Friday I saw my midwife for our bi-weekly visit. (Isn't it odd that bi-weekly means both twice a week and every two weeks?-- I do mean, of course, the latter in the previous sentence. Let us say, once a fortnight....)
Thirty-one weeks down, nine more to go!
The babe's growing, popping my belly and bosom further out; my navel resembles that of a Christmas orange. My measurement is right on the money. My blood pressure remains nice and low. Bloodwork all good. Hair's thicker than ever, and while I'm a bit puffier than usual, I have that glow, I am told.
I am a roly-poly goddess filled with life and domestic and other-worldly ambition, but a reduced reserve of energy with which to fulfill these desires.... I do my best. Some days, this is good enough.
While we eschewed all other prenatal testing, I did, a couple weeks ago, down a bottle of syrup sweet liquid for the one hour reading. An extended family history of diabetes and being of the voluptuous variety, I thought it a good idea.
While my glucose tolerance test came back in the normal range (albeit at the higher end of normal-- peak is 140, mine was 130), here's the thing:
In the first six months of pregnancy, I gained 10 pounds. Perfect.
Then, in the last six weeks (as of Friday's midwife visit): I gained another FIFTEEN pounds. YOW. Which puts me over my goal total gain of 20, by 5 pounds, and I've nine weeks yet to go! (Though according to my sister, who's delivered two bouncing girl babes in her day, there's little liklihood that I'll go much longer than mid September).
Granted, a plentiful bit of this gain is fluid-- just my style to be in the last trimester of pregnancy during a heat wave and flaunt my swollen feet and hands, and sometimes face.
Now, I do eat healthily, but all the extraneous stuff has to go....
So: sugar is out completely. (I'd given up sugar pre-pregnancy in order to get more fit and feel better and enhance fertility-- an exercise in futility since all My Beloved Mister had to do was look at me to get me knocked up-- but I was lured by ice cream's siren call.... Oh my sweet frosty friend, why hast thou forsaken me?)
My one true and solid craving? Copious ammounts of fruits: also out. (Berries are the best bet; good since I've got all these blueberries I picked down in Kelso last week and will go pick more when the weather relents a bit, and I'll choose a closer patch; adieu my dear watermelon, banana and peach).
Also non-whole grain carbohydrates and white potatoes: out. (Shall I sneak brown rice into my twice monthly Taste of India lunches??? I yearn for the lentil, a good korma and saag paneer.... Oh, woe is me to no longer get my naan on.)
Sigh. In the name of health and of Ziggy's best interests in all ways, from here on out, I'll be feasting from the high nutritive value foods at the lower end of the glycemic index. (Who could have imagined the Frosted Flakes were lower on the index than the wholesome and dear to my heart Cheerio?!-- they're both out, at that, I reckon).
Enough is the same as a feast. I shall know abundance of a different variety, and revel in Ziggy's eminent arrival.
If y'all have good recipes / ideas that don't encompass the above NO-NOs, but include the GOOD stuff, send 'em my way.
I'm figuring to eat lots of big green leafy salads with lean proteins. I'm familiar with the glycemic index and whole foods science from experience and while I'm handy in the kitchen and have certainly taken my share of nutrition classes and such, I'm always open for tips and good finds.
Off to the market for greens and goods!!
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