A Good Start to the Week

Well hello there, office supplies! Here are my ready prepared grapes and sandwiches with cheese, meaning I didn’t have to do any prep this morning! They tasted fine – no difference with fresh!

The mango I had last night for dessert – instead of a Snickers bar

My stash for the day: banana, minneola, kiwi fruit (didn’t get to that today), apple, grapes, mixed hazelnuts and almonds, ww bread with cheese.

A treat for lunch – I know the American websites all say don’t eat sushi, but my midwife cleared it and I get it from a place I know has very high hygiene/health standards. So good!

Dinner will be home made broccoli & potato soup (from the freezer) and some whole wheat rolls with two boiled eggs and some more cheese, plus some slices of tomato. Haha. I feel so much better already today!

Baby love

Check out what I found etched into the frosty glass of our garden shed this morning:

The sweetest thing ever! It’s a heart with R + R + S: our initials (R+R) and the S stands for ‘Spruitje’, our nickname for the baby at the moment. How sweet is my husband?? It made me all teary-eyed!

And I believe someone requested a belly pic? My camera battery needed recharging yesterday, hence the absence of pics. But here are some I made just now, 18 weeks:

(You can just about make out my fuzzy socks).

And one with my friend the vacuum (haha, not really. But it’s in the picture.)

Sorry for the poor lighting – Spring needs to hurry up so we can have proper daylight pictures again!

Spring Semester has started!

It’s been a whirlwind week! My schedule:

Monday: work
Tuesday: 9-11 am Statistics lecture  
12-3pm homework
3:20pm 17 week prenatal check-up
4-6 pm more homework
Wednesday: work
Thursday: 11am-1pm Sociological theory lecture
1pm-3pm Statistics lecture group
3pm-5 pm Sociological theory lecture group (in between I had to rush to meet my husband at the station, sign more papers for the house and rush back)
Friday: work, out to dinner with hubby
Saturday: support friend at wheel chair basketball, get groceries, take dog for long walk, cook, go to mum’s for coat fitting
Sunday: all day homework!

As you can see, my week was jam-packed and it definitely took its toll: I threw up again this morning, which only happens (as I’ve discovered) when I’ve done too much. Oops.

The classes have been awesome though and I was so pleased to discover I (more or less) understood statistics! 

Baby update 

So I had my 17 week check-up on Tuesday. Numbers:

Blood pressure: 110/70
Baby’s heartbeat: 159
Fundal height: 3 fingers (heehee that sounds gross, but it’s just the measurement of mah babeee belly, nuthin’ internal or something like that, haha) 

The midwife said my belly looked good, and I asked a couple of Q’s – among others whether they still recommended the swine flu vaccine. Answer: no. There seems to be nooooo swine flu around, and regular flu has reached an all time low in Dutch history! I think it’s down to everyone being all super-strict with their hygiene routine. Yay!

*Squee* February 23rd is the BIG U/S!! We hope to find out if this little bump is a boy or a girl!

During statistics lecture group on Thursday, I felt the baby for the first time! Since then I’ve been feeling the little guy/girl kicking a lot more. It’s soooo cool, also an extra reassurance everything’s okay in there.

Mommy update 

I’m not feeling so hot. I weighed myself and the scale said: 151.8 lbs! *Coughcoughspluttersplutter*. I know I’m supposed to gain weight and I’m quite sure the little bub has been through a growth spurt these past two weeks. But I also haven’t exercised much/at all AND I’ve been eating way too much junk.

I even fell off the vegetarian wagon! I had this mad craving for chicken wings, so I bought some and ate way too many. Ohhh I felt so gross afterwards: they wouldn’t digest properly and made me nauseous through the night! Other confessions: ramen noodles, convenience pancakes, too little fruit and veg, chocolate every day, all day, fries, etc. 

Isn’t it funny how we seem to need to learn certain lessons over and over again?

Stress/busy life + poor food choices + lack of exercise = miserable Ruby

Once I’d tweeted about how miserable felt (and thank you Vorilee for your support hun!), I decided to do something about this! To get through this semester I’m going to need my sanity

The plan:

1. Get back to an 80%/20% way of eating (as Leah suggested)
2. Prepare my bag for work school the evening before. This means getting my fruit ready & washed, making my sandwiches (keeping them in the fridge in a ziplock bag) and thinking about what I need to take with me. This will prevent me having to do too much in the morning, when I’m still nauseous.
3. Focus on getting the basics in: plenty of water and tea, 3 pieces of fruit per day, veggies every day, healthy dessert choice before treat, turn to fruit for a sweet craving, keep enough healthy snacks around me.
4. Get myself a sports passport – this is a card you can purchase in our town, that gives you a big discount on the entry fee for the pools and also for single use of the gym they have at the pool. 
5. Use the sports passport: I can take a yoga class in the weekend, do some cardio at the gym, and go for a swim – the perfect combo of exercise to keep me energized and relaxed. Running has its ups and downs in my motivation – downs usually coincide with the bad weather!
6. Ignore non-essential tasks around the house or get my husband to do them/help out. Doing the chores I did on Saturday completely kicked my butt, and that was in fact energy I could have used for better things!

Final notes

I got paranoid after leaving my eating disorder history posts up for a while, so i took them offline. I might put them back up, but with a password protect. If you’re still interested in reading the two parts, let me know in your reply to this post. I hope to get part III done in the same fashion.

What are your fallback routines/tips when you fall off the wagon or need a plan?

Have a great week! 

New hair, food pics & belly talk

 

Well hello…

I tend to think that when my hair is long it looks like the gorgeous locks of a fairy tale princess, all tumbling down my back and looking luscious and gorgeous and shiny. Then I see pictures of myself (especially from the back) and am brought back to reality. So I went to the hairdresser’s!

Tadaa!

Does that look better or what?? And I am very grateful for the need for less shampoo & conditioner and shorter drying time! It looks much fuller now and is less work. Woohoo!

Food pics 

Some things I’ve been munching on the past week…

Strawberry daiquiri frozen strawberry & raspberry smoothie (3/4 cup rice milk, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup strawbs & 1/2 cup rasps).

Tasty!

Super salad:

• Chickpeas
• Mixed greens
• Green beans
• Tomato
• Cuke
• Red pepper
• Avocado
• Olive oil, salt & pepper and…

… the star of the show, yummy balsamic vinegar from an Italian specialty deli.

Almond butter & forest fruit conserve toast.

Nuts! (TWSS!)

Fried egg + cheese + tomato sandwich.

Pineapple.

Oatmeal. The reason for this picture is to share an annoyance: why do the lids/pour thingies ALWAYS come off completely on these packets?? Use proper glue people! So you can see how I’ve solved the problem. Instead of pulling the foil bit off and always spilling half the rice milk over the counter (and myself), I now cut it like one used to with these kinds of packages. I felt like a rebel.

Belly pic 

Warning: some nudity

I don’t think there’s much difference really. I seem to have done the opposite (weight wise) to what is normal in pregnancy. I gained 8 pounds in my first trimester. And now I haven’t gained any weight since January 5th! I should be gaining a pound a week. I read somewhere that someone’s doctor’s practice gave pregnant women the opportunity to come and listen to the heartbeat for FREE whenever they felt worried. I wish i could do that… I guess I’ll have to wait until February 2nd. 

On the other hand, I keep thinking I’m feeling the baby move, but I’m not sure. It sort of feels like I have a muscle tic going on, like sometimes happens around your eye? But then in my lower abdomen. Plus, it doesn’t happen when I’m all quiet and relaxed (like most people describe) but more when I’ve been cycling and then come to a standstill. 

Today we’re going by my SIL’s place to check out the baby furniture they have lying around, to see if we want it.

Help me think of things to do…

Hello again! Thank you to Haleigh, Tay, Em, Deva and bhealthier for your kind words & responses to my post about my eating disorder (check out their wonderful blogs if you haven’t yet!). After I posted it I suddenly had this anxiety that know one would really care to read my story – old habits die hard I suppose! So thank you all very much! It’s so touching and sad to realize so many of us felt so fat/ugly at such a young age. Where on earth did it come from? It’s certainly something I will watch out for in my kids – although I’m unsure as to how to prevent it, if it starts so early on. I’ll be back with part II next week!

Holiday blues 

I officially don’t have to work or study until February 1st! Yay! But there is a big but(t)(hahaha). We were sure we were going to get the key to our new house next week. Now it looks like it won’t be until February 21st. Yes, that’s right – almost in March. When I’ll be studying hardcore for exams and working my butt of again, whilst continuing to grow another human inside me. Who does not at all care for stress of any kind. Case in point: tell me the key is being delayed again and I am a blubbering mess for the entire day. Yay.

Aaaaaanyway, now I need things to do! 

I have a list of stuff we could do around our current home, in prep for the move. But as it is holiday time and the only time off I’ll get until my maternity leave, it would be nice to do some FUN things.

So help me out my dear readers!

What do you like to do on a day off (or two)?

What kind of stuff do you do for dates? (Remember, although I would absolutely love nothing better than get completely plastered on raunchy sounding cocktails, it’s not an option at the moment – baby says no ).

What are some fun, preferably cheap, things I can do?

My list so far:

1. Go out to dinner
2. Go out to lunch
3. Go for a walk in a beautiful area
4. Watch a movie
5. Have a spa day
6. Get my hair cut

I also think I’d like to reorganize my blog a little – get some sort of schedule to post by.

Ideas are most welcome!

Listen to your body, darnit!

That is so much easier said than done! Those who follow me on Twitter may have noticed I went from this:

To the human version of this:

What with going to work last week when I should have called in sick, the never-ending snow and lack of sunshine, suddenly returning all-day-sickness and the news that the finance people were being jerks and utterly lazy, meaning we’re going to have to wait even longer for the key to our new house, my body said: I quit.

Tuesday I collapsed into a pile of blubbering misery, quite certain that things would never-ever-ever be alright. I know it’s the hormones. But I didn’t know they could be so overwhelming! So after a good chat with my mum on the phone and a friend coming by to take my mind off things (and on things: man, daycare is complicated!), I decided to call in sick yesterday.

Best. Decision. EVER. I did go for a refreshing walk and got some essential supplies (chocolate eclairs, smelly cheese, potato chips, fresh orange juice…), but after that I settled down on the sofa with our duvet and spent the day on the couch! I watched Up, which is an awesome, awesome movie and everyone should see it. I napped. Layla the cat was most content with this new set up, as she spent all day on the duvet, purring.

Slowly but surely my optimism came back, my headache subsides a little, I felt less wobbly on my legs and the nausea wasn’t as bad anymore. I had another long sleep last night and am feeling much better today.

Lessons learned

Sure, I listened to my body. In the end. When it was screaming at me. And that is not the place I want to find myself in again! So I’ll get back into life  s l o w l y, and really think about what things I need to do and things I’d like to do. I hope to go for a run tomorrow, try and get back into the groove of that, because it makes me so happy! But it’s not easy: I am such a keep-going-until-I-crash-and-then-some-more kind of person, but I know it’s not just me I’ve got to think about now.

So sorry I haven’t been around the blogs lately. I have been reading, but I just haven’t been able to respond. Hugs to everyone and tell me: how do you listen to your body? Any tips for me?

Feeling Great!

I’m feeling so good! I did the second day of the Couch to 5K walk/run today and some strength exercises from Babyfit. It’s sooo good to be exercising again! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to, as I had a horrible head cold at the start of the week, but it was fine. I can absolutely feel my level of fitness pick up again, although I know I shouldn’t expect the same level as pre-pregnancy.

Midwife 

We went to see the midwife today, she’s part of a midwife group. last time we had a young “girl” (I would say younger than me) and this time we had an older lady. Man, was she strict! Haha. I told the midwife last time of my eating disorder past, because I knew it was important to do so: I don’t expect to relapse, but better safe than sorry, right? Anyway, I wanted to clear the whole exercise thing with her. And the sweetheart got very strict with me, telling me that it’s normal to gain weight in areas you’d maybe not prefer, and that weight gain in pregnancy is normal and doesn’t have to do with what you’re eating. 

She also looked at Rowan sternly and told him that the partner has to be extra nice about this (of course we both said that R. is quite the nice guy) and that she feels so bad when she has a woman who’s partner is being very negative about the weight gain! But she did clear me, telling me to listen very closely to what my body was telling me.

I also got the blood work results back and was very happy to hear everything was perfect! These things always make me nervous – what if I have mysteriously contracted something awful, or I’m deathly ill without knowing it?? No worries there then. She also took my blood pressure, which was great again (thanks Mum!).

Finally she got the doppler out and we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! We’d seen it on the ultrasound, but we hadn’t heard it yet! Awesome, just awesome!

Sorry about the lack of pictures, I haven’t been taking many! If you want to keep up to date with my workouts, you can check out the “Fit for Free” page, through the tab at the top.

When’s the last time someone was strict with you? What was it about and what did they say?

A Healthy Start to 2010

Yes, I did it! I had an awesomely healthy day yesterday. 

Examples: 

Instead of these…

I had (a measured portion) of these:

(Raw unsalted almonds & hazelnuts).

And instead of these:

I had these:

(Yes, that’s right: I completely ignored an open packet of Maltesers. Gasp in shock!)

I also made Maroccan Tagine with Spring Vegetables from Vegan with a Vengeance. This recipe has so much healthy stuff in it: red lentils, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, spinach. 

And I have plenty of leftovers for in the freezer! I served it with whole grain couscous, which was disgusting. I overcooked it and didn’t add any seasoning, so it just tasted like mealy flour. *Shudders*.

I kept track of my calories though Babyfit and shockingly only totaled 1350 calories including dinner! So I had some Brie cheese on crackers, still only getting to 1628, whilst the range they suggest I should be in is 1970-2270. I had plenty to eat on NYE though, so I think a day like that doesn’t really matter. I think part of it had to do with having a minimal portion of these for breakfast:

Bitesize Shredded Wheat, my favorite! Unfortunately they don’t sell these in Holland, so my Dad brought them over for me. I was trying to make them last, but alas they are gone now. So for breakfast this morning I had oatmeal with banana and almond butter, giving me a more substantial start to the day.

As for my workout, I did this video as a warm-up:

And then did the strength training plan generated by Babyfit for yesterday:

1. 2 x 10 Dromedary Droops (such a flattering term…)
2. 2 x 10 half crunches on Swiss ball
3. 2 x 10 seated dumbbell lateral raises with 5 lbs weights
4. 2 x 10 chest presses on Swiss ball with 5 lbs weights (I could definitely go a little higher on the weight with these)
5. 2 x squats with 5 lbs weights
6. 2 x 10 on each side, lying adductions

I concluded with this stretching video:

Awesomeness!

I also downloaded the Podcasts for Running episodes 2-9. It’s a set of nine podcasts you can load straight to your iPod and it’s basically the Couch to 5K plan all set up for you. You don’t have to keep looking at your watch for the intervals, and he’s put some music during the run/walks. I plan to start on Sunday. 

The funny thing is, you know what made me think about running again? The Sex and the City movie! My sister and I watched t on NYE. Charlotte gets pregnant and she’s called out by Carrie & her husband on the fact that she quit running (it urns out she’s scared of something bad happening). So she starts up again. I’ve been terrified of hurting the baby, even though they say it is safe and all that. But now I feel like, as long as I build things slowly, I can continue running. And hopefully build up to a regular jog as the evenings get longer and mornings lighter. So thank you SATC!

Baby bump

I got my husband to take my twelve week baby bump picture.

Holding it in:

Letting it hang out:

And for Christmas we got a few cute items from friends and family:

Bib

Socks (look how small they are compared to my giant feet!)

Born in 2010 shirt (and you can spot my new awesome maternity jeans! Suave, if I say so myself. You can also sport Igor in the background, making a mad dash to the door for some snow licking.)

Teh cuteness ZOMG!

And finally, I just had to show you the Truffle Tree I made for the Boxing Day Tea Party:

Isn’t it awesome?? 

By the way, Haleigh, the bottle in the background was the Glogg bottle. I tried to force feed our guests, but unfortunately it was not a hit. Thanks for the instructions though!

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

Aha! So original! A post dedicated to New Year’s Eve – the year gone by and the year to come. Sometimes my originality surprises even me.

I was going to post about my maternity pants adventure & the fact that I have now joined the grown-up-women-league by purchasing my first ever bottle of foundation + blush. ZOMG. But I have been either busy or recuperating from being busy. Because yeah, everything makes me feel winded/tired. Haha. I am teh granny at the moment. So by the time I get round to even thinking about taking pictures, it is too dark. So hopefully I will do so tomorrow! What could I possibly do tomorrow, right?

2009

… was our first year of marriage.

… saw me go from avid non-runner to avid runner & accomplish a goal I would never have fathomed: run a 10 mile race.

… I enrolled in a new post-grad course.

… I had my last holiday in my gran’s house, as it was sold in July. Lots of memories there…

… we went on our 3 week honeymoon, to Greece.

… we decided to buy a house and actually found one within the first month of searching.

… I got knocked up!

2010

… shall hopefully bring a healthy, beautiful baby.

…. I’ll finish my first year at uni and also start my second year (whilst being a mommy & working!).

… I’ll pick up running again and at least train for a half marathon (possibly run one, although that might not be until 2011).

… we’ll move into our new house.

Current mental & physical status

Sooo I’m almost out of the first trimester and I’ve gone from 136.7 lbs to 142.9 lbs. Total gainage of 6.2 lbs. Not bad, and I’m not even at the heaviest I’ve been (147 lbs). Which is weird, and pretty awesome: it means I haven’t really been overeating A LOT. I mean, I’ve done the “gain 10 lbs in a month” thing plenty of times before, and all I was growing then was a food baby!

The maternity pants are a godsend. When I tried them on I was like “wow, I have legs! Hello legs! I didn’t know I’d been missing you so!” (repeat twirling in the H&M fitting room for about 10 minutes, looking with amazement at legs & ass!). Apparently, living in your fat pants for 3 months is not the best for your body image.

Yet, I haven’t really exercised (as I usually would) and eaten home cooked meals either. So that combined with the fat pants wearing, and now my waning morning sickness, has left me feeling a little *blegh*. Suddenly I am looking at skinny pop stars & videos and workout people and getting all antsy. 

I kind of thought being pregnant and all, I would be immune. I’d be happily stuffing my face with cupcakes (as all pregnant women do, blissfully. No, I’m not over-generalizing, why would you think that?). I mean, before I actually got pregnant, I thought I’d be this work-out pregnant maniac, but haha, that bubble quickly got busted. But noooooo and it makes sense: imagine being (pre-)menstrual and multiply the hormones – what do you have? Yah. That’s what I’m talking about. 

Luckily, there is no emotional eating going on. But I don’t always make the healthiest choices (fries? Anyone? Nutritioussy fries?) and now I’m starting to realize 6 months is a pretty long time. So, as nausea is no longer a real excuse anymore, I am getting back into the groove! I’m going to be cooking (vegan risotto this evening & Maroccan Tagine with Spring Vegetables on Friday), I’m going to eat healthy snacks (raw nuts, pB&J whole wheat sammies, hummus, etc.) AND I’m going to exercise.

So there we are, I said it. Expect pregnancy pants report & exercise plan tomorrow! You know, if I’m not recuperating from an evening of food, movies, and keeping the dog calm (we have fireworks on NYE in Holland, and our neighbourhood has illegal fireworks. Just so ya know.)

Have a great evening everyone and see you in the new year!

PS: I promise to visit your blogs more often now that pics of food no longer make me feel queasy.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Like a good girl, I managed to not get up until 7:30 am. Haha. Christmas nerves get me every time! What did I behold:

More snow! The last “white Christmas” in the Netherlands was 1981! Apparently the official definition is when fresh snow falls on both Christmas and Boxing Day, but I say phooey to that!

Igor thought the fresh snow was very tasty.

We opened our presents and then we had breakfast (using my new Christmas china! Aww… lovely prezzie from my husband *wub*). Croissants with jam and honey, my fav!

Our massive pile of prezzies!

My stash:

• Awesome yoga mat
• Yoga for pregnancy DVD
• Fuzzy socks (with anti-slip soles)
• Four photo frames
• Say Yes to Carrots body butter
• Pure Coconut Oil body lotion (x 2)
• A pair of earrings

I feel so spoiled! Such lovely gifts…

Gifts for the both of us:

• Birthday calendar with icons
• English Bulldog bobble head (for the car!)
• Hat, scarf & gloves for baby (supporting the local football/soccer team, of course!)
• Luxury bedding
• Pillow cases
• And not pictured: new pillows for us! Mmmm sooooo soft & yummy!

The plan for today: mooch around as much as possible in our PJ’s. I’ll bring presents for my Dad over to his place and go for a walk. And then back for some more mooching & dinner! Does that sound like a plan?

Have a great Christmas everyone!

*Waves*

Sorry they’re a little out of focus.

Estimated Due Date: July 10th, 2010!

Ultrasound was really, really awesome. We saw the little bean move about and wave! And I’m further along than I thought, 11 weeks 4 days! So almost at the magical 12 week mark! Thank you all for your positive thoughts & prayers – they sure helped!

*Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*