Anxious and Waiting

Yep it's true, I'm anxious and waiting not anxiously awaiting! A week an a  half ago I wrote about thinking the worst... in which I discussed the very real fact that we could have had a baby 6 weeks early. However everything worked out and I simply had to do kick counts! 

Now exactly 2 weeks after getting the AFI done and learning everything was fine, I'm back to wondering how early my baby is going to come... we went to the OB on Wednesday and while I am not dilated at all the doctor was surprised I wasn't at all dilated. Mainly because our baby's head is so low in my pelvis. I also learned that his head being this low is giving me worse back pain AND occasional cramps. 

I think my husband and I have both reached the point where we pretty much are sure that this baby is not going to reach 40 weeks. (Child #1 was born at 40 weeks and 1 day.)  I am more inclined to think that this child is coming whenever he wants and is being particularly annoying about it! I've pretty much had contractions every hour (only 1-3 typically) since Saturday (when I had contractions 7-10 minutes apart for 4-5 hours). However for the last few days I've had a at least an hour of them anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart for an hour or so.

So needless to say I'm a little more anxious that this baby will be coming sooner than later (although I do realize that he could still come closer to 40 weeks than 36 weeks - where I'll be tomorrow!) I was told by my OB to 'take it easy' so now every time I start getting a few more contractions I feel obligated to not cook, clean, or do anything that isn't absolutely necessary (so much for that nesting instinct that should be kicking in sometime soon!) However it makes me grateful that I was being overly prepared a few weeks ago and actually have an entire month's worth of meals in the freezer because now I don't feel like I actually have to get those ready for that first month after baby is born! It also makes me grateful that I'm not on bed rest... I don't know how all you who have had to deal with bed rest handle it! It would drive me nuts - sometimes just 'taking it easy' drives me nuts...

I know with each day that passes my baby is growing a bit more and will be better able to survive in the outside world. But each bout with contractions makes me wonder just how much longer he is going to stay inside! So here I am anxious and waiting... anxious that baby will come today... waiting for another day to come without giving birth. 

Cocoa Rolo Cookies

So I have to say that this post has been a bugger to write... not because it was particularly hard, but because every time I sat down to write it my son decided he needed to sit on my lap (and I don't particularly like typing one handed!) I do have to say that I don't blame him as he's been sick since Monday... and it's always nice to have a mommy's lap available when one is not feeling well (and is still small enough to actually sit on mommy's lap!) So this post has literally taken DAYS to get through! True to every other time I decided to write, I now have a little boy on my lap... so here I'll leave you (so I can enjoy snuggling with my son)!

I went to my mom's house a few weeks ago and she had made these cookies. I thought they were so heavenly that I had to (a) share them with you and (b) make them for myself to consume in quantities that I shall not mention... nor do I really want to admit! However these little gems are not as calorie/sugar laden as some cookies I've had ;).

Cocoa Rolo Cookies
Recipe adapted from Cocoa Kiss Cookies in 101 Cookie Recipes

PCOS Diet week 4

Week 4 Overview: Had way too many cookies this week... but overall I did pretty well. With this new habit of eating I do feel that there are not enough healthy places to eat where we live... it is mostly fast food which isn't known for it's healthy alternatives! I've started gaining weight again which is nice since I like to know that I'm helping the baby inside me get the nutrition he needs to grow.

Day 22: Made Cocoa Rolo Cookies (and these were tasty little gems - I'll totally be posting that recipe sometime)... and was really tired this afternoon = bad combination! Oh wells... at least they aren't as sugar laden as some! I actually didn't go over my carb limit (well 1 gram but I'm not worried about that!)

Breakfast: Cream of Wheat and string cheese

Lunch: Peanut Butter & Jam sandwich (my own jam - so reduced sugar), green beans, cantaloupe

Snacks: Peach Sorbet, Milk and Cocoa Rolo Cookies

Dinner: Mexican-Style Salad

Total Calories: 2203, Carbs: 251 grams (278 including everything)

Day 23: Had my OB appointment today and we typically go out to lunch afterward. We always give my son his choice as to what he wants. He chose a cheeseburger today...

Breakfast: Chex Cereal and milk

Lunch: Bacon Cheeseburger, a few fries, side salad and a bit of ice-cream

Snacks: Almonds, Cocoa Rolo Cookies, String cheese, yogurt

Dinner: 4 cheese stuffed shells, green beans, peaches (canned in juice)

Total Calories: 2215, Carbs: 246 grams (262 including everything)

Day 24: We went out to eat today again as my son actually stopped whining  and told us what he wanted (yey for him actually using his words!) when we pulled up home after getting my husband for lunch... so we took him out again. He wanted a cheeseburger again and we decided to go somewhere else (there aren't a ton of options in our town) and KFC/A&W was the one that was chosen. I got the snacker and told myself I'd eat a salad when I got home... which I did even though ice-cream was really calling my name!

Breakfast: Banana with Peanut butter, toast with jam, milk and some fruit loops (my son was having them and those pesky pregnancy cravings said I should eat some as well...)

Lunch: KFC Honey BBQ Snacker, some fries

Snacks: Salad, Simply Mango Lemonade, yogurt

Dinner: Steamed artichokes, pineapple and stuffed shells

Total Calories: 1993, Carbs: 239 grams (267 including everything) *Not completely accurate as I had ice-cream as a before bedtime snack...

Day 25: My weight is actually up to where it was when I started my new diet. So I think that eating 2200-2300 calories is where I need to be at. Went way over on my carbs today... Probably because I drank Simply Lemonade with Mango... but it was delicious and calling my name ;).

Breakfast: Chex cereal, milk

Lunch: Mexican-Style salad

Snacks: Peanuts, string cheese, simply lemonade with mango, banana,

Dinner: Spiral sliced ham, carrots, baked potato with butter and salt, simply lemonade with mango, apple and chocolate cheesecake ice-cream

Total Calories: 2263, Carbs: 322 grams (355 including everything)

  

Day 26: Day off from entering stuff in... Ate PB toast and banana for breakfast, at way too many Monster Cookies (My son wanted cookies so we baked some...) Then had a rice kripsie treat when neighbors brought some over.
Chef Salad for dinner and Strawberry Cheesecake ice-cream for dessert...

  

Day 27: I think taking yesterday off helped me decide to get back on track better today. (of course church never helps as it messes up my meal timing, but it actually wasn't too bad today.) Going to my mom's house didn't help as she made cookies... they were delicious (and made with whole wheat flour.)

Breakfast:Toast with jam, Hard boiled egg, banana and milk

Lunch: Crackers, cheese, grapes and baby carrots

Snacks: Almonds and dark chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, Peanut Butter protein bar

Dinner: side salad, Cordon Bleu Casserole with rice

Total Calories: 2460, Carbs: 216 grams (243 including everything)

Day 28: Didn't do so well keeping track through the day... we had dinner with friends at the park (they brought dinner we brought ice-cream) so I'm not sure how many calories I ate for dinner... 

Breakfast: Toast with jam, banana with peanut butter, hard boiled egg, milk and a cookie

Lunch:Ham sandwich, baby carrots and cantaloupe

Snacks: (uh... didn't keep track)

Dinner: watermelon, pasta salad, sandwich, ice-cream

didn't keep track of snacks and dinner...

This is part of my series on PCOS and learning to understand and live with it. *I am not a medical professional, nor do I have a lot of knowledge of PCOS other than what I've read. This is just me, my opinions, how I understand PCOS and how I am dealing with it.

Thinking the worst...

I'm currently 34 weeks pregnant and am simply glad to still be pregnant. Wait, What? I never thought I'd be saying that because about a week ago I just wanted to be done (but knew it would still be about 7 weeks!) So what changed? The reality that I could have had to deliver a baby 6 weeks early...

Last Thursday I went to get a 3D Ultrasound (our clinic does them for free if you have your 20 week ultrasound done there...) We got a clear view of baby's back - but I don't have one of those cool pictures to show you what my baby looks like... we didn't get one (well we could have gotten one of baby's back...) However, during the ultrasound the technician discovered that my amniotic fluid was low. So she called my OB and after we waited for a while (he was with a patient) he told me to go home, take it easy, drink lots of fluids and then go to the hospital in the morning for a non-stress test and an AFI (Amniotic Fluid Index).

PCOS Diet Week 3

Week 3 Overview: I love how much more energy I feel that I have. The best thing though is that in the few weeks prior to starting this new eating plan I honestly wondered if I had pregnancy depression (pretty sure I had it with my first child - but didn't realize it until afterward though. It wasn't severe I just lost interest in doing things I normally enjoyed.) However, I have honestly felt better in the last week or so and now wonder if my eating habits were affecting my mood... I really do feel so much better emotionally. Major plus!

Day 15:  So I've gained back a half a pound so far...

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1/2 cup blueberries

Lunch: Peanut Butter & Blackberry Jam sandwiches, carrots, yogurt and honeydew melon

Snacks: Raw almonds, dark chocolate, frozen yogurt creamie, animal crackers and a Peanut Almond and Dark Chocolate Protein Bar

Dinner: Hamburger, Honeydew Melon, Celery, yogurt

Total Calories: 2114, Carbs: 227 grams (260 including everything)

Day 16: I just increased my targets to 2200-22300 calories and 250 carbs as my weight seems to be staying pretty much in the same range (between 198.5 and 200). However eating that much is kind of hard! Maybe it's my growing belly but I actually feel full after eating each snack! Dinner was a pot luck with the women's group at church. So I have no clue how many calories I ate today, but I did eat pretty healthy - considering. I filled half of my plate with green salad and then ate some of the less carb-laden dishes. The only dessert I had was black bean brownies-which I learned that beans (legumes) can help the sugar level stay more even so I didn't feel bad indulging ;). The other desserts looked delicious though!

Breakfast:1 cup Milk (1%), 1 banana with 2 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 slice 9-grain bread with 1 Tbsp blackberry jam.

Lunch: Chicken Salad Sandwich, peach
Snacks: Crunchy granola bar with neufchatel cheese, 1 cup milk, 1 snack size pudding

Dinner: Pot luck dinner

Not sure of total calories...

Day 17: I also had an after dinner snack that I don't remember what was!

Breakfast: Whole wheat waffles, Creamy peach syrup, 1 cup milk and string cheese

Lunch: Chicken Salad Sandwich, Carrots, Peach
Snacks: Dry roasted peanuts, dark chocolate, granola bar

Dinner: Chicken Fajita, Cantaloupe

Total Calories: 2069, Carbs: 206 grams (233 including everything) *Not completely accurate as I didn't account for my evening snack.

Day 18: Got up early today to take my husband to a scout leadership overnight training... So it was a little crazy of a day! Went to my mom's house so you know I had to try one of the cookies she had just taken out of the oven!
Then I went and got lunch for my son and myself, however he had fallen asleep on the way home (30-ish minute drive) so I went through the drive-through (as I'd promised him a cheeseburger for lunch) and added extra lettuce once I got home to my wrap.

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup)

Lunch: Wendy's Chicken Go Wrap (grilled), Baked sweet potato
Snacks: Apple, Fruit snacks, Raw Almonds and dark chocolate, granola bar, string cheese, and an almond-cookie sandwich

Dinner: Chicken Salad Sandwich, cantaloupe, chocolate milk

Total Calories: 2287, Carbs: 267 grams (308 including everything)

Day 19:  It has almost been 3 weeks! I'm still fluctuating within a pound and a half... not gaining or losing just staying in the same range. Maybe in a few days I'll see a difference - at least not go as low. It is weird for me to actually WANT to be gaining weight!
We went out for dinner tonight and against my better judgement I got a drink... then the cheesecake Ice-cream Eric and I made yesterday called my name. However I didn't feel bad going over my calories because I haven't gained any weight for almost 3 weeks! With the amount of calories I ate, using the same percentage I actually stayed right around how many carbs I typically eat which made me happy ;).

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz, banana and peanut butter

Lunch: Chicken Fajita
Snacks: Peach Sorbet, dry roasted peanuts and dark chocolate, peach, Crunchy granola bar with neufchatel cheese, crackers and string cheese, cheesecake ice-cream

Dinner: bacon cheeseburger (kid size), fries (also kid size) and a soda.

Total Calories: 2675, Carbs: 289 grams (314 including everything)

Day 20:

Breakfast: Whole wheat waffles, syrup, peanut butter, banana and milk

Lunch: Peach Sorbet, string cheese, snack size kettle corn popcorn, carrots
Snacks: granola bar, raw almonds and dark chocolate, fruit loops cereal

Dinner: Salad, Rice and black beans with corn (from this recipe although we didn't have the chicken...)

Total Calories: 2064, Carbs: 235 grams (274 including everything)

Day 21: Went over on my carbs today... however, I feel a bit better since part of that was dinner... I decided to make a blueberry smoothie with spinach in it as typically when we have breakfasty foods for dinner we skip the veggies.

Breakfast: Chex cereal with milk, banana with peanut butte

Lunch: leftover corn & beans with rice, green beans and a peach
Snacks: Snack-size pudding, cruchy granola bar with neufchatel cheese, string cheese, Dry roasted peanuts with dark chocolate, fruit snacks, ice-cream and carrots.

Dinner: German Pancakes with syrup, blueberry-spinach smoothie

Total Calories: 2271, Carbs: 343 grams (370 including everything)

This is part of my series on PCOS and learning to understand and live with it. *I am not a medical professional, nor do I have a lot of knowledge of PCOS other than what I've read. This is just me, my opinions, how I understand PCOS and how I am dealing with it.

PCOS Diet Week 2

Week 2 Overview: This whole week I was still under the (mistaken) idea that I should be eating 2000 calories. However since I wasn't gaining weight (but I wasn't losing either...) I didn't stick with it too closely ;). It wasn't until week 3 that I realized I should be eating between 2200-2300 calories every day. Except for not getting enough sleep a couple of days this week I was feeling more energetic than I have been.

Day 8: Went over on calories today... but am not worried as I haven't started gaining weight again. I went over on carbs too (but based on my calories I only went over by 10 grams instead of 30.) I am feeling more energetic which is a plus!

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1/2 cup blueberries

Lunch: Salad, Baked Potato with chili and cheese

Snacks (Typically eat one between breakfast and Lunch, 1-2 between lunch and dinner, and 1 after dinner.): Dehydrated apricots, Crunchy Granola Bar with Neufchatel cheese, Banana, 1 cup ice-cream, Flipz-White Chocolate

Dinner: Shredded Pork Quesadillas with Fresh Salsa and Guacamole

Total Calories: 2170, Carbs: 255 grams (288 including everything)

Day 9:  My weight is pretty much stabilized now. (I've gained a bit less than half a pound in fact... but we'll see if it stays and I keep gaining a bit.) I may be adding 100-200 extra calories if I am still the same at the end of this week.

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 3/4 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1 banana and 2 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter

Lunch: Wendy's Caesar Side Salad (no croutons, half salad dressing), Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, Jr. Frosty, a few fries (snitched from my son/husband)

Snacks: Peanut, Almond and Dark Chocolate Protein Bar

Dinner: Shredded Pork Quesadillas with Fresh Salsa and Guacamole and 1 cup cantaloupe

Total Calories: 2035, Carbs: 210 grams (226 including everything)

Day 10: In one of the diet books I read it suggested that it really matters what you eat 80% of the time and not the 20%. If you want to be strict you can make it 90%-10%.  Today I was really tired and just decided to take a day off from counting calories/carbs. That does not mean I went totally hog wild today eating all sorts of carbs, probably a few more than I normally would have, but not a ton!

Breakfast:  Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1 banana and 1 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter

Dinner: Pulled Pork Rolls, French Onion Soup and steamed carrots.

I don't know what I ate the rest of the day though because I didn't keep track.

Day 11: Pregnancy tiredness mixed with my toddler deciding to get up too early is really making me exhausted lately... I do feel like I tend to want to eat more carbs when I'm really tired. However I still feel I did pretty good today - I only went over by 10 carbs!

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1 banana and 2 tsp Natural Peanut Butter

Lunch: Omelet, half bagel-toasted, and baby carrots

Snacks: Crunchy Granola Bar with Neufchatel cheese, Peanut, Almond and Dark Chocolate Protein Bar, Apple, Chocolate Pudding, 1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt with 2 Tbsp home-made reduced sugar Strawberry Jam, Fruit Snacks

Dinner: Salad with Shredded Pork, 1/2 cup French Onion Soup, 1/2 cup chili (Yep leftover night!)

Total Calories: 2001, Carbs: 235 grams (263 including everything)

Day 12:  I think I may have stretched myself a bit too much today... I volunteered at our produce co-op in the morning, made my menu for the week, then a grocery list. I made myself take a nap as I hadn't slept well the night before. Then I got up, went grocery shopping, came home and put it away. After that, I made Blackberry Jam - 12 cups (or half-pints). I finally ate 'lunch' at about 4:40ish... and it didn't include a vegetable because at that point I was pretty much just ready to get some food in me that didn't require much thought! Planning out meals and actually trying to eat exactly how I'm suppose to can be time consuming... Plus I don't think I'm completely in the healthy eating habit yet... I should have been able to pull some carrots out of the fridge but that hasn't been a habit! Hopefully that is something I'll be getting better at.

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1 banana and 1 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter

Lunch: Bagel with Peanut Butter and 1 cup milk

Snacks: Peanut, Almond and Dark Chocolate Protein Bar, Yogurt (6 oz), and an ice-cream sandwich

Dinner: Taco Salad, apple

Total Calories: 2117, Carbs: 228 grams (250 including everything)

Day 13: We have church from 11-2 and that sort-of messes up my normal eating schedule. I do take snacks to church, but they are mainly carb loaded... I guess carb snacks are easiest (well and I personally feel that eating carrots would just be too loud and annoying!)

Yesterday we got our first ice-cream maker. Today I made Vanilla Bean Frozen Yogurt. I snitched a few bites (and didn't enter them into my calories eaten... oh no! Totally kidding.)

This evening we went on a stroll (too slow to actually call it a walk - at least for me!). My hip started acting up towards the end... although halfway through I could tell it wanted to start giving me trouble. 

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal - 1 cup, Milk (1%) - 8 oz (or 1 cup), 1 apple and 1 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter

Lunch: String Cheese, 6 oz yogurt, baby carrots

Snacks: Raw Almonds and dark chocolate chips, granola bar, and an ice-cream sandwich

Dinner: Spaghetti and meatballs, celery sticks.

Total Calories: 1887, Carbs: 205 grams (243 including everything)

Day 14: Today was Memorial Day and let's just say I didn't keep track of what I ate... partly I knew things wouldn't go that great as we were at my parent's house for lunch... and then we at out (but I had a salad!) for dinner. 

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Cereal-1 cup, Milk-1 cup

Lunch: Grilled Chicken, corn on the cob, bread

Snacks: Cookies, frozen yogurt, ice-cream sandwich (yeah I wasn't so good today, but my mom's cookies were delicious!)

Dinner: Cafe Rio Fire Grilled Steak Salad (Shared with my husband and he ate most of the tortilla...)

Total Calories: No clue, Carbs: Don't Care (after all it was a day off ;)

This is part of my series on PCOS and learning to understand and live with it. *I am not a medical professional, nor do I have a lot of knowledge of PCOS other than what I've read. This is just me, my opinions, how I understand PCOS and how I am dealing with it.

PCOS Diet Week 1

Each week since I've started my blog I've tried to post my dinner menu from the previous week. This feature is going to be changing... from now on I will be posting not just my dinner menu but what I ate the whole day. I will also be discussing how I am doing in keeping with my new dietary way of life. I don't sugar coat what I've eaten in these posts. I let you know when I go over/under or just take a day off. There will be some overlap of my previously posted menus and this new feature as I started this mid-May and am just starting on how my new plan is going. However, I have kept track of (almost) everything I eat and use my daily log to help me write these posts. 

Partially I am doing this because I feel some people think eating healthy is an all or nothing kind of deal. It isn't. A lot of health experts use the 80-20 rule. The basis of it is that nobody is perfect and that it really matters what we eat 80% of the time and we can 'cheat' or 'mess up' or 'treat yourself' 20% of the time. I am not posting to feel accountable for what I eat. I think I have reached the point where I feel most accountable to myself (wow, I never saw myself being able to say that!) I am not going to apologize for going over/under or not posting what I ate on a certain 'day off'. I'm just posting it so those of you who may want to try something like this can see how it works for me.

Knowledge

The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it.
    - Confucius

Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.
    - Anton Chekhov

In my pursuit to learn about PCOS and how I can better handle my symptoms, I have gained quite a bit of knowledge. Seriously I even read a freaking encyclopedia on the syndrome. (Okay so it really just felt like it!) However, I could have all the knowledge in the world about PCOS but if I don't do anything with it, it is worthless. That said, putting all this into practice isn't necessarily the easiest thing to do! I've had to spend a lot more time planning meals, preparing healthy side dishes and such. I mean I've tried to eat more vegetables, fruits and whole grains in the past few years, but I never thought this much about food and whether I was doing okay with my carb load and such. It can take a lot to get use to it! 

I decided to start this new dietary way of life in mid-May. I use an online calorie calculator (that also tracks pretty much everything required on a nutrition label) to help me. Each day I can make a notation about how that day went. I love this feature and have used it. It is nice to see where I have been and also make notes of where I need to improve/things to watch out for. I will be heavily relying on those notes to help me write future posts about how I'm doing on this plan.

PCOS and Insulin Resistance

Warning... this is kind of a longer post, however I tried to add some pictures to break it up. However the pictures have hardly anything to do with the text... just letting you all know!

I have actually learned quite a bit more about PCOS and what may cause it, or contribute to it (PCOS is still unexplored greatly and there can be a lot of gray areas - such as what actually causes PCOS.) I have also learned that a healthy diet and exercise are not just a recommendation for women with PCOS but are pretty much the treatment at this point. (There are medications you can take to treat individual symptoms but not the whole syndrome.) That made me wonder if there was a specific way I should be eating besides just healthy... and I've pretty much learned that if you follow the dietary recommendations for those with diabetes that it will help (there are diet books just for women with PCOS, I have only read one entirely and have started on a second one - both with good information and recommendations).