How big is the baby: By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You’re gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she’ll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth. (source)
Baby’s Gender: We both think it’s a boy err or a girl err boy?
Baby’s Name: We have a name for a boy or a girl
Weight Gained: 21.5 lbs
Clothes: They are getting shorter and snugger. Thank goodness for maxi dresses!
How are you feeling: As I type this I am exhausted but otherwise feeling well.
What do you miss: I still miss running and I miss my pre-pregnancy clothes and being able to lounge around on my back.
Happy Friday Everyone! What are you doing to stay fit this week? I went to prenatal yoga and have been out for a few walks. Today I am planning on doing my first third trimester workout from Summer Sanders’ Prenatal Workout DVD.
I am finally getting around to write the review of the second trimester workouts from Summer Sanders’ Prenatal Workout DVD, I unfortunately didn’t start using her workout DVD until I was already in my second trimester so I am not going to do a first trimester workout review (since I didn’t do any).
I purchased this DVD along with two other prenatal dvd’s when I was around 10 weeks pregnant. I knew that since we had canceled our gym membership, got rid of our faulty elliptical and my running had become non-existent that I was going to need some workout videos to help me stay active during my pregnancy. Out of the three videos this has been my favorite and the most used, although since the weather has been nicer out I have been using it less and trying to get outside for walks with my husband more but I am still loving the workouts.
Summer Sanders, an Olympic gold medalist, and her personal trainer, Keri Crockett (also her sister-in-law) lead you through the workouts. I love the Summer is actually pregnant in the videos, it gives me more motivation to keep pushing through the workout because if she can do it so can I! The DVD features both a full length and express workout and to be honest I have only done the full length workout once, I usually do the express workout which is about 35 minutes in length. I find that it is the perfect amount of time for me and I usually end up going for a walk with the husband as well so I get two workouts in.
The workouts feature a lot of strength training and toning for the whole body including a nice balance of legs, arms and pregnancy friendly ab workouts. I always finish my workouts feeling energized and so glad I did it. Summer and Keri really are great to watch and listen to as well, they are informative, motivating and entertaining.
I will say that the one downfall of this video is that it is mostly a strength workout, there is very little cardio. Since I don’t do any other strength specific workouts and I find time to get light cardio in on other days it has been fine for me but I know that for others that has been one con regarding the workouts. I loved the second trimester workouts and I am looking forward to trying out the third trimester workouts and seeing how they different from the second trimester.
Have you done this workout DVD? What do you think? What are your favorite workouts (prenatal or not)?
If you are looking for the giveaway you’ll just go nuts about scroll down!
This weekend Neil and I were fairly busy and it seems that things aren’t going to be slowing down anytime soon! We started the weekend off with a homemade Mexican pizza (recipe to come tomorrow) which was absolutely delicious.
Here it is all fixed up with a sprinkle of baby arugula, fresh tomatoes and sour supreme. We enjoyed our slices, went for a walk and settled on the couch to watch a few shows.
Saturday morning I got up bright and early to bake up a batch of Babycakes gluten free Pumpkin Spice Muffins for our early morning birthing class. Around 8:30 our birthing class teacher arrived (we are taking private classes) and we served up coffee, muffins and fruit before starting our four hours of class. In other news our birthing class teacher is also a doula and last week after doing a bunch of reading Neil and I made a last minute decision to hire a doula for the birth. I checked with Sarah (our birth coach) to see if she had any July openings and she did so after our class we decided to hire her to be our doula (she is really wonderful and so comfortable to be around). I’ll discuss more of this doula talk in Thursday’s update post.
After our four plus hours of birthing class Neil and I were so hungry we decided to use up the remaining homemade dough and make another small pizza for lunch and then I passed out for a few hours. When I finally woke up Neil was going a little stir crazy and was ready to get out of the house so we decided to have a date night downtown including window shopping, drinks (beer for him and water for me) and dinner out at A Single Pebble <–Neil had a gift card from work so free (almost) dinner for us! After dinner we headed home and cuddled on the couch while watching the remainder of the Yankees game, we should have just gone to bed though such a bad game.
Sunday we enjoyed a lazy morning before heading out for brunch with friends that we hadn’t seen since last July. We spent over two hours enjoying food, conversation and having tons of belly laughs at Duino Duende. It was so nice not to have a rushed meal and really enjoy the company. After brunch we rean a few errands, took a nap, Neil did a training run and I watched House Hunters International.
While Neil finished up his run I made dinner of arugula walnut pesto with peas and white beans, a side of kale and leftover tofu from dinner at A Single Pebble. After dinner we went for a stroll and then relaxed on the couch. What did you do this weekend?
Now that you’ve read my weekend recap keep scrolling and you’ll find a great giveaway!
A few weeks ago Doug’s Nuts sent me a few complimentary bags of their nuts to try out and ever since then I have been in love. When I first open the nuts I am expecting them to be sugary based on their shiny coating but they were super mild and really delicious. They are coated with a flavorful glaze consisting of organic evaporated sugarcane juice, honey, oatmeal stout beer <– my husband saw beer and had to try them immediately, sea salt, organic vanilla extract, and other natural flavors. In the mix are roasted almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, and pumpkin seeds (the hazelnuts and pecans are my favorites).
I unfortunately finished off my two pouches pretty quickly (time to get some more I guess!) but boy where they good. I enjoyed them over soy yogurt, by the palm-full and my favorite way as a topping for apple “nachos”. What are apple nachos? Simply thinly sliced apples (I use my mandolin) drizzled with almond butter and topped with a sprinkling of Doug’s Nutsand a few mini chocolate chips for good measure.
Giveaway Details- Open Until Friday May 11th at 8pm EST: CLOSED
Doug’s Nuts will provide and ship one 6-pack of Doug’s Nuts to the winner ($30 + shipping costs value) – OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY
Winner:
To enter:
Visit the Doug’s Nuts and come back and leave a comment letting me know something that you have learned. (Mandatory)
Additional Entries: (Leave a separate entry for each)
How big is the baby: our baby’s about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it’s not very keen; even after she’s born, she’ll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she’ll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.) (source)
Baby’s Gender: We both think it’s a boy.
Baby’s Name: We have a name for a boy or a girl
Weight Gained: 19 lbs
Clothes: They still fit but I did pick up one more dress.
How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good and I’ve actually been sleeping alright lately. I wake up often to pee and switch sides I sleep on but overall feeling rested. I also have been napping most days.
What do you miss: Running- I have been dreaming about it.
This week’s focus is all about nesting both emotional and physical nesting. “Emotional nesting: “Mama-nesting” means that you are taking the time to clean out the mental junk that may be hanging out in your emotional basement. Do some emotional housecleaning, releasing fears about becoming a mother and replacing them with trusting your instincts.”
I would say that I have already started nesting both emotionally and physically and I look forward to working on this more this week.
This weekend was one of the busiest and most productive weekends we have had in, um, months? Friday night was a little on the lazy side, we had dinner and relaxed on the couch and I went to bed early.
Saturday I was up early to get a little cleaning done and then off to my girlfriend Cate who was in town for the weekend so we could chat and go over plans for the baby shower she is hosting with help from my mom in June. We also indulged in some sticky buns that Neil was ever so nice to get up and bake us Saturday morning (unfortunately no photo).
After my visit with Cate, Neil and I headed out to run a few errands around town. We also stopped into the new sandwich shop to pick up an Indian Chickpea grinder to share for lunch. It was a really great sandwich on delicious bread but both Neil and I didn’t totally get the Indian part of it, but either way we enjoyed it.
The remainder of our Saturday was spent organizing, relaxing on the couch, reading and eventually I made a delicious dinner which will be tomorrow’s recipe of the week.
Sunday: There was no rest at our house this Sunday, it was our most productive and busiest day of the week! Neil and I got up early to pick up the floors (in our carpeted rooms) and move everything out of the nursery so we could shampoo the carpets.
While we waited for my parents to arrive with their machine Neil prepared some homemade bagels and coffee and I worked on the bagel toppings and a nice fruit bowl.
Everyone (except me) got their coffee on and then it was off to the cleaning and shampooing!
After shampooing all of our carpets we decided to head out for a few hours to run some errands and have a picnic lunch while the carpets dried. After stopping at a few shops, Buttered Noodles and Home Depot, we decided to find a spot for lunch. We enjoyed a nice spread of homemade ginger peach iced tea, hummus, crackers, berries, and pasta salad.
Quick and Easy Pasta Salad: 1 packaged of cooked whole wheat shells; 1 15-oz can of black beans and 1 15-oz can of chickpeas, a bunch of cherry tomatoes cut in half, one small red onion diced, a handful or two of baby carrots cut into circles, lots of black pepper and enough of Briannas French Vinaigrette to coat everything.
After our outing we headed back to our house to move things back into place and my mom and I worked on decorating the nursery while the guys watched the remainder of the Yankees game.
Once my parents headed home I made some dinner and we settled in on the couch and caught up on a few shows before heading to bed to read. After a busy day my snoogle never looked so good.
How far along are you: 29 Weeks (photo 28 weeks 3 days)
How big is the baby: Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you’ll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby’s hardening skeleton each day. (source)
Baby’s Gender: We both think it’s a boy and find ourselves referring to them has he….
Baby’s Name: We have a name for a boy or a girl
Weight Gained: 18.5 lbs
Clothes: I picked up two new dresses this weekend- wahoo!
How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good but I am definitely feeling tired out. Today I had to go to an out of town meeting which involved 2 hours driving each way (luckily I didn’t have to drive) and then sitting on an uncomfortable chair for 3 hours. This trip left me exhausted and ready for a nap as soon as I got home.
What do you miss: Sleeping. Energy. Running. Sprouts.
Symptoms: Lots of aches and pains, especially my hips at night. Lots of heartburn. Some mild headaches from not enough sleep.
Cravings: Veggie burgers. Berries. Oatmeal.
How are you sleeping: Hips are sore when I sleep, waking up all the time to pee and so thirsty. Tossing and turning.
Workouts: I lots of walking last weekend and I went to yoga.
Things I’m looking forward to: Starting our birth classes next week. Our baby shower in June.
This Week–> Sacred Pregnancy Week 29: Water Energy
This Week’s focus:
Have you considered laboring and birthing in the water? What are your thoughts on this and are there any feelings relating to this process that you feel you need to cleanse at this time?
This past weekend Neil and I headed out for our last getaway before the baby arrives. For the past 3 years we have gone to Portland Maine for our anniversary but since this year Neil is running the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon and I’ll be 34 weeks pregnant we decided to make our trip a month early. Initially we had planned to stay Saturday night but then decided to head to Maine after work on Friday night, but then we woke up Friday morning and decided to take a spontaneous vacation day from work and we headed out early- best decision ever.
We got on the road and made it to Concord New Hampshire just around lunch time so we decided to stop into Cafe Indigo a vegan bakery and cafe. Neil and I decided to share two different items and a cookie- it is a bakery after all. We shared the Veggie Cakes Cafe Indigo‘s version of crab cakes with tartar sauce, cornbread and slaw (my choice) and a Falafel Burger on a whole wheat bun with a lemon tahini sauce, slaw and blue corn chips (Neil’s choice). I thought the Veggie Cakes were really tasty and the tartar sauce was delicious, I have to say though the tempeh crab cakes from Vegan Brunch are closer to what I imagine Crab Cakes to taste like. Neil really liked the falafel burger but I wasn’t a huge fan of it, I thought it would have been better in a wrap than on a roll and it was a little dry. We both enjoyed the cornbread and the slaw but we didn’t really touch the blue corn chips. The best part of the meal was the ginger cookie- AMAZING.
Next stop on our journey was to Whole Foods to pick up an iced coffee for Neil and an Arnold Palmer for me before making it to the 3pm brewery tour at Allagash. There is really nothing more depressing than watching a group of people sample a (four) wonderful brews and having to stand there and watch it all happen. Neil enjoyed the samples and then we took a walking tour of the brewery. Since I couldn’t partake we picked up a bottle of Allagash Old HLT, a sour cherry beer, to share later this summer. Although I couldn’t enjoy the samples it was one of the best tours that we have been on and would recommend it to everyone. Tip: you can call ahead to be put on the list for the tour as I imagine they fill up fast!
After the tour we checked into our hotel and then I decided that it was time to take a nap before dinner. We walked downtown from our hotel (rather up a giant hill) to Green Elephant, a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Portland. I have been a number of times and Neil has been once before and we have always enjoyed it. We lucked out and arrived just moments before the dinner rush, although it is worth the wait.
We started off with the Fresh Rolls-Lettuce, carrots, avocado, rice vermicelli, and mint wrapped in rice paper, served with peanut sauce, they were wonderful. For our entrees Neil ordered the Crispy Breaded Soy Filet stir-fried Chinese broccoli, Chinese broccoli carrots and thai bird chili in a brown sauce. I stole a few bites (of course) and I have to say that this is now one of my favorite dishes I have had at Green Elephant.
For my entree I couldn’t decided on what I wanted (too many choices) so I decided to get a soup and an appetizer. I ordered the Fragrant Coconut Soup with tofu & baby bella Mushroom, cherry tomatoes, onion, scallion, and cilantro and Roti Canai an Indian style pancake. with vegetable curry dip. This was my first time having the soup and it was so tasty, I didn’t love the tomatoes in it but otherwise it was great. The roti is an old favorite of mine and it was just as food as I remembered.
After dinner we decided to stop into Local 188 for an after dinner mock-cocktail and brew. Neil ordered a local microbrew (I can’t remember the name) and I had a virgin Basil Lemonade, which was amazing and I have to replicate it at home!
After drinks we headed back to the hotel to rest up for a busy Saturday. Stay tuned!
How far along are you: 30 Weeks
Quick and Easy Pasta Salad: 1 packaged of cooked whole wheat shells; 1 15-oz can of black beans and 1 15-oz can of chickpeas, a bunch of cherry tomatoes cut in half, one small red onion diced, a handful or two of baby carrots cut into circles, lots of black pepper and enough of 
How far along are you: 29 Weeks (photo 28 weeks 3 days)
