A Good Way to Make a Pregnant Lady Nervous...

During lunch today, I went to BJ's to get the typical chips and hummus for Nelson (my cart is in the right part of the pic) and I saw XMAS decorations! WHAT?! WHY SO EARLY? This made me just a tad bit nervous, just because A) have to start xmas shopping soon B) uh HELLO BABY! and C) BABY

Of course I'm very excited for BGC's arrival, but the xmas decorations was a smack in the face, and they made me feel that she's coming next week.  We have some time but still, BJ's maybe you could have laid low on the holiday stuff until at least late october?  Ah well.  

So this past week, I've been feeling that uncomfortable, tight back feeling.  Welcome to the Third Trimester!  I've been trying to be positive and moving around does help a lot.  Today at BJ's an angel named Melanie was working as a heating pad sales lady.  When I saw her selling stuff at her table, I just walked right by because I didn't want to get sucked in and buy something that I did not need.  After I got most of my stuff, I actually had to go back to that area and of course I stopped by that table.  She said "I know you are having some low back pain and shoulder stiffness."  But how did she know?  She was pregnant twice (both girls), and she totally sold me.  She put the heating pad on my back and also on my shoulders and it was instant, wonderful relief.  I could have stayed their for a good twenty minutes.  She was very sweet and I bought the pack with the back heating pad, shoulder pad, and 4 hand warmers.  They all can be cold as well.   SOLD! The product is called BodyComfort and all you do is snap this little metal clip that's located in the pouch and presto, it warms up and lasts for an hour.  You can reuse it over and over.  Nelson liked it too! 

I used it when I got home and AHHH awesome.  Fell right asleep on the couch and I HARDLY sleep on our couch.  I can feel that I'm slowing down and needing to relax more.  

During the day, I tried to keep mindful of my posture.  In prenatal yoga yesterday, the teacher kept on telling me to tuck my tail bone under and keep my shoulders straight and back.  It's pretty hard to do that when you feel your stomach pulling your lower part of your body forward.  When I was walking I felt like I had books on the top of my head, just like the good ol' days.  Hopefully the good posture trick will help with the discomfort.  Ok off to ice my back now while we watch some type of movie!  Happy Friday Night!

Casual day at work

Today was Rosh Hashana and there weren't any classes but the university was still open. We could have a casual day!  So my outfit is mostly old navy even my boots! Except for my gap sweater. Best part of this outfit was that I wore it to prenatal yoga. And now im icing my back. I wonder if BGC can feel it. Night night!

Baby Samuel

Last night as I was reading through Facebook statuses, someone had posted a photo that I thought I would be disgusted by because it looked like it was some type of surgery.  But before judging, I read the description and became so touched by the story.  I looked more into it and realized that this story was from 1999! How did I miss this? This must have been something on the TODAY show, but then again I was a Sophomore in College and wasn't really in tune with the news world. 

So you may have seen this but I wanted to post this regardless, to help us realize how precious human life is.

Baby Samuel Armas was diagnosed with Spinal Bifida at 14 weeks while he was in his mother's womb.  In order for him to survive in this world, open fetal surgery was required.  How nerve-wracking this must have been for the parents.  I couldn't imagine the stress and worries that they experienced.  The surgery was taken place while Samuel was 21 weeks old.  A photographer was present at the surgery and snapped a remarkable moment. 

From Wikipedia - "The operation was performed by a surgical team at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The team, Dr. Joseph Bruner and Dr. Noel Tulipan, had been developing a technique for correcting certain fetal problems in mid-pregnancy. Their procedure involved temporarily opening the uterus, draining the amniotic fluid, partially extracting and performing surgery on the tiny fetus, and then restoring the fetus to the uterus back inside the mother."

During the surgery, the baby's hand reached out and gripped the doctor's finger.  Here's the photo (a little graphic)

Absolutely Amazing.

The surgery was a success and Samuel was born on December 2nd 1999.  Here's a photo of him in 2009:

What a beautiful story.

My Alma Mater

Last night we had an Alumni Event in my old stopping grounds - Studio A in Dempster Hall.  About 15 Alumni from all areas of the entertainment/news industry came to speak with our students.  Lots of Alumni pointed out that I was pregnant and I gave the not so funny joke - "Oh I just gained some weight."  You can tell that towards the end of the night the belly gets bigger.  The event was great - always good to see some friendly old faces.  This studio is where we spent the majority of our college career.  It was so much fun and sometimes I wish I can go back to those days where my worries were only about getting A's in that class.  Didn't have to worry about Glucose tests back then! But the worries I have now, are well worth it :)

It's Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

I had back surgery a few years ago (back in 2004) and ever since then I've always had minor issues with my back.  So even before we got pregnant, our concern was that throughout the entire pregnancy, I would have back pain.  We were in the clear until yesterday - It was my very first day that I felt back pain/pressure.  It wasn't excruciating but it was uncomfortable.  So before bed, I made sure to stretch:

I did the bird dog...

Pelvic tilts...

Child's Pose...

and the Cat Stretch...

I love the photos, sorry but just had to include them. I know there's no consistency but you get the idea. Nelson was also kind enough to do a mini massage.  It's very difficult to find the right position for getting a massage.  You can't lie on your belly, so we just used a chair and I leaned forward.  In addition to the massage, Nelson suggested that I ice my back and since he's been doing that for a few months now, I agreed to do it.  Thinking that it would be easy, I touched the ice pack with my back ever so slightly and I chickened out.  Nelson then said, "If you can't do this, how are you gonna go through labor?"  Then it clicked and I sucked it up and went in for the ice dive.  Mind over matter. Within minutes, the discomfort went away.  Loved it!

I soon then fell asleep, woke up at 2am and could not go back to bed.  And you know why I didn't go back to bed? Because I wanted to feel BGC kick me.  Before going to sleep, I was so focused on my back that I didn't notice if she kicked me and of course I wanted the reassurance.  I poked and prodded, laid on my back, moved side to side and didn't feel anything.  I did feel a little thump, but that wasn't enough for me.  So then I was up, and then about a half hour later, baby girl woke up and was moving around A LOT, which was relieving.  So I pretty much said - I felt her moving, it's ok now to go back to bed.  But then, she just kept on moving and punching and kicking that it was too much for me to fall back to sleep.  Don't get me wrong I enjoyed every second of it, but I guess she was telling me "Ma, you woke me up and now I can't fall asleep, so now it's my turn to poke and prod you, so you can't go to sleep!"  Guess I got a taste of my own medicine.

Eventually I fell asleep, hours later and caught an hour or two of zzzz's (with hitting the alarm clock).  I'm feeling good, have a long night ahead of me because of an event here at work, but I'll be AOK.  Here's my outfit for today.  Only 14.99 at Destination Maternity - I'll be wearing this a lot this fall since it's comfy and good for work!

Woohoo!!!!!

I passed the GLUCOSE test!!!!!!! I can process sugar normally! Now I will eat a bagel to celebrate :)

3 Months Til I Take the Final Exam!

Last year at this time I was enrolled in Abnormal Psychology and also studying my butt off for the GRE's.  I had to take the GRE's in early November and I only had a few short weeks to prepare.  I dedicated all of my personal free time to study for the darn test and I was determined to pass it (at least get the grade I needed to enter in the Counseling program).  All of my hard work (and LOTS of support from my husband) paid off and I scored above what I needed for the program.

Fast forward a year later, and nothing much has changed in terms of me studying.  I'm currently not enrolled in my grad program, and eventually I will go back, who knows when, but no rush for me.  I'm not taking any classes at Hofstra, however I'm treating my labor and birth process to be my official class for this semester.  I have been preparing my best, and yes there are days where I slack off (i.e, zeppoli's and pizza) but all in all I've been trying my dam hardest to be healthy throughout this pregnancy so that when the big day comes, I'm ready to welcome our beautiful baby into this world.

Three months from today, Santa will be here and I will probably be HUGE.  What's really ironic is that my mother gave birth to me on December 26th, 1980 and our baby's due date is the 27th.  So everything that she went through in terms of timing, I am going through now.  It's pretty amazing when I really think about it.  I was born 2 weeks late though.  I was originally due on December 14th.  According to this month's issue of Fit Pregnancy, first born children tend to be born a little later than the approximated due date AND also if the mother (my mom) had a later birth, it may be the same for me too.  Hey, I'll take it as long as she arrives safely.

So in order for me to prepare for my "final" aka labor and birth, I have dedicated my personal time to really think things through and try my best to always remember that I will NEED TO KEEP AN OPEN MIND and things do change.

Knowledge is Power - that's why I work at a school :)

The book that I just started reading, HypnoBirthing, The Mongan Method is a very good, interesting read.    What is hypnobirthing? From hypnobirthing.com:

HypnoBirthing® - The Mongan Method - is a unique method of relaxed, natural childbirth education, enhanced by self-hypnosis techniques. HypnoBirthing® provides the missing link that allows women to use their natural instincts to bring about a safer, easier, more comfortable birthing. Emphasis is placed on pregnancy and childbirth, as well as on pre-birth parenting and the consciousness of the pre-born baby.  As a birthing method, HypnoBirthing® is as new as tomorrow and as old as ancient times.

I haven't gotten into the nitty gritty of it all, but I'm assuming there's much relaxed breathing and imagery involved, which is already very similar to meditation.  I've been attending a meditation class weekly and I try my best to meditate when I can.  It's pretty hard to close out your thoughts and just focus on your breath, but when you are able to do that, you become extremely relaxed.  

In addition to studying Hypnobirthing book (I am literally going to take notes in a labor book), I am doing the following to prepare for the big day:

- Continue Meditating 

- Continue exercising and eating healthy (I'm no Mother Theresa when it comes to food, but I am trying)

- Meet with my labor coach - I hired my OBGYN's wife to be my doula.  I've heard great things from others who have used her and I will need the extra support, in addition to Nelson

- Being positive about the birthing process!

- Create a calming playlist for the labor (new age) and create a pump it up playlist for the birth (see songs below)

Fear = Tension = Pain 

To extinguish the fear, I am doing what I can so that when the day comes, I'll embrace the labor process instead of dreading it.  You may think I'm crazy, but my goal is to do this naturally, with no meds.  I've had Hodgkin's Disease, gallbladder and back surgery, so for this one time in my life, I would like to take charge of my body and go through the miracle of birth. I want to remember every moment of it, because once those drugs kick in, everything will become a blur.  If I got through that other crazy stuff, and if disabled people can run the NYC Marathon, I can certainly TRY my best to do this the way it was intended to be.  And of course I can't do it on my own.  Nelson will have to dust off his Soccer Captain skills and become my coach.  I know he will do an amazing job and having our doula there will also help us along the way.  

Knowing that things can and will absolutely change is fine but as long as the will to try is there, I am happy with that.  

During my weekly jog/walk at the park today, I was listening to the lyrics of most of the songs that I had on my playlist.  If I'm blessed to have a birth without a c-section, I would like to have these songs on a playlist during the "pushing" part of birth:

Kanye - Stronger (this always gets me pumped up when I'm jogging):

Now that don't kill me

Can only make me stronger

I need you to hurry up now'cause I can't wait much longer

I know I got to be right now'cause I can't get much wronger 

Man I've been waitin' all night now

That's how long I've been on you

Coldplay - Yellow (such a sweet song that it will help me focus on the outcome):

Look at the stars, 

Look how they shine for you, And everything you do, 

Yeah they were all yellow, I came along I wrote a song for you 

And all the things you do And it was called yellow 

So then I took my turn 

Oh all the things I've done 

And it was all yellow 

Your skin Oh yeah your skin and bones

 Turn into something beautiful 

D'you know you know I love you so You know I love you so 

The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony (love the instrumentals in this)

Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life Trying to make ends meet 

You're a slave to money then you die

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down

You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet yeah

Ready to Relax!

This morning I had to work a couple of hours.  It was not so bad at all.  I welcomed parents of new students at a family breakfast.  It was cute to see how proud the parents were.  One day, Nelson and I will be doing the same thing.  I was wondering how the parents were able to "let go" of their kids.  I guess its hard, but when it's time to flee the nest, it's time!

After work, I went up to visit my great friend Anna and her son Jakey.  I didn't take any photos (kicking myself) because Jake is adorable :) He was so social and welcomed me with open arms (he's 2 1/2 years old).  Anna gave me lots of baby goodies and I'm so thankful for everything!!! THANK YOU ANNA!

Last night, Nelson's best friend Danny came in from CT.  Because of the rain and Friday night traffic, it took him 3 hours to get here.  Poor Danny.  He came down to hang out with Nelson and also help around the house.  When I got home today, I found a very pleasant surprise.  Nelson and Danny cleared out the baby's room!  I wish we took a before picture, but if you can imagine a very crowded office with lots of computer monitors and electronic stuff and paper work (from his company Black20), you would be so surprised to walk into this:

It was Nelson's little surprise for me.  I honestly didn't think I would see this room empty for another month or so.  My husband and Danny worked very hard today.  Thank you for almost making me cry :) Lately my hormones have been getting my emotions, especially when watching tv about parents and kids. 

Things are moving along smoothly! They both went out to enjoy a night on the town in the city and I will be hanging at home with my TV and couch. Woohoo! Happy Saturday night :)

All Sugared Up!

This morning I woke up early so I could make sure I could eat before the glucose test.  You don't have to fast for the glucose test, but you have to make sure you don't eat anything for 2 hours before they draw your blood. At 9:13 I finished my orange drink, which tasted like Vitamin Water but with extra sugar.  I actually didn't mind it at all and I didn't really feel any side effects.  Some people actually feel nauseous from it, but I guess I like sugar??? I drank it on my way to the doctor's and I could tell that it did wake me up a bit.  I was a little sleepy prior to leaving but ZING the sugar gave me a quick kick. 

They took my blood exactly an hour later (she poked me twice, but my veins are crappy so I'm used to it).  Then the Nurse Practitioner came in and we listened to Baby Girl's heartbeat.  She really liked the sugar drink because she was quite active.  The NP showed me the difference in heartbeat from the placenta and umbilical cord and BGC.  It was amazing to hear the difference.  The appointment was quick and we'll find out the sugar results on Monday or Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed!

By the time I got to work, I felt like I was coming down from a sugar high.  Yawning and even a slight headache.  Boo! Sugar is no good! I'm fine now but I'm ready to go home!

Here's a picture of my Friday work outfit. Thanks Joe for taking it! :)

Happy Weekend Everybody! Tomorrow I work for a couple of hours then I go see my friend Anna Banana in Rockland County! Woohoo!

No carb dinner

<p>Seeing that tomorrow is my sugar test, I decided to limit my carbs past a certain hour tonight. So I made salmon with kale, broccoli, and cauliflower. I did have Greek yogurt and strawberries for dessert. Yummy meal.

Blogger Block

So I haven't posted in a couple of days, and it's because I feel like I don't have much to write about.  Sometimes I remember that I should write about something, but then I obviously forget about it later.  So I guess here are a few things that ran in my mind the past couple of days:

Cord Blood Banking... Should we do it? It's insurance for our family pretty much, but should we? It's kind of expensive and then yearly we would have to pay to keep in banked.  The jury is still out on this but we have to make a decision soon about this.  Also, Viacord literally calls me every week! It's getting to be a little too much, but I understand, it's a business. 

Glucose Screening Test...  I have it tomorrow AM.  I have to drink some orange stuff and hope to goodness that I pass it the first time. If I fail, then I will have to do it for 3 hours at another appointment.  Of course it sounds like I'm more worried about the time of it but I just want to make sure BGC can handle my intake of food. 

Prenatal Yoga... I'm taking a weekly prenatal yoga class (got a discount on Groupon) and I love it! I didn't go last week bc I was sick, so I'm going tonight.  My back needs a good stretch!

Work Pants... I have a pair of black and gray.  So far I wore my black pants twice this week, so what did I do? I bought another pair from Old Navy yesterday. :)

Flu Shot... Hofstra was giving out flu shots today and since I didn't want to schedule an appointment with my primary physician, I just strolled on over to get the shot.  I did my duty as a good mother. 
They gave out Fiber One cereals! They must have known that I was coming!

 

Can you believe that there's 10 grams of Fiber in this little box! AMAZING! General Mills should give me a year supply of Fiber One cereal.


Hofstra Pride...After the flu shot, I stopped by the bookstore to see what type of baby stuff they have:

Cute right? but pricey! 19.99 for a onesie! Sorry Charlie, not gonna do it, especially since she will really grow out of it fast. 

That's it for now! Keep your fingers crossed that I pass the Glucose test tomorrow!

Workout Romper?

I logged onto Zulily.com this morning and checked out their maternity stuff.  Saw this and I would never wear this in a gym, maybe at home but never in a gym!

It's a workout romper.  Reminds me of those one piece bathing suits that older men used to wear back in the day. 

Toni Braxton Hicks?

According to TheBump.com, (26 weeks): 

Don't panic if your uterus suddenly starts tightening and relaxing -- Braxton Hicks contractions often begin around this time. They're simply your body's way of practicing and preparing for labor. (If the contractions are regular or particularly painful, call your doc just to be sure it's not the real thing.)

I think this happened last night before going to bed.  Our normal routine is to lay in bed and see her movements (when we get the chance).  Nelson poked my stomach last night like I was the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  Then later after we watched a movie (Rio, it was pretty good!) My stomach hardened, just like a rock.  Pretty cool! 

If I Only Had a Brain...

Pregnancy brain at its full effect lately.  I always have to write stuff down or tell people to remind me to do something bc I will forget it almost immediately.  Somewhat like Dory from Finding Nemo.

Today Nelson and I went to the park for a nice little walk/jog.  As we were getting out of the car, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going and my head just ended up hitting the branches of some leafy trees.  I just laughed hysterically and Nelson asked "When will you get your brain back? She's sucking the brain right out of you."  

Guess having pregnancy brain is a good excuse if you forget someone's bday.  I had to write down in my calendar that today is Mercedes and Rob's anniversary.  I told Nelson earlier, "Today is Meredith's and Rob's anniversary."  He asked, "WHO?"  "Today is Mercedes and Rob's anniversary!"  "You said Meredith."  Lol, ok I'm losing it!  Happy Anniversary Mech and Rob (Meredith!) tehehe

Well this weekend started our 26th week! Wahoo, here's the belly:

In a couple of weeks, we start our third and LAST trimester.  Wackadoozle!!!!  

Finally I just have to admit, that Destination Maternity, Gap, Old Navy, Zulily, Totsy, and Amazon have all been getting me lately! I get emails daily from pretty much all sites and they make their subject lines so appealing!  It's ALWAYS the LAST time you can get something for 40% off or free shipping.  I've been good with clothes lately but just with Amazon earlier today, I spent a little under $50 bucks within a matter of 3 minutes (sorry Nelson)  I'm getting this book:

Someone recommended it to me through BabyCenter and instead of paying the extra money for ANOTHER class, she said this book helped her throughout the labor.  And in order for me to get the free shipping over $25, I needed to get another Mustela Stretch Mark Cream.

This cream lasts for about 4 months and I use it daily.  So far, haven't had any stretch marks, but I'm sure I'm not in the clear yet!

Have a great week, I'm off to cooking 3 meals for the week: Lentils, Veggie Lasagna, and Empanadas for dinner with friends :)

And the countdown begins!

GULP! 100 days left! WHATTTTTT? 

Wow I can't believe it, this clock seemed to say about 168 days left just 2 days ago, but nope, time flew and it's now 100 days.  My sister in law Sabrina got us this clock which goes with a countdown book. Thank you! We have it in our living room, reminding us when the big day is! Nelson said the other day that this countdown reminded him of when we were planning our wedding, with all the running around and getting stuff done.  I agree, but it's a little more pressure since we're not exactly sure when she'll make her debut.  Just stay in there for some more time, little girl. You still need to cook and we need to get your under the sea room ready!

Today was a fun pregnant day for me, which means that the baby (ah hem, I) got to eat a lot of yummy foods.

First, I had to "work" an alumni event in the city.  What that consisted of was showing up for a cruise around the city and chat with some great Alumni, so pretty much hanging out and connecting with those who I haven't seen in a while and meeting new friends.  That was fun!  Highlights = Free food and fun windy photos with DD!

crazy hair! 

Sorry Danielle for posting, but your face and hair is priceless in this. :) 

Danielle took this one on her phone.  I grabbed my fall/spring coat when I was leaving the house without trying it on. Forgot that my pregnant belly would not allow it to button all the way.  I should have just left it open, but it was chilly!

So after chatting with some alumni, one alumna asked if I was preggers (she can probably tell bc I couldn't button my jacket) and I told her yes.  She had a baby last may and recommended her lactation consultant to me.  She whipped out her phone and gave me her lactation lady's number and I was thrilled.  We probably talked about breastfeeding for a good 20 minutes, so I'm sorry to anyone who was around during that conversation.  Anyone walking by would probably think we were a little crazy, milk pumping here, nipple cream there....

After the fun cruise, Danielle and I met up with our friend Elena (also a Hofstra Alumna who currently lives in LA).  We decided to head down to Little Italy and enjoy the San Gennaro festival.  Usually I'm not a huge fan of crowded places, but since it was the day time Danielle said that it wouldn't be so crowded and yes she was right. 

We ate at a lovely Italian restaurant, then had free Gelato at Frank Ferrara's bakery (Danielle knows everyone so the owner treated us), and then we even went all out and ate zeppolis!

I would never try the Oreo's or Twinkies, kinda makes me sick thinking of it, but the Zeppoli's were so good!

The powdered sugar! It was yummy going down, but the heartburn kicked in right after! Oh darn you, fried food!

Poor baby girl was filled with lots of carbs and sweets today.  I'm sure she didn't mind but I will definitely have to lay off that stuff for a while, ESPECIALLY since my glucose screening is this Friday. I walked a lot today so hopefully that helps!

Had a great time with some great friends! Thanks Danielle and Elena for making me laugh pretty much all day long! 

How did they find out her name?

Got this in the mail....

Haha just kidding! Not sure why the student ambassador program is even sending us mail and they obviously don't know my first name.  But it did make me smile that eventually we will be receiving mail that says "Parents of _______ Castro"

Cranberry juice and antibiotics

went to the doc and there's a chance I may have a uti... he took a culture, which we will find out the results in the next few days, but from the pee pee test, they found a little blood and no other uti symptoms.  Because that there's a possibility of it being a UTI, he put me on antibiotics, which do not harm the baby at all.  If a UTI goes untreated, it may cause kidney damage and possible preterm labor, so because of those possibilities, I need to take the antibiotics.

Two positive notes:
- Got to hear baby girl's heartbeat today and she is fine and dandy (glad one of us is!)
- When I stepped on the scale, I went down a pound, which pretty much means I stayed the same weight for 2 weeks, woohoo! I go again next friday for the dreaded sugar screening.

Up all night

Literally I have been up all night, haven't gone too bed. It's 3 and I can't sleep and it's bc I have to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes. Tmi I know but it's part of the pregnancy and I can't even try to fall asleep without the urge to go which I think may an issue? I know it's common for pregnant women to go to the bathroom during the night but not evey 5 - 10 minutes right? It's not like I'm here guzzling down water either. Going to call the doc in the am to see if it's a uti or what if it's gestational diabetes? Since I'm sleep deprived (last night didn't sleep much either) I my be coming to conclusions. Thank God for Nelson's iPad. Have to download some stuff. I wish i was in dreamland with him.

It's Kick Off season at The Career Center!

Today we had our Annual Kick Off Event for The Career Center.  It was H-O-T! So i took a few breaks (being pregnant is a great excuse :) ) Haha jk but I really was hot, and so was everyone else.  We did a great job.  Here are some photos

Joe and Suzanne's annual prom photo

Up, Up and Away! 

Our new marketing around campus.  You gotta Intern now folks, in order to get hired later!

Deanna, being all Fonzie

We like Yoga at The Career Center

Our fearless leader, Fred Burke

The Three Amigas! 

Security Line! Do NOT CROSS DD! 

 Love this one!

 Our lovely ladies MaryBeth and Jayne - always running The Career Center

 FREE BUMPER STICKER!

Chaundra and Suzanne love! 

 We had all students sign this banner with what their dream internship would be?

We have fans! 

Not so much a pregnancy blog, but the CC is pretty much my 2nd family, so whenever we have fun together, it's always great to show our happy times together.