Nine weeks and counting. . .

Week: 31
Weight: 141
Belly: 39.5"
Next appointment: June 2

I just found out that one of my good friends is pregnant! I am so excited for their families. She is 14 weeks along and I had a nice long conversation with her about the highs and lows of pregnancy thus far. It made me realize that I haven't done one of these updates in a while. We have been better about taking pictures of the belly every two weeks but not so good about updating the blog. The last time I did one (February) I was 118 lbs, 8 inches smaller in the waist, and barely four months along. I don't even remember the 120s or 130s. My weight shot up pretty rapidly, to me anyway. Most people are telling me that I still don't look pregnant from the back but I hung out with Che yesterday and no one tells it to you like it is like a sister. She said my face is definitely more round as are my legs and bottom.

What I do find annoying are the men in my life telling me how HUGE I am. Just a word of advice gents, don't ever tell a woman that whether they are pregnant or not. It just isn't a great thing to hear. They try to back track by saying, "O please - you're still so small." Well, I don't feel that way and I don't need you pointing that out constantly. *You* try gaining 20 lbs. in three months and see how you feel after that!!

People also tell me that I am too vain - that I should be focused on the fact that all these nutrients are going to the baby and that's why I am gaining the weight. I should just enjoy this time in my life. As much as a control freak that I am, it is hard to hand over your body to someone else for a few months. Weight gain aside, you have absolutely no control over anything in your body. The baby is moving around constantly and I can't stop it. She (odd day remember??) wakes me up in the middle of the night with her swift kicks and punches. I still get dizzy spells in the morning that make it really hard to get things done sometimes. The sleepiness is sometimes overwhelming. And I know everyone goes through it but it doesn't make it any easier when it is happening to you.

Speaking of things happening to me - I had a fun trip to Labor & Delivery again yesterday. I wonder how many times I'll actually end up at L&D before I actually am in labor. If you remember, I was admitted at the end of March because I was having contractions because of a degenerating fibroid. This time, I had no contractions but I was having some bleeding so when I went to my doctor yesterday for an office visit, she got nervous because of my idiopathic thrombocytopenia (low platelets) and sent me to L&D. I was there from 3pm until 6pm and all I had done during that time was a CBC (blood draw), pelvic, and an ultrasound. Fortunately, Che was there to keep me company like a good Chechi so I wasn't too anxious or bored. All tests showed that Q was active, healthy, and in no mood to make an appearance on this side anytime soon.

Godh Bharai

Godh Bharai-246
Originally uploaded by snapshot chandra

Mom threw Ranj her Godh Bharai last weekend in Chicago. I was wonderful to see so many of Mom and Dad's friends come out. We were showered with gifts for the baby.
Click on the picture to view a gallery of pics from the Godh Bharai.

Catchlight

shootthrough catch light
Originally uploaded by snapshot chandra

My lightstands came in today. Together with an sb28dx strobe a shoot through umbrella, and a poverty wizard I was able to tool around and get some self-portraits in. This one was fun b/c of the very clear catchlight. Now that pretty much everything is here, the portraiture practice begins.

Happy Mom's Day!

I hope that everyone has taken the time out today to recognize the woman in your life, (biological or otherwise), that is your mother. On this day, I am always reminded of the book "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. For those who are not familiar with it, it starts with the line, "Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy." The apple tree provides the little boy shade, a place to play, protection, and most importantly, unconditional love. It is a sad book at times, but I look to it as a source of inspiration, reminding me that my own mother has given so much of herself to raise me and to appreciate her everyday. Now, I have also been blessed with a mother-in-law who would sacrifice herself to give me what I want and more importantly, what I need. I hope that I can provide Q with even half of the love that these two gorgeous women have given me.

Long time no blog

I haven't been blogging recently mostly because there has been so much going on! In the past few weeks, we:

1. celebrated X's bday in Austin

2. took a trip to NMH's Labor and Delivery room. I was having mild contractions due to a degenerating uterine fibroid. It was holy pain but I am glad to have a little more room for Q to grow.

3. The pain pills they gave me made things worse because I can't take Norco or Vicodin. I spent two days in bed not eating anything because nothing would stay down. I got different pain meds (mmmm Darvocet) and started feeling better after a few days.

4. Met my sister's fiance's family. That was fun.

5. Started and finished our four week Great Expectations class. It was a class offered by NMH for patients to get acquainted with the hospital, learn about the different types of labor and delivery and some comfort measures. I have to say that prior to this class I was actually getting very comfortable with the idea of giving birth in any one of the multiple ways that it could go down. Well, that class made more anxious than before which I am sure was not it's intended purpose. Labor sounds really hard. The idea of doing it without an epidural sounds crazy. During the video about epidurals, one of the women talked about how it was really important for her to still feel her baby come out of her. I was thinking, "am I crazy for specifically NOT wanting that feeling?" After talking to some folks, I decided that it was not an abnormal sentiment. I watched the C-section video through cracks in my fingers becase even though it was mostly CGI, I was completely creeped out by the idea of the doctor taking their hands and moving my inerds around to yank the baby out. Creeps you out a little too, doesn't it? The last class was all about the post-partum fun. Wow. The fun doesn't end when you give birth. It keeps coming for weeks and weeks later. Well, I guess it's too late to turn back now and one day this baby will come out one way or another. I have three months to get comfortable with this idea.

6. Saw Roti #2 perform at the Best of the Best show at McCormick place. He did such a great job even though there were thousands of people in the audience. The show itself was fantastic. It puts the stuff that we were doing in college to shame. I was so impressed with these kids that clearly were raised in this country throwing down some straight up traditional bhangra/raas/garba. The costumes were bright, colorful and fun. The dancing was sick. Check out the videos if you don't believe me.

7. Went to see my Hem/Onc. Platelets down more. Bleh. Dr. Williams was, as always, really optimistic. She isn't worried yet which makes me relax more. She was a good find. When I went to my next OB appointment, Dr. D was not so optimistic. I have decided that when it comes to blood related issues, I am going to follow Dr. Williams' lead instead of my OB. I get to meet with an anesthesiologist before the delivery because of all this bloody drama (oh yea, pun totally intended). One more thing to settle my mind.

8. This past weekend was my BFF's bday party. Her hubby did a great job organizing a fabulous surprise weekend for her. I think she loved every minute of it. I know I enjoyed my part because it involved four very stressful (ha!) hours at Tricoci getting a massage, mani and pedi with the bday girl and six of our friends.

9. RC celebrated Roti #3 & 4s' bdays on Saturday back in Ohio. Three already!!

10. Yesterday, I boarded the plane to come to the Internatial Reading Association's annual convention in Atlanta. It is 25,000 teachers of reading coming together for four days of intensive conferences about how to improve literacy. Today started at 8:00 and I just got back to my room now (10 pm!). I am exhausted but exhiliarated by all the things that I am learning.

11. Meanwhile, yesterday RC went to the Cincinnati Hindu temple to conduct a pooja with his family in honor of his father's death anniversary. I spent the evening with Dad's younger brother and his family here in ATL.

12. I head back on Thursday and we turn around and head straight to Ohio on Friday after school for my Seemant Sanskar/Godh Bharna (Hindu baby shower) in Cincy.

Whew! We took another belly shot this week but I don't think RC has posted it yet. It's getting BIG. I can now see it when I look straight down. Weird.

So what can you do with $4.76

No, that's not how much gas costs in chicago - although with the hebrew national, i must say, i'm not as familiar with gas prices. smirk.

So Ranj has really been craving her BaskinRobbins ice cream recently. Usually we have two flavors in the fridge b/c she thinks that the quarts of ice cream taste better than the stuff at the store. Last week, when we were at our local BR we saw a sticker for $.31 scoops on 4.30. I made a mental note and we went back there yesterday.
There was quite the line there and it was as exciting as BR gets. Four people scooping and one at the register. The donuts looked lonely. Initially, we had each planned to get a scoop and walk home. I saw somebody walk out with a sack of scoops so i had to ask if there was a limit.
"10."
We proceeded to buy 14 scoops! Ranj got some doubles of pistachio and strawberry cheesecake and I selected two individual scoops of everything chocolaty. We walked out happily holding our rocky road sugar cones and a sack of ice cream for the next couple of weeks.
And you can prolly guess the total.