Silver Hammer

So I have been given the words to live by for my next ~5weeks- No more weight gain!

I have hit the 41lb weight gained mark and my midwife thinks that is good enough. Also, I still have my sugar sensitivity (no gestational diabetes- but every time I eat/drink sugar at breakfast (OJ, pancakes, etc.) it shows up in my urine) so she wants me to cut back on simple sugars, eat more protein and complex carbs, and try to walk every night after dinner.

She also "yelled" at me for another silly thing I did this weekend- I was at Whole Foods checking out where I saw a lovely candy selection by the conveyor belt- and hey, it is candy season and I love candy-- so why not?! So I picked out some gummy stars and went on my way.

Driving home, chewing away on my delicious gummy stars-- what do you think happened next!? Well a gummy star pulled my crown right out! Luckily I did not swallow or crack it (those are some expensive metals!) and was able to save it. When I looked at what was left of the tooth in my mouth I lost most of my optimism... I immediately knew I was in for a root canal.

I told my midwife this morning I was not in fact going to work after our appointment but to a new dentist that specializes in sedation dentistry (thanks Kate!!) because I pulled my crown out on a piece of candy-- she promptly instructed me to not eat any more candy- ever!! I guess that goes along with the weight gain...

So no more weight gain and no more candy. I think I can handle that for 5 weeks (or less!!)... I hope! But the hard thing will be how to manage my hunger. I am CONSTANTLY hungry. Probably because I have let my fiber intake drop as well as my protein intake. But I have two years of practice in managing hunger-- and thankfully I kept a ton of recipes, hand outs and blog entries to keep me going again! So here we go, let's see how I can do keeping my weight gained for the last few weeks minimal.

Oh! I was right about the root canal, but they won't perform it until after the baby is here. So now I something else to look forward to!

Updates

Howdy readers (are you still out there?!),

Things are good here in my world, the baby girl is growing rapidly (only 6 weeks left!) and I have reached the insatiable hunger/uncomfortable part of the pregnancy! Sleeping is minimal (practice for when she arrives?!), muscles ache... typical pregnancy symptoms. But I am still upbeat and I have a lot of energy which has been directed at nesting- either through bedroom renovations or baking! (*photo from the beginning of September, I am bigger now!)

It is pumpkin season (my favorite baking ingredient!!) so I have already made 2 batches of pumpkin muffins! I have not made any pumpkin pies (whoopie or other) or pumpkin cookies yet, but those are on the to-do-list.

I also made my first ever carrot cake! I followed the Cook's Illustrated recipe (to the letter!) and it turned out very well. Although the next time I will surely be including raisins (the recipient whose birthday it was, did not like raisins in their carrot cake!).

Other than that, not much else is new here. I have recently been given the opportunity to think about foods pregnant women like to (or hate to eat), so I thought I would sum up my vague conclusions here (readers- feel free to add in your comments too):

Primarily, I hated the smell of food being cooked. Any food. If food appeared in front of me I could (usually) eat it. So in the beginning, it was mostly microwaveable items, no cook foods (cereal), toasted bread products and generally very bland items. Anything that left any taste in my mouth was eliminated (no coffee, garlic or onions- 3 of my favorite things!).

Carbs. Carbs are a safe bet for early pregnancy- plus they do not smell strongly when you cook them. Veggies were out- I handled frozen string beans well enough, but other than that I could not stomach any other veggie.

Processed foods are a safe bet as well. Don't ask me why, but I have never loved "childhood" foods so much: animal crackers, cheese sticks, sweet yogurts, ice cream, mac and cheese (from a box!), peanut butter and jelly, hot dogs, and pizza.

I also loved fruit throughout the whole pregnancy, but I have friends who could not even look at fruit in the beginning.

After week 16-- things started improving gradually and now I eat salad with gusto (when I can find the will to make myself one), decaf coffee is back in, I can eat complex flavored meals, and I cant eat A LOT!

I would find in the beginning I would have to eat many small meals throughout the day, and if I ate too much I would get terribly uncomfortable. That stopped after week 14ish but is now back again (much less room for the stomach to expand now!).

Those were my basic thoughts. Feel free to add in yours! Above is the King Pup ready to help open presents at my baby shower- he has no idea what is in store!!

Tofu Pad Thai

I am really happy with this recipe. If you ever cook tofu again do it this way!!

So easy and SO good!
Here is what I did:

Drain Tofu
Purchase firm or extra firm tofu
Drain from the storage water and place on a plate on top of 2 paper towels
Top tofu with another 2 paper towels and a second plate
Place a weight on top of the tofu "sandwich"
Leave here for 30min - 1hr

Slice Tofu
I cut mine into 4 steaks

Salt Tofu
Simple, add salt to the surfaces- we used Kosher salt but any salt works

Heat Pan
This is *very important*
TE gets very upset when I do not wait until the pan is fully heated to start cooking

Add Oil
You really only need a little bit

Add Tofu
And cook it! Simple!

I ate mine with quinoa pasta (yum!) and a store-bought pad thai sauce (eh)
We also added scallions and grape tomatoes for some color, enjoy!

Sugar Addict

At my last prenatal visit my healthcare provider found excess sugar in my urine. A symptom of gestational diabetes. They were not too concerned since I was (at the time) only 23 weeks and I had orange juice for breakfast (even though I have 4oz of OJ with breakfast every day- and before other appointments- for a folic acid jolt!). I have since learned that they like to catch GD before 28 weeks to be able to get the blood sugars under control and make sure the baby grows at a normal rate and does not get too big for delivery.

She is supposed to be around 1.5lbs now (25 weeks) so I would guess a bit more weight now (the baby gets bigger/fatter since she is getting all my undigested glucose) would not impact the birth weight too much-- but I want to do what I can to keep my glucose handling under control as much as I can before I get my official diagnosis (27 weeks). Toward that end, in the mornings I have eliminated all juice and refined carbohydrates. I am trying to eat eggs/egg whites and a slice of high fiber toast, high fiber toast and peanut butter, or another old protein rich favorite breakfast. Apparently the hormone levels are highest in the morning and make for the worst glucose digestion so I have been "saving" my glucose rich foods for later in the day.

Since I have started this diet adjustment I have realized how terribly addicted to sugar I am! I have always known that I prefer sweet to savory- but I did not realize how much sugar I am eating these days! So much for my mindful eating CALERIE days...

Whenever I talk about starting a new low-sugar-diet my friends and family are always quick to remind me how I cut back my calories for 2 years for this study (and loved it!) and 3 months of healthy eating won't hurt too bad. I know that if I had to do it full-time (once I find out if I have GD for sure) I will embrace it not just for my health but for the health of baby E. A fat baby may be cute, but I could never willingly put her at risk for glucose intolerance and a scary sugar crash after birth.

Stay tuned for a yummy tofu recipe- yes the veggies are back! I am happily eating everything again :)

It's a.....

GIRL!!!

TE and I are very excited to share the news. She behaved very well, moving all around during the ultrasound and we got to see all the major organs, her skeleton and even her little toes! The radiologist and technician were smitten as well.

More food updates to come :-)

Salad Woes

Being all confident after one week of feeling "better" (my 16th week- and everyone said if you are not better by 12 then for sure by 16- so I was perfectly on schedule) I ate a salad again.

Now, I love eating salad. I don't feel gross while I am enjoying the farm fresh greens-- but after a few hours of salad digestion, bad things happen- TE and I have decided that this baby does NOT like salad. At least not yet anyway. I won't be eating a salad again for another month or so.... Will need to find veggies in other ways.

But on a happier/more funny side. I am thinking of starting a series of "Things Pregnant Girls Like to Eat" (or at least this pregnant girl). For today's edition I even have a recipe!! Be forewarned, it is not healthy or gourmet or something to be proud of (unless you are entering a comfort food contest). But here it is, and it was soooo good!

Homemade Cheeseburger Helper (made 5 servings)

8oz Pasta of your choice, cooked
1lb of lean ground beef, cooked and drained

Cheese Sauce: Modified from here

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
• 1.5 cups half and half, 1.5 cups skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

Melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes (will turn golden in color). 

Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk and cayenne. 

Stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Fold the macaroni/beef into the mix and serve!

Predictions

* Totally not food related*
A fun thing happened today- I had my tarot cards read by my boss! He was taught the skill quite a few years ago and once the coworkers found out that I am pregnant the predictions began! Pretty much everyone has their idea about what TE and I are having (hopefully a healthy baby!) but my boss wanted to make a "real" prediction!

So I held the cards in my pocket for over an hour, then shuffled them, and he laid the cards out to answer my questions (What gender is the baby? Will it be healthy and will the pregnancy go well?). The over-arching theme was very good and the head card was the Temperance card. And from what I can gather from wikipedia the key words associate with predictions involving this card are:

• Temperance ----- Harmony ----- Balance ----- Health

• Moderation ----- Joining forces ----- Well-being ----- Recovery

• Equilibrium ----- Transcendence ----- Unification ------ Healing

• Synthesis ----- Bringing together opposites ---- Feeling secure

Pretty good I say!! I am not usually superstitious and I do not buy into a lot of magic/fantastic things, but I will take all the good predictions I can get! Anything to ease my mind, right?! The rest of the cards were equally good and positive, so that was an added bonus!

We will find out in less than two weeks the gender and see if everything is growing and developing appropriately and according to schedule. We will then learn (hopefully!) if the majority (predicts girl) wins or if it goes to the two dissidents (TE and my sister)!

*Food related*

Watermelon. Oh how I love watermelon. 

I am on a serious fruit kick. Mel told me other other day that a local store had lychee fruit. I was there faster than she could say lychee fruit! In the past two weeks I have spent more money on fruit than on any other food item! But it has been amazing to have so many wonderful fruits in season and available to me at this stage of my pregnancy. 

Aside from fruit, the general palate has not changed much. I am still eating pretty bland foods.

Breakfast consists of cereal with fiber, almonds, and whatever berry we have washed and available or an english muffin with peanut butter and apple butter.

Lunch is variable every day. It is typically pretty big and spread out throughout the entire day. I usually have yogurt with fiber cereal, crackers and hummus, a Trader Joes meal of some kind (today was Indian: chicken tikka masala), a granola bar, and fruit!

Dinner is variable in size and selection. The "no cooking" rule is still in effect (unless it is mac & cheese or other pasta dish) and some days I can eat a lot (last night!) and other days I eat almost nothing. 

Once I start cooking/baking again I will return with recipes and food pictures!