What I am reading right now..

As I enter the third trimester of my pregnancy, I got Ina May's Guide to Childbirth book to help  prepare me mentally for childbirth.

I also get subscriptions to Parenting Early Years & Fit Pregnancy magazines. I love to read but these days, I am having a hard time finding the time to read all my magazines! Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up on my reading when I go to the doctor's office on Tuesday for my 3 hr glucose test. I'll be stuck there for 3-4 hrs so I am planning to take advantage and do a lot of reading!

27 weeks!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 27w3d
How big is baby: Still the size of an eggplant!
Weight gain/loss: 19 lbs!
Pregnancy symptoms: Weight gain, frequent trips to the bathroom
Maternity clothes: Can't live without my maternity pants :-)
Stretch Marks: None
Sleep:~7 hrs of sleep a night with bathroom breaks. I've now learned how to sleep walk to the bathroom at the middle of the night :-)
Best moment this week: Seeing Baby Jarbs during the 3D/4D ultrasound
Movement: Yes. She's been flipping and turning and doing side jabs in my belly
Food cravings: Still banana pancakes!
Food aversions: Nothing in particular
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: Flat
What I miss: Sleeping on my left side
What I am looking forward to: Decorating the nursery. The room has been painted and crib delivered. We'll buy the armoire this weekend and set it up! Photos to follow :-)
Milestones:

Baby's lungs are going through some major developments these days, which (combined with the opening of previously plugged nostrils) means he's now able to practice inhaling and exhaling. The lack of air in your womb means every "breath" is filled with amniotic fluid, but hey -- it's progress.

Bump on the road...

Just when I thought everything is doing fine, I got a call from my doctor saying that the result of my glucose tolerance test is abnormal :-(. She said there is no reason to worry. It does not mean I have gestational diabetes (yet). I have to come back and do the 3 hour test where they draw blood every hour for the next 3 hours. That test will determine whether I do have GD or not. Of course, I feel bummed about this however, based on my research, a lot of women fail the 1 hour test but pass the 3 hour test with flying colors. I wonder if the cup of caramel flan I ate the night before have contributed to the false positive? :-/. I have a family history of diabetes so perhaps, that made me high risk too? I do not want to worry yet until after I take the 3 hr test and confirm that I have GD. Like what my mom friends have said, having GD is not the end of the world. It's not something that I have done (or not done) or ate that caused it.  GD happens to a lot of healthy and even fit women. Unfortunately, you cannot control how your pregnancy hormones react with the rest of your body. Good news is, GD is controllable by diet. At the very least, I'll be more careful with what I'll eat for the next 13 weeks. A couple of my mom friends who had GD have delivered to healthy, beautiful babies. Now, that's reassuring!

Goodbye 2nd tri...

Wow, I can't believe that I am now in the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy. Just like 1st tri, the 2nd trimester has been smooth sailing. Things have been pretty uneventful which in this case is a good thing. I am still thankful and feel very blessed that my pregnancy has been really easy so far.

To our little pumpkin, thank you for continuing to behave well and not giving mommy a hard time.  Hope it stays that way :-). Daddy Jarbs and I love feeling your movements and kicks.  It was a lot of fun seeing you inside my tummy yesterday. You already brought so much joy in our lives and you have not even been born yet.  Each and everyday, we get more and more excited in meeting you :-).

We have more or less 13 weeks before Baby Jarbs arrives! Daddy Jarbs and I  have been VERY busy preparing for Baby Jarbs' arrival.  During 1st tri, things seem to go by really slow.  Now, time seems to go by really fast! Before we know it, our little darling will be here :-). For now, I'll continue to enjoy my 7-8 hours of non-interrupted sleep and my quality time with Daddy Jarbs, alone!

Two trimesters down. One more to go!

More nursery shopping...

Daddy Jarbs and I went back to Great Beginnings to finish our nursery shopping. We finally ordered a chair glider. We got the Best Chair Mantova glider. At first, we were not sure if we would get one. We did not want to splurge but we found a good deal at Great Beginnings so we bit the bullet. My friend (Thanks Malia) hooked me up with a coupon so we were able to use that as well. We like that the glider is not bulky and has a contemporary look. Eventually, when we do not need it in the nursery, we can move it to the living room and have it blend with the rest of our furniture. Daddy Jarbs also likes that the gliding mechanism is not exposed which minimizes the chance of Baby Jarbs' little hand getting stock in there when she starts crawling around and getting curious. We got the glider plus ottoman and nursing stool similar to the photo below but with a different color of fabric. Since it is a special order, it won't arrive until 10-14 weeks.  I doubt that it will take that long. We received the crib that we ordered from them in a month when they originally told us it will take 10-14 weeks! If the glider does not arrive before my due date, Great Beginnings will loan us one to use until our glider is ready.

 Since we were at GB, we also got the crib mattress. We got the Colgate Classica 3. It is highly rated by the Baby Bargains book. The mattress is very lightweight which will hopefully make crib changes in the middle of the night easier. The mattress has a very firm side for newborns and a softer side for toddlers. Studies show that very firm mattress for newborns help prevent SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome.

We have ordered all our nursery room essentials. It's just a matter of putting the room together. It should be ready in a few weeks!

We saw Baby Jarbs today!!

As a late wedding anniversary gift for Daddy Jarbs, I made an appointment for us to see Baby Jarbs. It was so timely since he said last night, "I want to see her already" :-). 

We had a 12:30 pm appointment for the 3D/4D ultrasound. I drank soda prior to the appointment to see if it will get her to move for her show. Well,  showtime came and she was face down!! She was hiding her face and did not want to cooperate. After some belly poking, she turned enough for us to see her face :-). We probably caught her in the middle of her nap. She was face down with her leg over her head just like the last time we saw her. She had a strong heartbeat of 152 bpm. We got a cd of her photos and a dvd of the entire 3D/4D sonogram. Here are some of the photos.

First of all, we made sure she's still a GIRL! Daddy Jarbs said this is the last time we'll want her to spread her legs open! lol.

Her cute foot with 5 little toes! Her foot is about 2 inches long

Aww, our little pumpkin :-). Daddy Jarbs said she looks like she got Mommy Jarbs' Filipino nose! lol. I think she got Daddy Jarbs' lips :-). At one point, she pulled her umbilical cord towards her face, holding it like a blankie!

After she gave us a sneak peek of her face, she started covering her face with her hand as if saying, "Leave me alone. You've seen enough!" Just like any celebrity, she does not like the paparazzi :-).

Perhaps, she just wanted to show off her toned arms/muscles again :-)

It was amazing that we were able to see her inside my tummy. We only have +/- 13 weeks before she arrives! We can't wait :-).

Glucose screening test

I had my glucose screening test (GTT) today. It is a test taken between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy to check for gestational diabetes, a high blood sugar condition that some women get during pregnancy. During last month's appointment, the doctor had me take home a sugar solution (contains 50g of glucose) which I need to drink for my GTT. I had the choice to either get the orange or the fruit punch flavor. I took fruit punch :-). I heard a lot of stories about how nasty the juice tastes. My doc's appointment was at 9:30 am so I took the juice at 8:35 am. I finished drinking the bottle at 8:40 am. Timing is critical since they have to draw blood exactly an hour after you finish drinking the juice. After I took my first sip of the fruit punch (expecting it to be real nasty), I looked at Daddy Jarbs and said "this is good!!" lol. It just tastes like a Hawaiian fruit punch. It's sweet but not nasty. Daddy Jarbs thinks I'm weird :-). Baby Jarbs started getting hyper as soon as I finished the drink. It's probably from all the sugar I drank. Daddy Jarbs dropped me off at the doc's office. I had my blood drawn (3 vials) and that was it. They'll check to see how efficiently my body processes sugar. If the reading is too high,I'd have to come back for a three-hour glucose tolerance test to see if I really do have gestational diabetes. I am crossing my fingers that the result will be normal. It should be ready by next week!

Yummy fruit punch

After my GTT, I saw my OB for my routine check up. I found out I gained 2 lbs since last month's appointment. My fundal height measured where it should be at 26 weeks. Baby Jarbs is not measuring big nor small. She's just right where she should be :-). My blood pressure was also normal. Overall, it was a good appointment.

I took the subway back to the office. For a second, I felt dizzy while waiting for the metro since I haven't had anything to eat yet. I am glad it only lasted for 2 seconds and went away. When I got off the metro, I stopped by Cosi to get a sandwich. Since it was still early, they were not serving lunch yet :-(. The manager saw my belly and told her employee "Give her a break. The baby needs to eat". The manager asked how the baby is doing. I said "She's hungry". Long story short, I got my sandwich :-).

26 weeks!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 26w3d
How big is baby: Still the size of an eggplant! I guess baby's growth is getting slower now as we approach 3rd tri?
Weight gain/loss: 18 lbs! Yikes! Still in check for a healthy weight gain though.
Pregnancy symptoms:  Ever growing belly, darker linea negra, nesting instinct (?)
Maternity clothes: I love my full panel maternity pants :-)
Stretch Marks: None
Sleep: I was able to move my bedtime from 1 am to 12 mn! I've been getting 7 hrs of sleep this week. I have to work on going to bed much earlier.
Best moment this week: Daddy Jarbs singing Michael Buble's song (I just Haven't Met You Yet). He said that's his song to Baby Jarbs. So sweet :-)
Movement: Yes, a lot of baby movement especially after I eat something sweet. She also moves a lot when I am about to go to bed. I think she's starting to be a night owl. Not good!
Food cravings: Banana pancake! Been eating banana pancakes every weekend for 3 weeks now. I've noticed that I don't crave for salty food anymore and slowly gravitating toward sweet stuff.
Food aversions: Nothing in particular
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: Hmm flat?
What I miss: Not being fat :-)
What I am looking forward to: cloth diaper class tomorrow and giving my late (surprise) anniversary gift to Daddy Jarbs on Saturday (I'll have a separate post about this on Saturday). I am NOT looking forward to my glucose test tomorrow :-(
Milestones:

Baby's soaking up your antibodies, getting her immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and she'll soon be practicing the blink...perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

Look at what Lola B sent..

My mom has sent me a bunch of maternity clothes and snuck in this cute shirt for Baby Jarbs :-). Thanks Lola B!!

Let's talk about clothes..

Baby Jarbs @ 25w5d

It is amazing to see my belly grow each week. By now, Baby Jarbs should be between 13 - 14 inches long and weighing close to 2 lbs!! In two weeks, I'll be on my 3rd trimester. Holy cow! Where did time go?!

Yesterday, I tried wearing my regular (non-maternity) work pants to work. Although, I can still pull the pants up, I can't zip them up anymore :-(. I had to wear a belly band over it to prevent it from falling off. I love the maternity pants with full panel waist bands. They're so comfy. I only have 2 and refuse to buy more until I get much bigger and feel I really HAVE to. As for tops, I can still fit in my regular size small shirts/blouses but as you can imagine, they're tight around the belly!! I don't mind having my belly stick out. At least now it's more obvious that there's a baby in there and I did not just eat my breakfast, lunch and dinner in one sitting :-). Growing belly means Baby Jarbs is growing as she should! Yes, grow baby grow! :-).

Baby Jarbs is going to Aruba!!

That is, if she continues to be a good little pumpkin as she is and does not decide to surprise Mommy & Daddy Jarbs with her (very) early arrival :-). My cousin Anabel is getting married in Aruba this coming Labor day weekend. Before we booked our trip, we made sure that we have the go signal from my doctor. So far, I am having a very easy pregnancy (knock on wood) and if everything stays that way, the doctor said we should be all good for the trip. My doctor will see me right before the trip to make sure that everything is still A-OK. We also got a travel insurance to protect us in case something comes up which will prohibit us from traveling. We plan to do nothing in Aruba but relax and of course, see my beautiful cousin and her fiance Christian get married :-). We thought our trip to Cabo San Lucas a couple of months ago will be our last before Baby Jarbs, but now we have this Aruba trip to look forward to. We're excited! We're not kidding when we said we're training Baby Jarbs to be a little world traveler :-). You gotta start 'em young, right?

25 weeks!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 25w3d
How big is baby: Size of an eggplant!
Weight gain/loss: None since last week; still up 16 lbs
Pregnancy symptoms:  For the last couple of days, I have been experiencing mild cramping in my tummy which, according to my books and google, may be Braxton Hicks contraction. Occasional lower back pains are gone. Stretching/yoga helped! Linea negra getting prominent.
Maternity clothes: I love my 2 pairs of maternity pants! I finally received the maternity clothes that my mom sent me and I love them!
Stretch Marks: None. Still crossing fingers I won't have any.
Sleep: I still can't get myself to bed to go early. Bedtime for me is ~1 am which I am trying to change. I've been getting about 6-6.5 hrs of sleep this week.
Best moment this week: Daddy Jarbs' playtime with Baby Jarbs 
Movement: Yes. It feels like she's doing some backstroke inside my tummy :-). She moves a lot after I drink soda and kicks when Daddy Jarbs talks to her.
Food cravings: Banana pancake and caffeine free rootbeer
Food aversions: Nothing in particular
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: Hmm 1/4 out? :-)
What I miss: still medium RARE steak 
What I am looking forward to: doctor's appointment next week
Milestones:

That oh-so-handy sense of equilibrium is kicking in, and baby's learning to distinguish right side up from upside down. 

We finally registered!

A lot of our friends and family have been asking us where we have registered. Daddy Jarbs and I finally signed up at both Buy Buy Baby (BBB) and Babies R Us (BRU). We like Buy Buy Baby since their store inventory is more extensive and they have more stuff in store, not to mention more organized than BRU store. They also have mommy-friendly return/exchange policy. According to my mommy friends, they accept competitors discount coupons as well us Bed Bath and Beyond (sister company) coupons. The only downside with BBB is that they have very limited stores in the area. The closest one to our house is in Springfield, VA. On the other hand, Babies R Us stores are more accessible and have stores all around the DC metro area (they also have coupons available on every Saturday's Washington Post). BRU carries stuff that BBB does not have and vice versa so, we registered in both :-). It took us a while to finish off our registry since we (or should I say "I" :-P) had to do a lot of research and make sure that the stuff we are getting have good reviews/ratings. Of course, only the best for our little darling :-).

Baby registry...check!

nursery shopping continues...

Daddy Jarbs and I finally picked out a paint color for Baby Jarbs' room. We got the paint from Sherwin Williams Harmony line which is their environmental friendly paint. It is a zero VOC and low odor paint. Since we do not like loud/fancy paint colors, we stuck with a gender neutral, earthy color. We'll have the nursery painted next week! Yay!

Sherwin Williams Nuthatch

We also checked out several furniture stores to look for an armoire and a dresser that will be also be the changing table. We have a preference for espresso stained/contemporary looking furnitures so this limits our choices. We did not want to get anything that is overly expensive since these will only be used in the baby's room and there is a high likelihood that it will be scratched/ damaged (or bitten into) by Baby Jarbs.  So far, we like the dresser and armoire we found at Ikea. 

Gotta love being pregnant...

I had a funny experience while shopping at Costco today. Daddy Jarbs and I went there after work to do our grocery shopping. Just like anywhere we go, I had to stop at the restroom to relieve myself. While Daddy Jarbs was at the checkout counter, I went to the restroom only to find the cleaning lady standing by the door and about to put a "closed for cleaning" sign. I looked at her and she said "cleaning, cleaning. come back". All I could say was "oh really?" while thinking I really have to go :-(. As I turned my back and ready to go back the checkout counter, the cleaning lady saw my side profile and said, while pointing to my belly, "oh, baby?". I said "yes, and I have to go". She then said "ok, go, go! quick!" LOL. I love the free passes that pregnant women get. I got to take advantage of this more often :-)

The crib is here!

I got a call from Great Beginnings today. They informed me that our Munire Urban Safeside crib has arrived in their warehouse and is ready for delivery and installation. Wow, that was fast. We just ordered the crib last month. They said it will take 10-14 weeks and it has not even been a month since we ordered it! The nursery has yet to be painted so we'll schedule the delivery and installation once that is done. As Daddy Jarbs said, "there's no turning back now" :-).

24 weeks!

Weekly check-in:

How far along?: 24w3d
How big is baby: According to The Bump, she's still the size of a papaya?! She's been a "papaya" for 3 weeks now!! I think Baby Jarbs has stopped growing lol.
Weight gain/loss: no gain from last week. 16 lbs so far.
Pregnancy symptoms: lower back pains (pre-pg issue), heavy belly
Maternity clothes: with this heat, i'll wear anything comfortable! dresses are my fave!
Stretch Marks: None. Belly is starting to get itchy again. I am guessing this baby will have another growth spurt soon.
Sleep: I've been going to bed very late lately. I get about 6-7 hrs of sleep with a couple of trips to the bathroom during the night.
Best moment this week: Celebrating our 2nd yr wedding anniversary :-)
Movement: Yes. It feels like she's doing some backstroke inside my tummy :-)
Food cravings: pancake, rootbeer, cheese danish
Food aversions: Nothing in particular
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: I am surprised it is still in!
What I miss: Not carrying a heavy baggage in my belly!
What I am looking forward to: Decorating Baby Jarbs' room!
Milestones:

Baby's skin is becoming more opaque as the fat starts to pack on. And, thanks to the formation of small capillaries, her newly thick skin is taking on a fresh pink glow.

New blog look

I've been experimenting on the new look for the blog. We're having a brown/pink theme for Baby Jarbs' nursery so it's but fitting to have the blog match as well. I am not yet 100% sure  if I'll keep this new blog background. I may change it again :-).

2nd wedding anniversary!

It has been a weekend of celebration! Today, Daddy Jarbs and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary! We wanted to have a low key celebration so we just did what we like doing best....EAT! We ordered in Thai food for lunch and busted out the fine china :-). For dinner, we headed out to Founding Farmers restaurant for a nice anniversary dinner - our last before Baby Jarbs arrives. She'll be able to celebrate with us during our wedding anniversary next year! :-)

On our way home, we did a drive by at Sibley Hospital where I am scheduled to give birth. Yes, we're mapping out our emergency route :-).

Whole crispy flounder, pad see ew and pad king tofu!

Dinner at Founding Farmers

Check out this cool shirt (with matching pajama) that Daddy Jarbs gave to me as an anniversary gift. He gave me a couple other cute shirts too! How sweet :-).

Happy Vday Baby Jarbs!

The 4th of July is not the only reason to celebrate today. More importantly, it is Baby Jarbs' Vday or viability day!! It means that Baby Jarbs has reached the age of viability which "refers to the point in pregnancy at which the baby could have a chance of survival if born prematurely, which is generally around 24 weeks of pregnancy." Happy vday little pumpkin! Just keep on growing inside mommy's tummy :-).

Early 4th of July celebration

We were at Cobb Island again for Daddy Jarbs' sister, Terri's annual 4th of July party. There were tons of food, drinks and fireworks! We saw friends and relatives who are looking forward to meeting Baby Jarbs :-).

Another beautiful sunset in Cobb Island

Daddy Jarbs and I while watching the fireworks

Night out with friends...

Daddy Jarbs and I kicked off the long weekend by meeting up with my highschool friend, Rochelle and her husband Carlo. They are visiting from Houston. We took them out to dinner and got, what else, but MD blue crabs!! :-). We were all stuffed!

After dinner, we drove around the city and ended up at hanging out at the National Harbor since they are staying at the Gaylord Hotel.We went to Bobby McKeys which is a dueling piano bar. It was a lot of fun. Even Baby Jarbs was groovin' inside my belly :-).

Carlo, Rochelle, Daddy Jarbs and I at Bobby McKeys

Friends for ~20 years!

Bump pic!

I have not posted a bump pic in a while. Baby Jarbs has had a growth spurt in the past few weeks and my belly is now HUGE! People at work are now noticing that I am pregnant vs just plainly getting fat :-P.

Baby Jarbs @ 23w4d

See the difference in my belly @ 11w5d vs 23w4d. Holy moly!