over our lives. My doctor has officially recommended for me to stop working, so I'll be off starting Monday. And this weekend is our last "busy" weekend, with three big events--visiting friends, a graduation party, and a graduation ceremony/lunch. All exciting, but I'm sure I'll be exhausted! Luckily the heat is supposed to taper off by the weekend (thank goodness). 

Yesterday I washed a bunch of baby clothes, as well as blankets, burp cloths, and bedding. I still feel a little clueless as to whether or not we have enough clothing, but I know both grandmas will be more than happy to buy some more outfits for the little one if needed. 

In case you're wondering, Scout was not at all helpful with folding the laundry and instead chose to simply claim all the new items for himself.

Today we're planning our "big trip to Buy Buy Baby"--an event that has loomed in our imminent future for months now. We did a great job of holding off until after the showers and after the move to make any purchases, but now we can stock up on the missing items. Once we are finally "finished" (a relative term that won't ever really be accurate) with the nursery, I'll post a few photos.

I also spent a little time over the last week or two getting ready for Terry's first Father's Day. Since we obviously don't know when the baby will be here and under what circumstances, I wanted to be sure to have his gifts and a card ready well in advance. I'm so excited that the baby will (almost certainly) be here by then! 

Since I've already provided several other updates, I may as well include a few more:

Symptoms: I still have itchy skin in the evenings (usually starts around 8 pm), but it hasn't been as unbearable the last few nights! I get a little swelling in my feet now and then, but I know the heat has a lot to do with that. I feel sharp pain in my groin/inner thigh quite often now, but it's likely just the baby moving lower. 

Exercise...is at a minimum. I definitely have great intentions, and I'm still feeling fully capable of walks and even strength workouts, but the heat has taken a toll on me. Staying cool, hydrated, and well rested feels more essential than squeezing in every scheduled workout, so if I miss something, I'm not giving myself a hard time. On the other hand, I do feel great after almost every time I exercise, so I hope to keep up at least a few walks per week until the big day.

Emotional Well-being: For a few weeks, I felt absolutely panicked--about how much our lives are going to change, about whether we're ready for those changes, about the process of settling into our new lives. Thankfully, by talking with a lot of people and being really open about my fears, I'm starting to feel a lot better. I still have moments of anxiety, of course, but I really have a great partner to help me with this parenting thing, and I know we'll figure it out.

Getting Scout Ready: Some people have asked how we think Scout will adapt to the new arrival, and while we can't be sure, I think he'll adjust fairly quickly. Our only real plan is to bring home some of baby's clothing from the hospital before we bring the baby home so he can familiarize himself with the smell. Aside from that, we're teaching him to stay off of the baby's furniture (mostly the co-sleeper and the crib), and we'll just roll with the punches as needed when the baby arrives.

And lastly, we had one pink and one blue ribbon from our showers, and I put them out for Scout so he could play. He has determined we are having a girl. 

Pre-Mother Mother's Day Weekend

Another warp speed weekend to launch us into the work week, huh? At least it was a good one!

Saturday morning we enjoyed a short but tough walk in our neighborhood (hills are rough for me now!) and then slowly headed out for Encinitas (just north of San Diego). Unfortunately, traffic stalled our trip quite a lot, and we wound up driving for nearly three hours before finally arriving at Sublime Ale House for lunch.

We both really liked our meals (I had the veggie panini; Terry chose the pulled pork mac and cheese as well as a beer sampler), and we would definitely recommend it!

Next we hit up a few breweries! While Terry's birthday was last month, we only celebrated with one nice dinner out. When we found out that we would have to drive to Encinitas to pick up our crib (a gift from Terry's parents), we used it as a great excuse to allow Terry to check out a few new-to-us breweries in the area: Belching Beaver and Iron Fist.

Obviously, I got to be an observer, but it was a fun trip and a beautiful day to be mostly outside, and we even ran into one of Terry's coworkers, so we caught up with him. By 5:30 pm we were picking up our crib at Buy Buy Baby and heading back home. It was a short visit to the area, but at least we enjoyed our quick trip.

Saturday night was super mellow, including some couch time and setting up the crib!

Sunday morning, Mother's Day, Terry brought me a lovely breakfast in bed. We also walked down to a local bakery for some awesome pastries. I thought it might be weird to acknowledge Mother's Day when I'm not officially a mom, but all day people wished me a happy Mother's Day, which I thought was so sweet.

My only real request for the day was to work on the baby's room, so we tackled a few projects in there. It's alllllmost ready for the little occupant!

I sorted through all the baby clothes and got them ready for washing. (We have lots of friends who have recommended not washing everything right away and just having a few outfits ready, just in case the baby is too big for Newborn sizes, but it really stressed me out trying to determine the "right" number of outfits to prepare, so this project took way longer than it should have.)

Terry swapped out the handles on our dresser (a gift from my parents).

We also hung several wall decorations, placed the furniture where we want it, prepped all our blankets and burp cloths for the wash, and installed the second car seat. It really was a productive day!

Finally, we teamed up to make delicious breakfast burgers. Terry grilled the beef to perfection, and the rest was easy. I made homemade biscuits (instead of buns) and cooked up some bacon, and we topped our burgers with avocado, tomato, cheddar cheese, and a fried egg.

My brother argued that these weren't "breakfast burgers" because a) they use beef instead of breakfast sausage, and b) they are eaten at night. I disagree completely, because breakfast is allowed anytime.

And then we called it a night.

A wonderful weekend with my favorite person. We only have a few more just the two of us (three, including Scout), and I'm finally starting to feel a little more prepared, a little less anxious. Then again, I'll be full term this week (Thursday is the 37-week mark), so when I think of that a whole new wave of anxiety comes over me. One day at a time, right?

How was your Mother's Day weekend? Anything fun or exciting? 

EMOM Upper Body Workouts

Well, I guess this week slipped away from me a bit! We celebrated Jenn's birthday on Wednesday night and attended the school play last night, so it's been a bit busy around here! This weekend we have some fun plans, though.

Tonight we're tidying up the house and then cooking a simple meal at home, something that seriously got away from me this week. I failed to menu plan and never made time to go to the grocery store, so we ended up eating out for several meals. I'm eager to get back to our usual homemade routine.

Tomorrow Terry and I are driving down to San Diego for a two-birds-with-one-stone kind of trip. First, we're picking up baby's crib from Buy Buy Baby (the crib was extremely difficult to find and only available down in San Diego!), and then we're hitting up a few breweries as part of a very belated birthday celebration for Terry. It's also our last trip to one of our favorite places before baby arrives, so we're excited to spend a little quality time together!

Sunday is Mother's Day, of course, but we celebrated with our moms while they were both in town--a first! Though we don't actually have the baby yet, Terry has insisted that we celebrate this year, and I won't argue with that. :-) But when he asked me what I wanted to do, I really only had one request: finish the nursery and other baby prep stuff. By "finish", I mean set up the crib and start making the room livable. We're getting down to the wire here, and I think I'm a little anxious, so I hope this weekend's work will make me feel a lot more relaxed and prepared for this kid to arrive.

And now...

I have a workout for you today! Whaaaat?? I know, they've become rare in recent months as I've become less and less capable of my normal routines. That's not to say I haven't been active; today I proctored AP tests at the high school and earned 6,000 steps by noon! Not bad for just walking around a library.

Anyway, on Tuesday evening Terry and I agreed to tackle a strength workout together, and it just so happened that Tina posted a workout that inspired me that morning. Hers is Crossfit-style (she's pregnant and due the same week I am but still doing Crossfit!), and I definitely don't do the Crossfit thing, but I liked the idea of "every minute on the minute" and modeled this upper body strength workout after hers.

This workout only requires a stability ball, so it's great at home!

Here's what Terry did (focus on core with lots of other muscles incorporated):

The exercises:

• Push ups: Ideally on your toes, but keep your form. If you need to drop to your knees, do it.
• Ball crunches
• Plank: Try a variety of planks (something different for each round), like side planks, elbow planks, feet on a stability ball, elbows or hands on a stability ball, reverse plank, etc.
• Ball lowers: Hold the ball between your ankles and lie on your back. With straight legs, lower the ball slooooowly almost to the ground, then lift the ball and repeat.
• If the reps listed above are too many or too few for you, increase or decrease to fit your fitness level. At the end of each set of reps, you should feel lightly fatigued but not at exhaustion (perhaps toward the end you'll feel more exhausted!).

And here's what I did (completely different because I am omitting core exercises from my routine):

The exercises:

• Push ups on my knees (my belly hits the floor!) for the first few sets, then on my knees plus my hands elevated onto the couch for the last few sets. Also good for pregnancy: push ups with hands on a wall.
• Dips: Bench dips using a chair.
• Biceps curls
• Upright rows
• Overhead press
• Lateral raises
• Bent rows 

I felt delightfully fatigued by the end and even called it before time was up because I didn't want to overdo it. 

Instructions:

The idea is to set a timer for 10 minutes for each set. Then, beginning at 0, complete the exercises indicated for the even minutes (0, 2, 4, etc.) and the exercises indicated for the odd minutes (1, 3, 5, etc.). If you finish the required reps early, you get to rest!

At the end of 10 minutes, you can jump right into the next set or take a short break before beginning the timer again.

The best part of this workout is that it's done in about 20 minutes (maybe 22 if you take a break between sets). But it'll also leave you nice and sore for a few days!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!