Weirdest thing about being pregnant

Last week my cousin asked me what the weirdest thing about being pregnant is or what has surprised me the most. I didn't actually think of my answer until the next day so thought I would share it here. For me, it would have to be all of the blood that my body is producing. Reading through books and articles, it specifically says that women produce more blood during pregnancy (for the baby) and that hormones stimulate the blood to flow more. The place where it's most evident is in the respiratory area and the mouth. I have fallen victim to this. I constantly have a slight bloody nose and can't even brush my teeth without a mouth full of blood. I know it sounds gross, but it's pretty fascinating. So as a result I have gone through many tissues and brush/floss my teeth often to keep my gums healthy. This is one symptom of pregnancy that no one told me about!

Yesterday I forgot to post one of my favorite things that I use EVERY morning/night after the shower. Mother's Special Blend Oil:

www.mothersspecialblend.com

The container I have now was given to me as a gift, but I've been told that you can purchase it at Whole Foods. I rub it all over the belly and other places where I'm afraid stretch marks will occur. It smells great and feels good too!

This weekend I'm starting pre-natal yoga on Sunday at Santa Monica Yoga and am really excited! I will give a full report of the class on Monday.

A few of my favorite things....

As I continue doing all of my baby research regarding the best products to register for, buy, and to use long term, I've come across some great websites that have provided me access to certain products and ideas that I wouldn't have found on my own. These are some of my favorites...

Cool Mom Picks:
This wesbite is a list compiled from a few different moms of their favorite products (for baby and mama), websites, resources, and ideas. I have already spent hours on this site and have gotten some great ideas.

www.coolmompicks.com

The Zrecs Guide:
This is a guide that is sometimes referred to as the "Z" guide where products are rated by safety factor particularly, how many toxic ingredients are found in each product. You can search by category or by brand. This site has really helped me figure out which products to register for, especially the ones that will go into my little boy's mouth or touch his food.

www.zrecsguide.com

Safe Mama:
This site also rates products that are considered safe and environmentally friendly, but the format is more article based than list based. I love this site because they typically do extensive research to find the best products.

http://safemama.com/

My Registry:
My friend Jennie used this site to register for all of her baby items and I will do the same. It's brilliant because you can compile a registry from a handful of different stores instead of being limited to the products at one.

www.myregistry.com

Although I can't say that these few products are my favorites yet since I haven't used them; they come highly recommended and are my products of choice so far for my little bun!

Crib:
We are purchasing (thanks to my Mom & Dad), the Sparrow crib from Oeuf (pronounced UH-F which means egg in French) in white. In all of the research that I've done, it's the safest and most environmentally/baby friendly crib I have found besides getting one hand made w/ recycled wood that I purchase myself.

http://oeufnyc.com/new/product.php?productid=16193

Bouncer/Lounger:
This lounger has come highly recommended to us and it's also from Oeuf so I'm pretty excited to get it!

Babycook:
I blogged about this item once before on my photography blog because I was so impressed with it. My friend Sophie who is from France had one of these gadgets before they even came to the US and she used it with her little girl ALL the time. Finally Williams Sonoma got smart and started carrying the babycook, however I believe they're the only retailer in the US.

It's called the Beaba Babycook

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/e203/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1%7C16%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Cbaby&cm%5Fsrc=SCH

As far as others major purchases go such as the changing table, bedding set, and a stroller...we're still deciding, but should come to our conclusion pretty soon!

My resolutions....

Happy 2009 to all of my friends and family!! This year is going to be a pretty AMAZING year for Lee & I, one we will never forget for the obvious reason that our little baby boy will be born. The closer we get to the due date (16 more weeks!), the bigger I get, and the more he kicks me, the idea that we're going to meet him soon becomes more of a reality. Now that I got all of the fear out a few weeks ago, I'm very anxious and beside myself with the idea of him - what he'll look like, if he'll cry, how big he'll be, who's eyes he will have, and if he'll be good at baseball or swimming (just kidding Lee!) We all know that he'll be a baseball star! ;)

With this new year and a new light in our life, I thought that I should make just a few resolutions, but none too overwhelming. I have a ton already for my business, but felt that I at least needed 1 or 2 personal resolutions to embark on this wonderful year we're going to have. Here are the few I came up with:

1. Go through cookbooks on the weekend and pick out recipes for the week instead of just throwing things together. (I'm happy to report I'm on week 2 of this resolution and it's going very well. Last night was minestrone soup w/ mini meatballs)
2. Get up 1/2 hour earlier while I'm still working so that I'm not rushed in the morning.
3. Every time I buy a piece of clothing or pair of shoes, I have to give something away to Goodwill (not including maternity clothes)
4. Confronting parking tickets and not letting them inflate.
5. No ridiculous spending on the baby - he ALREADY has gifts and clothes. I don't need to go overboard!!

So there you have it - my resolutions. Feel free to check in with me in a few months and see how I'm doing. I set myself up for success with these and actually the hardest one is going to be and already is getting up earlier in the morning!

Speaking of not spending too much on the baby, we got the most adorable baby clothes from my sister when we were in San Fran for the holidays. Not only did she and her family buy us the most adorable organic clothes from baby Gap, but also gave us some of the cutest clothes that they had saved all of these years since my almost 11 year old nephew was a baby. She even had clothes that she bought from Gymboree YEARS ago w/ the tags still on. I totally scored!!

Here is a picture of one of the baby Gap outfits. I am not looking to hot in this picture, forgive me. It was christmas morning and I had the pregnancy bloating thing going on. Thank you to my niece Lia for taking this picture.

Gas!

Hey, I never said that this blog would be all fun and rosy :) As much as I now love being pregnant, there are a few things that have become so incredibly uncomfortable, one of them being really bad gas pains/bubbles in my abdomen ALL the time. No matter what I eat or how much water I drink, they are always there!! They're the type of pains that can't be "relieved" either, so it pretty much hurts all the time. I haven't experienced any heartburn yet though which I've heard is common, so maybe I'm lucky.

I am starting to feel really big, I even feel like my face is starting to fill out but maybe I'm just being overly sensitive. I have to say though, over our christmas vacation I really felt pregnant! My capacity for food is growing and growing, but I'm trying to be really conscious of what I'm eating instead of just junk. Pickles are STILL a high priority in my diet as are olives, but I wasn't shy with the christmas cookies either ;)

Speaking of our vacation to San Francisco....we had the BEST time! I will post some pictures of "christmas with the Sestili's" on my photo blog in the next few days.

This morning I had my 23 week check-up with the doctor and it was great! She said that I'm looking good, as is our little boy. She did an ultrasound and I got to see his head/face, his little body, and his little winky again so there's no doubt he's a HE! All of my 2nd trimester blood tests came up negative for any concerns of defects or disorders, in fact, the doctor said that I was in the lowest percentage of a problem occurring...1 out of 10,000 - YAY!

She reminded me to drink, drink, drink water and to stay away from any fluids with alot of chemicals (bye bye decaf coffee). She reminded me to take my pre-natal vitamins and to not lift ANYTHING heavy, especially because I've been feeling alot of pressure in my abdominal area which she said is normal. Looks like Lee is going to have to go grocery shopping with me from now on - HA!

She suggested that Lee & I talk about cord blood banking and that we consider whether or not we want the detailed ultrasound to see more closely if everything on our boy is in working order - 4 chambers of the heart, all organs are formed, fingers, etc. So many things to think about!

Regardless of everything we need to talk about, I'm feeling great. I had a few weeks of feeling really overwhelmed (weeks 19-21) but that is all in the past, at least for now. I am super excited to get our nursery put together, to go on the hospital tour, and to sign up for childbirth classes. It really is true that as time goes on, it gets more and more exciting with the anticipation of meeting the little thing inside of you!

Belly pic, but this time....not just belly!!

Lee and I have finally gotten it together and taken some pictures of my full on pregnant figure. Now everyone can see what I look like in all my 5 month glory instead of just pictures that I take at work of my belly with my blackberry!

Here is the picture to enjoy....I will write more tomorrow.

22 weeks and counting!

This week marks 22 weeks (I think, although it could be 21). I better figure that out! Our little boy has been moving around ALOT in the last few days...I feel him all of the time - little pops in my belly here and there. I am totally in love with his little "kicks" and can't get enough of them...the experience is so amazing and I can now start to understand why some women say that they LOVE being pregnant. I couldn't even fathom that idea until now. Now it all makes sense and I am excited for the serious movements and kicks as he grows. Lee got to feel my belly move a bit last Saturday with the kicks or punches from our little bun. He thought it was very cool, however, I have to admit that I thought he'd be more excited. He said "wow, I felt it...that is great" and then took his hand off my belly and went back to watching his football game! HA! I assume this is the typical male response and completely understand.

We have chosen a name for our little boy, but I'm going to make many of my readers wait in suspense until we reveal it. Our family knows what it is, but that's about it. Maybe our best friends do too. We're thrilled with the name and we already refer to him by it so we're hooked. It fits perfectly with Reinis and is a very strong name with a ton of meaning for both of us!

Tomorrow we're leaving for San Francisco to spend Christmas with my brother, sister, and their families. I am so excited for them to see the growing belly and to spend some quality family time. We have a fun filled long weekend planned with a trip to the Science Center, lots of eating (YAY!), and probably movie watching. I spent last weekend making cookies for the trip so I hope my family is ready for them! Not only will we spend Christmas with my family, but Lee & I will be able to share Hanukkah with them this year which is always great. Maybe we should make latkes? Hmmmm.

Happy Hanukkah to all and a Merry Christmas too!!

First little kicks

What a week this has been! On Wednesday night Lee & I were driving to dinner with his family, but had to make a stop to pick up a package. Right after he got out of the car, I felt this weird little tapping in my belly...like someone was flicking me from the inside. It happened 3 times in a row and surprised the HECK out of me! When Lee got in the car I told him the news and he was so happy. He tried putting his hand on my belly, but I couldn't feel anything else. Probably too soon for him to feel it on the outside anyway.

I have read that kicking can feel sometimes like gas bubbles at the beginning, but these were no gas bubbles which I've had plenty of...they were way too strong and hard. Just to be certain that I felt him, the little man was at it again LAST night at almost the same exact time in the evening...7pm. Maybe that happens to be his active time of the day. Last night there was even more movement. 1 kick or punch in my upper belly, one a little lower, and then this flutter of movement like he was turning over. All I can say is how A-MA-ZING!! I know I'm one of a trillion women who have experienced this sensation, but WOW...it felt so incredibly special to me and is such a miracle. I want it to happen all the time now :)