Pecans Roasting in a Toaster Oven

For the last week Kraig's Food Baby has been craving roasted pecans like our friend Pat makes.  I haven't had these in forever, and not being one to deny my sweetie's cravings I got on it! =)
Pecan's are a great thing for expectant mothers to eat.  According to the Georgia Pecan Comission...

"In fact, women getting the least amount of vitamin E during their pregnancies were five times more likely to have children with asthma symptoms by the age of 5 and three times more likely to have children who experienced wheezing, compared to women who got the most vitamin E.

Unlike vitamin supplements, which contain a form of vitamin E known as alpha-tocopherol, pecans and other nuts are rich in gamma-tocopherol, a powerful antioxidant.

One ounce of Georgia pecans provides almost 7 milligrams of gamma-tocopherol, making them a top source of vitamin E in the diet.

The recommended intake of vitamin E is about 20 milligrams a day.

The researchers suggest that vitamin E may help reduce asthma by having a positive effect on the developing immune system of the fetus."

I usually keep dry roasted, or raw mixed nuts in the car just in case I need a quick snack.  Now I hope my Baby Baby will be able to wrestle these goodies away from Kraig's Food Baby.

My Baby's Keepers

Addy Girl and Trigger are my first babies, and are the keepers of my Baby Baby.  Not a moment passes when one or both of them are close by or on top of me protecting little Baby Vav.  It is the sweetest thing ever and I know that once the baby comes, I wouldn't be surprised if some how, some way...there will be Trigger and Addy hair on it. 

The Food Baby Trinity for the Real Baby

Okay, it's a little ridiculous...but those who know me will laugh about how some how or some way our conversations always turn to poop =).  Since I've been pregnant that had been my only source of discomfort...constipation.  I have been great otherwise.  No nausea, no extreme fatigue, no swelling, no strange cravings.  However my saving grace has been the Food Baby Trinity...

Everyday I pay close attention to these 3 fiber power houses.  In addition to eating whole foods and lots of veggies and fruits, those stinkin' prenatal vitamins do a number on me so I gotta up the fiber exponentially...more like fiber^3 (that's a little Stanton)

Big bowl of Bran, wheat germ, flax seed, raisins, bananas, and soy milk MOST mornings...unless I get a better offer from my Hubby.

The Food Baby's Breakfast of Champions for the Baby Baby

DELICIOUS!

Now, we can't forget Food Baby's favorite healthy lunch for Baby Baby.  I usually keep a huge container of my homemade hummus on hand for veggie sandwiches or dipping carrots and celery.  I really try my best to eat as many whole foods as I can...but I can't lie the first couple of weeks all I wanted were hamburgers and fries. 

Food Baby Wrap

I used to love Roller Coasters...until I became Pregnant

To steal the words from one of my Besties Carson's mouth "This won't be the first time that baby gives you a heart attack".  As you read from my second prenatal appointment the nurse/midwife was unable to detect our baby's heartbeat. I was sent to the hospital (since our ob/gyn does not have one) for an ultra sound. Low and behold after the ordeal of the traditional, then vaginal ultrasound I had confirmation that my food baby was in fact a living growing baby BABY. I was on top of the world, until I got knocked down on Wednesday November11, 2009. My doctor's office, who doesn't even call to confirm appointments, is on my phone at 8:21am.

"We detect a problem with your ultrasound, we think you have an omphalocele and we are sending you to a specialist in Dallas. We will call with the appointment later on."

....uhhhhhhhhhhhh WHAT?! what does that mean!? The nurse was really unable to shed any light on my concern, and my concerns had to wait until later. Trigger and Addy had a vet appointment, and I had to put my google'ing on hold till later.

In true fashion I was unable to get a hold of my husband...gotta love the Navy...until much later, and by then I had already educated myself on ALL the worse case scenarios...with pictures and youtube video I might add. Sickly enough I was glad to see I was still an effective researcher and able to formulate a few theories on my own.

Finally Kraig called, and I struggled with telling him on the phone or waiting...I caved. I hadn't talked to anyone and I needed to let it out. I felt much better, and tried to be sensible. Omphalocele is a tricky diagnosis and can have many chromosomal abnormalities associated with it. Needless to say this is something no expectant parents want to hear.

Later that day I got a hold of my doctor's office...which is no small feat...and got the details for our appointment with the specialist in Dallas. It was for Wednesday November 18th. A WEEK!!! Dear Lord, we have to torture ourselves with google and discovery health, and any other source of information for a WEEK!!??

The next week was filled with a roller coaster of emotions...I was home alone a lot. No work to occupy my day, so I became an unofficial expert on all things omphalocele.

My saving grace, and ray of hope came when I read a journal about fetus development in the 10th week. The intestines appear to protrude from the fetus, turn and then return to the fetus. This process takes about a week...and appeared to be occurring during my ultrasound! I was 10weeks 2 days, please God let this be it!

That was my mantra until our appointment today. We sat down with a genetic counselor, and then had a level 2 ultrasound which showed I was right!!! The sonographer at my hospital was wrong...and there is nothing wrong with our lil' Baby Vav! Kraig and I were so relieved, our lil' one was kind of tired this morning, probably because I didn't run on the treadmill today =)

Everything looks great, and they just want to see us back in January to confirm.

Well, that's two roller coaster rides now...I wonder what the next one has in store.

Signing up for Stuff

Okay, I'm 11 weeks and 2 days...if we are getting technical and I feel a little out of sorts.  By now I should be a complete expert on my pregnancy and have registered for a zillion things, as well as have my grand plan for the perfect nursery...but I'm not, I haven't, and I don't.  Don't get me wrong, we are thrilled about the birth of our first child and are enjoying every moment of it but i'm taking a little of a dude approach to things.
First and foremost we need the basics and the number one basic that keeps running through my head is DIAPERS.  OMG! They are expensive!  I have been collecting coupons here and there for products related to the big D.  Now comes the question of when and how to use them.  My local grocery store in my small town sells diapers for what they call a sale price. It's a whole new world.  I would have never thought my efforts to feed my food baby with delicious yummy cuisine would be put towards diapers and wipes. =) Still time to clip the coupons for all those food deals, but more importantly work toward the needs of the newest Vavruska due in May.

You wannna put that thing WHERE?!

Baby Vavruska

10 weeks and 5 days old

Top Left = Baby from toes to head

Top Right= Baby's head and arms (can't see fingers yet)

Bottom Left= Baby Bum and legs (doing a froggy kick)

Bottom Right= profile view ( head is on the right)

Today I got an added bonus…a sonogram. I wasn't expecting this but the Nurse Practitioner couldn't pick up the baby's heartbeat with the doppler machine during my appointment. She was concerned and recommended that I have a sonogram. Obviously I was very nervous by this, but since I hadn't experienced any weird symptoms I stayed positive and hoped for the best. All I knew was I wasn't going to leave that hospital without hearing and seeing the baby. They sent me over to the hospital and the tech was not able to see the baby with the traditional sonogram equipment. She left the room for what seemed an eternity and returned to share that I was approved for a vaginal sonogram. Thank God for that!! I was able to hear baby Vav's heartbeat…a strong 170 and see these wonderful pictures. I couldn't believe something so scary turned out to be the best thing ever. The only thing that would have made it better was if Kraig were there. I feel bad, because had the Nurse Practitioner not had been able to hear the heartbeat. I would have never had a sonogram today. I feel Blessed to be able to see our baby so soon, but I know Kraig wanted to be there for the first one. I know he will be there next time, and that is fine because I'm so proud and happy for how well he is doing with his new responsibilities as Chief.


Other than that, I feel great! Eating well, sleeping well…and yes I'm still running. Not like before, but a nice moderate 3miler 5 days a week. Baby Vav likes it, because they were very active on the sonogram. Moving their arms and legs for mommy to see. I hope we have a little athlete on our hands =) !

Next appointment is December 2, 2009! Can't wait!

Doctors Appointment Number Two

I have a little guilt that as I write this entry.  We still haven't told a lot of people our good news.  It's been fun to keep it to ourselves for a bit.  We are closely appoaching our total disclosure date which is after Thanksgiving. So if you are reading this after Thanksgiving (which you should be as I haven't invited anyone to look yet hee hee) I hope it was wonderful!
Kraig is in Whidbey Island Washington and will be home tonight, and I'm off to our second Dr. appt.

It's Official the Vavruskas are Pregnant!

Kraig and I are pleased to announce that we are expecting our first child due May 31, 2010! We are so excited, and can't believe how everything is falling into place. The only thing that would make it better is if our friends and family were here in Texas to share it with us.


Texas has been good to us so far. We love the home we are renting, and Trigger and Addy enjoy the large yard...a huge upgrade from their Florida digs. I am currently a substitute teacher in Terrell Independent School District and Kaufman Independent School District, and in hind sight, very glad that I did not get hired to teach this year. There was a bigger plan in store for the Vavruskas...that we found out about on September 20, 2009.

Kraig was selected and initiated as a United States Navy Chief on September 16, 2009. A huge accomplishment in his Naval career. Upon returning from his initiation I was thrilled to share the news of our pregnancy with him.

The day after he returned I just had a feeling. A lot of people say that, and I totally agree. I just knew it. I woke up as he deservedly slept in. Bleary eyed I did the test, and to my surprise it was POSITIVE!!! Not being one to keep quiet about anything I ran back into the room and shared the big news with Kraig. Kraig is not a morning person, especially after waking up at 3:30am the last 6weeeks, but he shot out of bed with so much joy and pride.

We took another test together, and sure enough POSITIVE! We couldn't believe it, we were standing in our bathroom forever changed and excited by our results.

That morning we went to IHOP and basked in the glow of our news...followed by a trip to our only store...Wal-Mart to buy classic...What to Expect When Your Expecting. The remainder of the day was spent reeling in disbelief, and reading WAYYYYYYYYY to ahead in that book.

At this point everything began to make sense again. Not having a job, Kraig becoming a Chief, quitting smoking Aug 3, 2008, and maintaining a fitness and healthy living plan have all prepared us for becoming parents.