21-week baby update

Today was another doctor's appointment.
This was just one of the routine ones I get to go for once a month.
No ultrasound. Bummer.

All is well with me and the smudge.

Good, strong baby heartbeat. My blood pressure is good.
All is well.

The only blip on my radar was the fact that I AM getting bigger in the belly, but I was down almost a pound from my ultrasound visit just a few weeks ago.

The doctor said not to worry about this, that I will go up here and down there.

I am attributing my recent tiny weight loss to a continued diet minus booze, with far less junk and with far more lean proteins and veggies (when I can stomach them).

Plus there was last weekend's cleaning binge. I count that as exercise!

So, all is well in baby land.

I go back for a blood glucose test in a month along with a regular check up. In about 5 weeks I get another ultrasound. Yay!

Getting tarted up

So one of the many things I am trying to do as I get ready for baby is to organize just about everything.
I have cleaned out drawers and cabinets.
I have filled the recycle bins, been to the Goodwill with donations and started a yard-sale pile.

In this process, I found stacks and stacks of magazines. Cooking magazines.
The plan when I get those is to go through them and rip out just the recipes I might actually make.
One day last week was spent doing just that.
I was a little behind on this, and had some magazines going back to 2006. Oops!

One of the good things that came out of this endeavor was that I found a recipe for what looked like a very delicious raspberry tart.

Of course, not one to leave things well enough alone, I made some modifications to the dish. More chocolate? Yes, please!


So I have what I renamed Chocolate, cream and raspberry tart on almond shortbread crust.

The dessert was a bit labor intensive with its different layers, but none of it was particularly complicated.

And it was a big, very big, hit with the group. There was even enough left for the manfriend and I to enjoy some for dessert that night.

I am looking forward to making this again and again. And to experimenting with different versions of it.

Meanwhile, in baby news...

I had another ultrasound and some other tests done last week.
Results of the tests came in yesterday, and everything looks great!
Here are a couple "baby pictures" from the day.

The kid would not give a good profile like last time, but was happy to give a nice face-front shot.
Which, when rotated like this to get the best look at it, is a little scary!

(Click on the pictures to see them larger.)

Someone pointed out that it looks like the kid is flipping the bird.

Yep. My kid!

So, I am now 19 weeks along. For those unfamiliar, this means I am about halfway through my 40 weeks of gestation.

Falls under the category: Sucks to be you

I am a bit behind on posting, as usual.

But I did want to post some pictures from last weekend.

Manfriend and I were driving on Pacific Coast Highway at Hawthorne Boulevard when he did a doubletake.

We had to turn the car around to make sure what we thought we saw was really what we saw.

Yup.

A car had driven up a wire.

How in the heck does this happen?

The tow truck driver said he had seen a lot of weird accidents, but this was a first for him.

We wondered: How did it happen? How did the person get out of the car without it tipping over on its side? How were they going to get that thing off the wire?

There was no sticking around to find out though. We had tacos waiting for us for lunch. So we were left to wonder.

(By the way, we saw no ambulances, so I am hoping this means the person was just shaken up and not seriously hurt.)

That old familiar feeling

I recently had my 4-month prego checkup. Things are progressing nicely.

I was a little surprised (but relieved) that I had not gained any weight yet.

The belly is definitely changing shape, but I am trying to be careful about what I am eating so I can keep the weight gain to a healthy level.

But it has been weeks and weeks of not wanting anything but cereal or cheese and crackers.

But about a week or so ago it hit me: I am hungry again! Finally!

This is a very good thing.

I still am eating fairly small meals, but at least they are real food and not just shredded wheat.

The other good thing about this is that I can get back to the food blogging.

Over there now... Sweet-spicy peanut slaw.

I am also making some all-day ribs that have been brined for 6 hours and been roasting for 2-3 hours with a dry spice rub. I will then grill them to get some crispness.

Yum. I am so excited to eat again!

So what have I been up to?

Now that most people who had been reading this blog on a regular basis have probably given up on it... I have news!

I am knocked up, y'all!

Yup. Bun in the oven, in a family way, with child.

Originally my due date was pegged at Jan. 1, 2010. But after yesterday's ultrasound I was told that I am either due earlier or I am going to deliver a 13-pound baby.

Soooo... the due date was revised to Dec. 24.

It has been an interesting couple of months since I found out I am pregnant. There has been the nausea, the fatigue, the worry, the excitement, the gotta-pee-every-10-minutes... All the normal stuff.

The doctor yesterday - a perinatal specialist because I am considered an old mom - said everything looks excellent.

It is a very exciting time and I am looking forward to (most of) it.

So, now you know where I have been: too tired to blog.

I also have been too queasy and tired to cook, but that is starting to get a little better. So maybe the food blog will resume soon, too.

In the meantime, I hope to be here more. And not posting only about baby stuff, though that may be the bulk of it.

Here is a video if the little bugger (no, we have not decided yet if we will find out the gender). Or if it is slow to play for you here and you really, REALLY want to see it, click here to watch it on YouTube.

Getting older and getting over it

I remember when I was the young one in most groups.
Colleagues and friends were older.
Somehow though, this has changed.
I have become one of the older people in most situations.
Which is fine.
I can impart the years of wisdom I have accumulated along the way to my ripe old age of 38.

I can laugh now when I think back to 21, 25, 30... They all seemed like such milestones. But really, they were just mile markers along a journey more significant than just a few numbers.

There have been bumps and detours on the journey, but really the scenic route along those winding roads is so much better than spending the whole time on the freeway.