....dhupp dhupp dhupp dhupp dhupp....

Week 17+:
I called my Family practioner(I had the option of choosing a Nurse Midwife over a MD) regarding the uneasiness I had been experiencing since a couple of days...

I was at a mall & suddenly there was an(inverted) 'T' shaped pain in my lower belly, starting straight down my navel to the where my belly ended. I applied some pressure & stood for a minute or two to ease the pain. As I started walking , it was back. I felt like my body was sending me signals to stop right there & drive back home. & thats what I exactly did...

UPDATED:A couple of days later, at night, my tummy suddenly turned into this hard heavy ball...for almost 4-6 hrs. I thought gases, but I wasnt gaseous... Oouch....I just read about Braxton Hicks contractions...I hope not, coz per the article, these come or are more noticable after week 20.... Its time I investigate more...

Also, I noticed my navel had opened up...its stretched out...all that stretching doesn feel good... it looks like a clean tunnel...:)

So I called the Doc, just to be sure that everything was OK with me & Tweetu before I board the plane to our 'final-frontier' vacation...

Doc asked me to visit her@ the clinic; said she would measure me(something that nobody had done so far, during all my pre-natal visits; not for me, not for Tweetu although they should have...donno why...) & check Tweetu too.

The discomfort that I am experiencing is called the 'round ligament' pain, a normal symptom of the advancing pregnancy. The Uterus starts to grow at rapid rate & puts pressure on the round (belly)ligaments. The inverted 'T' pain is a common one....some may get it on one side or the other or sometimes very close to the chest cavity. It can range from mild to severe...Tylenol comes handy....

Doc had a tape & she measured my fundal height (the distance from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus; to assess your baby's size, growth rate, and position. As a rule of thumb, your fundal height (in centimeters) should roughly equal the number of weeks you're pregnant. For example, at 20 weeks, your fundal height should be about 18 to 22 centimeters. )....I am right on, 17"@17 weeks! Phew...!

Then came in the Doppler...
My God! Tweetu was being very naughty!
As soon as the probe was placed on my belly, Tweetu did an 'escaping' act if you will! We heard a strong heartbeat, maybe just for a fraction of a second when Tweetu started playing hide-n-seek with us!
The Doc took around 8-9 minutes to locate Tweetu...& all the while, we heard my heartbeats, gastric noises, Tweetu's kicks, the whole enchilada but not the heartbeats...
& then slowly & skilfully, the probe was over Tweetu...dhupp dhupp dhupp dhupp...almost like a fast paced steam engine...150/min...
I was so happy & so was the Doc...
Tweetu was hiding somewhere between the lower right side of my belly, way down, from where we had caught 'him' initially!
Yes, the Doc said, 'boys' had always given her tough time!
Hmm...'him'? Maybe....! We just cant be sure as yet, can we?

Pulse...

Week 17 already! I have been feeling a little different around my lower belly, esp. while sleeping, when I try to turn on either of my side...When I turned on my right side today, I felt a 'load' shift in my tummy!
Tweety-Pie has been kicking for sometime now...no specific time or reason....kicks are more evident when I am lying on my back. It feels like a small-bubble-burst. & its different than gas! Gases burst more in the upper half of the tummy, these are way down :)
& yes, I can feel my pulse travelling throug my body. If I apply even a slight pressure like place one hand over the other or do something similar, I feel a strong pulse. This may be due to increased blood volume.
I have exprienced pressure built up, esp. in my right year. Its hard to get if off, best is to neglect it & it goes away.
I have been feeling a little uneasy lately...I get tired in a fraction of a sec. Isnt it the 2nd tri when a PG lady gets back all her energy?
I have been visiting the loo more often now....almost every 40 mins.....something that I was supposed to do during my 1st tri! Then again, I am thristy all the time!
My only food aversion has been Eggs. I have controlled my diet...have put on (only) .5 lbs since I last met my OB.

Alpha-Fetoprotein Screening

Week 16+:
AFP screening was a breeze compared to the time it took me, to get it done.
But I was assuming that it was going to be a big challenge for the Nurse, whose intention was to just collect few mls of my precious blood.
I am a healthy looking gal & drawing blood at any instance should be easy for me, right?
Its not!
You see, in the past, everytime I have gone to draw blood, I have emerged out of the lab - all poked, punctured, tied-up & restrained. Bandages here, bandages there.
At the end of such sessions, I am all bruised & so is the Nurses ego!
My capillaries just shrink or something at the mere sight of the needle.... Its a tough job and I have innumerably been at the receiving end of the 'raised brow' look & all the huffs-&-puffs!
Anyways, yesterday, all it took was a couple of tapping & the blood came out! My capillaries have never been so obidient!The Nurse saved me & herself too!

Later, I went for Maternity clothes shopping at a nearby Target. Can you believe this, there was just a single row of the most boring, icky looking Mnt clothes....! This particular store doesnt stock up on Mnt clothes...or is a Target tradition? I will check Sears, Macy's. Walmart is a last resort. I should be done shopping by this w/e coz 3rd August, when we leave for Alasaka, is hardly days away & I have no outerwear expect my Gauchos.

Check this out, its real crazy! I dont know, but I see both green & pink dots, one above the other!
Follow these instructions: If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, you will only see one color, pink. If you stare at the black + in the center, the moving dot turns to green. Now, concentrate on the black + in the center of the picture. After a short period of time, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see a green dot rotating if you're lucky! It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, & the pink ones really don't disappear. This should be proof enough, we don't always see what we think we see.

Tweety Pie's Room Decoration Ideas...

I have not yet decided on Tweetu's room decor, let alone decorating our bedroom corner(where Tweetu's crib will be until we graduate our chweety-pie to sleep in his/her room).
I am thinking of a more pastel/neutral wall color(I am leaning towards lavender) like greens & yellows as we are not 'pink' girl , 'blue' boy people...
The theme? I am already stuck there...!
From the above pics, the first is my favourite, both in terms of the wall color & the furniture. Its neat & clean...colorful wall paper border, wall hangings etc will add some pizzaz & I hope this is how Tweetu's room will look like when its ready!
But when.....? There is so much to do...like finding the right furniture - crib(safety & styling features), bedding(dos & donts), changing table(do we need one?), dressers(how many?), glider...& I am a sorta perfectionist...the picky, choosy kind...I take my own sweet time...I like everything co-ordinated & that is what TD dislikes coz I take tons of time to buy a single item...!
Candice, I need your help!

& the shopping list that I was talking about, doesnt include items that I will need for myself...! Thats a whole different list....!

My Week 16 Pictures

Shopping List

Heres a list of items we will need for the first few months!

Here is the original list from the website.

Clothing:
Soft, comfortable clothing with no irritating tags or seams;babies outgrow newborn sizes quickly, so buy big — at least three months ahead.

--One-piece outfits/onesies (4-7)
--One-piece pajamas or nightgowns (4-7)
--Cotton shirts (4-7)
--Sweater or jacket (1)
--Socks and booties (4-7)
--Cap or bonnet (1-3)
--Bibs (4)
--Receiving blankets (4)

Diapers!!
Supposedly 10 to 12 diapers are needed each day during the first few weeks! I plan to use disposables, it is recommend buying at least three large packs (about 150 diapers).

Bottles and nipples:

Crib: Recommended - firm mattress, a couple of sheets, and blankets.

Plastic bathtub:

Getting around:
--Sling: Such carriers actually promote bonding & are better in terms of mobility. Later, when Tweetu begins to sit up, at around 5 or 6 months, we can graduate Tweetu to a baby backpack.
--Reclining stroller: as babies shouldn't be propped upright until they're about 3 months old or until they've developed strong neck muscles.
--Car seat: The law requires that Tweetu sits in a car seat while riding in any car — even on the way home from the hospital.
For a newborn: an infant seat designed to be used until your baby weighs 20 pounds, or a convertible seat, designed to be used by both babies and older children (though not at the same time).

So much shopping to do & we havent started yet...

MG, this heat is killing me...its going to be bad over the w/e ...triple digit heat...am really looking forward to our Alaskan vacation...

India blocks blogs...

Read here:
--Rediff News
--Boing Boing
--Blogspot Entry

Yummy Week 16!

Made this Tarla Dalal's Double-Decker Paratha! Yummo!
Arrgh....the pics wont load...

It is a layered paratha with carrots & peas filling! Real healthy & tasty! Thanks Tarla for yet another mouth watering healthy paratha!Try it out, its simple to make:
Cooking Time : 30 min.Preparation Time : 20 min. Makes 7 parathas.
For the dough:
4 teacups wheat flour (gehun ka atta) ; 2 tablespoons oil; 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the carrot stuffing:
1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 3 carrots, grated ;2 green chillies, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon lemon juice;1 tablespoon ghee; salt to taste
For the green peas stuffing:
2 teacups green peas, boiled and mashed ;1 teaspoon cumin seeds;2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped coriander;1 tablespoon ghee;salt
Other ingredients:
ghee for cooking
For the dough:
1. Mix the flour, ghee and salt. Add a little warm water to make a soft dough.
2.Knead the dough very well for a few minutes. Leave aside for 1 1/2 hours.
For the carrot stuffing:
1.Heat the ghee and fry the cumin seeds until they crackle.
2.Add the carrots, chillies, lemon juice and salt and mix well.
3.Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
For the green peas stuffing:
1.Heat the ghee and fry the cumin seeds until they crackle.
2.Add the green chillies, coriander and salt and cook for 1 minute.
3.Add the green peas and cook for 1 minute.
How to proceed:
1.Divide the dough into 21 balls and roll each ball into thin rounds of equal size.
2.Cook 7 rounds lightly on a tava (griddle).
3.On one uncooked round, spread 1 tablespoon of the carrot stuffing and cover with a cooked round. Then spread 1 tablespoon of the green peas stuffing, put another uncooked round on the top and press firmly to seal the edges.
4.Cook the double decker parathas on a tava (griddle) on both sides with the help of a little ghee.
5.Serve hot!

Also made Capsicum/bell pepper-cups...my Mom's recipe rocks! They are also called stuffed Capsicums. I will post a pic & the recipe soon...right now, I am hogging the capsicum cups!

Update: Ok, heres the recipe.
Cooking Time : 20 min.Preparation Time : 30 min. Makes 8 cups.
Ingredients:
1.8 regular sized green bell peppers, cut into halves, cleaned inside, boiled for a couple of minutes with some salt.
2.3-4 regular sized white potatoes, deskinned, boiled & mashed.
3.Green chillies,
4.Small onion, cut into pieces,
5.Ginger/Garlic,
6.Chat masala,
7.Cumin seeds,
8.Salt to taste, 2 tbps oil, pref-Olive.
Method:
1.Add 1.5 tbps of oil in pan & crackle the cumin seeds.
2.Make ginger,garlic & green chilly paste and add this to the oil. Fry for a minute.
3.Add onion & fry for another 2 minutes.
4.Add this mixture to mashed potatos & add rest of the ingredients except cheese.
5. I added some raisins & kasuri methi for flavour.
6.Fill the capsicum halves with this potato mixture & shallow fry for 5 mins, until they develop a golden brown crust by turning each of their sides. You can also add bread-crumbs to make them crispy.
7.Once done, sprinkle cheese on top & serve hot.

Reflections Of Ones Parents.....?

Today I made some spinach-potato curry & beet salad. I have decided to cook green veggies thrice a week.
While having lunch, I realized I didnt like the taste of the spinach curry...
Near the end of the meal, I had a couple of morsels of the curry on my plate. I was sure, it was going back to the storage container.
I looked at it, ah ...just a couple of morsels, & turned to get up when my Mom spoke......in my mind!
In her usual tone she said, 'Donach ghaass urale aahet- khaun taak' - in my mother tongue Marathi!
All it means - 'finish whats in your plate'!
& in a second, every bit of spinach was passing down, to my stomach!
I felt such a relief that I did the good thing... & realised how intrinsic she is to me!
Everything that my parents taught me, while growning up, esp in my teens, I had rebelled and gone against them...
& today, I find myself doing, thinking, believing the exact same things that they have been telling me all my life! Its like, now we are on the same 'platform'!
I do believe, that every person is unique & 'self-made' in the sense that different influences help shaping up an indivisual...our thoughts and beliefs, the way we look & understand things, are continously developing and can be different from what we have been taught by our parents.
I would say, a person is 85% him/herself with the 15% attributed to the way we have been molded by our parents.
Yet, some small incidences like this, epiphanously make us realize, how tightly binded we are, to our parents! Somewhere, I feel, we are their reflections...

Fluttering Sensations

I read a couple of articles on the 'fluttering sensations' I have been having for a while.
Turns out they are foetal movements or ‘quickening’ & that means, I felt Tweetu and here is the proof! I also could 'see' and feel my belly moving...TD is my defense!
And all this long, I had only thought of Gas, and nothing else!!
That also means, I felt Tweetu quite early on as I felt the first ones around week 14! Typically, first timers feel it after week 16+ although second timers are more sensitive and get the feeling around week 14...

Around this time, ie week 15+, Tweetu weighs between 45-60grams & is 4.5" long. During the 1st u/s that was performed on 12th July, the OB/Gyn measured Tweetu & said we are right on time...so no change to the EDD!
By now, the neck is complete, and Tweetu even has fingerprints. Tweetu's heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood a day! Tweetu has begun to move around in the amniotic fluid, which replenishes itself every three hours. And this is origin of the fluttering sensations!

Do you know that a my enlarged heart is pumping about 20% more blood than prepregnancy? And that this volume will actually increase throughout my pregnancy for an ending increased heart output of 30-50%...? Wow! Isnt that incredible?
But, it is also said that by month 8, my brain can 'shrink' as much as 10% resulting in me being a scatterbrain....oouch! I will agree that I already have had a couple of forgetfulness-clumsy-unable to concentrate mental lapses...I had neglected/overlooked them thinking its just me & they had nothing to do with my pregnancy! Now, I can blame it on.....:)) Good news is, they're only temporary! Thank God!

I am really showing and I feel awkward when I find people, esp Men, staring first at me and then my tummy...I have checked myself on a couple of occasions and have asked TD if I looked odd! Tried my first maternity cotton Dungrees today at a popular maternity store. I have decided on not trying the half ones... full Dungress & dresses, thats the way to go!

We are planning to go for AFP testing, perfomed between week 16-18, as suggested by my OB.

My 14 Week Old 'Monkey'!!

Wow! We saw Tweetu & here is the first u/s picture! & yes, Tweetu saw us too :))
I mean, as the OB/Gyn moved the probe, Tweetu changed positions, waved twice & came face-to-face with the probe & smiled!! Yes, Tweetu smiled....giving us the best u/s photos! I will post the best one tomorrow! Photo generation ha... Isnt s/he cute?

& what do I mean by 'Monkey'? Well, Tweetu currently resembles a lot like a Monkey :))
S/he is so cute, with big eyes, round face- just like me & a blunt nose - like TD! & becoz the features have yet to develop, Tweetu looked like a Monkey to me, like a small skull :)) funny!

The OB has advised me to stay away from simple carbs & sweets - thats all! My "slight" weight gain is the result of me not turning to my scale(u know what I mean if u have been reading my blog!)...From the onset of week 12, I have been hungry all the time & had loads of cream cheese on white bread, Indian sweets, fried food etc. You name it, I had it.
& All the time, I knew I should be staying away from such foods...But I gave in, switched-off my control, just to satisfy myself! But I am going to go back to being myself - a total control(foodwise!!) freak! I now have the liberty of adding on only a couple of lbs until my next visit...so pray that I dont go overboard. Weighing-scale, u & me are friends!

I am now more in love with Tweetu & am eagerly waiting to see her/him...

July 11th '06 - Mumbai, India

I Offer My Deepest Condolences To Mumbaikars Who Lost Their Loved Ones In The Tragic Events On July 11th in Mumbai. I Pray & Hope That They Recover Fast...

Bhuuu huu hu

I cried..... again
Last night, we were watching '9 months' & I cried a couple of times
TD, as usual, was laughing his heart out & I was confused too! But he did try his level best to comfort me...
Why was I crying? This is strange girls coz you have no time to think, you just cry! Your mind shuts off, you are not thinking - rather you cant think(the "processor" just gives up) & all you do is cry!
I dont think this is some sign or anything like that...But I am going to ask my OB for sure. & yes, it is a comman knowledge, that PG gals sometimes do cry - for no apparant reason!
We are highly sensitive & emotional, first bcoz we are gals - c'mon; & secondly we are PG, our hormones are are going crazy...
I am going to leave it at that...

Ok! Whats with these mommies? They dont seem to remember anything about their pregnancy!
One of my girlfriends, who delivered a baby just a couple of months ago, was asking me about Tweetu's gender!
I was like, dont you know that its too early to determine the babies sex? Isnt week 20 & later the best time to know about it? OR dont you know that I am just in week 14??? Well, FYI, I said all that in my mind...
But it just annoys me! Experienced people ask me such me such dumb questions; I wonder how they went about the whole process... OR does finally having a baby, erases all the memories of those 9 months?
Funny, while typing the above question, it felt like one of those Carey Bradshaw moments - too much of S## & City on mind?
Looks like its going to be difficult for TD to make it for our 1st OB appnt this WednesdayI called the clinic to reschedule but my OB/Gyn is 'taken' until late next month! I have heard great reviews about her & that she is almost always booked....feel lucky that I got her, so I am eager to meet her...Hope TD can make it, else its gonna be me & Tweetu, all by ourselves....
Update: TD's meeting got cancelled!
Last week, I received an email from a local TV channel guys...they wanted me to host their show!
Donno how they got my info...so were in negotiations, they took my audition and all. It is a very small production, very much in its infancy stage with no promise of remuneration!
Had I said yes, my dream of appearing on the TV would have fulfilled. But, looking at all the cons & a single pro - decided to go the other way!

I am....

....showing !!
TD noticed that a couple of days ago ...

Most of my clothes dont fit me anymore! I have been wearing the same lycra pant for more than 3 days now...

I dont move as easily I used to. Every time I turn or bend, its different!

& did I tell you about the fluttering sensation in my stomach which I now have almost 70% of the time? I still have to figure out the origin...its almost like popcorns popping!

I am waiting for 12th July...I dont know if another u/s is scheduled. But if it isnt, I will ask the OB to atleast get the Dopplar. I want to hear Tweetu's heartbeats...& I have waited for a looooong time...I just want to know that Tweetu is doing good in there...thats all ...

Found out about the 4D u/s - I am excited & I want one I will schedule an appointment between 22-25th week...

Welcome to the...

...2nd Trimester!!

Wow! Tweetheart, you are really doing great!

I am growing, like you are!
Yes, my pants fit me no more! I had a tough time at a meeting, just a couple of days ago, as I had sqeezed myself into my pants & thought, I would adjust! It was so discomforting!
So bye-bye size 8 pants! Hello loose fit cotton & lycra! I just bought a one to start with!
I have been feeling this fluttering sensation in my stomach since a couple of days...hope its not gas but you! Also I feel my stomach has stretched out a bit.

I am hungry as always & usually wake up for my 3am "feeding" session, almost every night! I have a cup of warm milk with some sugar & turmeric instead of biting into some crackers etc. I love going back to sleep as I get the best sleep after having milk!

We visited a friend yesterday. I hogged on 4 Idlis
& Jumbo Butterfly shrimps!
They were awesome! Later I had a glass of wholesome Mango Lassi. Wow! It is such a good feeling when someone else cookes for you & when you are the center of attention...