23 Weeks!

and getting BIGGER!

Maternity Clothes

The Gap was having such a ridiculous sale yesterday that I think I walked out with 7 shirts and 4 pairs of pants for $13.45.  OK, I am exaggerating but it was a mad house because all their sale items were another 25% off, so of course with 3 days until Christmas, everyone and their mama was out shopping.  I figured it's now or never...I will buy some....(gasp)...maternity clothes.  Well, let me tell you, I don't know what I was doing messing around with that Bella band business. Turns out there is  nothing better than wearing all your clothing with wide rubber bands sewn into them.  Why haven't this trend caught on?  I don't know about other women but my plan is to never go back to regular clothes again.  Why button, zip, tug and shove yourself into your clothes when you can just buy everything with rubber bands attached.  Brilliant!

In other related news, 'the girls' also got some new attire and I am D(lighted) to say that they are very comfy in their new spacious home.

Gene's Corner:
"Wow, they are huge"

Finally Saw my Doctor!

After six weeks without seeing my doctor I was excited to spend two hours of my life in his waiting room.  Last week alone I had two of my appointments canceled due to someone going into labor.   This morning the madness continued and as I was mere hours from being seen, a woman waddles in that is in labor.  Her husband and mother are both with her and apparently her contractions are eight minutes apart.  You would think that this would be reason enough to go to the hospital or at least skip the line at the doctor's office, but nope the poor barely breathing woman had to wait with the rest of us.  She only had to wait about 30 minutes before seeing the doctor -- something that is unheard of  for the rest of us suckers.


Here is what I learned during my appointment:


-My weight at 22 weeks and 3 days is.... drum-roll.....+14 lbs.  I am not sure if this is a lot or not but the doctor didn't seem too concerned.  I even asked him to make a prediction of what he thinks my final tally will be at 40 weeks and just like any smart man he low-balled it and said...umm  plus 20? plus 25?
-Turns out I have an anterior placenta which doesn't mean much except that the placenta is between my stomach wall and the baby instead of behind the baby (towards my back).  Essentially this 'mutes' the baby movement as she kicks the placenta instead of me.  Again, my doctor didn't seem to be concerned and said this is fairly common.
-My little munchkin has decided to sprawl herself horizontally across my stomach instead of head down.  Of course, there is still plenty of time for her to turn into the proper head down position but if this baby takes after her mom or dad, she will always do the opposite of what is expected (or asked) of her.
-Based on the baby's measurement, the due date is now April 14th (April 24th originally) but the doctor told me to pay no attention to due dates as they are all relative.


Take our new quiz: Will the baby be an Aries or Taurus?

Everybody was Kung Foo Fighting...

I started feeling the baby around week 17 or 18 but it was so subtle that each time I would say to myself, " I wonder if that was it?"  Week 22 is right around the corner and there is no mistaking these little jabs and punches.   She is usually very active right before lunch time and right after dinner time.  I think it might be her way of complaining about my inconsistent eating habits. Personally, I find nothing strange about eating a pickled tomato after a handful of chocolate covered almonds.  


The other new development is being able to talk to her as she can now hear both our voices.  My conversations with her are mostly about what I should wear to work that day and what witty things I can post on Facebook.  Gene  meanwhile is already lecturing the poor girl on when she can date (after 18) and when she can get married (after 25).  He has also mentioned to her that he doesn't approve of premarital sex (oh, the irony).


In food related news, I am officially bored of everything and I miss my dear dear friend sushi.  Just thinking about fresh salmon, tuna and other raw goodies is making my mouth water as we speak.  As far as alcohol goes, I can't say I miss it too much but when we have friends over I do feel the need to consume an equal amount of liquid as them. So while they polish off two bottles of wine, I fill myself with 5 cups of tea and 7 glasses of seltzer.  That was a fun sleepless night.


This Friday is my 22 week appointment and I haven't been to the doctor in six weeks, so I am really looking forward to finding out my 'official' weight gain.  I am pretty sure that our home scale is rigged (probably by Gene) so if the one at the doctor's office doesn't show less, we are in big trouble.  Based on my current calculation and an extensive regression analysis performed while I had some free time, my final weight gain should be 27.8 lbs. 

Honesty is our policy

As you might have noticed, my family is not one to sugar coat anything.  The grandma posts alone should give a you a pretty good idea of the brutal honesty.  My mom and brother are no different. When they came over this weekend they made sure to notify me of some of the (ahem) changes in my body. 

Setting: Our apartment on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Mom and Peter (10 year old brother) came over to keep me company while Gene was in school.  I am wearing a fitted dress with tights.

Mom: Wow.  

Me: What? I grew?

Mom: Your butt!  It's HUGE!

Peter: Let me see.  Oh man, Anya, she's right, it's enormous.

Mom: Holy cow, it's REALLY big

Peter: Yea, yeah it's big Anya. 

Me: (trying to turn around and see myself in the mirror)  What do you mean it's big?  When did it get big???

Mom: I don't know, but it sure is HUGE

Peter: Yeah, mom is right, it just got big really fast!

Me: How can I not know about this?  Man Gene is going to hear from me!

(several hours later when Gene gets home)

Me: Gene, is my butt bigger?

Gene: (walking around me in circles evaluating) Hmm...

Me: It is, isn't it?

Gene: Well there is this part right here (points) that I suppose wasn't there before.

Me: Oh my god, I have been walking around with a huge ass, and no one shared this with me.  Do you know that I could have made some real money in a rap video by now or maybe sir mix-a-lot is looking to make a remix.

Gene:  Umm....well....I don't...ahh...hmmm

Anna: I can't believe my own husband failed to mention that my behind now has its own zip code

Gene: Look at the bright side....(cricket sounds)

Anna: What bright side? 

Gene: Umm....well....I....ehhh.....hmmm....

Anna: Sigh. 

 

21 weeks (and change)!

Gene thought I should stay consistent and upload a picture every two weeks, so here goes.

Babychka (just for fun)

OK, I know there is zero validity to this but I still thought it would be fun to take a picture of me and Gene and use one of those morphing sites to see what our baby might look like.  The result is pretty funny because the kid is blond, blue eyed and reminds me a bit of the E*TRADE baby.  However, even the morphing site was smart enough to figure out that Gene's eyebrows have to make their appearance :)  I don't see myself or Gene in this picture, but cute kid nonetheless. 

I will be 21 weeks pregnant tomorrow and I haven't changed much since my 19 week picture, so you will have to wait another week for an upload. 

Happy Weekend!

What's in a name?

Now that we know that we are expecting a girl, the name game can begin.  Gene and I promised each other that until we find out the sex, we won't think about names and I am not sure how, but I was actually able to stick to my word.  However, the minute I was back from the ultrasound appointment the first thing I did was start looking up names.  It seems pretty easy.  All you have to do is find a name you like and that's your baby's name, right? Wrong.  There are a million things to think about.  What will the name look like on a college application or a resume? Is it is easily misspelled? mispronounced? Will kids make fun of it? The list goes on and on.  I have four months to decide and torture Gene about it, who by the way is totally calm and probably just figures we can pick the name once the baby is born.  I wish I can be that collected and levelheaded but I am a hormonal mess and definitely over thinking this name thing.

In unrelated news, my weight is slowly creeping up to the same levels it was back in my Cali days - when I thought it was a good idea to have Mexican food on a daily basis.  In another 4-5 pounds, I will officially be at the highest weight of all my life.

Girls all around!

Last week, my friend Yelena had a baby girl (Samantha) and Gene and I went to visit her in the hospital.   She is absolutely adorable! Her skin felt like velvet and she had that light baby powder smell that only a baby can pull off.  I was holding her the entire visit and marveling at how amazing life is and how in the blink of an eye a human being is brought into this world.  In between all the wonder and amazement I was also thinking, "Oh my god, she's so tiny and breakable".  I have to admit, I began to freak out a bit about parenthood and being completely responsible for this frail little life that I will bring into the world.  Of course, before I completely went into a panic mode, my wonderful husband said some reassuring words along the lines of, "Oh man, how does something so big come out of something so little?"  At this point, my panic of care-giving was morphed into my panic of childbirth.  It's true: babies are big.  It is also true that where they come out of, isn't.  My seventh grade science teacher once decided to tell the whole class that childbirth is like pushing a watermelon through a quarter.  That (along with the birthing video) was one of the few things that I remembered from junior high.  Every girl in the class swore to adopt after that graphic video, but sure enough, many of them have endured childbirth and are now some of the proudest mamas I have ever seen.  The one thing that calms me down is that billions of women (and even one man) have done this and most do live to tell the story.

Gene's Corner (a.k.a. Knocked Up part II):
(setting: I am nagging Gene for ignoring me while playing video games)
Gene: I know that this isn't you talking, it's the hormones.  I would just like to say, "screw you hormones. not Anna. hormones."

It's a GIRL!

Thanks to those of you who voted, but the majority of you were wrong :)

We are very excited to announce that come April, Gene and I will be proud parents of a baby girl!!!

Anna for Elite Yelper '10

You know the famous saying, "Those who can't do, teach"?  Well, I think it should be changed to, "Those who can't write, yelp".   Since my blogging career hasn't exactly taken off,  (shout out to the few people that read this blog) I figured I need another outlet.  One where I can write freely about my likes and dislikes and dissect the good, the bad and the ugly. Here is what I do in my spare time.

Please don't judge me for judging others, but it's more fun than it looks!  Finally my voice can be heard and New Yorkers everywhere can finally stop flocking to El Greco and Di Fara's.  I understand that avenue J is one of the most authentic blocks in Brooklyn, but really people you CAN find better pizza in NY.

If you read this blog and have been with me to a restaurant, bar, library, etc. and would like me to yelp about it, please leave the name(s) of the establishment(s) in the comments section and I promise a review will soon be written.

Some side effects may include...

We have all seen those pharmaceutical commercials and had a chuckle or two upon hearing the side effects of a certain medication.  One that comes to mind is the Zoloft commercial which promises to help you with depression but warns you that some very common side effects are: abdominal pain, agitation, anxiety, constipation, decreased sex drive, diarrhea or loose stools, difficulty with ejaculation, dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue, gas, headache, and decreased appetite. Also...they may include increased sweating, indigestion, insomnia, nausea, nervousness, rash, pain, sleepiness, sore throat, tingling or pins and needles, tremor, vision problems and vomiting.  How can you NOT be depressed while suffering those symptoms?


This brings me to the weekly newsletter I receive about how my pregnancy is progressing.  It's typically broken out into three sections: baby (gives you the details of how your baby is growing), your life (tells you about how your life might be changing) and tip for the week.  The 'baby' piece usually starts of like this:
Your baby measures about 5.2 (13.2cm) to 6 inches (15.2cm) from crown to rump and weighs about 7 ounces (198g) and then goes on to tell you a bit more about the latest developments.  The next section (your life) usually tells you about the changes in your body and often talks about those exciting 'first' moments.  From starting to show to feeling your baby kick, it's always fun to see the changes taking place inside your body.  This week wasn't any different, until I got to the 'your life' section which reminded me more of a Zoloft commercial rather than a weekly pregnancy bulletin.  Here's what I read:
As your baby continues to grow, you may be feeling some mid-pregnancy aches and pains by now -- lower abdominal achiness, dizziness, heartburn, constipation, leg cramps, mild swelling of ankles and feet, and a backache. Dilated blood vessels might cause tiny, temporary red marks (called spider nevi) on your face, shoulders and arms.
There was no mention of pregnancy glow or strangers smiling at you kindly or any of the mushy stuff I have come to expect.  To add insult to injury, the 'tip of the week' was: Take care not to get overtired since rapid growth of the baby can compound the burden on your heart, lungs and kidneys.
Something tells me that with my growing belly there will be a growing list of side effects (that may include)...