Friday, April 29, 2016

27 Weeks


Dates: April 20-April 26

Baby is the Size of a: head of cauliflower (approximate length and weight: 14.5 inches, 2 pounds)

How I'm Feeling: Better this week. I would say I'm still kind of moody, but it's wearing off a bit. (Dan, is that true?) I feel so lucky to have a healthy, normal pregnancy, but at the same time I can't help feeling like I am ready to fast-forward a bit. It is so opposite of how I felt last pregnancy where I LOVED being pregnant but was terrified of actually having a newborn. Now, I'm kind of looking forward to those first baby snuggles. I guess that's a good thing, but it will make these last few months go by really slowly.

How I'm Changing: My linea nigra is starting to appear. It's really faint now, but I know it will get darker in the next few weeks. I got this same vertical line last time and it only went away months after I stopped breastfeeding.

What I'm Eating: Matzoh! And way, way too much Passover cake. I literally cannot stop. I think about it all day at work and then have to have it the moment I get home. It's a sickness.

What the Baby is Doing: Baby is reaching that point where he's getting sharp elbows (and legs, and tush). It's not quite painful, but it is a bit uncomfortable for me when he's really rolling around in there.

Read about my first pregnancy:
My Pregnancy
Week 27

Thursday, April 21, 2016

What We've Been Up To

I realize this blog has basically become a place for me to publish my weekly pregnancy posts and not much else. Honestly, I really miss the days of posting back-to-back trip reports from all the amazing places we were visiting. Life is a little bit different these days, but we still manage to keep busy. Here are a few things we've been up to lately:

Dim Sum:
It's a weird quirk of mine, but I love when there are lots of little components that make up a larger whole--especially in food. For example, I'll usually choose candy that comes in many pieces (Cadbury mini eggs) vs. a whole bar (Cadbury milk chocolate bar). I love tasting menus with many small courses vs. just having one huge dish. I love salads with a million different veggies in it. That's why I love the idea of dim sum. You order lots of little dishes to make up your main meal.

I haven't had a real dim sum experience that I can remember, mainly because it's not the most vegetarian-friendly cuisine. There are a few good dim sum places around here though, so we decided try our luck. 

The verdict is that it was fun, but definitely would be better if we ate all the options. We were full by the end, and happy with our choices (especially the steamed buns!), but we only sampled maybe a 10th of the offerings. Most items had pork or shellfish in them. 


Potty Training:
I'll keep this very high-level so as not to completely freak out my non-parent readers, but it's a big deal around here. We are finally getting around to potty training. Z has been capable of this for a while now, but has been completely uninterested/unwilling. Dan and I realized that if we don't bite the bullet and do this now, we will miss our window. Tons of people told us that potty training too close to when the baby comes will only lead to regressions and lots of accidents. So, it was a now or never (or at least late September) situation. 

Amazingly (knock-on-wood), it's going really well! We did a boot-camp weekend where we did nothing but watch TV, eat fun foods, and drink lots and lots of juice. We set a timer for every 15 minutes and put Z on the potty. She got it right away. She's still wearing pull-ups at daycare since they don't want her in underwear until she's fully trained, but I think she'll be full-time in underwear (except at night) in the next week. She's such a big girl!

Basket of treats for potty training

Sticker chart after first day! (She drank a lot of juice!)


Preparing for Passover:
As you know, Passover is my favorite holiday, and it starts tomorrow! My family is coming in town today and I couldn't be more excited. This will be the last Passover where Z is the youngest. In fact, my cousin just had a baby last night, so technically Z already isn't the youngest, but new baby girl is a little young to participate in the Seder.


Last weekend the Jewish Community Center hosted a sensory mini-Seder for kids. It was really cute. There were different stations set up where kids could find figurines in the sand; flip plastic frogs into buckets of water; build pyramids out of plastic cups; experience the plague of darkness by donning sunglasses; and more. Zahara loved making her own Seder plate out of plastic plates and tissue paper. I can't wait to use it on Saturday.


Being Cute:
It's been a month filled with extreme highs and lows. I mentioned before that we're dealing with a lot of tantrums and difficult behavior. At the same time, Z has been the cutest she's ever been. I am really loving how funny and chatty she is. She makes up songs and stories and loves talking to strangers. She wants everyone in on whatever she's doing. So at the playground she'll announce what she's doing by shouting: "Guys, look at me," followed by whatever she needs them to know. At stores she talks to the clerks. In Ubers she makes friends with the drivers. People are constantly commenting on how smart and articulate she is. It's awesome.





Wednesday, April 20, 2016

26 Weeks


Dates: April 13-April 19

Baby is the Size of a: scallion (approximate length and weight: 14 inches, 1 2/3 pounds)

How I'm Feeling: Still grumpy. I'm going to blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but really it's a whole combination of things. Zahara has been extra challenging lately, which just throws everything else off. She's the Jekyll and Hyde of children: extremely happy and adorable one minute, and a whining, kicking, spitting mess the next. She's been struggling to go to bed at night and has been waking up in the middle of the night. That means Dan and I are tired and strung out from all the tantrums. Add the hormones and the ligament pain, and it's just a lost cause.

The good news is that she has really honed her survival skills--she knows our limits and makes sure to act super amazing and cute after bringing us to the brink. As with anything when dealing with a small child, I try and remind myself that this is just a phase and that it will pass.

How I'm Changing: No huge changes this week...I'm just bigger and slower :)

What I'm Eating: All carbs, all the time. Since next week is Passover and we abstain from eating leavened products (like bread), we're living it up this week.

What the Baby is Doing: My belly is non-stop action. It's really distracting to keep seeing and feeling the movement while I'm running meetings at work.

Read about my first pregnancy:
My Pregnancy
Week 26

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Week 25



Dates: April 6-April 12

Baby is the Size of a: rutabaga (approximate length and weight: 13.5 inches, 1.5 pounds)

How I'm Feeling: Honestly, a little grumpy. I am feeling really big and slow and frightened that I still have so much longer to go. I know I should stop comparing to my last pregnancy, but I don't remember feeling this sore this early.

How I'm Changing: Just bigger...same old story

What I'm Eating: Nothing too unusual

What the Baby is Doing: I think baby is starting to get hiccups just like his big sister did. I feel little shakes that last only a couple of minutes. I really freaked out my co-workers who had no idea that babies move that much in the womb, or that you can see the movement from the outside. They're both in their early twenties and single, so I can't blame them, but it was hilarious how they reacted.

Read about my first pregnancy:
My Pregnancy
Week 25

Monday, April 11, 2016

24 weeks


Dates: March 30-April 5

Baby is the Size of an: ear of corn (approximate length and weight: 12 inches, 1.25 pounds)

How I'm Feeling: Pretty good this week! I'm officially 6 months pregnant. I had a doctor's appointment where I was tested for gestational diabetes. This was totally new to me. In the UK where I had my last baby, they only test for GD if there is cause (family history, baby measuring big, etc.). Here in the States, everyone gets tested between 24-28 weeks. I read about it in advance and it sounded awful! I had to drink a disgusting sugar drink within five minutes, wait an hour, then get my blood drawn. In reality, it wasn't that bad. Yes, the drink was pretty gross. But other than that, it was fine. While I was waiting I saw the OB who said that I am measuring on track and baby sounds great (and very active!). I got the results a few days later and I'm in the clear.

How I'm Changing: I told the doctor that I was feeling much bigger this time around. She told me that it is just that--a feeling. I am gaining the exact amount I should be and baby looks great. That was so awesome to hear. I think I'm just carrying this one so differently. My old maternity clothes fit differently and the comparative pictures of me week-to-week make me feel bigger. I've still only gained about 10-12 pounds, so I know I'm doing OK. It was nice to get medical confirmation of that though.

What I'm Eating: Nothing too unusual. And, at least I remember to take my prenatal vitamins (most nights).

What the Baby is Doing: Distracting me during work and keeping me from going to bed at night!

Read about my first pregnancy:
My Pregnancy
Week 24

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Week 23!


Dates: March 23-29

Baby is the Size of a: large mango (approximate length and weight: 11+ inches, 1+ pound)

How I'm Feeling: Pretty good. I had my first physiotherapy session for my SPD this week. I'll start going twice a week from now on. I have a few new exercises to do at home to strengthen my inner core muscles, which will hopefully alleviate some of the pain. I guess I'm cautiously optimistic?

How I'm Changing: I'm definitely slowing down. I don't remember feeling so slow this early in my last pregnancy, but apparently I did (thanks blog for the reminders!). It is definitely reaching that point where bending over is a chore.

What I'm Eating: Hamentaschen! This week was the Jewish holiday of Purim. It's a really fun holiday where kids get dressed up, adults get drunk, and everyone gives each other gifts of food. What is not to love? This year we made several varieties of hamentaschen, including home-made apricot, home-made poppy seed (mohn), strawberry, cherry, and kaya (coconut jam!). It is really fun to be in the kitchen as a whole family. Z is getting to an age where she can actually help, and she loves it!

Gratuitous kid shot

What the Baby is Doing: Still moving tons! I feel like a broken record at this point saying that, but he is just so active all day and night.

Read about my first pregnancy:
My Pregnancy
Week 23

Friday, April 1, 2016

Cherry Blossom Festival 2016

There are few greater things than springtime in Washington, DC. The air warms, the trees bloom, the tourists horde. Ok, maybe that last part isn't so great, but everything else is pretty spectacular. People just seem happier in the spring. The kickoff to spring, for me at least, is the Cherry Blossom Festival.


Every year botanists and meteorologists predict when the hundreds of cherry blossoms will be at their peak. This year it was Friday, March 25. The next day we packed up the family and headed to the Mall to see the spectacular blooms.





I was worried that it would be an absolute madhouse with all the locals and tourists swarming the Tidal Basin. And it was, but it was so much fun! We brought some food and spread out near the Washington Monument for a picnic and dancing.




We ended our outing with some ice cream! I had one of the best root beer floats of my life. The trick was that they nearly filled the cup with soft serve, added a tiny bit of root beer, and then blended it before adding more ice cream and root beer. Heavenly! Dan and Z enjoyed their soft serve too. What a great day out!