First Dance...

Husband and Wife share a first dance so I believe that a child and his parents should share the same.  This would be my choice for our first dance with Baby C (from Youtube):

I have been listening to this on my way to work :)

Empanadas and leg cramps=

a not so great night sleep! Yesterday was my pop's bday so we went there to celebrate.  My mom made delicious chicken empanadas and I honestly didn't count how many I ate but I feel like it was around 7.  Needless to safe that I felt like a stuffed empanada.  Thank GOD I didn't have any heart burn!!!

We got to bed around 10:30 11 and I woke up with a leg cramp in my left leg.  Yes pregnant women are prone to leg cramps in the middle of the night but I swore that I would not get them.  I drink SO much water throughout the day that there's no way that I would be dehydrated and get cramps!  Wrong again! 

I did sweat a lot after work yesterday in the spinning class.  I had swass (thanks Deanna for helping me get the right word!), it's a combo of sweaty and ass! TMI, sorry! So I might have needed to replenish with more water after the class.

So I immediately drank more water after getting the cramp, didn't help much.  Massaged a little, still came back, then I went down to my raisins.  Raisins have a lot of potassium apparently.  I'm not a huge raisin fan bc of the sugar, but hey you gotta have them to get rid of cramps! Usually I would reach for a banana but we had none in the house.  

I think that did the trick, but I still woke up earlier because of my eating fiasco the night before.  At least it's Friday!!! 

Pregnant ladies - Have raisins in the house!!!! 

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!

Today's my pop's bday! Poor guy, he has a really bad tooth ache and his face is swollen, so he will celebrate his bday in a little bit of pain! 

Speaking of Grandpa... I'm wondering if my parents will be called Grandma and Grandpa...All my life, I've called my father Papi or Pop, never Daddy or Dad, even though I know he wanted us too (deep down inside he wanted to americanize his name!) but we just never did.  Will our child call him Pop Pop, Abuelito? Lito? What about my mom? Grandma? Nanna? Lana Nanna? Mamasita? We'll have to talk about that!

As for the Castro side, I know that our child will call the grandparents Vava and Vavu (sorry for spelling).  Grandma in portuguese is a avó and Grandpa is o avô (wiki).  Our nieces Brenna and Skylar call them Vava and Vavu and that tradition will keep on going.

As I was googling "grandma in portuguese," this video came up (please note that if you get this blog in an email, you won't be able to see this video, so please go to the blog directly)

Thought it was funny.  Vava Castro was born in the US so no Portuguese startling!

This weekend we have a wedding on Saturday in CT which I'm excited to go too! Time to dress up! To treat myself, I went to get a mani and pedi yesterday and it's always so hard for me to decide on a color.  I decided to stick with the traditional red, which I'm ehhhh about.  I figured I couldn't wear crazy wacky summer colors so this is the color:

Red is safe to go with black.  During my pedicure, I told the lady, "no massage please" because if you get a massage between your ankle and lower leg, that can possibly cause contractions.  I didn't make this up, saw it in a pregnancy book and also was told by my family nurse, Kerry.  So not taking any chances.  When it came to massaging my hands, I said "Go for it lady!"

This is the dress I will be wearing:

 It's by Heidi Klum and I got it from Destination Maternity, only 30 bucks.  I thought I would be popped out more by this weekend, but I guess I can just stick out my belly.  I tried the dress on when I got it and it's fine for non-preggers too!  Very comfortable and happy that black is flattering.

Happy Wedding!!!

Attention Breast Feeders!!!!

Certain insurance companies may PAY for your breast pump! The only caveat is that you have to find a place that sells/rents pumps that works with your insurance.  The 3 places the insurance company gave me do not sell/rent pumps, however your hospital may do that! So check with your doc and they may be able to give you some help on how to save some major cash on a breast pump! However, I do have my eye on the Medela Pump Back Pack:

My reading for the evening....

ouch... The caption says "these circles represent the dilation of the cervix at four, eight, and ten centimeters."

Hot Dog Schmot Dog

So pregnant ladies can't eat hot dogs because of listeria, this also means you can't eat cold cuts, bacon, and sausages.  You can't eat bacon and sausages because of the nitrates... hmm ok, that sucks.  Lately all I want is a nice turkey sandwich for lunch.  Nothing fancy, just bread, turkey, and mustard.  I'm sure it wouldn't be a BIG DEAL if I did, but why even take the risk?


So a little trick that I do is buy the veggie version of the hot dog and sausage products.  They are just as processed but hey it's better than the processed meat parts.  Tonight I had a....

They really taste like meat corn dogs, so it does the trick!

In the mornings, I sometimes eat veggie breakfast sausages:

This is not a photo I took, it's from google images.

Again these are not the most healthy options, but they do provide a good amount of protein and are in low in fat.  

No matter what, I still question certain foods and if they are ok for me and the baby.  Then I think of the really bad options that I could be eating, like fast food hamburgers and mcnuggets and other stuff like that so I don't feel so bad to have a vegetarian corn dog.  I don't do it everyday! 

On another note, I was looking at the amount of regular clothes I have.  I need to get rid of a lot! If I can survive 9 months (well really 6 months) of wearing my small amount of maternity clothes, I can survive on a lot less clothes.  I'm sure I'll buy more maternity clothes later on, but I promise myself I won't go crazy.  Do I really need maternity underwear?  My trick is waiting for my free victoria secret panty and I buy the Large size.  So far I've got 2 free VS panties! 

Can you tell that is NOT my behind? :) 

I already lucky that my mother in law treated me to some maternity pants (jeans, black pants, corduroys) and a blouse and my supervisor at work gave me her maternity clothes from her time (Thanks Mama Castro and Suzanne!) that I really don't need to go crazy.  I also bought a few things online when Gap had a huge sale of maternity sweaters.  So I think I'll be ok.  I really don't care if I wear the same thing every week.  As long as it's clean, I'm good! And if I can fit in it, then even BETTER :) 

Ok time to lay in bed right now and listen to some music! Ladidadaaaaaaaa! 

Productive Pregnant Sunday

While Nelson was sanding and spackling our small bathroom (we both can't wait til it's done), I took care of a few things that were on my to do list.

Nelson spackling away.

I did the typical sunday stuff from laundry, minor cleaning, cooking, and prepared lunches for tomorrow. 

Before I got to my tasks I wanted to order a spinning bike seat cover because the spinning seats can be very uncomfortable and if any of you read my previous post about my behind after spinning, you would know why I decided to invest in one.  They have spinning classes at the gym at Hofstra twice a week and I intend to stick with it for as long as I can.  Our friend Eleni is pretty much my inspiration for that idea.  She's a spin instructor in LA and she spinned up til her 9th month!  I remember seeing a brief Iphone video of her spinning on facebook during that time, and it really stuck with me, so thanks Eleni! :)

On Amazon, if you spend over $25 dollars, you are eligible for free shipping.  Since the bike seat was only 12 bucks, Nelson suggested we get taco holders for when we eat tacos.  We'll see how that goes. You can say that we like tacos.

Before I placed the order I tried to see if there was anything maternity wise I should get.  I came across this and got so excited!

They sell designer maternity gowns for the hospital! I didn't get one because I would like to talk to my Dr first to see if they would allow me to wear it.  There are also so many different patterns and designs to chose from that I don't know which one I would get.  I think I would make my decision based on the sex of the baby (which will be determined soon!) and the mood that I'm in.

So I placed our bike seat and taco holder order and I was one my way to other things.  I decided to open up my Baby Bargains book to check some stuff out.   The authors of the book also wrote Bridal Bargains and I used that religiously when we were planning our wedding.  What's great about the book is that they compare all of the top products out there, give the pros/cons, and provide detailed information about the prices.  The only thing I looked at today was Diaper Pails.  You would think you would just go for the famous Diaper Genie that everyone raves about, but because the refill bags are pricey, the book gave the Diaper Genie a B+.  The other 2 they talked about were the Diaper Champ by Baby Trend (you can use regular trash bags, but can be smellier) and Diaper Dekor which also needs refill bags, but are a better value than the Genie.  

Genie = B+

Diaper Dekor = A- 

Diaper Champ = A

Still gotta look up these on Consumer Reports as well.  Didn't think that I would put so much thought into Diaper pails!

Then I decided to try out my new Prenatal DVD that I got yesterday:

I loved it! She breaks down the DVD into sections according to what month you are in your pregnancy. Since I just started my 5th month (week 18), I decided to stick with Month 4.  She was there along with a personal trainer so I really felt like he was there helping me through the workout.  Only thing that might be a down fall is that you need a lot of different type of workout equipment: weights, ab ball, yoga mat, resistance bands)  We luckily have all of these, but I didn't realize ahead of time so I had to pause a few times (could have read the box, but I didn't)

She was 5 1/2 months pregnant in the video and she looked amazing.  Just picture her athlete body with a small tummy and her tummy even looked muscular!  She was great!

After working out, I decided to make dinner.  I used the same Kale butter that I made yesterday and added some shrimp and spinach pasta.  Here's the outcome:

 Looks kind of green and gross but it was delicious!

And now to end our pregnancy productive day, we are watching the documentary Babies.  They are so adorable and it's amazing to see how mothers and fathers from all over the world take care of their babies.

That was my sunday! Now off to work tomorrow!

Holy Moly It's Hot!

Yesterday it reached a record heat wave, 100 degrees! I was in AC all day and refused to go outside. This is not healthy for anyone!
If this was last year, I would have had my blender out and made some frozen margaritas! Hmmm Maybe next year! 

Instead Nelson and I went to the supermarket to score some Breyers Vanilla and Chocolate ice cream.  Go for Breyers bc they have minimal ingredients and no corn syrup.


For the fixins, we melted some ghiradella dark chocolate, added some organic strawberries and blueberries and also some walnuts.  It was so tasty and we had to eat it quick bc it was melting even in the air conditioning.
While I was making tacos for dinner, again the alcohol popped in my mind. I was dreaming of an ice cold corona.  Thanks to Nelson for not flaunting drinking in my face, but it also helped that we didn't have any beer in the fridge.


Today I woke up with some back pain so I did some yoga and it completely relieved it.  

I love this Yoga DVD.  We got it off of Netflix and Nelson burned a copy.  I used it a few times already and feel great every time I use it.  Speaking of DVDs, I got another shipment of fun stuff from my friend Anna. She is too much! (Hi Anna!)  THANK YOU!!! She's been sending us stuff non-stop.  Looking forward to trying out the Gabrielle Reece DVD!

Before going out into the heat today, I needed to munch on something nutritious and delicious.  So I decided to make some Kale butter.  It is very similar to Basil Pesto, minus the cheese and oil.  Here's a quick recipe:

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale rinsed and chopped ( I used Dinosaur kale and took out the spine of each leaf and used only the leaves)

1/2 C of walnuts

1/2 C of water (The water left over from steaming the kale)

Salt to taste (I did not add salt)

Make It Happen

Steam the kale for 5 minutes, until tender. Blend the cooked kale with the walnuts and 1/2 c of the green water from steaming. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired.Process in a blender until smooth.

This is the result:

Getting in some greens and some walnuts (both great for us!)


This can be used on pasta and even wraps! Try it out, it's very easy to make.  


Ok off to another air conditioned house in Long Island.  Looking forward to hanging out with some girl friends!! Happy weekend to you!

1 Complaint and 1 Praise

I'm sure I've been sounding like I complain a bit about the symptoms I have during this pregnancy journey, so I apologize for not sounding grateful.  I'm lucky to be pregnant and to have this experience! 

But of course I need to add to my list of complaints.  Just one little one that I've been having this past week.  

Oh she looks so peaceful sleeping there.  She has a beautiful complexion, lovely pajamas, and her hair is so perfect.  This picture is a lie! 

1 - she will probably eventually pull off her pants in the middle of the night because she is HOT.  Even with the AC on 66 degrees, I get hot during the night, sometimes I get cold, but I do get hot hot hot!

2 - she looks like she LOVES sleeping on her left side.  Maybe she does, but I'm getting a little annoyed.

Pregnant ladies are urged to sleep on the left side because it increases the blood and oxygen flow to the baby.  It also helps the kidney eliminate toxins and fluids, which then reduces swelling throughout the body.  Ok I'll take that.  I've been sleeping on my left side, but in the middle of the night my shoulder gets numb and uncomfortable, so I eventually switch over to my right to give the left side a break (this is fine).  

Heaven forbid I sleep on my back!  Here's why (according to BabyCenter.com):

When you're sleeping on your back, the weight of your uterus lies on the spine, back muscles, intestines, and major blood vessels. This can lead to muscle aches and pains, hemorrhoids, and impaired circulation, which is uncomfortable for you and can reduce circulation to your baby.

Back sleeping can make blood pressure drop, causing some expectant moms to experience dizziness. On the other hand, in some moms-to-be it can make blood pressure go up.

Finally, back sleeping can cause snoring and, with increased weight, could lead to sleep apnea.

Luckily I've been good and I don't find myself laying on my back.  I've created some sort of barrier that prohibits me to lie on my back, which also becomes a barrier from Nelson too.  bwahaha my evil pillow plan worked. Just kidding. We both like our sleeping space, thank God for a King bed!  You should see the amount of pillows we have in our bed.  You would think that we have dogs sleeping under our blankets from the amount of lumps you see.

Ok now for the POSITIVE!!!!

My nails are AWESOME.  They are the STRONGEST they have ever been! It's because of the prenatal vitamins.  I think I may have to just go ahead and take prenatal vitamins for the rest of my life because it's just amazing how long my nails can get! I actually had to cut them this weekend because they were a too out of control for me! 

I'm also enjoying painting my nails more often.  Thanks to Mercedes (Hi Mech!) I'm loving crackle nail polish! I have to get some more!!!

  These nails aren't mine, but I like them!

That's all for now! Thanks for hearing me out!

My Chocolate Addiction

As most of you know, I love chocolate.  If there's anything chocolate on the dessert menu, that's my choice.  Forget that creme brulee and other crap (sorry if you are fans of the other stuff)

Well on my many trips to BJ's I was hungry and it's the worst when you are food shopping AND pregnant!  So of course I may have bought things that I would not normally buy.  I ended up getting....

These are delicious and they hold me over when I need a snack.  Go for it chocolate lovers! My favorite is to have it with my calcium (either milk or almond milk).  Haven't tried heating it up yet but I'm sure it would be heaven. Nom nom nom!

Good News today!

Went to the Dr for the monthly visit, heard the baby's HR and he/she's pumping up a storm!! The HR is between 150-160.

Also I had another blood test done called AFP and that came out normal as well.  We are doing well, boys and girls!

 Speaking of boys and girls... here are a couple of old wives tales from http://www.babygenderprediction.com:

Heart Rate

One of the popular theories on baby gender prediction is based on the baby's heart rate.

The theory states that if your baby's heart rate was 140 beats per minute and above, you would be having a girl. If the heart rate was under 140 beats per minute, then you would be having a boy.

While this would be a quick and easy baby gender prediction method, there is actully no evidence that this theory is accurate. There is recent study, "Sex, Heart Rate, and Age" from Terry J. DuBose, M.S., RDMS; Director Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, which indicates there is no correlation between fetal heart rate and the gender of the baby.

  

Chinese Gender Chart

Legend states that the Chinese Gender Chart was buried in a royal tomb near Beijing over 700 years ago. The original is allegedly currently in the Institute of Science in Beijing.Rumors have it that this chart is over 90% accurate when used properly but please remember that this chart is for entertainment purposes only. 

I'm 30 and the conception month was April - pointing out to be a girl. hmmmm (I don't believe it)

Mother's Chinese Age At Time Of Conception

Month of Conception

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

January

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

B

G

B

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

February

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

G

G

G

B

G

B

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

March

G

B

G

G

B

G

B

B

B

G

B

G

G

B

B

B

B

G

B

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

April

B

G

B

G

G

B

B

G

G

B

G

G

G

G

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

B

B

G

B

G

B

G

May

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

G

G

G

G

B

G

G

G

G

G

G

B

G

B

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

June

B

B

B

G

G

G

B

B

B

G

G

B

G

G

G

G

G

G

G

B

G

G

B

G

B

G

B

G

July

B

B

B

G

G

B

B

G

G

B

B

B

G

G

G

G

G

G

G

G

B

G

B

B

G

B

G

B

August

B

B

B

G

B

G

G

B

B

B

B

B

G

G

G

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

B

G

September

B

B

B

G

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

B

G

G

G

G

G

G

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

B

October

B

B

G

G

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

G

G

G

G

G

G

B

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

November

B

G

B

G

G

B

G

B

G

G

G

G

B

G

G

G

B

B

B

G

B

G

B

G

B

B

G

B

December

B

G

B

G

G

G

G

B

G

B

G

G

B

B

B

B

B

B

B

B

G

G

G

B

G

B

G

B

The Belly and Bra

Every Sunday, Nelson and I take a photo of the belly progression (we missed a few weeks bc of vacation). I wear the same outfit and stand in front of our bathroom door to try to get some consistency, but its difficult to get the same exact angle, especially when we just want to take it quickly.  


Here are a couple of photos from week 9 and week 17 (today).  I don't see a HUGE difference between the 2 but since I've gained 10 pounds, there is something there!

17 weeks - I'm standing like a soldier "ATTENTION!"

17 weeks - today

Now towards the end of the day, I look way more preggers.  It's bc of the food and maybe bloating.  There's a total difference between the morning and night.  

Yesterday I ran MANY errands, went to BJ's, Babies R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Bob's Discount Furniture.  Can you tell there's a B theme in the places I've been going to? Oh I did stop in Old Navy but walked right out bc they didn't have a maternity section in the store.

I went to Babies R Us to get a stretch mark cream which they had and also do a quick walk through.  I almost grabbed one of the registry guns, but since I was by myself and I had a lot of other things to do, I didn't want to be in there for a few hours.  I ended up finding a maternity clothes rack that I barely looked through.  I did end up getting a pair of jean shorts that were on sale and a sports bra that is also a sports nursing bra.  I had a tough time picking a size.  Since they didn't have fitting rooms, I actually put on the bra over my clothes.  How ridiculous am I? Still I was having trouble which size to get.  The medium fit perfectly but the large had room to grow in.  So how did I solve my problem?  I texted my friend Nadia (who I just saw at BJ's about 10 minutes earlier).  I asked "Do boobs get bigger throughout pregnancy?"  She responded "Yeah they did."  I kinda knew this answer because every month in the "What to Expect" book, one of the physical symptoms that you experience consistently is "Increase in Breast Size."  I just didn't want to believe it, bc mine are already at a size that are pretty manageable.  They feel heavy and there are just going to get heavier.  Awesome.  So I ended up getting the large and already tested it out yesterday during a workout.  This is the bra...

I think it's wrong that they didn't use a pregnant model for this.  Is this model supposed to be a post pregnancy model?  Well she looks perfect! 

Since I ran around yesterday, I was pretty pooped by the time I got home.  I still wanted to work out, so I turned to a PreNatal Pilates dvd that my lovely friend Anna sent to me.  THANKS ANNA!!! 

Since the lady on the cover (Dale) is preggers, you would think that the workout was not very intense right? Well, I have to say that she kicked my butt yesterday.  I came upstairs (our workout room is in the basement) from the workout and Nelson asked how it was.  I said "I didn't like it" and it was bc she worked me too hard!  Regardless it was a great workout and I will continue to incorporate it into my exercise routine.  

Today I will just stick my the trusty elliptical! 

Have a happy Sunday!

Step away from the mic....

You know when singers or comedians talk way too close to the mic and it kinda looks like they're eating it?  Well that's how Nelson has been speaking to Roo.  I just noticed this last night when he chatted very briefly before going to bed.  I recently read that loud noises like a doorbell or a dog barking can actually startle the baby as early as this week.  So I wonder if Nelson talking that closely will startle the baby too.  It's not like he's yelling loudly, he's talking at his normal level.  Does the sound get muffled or amplified from within the womb? I'm sure it's all safe but it's just another one of those wacky things that has crossed my mind.  


Since I'm off this week, I've been on watering plants duty at my parents house.  They went camping with my brother and his family.  I didn't go because I don't think I can handle all the bug bites.  I'm sure it's fun but my excuse is that I'm pregnant... haha not a good excuse.  

Anywho, I treated myself to a mini bagel this morning since there's a great bagel shop across the street from my parents house.  After I ate it, I felt the same electric tingly sensations that I had when I was in Florida (from a previous post).  This has to be baby Roo thanking me for putting some food in my belly. So if this is really the little guy moving around in there, do ya think that he actually gets the food right away?  I'm sure I can actually look up to see how long it takes for food to travel to the cord, but I'd like to think that Roo gets some food right away.  


After I ran some errands, I was of course hungry again, so then I came back to my parents house to have some soup for lunch. I felt those tingly sensations again!  Maybe Roo's just getting a burst of energy!
Speaking of energy, I have to keep up with the little guy so since I have the time, I'm gonna head to Cunningham park to go for a walk/jog.  


OH! and in exactly 1 month from today we will find out if our little guy is in fact a little guy or a gal!  Woohoo can't wait!

Have a great day folks!