Feeling Fluttering in My Belly - Month 4

15 weeks Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light....

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Feeling Good - Month 4

week 15 Sooooooo....I totally forgot to set my alarm last night after playing volleyball, then coming home and catching up on Amazing Race and Castle. Oops. I flew out of bed the minute Karl's alarm went off - an hour later than mine usually goes off. Any other week, and I wouldn't have been able to move as fast as I did. But I'm baaack. I'm feeling really good, though very tired. I'm going to try hitting up the gym this week...

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Doing too Much - Lesson Learned: Month 4

week 14 Welcome to the second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him -- a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From...

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Hearing the Heartbeat - Month 4

13 weeks Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head -- which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed and your odds of miscarriage drop considerably....

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Asparagus Bow-Tie Pasta

Thank you Kraft! Asparagus Bow-Tie Pasta serves 4 (recipe found on Kraft Foods.com) 2 cups farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked. I used whatever was leftover in our cupboard. 1 lb. fresh asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1-inch lengths 1/2 cup halved orange pepper strips 1/4 cup julienne-cut oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, undrained 1/2 cup chicken broth 2 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano 1 cup 2% Mike Shredded Italian...

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Greek-Style Quesadillas

Bringing us back to Greece! Greek-Style Quesadillas serves 4 (recipe found in Better Homes and Garden online) 4 - 7 to 8 inch whole wheat flour tortillas 1 cup coarsely shredded purchased roasted chicken 1/2 feta cheese 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion 1/4 cup chopped cucumber 1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise 1/4 cup kalamata olives, halved 2 tablespoons whole flat leaf (Italian) parsley leaves 1 tablespoon whole fresh oregano leaves 1/4...

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Easy Lasagna

Easy Lasagna serves 12 (recipe given to me by an old boss at Braun Intertec) 1 lb ground beef 1 8 oz container ricotta cheese 1 8 oz container cottage cheese handful of fresh spinach carton of mushrooms 1 16 oz jar spaghetti sauce 1 6 oz jar tomato sauce fresh basil 9 lasagna noodles 1 lb mozzarella cheese Parmesan cheese (grated) 1. Brown mean, drain off excess fat. 2. Add ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, tomato sauce and...

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The Good News is Out - Month 3

week 12 The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be...

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Telling Friends and Family - Month 3

Sharing the Good News This is the best part!!! Now I see why people want to share the news right away! It's so hard to keep it in. And I think for those who do, that's awesome because you have tons of people cheering for you, ready to pray and catch you if anything should happen along the way. It's so much fun to see people's reactions. Every one's is different, of course, but I can't help and smile when people share such kind words with us!! We gave the blessing to our parents that they could share the news with their friends and family...

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Telling My Grandparents and Visiting Parents - Month 3

written Sunday, September 18, 2011 week 9 This week I've been feeling really great. Finally! I'm not sure if it's because I was able to see the ultrasound on Monday and actually see that there was indeed a baby growing inside me and hear from the doctor that it was natural to feel the way I've been feeling, or what? But I really do feel like myself again. Thank you God!!! I was getting pretty worried there. Wednesday night Karl and...

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For the Love of the Game - Month 3

written September 27, 2011 week 11 Why I need Volleyball in my Life Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden. She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements...

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Telling Work: Month 3

written October 1, 2011 11 weeks What will work say? I'm not sure what my work is going to think when I tell them the news. My thought is they'll be happy for me. But you never know. I'm scared, which I think is normal. The thing is there aren't many females at my place of employment who can have babies anymore. Plus, I haven't fully accepted the fact that I am preg. It just seems so surreal to me. So it's hard for me to blurt it out. Twelve weeks is sort of the safe zone. So with that said, I felt these past few months I needed...

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