Ultrasound results, 3rd trimester!!!

So, last Friday we reached the 3rd trimester!  I am now 28 weeks and a few days pregnant.  I'm generally doing well, but last Monday I started to have quite a bit of pain in my belly which added to the lovely pain I already had in my back.  I went to see my OB and all was okay; diagnosis was "growing pains" worsened by all the adhesions (inner scar tissue) from my previous abdominal surgeries.  I had already scheduled an ultrasound for last Wednesday because my OB wants to be extra cautious that Sprout is growing okay given my history of Crohn's and bowel surgeries.  Well, we found out a couple things that day.  The concern that Sprout might not be getting enough nutrition seems to be completely unfounded- she was measuring in the 80th percentile for growth and estimated at a hefty 2lbs 11oz already!  If my Uncle Mark and Aunt Anne are reading this, you'll know what I mean when I say this appears to be a "big baby!" ;)  I was 6lbs 6oz at birth and Andy was 10lbs...  I've been hoping for a baby closer for my size than Andy's for obvious reasons.  These things are notoriously inaccurate so we'll see, but at very least she seems to be getting enough of what she needs!  Kinda makes me appreciate the GI system I have left! :) 

We also learned that Sprouty was hanging out in a "transverse" position, meaning her head was in my right side as she was lying horizontally across my body.  Together with her large size, this likely explained the pain I was having.  The pain persisted until Thursday when I saw my acupuncturist and then had dinner with our friend Carrie who conveniently is a midwife.  She showed us some exercises to help loosen me up so that our dear Sprout might move into a position more conducive both to (eventually) giving birth and to less pain for me.  It's a win-win!  Well, I'll be darned if I didn't start feeling better the next day!  Thank you Dr. Tsay and Carrie for making me mobile again!

I didn't get any good pictures from this ultrasound because Sprout wouldn't get her hands and feet out of her face, but I've included some great pics we got from the ultrasound last month.  Hope you enjoy them as much as we did (well, probably not THAT much, but nonetheless... :)).

Sucking her thumb!

A nice view of her hand...

...And her foot!

Belated birthday post

Last Saturday we met the peeps for our annual apple picking trip.  Usually it's not hard to come by apples this time of year, but this year because of our unseasonably warm spring it was somewhat difficult to find an orchard with ample apples left on the trees.  Fortunately, our tried and true choice- Honeypot Hill Orchards- came through and had plenty of apples ripe for the pickin'.  While there we partook in all the various culinary delights.  The white paper bags of hot, freshly fried and sugared cider donuts were incredible- Sprout and I each had a donut and a half ;).  Andy and I picked up a pumpkin pie that was so fresh that the center hadn't fully set yet!  We're still enjoying that pie almost a week later!  Several folks enjoyed some hot mulled apple cider.

 It was a perfect day for picking- cool, but not too cold, bright blue skies and a few puffy clouds...

Rowan peacefully enjoyed the picking from the safety of his carrier, all the while amusing his parents.  Such a good wee one!

Andy, Rodney and Will (not pictured) served as (strong and handsome) pack mules for the day.  Thank you, dear...

YSN girls in action!  We actually bumped into another YSN chick- our old peep Allison- through the wonders of technology when she "checked in" at Honeypot Hill on Facebook as Jen and Rodney arrived.  Small world!

Afterwards, we had worked up a nice appetite and met Andrea and Espen at Chilli Garden in Medford for a birthday dinner.  Delicious Chinese tastiness was enjoyed by all.

It was a terrific birthday weekend, and one where I just felt really grateful to be where I am in life with a bunch of great family and peeps near and far!  As Andy wrote in my birthday card, what a drastic difference from 365 days earlier...  Amazing how life can change!  I am 27 weeks pregnant today and continuing to do well and as I say, just grateful to be here.

Bringing domesticity back to this blog: Roasted chicken and popping out

Ever since Fall began I've been craving comfort foods.  Fortunately, since my iron infusions kicked in I've had a little more energy to cook these meals since it's tough to find good, homey take out meals (hmmm... Jen and Carrie- maybe there's another business idea? ;)).  Over the past couple weeks I've enjoyed pot roast made by Carrie and made meatballs and sauce a la Mere, savory beef stew and a couple of roasted chickens.  Since chicken is on sale this month at Whole Foods, I went for chicken again with a nice, hefty five-pounder to roast up with some root veggies obtained at the Brookline Farmer's Market.  When all was nicely browned, tender and safely cooked through, I removed the chicken and veggies from the pan, added a little flour as a thickening agent followed by some chicken broth, apple cider and mead along with fresh thyme and bay leaves (don't worry- I boiled as much of the alcohol out of the mead as possible!).  What resulted was a tasty, rich brown au jus that Andy and I smothered over the chicken, squash, potatoes, carrots and onions.  She was one hell of a bird and we enjoyed every bite!  We didn't get a pic of the finished plate, but here's one Andy took of me taking the bird out of the oven:

Again, if you could ignore the double chin as well as the messy kitchen and apron that would be greatly appreciated ;).

Since I feel like I've popped out a good deal more this week, here's a pic that shows the belly at 25 weeks and 5 days (I'm feeling a little uncomfortable posting all these photos of myself, but I guess what you're really looking at is Sprout?):

In this one, if you could try to ignore the fact that I'm wearing the same socks that I was in last week's photo, that would be great too...  Thanks so much in advance.

Turning over a new leaf...

So, I abandoned this blog two years ago.  It wasn't really a conscious decision, but there were some difficult times in there that I guess didn't put me in the bloggiest mood.  However, much has changed since then and I'd like to use this blog to update anyone who cares to be updated on the forthcoming changes in our family!   I'm 24 weeks and 5 days (yes, still counting the days! :)) pregnant!  Our little girl has started kicking (at times quite hard!) more consistently over the past few days.  Today I had a little fun watching my stomach as it bounced up and down around her kicks/punches/dolphin flips (who knows what she's doing in there?!).  Andy has only been able to feel her once as she seems to stop flipping around pretty much as soon as he puts his hand on my belly, but I have a feeling he'll be feeling her quite a bit more in the near future.   I've been not-so-patiently waiting for my belly to grow and it's recently started to.  A few strangers have recognized me as pregnant; the key one was the TSA agent who mercifully allowed me to step out of the huge security line at Logan airport a few week ago- so appreciated!  Needless to say, Andy, Zu and I couldn't be more thrilled to be where we are today!  Here's a recent picture taken at 24 weeks even (please excuse the double chin... ;)):