sara without an h

(chocolate) milk does a (pregnant) body good.

i'm still lovin' the chocolate milk.

chocolate milk is the best thing ever.

that glass of chocolate milk (organic, low-fat and fortified with DHA omega-3!) i just drank was the best thing i have ever tasted. EVER. seriously. i never knew anything could taste that good. am i pregnant or what?! work was very long and tiring today. i have two more equally long and tiring shifts tomorrow and tuesday before i finally get a day off (my first in almost a week)! i just have to get through this week and part of the next before my trip to pennsylvania. i can't tell you how excited i am to see my family and friends! we're all getting together to celebrate our baby shower and my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. it should be a wonderful week and just the kind of trip i need! ******** on a completely unrelated note, can we talk about groin pain here for a second? the last two days it has felt like i'm wearing underwear made of PAIN. have i been doing the splits? moonlighting as an olympic gymnast? doing the hustle with a little too much gusto? NO. i am growing a human, and i'm pretty sure that's more tiring than all of those things combined. still, with only 10-13 more weeks left to go in this pregnancy, i find myself wanting to savor every kick, nudge, and flutter. searing groin pain or not, this has been the most magical 6+ months of my life. you stay in there, baby girl, and keep on cooking! we'll finally meet when the time is right. and now for your viewing pleasure, i present THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING BELLYBUTTON! i give it 4 weeks max before it's a full-fledged outie.  also note my sweet (if very faint) linea nigra! well, it's about time for me to take a bath, drink another glass of chocolate milk and watch some lost.  i hope everyone has a safe and happy memorial day!

17 weeks!

we're just 3 weeks from the halfway point and 16 days from finding out the sex!  time is simultaneously flying by and dragging on.  this week baby is the size of a turnip, at 5 inches long and 5 ounces in weight.  my belly seems to fluctuate from day to day.  some days it really sticks out and other days it looks like i ate too many tacos.  most days, both points are true. today has been a really nice day so far.  it is half-price bread day at our local bakery, the scholar's inn.  we picked up a loaf of seeded rye that smells amazing!  the northeast has the best delis in the world.  it is almost impossible to find a good loaf of rye or a rare roast beef sandwich in the midwest.  scholar's inn has both! on another note, check out sarah's blog post today on some great books about both passover and easter.  if you're raising your child(ren) in an interfaith household (like she is and we will), check it out!  you can enter her giveaway for a chance to win a copy of each book.  i did!  plus, her baby, charlotte is a beauty and her blogs posts are always heartfelt, funny, and honest.  WIN. okay.  i'm going to be a shameless self-promoter for a moment.  if everyone who visits us today would click on the banner below**, it would make me mucho happy.  we would love to crack the top 50 (#57, so close!), but unless we get a small surge in votes, it will never happen.  you'll also notice a few new sites in my blogroll.  most of these are fellow mommy and baby bloggers, who are also listed on top baby blogs.  check them out!  if you like what you see (i know i do), vote for them too!  to me, blogging is about building a community.  this is why i joined top baby blogs in the first place.  i wanted to meet other bloggers, make connections with other preggos/moms, be a part of something, and share my experiences.  the further i (or any other blogger) moves up in the ranks, the more traffic i get, and the more chances i have of meeting new readers.  thank you for your readership and your support. **note:  all you have to do to vote is click on the above banner.  there is nothing to fill out or register for.  there will be nothing notifying you of your vote.  the top baby blogs site will open in a new window.  feel free to browse the other awesome blogs listed or close the window.  THANK YOU! ***EDIT:  looks like top baby blogs just changed its voting procedure.  now, after clicking the banner, you have to also click the part on the page that comes up, which says "click here and your vote will be added".  THANKS!  sorry for any confusion.

another saturday night.

travis, auggie and i are having a movie date tonight. we're going to watch 500 days of summer, which i haven't seen yet.  i <3 netflix. travis and i just finished a delicious home-cooked dinner of balsamic-brushed roasted brussels sprouts, crispy prosciutto, shallots, and balsamic reduction over pasta.  it was so tasty!  i've been brussels sprout CRAZY lately.  they always sound so yummy to me.  i am also obsessed with edy's strawberry popsicles. ALSO, i am taking a short trip to pennsylvania a week from monday to visit my family and friends!!!  i miss them so much.  the hardest part of being pregnant has been having to go through it so far away from my support system.  don't get me wrong, travis has been amazing through everything, but nothing can replace good girlfriends and parental support.  i haven't been back east in months, and i am so excited i got to plan this little last-minute getaway.  travis, who is less than a month away from his final painting critique, will stay here with auggie and get some much needed uninterrupted studio time.  we'll miss each other, but he's happy to spend the time painting. well, travis is almost done with the dishes (i love that man), so it's almost movie time!  have a lovely saturday night.

walking clich é.

i just ate my weight in bread and butter pickles.  now it's bedtime.

bump it.

here are the 13 week bump pictures as promised (complete with red lipstick)! i was feeling pretty dowdy and a little greasy this evening, but there's nothing like a swipe of red lipstick to make one feel instantly more put together. my bump is really starting to stick out this week.  it's pretty hard to hide it now, not that i've been trying to.  the weirdest development this week is that my belly button is now slightly off center.  it's difficult to get a decent picture of it, but it's definitely slightly right of center. my big cravings this week have been green beans, frozen yogurt, grilled cheese, and pasta with butter and parmesan.  i'm still not stomaching meat very well, but i did manage to eat some roast chicken and a small cheeseburger this week.  progress!  i've been taking my vitamins religiously and have been getting protein from quinoa, almonds, almond milk, and cheese.  my OB gave me a handy chart to keep track of my diet and how many servings i've had from various food groups.  most days i've gotten fairly close to an ideal balance.  i'm trying! 6 weeks from today we find out if this little shrimp is a girl or a boy!  i can't wait!  my mom and dad are flying out from philadelphia for the appointment and travis' mom (and maybe his dad) are driving out from ohio.  it should be a very fun weekend, full of things to celebrate!  this baby will be very blessed to have such wonderful grandparents. i think it is time for me to pop some popcorn, cuddle with my pup, and watch some figure skating.  i hope you all have a wonderful night!

lime time!

i am 12 weeks today and baby is the size of a lime.  that just seems so HUGE to me.  baby L is developing reflexes, such as opening and closing those little hands, sucking in fluid and swallowing.  in addition to pooping in there, baby is also excreting urine. in terms of my development, my uterus is now the size of a softball and will continue to grow at a rate of 1 cm a week.  if i press down low on my abdomen, right above the pubic bone, i can feel it.  it's insane.  though the uterus is low, i am thickening and beginning to show much higher in the abdomen.  does anybody know why this is?  i'll post a 12 week bump picture tomorrow so you can see what i mean. yesterday, i had a stranger ask me if i'm pregnant.  this was a first!  it must mean that i'm not the only one to notice it! i have felt great this week!  i haven't been nauseous or thrown up (except for a very tiny bit) in 6 days!  i think the morning sickness is just about history.  VICTORY.IS.MINE.  my energy is starting to come back, but i still find i need more sleep than i did pre-pregnancy.  my big cravings have been potatoes with hot sauce, bagels and cream cheese, sour candy, pancakes, lasagna, and salads.  a crazy mix, no? more than anything else this week, i have been hit with an overwhelming excitement and desire to meet this little one.  it's all i can think about.  i can't wait to see little S or E in travis' arms.  when i think about what an amazing father he will be, i well up with emotion and love.  i've said it before and i'll say it again, what we lack in space and money we more than make up for in LOVE.  it may be naive and romantic, but i think love really is all you need.

meat.

at this point i'm experiencing more food aversions than cravings.  nothing really sounds appetizing at all, but some things just sound downright disgusting, especially meat.  all meat.  chicken, turkey, beef, pork, fish, hotdogs, sausage.  it's all gross right now.  tonight is taco night.  travis will have ground beef, and i will have black beans and avocado. this whole relationship with food is completely new to me.  i love food--cooking and eating.  i really don't think i've had a food aversion in my life.  it is also amazing how quickly a craving can turn into an aversion.  i really wanted cheesecake the other night.  i NEEDED cheesecake.  i ate one small slice before the sight and the smell of it began to repulse me.  it went from delicious to baked by the devil himself in 60 seconds flat. from what i've read and been told, this should all subside by the second trimester.  5 more weeks of this.  i can do it, and will likely do it a couple more times in my life.  in the end it will all be worth it.  all the sensitivities, aversions, mood swings, and soreness will result in a soft, pink, smell-goody little baby .  it is so worth it.

dear baby,

you sure must love mexican food because queso has never tasted better!  you take after your father that way.

love,

mama