Weelicious, A Beautiful Website

Photo from weelicious.com.

For all the mothers, fathers, caretakers, and those who love to make healthy, delicious foods for the little ones, check out this website! My friend Becky told me about this great site, Weelicious, which was created and designed by Catherine McCord, a beautiful supermodel and mother of two. She treats her children to local, seasonal foods and lets them join in on the process of food preparation. Check it out!

I want my nose pierced.

I told myself last spring that over the summer I was going to get my nose pierced so by the time the new school year started my piercing would be healed so I could decide whether or not to take it out while at work to be more professional. Chad was off and on about whether or not he wanted to get his septum pierced so we had on and off plans of going together, and we never ended up going. Now it's autumn and now I'm pregnant.

Last spring I was also really close to scheduling another tattoo appointment for September and I never ended up doing it because I knew that after the wedding I'd most likely be broke. Then when September came I was indeed broke and also pregnant. At Flaming Dragon before getting a tattoo a form must be signed and the first thing on it has you agree to not being pregnant. Of course being pregnant and getting a tattoo is a god-awful idea. But what about a nose piercing?

Chad just randomly decided again that he does want his septum pierced so I looked up a nose piercing and the safety of getting it done while being pregnant. No legit sources came up during my search but repeatedly I read that it's just plain not a good idea. So I told Chad to wait and I'm also going to wait because I really want to go together. So as soon as May comes and my baby is born Chad and I are getting our noses pierced, and as soon as I start (finally) making money next autumn I'm getting my next tattoo!!

Maybe this pregnancy is making me crazy, or maybe I just am crazy...

Week Twelve

Photo from Baby Corner.

I'm pretty sure this is all bloat... damn food.

Milestone: Hearing the Baby's Heartbeat

On Wednesday, October 20th (at 12 weeks) I finally went to my first prenatal appointment! I was in the middle of an insurance fiasco for a good month. Of course right when I found out I was pregnant I also found out that I had been kicked off my mom's insurance; I was kicked off at the end of August (the month in which I got married). Right around this point I also found out that we had missed the 30-day period after we got married to get on Chad's insurance through his work (we finally found out come day 35 that we were five days too late).

I had two options at this point, I could pay too much money than I could afford to get on UW's insurance for the quarter, or I could try and get on with the state. As my busy life started up again one of my best friends, Becky, called around for me and pretended to be me to see if I could qualify and sure enough, I am poor enough to be covered by the state! I called as soon as I could to schedule an appointment. I chose to be seen by a nurse midwife and I got an appointment right away because they like to see pregnant women around weeks eight to ten, and since I was at 12 weeks they got me in right away!

The appointment went well. My midwife asked the routine questions to find out whether or not I was healthy and yes, I am healthy and "normal" according to where I should be. My uterus is in its proper place and of proper size, and then she pulled out the heartbeat detector! Right away we heard a very strong and very fast heartbeat. I looked at Chad and his eyes got huge! He lit up and a huge grin grew on his face. I wanted to cry but held back the tears because for some reason I felt that I shouldn't cry. As the baby moved around we would lose the heartbeat but then hear it again. Chad started laughing; he didn't know how else to react. It really was amazing!

I called my mom first thing when we left and she instantly started crying, so of course I did too. This pregnancy finally feels real and it feels wonderful. This morning when I woke up I put my hand to my belly to feel around for my baby's heartbeat, and sure enough, there it was. I had Chad feel for it and he could feel it, too. I have two hearts beating in my body right now; it is truly amazing. I am excited for my baby's growth and my pregnancy progress.

Well Balanced Pregnancy Diet

I am naturally a very healthy eater, but now that I am pregnant and feeding not only me but my growing baby, I decided to look up some legitimate pregnancy diets, so as to guide me to eating enough of the right things, such as proteins. I am a vegetarian (who occasionally eats fish) and I never worried much about my protein intake, until I saw this on the Bradley Method website; I love this diet and have been closely following it all week.

A WELL BALANCED PREGNANCY DIET CONSISTS OF:

Every day of the week you and your baby should have:

1. One quart (4 glasses) or more of milk. Any kind will do: whole milk, low fat, skim, buttermilk, or cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc....
2. Two eggs, (hard boiled, in french toast, or added to other foods).
   
3. One or two servings of fish or seafood, liver, chicken, lean beef, lamb, pork, beans or any kind of cheese.
   
4. One or two good servings of fresh green leafy vegetables: mustard, collard, turnip greens, spinach, lettuce, or cabbage.
   
5. Two or three slices of whole wheat bread, cornmeal, cornbread, or tortillas.
   
6. A piece of citrus fruit or glass of juice of lemon, lime, orange, tomato, or grapefruit.
   
7. Three pats of butter.
   
8. Other fruits and vegetables.
   

Also include in your diet:

1. A serving of whole grain cereal such as oatmeal or granola.
   
2. A yellow or orange-colored fruit or vegetable five times a week.
   
3. Liver once a week. (if you like it)
   
4. Whole baked potato three times a week.
   
5. Plenty of fluids, water, juice etc.
   
6. Salt food to taste for a safe increase in blood volume.
   

You may substitute proteins if you wish, being sure your proteins are complete,
and that you get approximately 100 grams per day, If you substitute, also be sure
all the elements necessary for a well balanced diet are available every day.

Another website that provides a nice healthy eating guide is The March of Dimes website. Like the first, this diet is nothing strict, rather it serves as a guideline.

Enjoy those healthy snacks!

Omega-3s... Higher IQs!

The other day while reading Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan I stumbled upon an interesting report finding:

"Much research into the role of omega 3-s in the human diet remains to be done, but the preliminary findings are suggestive: Researchers report that pregnant women who receive supplements of omega 3-s give birth to babies with higher IQs; children with diets low in omega 3-s exhibit more behavioral and learning problems at school; and puppies eating diets high in omega 3-s prove easier to train" (Pollan, 268).

So from this I instantly think about flax seeds, walnuts, avocados, wild salmon, spinach, and the like. I decided, however, to look up some more information and I stumbled upon this website, which may provide some women with valuable information.

Enjoy those fatty acids!

Photo from Medicine World.

Trust Birth

Watch this video.

Educate yourself.
Trust yourself.
Trust birth.