Obligatory Pregnancy Post

Um. I haven’t done a pregnancy post on here since I announced that we were having baby Boley #2. It was kind of dramatic start to things, but I am happy to report that it has been super easy since then. All the midwife appointments have been really quick and boring–besides hearing the heartbeat which is never boring–and I haven’t had a lot of questions or issues. I feel at peace.

Although I am excited to meet our second son, I am not incredibly anxious or impatient. Since I was lucky enough to have an uncomplicated delivery with Benton, I have a lot of confidence about the upcoming birth in April, so there isn’t much stress there. We already have the baby gear that we need for the most part, so I am not worried about all that. Things are just moving along smoothly.

I am SO HAPPY about this. Boring, or uneventful as I should say, is just fine when it comes to pregnancy issues. And don’t hate me, but I’m pretty much enjoying myself. I am 20 lbs less than I was at this point in the game last time, and I haven’t hit the tired phase of the 3rd trimester just yet. I am nesting like mad. Things have never been more clean around here and I feel good.

Things that I do wonder about are the day-to-day logistics of taking care of a newborn and a toddler. I know how challenging breastfeeding can be in the beginning, and I remember sometimes nursing for up to eight hours a day with B. So that is probably my number one anxiety with this baby. I just don’t know how all that will work, but I am sure we will figure it out.

I think I’m actually more excited about meeting this baby than I was with my first. Or maybe since I am less anxious about the unknown, there is more room for happy anticipation. This time, I feel more like I am waiting for a person then a baby if that makes any sense. A new family member.

I know each and every kid is very different and this one could be the complete opposite of laid back baby Benton. But I’m now equipped with a support system, some base knowledge, more patience, and a confidence that I didn’t yet possess when I was a brand new mom with B. I also have confidence in my partner and have the advantage of seeing him as a dad already. That is no longer a mystery factor. Justin and I are a good team, and we have our share of victories and losses just as any good team does.

I’m sure I will have more to say about this pregnancy, but for now, that is all the important stuff. Non important stuff? I really needed a lot of orange juice today and cleaned and organized every inch of the kitchen cupboards and pantry. NESTING ALL THE THINGS CLEANING ALL THE THINGS MORE NESTING MORE MORE MORE CLEAN.

If you don’t follow me on Twitter or Facebook, then you will likely stomp your feet now because I haven’t posted the obligatory belly photos on the blog. Apologies, apologies. I think all of them are iPhone pictures so far. Let me see if I can find some.

K, here you go.

21ish weeks

22ish weeks

23ish week comparison.

And my favorite shot so far. He is such a dear.

24 Week Caesar Salad

(I am actually at Week 25 by now, but here is last week’s shoot.)

I had a foot long baby in my belly last week. So I found a head of Romaine that seemed to work as a good size comparison, but now I realize I have lost my chance to do a Subway 5-dollar-foot-long post.

My expression is less than joyful because I am having a hard time accepting the amount of weight that I’ve put on already. But that is another post for another day. Actually, that is a post I will never post. Because no one really cares, and everyone keeps saying that I look cute. I wish I could believe that myself.

What I am grateful for is a very uncomplicated and healthy pregnancy so far. And that I can grow a FOOT LONG BABY in under 25 weeks. Pretty awesome.

Porpus isn’t generally known for her positive attitude, but she is reminding me here that I am also extra squishy and cuddly. Which is to her liking. She also may have mentioned that it is most interesting to see the belly actually move when the baby kicks. All very true. Thanks, kitteh.

So, what do you do with a head of Romaine lettuce that is remotely interesting? Make Caesar Salad. I am not a fan of the creamy version of this recipe. I am more into the lemony/garlic/vinegar/olive oil version that I grew up with. My mom’s Caesar is the best. And here is her magic formula:

Megagood Mom’s Caesar Dressing:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
• 1 teaspoon  red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of Dijon
• 2 tablespoon pressed garlic
• 3/4 cup olive oil

(shake, shake, shake)

This should easily make enough for two salads. All you have to do is pour it over your washed and torn bite-size bits of romaine lettuce.

But let’s NOT forget the croutons. They are key. Store-bought or restaurant croutons are gross in my opinion. I prefer ripped pieces of crusty wheat or multi-grain toast for this salad. They are easier to fork and have soaking properties that will do your salad good.

Now I need to head to the grocery and figure out what this week’s dish will be. Hopefully I will post before next weekend, because we are moving. Lots of boxes and general busy happenings around here. Week 26 will be shot in the new place!

23 Week Papaya

Wait—what happened to 22 weeks?

I don’t know what you are talking about.

No really, where is that part of the series?

You are mumbling, I can’t understand the words you are saying. Can I offer you some juice?

I am not a huge fan of Papaya, but when you mix it with pineapple, wonderful things happen. Pineapple is intensely sweet and tangy, and the buttery and musky papaya cuts some of the sharpness when you juice them together. Martha Stewart agrees that this is a good combination. She also puts mint in this mixture, because she is like that. I would have too, but I have pregnancy brain, and ended up with a package of Andes mints instead.  I remembered the fresh mint when I was already pinned into the check out line. And there is no more wiggling between the cart and the candy shelf to escape back into the produce department for a forgotten item. I am clearly too large and too slow for that kind of behavior.

This may look shockingly large. (I am of course talking about the papaya and not my gigantic FACE.) But you have to remember that the comparison to fruit is dumb. They are really only comparing the length from the head to the toe of the baby, and the actual size of the fruit as a whole has little to do with the actual babe within. But I do in fact have an 11+ inch human growing in there.

Little mister is even getting big enough that he got to kick his dad. While resting his hand on my belly yesterday, Justin felt the first pummeling from his son. It was a sweet moment.

21 Week Banana (muffin) Boley

Last week was banana week. A 10.5 inch banana to be specific. Let me know if you ever see one of these, because that is ridiculously large. And most bananas are no more than 8.5 inches at best. But, this whole thing is ridiculous anyway, so I have officially stopped caring if the fruit is the right size or not. Because generally it just won’t be. All I know is that baby Boley is growing, so that is sweet.

This week, I am trying the patented Black and White Except Banana Filter™. Fancy. This is mostly due to my skin being a wreck. Hopefully, some sunshine will help with this problem. What ever happened to perfect glowing skin and hair during pregnancy? Yeah, I am wearing a headband here, too. Meh.

Porp has limited time for phone calls from the banana phone. She can’t be bothered.

Banana hands!

So the above picture may appear gross to you, but when making banana muffins, the more brown your naners, the better. These are prime muffin naners. I have written a couple times about this recipe, because it is one of my all-time favorites. If you only make one of the recipes in this series, make this one. Hundreds of thousands of people agree it is most delicious. Seriously. THOUSANDS.

Besides the bananas, there is a key ingredient that you cannot skip. The cinnamon, butter, sugar crumb topping:

Don’t forget to put it on the muffins BEFORE baking.

Then bake for 18-20 minutes and go see what Norp is up to. Clearly, she is exhausted from all her calls. She has assumed awkward harp-seal-napping-pose on top of no less than two perfectly fluffed plush blankets on her recliner.

Ta-dah!

Everyone will be a fan of these. Try eating them warm, paired with an ice-cold glass of milk before bed. Or warm in the morning with a cup of coffee. They are amazing even if you aren’t a big fan of muffins.

20 week Cantaloupe

We have reached the halfway point.

The point where the baby is compared to a cantaloupe.

This is also the week that we bought a car. Which is good. But it meant that I decided to go grocery shopping in person vs. the delivery service I have been using for a couple years. This is less good.

I have lost nearly all my skills in the grocery shopping department, so it took me about 10 hours and a million dollars. And I failed to get any ingredients to make this cantaloupe into something special. Hours later, I found out that if you wrap it in prosciutto, it becomes fabulous. Grocery fail.

I also fail at throwing and catching cantaloupes with one hand. Frame three shows an injury that occurred as a result of my poor hand/melon coordination. But I recovered without any lasting damage.

So as I mentioned, there are no ingredients to this cantaloupe recipe beyond…cantaloupe. Sorry. Though I would like to hear if you try the prosciutto idea and love it.

There is something very satisfying about cutting open a cantaloupe and then scooping, dividing and chunking. Cutting any large fruit with a big knife seems this way. Pineapple, watermelon, or even an over-size apple is an exciting chop. Am I alone here?

Actual baby news: We have the big 20 week ultrasound tomorrow afternoon, and if baby cooperates, we will know the answer to the “boy or girl” by the end of the day. We are so excited to see the baby on the screen, since up until now, all we have gotten is a little heartbeat flicker coming from a pinto bean, and a few heartbeat recordings at later appointments. It will be amazing to see an actual baby kicking around in there. Oh, yes there is much kicking. Everything is becoming more real.

I have a couple drafts saved on here that have yet to be published. My goal is to get them live this week, because drafts get stale and gross. And my camera came back out in celebration of warmer temps (more than 30 degrees) so stay tuned for some actual DPH, like in the good old days of Megagood.

19 Week Grapefruit

It’s week 19. Almost halfway though. Time is going by very fast these days

This week the baby is 6 inches long from head to baby butt. So it is supposedly mango/grapefruit size. Mangoes are super gross this time of year, but grapefruits are a pretty safe bet. So that is what I am featuring this week. During my first trimester I ate at least one a day for a while, so of all the fruits and veggies that have been suggested as comparisons, this one is probably the most accurate. I am sure the baby’s genetic make up is no less than 50% grapefruit.

Which means baby will smell really good and be slightly pink in coloring.

What you see above, is this recipe for grapefruit basil salad*. It seems like an unconventional flavor combination, but it works surprisingly well. The balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper marinated the grapefruit, basil, chives and red onion. The result was a refreshing salad that should be eaten on a patio in the sun.

However, I ate it in the dark, inside my apartment with the heat blasting because I live in Siberia. I will have to try it again when Chicago becomes more like Florida during the mid-summer. Because I have a feeling that my pregnant self will not be using the oven much come June and July. Just a hunch.

*Important tip: If you make this, I suggest trying to slice the grapefruit like this. That way, you do not have to deal with the tough pithy membranes that I had in my salad.