Half Pint Update - Gender Day!!

I had an ultrasound this morning. We found out that Half Pint is a GIRL!!! I have been certain all along that we were having a boy, but I was wrong. According to the picture below, it is clear that our little one is a little girl!

PLEASE NOTE: This is the first and LAST time that our child's privates will be seen on any form of public media!!

The visit went ok. The tech took all the pictures, but I did not get any results. I go back on the 8th to see the doctor. At that time, he will interpret them for me. So, I am not quite sure how everything is, but from what I could see, all things looked great! I got to see her face and profile! Her heart was beating and I could see the valves opening and closing! She was moving all over the place!! It was so great to see little Half Pint again. It made this all seem a little more real. I just really wish that Mike could have been there.

Of course, I came straight home to tell Mike that he was going to have a little girl! It was very strange to share this news online with him, but I am thankful to have that face to face time no less. He promised not to spoil her too much... I told him not to make promises he can't keep!!

I am 19 weeks and a few days pregnant today!! I've been feeling good but still very tired some days. It doesn't take much to reach my limit and I'm still learning what that limit is. I can tell that I'm growing quickly not only by the pictures, but also by the way my clothes fit! Just this week I've started feeling Half Pint move throughout the day. She tends to be more active when I'm not, like in the mornings or in the evenings, but there are times during the day that I can feel some movement! It's the coolest feeling in the world!!

17 weeks

18 weeks

19 weeks

Another fun thing that I started doing is using the Baby Plus. Check out the link to learn more about it, but in a nutshell, I wear it over my belly as it plays a drumbeat for Half Pint. I wear it for 1 hour in the AM and 1 hour in the PM. It helps Half Pint to start learning in the womb. She can start to distinguish this sound from the my heartbeat. As we go along, I'll increase the difficulty with progressive lessons until she's born. During these lessons, she's been particularly active.

It's also been increasingly difficult to remember everything that I need to do everyday to stay healthy. So a friend made me this Pregnancy Calendar. I keep track of my morning and evening Baby Plus sessions, vitamins, workouts, and doctor's appointments. It's made a huge difference!!

We are moving right along. Things are all going well!! Miss you all and can't wait to see most of you in December!! And I certainly can't wait to meet our little Half Pint in March!!

Deployment Goal #1

I've set a few goals for myself while Mike is away. This gives me something to work toward, something to keep me busy, some new skills to master, and a few ways to prepare for Half Pint's arrival. So, let me tell you about the first goal.

Goal #1: Try a new recipe every week

I noticed early on in this deployment, that I don't eat so well when Mike's not here. I'm just not motivated to cook for 1. PB&J or cereal is just so much easier when it's just me. So, to keep up my nutritional intake and motivation, I've decided to set this little goal.

It's been almost 4 weeks since Mike left, and I'll admit, I haven't tried a new one every week. But I have tried more than 4 new recipes, so I feel I am still on track. So far, I am getting my recipes from my new book: What to Expect Eating Well When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel. They substitute ingredients with more nutritious options so you don't lose calories vitamins, or taste! For example, instead of refined sugar, they call for fruit juice concentrate. Most of the time they use a combination of whole wheat flour, milled flaxseed, and oat bran instead of bleached flour.

I have tried 9 new recipes, but my favorites so far have been Apricot Ginger Glazed Chicken, Ginger-Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes, Pumpkin Pie Muffins, and Heavenly Chocolate Cake. I fully plan to make the chicken and chocolate cake again in the future, so I will only share the recipes from this week will with you. I made pancakes on Sunday and, boy, were they GOOD!! I don't think I'll ever go back to Bisquik again!! I also made muffins yesterday, and they will last me all week!

Ginger-Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of ground allspice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup apple juice concentrate or white grape juice concentrate

1/3 cup milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 medium eggs

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

2 teaspoons canola oil

1. Place whole wheat flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and baking soda in a large bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

2. Place juice concentrate, milk, butter, and eggs in a medium-sized bowl, and whisk to blend. Add the juice mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until blended. Add the blueberries and stir gently to combine.

3. Heat the canola oil in a 9-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the pancakes 2 at a time, using 1/4 cup of the batter per pancake, until they are golden brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until the second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.

4. Serve pancakes warm. They can be frozen for up to 2 weeks.

Note from the chef: I recommend cooking on lower heat for a little lower. The first few burned because it was too hot!!

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup oat bran

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup solid-pack pumpkin puree

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup white grape juice concentrate

1/3 cup all-fruit apricot preserves

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup golden raisins or chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line standard-size 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

2. Place whole wheat flour, oat bran, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and stir to mix.

3. Place the pumpkin, eggs, oil, grape juice concentrate, apricot preserves, and vanilla in another mixing bowl and mix well. Add pumpkin mix to the flour mixture and stir gently just until blended; careful no to over mix.

4. Gently fold in the raisins and walnuts.

5. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin.

6. Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

7. Transfer muffins to a wire rack and let cool completely. The muffins will store for 3 days or freeze for 3 months.

Weekly Review - "Life Without Mike"

Pregnancy Week 16

1-8 October

So, this marks almost 2 whole weeks that Mike has been gone. Last week was our first full week without him here, and I have to say, we didn't do too bad!

I've been keeping busy with work and play, but I did find my limits the hard way. By Monday afternoon, I was wiped to the point of physical exhaustion! It might have had something to do with the 4 hours of preschool gymnastics on Saturday, an hour walk and an hour of a pregnancy workout video on Sunday, and then another 4 hours of toddler gymnastics on Monday. On top of it all, I've realized that I don't eat well when Mike's away. It's just easier to eat cereal or PB&J 3 times a day instead of making well rounded meals for just myself. So, the combination of overworking and under eating took it's toll on me.

Now, I am still working out but not over doing it. AND I've made a personal goal. I am going to make a new pregnancy healthy dish each week. I just got What to Expect Eating Well When You're Expecting and they have some great recipes in there! They add healthy supplements that aren't necessarily lower in calories or nutrition. So this week, I made apricot glazed chicken with lemon zest asparagus and organic green beans and blueberry muffins for dessert! It was really tasty and fun to try something new!

Rusty has been keeping me company too. He loves the chance to sleep in the bed and snuggle with me! This means I have to wash the sheets and comforter twice a week, but it's totally worth it! He is a bed hog though.

Other than that, Half Pint continues to grow! I felt a little kick one night this week! It was brief but exciting!! Thanks to Michele and Julie, I have lots of reading material to go through on labor and delivery, post-delivery, and beyond!! I'm also starting to research baby products. This is a VERY overwhelming task! There is so much out there, how do you know what you need and what you don't need? It's great to have advise and tips from moms out there!!

(Self-portraits are not easy!! I'm working on it so hopefully the future pictures will be better!)

Weekly Review "The Farewell"

Pregnancy Week 15

24 - 30 September, 2011

This was the week that Mike deployed. We spent his last days in Okinawa packing the last few things, organizing packages to be sent later, and running the last few errands.

Our doctor was nice enough to squeeze us in early for my 16 week appointment. Normally they don't do another ultrasound at this time, but since Mike was leaving, he brought in the machine for us!! We got to see Half Pint again and he/she was MOVING!! It was so much fun to be able to watch him/her bounce around, put hands in the face, and kick! We could see ribs and fingers and the spine!! Too bad he/she wasn't cooperating, we might have been able to tell if Half Pint is a boy or girl!! Guess we'll just have to wait until the next appointment. I was slightly disappointed because the printer on the machine was broken. So, no new photos to share. But I am so thankful that Mike was there to share one more appointment with me.

It was tough not to spend those last few days focusing on the frustration, sadness, and fear that I felt about him leaving for so long. I know that Rusty picked up on the approaching departure too. He was Mike's shadow and never left his side. It was quite comical.

The morning that Mike left, I dropped him off at the hangar at 4 am but was told I could go back to hang out with him from 6:30-8:30 before he actually left. Mike called me at about 6:15 saying that I better get over there to say my final goodbyes because they were leaving soon. So, instead of a 2 hour visit, we got about 10 minutes. In hindsight, it was better this way. I didn't have time to get worked up and start the ugly cry in public. No one wants to ugly cry in public. Instead, it was short, sweet, and to the point. It was liking ripping off a Bandaid. We had time for one last picture, hugs, kisses, and "Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, Happy Birthday, and Happy Valentine's Day" in person.

I filled every waking moment of the rest of the week running errands, checking things off my To Do List, working, and keeping busy. In fact, my motto during this deployment will be "Just keep moving." The hardest parts of that week were dinner time and bed time. I ate leftovers for 4 days because I just didn't want to cook for one. When it came time for bed, I procrastinated by being productive... How often does that happen? I just didn't want to go to bed alone.

But, there are good things to celebrate. My baby bumps keeps growing. I think I felt Half Pint move on Saturday!! I don't know for sure, but it was a sensation I've never felt before. What else could it be?! The temperature and humidity have taken a break! I can officially light my fall scented candles! And Mike and I were able to Skype. Communication will not be as difficult as I had originally feared. I can see his face and hear his voice. Things will be ok though difficult at times. Thank you to all who have sent emails and made phone calls this week. I truly appreciate your love and support during this difficult time.