Pics are finally in!

I know I had promised to post pics of the bump long time ago, and I am sorry for the delay. But here they are, me at 24 weeks:





And one with Fifi saying hello to baby:



For those who saw me in New York, (i.e. Adrianna), the bump has certainly grown!

Want a good read?

So, I just finished reading, Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner, and can completely recommend it as a great fast, entertaining, engrossing and funny read. Long ago I had read, Good in Bed, also by Weiner, and loved it. It was a laugh out loud funny and endearing book.

Goodnight Nobody is Weiner third novel I have read. In between I read In Her Shoes, in mass paperback. I bought it at the airport waiting with my husband, for our plane to Lisbon and the start of our honeymoon. This one was okay, but not as great as its hype. The movie version was also just okay.

When I read the back on Goodnight Nobody, I was intrigued. Maybe because I'm about to enter the land called motherhood, or because it talked about the perfect mothers of a town in Connecticut, much like the skinny and pulled together women that surround my sister in her every day life. It pleasantly surprised me as a story of a modern Miss Marple, with three kids and a cool single New Yorker friend, solving the mystery behind the death of one of the perfect mothers she knew from the playground that had always made her feel intimidated and inadequate. Things end up being not as they had seemed of course, as she finds out more and more with her investigation. I read it in two and a half days--it was that good.

I'm off to amazon.com now to get Weiner's Little Earthquakes, which is about a group of mothers who meet at a Prenatal Yoga class--sounds right up my alley. Either way, I think it will be funny and I enjoy her writing style very much. A no brainer if you ask me.

Portugal moves on to Quarter-Finals

So, Portugal qualifies, but not without some drama. It was a record setting game, in which the referee gave 16 yellow cards, and ejected four players (two Portuguese and two Dutch) off the field. It was a really physical match and Poncho and I were on the edge of our seats and even had sweaty palms.

Thankfully, Maniche, a Portuguese player scored one goal, and this was all they needed to win the match. Still, by the end, there were only 9 players on each side and it seemed that at any moment they would start a brawl on the field.

Now, Portugal faces England on Saturday but without two key players, maybe three since Cristiano Ronaldo, another great player, was badly hurt by a nasty foul.

Either way, it's exciting. I'm now looking for a flag for my car to show support for my team. GO PORTUGAL!!!

40 weeks, 9 months, 10 months??

Who knew "How far along are you?" would be such a complicated question. For me, the easiest answer is to say, for example, "23 weeks". But people crinckle their eyebrows and look confused with this answer. They want me to say, "almost 6 months". But, when you say that to someone, like say, my father in law, he begins to count and he comes up with less time. Sure, if my last menstrual period was in January, and I'm due in October, then June is my fifth month. But according to other books, you are entering your 6th month when you are 23 weeks. Or, if I use the calendar my doctor gave me, I'm actually already finishing my 6th month--but his calendar has 10 months.

So, am I pregnant for 10 months, 40 weeks, or 9 months? This article explains it pretty well. The confusion stems from either going by the lunar calendar or the gregorian calendar, and the fact that a month is 4.33 weeks and not just 4 weeks on average...

Who knows, but I do know that it's more fun to go by weeks. It feels like I'm moving along faster than if I wait a whole month to change status. I'm growing, the baby is growing, why not go on a week by week basis? As this ticker does, that even tells you a developmental milestone with each week that passes:



So, you can dispute between five months, six months or 23 weeks, I'm just enjoying being pregnant and really excited to meet this baby sometime in October.

Beware of "Research"--a cautionary tale

So, I had another meeting with the Leche League Women. I took my friend, Michelle with me, who is a week and a half from her due date. The topic of the meeting was preparing for birth and taking care of baby once he or she arrives. I have to say, it was a bit less informative than the last meeting, but still some interesting personal tales did come to light that served more as "what not to do" than models to follow.

For example, there was a young mother with a six month old who had strong (and I mean STRONG) family involvement in the raising of her son. She was being pressured by her mother, her grandmother, her pediatrician to do things that she didn't feel were right. For example, she was told to feed her two month old fruit!! This is crazy!

Someone asked about lactose intolerance in babies. She had a friend who was being told to give her baby formula, because the baby was intolerant. This made me ask about reflux, since all I've been hearing from new moms is that their babies were diagnosed with reflux--what is up with that? I was told that was something else and then topic changed.

We were about to leave when the leader of the group said, as an aside, "Be careful with having too many ultrasounds, they are being linked with reflux in babies." Michelle and I said nothing, nodded and waved goodbye.

In the car, we confessed that this had left us a bit worried. We both had gotten ultrasounds at each of our check-ups. We tried to brush it off but the nagging question remained. So, I vowed to do some research on-line. Meanwhile, I reassured her that sometimes studies are done on two events that may be on the rise for separate reasons and then are linked. Finding a causal relationship between these two events proves to be difficult.

The first website I found said all the things I wanted to hear. Basically, it said, don't worry. But, did I stop there...No. Then I found a more troubling site. This was an article posted by a pediatrician, stating the following:

I have noticed in my practice what appears to be a worrying trend. Many babies presenting to my clinic with persistent and severe gastro-oesophageal reflux (GER) have been exposed to multiple ultrasounds prenatally. Has anybody else seen this? Is this something we ought to study?

Then, it sites many different studies that were never fully proved or disproved. Even one study that said that high incidence of ultrasounds might mean the baby will be left handed--which doesn't seem like a terrible side effect to me. Still, how do you study this, how do you prove this? And, more importantly, how do you create a valid and undisputed causal relationship between these two events?

I will not worry, I will not worry, I will not worry. Now, if I click my ruby slippers together, then maybe this will be true.

Alias--Season One

I recently purchased the first and second season of Alias on Ebay. After watching the series finale with Poncho and knowing that he had only seen some of the 4th season and most of the fifth and last season, I knew it was time for him to see how it all started. We have been seeing about 3 episodes a night and are completely hooked. They basically make us sit at the edge of our seats and sometimes we even hold hands through her narrow escapes.

If you never saw them, go out and get these DVD's. If you did see these episodes, go back and see them again. You probably have forgotten most of the details (as has happened to me) so it is like seeing them for the very first time.

Next, season three, four and when it is out on DVD, season five.

Do we need to go this far?

I'm all for necessary medical intervention, but I would like to go a little more natural than this... :)

Is 100% natural the way to go?

I had my 22 week appointment with my OB/GYN yesterday and everything is well. Baby is weighing 1.3 lbs already, and not letting us get a good shot of the face. He or she had both hands up by the face (which seems to be a favorite position).

It was also a mega visit, as I had many many questions for him and we ended up having a philosophical discussion about how natural to go and what role medicine plays in our lives. Can we live without medicine? And as a parent, can we make that decision for our kids--as in, deny them vaccines to prevent preventable diseases?

When I mentioned I had gone to the Leche League he got really concerned. They are known for being a little radical and against anything that isn't natural. I mentioned that I didn't want them to give the baby sugar water at birth, and this set him off on an honest discussion, where he spoke to me as a father.

First, he said, without any medical intervention in about 20% of all births, the mother and baby would die. Of those 80% that are born without a problem, about 10% would die because of postnatal complications. In the 1800's there were limited options, but today, when we do have options, can we chose to forego them? I'm not only deciding for my life, I have to consider my baby's life, and Poncho's too.

He then explained that some babies are born with low sugar count and if the mother's milk is not enough to raise it, then the baby is at risk of getting hypoglycemia which can cause brain paralysis--this actually happened to one of his patient's who refused to give her baby anything other than her breastmilk. This baby is now a one year old with some retardation.

Obviously, I don't want to make decisions that will harm the baby, I just want a concrete reason for why they are doing what they are doing. When I heard about the sugar water, at my leche league meeting, no one explained this situation, and it sounded like all babies got it by default. It seemed random when put out of context.

He also told me the story of a friend of his who decided not to vaccinate her sons because she wanted to be natural. One son got polio and at age 11 he learned about the polio vaccine in school. He came home and asked his mom why he hadn't gotten the vaccine. His mom tried to explain that it was more natural without it. But he asked, would my leg be like this if I had had it? She had to say no and face all her suppressed guilt about making a decision for her son that has affected his life and struggling with massive depression. Who wouldn't?

Of course, I'm not against vaccines. I just don't think every little sniffle deserves strong antibiotics. I mean, I'm married to a doctor. Where would we be if I was against medicine? I just want a happy medium.

All in all, it ends up being a matter of being informed. This is our strongest tool. That, and asking questions. Why does the baby need this? It also helps to pick doctors that we can trust who will have my best interest and that of the baby's foremost on their mind.

Who to root for?

So, now that the World Cup is taking over our lives (maybe not yours, but certainly mine... a little, and I must admit, it is a little addictive. I am up and it is 7:30, and I have to wait half an hour for it to be 8:00am, and for today's first game to start...and I'm counting the minutes), I am left with the question, who should I root for?

For most, this question is simple. They go for the country they are from (that is, if they are lucky to be from a country who made it to the cup). My father is German and my mother is also mostly German, so Germany would be a safe choice. But, Germany is not were my heart lives. Or, maybe they go for the best team. I think Brazil has an amazing team, and when they play it looks effortless. They look like they are dancing samba with the ball and it all just flows. But Brazil already has many many devoted fans. Or, maybe, they go for the team with the cutest players, as I confess I did when I was a teen. Back then it was the Italian team. However, I've grown up since then and Paolo Maldini, the cutest player and the reason for my obsession, has since retired. So, it's time to cheer for a new team--an underdog.

I have chosen to root for Portugal. This is where we went for our honeymoon and had a great time. They haven't ever won the cup, and if they did win it would be a great upset. They won their first game yesterday against Angola, 1-0. Go TEAM PORTUGAL!!!

A Year Ago Today...

I was at Poly watching my students move up to the next grade, with tears in my eyes. Not only, because they were growing up, but also because that would be my last day as their teacher. At the end of the ceremony, before leaving, the entire fifth grade came over to me and hugged me one by one. It was heartbreaking (I'm crying as I write this). It is still one of the most moving moments in my life.

Though there are things about the school that were not ideal, and parents that gave me a hard time, it is that moment that made it all worth while and that makes me miss being there this year to see my first sixth grade class graduate from the middle school, my first fifth grade move up to the 8th grade, and my second fifth grade move up to the 7th grade.

I love you and miss you all and wish you the best. And, of course, have a great summer!

Online Baby Pool

Well, seeing as everyone seems convinced that they know what I am having, based on such scientific data as the shape of my belly and the changes to my facial features (as in, if you have a pointy belly (which people seem to think I have) and your face doesn't get deformed (which, for now, THANKFULLY, it hasn't) then it's a boy.

Well, put your money where your mouth is, I say and enter our online baby pool.(Game name is: babyponce, no spaces, no caps) You can guess the gender, the time and date, and the weight and length. Come birth time, we shall see who was right! :)

I love thee Gmail....

Let me count the ways...

I love thee for your endless storage space

I love thee for your search capabilities, which has saved me time and effort

I love thee for your web clips that give me interesting tid bits of information to use in social settings

For example, the following web clip about why we say "pair of pants" and "pair of underwear" when indeed they are only one piece of clothing. Either way we say it, I'm just grateful that they are indeed one piece now, and not to pieces belted in the middle. That does NOT sound comfortable at all.

And, I'm grateful for Gmail, for all that it has brought to me, including, word of the day, which for today is arbiter--which isn't as interesting as yesterday's word, paucity. I have never even heard of it, and even after reading its meaning, I'm still not sure I believe it means few in number. It sounds like it should mean tentativeness or something related to pausing. I don't even know if I could use it in a sentence. Let's see:

The paucity of shoes in my closet is alarming.

I won't be adopting this word into my everyday language. It just doesn't roll off the tongue.

My muscles are sore...

but I'm going back for more.

I loved my Monday Prenatal Pilates class, and I am looking forward to today's class too--even though my muscles are still sore from last time. At least I know that I am indeed working them. Before, I was excercising on a hand me down stationary bike, but would get out of breath minutes after I started pedaling, and my heart rate would soar--it has something to do with having twice the amount of blood pumping around my body and my heart working twice as hard... Doesn't sound ideal for a safe workout, does it?

So, during pilates, I can feel my muscles working, but I'm breathing normally, and my heart is beating without a hitch. YAY for whoever the guy is who invented the whole pilates concept. Besides, I have always wanted to try this oh so hollywood endevour. Pretty soon, I'm going to be "money, baby".

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MI LINDO PONCHO!!!!

So, today is my husband's 35th Birthday and we began the morning with several phone calls from family members and an a small fire hazard.... The burning tower of cupcakes:



I used the recipe from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. If you live in NYC, drop everything you are doing right now and get thee to the corner of Bleeker and 11th. You will not regret it. They are amazing. So amazing that on certain warm summer nights a line forms outside filling the sidewalk. They were even featured in Sex and the City.

I lived around the corner from them and it took all my will power not to make this place a frequent stop on my way home. If you go, please understand the etiquette. Take a box, carefully place the number of cupcakes you are taking with you--yes, you will want to take one for now, and another for when you are further down the street and no one who saw you eat the first one can see you eat your second--and THEN go and pay. This is how they like it. Newbies who go up to the counter and ask for a cupcake are frowned upon. This is New York after all, and the people working there have attitude.

If you don't live in NYC, then you will have to do as I did and whip up a batch for yourself. Yesterday was my first time making them, and they were not hard to make. All the ingredients are pretty basic: LOTS of butter, sugar, flour, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. All easily found even at an ESSO market.

So, I hope you find an excuse to indulge soon. Or, heck, just indulge today with no excuse. Life is too short not to live sweetly.

A few pieces too few

So, back in November of 2005 Poncho and I started a 3,000 piece puzzle... We just finished it two days ago. Yes, we took our time, I admit. It was not an easy puzzle to make,
, as you can see from the picture, and there were long periods of abandonment.

After all that hard work, and patience, and time consumption, we are short a few pieces--five to be exact. Thankfully the makers of the puzzle, Educa, a company in Spain, have a lost pieces policy. Let's hope these pieces actually make it all the way to Guatemala, and we can put this project to rest. We have not had a dining room table since we started, and we are really looking forward to getting it back.