A Festive Time Of Year

22 Weeks, 3 Days

Lobster Pot Pie at Wit & Wisdom

December is by far the most festive time of year for me. No, it's not just because of the holidays. It's my birthday, too! I turned the big 2-9 on Saturday. Vicente and I celebrated by doing what I do best these days: eating. A lot. We went to one of my favorite casual spots, Papermoon Diner, with our pal Jess for lunch, then dined at super fancy Wit & Wisdom at the Four Seasons for dinner. So delicious. I'm sure I gained at least two pounds over the course of the weekend. I never order lobster, but since my more-than-generous mommy said our dinner was on her, I decided to splurge for my birthday on the "deconstructed lobster pot pie." I hate sharing food pictures, but check this puppy out. Impressive, no?

Speaking of calorie-loading, I just had my monthly doctor's appointment this morning. According to the office scale, I gained 8.5 pounds since my last visit four weeks ago. HOLY MOTHER! I was not expecting that. But, given the fact that I'm pregnant during the holidays, I give myself a free pass this time. My doctor actually laughed and said it's totally fine that I gained so much, but I should probably stick to the pound-a-week plan until my due date. She says she expects me to gain 15 or so more pounds total this pregnancy, which still puts me within "normal" range. But still. Seeing the numbers jump that much in just four weeks is a bit shocking.

On the plus side, all is good in Baby Vince's world. My uterus is measuring where it should; the top of it is just a couple fingers-width above my belly button. We heard his heartbeat loud and clear via the Doppler  The heart rate was at a steady 140 bpm. I'll never tire of hearing that glorious sound. I also got the results from my spina bifida screening and it was perfectly normal (I have a less than 1 in 5,000 chance of having a baby with spina bifida.) That's always a relief. My doctor also said Baby V is measuring around a pound at this point, and by my next appointment, he'll double in size!  I asked if I'd be having another ultrasound and my doc said that she typically doesn't order another one unless they suspect something is wrong. She said that they saw everything they needed/wanted to see at my anatomical survey ultrasound at 18 weeks, so she likely won't order another U/S unless I have any complications. I was slightly disappointed because I love seeing our little one moving around in there. I'm tempted to go to one of those ultrasound clinics and pay out of pocket to get some more shots of the baby before he's born. My next doc appointment is in mid-January, and I'll have to do the diabetes testing on that visit. Apparently I'll have to chug a glass of glucose and sit around for an hour until they can draw my blood. Sounds disgusting.

Here are some pics from my birthday weekend. Enjoy!

Wearing my new maternity top thanks to my sweet mother-in-law!

Dressed to impress for my office Christmas party

Birthday lunch at Papermoon Diner with my hubby

Five Guys Fan

21 Weeks


According to my plethora of pregnancy iPhone apps, Baby V is now 3/4 of a pound and has graduated from the size of a regular banana to a LARGE banana. Ha! I also read that he can taste what I eat from the amniotic fluid at this point. Vicente asked me h the hell the medical community could prove such a thing, which I thought was a damn good question. It's not like they can ask the baby about it... Although, Vicente and I had lunch together at Five Guys today and as I was wolfing down my bucket of fries, Baby V was kicking like crazy. That's the only evidence I have that he can taste what I'm eating. The boy must love french fries as much as his mama.

I don't really have any profound updates today. I'm still pregnant. Still tired. My belly and boobs are still getting bigger (WILL THEY EVER STOP?!?!)

I got a fun gift for the nursery delivered at my office yesterday. Ariel knew that I was decorating the nursery with baby circus animals, so she bought an adorable lion chair on Amazon. I absolutely love it! Check out these pics. The one of Madison sniffing it in the baby's room makes me laugh. Such a curious beagle.

Feed Me

20 Weeks, 4 Days

People seem to think that pregnancy has given me the the right to eat whatever my little heart desires. I mean, I am eating for two, right? WRONG! It's a pretty cruel joke actually. Pregnancy makes you crave the worst kinds of foods while simultaneously giving you the ability to stomach a boat load of groceries, but it does NOT give you a free pass to eat twice as much without getting a huge ass. According to all the literature I've read, pregnant women only need 300 more calories per day than the average woman. That's the equivalent of a bowl of oatmeal or a slice of whole grain bread with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Simply put, it's not that much, ya'll.

I'm trying my hardest to avoid stuffing my face on every whim, but these damn cravings make it difficult. I once asked my mom what she enjoyed eating while pregnant and her response made me laugh. The woman hates ice cream, yet while pregnant, she craved Wendy's Frostys; except she would add sliced peaches on top. Props to mom for originality.

Due to my terrible short-term memory, I figured it would be a good idea to blog about everything I've been craving and eating more of now that I'm preggars. Just ask my best friend, Ariel. She and I chat every day and I'd say 75% of what we talk about is the food we wish we were eating. You'd think she and I were 200+ pounds just from reading our g-chat convos. (Disclaimer: Ariel is not pregnant. She just likes to eat. Even though she's a twig.)

My Pregnancy Cravings To Date:

Guess what I'm eating as I type this post?

• Mac & Cheese: I eat at least three servings per week. Mainly from Corner Bakery and Panera. Although I do have an amazing recipe that I make at home from the Pioneer Woman, aka: Ree Drummond.
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Chocolate Cream Pie: Before pregnancy, I don't think I had ever eaten a slice of this classic diner food. But lately, it's all I want to eat just before bed. I made my own pie from scratch this past weekend from this recipe.
• Chocolate-covered Pretzels: Fleet Street Market, an adorable local grocer just blocks from our house, sells the BEST pretzels in bulk.
• Girl Scout Cookies (Samoas only)
• Ice Cream "Smushes": This is my own creation. I put two scoops of vanilla ice cream in a glass cup and pour milk and chocolate syrup on top and smush it with a spoon. Mmmm, soupy ice cream goodness.
• Oatmeal: This is probably the only healthy thing I crave. I love to make my own Swiss Oatmeal. This recipe is to die for.
• Vodka: Please note, this is a CRAVING, not something I indulge in. I went from a two-Vodka-a-day diet to nada as soon as I found out I was pregnant. However, I've never wanted vodka more than I do right now. No seriously. Right this second: 1:23 pm on a Tuesday. A co-worker of mine gave me a very appropriate card to congratulate me on my baby news and I loved the message so much that I pinned the card on my bulletin board at work: "Expectant Mom Thrilled About Pregnancy, Bummed About No Alcohol for Nine Months." So true. So true.

Big Banana

20 Weeks, 3 Days

I can't believe I've made it to the halfway point in my pregnancy! When I look back, time has flown by. I've been blessed to have a relatively symptom-free pregnancy thus far and hope that the rest of the way is smooth sailing. Now that I'm on the downhill stretch, it's time to start preparing for little Vince's arrival.

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids

My mom and sister are currently planning my first baby shower in Houston for all the Childres/Howard/Valero women and close family friends in January. My friend Jess is hosting another shower in February for my Baltimore gal pals. With my birthday and Christmas looming on the horizon, not to mention all these baby parties, I started building my registries at Babies R Us and Pottery Barn Kids. (Vicente's dad already bought our crib! Woohoo!) Registering is so much fun. It's surprisingly more fun than registering for wedding presents, although I had a difficult time deciding on the nursery theme. There are way more attractive options to decorate girl nurseries than boy nurseries. I want little Vince's room to look "baby" without being too grown up. There's plenty of time for the big boy stuff later. Because I despise sport/car/boat themes and didn't want his nursery to be over-the-top blue, I decided on an adorable baby circus theme. Who doesn't love baby animals? Here's a pic of the room I want to replicate, but I might do red curtains rather than beige. I'll accessorize the room with little elephants, lions, giraffes and hippos, too. To quote the movie, Despicable Me: "IT'S SO FLUFFY I COULD DIE!"

I read somewhere that Baby V is the size of a banana at 20 weeks. I totally believe it! I feel him move all the time now. He kicks and punches constantly - more so after I eat. He also likes to curl up into a tiny ball really low in my abdomen and off to one side after I eat large meals. It's probably because my stomach takes up a lot of room and he has to move aside to accommodate my full belly. It feels so strange. Almost like a tightening sensation with some pressure. It's not the most comfortable feeling in the world, but I love feeling my baby move. If anything, its just reassuring to know he's alive and on the move.

I've been uploading baby bump pics to Instagram to track my progress. I posted a pic of my belly at 20 weeks last night and compared it alongside the photo of myself at 15 weeks. The difference is pretty astounding. I can't even begin to imagine how huge I'm going to get. Check it out:

15 Weeks

20 Weeks