baby shower #2?

OK, I would like some input.

Several of my friends have offered to throw us a baby shower for this (our second) child. I have refused, instead suggesting just getting together for lunch or a mani/pedi as a group with no gifts since we already have a child (one of the same gender even!) and we already have enough of the small person paraphernalia. I feel like it is almost wasteful to ask for and/or receive the same types of gifts again. We had too many onesies with Iz, we don’t need any more. I have been to a couple of baby showers for #2 babies that I thought were really clever, one suggested only diapers or gift cards from take out restaurants on the invitation since the parents had almost everything they really needed.

My general opinion is a nice big gift for baby #1, then at most a small person gift or gift card for #2 and so on.

Now, the question. I just received an invitation to a baby shower for a first cousin of Mikes, let’s call her B. It is for her 2nd child, her first child being about 1.5 years old. I bought a big toy from her registry for child #1. Another 1st cousin in the same immediate family, N., is also pregnant and just had her shower. I sent N. a nice big bundle from her registry as a gift and I assume that B. was at the shower and knew I sent a gift. Do you think I should get a gift for B.? If I don’t, will she be upset or angry? Would you be?

what would I do?

What things do you think you would change in pregnancy number 2 (if you decide to have one)? What things would you love to be able to keep the same?

The first thing that comes to mind is that I would eat healthier and move more throughout the pregnancy. I really looked at my first pregnancy as an excuse to eat all the chocolate icecream I wanted and lay around. It wasn’t completely my fault, we had some early issues with the pregnancy and my doctor thought that we would lose it (she gave me a 50% chance.) That made me want to take it as easy as possible, I was almost on bedrest for the first trimester (I went to work, but did very little else). In the second trimester, we changed doctors and the new one was much more positive about the outcome of the pregnancy, but by then I was in a laying around frame of mind.

I didn’t have morning sickness (though I did have food aversion) and until the third trimester, I was healthy. (In the third trimeste, I injured my groin muscle and had a hard time moving around afterward.)

Since we have moved to the great state of AL, I am not given many of the options for the birth that others have. It is illegal for midwives to practice here so I will be having my baby in the hospital under doctor’s care. I hope to have a natural birth, though.

#2?

What things do you think you would change in pregnancy number 2 (if you decide to have one)?  What things would you love to be able to keep the same?

 

I would have a home birth, but I’d keep the doula. That would be the biggest change. And I might be interested in taking a hypnobirthing class. I’d skip the baby shower totally or if people insisted (like last time) I’d ask for cash instead of gifts and apply it to a cleaning service.

 

I’d take more pictures.

 

But as far as keeping things the same — I have a reasonably good pregnancy. I wasn’t wild about morning sickness, but I’d take that any time over the things that could go wrong. (I’m a high risk patient.)

 

questions

I am feeling a bit better too. Slept ok last night, thought I was awake too early still.

We went to the market last night and found some great looking wraps (for sandwiches) that are only 100 calories and 8 grams of fiber. If they don’t taste like cardboard, I will recommend them.

Answers to the questions I asked earlier:

Do you feel like you are on a diet most of the time?<> Do you have a diet mentality when it comes to eating out or eating desserts? (”I can’t eat that, it is bad.”)

I feel like I am on a diet all the time (except when I don’t . When I am “on plan” I can’t enjoy a meal without calculating how many points it has, what my tally is for the day, how much do I have left, will I be able to have something else later. When I am “off plan” I go crazy, eating way too much and eating all the “bad” foods I would typically skip because of their high point value.

<> I don’t necessarily think that the diet mentality (which for me means being constantly aware of daily points) is a bad thing. I obviously cannot control my food intake based on hunger or desire to eat healthy alone. The crazy eating while I am off plan is something I would like to change or avoid. Even after 2 years of this journey, I am still trying to figure this one out.<>What are your taboo or trigger foods?

My taboo foods are sweets and chocolate. I like what Cat said about making one choice to avoid them at the supermarket instead of making 1000 choices to avoid them when they are at your house. I will think about that next time I reach for something.

<>Do you have a favorite healthy food that you use as a treat? (smoothie, healthy cookies, etc)? Will you share the recipe?

My healthy dessert are smoothies, I make them with .5 a cup of soy milk and 2 cups of frozen fruit (or 1 cup of frozen fruit and one banana). I blend it up with a little splenda and ice and it is divine.

I also healthy up some of my bread recipes and make those occassionaly. Last week, I made pumpkin bread this way. The recipe I have is for pumpkin cake, basically, lots of oil and sugar. I replaced all the oil with applesauce and cut back on the sugar (though there was still alot in there). I used egg substitute for the eggs. It was the same yummy flavor for a loss less calories.

Sick, but Improving

Still sick, but better. I feel more alert and I’m clear in one nostril. Mostly it’s body aches.

Do you feel like you are on a diet most of the time?

No. Mostly vegan eating doesn’t feel like a diet to me. Perhaps because it isn’t just about food — it’s about environment, spirituality, and more.

When I start tracking calories, points or exchanges… that’s different. It does start to feel like a diet, and I make myself bananas after a while.

And every once in a while I have a yen for some non-vegan thing. Like when I was pregnant with Julia I was obsessed with steak! I don’t think I’m pregnant now, but lately I’ve been having chicken thoughts.

Like “I want to eat a chicken breast with adobo seasoning. Ugh, that’s disgusting. Think about what factory farmed horror I’d be eating if I did that. But man, adobo seasoning. Grilled. Stop it! It’s dead animal! Gross! Smells delicious on the grill though…. Have something ELSE with adobo seasoning and grill that. “

Do you have a diet mentality when it comes to eating out or eating desserts?

Nope. I like to eat out. I like to be served and I like the break from cooking and then cleaning up the kitchen. So long as it’s (mostly) vegan, I’m game.

Desserts I don’t make and I rarely eat though. Not because I don’t like them. I love them. But it’s too caloric and because it will send my blood sugar into high orbit. If I’m going to order it, I share it with Paul and kid.

What are your taboo or trigger foods?

My trigger foods are:

• white bread, esp. raisin bread
• cookies
• sweet crackers

I’ll eat right through the whole package of those things. So I practice “resist once at the store, and you don’t have to resist a million times at home.”

I don’t have a problem with savory or salty things.

Do you have a favorite healthy food that you use as a treat?

At the moment, it’s “Almond Joy” cocoa.

Last month or the month before I had this crazy yen for coconut cream. And I could find coconut milk, and I could find shredded frozen coconut, and I could find dried coconut. But not organic coconut cream. Real stuff without weird things added to it.

Granted part of the yen was a desire for a lucious Pina Colada, but still… I grew up in the tropics. I have a wild penchant for tropical fruits.

Anyway, an online search for real organic coconut cream led me to ordering a jar from Tropical Traditions.

When it arrived it was sitting on my stoop and was liquidy. I stupidly did not freeze it right then and there and I put it in the fridge. Later it was hard as a rock and I had to sit it in hot water. I managed to get half of it melted and dolloped 1 tbs out into ice cube trays to freeze. Once frozen I put it into a Ziploc in the freezer. Then I can put one frozen blob into my drink where it will melt.

(Now that I think on it, that’s a treat too. I will go out of my way to find and purchase fancy ingredients or foods. I just ordered about several types of tea from Mighty Leaf Tea and I adore every cup I’ve had so far.)

So to make it…

• 1 cup of Edensoy vanilla soy milk or Rice Dream Vanilla rice milk. Microwave or heat on stove til hot.
• Add 2 tbs Ghirardelli Hazelnut Cocoa Powder
• Add 1 tbs coconut cream.

Stir and drink. Yum!
{…}

Writing about it made me want to make it for breakfast. So I paired it up with the last of the organic pears. Yum!

At 5:17 am

I am not happy.

Sore throat is kicking my ass and keeping me awake. Luckily, the internet has entertained me while I suck on cough drops and drink ice water. I have read 6 months of Doctormama’s archives, I highly recommend them.

I had this idea that yesterday (saturday) I would start something new, something different, but then this stupid sore throat got in the way and I am still here complaining. And I didn’t go to the grocery store which is always the first thing that needs to happen.

I am ovulating right now too (in case you were wondering) so maybe the new thing will be a nice new pregnancy. Mike and I gave it the college try this month which actually isn’t the most fun thing to do when you are feeling lousy. (Still great though, don’t get me wrong. Totally hot and amazing. Just in case Mike is reading this.)

Mike and I took advantage of the free babysitting and went to dinner at IHOP last night, got the worst service ever, but still enjoyed the pancakes.

Question of the week (for cat, if you feel like answering, I will answer later when I have had more sleep): Do you feel like you are on a diet most of the time? Do you have a diet mentality when it comes to eating out or eating desserts? (“I can’t eat that, it is bad.”) What are your taboo or trigger foods? Do you have a favorite healthy food that you use as a treat? (smoothie, healthy cookies, etc)? Will you share the recipe?