26 Weeks!

Here I am at 26 weeks:

I swear I look the same each week, maybe at the end I can get Rob to make a digital flip book of all my pictures so you can see my belly grow right before your eyes.
I am still feeling great, other than the minor aches and pains. She is getting a lot more active, and does rolly-pollies in my belly all the time. It feels so strange to have something moving around inside of me and giving me the tickles, she just makes me laugh, especially watching her movements from the outside.
I have started reading all about Labor and Delivery, and the stages of Labor. I am not going to get scared, the more scared you are the more tense you are, and then the more you can't relax and the more pain you will have. I have decided to have a natural delivery. I say this, but that doesn't mean I am ruling out an epidural either. I want to believe in my body and my ability to handle the pain of labor and we will see how it goes. I also want to be free to move and walk around, using the natural methods of pain relief.
During my next doctors appointment I have to do the Gestational Diabetes test, and I get to drink the orange colored drink. I am so looking forward to this!

Look at this picture, do you see ALL of these clothes:

These clothes were given to me by one of the bus drivers we have lunch with. They are mostly brand new(still have tags), or very slightly used. She just gave them to me. It was so much fun looking through them all and laying them all out over my couch. Most of the sizes are 9 months or 6-9 month sizes. Lots of onesies and summer one piece dresses. There were also some sleep sacks, and pants. Thank you so much, I don't even know if she will be able to wear everything before she grows out of them.

And we had a fun night last night visiting with the Board of Directors from Robs work that came for a few days. They had a barbeque for the Board of Directors, and they invited all the employees spouses. We had such a good time visiting with all of them, they were all such nice people.

Prevent Swine Flu

This is some information I received today that certainly would not hurt to give a try.

Neti pots and sinus rinse kits are available at the drug store and relatively inexpensive….under $15.

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital, Saifee Hospital, Tata Memorial etc. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

25 weeks!

I am 25 weeks and I have 15 more to go, that sounds like forever to me!! I REALLY need to find me some maternity pants or some pants that are just a little bit bigger. Things are getting rather snug.

I was so annoyed yesterday, I heard yesterday morning that the H1N1 Vaccine was now available in inject able form at the Health Department, so right after work Rob and I went, there were tons of people waiting. I only made it to the door because they had a sign posted that said the inject able vaccine was unavailable, but they still had the mist form. I was just mad, is there really that many high risk people in this valley. I am sure there is, I am just mad that there was not enough this time, now they won't get more in until the first of next week. We have had so many sick kids on the bus this week that I just want to take work off until I can get the vaccine. I will be okay, not to worry!

On another note, I have been having frequent Braxton Hicks contractions lately, well, I have had them for a while now, but in the last few days they are more frequent. One website I was reading said you could have one every 10-15 minutes until the end of your pregnancy. Wow! They are not bad, just uncomfortable and annoying at times. I started feeling them at around 20 weeks, which is not uncommon, I didn't think they started until the end of your third trimester. Oh well. If they do what they say they do and prepare your body for labor, then I am not complaining.
25 Week Update:

24 weeks and baby update!

Well, I had a doctors appointment on my 23 week mark and everything is looking good, I am measuring right on, heart beat is good, and gaining the weight I need to. Yeah! Love good doctor visits. With all the fuss about this swine flu vaccine, I asked the doctor about it at my appointment. I asked if you were more likely of getting the swine flu from getting the regular flu shot, he said NO. I also asked if the swine flu shot was safe, he said that it was and that it is developed just like any flu shot, very safe. He says he spends most of his day trying to get all these fears out of his patients heads. I felt a lot better after the visit and even got my flu shot at the doctors office before I left. I think the risks from getting the swine flu while I am pregnant far out way any small risks from getting the swine flu vaccine. I am going to trust my doctors advice.
Here is my 24 week photo:

I feel slightly bigger and am noticing if I stand for very long my back will start hurting. And after about 6:00 in the morning I am pretty restless and so I can't sleep in like I want to on the weekends either. But that is okay. It is so fun to still see Rob get so excited over this baby, or rather my baby bump. He is just too funny!
Other than walking for a half hour every morning with my mom, I have started using my pregnancy workout videos that I purchased when I first got pregnant, I love them. They are specifically designed for pregnancy and can help open things up for a easier labor and delivery. (Gotta love that)
If you would like to know, here are the videos I use:

This first one is the Prenatal Yoga, and it is just a good way to relax and focus on your breathing while becoming more open and flexible.

The Perfect Pregnancy Workout, this one I really love, I tried this one for the first time yesterday and felt good afterwords, you get more of a workout with this one, but it is gentle. There are three levels of intensity which I liked.

10-Minute Solutions: Prenatal Pilates, I like this one as well. I have done Pilates before and so this one was easy to start into. Everything was very familiar, just a little modified in some areas.

Summer Sanders' Prenatal Workout. I have not actually tried this video yet, I just ordered it from Amazon, but I saw it on Good Things Utah, and wanted to try it also. When I have more than one exercise video I don't get so bored with the same thing over and over.
I order all of these off of Amazon, and only got them after reading their reviews to why people have liked them.

23 Weeks and Banana Bread

Well, here I am in week 23, and I am feeling great! I know I say that every week, but that's the truth. I am not wearing maternity clothes yet, absolutely nothing I wear is maternity. One reason for this is I don't really fit into anything maternity, and I cannot find anything in this valley or online that I like and that fits. What am I to do?
I do have a maternity denim skirt and a maternity dressier skirt. But, have not worn them yet, not quite fitting into them yet. Everywhere I go the maternity stuff does not go below a small, and the small is just too big. And I have found nothing Old Navy wise in extra small that I like, except for the denim skirt. I hate ordering things online, because I pay shipping to return half the stuff back to the company. Uggh!
And so then I just look through the regular non-pregnant clothes and feel funny stares from people wondering why I am not in the maternity section. Oh boy, we shall see if I find anything for the Fall/Winter that I can wear. I guess sweaters are stretchy, so maybe I can find some that will work. Wish me luck!
The last couple of days I have been able to actually see the baby move from the outside, it is pretty funny to watch. The Joys!!

I have been home from work for 3 and a half days, due to the schools having Parent Teacher Conference and then UEA, and while I have not accomplished a whole lot, I have gotten a few things done. I was able to somewhat clear out the nursery room which was our catch all room, the sad thing is, I just moved it from upstairs to downstairs. And I got some laundry done. I made some Zucchini bread(which is pretty good, I replaced the oil for applesauce and used a half cup less sugar and it turned out wonderful). And today I made some banana bread, I have not made banana bread in awhile, and oh it smells so good and it actually rose just perfectly in the oven making the little canyons in the top that I just love. Mmmm, so good!
I love filling the house with the smell of freshly baked bread!