Sunday, February 28, 2010

Week 18 - Baby Agbai Report

So it’s been 4 weeks since the last report and things have really changed:




The dr. scheduled me for an ultrasound on March 9 so we’ll be able to (hopefully) find out the gender then. I really, really, really hope it’s a boy. Either way we definitely want gender neutral everything so we can re-use it easily. We’ve started building the baby’s registry on Amazon.com. It’s so cool ‘cause now you can do a “universal registry” and add items from any site you browse. It’s a one stop shop. Here’s the nursery bedding we like the most:


It’s finally to the point that I’m visibly pregnant instead of looking like I overindulged on doughnuts and cookies! Anyway, the good news is that Uka finally got to hear Baby Agbai’s heartbeat himself when he joined me at the dr.’s office the day he returned from Argentina which also just so happened to be our 8 month anniversary. The dr. said everything appears normal – I’m just a bit anemic, but then again, most women are anyway. Perhaps that could be why I crave red meat so badly. I went to Chipotle last week 2 days in a row. I had no choice; the baby told me to go!

Time for the Baby Agbai Report:

How far along: 18 weeks


How big is baby: (from 3DPregnancy.com) At about 18 weeks, you might begin to feel a suspicious flutter in your belly. The professionals call it "quickening," we call it "baby's makin' waves!" Within the next few weeks, those tiny bubbly feelings will become more obvious. And soon enough they'll be unmistakably identifiable—especially when you (and anyone within 10 feet of you) can see tiny feet, elbows and knees moving across your belly.

Your baby's ears are now facing forward and are completely formed so she can actually hear you talking now. You don't need to abandon your potty mouth just yet, but you might want to start thinking about it! Other highlights this week:

This week is also the beginning of ossification. And while that sounds like some long and involved paperwork you'll have to fill out, it's really a fancy medical term for the hardening of your baby's miniature bones. And that's a good thing.

Your baby's nerves are making more and more complex connections. Her sense of smell, taste, sight and hearing are all developing. A substance called myelin, which makes nerve connections travel faster, is now coating your baby's nerves.

Your baby now weighs between 5 and 7 ounces and is about 5½ inches long—about the size of a pickle from the corner deli. (You're familiar with pickles, right? Your regular accompaniment to a big bowl of ice cream?)

Stretch Marks: Haven’t noticed any pregnancy related ones yet. . . just staying moisturized 2x day.


Sleep: It's getting more and more difficult. I toss and turn and end up with the pillows in disarray trying to find a good position :-(

Best Moment This Week: Uka getting to hear the heartbeat.

Movement: Baby Agbai is flip floppin’ around, and I can definitely feel it. We heard it moving during the ultrasound too.

Sex of the Baby: Boy, please.

Food Craving: Still red meat

Belly Button In or Out: In

What I Miss: Good sleep, and I know I most likely won’t have it until 2011.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Finding out the gender.

Milestone: Baby Agbai has received his first gift courtesy of Julie M. my best friend since 5th grade – thank you Julie!:

 




Saturday, February 27, 2010

Home Sweet Home!

After a short stint in Argentina, it feels great to be home with Q and Peanut (my current nickname for the baby). I always get a little separation anxiety when I am away from Quiana but it's the nature of my professional basketball career. Ironically, we were reunited yesterday on our 8-month wedding anniversary.


What is the first thing you wish isn’t sitting next to you on an 11-hour flight? A BABY! As you have correctly guessed, that’s exactly what I had on my journey back to New York. I have to admit that she was a cute baby. She looked a little like an Olson Twin back when they were on Full House.


“Michelle Tanner’s” mother was preoccupied with her older, more rambunctious offspring, giving “M.T” free-reigned to annoy me. At first M.T. was cute and playing peek-a-boo with me but immediately after take-off she turned into a nightmare. Whenever I was able to fall asleep, I would be awakened by an ear-piercing squeal. Sometimes she would place her drool-laced hands on my arm, thinking she was reaching for her mother. A restful flight it was not.

Although I was happy to come back home, it was bittersweet because of the winter storm rolling through NYC. Forty-eight hours ago, I was in blue skies and sunshine. Now I’m in Winter Wonderland.

VS.

I must not complain because I am back home with Q. I’m sure we can keep each other warm. ;)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Scrabble Obsession

I love, love, love board games and have fond memories of playing Memory with my dad (it was the adult and baby animals version!), Battleship all by myself (the electronic version), and, at my grandma's house, Monopoly and Scrabble. My grandma had the deluxe version of Scrabble that held each letter tile in it's own plastic square so they wouldn't move. I never remember keeping score, but it was still a fun way to pass time. 

Last fall Uka and I were in Barnes & Noble and picked up a travel Scrabble on a whim. We had some trips coming up and thought it would be fun to take along with us. At first we didn't play for points and ended up making words like this:


Yeah, lots of 3 letter words evident of the 3 college degrees between the 2 of us! One day we actually sat down and read the rules and decided we should start playing for points. Boy, did  it start getting competitive! We came up with words that I had thought would be in the deepest recesses of our minds but somehow they suddenly came to the forefront:


Sure, we had to insert an occasional 2 or 3 letter word, but hey, "dozer" and "coif?" C'mon!


Here's another round:


I'm still impressed when I see the word, "Norse." Why was that even floating around in my mind???

Sure, we have a Wii, wireless  Internet and digital cable, but sometimes it's nice to go back to board games and have a nice quiet (competitive) evening at home. 

Yeah, that's my twin below . . .



I remember watching "Disappearing Acts" and while I didn't like the movie, I liked the fact that they played Scrabble and I found it romantic then. Perhaps playing Scrabble with Uka re-enacts what I felt when watching that movie. I dunno. 

Let us know what games you like to play. It might be fun to schedule a game night soon . . .


Monday, February 22, 2010

Best Banana Bread . . . EVER!

So when my bananas get like this:


I get really excited because I know they're perfect for banana bread! I've made banana bread many times growing up, but it wasn't until I got my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook several years ago that I found a key a ingredient that I should have been using all along: plain yogurt! And it makes a world of difference. The banana bread turns out SO moist. It has a similar effect as using sour cream, pudding or mayonnaise in baked goods.

So here's how it looks in the pan:

 

 
After 10 minutes I moved it to the cooling rack:





This is how I like to enjoy mine - the cream cheese makes it SO yummy!





Here's the recipe:

The Best Banana Bread (courtesy America's Test Kitchen)


Makes one 9-inch loaf.   Published March 1, 1998.   

Greasing and flouring only the bottom of a regular loaf pan causes the bread to cling to the sides and rise higher. If using a nonstick loaf pan, on which the sides are very slick, grease and flour sides as well as the bottom.

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1-1/4 cups toasted walnuts , chopped coarse (optional)
3 very ripe bananas , soft, darkly speckled, mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs , beaten lightly
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of regular loaf pan, or grease and flour bottom and sides of nonstick 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. Combine first five ingredients together in large bowl; set aside.

  2. Mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in medium bowl. Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

 

Thursday, February 18, 2010

No, this is not a dress rehearsal!

I guess you can call it a "quarterlife crisis," but whatever it is there is an epidemic I've witnessed and have been a part of since graduating college in 2002. So many of my peers are either reaching their 30s or quickly approaching their 30s and boy, is there a lot of confusion going on! It's that we're still stuck in this, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" phase.


I remember after a couple weeks in my first corporate job after graduating college I called my mom and asked, "How did you do this for so many years?" Something about sitting in a cube and dealing with the emerging office politics I began to notice just didn't sit right with me, and nearly 8 years later I still had the same feeling.

This sentiment has been echoed by my friends across various industries - advertising, insurance, banking and politics -  it's constantly the same outcome: disenchantment with corporate life. Some advised me to "suck it up" and find pleasure outside of work, but when you're totally deflated by the time you get home from 10+ hour work days and start to show physical symptoms of the poisonous corporate environments that so many of us inhabit you know it's a problem (and I speak from personal experience!).


So what is the solution? Personally, I dedicate myself to helping guide young people navigate their career choices - especially young women. My mantra is, "Don't feel pressured to run right into corporate America!" Do something else like Teach for Amercia, Peace Corps, City Year, etc. But a bigger question remains . . .

How do so many of us end up in these soul crushing jobs?

I believe it's a mix of factors: from materialism, to fear of the unknown and obligation to pay college loans. Personally, with college loans facing me I believed it was best to get plugged into a job right away and start working. Thinking back I would have started with my passions and found a job in those fields.

What were my passions?

Acting, cooking, writing, mentoring and travel. I do remember identifying these, but thinking "I'm not going to make any money doing these things!" See, but the drive should not have been money - it should have been following my passion. Yes, perhaps I would have had to eat ramen for several years, but I would be following my wanderlust. And of course, there would have been ups and downs in those fields just like in any, but the basis is that at this point in my life I believe corporate America does not fit with who I am.

And after nearly 8 years of trying it out, I threw in the towel, and I feel so much better for it.

Now, I'm on to pursuing my passions! It's never too late.

Check out these resources to start pursuing your own wanderlust:


Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Pizza Adventures & a Bit of Mise en Place

One of our fabulous friends (and fellow Wellesley alum!), Dominique G., had given us a pizza stone as a wedding present along with glass prep bowls. I had added this to our registry becuase I wanted to recreate the family Friday night pizza nights I had grown up with in Ohio. We waited until we moved back to Harlem and got to use our Viking oven to finally give it a try. If you don't know what a pizza stone is check this out:


Now while we usually abide by our America's Test Kictchen Family Cookbook, we took a look at the picture of the pizza they showed and decided it didn't look appetizing to us: 


Anyway, Uka did a little bit of research and came across a recipe for slow fermentation pizza dough. It sounded a bit labor intensive because it requires waiting overnight, but we decided to give it a try because the reviews and pictures looked SO yummy. Here's a picture of our first try:


Here's a later attempt where we added crumbled sausage:


When it gets warmer I can't wait to add in-season veggies and herbs! We might even add pineapple. I also want to experiment with some of the fun cheeses at Zabar's. So far we really like Sargento's provolone and mozerella blend; we found if we just used plain, pre-shredded mozzarella that it's too rubbery.

What's so great about making the pizza is that it's something we really make into a team effort. From making the dough, selecting the toppings, stretching the dough, to getting everything in and out the lowest rack of the 500 degree oven without burning ourselves, we're both together in the kitchen, and it's a lot of fun! I do have to say at the beginning we had a few disagreements on technique, but we compromise and let each other make the dough however we want (although I have to admit it's me, Q, who has to bite my tongue the most due to my type A personality!).

Here's the recipe courtesy of Peter Reinhert (THE bread guru!) via 101 Cookbooks (a fabulous cooking blog you must bookmark):

Peter Reinhart's Napoletana Pizza Dough Recipe

Notes: Definitely use the olive oil; while the dough yields 6 pizza crusts, we found that instead we prefer to form 3 pizza crusts instead for 8-slice pizzas; we can't find bread flour in Harlem so we use all-purpose and it tastes fine, but someday we want to try bread flour (my dad recommends this too)

4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) unbleached high-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled


1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt


1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast


1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil (optional)


1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40°F)


Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting


1. Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook, to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a tea- spoon or two of cold water. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50 to 55F.


2. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with baking parchment and misting the parchment with spray oil (or lightly oil the parchment). Using a metal dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you are comfortable shaping large pizzas), You can dip the scraper into the water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it, Sprinkle flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls to the sheet pan, Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a food-grade plastic bag.


3. Put the pan into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. (Note: If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag. Dip each dough ball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it, rolling the dough in the oil, and then put each ball into a separate bag. You can place the bags into the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.)


4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Before letting the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours, dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag. Now let rest for 2 hours.


5. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on the floor of the oven (for gas ovens), or on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800F (most home ovens will go only to 500 to 550F, but some will go higher). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.


6. Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift I piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. If it begins to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue shaping it. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss as shown on page 208. If you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, though this isn't as effective as the toss method.


7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction (about 9 to 12 inches in diameter for a 6-ounce piece of dough), lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other top- pings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy. The American "kitchen sink" approach is counterproductive, as it makes the crust more difficult to bake. A few, usually no more than 3 or 4 toppings, including sauce and cheese is sufficient.


8. Slide the topped pizza onto the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so. The pizza should take about 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower self before the next round. if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone for subsequent bakes.


9. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.


Makes six 6-ounce pizza crusts.


from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed Press) 
 
Now regarding sauce: I grew up on canned sauce, but with all the added sodium I now prefer to make my own and it's SO easy. Plus you can add your own seasoning to taste.
 
Quick Tomato Sauce (from America's Test Kitchen)
 
Notes: We don't add salt because there's enough salt from the meat and cheese, but instead we add about 1 tablespoon of sugar
 
1 can (14 1/2 oz) crushed tomatoes
 
1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press
 
1 tablespoon salt
 
Heat garlic and oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until garlic is sizzling, about 40 seconds. Stir in tomatoes; bring to simmer and cook, uncovered, until sauce thickens enough to coat wooden spoon, about 15 minutes. Season to taste.


Let us know how your pizza turns out!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Introducing.....Papa Agbai!!!

Hola everybody. It's the other half of the Harlem Love Birds, Uka aka Papa Agbai. Quiana and I thought it would only be right if both "birds" made entries into the blog. I must admit, I am a noob when it comes to blogging but I find this form of expression intriguing. Where else can you write whatever you want, whenever you want and have the world view it? Only on the Internet my friends.

If you have been reading our blog (I hope you have), you know 'Q' and I have known each other for 10 years and will soon be proud parents of a baby it. I say 'baby it' because the sex of the baby has yet to be determined. Some parents-to-be say they want to be surprised when their bundle of joy is born. Well I say, Papa Agbai don't like surprises. I need to be mentally prepared for what's to come.

Check this scenario: In the hospital room, the baby is born, the doctor wraps it in a blanket and presents it to you. The doctor says, "Congratulations, you are the proud parents of a baby DRAGON."

Random and obscure? Yes, I know but it is also important. Had you known months ago that you were having a baby dragon, you could've read up on raising a dragon, learned how to fireproof your home and got advice from other parents of baby dragons. It sounds weird but that's how I feel as a first time parent.

Having a child is a blessing in itself, but for me, having a 'lil man' would be amazing. I always dreamed of giving my son his haircuts, teaching him how to play basketball, and  having that birds and bees talk when he got older. But then again, having a girl would be nice too. She could be 'lil mama' and would be smart and beautiful like her mother. 'Daddy's little girl' would sweeten my heart. We should know in a month what the baby will be. Boy or girl, we will be ecstatic and proud. Hopefully, it's not a dragon.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Baby Agbai's 1st Glamour Shot

Saturday, February 6, 2010

So Uka's in Buenos Aires . . .

It's been a long wait, but Uka finally left for Argentina almost 2 weeks ago:



For some reason they used an old BC pic on the announcement which is kinda funny! He looks kinda angry. Here's a more recent picture:



After 10 years of knowing Uka and him being abroad since the fall of 2004 I'm used to the distance, but now it's a bit hard since this is the longest we've ever been separated since being married. Also, since we had never lived together before it's been odd for me suddenly being alone right when I got used to being with him. I guess technically, I'm not alone cause I'm here with Baby Agbai!

Anyway, whenever Uka goes away we talk over Yahoo via PC-to-PC calling. It's usually pretty clear and it seems like since Uka was in Venezuela last year Yahoo's updated their calling software and it's even clearer. If we run into problems we switch to Skype.

I love to drill Uka with questions about the new countries he goes to. I'm alway anxious for pictures, and I want to know the smallest details, nuances and quirks about the culture. For example, he explained how he had to light a pilot light to heat the hot water for his apartment and that no one had told him exactly how to do so. He thought he was going to blow up the apartment and to hear him explain it sounds like an episode of McGyver! He finally sent me a picture of what the contraption looks like:



Uka tells me because of his schedule of 2 practices a day he isn't able to go out and explore the city; being in another country isn't vacation for him - it's work. When I go to visit in a few weeks I'll try to get us out to explore a little bit and enjoy the culture if I can. Uka lives in the town of Nunez which is northern Buenos Aires. There are 50K inhabitants and it's quiet and clean which is good:




There's so much to do in Buenos Aires; I bought a mini-guide book that has a map in it so I'm ready to hit the streets! But Uka's warned me to be careful because there is dog poo EVERYWHERE. I thought Queens was bad, but he says it's worse. I even found a blog dedicated to dog poop in Buenos Aires:



Right now it's their summer, but by the time I go it will be starting to cool down but it will still seem very warm to me. It's in the 80s/90s there now but will be in the 70s. Very nice indeed! I picked up some Liz Lange maternity capris from Target and have plenty of Old Navy summer dresses that will still fit me so I'm all set. Don't know if I'll have courage to don a bathing suit though! Here's my last bikini pic and I don't want to imagine what I look like now in it ;-)







Friday, February 5, 2010

Baby Agbai is due August 1, 2010!

So Christmas day we officially found out we were pregnant and finally made it through the 1st trimester so we can share the good news!



As many of you know I'm quite type A and have been sketching out my life plan since I was like 5 years old. I always knew I really wanted to have my first baby before I turned 30 (it's coming up this September), mostly because I remember my own mom as a young mom and the awesome level of energy she had with me:



Also, because I saw so many peers whose parents were pushing grandparent age and that always weirded me out. I mean really think about it: If you have your 1st child at the age of 30 that kid's not out the house until you're 48 and that's just the FIRST child. UGHHH! My parents are gonna be empty nesters at the beautiful age of 53/54 and I think that's great!

Anyway, here's my Christmas tummy - I was 8 weeks pregnant at this point:


The weeks of December 4 and 11 I was horribly nauseous and tired but thankfully didn't throw up. I had been getting up a lot in the middle of the night to use the bathroom too which I normally don't do so I knew something was up, but I didn't want to take the test until Christmas because I thought it would be a fun Christmas surprise. Uka agreed!

I don't want to turn this into a full fledged baby blog, because seriously, there is so much else going on in our lives besides being pregnant, but I definitely want to keep enough updates, such as pictures about every 4 weeks, so that Baby Agbai fans can follow along.

Another declaration: I SO don't want to turn into a pregnant-zilla! I felt the same way about the wedding. There are so many brides and moms to be who act as though they are the first ones in the world to get married or get pregnant. I've seen the worst of it at one of my jobs when about 4 women got married all within the same 6 months then they all got pregnant right after and for one solid year weddings and babies were all they talked about. It was quite annoying and I vowed at that moment NEVER to be like that!

Yes, weddings and babies are great, but I believe in being well-rounded so that's what this blog will continue to be.

Enough of my soap box! As I write this I've just started my 2nd trimester and am finishing my 14th week (of 40!):



I have heard Baby Agbai's heartbeat (it sounded like a techno beat), and am looking forward to an ultrasound in a few days. The sad part is Uka is away and not able to join me, but Baby Agbai and I will be with him soon enough (details in the following post!).

Here's the 1st official Baby Agbai Report:

How far along: 14 weeks

How big is baby: (from 3DPregnancy.com) Think of it this way: You're a third of the way through and baby's a third of the way cooked. Now that the "big stuff" (like skeletal and organ development) is taken care of, your baby starts a period of rapid brain growth, fat buildup and detail work. Highlights this week include:

Your baby now has fingerprints! Book 'em, Danno! Believe it or not, he actually created them himself while swimming around in the amniotic fluid. As he moved his hands, the skin on the tips of his fingers formed unique ridges and folds. That's why no one on earth has the same fingerprints, not even identical twins! Cool, right? Baby's arms are now in proportion to his tiny body, but his legs are still on the short size in comparison.


Your baby continues to gain new and impressive skills such as practicing and controlling voluntary muscle movements (this will help him fling food across the room later in life). Your tiny dancer's movements are no longer the jerky, uncontrollable twitches of yore—he now moves with graceful control.
Your baby is now weighs about an ounce and is the length of a flip phone, or roughly 3.5 inches—he's tripled in size from a mere three weeks ago! Luckily, you haven't done the same.

Stretch Marks: Whatever, I just stay moisturized and oiled up with Palmers!

Sleep: I keep waking up in the middle of the night remembering that I shouldn't be sleeping on my tummy or back. I sleep lightly because of this since I'm SO conscious about crushing Baby Agbai. I think it's time to get a pregnancy pillow . . . Thankfully, I don't have to get up as often in the night to use the bathroom as in the 1st trimester. Now it's down to 1 or 2x instead of 3x. I like taking naps during the day and tend to get about 10 hours of sleep total per day.GROW BABY AGBAI, GROW!
 
Best Moment This Week: Knowing I made it safely through the 1st trimester and hearing Baby Agbai's heartbeat.
 
Movement: None yet, but I'm practicing being very attentive to my tummy. I know in the next couple weeks I should be able to feel Baby Agbai. The dr. already asked me if I felt anything yet.
 
Sex of the Baby: In the same way I just felt I was pregnant before even taking the test, I just feel like it's a boy. I'm looking forward to finding out with Uka when I go visit him in Argentina, but part of me hopes the ultrasound in a few days will confirm although it's unlikely since it's so early. I've also done a lot of thinking (over the years, yes!) about what Baby Agbai might look like. Behold, the Baby Agbai Prototype (courtesy of Hyundai):
 
 
Food Craving: Red meat, please! Even before the nausea, Uka knew something was up when I suddenly needed a pastrami sandwhich immediately one afternoon. It's only got worse from there! I LOVE Mexican (I could eat Chipotle everyday) and spicy/tangy food appeals to me. I have no taste for sweets which is a welcome change since I usually have an awful sweet tooth. In addition to the red meat, just eating lots of eggs, mixed green salad with red wine vinegar, cheese, nuts and fruit (berries, apples and prunes are my fav!). I've been trying hard to incorporate chicken into the mix and fish so I don't get high cholesterol from the red meat, but so far they just gross me out. And even thinking of pork makes me lightheaded.
 
Belly Button In or Out: In, and I hope it stays that way.
 
What I Miss: My Uka
 
What I'm Looking Forward To: Buenos Aires from March-May
 
Milestone: Safely into my 2nd trimester - thank you Jesus!