Tasty Tuesday

BAKED FISH STUFFED

This recipe is so simple that you can use a variety of fish.

Example:

Scallops

Cod

Scrod

Flounder

Salmon

Catfish

Sole (wonderful stuffed)

STUFFING:

Crush some Ritz crackers (1 cup).

Add:

A few chopped walnuts (3 tbsp.)

1 tbsp. parsley

4 tbsp. butter, melted

Stuffing for sole: Mix all together. A drop or two of cooking sherry adds a nice touch.

Lay the sole out flat. Place stuffing in center. Fold fish over stuffing and put sealed side down.

Spray a glass pan or individual casserole with butter flavored Pam.

Place the fish in the dish.

Melt enough butter with a tablespoon or so of lemon juice to drizzle over the amount of fish you have to cook.

Sprinkle with crushed Ritz crackers. Spray with butter flavor Pam. Dust with a little paprika for color.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 25 to 30 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish.

35 Weeks Development

How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Updates:
Yesterday was the last of my every two week appointments. I will now start going every week. I told the dr. I have been having some Braxton Hicks Contractions so he said starting next week he'll check my cervix at every appointment for dilation and effacement!!

Having this week off work I got ALOT done. We just have to install the car seat bases in the cars and we are all set!! Tomorrow we are meeting with one of the childcare providers. Hope it goes well.

I've also decided that I am going to try breastfeeding. I was opposed to it at first but there are so many benefits I figured it's worth a try. Plus, to have the extra bonding time I think will be essential.

Today is 35 weeks with only 35 days left!!! Eek!! So excited!!!

Off work :-)

Last year before the end of the year our company said we could carry over 40 PTO hrs to this year. I was so excited because I was going to put that extra week towards my maternity leave. But then when we returned to work the beginning of January the company sent out an email saying all PTO time that was carried over had to be used by March 31st. So I decided to take this week off since the shower was on Saturday. I'm planning on getting lots of baby stuff done this week and preparing the house for her arrival.

Yesterday I contacted two childcare providers and set up interviews, contacted a pediatrician, washed all Addison's clothes from newborn to 6 months, washed all the bedding and put on her bed, found a bargain exersaucer on craigslist(pic below) and picked that up yesterday, started putting shower gifts away, washed the bibs, burp cloths and washcloths and put them away, put the newborn and stage 1 diapers on the changing table along with diaper cream, powder, lotion ect.

Today's list: Pack hospital bag, diaper bag, wash blankets and bassinet linens, put away more shower items.

The nesting has begun!!!

Last night we had our third childbirth/lamaze class. Probably the best one yet. Brian arrived on time(he's usually late due to work)!! We went over medication and the last two stages of labor. The teacher said at the hospital I'm delivering at you no longer have to pre-register-you just fill out the forms when you arrive (who wants to fill out forms during contractions???) We toured the hospital so of course now that I know what the rooms look like I had dreams last night about it and being in labor. The delivery bed seems so small to me. They said they don't draw blood from the baby's heel anymore-they take it right out of the umbilical cord now so the baby doesn't have to be stuck with a needle. They said that all the tests, etc are done on the baby right in the room and there is rarely a need for the baby to be taken into the nursery. We saw the nursery and the NICU. There was a premie in the NICU that was so tiny but very active. They have postpartum rooms on the first floor and the second floor. The unit remains locked and visitors have to buzz the nurse then the nurse contacts the patient to see if they want that visitor allowed in or not. If I'm actually delivering they will not let any visitors in and they will be directed to the waiting area. No children under 10 are allowed to visit unless they are a sibling. The unit looks fairly new or remodeled but the postpartum rooms really don't look much bigger than the delivery rooms.

They said if you have to have a C-section that they can't do the baby's transition in the OR because it's too cold so the father is the one who takes the baby to the nursery for the tests, etc that would normally be done in the room if you delivered naturally. If you have a C-section the mom gets to see the baby for a few seconds then they finish the surgery and send the mom to the recovery room so it's almost 2 hours before the mom is back in the room with the baby :-(

We also did pushing during class last night. Brian was so funny...he kept saying "don't actually push...just do the breathing" Duh? Really? He must think I'm stupid...like I was really going to push?!?! Ugh, Men!! Haha!!

Baby Shower

The shower was great! We played the memory tray game and guess how big I am game. I wore a shirt that made my belly look really big so everyone was guessing way bigger...we had alot of laughs. Then they did a game for Brian. They blindfolded him and placed baby items in a bag. He had to pull them out one by one and try and guess what they were. He surprisingly did really well!!

Besides receiving registry items alot of people handmade blankets, quilts, etc.

Brian's aunt's gift was a T-shirt that had a picture of Brian fishing. On the T-shirt it says-"Goin Fishin' with Daddy" I started crying when I saw it. It's just so cute and sentimental. (pics below)

My friend CJ took TONS of photos during the shower so when she emails me the link or gives me the CD with photos I'll upload them so you all can see.

The spare bedroom after the shower

34 Weeks Development

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.



Updates: Today is my Baby Shower and I'm so excited!! I've been receiving lots of great gifts in the mail this week...I feel so lucky to have such great friends and family!! Also wanted to let everyone know that Brian's mom does not need to have chemo. They seemed to have gotten all the cancer during the surgery...what a relief!!

Baby Gifts

My shower isn't until this weekend but I've already started receiving several gifts this week from people who live out of town and other people not able to make the shower. Here's a few pictures of some gifts. I'll try and post all the pics next week of gifts received and pics from the shower.

Cute T-shirt from Kim

Quilt Handmade by a co-worker

Tasty Tuesday

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I currently have this cooking in the crockpot and can't wait to see how it turns out when I get home from work today.

CROCK POT CORNED BEEF

Ingredients:

1 Corned Beef Brisket

2 Bay Leaves

2 Cloves Garlic

1 medium Onion

Directions:

1. Trim some fat from the brisket. You don't need to remove all the fat or else it'll get dry.

2. Place the brisket into the crock pot. Fill with water until it just covers the brisket

3. Add the spice packet that comes with the brisket, garlic, bay leaves and onion.

4. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours.

Catching Up

Our first childbirth class went really well last week. One of the girls in our class is a girl I used to work with so I was excited to see her. The class size is limited to 10 pregnant women plus their coach. We did introductions and learned about effacement, dilation(you should've seen some of the girl's faces when they saw the dilation chart-they looked horrified) and the first stage of labor. The instructor kept emphasizing that you don't go to the hospital until...1. Your water breaks 2. You start bleeding 3. Your contractions are 5 minutes apart. From what my friends have told me about the pain of contractions I'm sure I'm going to find it hard to deal with the pain until the contractions shorten to 5 minutes apart before going to the hospital. We really learned alot in the first class and are looking forward to the next class tonight.

Friday, Brian's Mom had surgery. She had a mole removed a couple weeks ago and found out it was malignant melanoma-Level II. So the surgery this last Friday was to take more tissue, etc to test further. If they find out any is higher than Level II she'll have to begin chemo. So Friday I went down and hung out with her for awhile, then yesterday both Brian and I went to see her. She seems to be doing pretty good. I believe she'll get her test results on Thursday. We are praying for good results.

I had a dr. appointment on Friday. The doctor said her head is down. His exact comment "She knows the way out" I had been having mild cramping all that morning and asked him about it. He said it was perfectly normal and that I'd start feeling cramping and contractions from time to time as my body prepares itself for delivery. I have one more appt in two weeks, then I'll start having weekly appointments!!

33 Weeks Development

How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.

Belly Pics

Tasty Tuesday

ORANGE JULIUS

6 ounces orange juice, from frozen concentrate, unprepared

1 cup milk, lowfat okay

1 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients, except ice cubes, in blender.

Blend 1−2 minutes, adding ice cubes one at a time, until smooth.

Childbirth/Lamaze Class

Tonight is our first childbirth class!! We are really excited. I'll do a post later in the week to let everyone know how it goes.

I found this on the web...

The room was full of pregnant women and their partners,
and the Lamaze class was in full swing.

The instructor was teaching the women how to breathe properly,
along with informing the men how to give the necessary assurances at this stage of the plan.

The teacher then announced,

“Ladies, exercise is good for you. Walking is especially beneficial. And, gentlemen, it wouldn’t hurt you to take the time to go walking with your partner!”

The room really got quiet.

Finally, a man in the middle of the group raised his hand.

“Yes?” replied the teacher.

“Is it ok if she carries a golf bag while we walk?”

32 Weeks Development

How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

8 Weeks Left!!!

It's so hard for me to think in 2 months baby Addison will be here. The time has flown by and I still have my dr. appts every two weeks. I believe at 36 weeks I'll start going every week. We've got all the furniture for the nursery set up...just waiting for the glider/ottoman to arrive (it was backordered). Brian bought the baby her first package of diapers this week and of course I had to open the package and see how small the newborn size was. I swear we both stared at the diaper for 5 minutes trying to visualize her wearing such a tiny diaper. I should've took a picture...it's unreal to me how small the newborn size is...I can't even imagine what a preemie diaper would look like. He also bought her some knit caps/hats-they were really cute. I think it's starting to sink in more and more for him.

Monday we start our childbirth class so we are anxious for that, then next weekend we have a couple appointments to interview some childcare providers in our area. Then my shower is in two weeks and I can't wait!! I'm taking the last week of March off work to prepare the house, wash Addison's clothes and bedding, sterilize toys, bottles, binkies, etc. It actually worked out pretty well. At work we could carry over 5 days from last year so I thought I could add to my maternity leave but then when we returned to work in January after the holidays, the company sent out an email saying any PTO days carried over have to be used by March 31st...go figure. But like I said-it'll be nice to take a week off to relax and get the house ready for her arrival.

Tasty Tuesday

Here's a casserole that could be used for breakfast or brunch.

Ham and Cheese Egg Casserole

Ingredients:

10 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup ham (diced)
1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
1/4 cup jalapeno peppers (sliced)/(optional)
2 green onions (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Mix everything in a bowl.
2. Pour into an 8 inch square baking pan.
3. Bake in a preheated 375F oven until the eggs are firmly set and golden brown on top, about 25-35 minutes.

Preparing Gizmo/Updates

Yesterday Brian brought up the idea of preparing Gizmo for when the baby arrives. We weren't up to much so creativity got the best of us...lol. Brian had me wrap a stuffed bear up in a baby blanket and hold it and act like it was a baby. Gizmo was SOOOOOOOOO curious. He kept jumping up so I knelt down and he was smelling the blanket and started to lick it. I then placed "the baby" in the bassinet and he put his paws on the bassinet and was trying to smell in the bassinet. When I moved away from the bassinet he laid down beside it and stayed there until I took "the baby" out of the bassinet. When I moved "the baby" to the crib he did the same thing-sniffed at the crib then laid down right in front of it and stayed there. So with me and "the baby" he seemed very curious yet protective.

So then it was Brian's turn to tend to "the baby." Gizmo became very jealous. As soon as Brian picked up "the baby" Gizmo went and found two of his squeaky toys and was squeaking them, running in circles, jumping on the bed, etc. He was very jealous and trying to get Brian to play with him and had no interest in "the baby"

It was so amazing seeing Gizmo's reactions to the both of us with "the baby" I'm sure he'll be fine once the baby arrives but it was a great little experiment.

Another baby update:

I had another appt on Friday and the doctor says everything seems great. After pressing on my lower stomach, he believes the head is down but says she's still too small to tell but he'll definitely be able to tell at our next appt in two weeks. I also brought a list of pediatrician's covered by our insurance and he referred 4 or 5 of them. Two of them that he highly recommended luckily have a satellite office right down the street from our house-Yipee!!!

We've also been looking into childcare and have found a few we like and will begin interviewing them this month. It makes me so sad to think we have to pay someone to spend time with Addison...if only we could win the lotto and then I could be a stay at home mom. I just know the first day I drop her off at daycare that I'm going to be a crying mess...