Friday, February 22, 2008

Natural Birth?

I can't decide whether I want to get the epidural or do it all naturally...

My inner pain demon says "DRUGS ALL THE WAY" but then I think of all the little tubes stuck to my hands and the catheter inside my bladder and that makes me want to do it naturally.

But then who knows how this bugger will come out...May end up with a c-section and then none of it matters.

Oh and I can't decide on a hospital/doctor...I like my OBGYN so far, but he's at a good hospital whereas I've heard other women rant and rave about an even better hospital. Meh...decisions.

List of my Medications

Protonix (for heartburn)

Synthroid (for thyroid)

Prenate Elite (prenatal vitamins that I can actually swallow not horse mouth - sized)

Afrin Nasal Spray (congestion)

Saline Nasal Spray (congestion with guilt)

Sudafed (for sinutis and sinus headaches)

Unisom (sleeping pill that I only take in extreme situations, was prescribed to reduce morning sickness rather than actual insomnia)

Gatorade (yes this is my medication that I carry around with me everwhere...the slightest acidic warning taste in my mouth during day and I gulp this).

Vicks Ultrasonic Humidifier (because Seattle isn't humid enough for my aching nose).

Zofran (for morning sickness, but I tried sucking on the little pills and almost puked in the car, so have decided not to count on these since they totally defeat the purpose of not puking, and they are for chemo therapy patients anyhow, which is sort of scary for a fetus?)

It is because of this list that I am not bed ridden (well mostly not) and not hurling myself onto rush hour traffic. How did preggo women cope centuries ago when they didn't have meds?

Going back to Minnesota

This Sunday am headed back to MN since late October...going for about 5 days and have TONS to do while there. I need to get my car checked for its tires etc since G & I will be driving back to Seattle next weekend (the whole point of this trip is to pack up the last of my stuff and get my beloved Hindu Accord). Then I also need to clean up the bedroom in my parents house and organize what I need to bring back to this teensy apartment. Somewhere in there I'm meeting up with friends and making a stop at my previous workplace (where I am now working on a per project basis remotely) to check on why my email account has not been renewed. The friends part is hard, because all I want to do is hang out with each of them seperately, but since I'm there for such a short time I think the best I'll manage is a combined dinner meeting one of the nights. I'm excited to show them the wedding video, there are some hilarious moments in there!

Can't wait to sleep snuggled next to my squishy faced jack russell terrier...I miss my dog! Oh and of course gonna make sure Mom makes her preggo daughter some yummy chicken biryani and daikon radish (mooli) parathas...oh and her famous indian style chicken wings...and I could go on and on.

Fingers crossed that the weather agrees with us and that G and I make it safely back to WA without any major delays through the mountain passes.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Cooking Light

Tonight's rant is about cooking. A little bit of history first. I'm an experimental cook, and since getting hitched I've tried cooking numerous items. Some tasty, some not so tasty. I'm currently at home and not working (well I am working remotely but let's not stray from the topic) so I feel even more pressure to actually cook decent meals at night for the both of us (three of us if you include the little salsa eating parasite inside of me). So today was a usual Saturday except that I have been having morning sickness that lasts until about 2pm daily, which doesn't always include barfing but always includes stomach aches and queasiness. G (hubbie) went to the gym in the morning (after popping dirty clothes into the laundry which I eventually had to finish and watch like a hawk since we live in an apartment). I couldn't figure out what to make for lunch for the both of us (key word is BOTH...when I was single I would eat the most random things like sandwich meat straight out of the bag or tunafish on crackers) so I made a frozen pizza. G came home and ate it without complaint. I decided that dinner should be a bit better so I took out the meat for kebabs to defrost. My kebabs have come out wonderfully in the past and praised by hubbie so I figured this was a good Saturday night dinner. Plus, I don't add eggs to the meat to hold it together as some people do, so I save on calories and serve vegetables, bread, and lowfat yogurt alongside.

Well G decides today is the day to start complaining about the fat content of our food. Normally I wouldn't mind at all, since I'm prone to worrying about my own weight when it starts to creep up....but I am annoyed because this was the first day I made a pizza in a long time, and, everytime we go out to eat at a restaurant or at someone's home, G eats like he's a refugee from some impovershed country stricken by famine. It's so hypocritical. At home he removes the fat free cheese from the veggie burger or eats only sherbert for desert. But at a friend's house he proudly proclaims how he's eaten enough for the next 3 meals and there is no sign of removing cheese or eating only low fat foods.

I mean, if you are on a mission to lose weight, shouldn't you be consistent?For example, let me summarize the eating on our recent trip to India. My philosophy is "save myself from getting sick but still try all the good food" and G's philosophy is "eat until it starts to regurgitate and smell up his breath." After our wedding, (we were there for 2 months, the first month was the wedding festivities and preps and the second month was visiting relatives). G gained a total of 12-14 lbs on this trip. I gained as well, but about 5 lbs and that was mostly due to eating alongside G. (I gained much more weight later in the States with the pregnancy etc.). I doubt I was hungry or starving one single day in India...everywhere we go, either to a relatives house or out sightseeing, there is FOOD. And Indian's snack like crazy before and after meals. I loved hanging out with my new hubbie and I usually enjoyed the roadside food. And I liked how G was enjoying himself as well. But geezus... Yes I still love my hubbie.

So today I put back the defrosted kebab meat and decided to eat whatever random food (refried beans) for myself and also heated a lovely weight watchers frozen turkey dinner. G eventually made pulav (indian rice dish). Go fig.

The Fascinating and Wonderful List of My Preggo Symptoms

1. Heartburn. Down to my toes heartburn. Pervade my brain heartburn. Thank God for Protonix.

2. Fatigue.

3. Hips hurt after excersising, particularily the treadmill (or shopping).

4. Morning Sickness. And afternoon sickness. NEVER eat a protien bar at breakfast...those things do NOT digest well and you end up puking it all out...now I know what it feels like choking while puking. Not good.

5. The never - ending cold. Congestion is my life.

6. Lowered libido. 'Nuff said.

7. Random headaches. Although that's probably due to dehydration from #4.

8. Was a huge tea and coffee gal...now I barely drink them. (Still haven't given up diet coke).

9. Water has to be laced with sugar or flavor. Milk has to be chocolate. I didn't say I was a healthy preggo.

10. And the newest symptom? Thyroid disease for life. No wonder I've felt so tired and everyday is like an uphill battle. Whoopee! (But it does explain my slow metabolism).

Why the title?

Okay so the reason the address is "refriedbeansandsalsa" is because well...I'm not that creative and every other thing I came up with was already taken (everything I tried within 5 minutes). And, (at the exact moment of birth of the blog and post) I am consuming vegetarian refried beans smothered with hot salsa and reduced fat sour cream, all nestled in a huge coffee mug (yep I'm fancy!). I'm newly pregnant, newly married, and newly moved into a shared apartment with hubbie. And, I have occassional cravings for spicy food, especially if it has salsa slathered on top.

The title is "great expectations" because I have great expectations about life...Yet God laughs when I plan.