Mommy Daughter Date

Posted on September 1, 2010 by simzgirl

Today Ana and I went to a little nail salon near our house for a special mommy-daughter date. We went and got pedicures! Ana got a manicure too (her mani-pedi took the same amount of time as my spa pedi). We have been meaning to do this for awhile and with Ana starting school next week, it seemed like the perfect time for a little special treat.

First, Ana got to pick out her nail color. You have never seen her more excited in her life as when she spotted the wall of nail polish.

Then she settled in to the special child chair: pink, shaped like a teddy bear, and complete with her own personal DVD player.

She was very excited to watch a movie while getting her manicure and letting her feet soak in the bubbly tub.

For her fingers, Ana settled on a pretty purple color. She was ecstatic when the lady added a fancy flower to one finger on each hand.

For her toes she opted for a sparkly pink, and again was very happy to have the added flower. If you notice, the lady did the flower centers with the other polish Ana chose. Very coordinated! And fancy.

Here are our completed pedicures. Is there anything sweeter than a mother-daughter pedicure? Oh I don’t think so!

(I didn’t think to bring my nice camera, so all the pictures were taken with my iPhone 4. Not too shabby for a phone!)

29 Week Belly Shot

Posted on August 29, 2010 by simzgirl

As I get bigger (and bigger) and my due date gets closer and closer, naturally Ana and I have been having more discussions about babies and birth. Nothing I haven’t been able to field yet, but it sure is fascinating to me to see how her mind works. Ana and I had the following conversation while watching A Baby Story on LTC this afternoon:

Ana: Mom… when you have (points at my belly) the baby, will you have to go to the hospital?

Me: Yes.

Ana: But why? Usually the baby just comes out… and you can wash it in the sink.

Me: Well, we could do that, but I would like to have your sister at the hospital. Then we can have a doctor to make sure everything is safe. Then the doctor can check her and weigh her and measure her.

Ana: I don’t think you should go to the doctor. The doctor is scary.

Me: Why would you think that? You love going to the doctor. You love playing doctor. You want to BE a doctor!

Ana: Oh yeah. I forgot. I was just being silly.

I have been feeling pretty good lately. I am still sleeping really well, with the exception of the couple trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The lower back pain that was crippling me for the last several weeks has finally started to ease up. I did have one little twinge last night while I was trying to get comfortable to go to bed, but by morning it had mostly disappeared. Sure, I get tired really quickly so I just have to remember to take it easy and take more breaks. Today I cleaned all three bathrooms in our house and I was about ready to slip into a coma from exhaustion afterward. For the most part, it’s been pretty easy to take it easy and I owe all of that to Sim and Ana. They have been amazing helpers and don’t mind picking up my slack (or overlooking the lack of vacuuming).

As for the gestational diabetes, things are going quite well. I am constantly surprised that I am able to remember to test my blood glucose first thing in the morning and two hours after each meal (I have an app on my iPhone that has a reminder, but I have to actually remember to set it for it to work). I think I have only forgotten a couple times when we were out for something special. Otherwise I have been really on top of it. And my post-meal levels have been great. Eating out is the hardest, simply because I have no control over what they put into the food. Most national chains post their nutritional info online, so I can look it up on my phone (you would be surprised at the foods you think are “healthy” in restaurants) but it’s harder with the little “mom and pop” restaurants that we love to frequent. It was tricky at first, remembering which foods I could have and how much, but I am getting pretty good at it now. I think it helps that my stomach is shrinking (or the baby is sitting on it) because I get full so fast now and that has helped tremendously with portion control. My fasting (first thing in the morning) glucose levels have been a bit higher than I would like, but as those aren’t anything I can control (with diet or exercise) there isn’t much I can do about it. I’ve tried eating different things before bed and snacking in the middle of the night when I go to the bathroom but nothing seems to make any difference. I see my doctor on Friday and I will see what she has to say about it during that appointment.

Until then, here is my 29 week belly shot:

As always, any pictures of Baby Bateman 2.0 will be collected here.

26 Week Belly Shot

Posted on August 9, 2010 by simzgirl

I am officially 26 weeks (yesterday) and enjoying the last week of my second trimester. Next week I start the third, and final, trimester. That is so bizarre to even think about! For those of you who missed it, I just found out that I, once again, have gestational diabetes. I just talked to my doctor’s office and got the actual results of my 3-hour test:

     Fasting: 93 mg/dl
     One hour: 194 mg/dl
     Two hour: 174 mg/dl
     Three hour: 104 mg/dl

This is how they classify “abnormal” scores:
     Fasting: 95 mg/dl or higher
     One hour: 180 mg/dl or higher
     Two hour: 155 mg/dl or higher
     Three hour: 140 mg/dl or higher

So I passed the fasting, failed the first and second hours, but somehow managed to pass the third hour. It’s interesting because the last time I did this my fasting and one hour tests were fine, but the two and three hour were not. Hmmm. So this weekend Sim and I did some shopping for healthy snacks and a few sugar-free goodies. Sometimes a pregnant lady just needs her ice cream and a sugar-free fudgesicle will totally do in a pinch.

I have a diabetes education class tonight so I am hoping to brush up on the basics and maybe pick up a few menu ideas. I’m having a hard time figuring out what to eat before working out in the morning. I need something that isn’t going to sit in my stomach like a lead weight, but also won’t leave my blood sugar crashing half way through Stroller Strides. My normal pre-workout standby is a bowl of healthy cereal, but the GD diet limits the carbs I eat so that I would only be allowed 1/4 to 1/2 cup (depending on the cereal) which isn’t going to keep me full through the warm-up. So I’m hoping the instructor tonight will have some pointers for me. I’ll keep you posted.

In the mean time, here is my 26 week belly shot:

As always, any pictures of Baby Bateman 2.0 will be collected here.

Two Doctor’s Appointment Reports and a Picture

Posted on August 6, 2010 by simzgirl

Man, it’s been quite a week. Yesterday I took the 3-hour Glucose Tolerance Test (because I didn’t pass the 1-hour test I took last week). It’s not an experience I would wish upon anyone, but I’ve been there before so I knew what to expect. Then today I had a follow up ultrasound to check a few things they couldn’t see last time AND my regular monthly doctor’s appointment. Whew!

So my glucose test went just as expected. It was nauseating and exhausting. There is nothing worse than starving a pregnant women…until you start sticking her with needles. A 12-hour fast, one sickly sweet bottle of double-the-sugar Glucola, and four blood draws later, I was done. Sim and Ana met me for lunch and then I went home and took a two-hour nap. And was still a zombie for the rest of the day. At least I won’t be doing that test again anytime soon!

This morning I had another ultrasound. It turns out at my last ultrasound the tech wasn’t able to get a good look at the baby’s eyes, hands, and… one other thing that I cannot remember for the life of me. Anyway, today they were able to see everything and it all looks normal. The baby is in the 57th percentile and weights about 2 lbs. Aside from reassuring us that everything is going great, it’s always fun to get another glimpse of my daughter. I mean, is this not the cutest little profile ever?!?

Then right after the ultrasound I had my 26 week (rounding up again, since I will be 26 weeks on Sunday) doctor’s appointment. I have this to report back:

Weight: up 5 lb since last month (6 lb total gain)
Blood Pressure: 120/70
Baby’s Heartbeat: Normal, in the 140s

When I got home this afternoon, I got a call back from my doctor’s office letting me know they got the results back from my glucose test and I did not pass. So it looks like I have gestational diabetes. Again. Oh well, it’s not like I haven’t been through this before. I know it’s not an optimal outcome, but truthfully it’s not like I know it any other way. If nothing else, I know I can handle it and I know this will help me to do the best I can to bring another healthy baby into the world. I know I can manage the diet (even Simeon is looking forward to the most effective diet we have ever been on together) and I am already doing the exercise. Sure, it’s a little inconvenient, but I will do anything to make my body the healthiest place for my daughter to grow.

My Birthday Celebrations. Yes, plural.

Posted on August 2, 2010 by simzgirl

Simeon really went above and beyond for my birthday this year. I guess he felt the pressure was on since I was turning the big 3-0.

I guess it all started a few months ago when we got a letter in the mail saying something about “your upcoming Vegas Vacation.” Assuming it was junk mail or someone stole our credit card and went on a shopping spree, I instantly sent a text message to Sim (who was speaking at a conference in New York) asking if he knew anything about this. To which he replied, “Yeah… I was going to surprise you with a vacation for your birthday.”

Oops.

Fast forward to last weekend, where I was looking ahead to leaving for a long weekend in Vegas and feeling quite relieved that I didn’t have to plan (let alone clean up after!) any sort of party for my birthday. We were suppose to be meeting the Whislers’ at Out of This World Pizza to let the kiddos play and then maybe have some pizza for dinner. We got there and, not seeing our friends, I started scouting out a couple tables I could push together that would accommodate our two families. Sim then asked me if I had ever seen the room upstairs. I said no, and continued to look for tables. He said he and Ana wanted to go up and check them out and asked me to come up with them. I glared at Sim, reminded him that my back has been killing me and all I wanted to do was go sit down. But he insisted, so I slowly (and grumpily) followed him up the stairs…to find the room filled with all my friends and family shouting, “SURPRISE!”

Yeah, you could say Sim totally managed to pull this one off. I told him he was really lucky I took the time to shower, blow dry my hair, put on some makeup, and actually looked presentable, since more often than not lately I have been known to neglect one or more of those things. But everything went off without a hitch. Everyone had a great time and it was a truly amazing birthday party.

Simeon even serenaded me (singing AND playing guitar) with a song that he changed the lyrics so that it perfectly defined our relationship. In doing so, he totally won over ALL the people in the room and secured himself the title of Best Husband Ever.

And then I still got to go on a trip to Vegas! Seriously, can you believe how spoiled I am? Yikes! My mom came up Friday morning to stay with Ana while Sim and I went to Las Vegas for a long weekend getaway. We got to our hotel, only to find that my husband managed to upgrade us to a lovely suite for my birthday.

We hung out in our room for a bit before heading out on the town (it was 105 degrees outside. I wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere!) On our first night there, we had tickets to Tony and Tina’s Wedding.

The next morning, my actual birthday, we splurged and went to brunch at the Wynn. It was seriously the most beautiful restaurant with the most amazing food I have ever eaten. Sadly, my pregnant stomach doesn’t hold anywhere near the amount of food it use to, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a little bite of everything from the (two-sided!) dessert area.

Then later that day, we took a limo to the Venetian hotel where we enjoyed a gondola ride, a lovely Italian dinner, then got to see Phantom.

We wrapped up my birthday evening hitting the casino (we were in Vegas, it had to be done). I won one round of blackjack, with an actual blackjack, then instantly cashed out my winnings and Sim and I spent a little time high-rolling on the penny slot machines. Yeah, that’s how we roll.

The next morning we checked out of our hotel, went to the movie theater near the airport and watched Inception to kill a few hours before our flight home. It was a perfect birthday celebration and a lovely babymoon, too. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to be home, to see Ana, have her wrap her little arms around me and tell me, “I missed you! Now I can hug and kiss you as much as I want!” Now tell me, how could that not be the best part of my weekend??

You can see all our Vegas pictures here.

24 Week Belly

Posted on July 25, 2010 by simzgirl

Ok, here is my 24 week belly shot.

Once again, Ana wanted to be involved in the pictures. She is giving her little sister a nice kiss and then a sweet hug. Awww.

As always, any pictures of Baby Bateman 2.0 will be collected here.

22 Week Belly

Posted on July 11, 2010 by simzgirl

Ready for your weekly dose of belly? Ready or not, here is the 22 week belly shot.

I feel as big as a house. Can you believe I have only gained one pound? I’m HUGE. It is just one solid baby bump. With as active as this little girl is, it will only be a matter of time before other people can feel her kicks and flips. I’ll give her this, she is one fierce little girl.

As always, any pictures of Baby Bateman 2.0 will be collected here.

The Enchanted Forest

Posted on July 10, 2010 by simzgirl

This morning Sim, Ana, and I loaded up in the car and drove south of Salem to the Enchanted Forest. We met some of our friends who drove up from Bend and we all had a great time as we walked through the Storybook Lane, rode on some fun rides, and even watched “Hansel and Gretel” at the comedy theater.

You can see all the pictures from our fun day here.

Doctor’s Appointment Report

Posted on July 9, 2010 by simzgirl

I had my 22 week (rounding up again, since I will be 22 weeks on Sunday) doctor’s appointment this morning and have this to report back:

Weight: down 6 lb since last month (1 lb total gain)
Blood Pressure: 112/78
Baby’s Heartbeat: Normal, in the 160s

Today’s appointment was primarily to review the ultrasound I had on Tuesday. Everything looked great: good placenta placement, no shortening of the cervix, baby’s anatomy looks great and everything appears to be developing right on schedule. There were a couple things they couldn’t see on the ultrasound, so the doctor I saw today (not my doctor because she was on vacation this week) scheduled a follow-up ultrasound in four weeks (August 6th). I went through the same thing with Ana (those stubborn daughters of mine!) but I don’t mind getting another peak at my growing baby!

When it was time to ask questions, I brought up the topic of the glucose test. Not because I want to have it, but I was under the impression that since I had gestational diabetes before that I would be tested for GD earlier in this pregnancy. Since the test is normally done between 24-28 weeks, and I am already practically 22 weeks, that “earlier” window is pretty much, well, NOW. I mentioned that I have been trying to eat according to my pregnancy diet, but with all the morning sickness I had, there were some days when I was lucky to keep anything down, let alone be picky about my carb intake. But I have been trying to check my blood sugar from time to time (it’s something I do even when I’m not pregnant, since I am now at a higher risk for Type II diabetes) and everything has been normal. She said that I have been doing everything I am suppose to, and so she wasn’t worried, but still gave me the option of taking the test immediately. Since I was in NO rush to torture myself today, we set the appointment for July 29th. They also prefer that I fast for 2-3 hours before the test, so she was fine scheduling the glucose test for a later date.

Then when I finished up scheduling the ultrasound and my glucose test, the nice lady offered to set up my appointments for the REST OF MY PREGNANCY. It’s so bizarre to think how quickly all this is happening. Before you know it, I will have TWO daughters. Can you believe it??

Sand, Sparklers, S’mores, & Snuggles

Posted on July 5, 2010 by simzgirl

We went to Seaside for the 4th of July festivities this year. We enjoyed the small town parade, hung out with our families and spent the time leading up to the fireworks camped out on the beach. The kiddos (we went with our friends, the Whislers, so Ana was able to play with “her boyfriends” Ayden and Owen) played in the sand for hours on end. We roasted marshmallows, enjoyed some s’mores and hung out until the fireworks lit up the sky. It was a great holiday!