Gifts That Keep On Giving

July 27th, 2009

7 1/2 months pregnant


When special moments happen in a person's life, the opportunity to glimpse how truly wonderful family and friends are is a blessing. I am so happy knowing that Mia will be surrounded by the most amazing people ever.

My father and stepmother graciously offered to throw us a co-ed baby shower that is supposed to take place at the end of this week. My husband, like the majority of men has never been to a baby shower. He is naturally expecting baby shower games, the opening of gifts surrounded by huge puffs of pink and the inevitable oohs and aah's that invariably come after a gift is open. I have been to such showers and even I have found myself checking for the closest exit for where I might duck out without being noticed. Don't get me wrong. I'm always overjoyed when a friend or family member gets pregnant. I, personally just don't love being the center of attention, which is why when the idea of a co-ed baby shower came up, I jumped at the chance to allow some of the spotlight to be taken away from me and moved over to my much more animated husband, Danny. Plus, there will be lots of drinking (not me), and eating yummy hors d'oeuvres (definitely me) so it will be more like a big party as opposed to a typical baby shower.

Even though the shower isn't until Saturday, we have already received some gifts such as car seats, stroller, bibs, a bathtub, adorable onesies, a swing and other items we either registered for or our much-more astute friends and family got us knowing what we will likely need at one time or another.

The thing is, everything we have received, especially the bigger items come in gigantic boxes with a set of instructions that seem to be written in hieroglyphics. Even the accompanying diagrams, that I guess are supposed to be helpful, may as well be pictures of car engines. They just make no sense. It took my husband one hour to figure out how the stroller worked, using the "enclosed directions". It took me 2 minutes to get totally frustrated and store it in our closest. We are going to have to hire someone to come to our home to show us how to properly install a car seat, even though instructions were included with that too. I didn't realize I would need a degree in Engineering in order to figure out the diaper genie. My friend Kim, who gave me the diaper genie, gave it to me almost all put together already. Granted, it took her father 25 minutes on the floor of a store to assemble what is essentially a trash can for diapers and he is a carpenter. For me, trying to put in the "trash bag" part of the diaper genie was an exercise in patience to say the least.

I guess my point is, with all of the stress and anxiety that new parents are already having to deal with, why can't the manufacturer's of these necessary baby items make them more well, adult friendly? I don't think one should have to be a Rhodes Scholar to be able to attach the padding to the sides of an infant bathtub yet by the look of flimsy instructions, that's exactly what we're expected to be.

Thankfully, I know some people who already have children of their own that I can commiserate with. These people have been invaluable source of information. I love each and every one of them and can't wait to see them this weekend at our shower. You are all my heroes!

The Heat is On!

July 22, 2009


7 months pregnant


There are many lovely symptoms that spring up while one is pregnant; swollen feet, scratchy belly, numbness in fingers, frequent urination, weight gain and my new favorite, high body temperature.

Last night, while I was making my best attempt to sleep I started to think about how much our air-conditioning bill is going to be. Lately, it's been 85+ degrees in Los Angeles and don't even get me started on how much hotter it's been in the valley where I work. Because my body temperature is elevated due to the extra baby hormones surging through it, to say I'm hot is an understatement. There are not enough fans in the world that will cool me down at this point nor is there enough ice. Because it's so much hotter for me than the average human at night especially, I'm forced to run our air conditioner all night long. Every evening lately, my husband huddles up under tons of blankets in an effort to stay warm in what must feel to him like a blizzard in our bedroom. I have a new appreciation for how our dog, Lana feels in warm weather since she has a permanent fur coat. That's how I feel, like I'm wearing a floor length fur coat that's been super-glued to my body and I don't even believe in wearing fur!

The other day, while I was waddling to my car in Studio City, I felt sweat between my thighs and when I went to sit down, my thighs stuck together! When I tried to get out of my car, I realized that I was so sweaty I actually stuck to the black leather seats and had to literally pull myself out. I've heard of people becoming one with their cars but this was ridiculous. By the way, black on black cars in the Summer while one is pregnant, not a good idea. I will re-think my choices next time I go to buy a car.

Even with this new sweaty issue I'm ok with knowing there are only 10 weeks left before I can finally meet my daughter. Until then, I will stay indoors and soak up the cool breeze of man-made air.

Sugar High

July 17th, 2009

7 months pregnant


As part of being pregnant, going to the doctor's office is par for the course. When you first find out you're expecting, you generally make an appointment right away and then the doctor will ask to see you on a 2 to 3 week basis. I always got excited to see the doctor because I knew there would be an ultrasound involved, where my husband I could look on a monitor and actually see our little girl growing. Each time, I would anticipate some new change that I might see but usually, she would end up looking like a beautiful blob and my doctor would try his hardest to help me see where her heart other organs are located.

After 5 months of pregnancy my doctor only required me to come in once a month and when I did see him, I wouldn't have another ultrasound again until 35 weeks of pregnancy. I asked him why I wouldn't be having ultrasound because my child/blob is gorgeous and who wouldn't want to spend their day staring at her on a monitor? My doctor kindly informed me that although his idea of a perfect day would be to stare at my daughter on a monitor, it just isn't necessary as he can measure the size of my uterus from my belly button and doesn't need to know too much more than that until I'm almost due.
I suppose I was ok with not seeing Mia for a while until I had to take the glucose test.

At about 26 weeks of pregnancy, almost all woman are required to take a glucose screening test to find out if gestational diabetes is present. In order to take this test, you have to drink this very sweet drink that tastes like flat 7-Up and an hour later, you have your blood drawn. If you're borderline or over, you go to the next level of testing, which is almost the same except you drink twice the amount of concentrated sweet liquid and you're blood is drawn every hour for 3 hours straight. Almost 30% of woman do not pass the first test, myself included. That percentage lowers slightly after the 3-hour test happens. I was borderline on the second test as well so that means I have a slight case of gestational diabetes.

Here's the science behind Gestational Diabetes: Gestational diabetes affects 4-7 percent of all pregnant woman giving it the distinction of being the most common pregnancy complication. The placenta supports the baby as it grows and hormones from the placenta help the baby develop. Sometimes, for unknown reasons, these hormones block the mother's insulin in her body making it hard for her body to use insulin. Pregnant woman use up to three times more insulin. Gestational diabetes starts when your body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for your body. Without enough insulin, glucose cannot leave the blood and be changed into energy. Glucose builds up in the blood to high levels.

Doctors do not want the glucose levels to get too high because the baby's pancreas has to make extra insulin to get rid of the blood glucose. Since the baby is getting more energy than it needs to grow the extra energy is stored as fat, potentially leading to a very large baby.

The good news is that once I deliver Mia into the world, this condition will go away. The bad news, I now have to diet and prick my finger--with a needle--4 times a day in order to make sure my blood sugar stays level. Needless to say, diet & pregnancy go together about as well as performing brain surgery while doing push-ups. However, if you do follow the plan, it is totally manageable and treatable.

So, I spent 2 hours yesterday meeting with a dietitian to discuss ways to manage my glucose intake. It does not require me to cut out all carbs but rather, to eat small amounts of carbs and other foods more often throughout the day. After my 2 hour meeting, they took me to an ultrasound room where I got to see a 4-dimensional image of Mia's face! We could see details like her ears and her lips and her little hand that was curled up underneath her chin. It was the coolest thing ever and I even get to come back in a few weeks for another ultrasound. So, even though I have to diet and prick my finger I realize it's small price to pay for the beauty that is Mia...

The Doctor Is In

July 15th, 2009

7 months pregnant


As my never-ending list of baby needs grows, I'm constantly fascinated about the things you never really think about unless you HAVE to think about them.

My husband and I decided to start "interviewing" pediatricians. I never thought much about pediatricians before I became pregnant. Why would I? But, when you're expecting you must find a doctor for your future child. The interview process is really just us sitting down and chatting with a potential doctor. We tried to come up with questions that make sense but since neither one of us ever went to medical school, our questions mostly consisted of discussing Jenny McCarthy's take on shots and Autism and how good she looks in a swimsuit next to Jim Carrey.

Picking a doctor for Mia was a daunting task. First of all, you have to find a doctor that takes your insurance, which it lately seems like NOBODY does. I keep asking myself why I'm even paying for insurance since no doctor worth their weight in gold takes it anymore. Then, even if you do have a list of doctors that take your insurance, you have to hope that the doctors you want to meet are good doctors and not the kind that got their PH D's from Devry or the University of Tijuana. Finally, you have to set up what I refer to as meet & greets where you basically sit down with the potential doctor and try to get a feel for what he or she is like. Granted, the doctors allot maybe 15 minutes for these meetings so I'm not sure how anyone can make a decision that essentially has parents handing over their child for care for the next 18 to 20 years. Sure, you can look around the office and marvel at the various diplomas on the wall but how do I know if this will be the right doctor for Mia?

We interviewed 3 doctors. All of them happened to be close by our house and all them had very impressive diplomas on the wall. They all clearly care about children and work hard to make life easier for the parents. They all are good doctors but at the end of the day, we had to go with our gut instincts (since my gut is the largest my instinct won). We have decided to go with Dr. Francis Pang. She used to be the head of Pediatrics at Cedars Sinai, where I will be delivering Mia and she even went to Harvard! She is also young and seems to have her finger on the pulse when it comes to the latest scientific breakthroughs. I also really liked the fact that her waiting room was clean and my husband liked the fact that the waiting room had a television in it. There is also 2 separate entrances, one for sick kids and one for well kids. The one for crazy kids is still in the works. I kid :) So, thanks Dr. Pang. We'll see you in October and beyond!

Color Me Confused

July 10th, 2009

27 weeks pregnant


In the wake of Michael Jackson's death, many people have been speaking out. Some say he was a genius whose musical and dancing talents surpassed even those of Elvis Presley and some say his memorial tribute, that was watched by almost half a billion people was something we will never again see in our lifetime. However, there are other more sinister people out there who are focusing not on the talent that Michael Jackson brought us, but on the bizarre way he chose to live his life. He did take far too many prescription drugs, which probably lead to his death and he did do an inordinate amount of plastic surgery. A lot of the plastic surgery controversy stems from the fact that the once African American Michael Jackson "bleached" himself so much that he actually looked Caucasian in the end. Whatever he did, the 50 year-old Michael did not at all resemble the 10 year-old Michael Jackson that burst onto the scene in the 60's as the front voice for the Jackson 5.

Why am I bringing this up on my pregnancy blog? Well, I was noticing that Michael Jackson's skin color changed so drastically throughout the years. Whether he did have a skin pigment disorder as he strongly claimed or whether he used plastic surgery and creams to remove the pigment from his dark skin is something I can relate to on a much, much smaller scale.

I was shaving my under arms and I noticed that the skin is quite dark, too dark in my opinion. It just appeared one day---like magic or more like a curse. I have always been VERY particular about shaving under my arms. It's part of my daily routine. I can't imagine how some women live with full blown hairy armpits. That time on the red carpet when Julia Roberts waved and her unshaven armpits were there on full display, she said she forgot to shave. I NEVER forget. So, when I started to shave this morning and noticed the darkening skin I naturally became alarmed and wondered, what kind of skin bleaching cream did Michael Jackson use because I really need some. The other skin issues I'm noticing are the once flat, tiny moles on my belly now look gigantic. I'm not sure it's because my skin is stretching or what but the moles that were once sort of cute are now just not.

Upon consulting my bible, "What to Expect When You're Expecting", I was relieved to read that skin discoloration is yet another normal part of pregnancy. Hormonal changes happening in a pregnant woman's body take over and darker pigment tends to become much more defined. Hormones can darken moles, create darker skin color in frequently shaved areas and even create unsightly blotches on a woman's face. I'm glad at least the latter hasn't happened to me...yet. In a world where "normal" has taken on a whole new meaning, I'm glad to know I'm not alone. Maybe Michael Jackson had hormone issues after all.

Breathe Baby Breathe

July 6th, 2009

27 Weeks pregnant

A few nights ago I was in a rare state of sleep. I think I was dreaming. I was most definitely drooling and sweating. Then, something unexpected and kind of frightening happened. I woke up in a panic, gasping for air! It felt like my throat was tightening up and I couldn't inhale deeply enough to fill my lungs with air. Of course in my panic I woke up my husband, who in his state of unconsciousness kindly offered to give me the Heimlich maneuver. Between mini-breathes, I managed to get out the fact that I wasn't choking on food. After a few moments of steady gasps while sitting up straight, I started to relax. I thought for a little while and realized that Mia must have been laying or pushing on my lungs! As the baby inside gets bigger and my uterus stretches, my internal organs get mushed in order to make room for her growth. I think baby Mia must have found one or both of my lungs to be a comfy pillow for her feet (maybe hers are swollen too)? Either way, it was a shock to say the least. I have heard of this happening, but mostly it's when hands and feet have no where to move in the uterus and end up kicking the mother's ribcage so I guess I'm grateful I was just mildly asphyiated rather than painfully kicked in the ribs. Something else my husband told me in his semi-awake state was that I was not sleeping on the pregnancy-regulated left side, but I was in fact flat on my back. I used to really love sleeping on my back. I always felt so comfortable in my room, with blackout shades so absolutely no light gets in, sleeping with my arms to my side, flat on my back. My husband often calls me his little vampire. Sometime during the night, I must have rolled over mid-drool, causing all of my massive weight to crush down on baby, lungs and everything else. So, for now on, my husband has agreed to roll me over if he sees me heading in the now dangerous direction of sleeping on my back. No more Dracula for me.

I still can't imagine how much bigger little Mia is going to get what with things like my heart, lungs, liver and kidneys in the way. It's truly amazing how a woman's body plans for and executes moving everything around in order to accommodate a 9-month visitor. I'm going to go sleep tonight and TRY not to rock and roll. Just breathe...

Independent Mia!

July 2, 2009



6 1/2 months pregnant



Tomorrow is a company holiday for me since Saturday is the 4th of July---Independence Day. I've been thinking a lot about independence not for my country but for me. I'm eating while I'm write this. Eating and typing, let's just say is not the best idea, combine clumsiness as another pregnancy sympton and you now have a perfect storm. As I look down at the shelf formally known as my stomach, I realize that in just a few months what is inside my growing tummy will be on the outside with the rest of us as a living, breathing baby. A baby who will be utterly dependent on me. A baby who can't live without my constant round-the-clock care.

Soon, gone will be the days of sleeping in, taking off at a moment's notice to go away on vacation, making last minute hair/nails appointments or doing anything last minute for that matter. I'm going to be losing MY independence and giving myself over to someone who, although tiny, will require all of my time and energy.

I never have enough energy, not even to do the most basic things. With that said, I always make time for grooming such as a weekly blowdry and manicure/pedicure appointments. I really look forward to these things and sometimes, when he's in a good mood (or has done something wrong), I can even drag my husband with me to get his nails/toes done so we end up spending some quality time together. These moments were MY time. I now wonder if I will be able to take a sleeping Mia with me to these appointments. Of course I know that a Mia who sleeps on command is a fantasy, especially as she gets older but just how long am I supposed to go without getting my hair colored?
I've seen women who have let themselves go after having children because they don't make ME time. I refuse to let that be me. Thankfully, I have a huge support system in place so hopefully, in between breastfeedings, I can go out for a short trip to the salon. Either that or bring the salon to me at home. Hmm. Now THAT sounds like a fantasy too.