Busy Bee Bumbling and Buzzing

This has been a busy week. Starting off with a 10 hour work day on Monday. Then on Tuesday my Jury Duty lead me to be picked for a panel of jurors in a traffic violation case for someone contesting a speeding ticket. It was over fairly quickly (2-3 hours), and was actually pretty interesting to be a part of (even for such a "boring" simple case). We had to unanimously decide if she were guilty or not (she was guilty as per the evidence and laser speed reading), and then we got to unanimously decide how much her fine would be from $0-200. We all agreed $100 was fair. It was actually a welcome change of pace from my usual 8-6, so I'm glad I could be of service. And now I'm free for the next 2 years from being summoned again! (possibly longer since I will have the exemption of looking after Jocelyn).

I also had my first strong pregnancy craving, with a one-track mind, focused on attaining and eating my mom's cream of broccoli soup (veganized of course). I  emailed her for the recipe, and swapped her half and half for coconut milk, and butter for earth balance, and it came out awesome! Though a bit rich, for me and for Jason, so I might cut the coconut milk with some more veggie broth next time. I had also mashed up some potatoes to add to the creamy texture (like I do in all my "creamy" soups), but maybe next time I'll skip that as well, as it was plenty thick. YUM! So delicious.

Leading up to my centering appointment today! It was in the NEW space at the birth center, where YES! the Yoga will start up again this weekend, and I'm so excited to have north weekend yoga to go to, as the south classes I liked, but it was a 30-40 minute drive each way, taking over an hour out of my mornings just to get there (worth it, but also a pain). I also miss Cat! And now we'll be inside with AC, which rules! At centering, Jason joined (yay Papa!), and I did my glucose test. This is where I had to drink a bottle of sugar water that tasted like flat orange soda, and then get my blood drawn. I will find out if I have gestational diabetes, and also my blood will be paneled to see if I'm anemic/how my nutrition levels (iron etc) are - which is awesome since I've had some blind spots. I told my midwife about them, and she said that every women will experience some dip in iron/etc and this blood test (with the glucose) is to find out when that is, and to advise on what to do if necessary. So that's awesome too, she's totally not worried about that and says its not totally uncommon. Just be mindful of it, and we'll know more after my blood work comes back, but not to worry.

Also the bloody nose thing is totally common, since there is so much more blood and  fluid in my body right now, it can definitely happen. Also my blood pressure is awesome (as usual, thanks for giving me those genes mom!), and my weight is also right on  track, though I have already gained almost 30lbs! My midwife said that she might be concerned if I weren't vegan, but since I am eating such a wholesome, whole-foods, junk-food free diet, its my body's way of metabolizing and doing what I need to do for my baby. I'm just happy my face, hands, feet, arms and legs are all still skinny. HUGE belly though, and still a ways more to go!  She said with my starting weight being what it was, I still have a lot of room to continue to gain and grow, which is good to hear, but honestly I'm not worried about it at all. Considering I will lose 20 lbs at delivery (baby, water bag,  fluids etc), then with breast-feeding etc, I'm pretty confident that my body will bounce back pretty easily. Especially with how active I am and will be, and again, like she says my diet. But regardless, I'm not that worried about any of that, since I just feel so great right now, and have always been really good at knowing and taking care of my body and being aware what my body tells me. Speaking of, so excited for Yoga! is it the weekend yet?

Today's session covered some of what last week's would have - in regards to our changing bodies and the discomforts that go with it all (leg cramps, dizziness,  peeing a lot, stomach pains, etc), and also the stages of labor. The "good"! stuff! I'm so happy Jason was there with me, and even  though I took excellent notes (since one of the ladies was out today and I volunteered to for her), I'm sure I'll forget a lot of things once I go into labor. What stuck with  me the most from today, was that we passed around a board that had the measurements of dilation from 1cm to 10cm,  and seeing that circle with a 10cm dilation was like, "WOW! My body can DO that!" I think that visual will come in handy to remember and meditate on while I go into transition once labor gets going.

Jason also said that he's requested all the other centering dates off from work, so fingers crossed he can join the rest! He said he'll be there, so unless a server goes down in Dallas or something, he'll be there! Love you papa. Next session I'm on snack duty, so I'll probably bring fruit, or maybe make some vegan muffins or something. So excited for the next session, and this time I only have to wait 2 weeks, now that our meetings are every other Thursday. So excited. Getting closer and closer to  holdies! Can't wait, omg. BABIES! And the baby shower in a couple weeks as well, our visitors, our friends, this month has a lot of excitement, and I'm appreciating all of it as much as possible. So thankful for all the love, care, support, and comforts that I have available to me during this special time. So grateful. And on that note, a few more from pregnant husband:

My 9-month pregnant wife trying to get off the couch.

She’s like:

When we’re out and someone’s annoying my pregnant wife with unhelpful parenting advice.

I’m like:

When my pregnant wife and I update our Facebook profile photos with pictures from our maternity shoot and she gets more likes than me.

Every time she looks at me, she’s like:

When my pregnant wife looks at pictures of her baby belly from the first and second trimesters, and compares them to her 38-week belly.

She’s like: