There’s something about making a salad, even a simple one, that seems like a ton of extra work. Even though I love salad and want it all the time, I can rarely find real motivation to make one.Maybe it has to do with needing to wash all the lettuce and everything else, not to mention all the chopping… Let’s just say that when a salad that someone else made is put in front of me I am completely and utterly delighted.
Yesterday I had red cabbage in my fridge, though, and got an idea for a really quick salad- Coleslaw! Somehow this one didn’t seem as daunting a task as making a garden salad; I don’t know why. I figured out a basic dressing recipe after consulting a couple different slaw recipes.
1 ½ cups shredded red cabbage
1 medium carrot, grated
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
Dressing:
¼ cup vegenaise or other vegan mayonnaise
2 tbsp red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 ½ tsp sugar
Salt and pepper
Combine veggies in a medium bowl. Whisk dressing together, adding a little water to thin if necessary, and toss with slaw. Enjoy your pretty salad!
I had this with roasted sweet potato fries, and it was the perfect lunch. Don’t, however, eat an apple just before consuming this. I knew it was a bad idea to combine fruit (very easily and quickly digested) with high-fiber cabbage (very slow to digest); I was just desperately hungry waiting for the sweet potatoes to finish baking. It later resulted in a terrible belly ache lasting all evening. I’m still not recovered from it this morning. While I would usually try and use the belly-massage technique Patrick learned from a massage therapist once to help dispel the problem, it’s relatively impossible to do when there’s a baby on your intestines.Plus, belly massage is something that should be avoided during pregnancy.
Baby's big brother, waiting patiently? Or grieving?
I love thinking about my tiny barefoot vegan. It’s hard not to, in fact, as he spends a lot of time wedging himself up partway under my ribs; his very favourite position, and though it doesn’t really cause pain, it does feel pretty weird. He also seems to prefer one side of the womb in particular so I only ever feel him under the ribs on that one side.
At our prenatal visit last week (26 weeks) the fundal height was 23cm, about 1 cm behind average. The doctor said that was most likely due to the fact that he was positioned sideways. I can’t believe how much he makes me giggle! His heart rate was 155.Which I take as a hopeful sign that, with Patrick’s help, I haven’t been doing too much accidental sleeping on my back.
Thankfully it’s getting closer to our last visit with this doctor, who we’ve come to find rather difficult to communicate with.She asked us which obstetrician we wanted to be transferred to as if we already would have known. Since we weren’t familiar with the list of available obstetricians, we did not know who we wanted. Little things like that seem to happen when we talk to her that make me feel weird, since she’s been doing this for so many years. As our healthcare guide, why would she not assume that since it’s our first ever pregnancy, we don’t know how all these processes work? I also had to look into the public health prenatal classes myself; I don’t think she was going to volunteer any information on that to us at all. Anyhow, it doesn’t help to gripe about the doctor. I think maybe she got wary of us when we began questioning the idea of a 28 week RhoGam* shot.When I told her at the last appointment that I had decided against the second injection and only plan to get one after the baby is born and blood-typed, she proceeded to almost literally shut down the session, quickly saying “see you in 4 weeks” and making for the door. Unfortunately we had more questions for her. It’s like she wants to be an authority figure and has a hard time admitting she doesn’t really know much about a certain subject. Perhaps we’ll seek out another physician after baby is born.
As symptoms go, they are relatively the same. My January work schedule is fabulous, totalling 25 hours a week, with 4-6 hour day shifts. I tire more and more easily, my hips continue to get more stiff and sore under the 16 pounds of belly weight I’ve gained, and when I walk I have frequent pain in my pelvic bone as it shifts to accommodate that weight. It sounds dramatic! Though it can be uncomfortable I am actually feeling great. I’ve continued to eat really well and do my best to snack throughout the day. Snacking is the best way to go, as I eat very slowly and it’s hard to eat big meals without getting bored or the food getting cold.
Tomorrow two things will happen: I will go for blood work and a glucose test in the morning, and in the evening we’ll attend our first prenatal class. I am really excited for this, as I’ve been feeling the urge to start mentally preparing for the practical aspects of parenthood without really being sure how. It will also be great to meet other first-time parents!
*RhoGam, or WinRho, is an injected dose of immune globulin, a blood product made from Rh Negative blood that has become sensitized, meaning it has formed antibodies against Rh positive blood cells (which 75% of humans have) that have been introduced to it. In accordance with the nation’s health program, it is typically given at 28 weeks to Rh negative women in case of any blood mixing to take place in the last 12 weeks of pregnancy if the baby’s blood is Rh positive. The way this would work is: since the mother’s blood would begin to develop antibodies against an Rh positive baby’s blood if shared, the dose of immune globulin, or pre-made antibodies, would attack any of the baby’s blood that had made it into the mother’s system in place of her own antibodies, so that her blood would not continue to produce more, which could then attack a second, future baby’s blood more aggressively, causing potential health problems. The injection at birth would lower the chance of sensitization from 16% to 2%, and an earlier second injection at 28 weeks would lower that chance to 0.4%. The catch for us is that the 28 week injection of WinRho, even if there are no antibodies already present (most likely), would be able to cross the placenta and attack the baby’s blood cells in a similar fashion to what my own blood would do, except it wouldn’t be necessary. We would rather find out the baby’s blood type at birth, as it could be negative, making it totally unnecessary to take any injection at all. I will still be 98% protected, even if I do have another baby, which isn’t likely. We did get a call from the Rh Program Administrator after we told our doctor we were doing this, who confirmed with us that we would most likely be fine without the 28 week shot. What a relief! It’s been a long few months of investigation into this and I’m finally feeling resolved with it.
Happy 2012! With all of the unbelievable things going on in the world, I actually feel weird pairing those two words together. This year is an ominous one to put it mildly, and I have such strong emotions, hopes, and fears when I think of everything that's happening. We have the beginning of a world war developing overseas, and more political outrage and poverty than ever. As I watch the United States gearing up for another election and continue to learn how much the media manipulates and twists information, I see the world is faced with two options: to remain enslaved by rich, powerful people who use very nasty ways to achieve very selfish goals, or break free from participation in these awful lies and wars that serve not the people but the power-hungry corporations and governments whose “care” we are in. Yes, I live in Canada, but things are not much better as our country likewise creeps more toward being a police state. While I am pretty much in the dark on most things political, I have learned to recognize some common tactics used in the media to warp information and attract followers to a certain side. For instance: there is only one man in Congress who insists on telling the truth about what’s happening in the world and exposing the dark agendas of the US political system, truly showing he cares about the people who live in the country and demonstrating respect for the original constitution. He is a sort of hero for thousands, but in every news video I’ve seen (except alternative “truth” news sources, fancy that we need that these days!) he is either called dangerous or crazy, or simply IGNORED, and it is held that he simply can’t win the election “so don’t vote for him”. Except that he actually has many thousands of dedicated supporters who fund his campaign, with no need for corporate sponsorship whatsoever. I am nervous of what will happen to him even though I desperately want this beautiful man to win the election. Check out this eerie video of the predictions he made in 2002.
But 2012 also represents the most exciting and transformative year yet in mine and Patrick’s lives. It seems a crazy time to bring life into the world. But in another way, maybe it is necessary. Having a new baby will perhaps remind us to return our energy to our most important goals. For us that is getting rid of any debt, being able to take care of ourselves by growing our own food, and further simplifying our lifestyle, especially now in a way that lets us focus on our baby as he enters the world. There is no time like the present to pursue this goal as rapidly as possible. It is crucial to me that our son sees us being true to ourselves from the beginning, and not sitting back, involuntarily participating in a consumerism and debt based culture. He will someday develop his own world view, but I can’t think of a more important sense of awareness to start him off with than that.
I am starting to need more sleep again. While my energy returned a bit after I began the second trimester, I now once again require a minimum of 9 hours sleep at night, sometimes more. I’m not really able to take naps during the day; they don’t seem to fit in anywhere. Perhaps the need for more sleep also comes from the fitfulness of the sleep I do get. My hips are extremely sore after a few hours of laying down, and I continually catch myself flipped onto my back. The placenta is at the back of my uterus, so it’s not the best thing for the baby’s weight (not that it’s much right now; just over a pound!) to be on top of it; that can slow the baby’s heartbeat. Plus I feel the weight, and it makes me uncomfortable too! The body pillow that Patrick’s parents gave me helps a lot and makes sleep way more comfortable. Once my belly gets bigger, too, it will be much harder to accidentally roll onto my back. One other thing about bed: it’s gotten way harder to sit up and get out of the bed! I currently sleep on the inside (next to the wall…our room is pretty small) but we will soon have to reverse this so I can get out of bed to go to the bathroom more easily.
The holidays are coming up, and while I don’t really have much time off work, I am for once looking forward with much ease to simply spending time with Patrick and my/ his family. Besides all the generous help with maternity clothes, my family is giving me the most wonderful gift this year, and that is no Christmas gifts between Patrick and I with anyone else. We have wanted to try this for a long time, and this seems to be the ideal year to start. Patrick and I currently have very little time apart from work to do anything but either cook dinner, do laundry, or watch the occasional movie. Patrick more so than me, as my energy level makes me call it quits on cleaning up more quickly. He works more hours than me in the first place, and has been incredible about doing dishes every single day, as my back gets sore so quickly and I simply can’t seem to muster the energy to do more than a few sink-fulls a week. So for the holidays, we are doing away with the stress of being out and about among the masses of consumers, and settling in, perhaps, to an actually clean and orderly home for some happy and quiet cooking, game playing, movie watching, reading and knitting time among our favourite people. My cousin will be visiting after a year away in Alberta, which makes things even more exciting. A wonderful holiday indeed!
I am about 115 pounds. I admit that sometimes, especially at work, I don’t take the time to snack quite as often as I should. Though I am within the perimeters of a healthy weight gain, I am still near the bottom end, so have been trying to up my calorie intake. So far today I’ve had oatmeal with dried fruit, hot chocolate made with organic soymilk, and two pieces of toast with peanut butter on one and nutritional yeast on the other. For lunch I plan to have leftover parsnip and celeriac soup, crackers and hummus, and for snacks a Larabar and a smoothie with blueberries, banana, fruit/veg juice and flax oil. I’m not sure how easy it will be to gain weight in the third trimester, as I’ve heard accounts of women both being more hungry and less hungry. Guess I’ll eat up while I can! Geez, I sound weird listing everything I’m eating! Pregnancy makes you do strange things.
I arranged for us to begin taking prenatal classes in January with Public Health. We start either on the 12th or the 31st. I really can’t believe how fast everything is moving. Have I really been pregnant for almost 6 months? This little one just doesn’t stop growing, and before I know it he’s going to be here and continuing his next stage of growth.
Almost as soon as I lay down to go to sleep at night, the baby starts kicking/poking in a weird way, near the surface, that tickles like crazy, to the point where I eventually burst out laughing, waking up Patrick, who drifts into sleep mode very quickly. Oh, that little one. Already showing signs of being funny.
He weighs about a pound now and should be getting close to a foot long… I can’t believe that! I remember when he was the size of a raspberry! That’s including his legs stretched out, though.
We had an appointment on Wednesday, the 7th, and everything still measures normal. Belly measurement is 22 cm, heartbeat was 144. I can hear the heartbeat whenever I want now, and have shared it with some family members.
We are still inconclusive about the RhoGam/WinRho injection. I wish there was an easy answer.
I wake up every morning and remember you’re in there, baby, and moving around and growing, and it brings such a wave of reality and a flood of hope. In a way it’s like a drug; it’s the ultimate reason to keep plowing through work and everyday life. I can’t forget for one minute about the small new life that’s taken shape, separate and yet inseparable from my own body.
Last night we had a veggie stir-fry with mock chicken and cashews over brown rice with a lovely orange/ginger sauce. So delicious! The recipe for the sauce was from The Everything Vegan Pregnancy Book. I always eat a lot of stir-fry when I make it. Even though it's full of nutrition, it's so easily digested that I'm hungry again in a few hours. Oh well, I never mind having a snack.
Anyway, despite my generous sized helping, we had some cooked brown rice leftover (actually this was because I forgot that Patrick had made brown rice on Sunday and refrigerated it for use this week, and so I unknowingly made another pot, hence the leftovers) so this morning I threw it in a pot with some soymilk and let it cook for awhile, and then added some maple syrup and a pat or two of Earth Balance. It brought back memories of the rice pudding my mom usually makes at Christmas. But you totally don't have to wait for a holiday to enjoy this creamy dish as breakfast any time of the year.It's a nice change from oatmeal.
Rice Pudding
Cooked brown rice, enough for however many servings you want
Soymilk
Cinnamon
Maple Syrup
Vegan butter
Throw the rice in a pot and add enough soymilk to cover the rice completely. Cook on medium low heat and stay close to the stove, as you will need to stir it often to prevent a skin from forming on the top. Let cook for about 30-45 minutes, depending on how creamy you want it (or have time for). The rice will absorb all of the soymilk eventually, and you will want to keep adding more, a few tablespoons at a time, continuing to stir, till the milk is absorbed and the rice is as creamy as you desire. Serve it into bowls, add maple syrup, brown sugar if you like, cinnamon, and a dollop of vegan butter (I have to admit this is my favorite part!).
I forgot some weird symptoms in my last posts. Nothing terrible, but my hips hurt a lot, I wake up at night feeling very stiff and sore in my hip joints and often feel like they need to be stretched during the day. I suppose it's the weight of this kicking boy babe! Another odd one is nasal congestion. I have generally sneezed a lot more than usual throughout this pregnancy and often feel like I'm coming down with a cold, but never do. Once again, vegan power!
I do miss writing! So many thoughts passing through my head but mostly I've been paying acute attention to the activity in my belly, and there is lots of it. A few weeks ago I realized that my normal clothes simply don't fit anymore. During the past two weeks or so, I've made a few trips to Frenchy's (second-hand store) and my mom has helpfully taken me to a number of stores to shop for real maternity clothes. With some amazing sales, birthday gifts from both Mom and Dad, and help shopping from my mom and sister I have gratefully stocked my wardrobe for the rest of the pregnancy. I actually never thought I would have to buy maternity clothes specifically. I guess I hadn't thought hard enough and needed to be pregnant to realize that I do, in fact, immensely appreciate that there are clothes out there made for this. I have to admit that trying clothes on to fit both me and baby felt just as special as wedding dress shopping! Not that I put a ton of effort into either. But thank goodness!
I've been feeling tired at work and am glad that my hours will come down a tiny bit in December.
No swelling to report yet!
Baby kicks a lot, everyday.
Patrick bought two storybooks, Goodnight Moon and The Giving Tree, and we've been reading Goodnight Moon to the baby every night. Perhaps he'll show signs of comfort and recognition when we read it to him after he's born! We love the book more every time we read it.
I've been eating healthy and have gained about 11-12 pounds so far. Last night we made spaghetti with lentils and portobellos in the sauce with sauteed kale on the side. So good! I'll share the kale recipe when I have time.
