My First Mother's Day

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day! Not only was I showered with many sweet, thoughtful cards and gifts, but I celebrated the holiday with some of the most special women in my life--my Mother Lois, my Mother-in-Law Nancy and Corey's Grammy Dot.

Corey and I took both Lois and Nancy to their favorite restaurants, and we had a nice lunch visit with Grammy Dot in Ocean City.

We're lucky we both come from families that enjoy good company and good food!

This first picture is with my Mom & Dad at the Carlyle Grand restaurant in Arlington, VA. Many special D'Agostino occasions have been celebrated here at Carlyle as it has been one of our family's all-time favorites for years. Dad enjoyed the skirt steak, Corey had the jambalaya which is always killer and Mom and I split 2 fabulous fish dishes. All four of us decided to be little piggies and each get our own desserts! My bread pudding was the winner, with Mom's banana pudding a close second. Yum-o!

Our meal in Salisbury, MD with Corey's parents, Andy & Nancy Benjamin, at Sobo's Restaurant fulfilled all of our culinary desires. This picture was before dessert-- a good thing because I didn't come up for air once that last course was served. I ordered "the Ultimate Sin" which was chocolate ganache cake with a layer of cheesecake. Even though I asked the server to bring 4 forks, my fellow diners all knew better (theirs were just courtesy forks) and stayed out of my way as soon as the plate hit the table.

Me and D.O.T as I call her. Or the G-Dot. I've got lots of nicknames for the Gramster. Doesn't she look great?! She had some surgery several months ago-- who would have guessed?

We only had a couple hours to spend with Dot so we thought it best to spend the time chatting over pizza and Fresca at the condo.

Special props to my hubs for my Mother's Day gift. He surprised the heck out of me with a new digital camera! I was expecting maybe a card and a book or something small, but he pulled out all the stops with a Nikon D-40 camera that has all the bells and whistles! I feel for all of you, though-- as soon as I learn how to use this thing, you're going to be inundated with pictures!

I'm a little nervous, though, with Father's Day right around the corner. Corey set the bar a little too high, I think. I'm going to have to re-evaluate my original plan to give him a Giants "18-1" t-shirt for $21.99.

No Puking = Successful Babymoon!

Back from the Babymoon, and I am happy to report that I made it there and back without a single puking episode. A real rarity for anyone who has ever traveled with me. Last year when Corey and I went to Costa Rica, I didn't even make it from the airport to the hotel before having to ask the van driver to pull over so I could empty my insides. I don't know what it is--severe motion sickness, nerves, a ploy for attention--but I tend to have "stomach issues" whenever I travel.

This time, though, it was all good.

Corey and I spent a week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic at the Dreams Resort. It was just what the doctor ordered. Lots of eating, sleeping, soaking up some sun and a daily ping pong game (to determine who was going to get the soft-serve ice cream for our afternoon snack). The perfect spot to completely veg out.

Before going to the DR, I mentioned in an earlier posting that I was nervous that my bathing suits wouldn't fit and I'd look ridiculous. Well, all that worrying was a complete waste given the other pool patrons. There was an unusually large contingent of very overweight, inked, bikini-clad women there. Which was great because sitting next to them, I probably looked like a size 2 but seriously, I was shocked. I mean really, who is 300lbs and wears a bikini??? Even more vexing, what clothing manufacturer actually makes and sells bikinis to fit such people??? I don't get it.

Don't think I'm rude by saying this. I'm all for shaking what your mama gave you, which is why I decided to pimp the bikini myself, big belly and all. Check it out.

Some more pics from the Babymoon.

This was at our favorite restaurant, Bordeaux. Great food and very romantic setting.

Below, at the beach.

Corey and I at the Seaside Grill, cocktailing before being seated. For me, that meant a refreshing pineapple juice (what fun). And for Corey, well, he kept it Snoop-dogg style the whole week--nothing but Tanqueray. This was probably his 10th of the day. Though in Corey's defense, someone had to get our money's worth at this all-inclusive resort! (I won't post the pics of what Corey looked like after a full day of drinking... I'll save those for blackmailing purposes).

24 Week Appointment

Today's visit to Doc was much like that on the 16th week--no ultrasound, just a simple check-up.

All was good-- weight gain fine at 15.5lbs, blood pressure excellent and no real complaints to speak of.

The nurse--the same one from week 16--listened to Baby Girl's heartbeat, and this time she found it in about 5 seconds. Thank goodness! She even said that she got a kick when she first put the scope to my stomach. I guess Baby Girl doesn't like being poked! The heartrate was at the healthy pace of 145.

Doc came right in and said, "Boy, you're looking great!" which is just what I needed to hear after my panic-attack last night.

Let me explain.
For dinner, I made meatball subs and pasta (and no, Mom, I still didn't make my own meatballs or sauce). And for dessert, Corey and I split probably close to half of a gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I mean, we just had to finish the carton because we're leaving on vacay tomorrow (Dominican Republic-bound) and I wouldn't want that ice cream to get freezer burn.

After our pig out, we promptly fell fast asleep on the couch with major food coma. Around 11pm, we woke up and went to bed. I don't think Corey even opened his eyes going upstairs because he immediately started snoring as soon as his head hit the pillow. I, on the other hand, started feeling horrible with myself with how much I'd eaten and all of a sudden had this feeling that none of the bathing suits I'd bought for my trip were going to fit.

Nearly an hour of tossing and turning later, I found myself rummaging in the closet for all my new duds. Everything still fit, of course, but it was a close call. I could just imagine getting all the way down to Punta Cana and pulling out my bathing suit to find it only covers half my bootie. Yikes!

So, back to the appointment.

After the ego-boost from Doc, he pulls out a measuring tape to record the size of my uterus. 27 centimeters, he says. Which again, is a little bigger than where most people are around 24 weeks, but still not enough for Doc to want to change my due date. He said my uterus just had a major growth spurt and that he doesn't expect much of an increase in size come next visit.

Since I'm still feeling good, have had no complications or anything abnormal show up, Doc began to give me the low-down for my 28 week appointment. He explained to me that next time he sees me, I'll need to be prepared to take the glucose test that gives an indication for gestational diabetes. I'll have to drink some super-sweet liquid and then wait an hour to see if my pancreas can create the necessary insulin to regulate my blood sugar. Oh, and as a hint, Doc told me not to binge on ice cream the night before the test. Of all the things we talked about, I made sure to write that down.

Before I left, I asked Doc when my next ultrasound would be, and he informed me, much to my dismay, that there would be no more ultrasounds unless medically, he found it necessary.
The conversation went like this:

Me: "Doc, you mean I won't get to see her again?!"
Doc: "Well, you'll get to see her everyday for the rest of your life once she's here."
Me: "Yeah, but that's not the same. Seriously, what do I have to tell you next time to qualify for an ultrasound? Just tell me, and I'll say that. And I'll wink to let you know I'm faking but you can still give me the ultrasound, ok? Ok, good plan. Oh, and I won't tell the insurance company, don't worry. So ok, let's go over what I need to say, exactly."

Doc was rolling. He said I was his funniest patient. But I was being serious.

So it'll just be the sugar test next time. Maybe if I eat a whole gallon of ice cream and fail the sugar test, he'll have to give me an ultrasound..... hmmmm....

Weekend with the Family

My brother Cosmo's wife, Sara, made a visit to my parents in Alexandria, VA this past weekend, so I decided to join in for a weekend with the family. Sara had never been to Alexandria before, so we took her all around and showed her some of our favorite spots.

Saturday, we went down to Old Town Alexandria and walked along the water, and popped in and out of shops along King Street. We stopped and showed Sara City Hall, and then I convinced my parents to mimic this statue of a dancer that was in one of the gardens nearby. They actually did it! What goofs!

Cosmo arrived that afternoon by train.

Cos had been in NYC marketing for his hedge fund and made a detour in VA before going home to San Diego. We picked him up and went home to prep for one of my favorite meals--Italian sausage on the grill with peppers and onions, hamburgers (just in case the sausage wasn't enough), baked beans, potato salad and fresh fruit. It's a good thing Sara loves to eat cuz it's not a day at the D'Agostino household without a ton of delicious food! After dinner, the 5 of us walked up to the local Baskin Robbins for an ice cream cone.

Sunday, we did a little shopping and then dined out in Old Town at Union Street Pub.

Monday, everyone met me down in Richmond to see my house, have lunch and say hi to Corey. Unfortunately, Corey had to work and couldn't take much of a break since he has an important pitch coming up and he'd just spent the weekend in Vegas for a buddy's bachelor party (tough life, right?). He did sneak away for a few minutes to meet us at the Virginia State Capitol building for a few hugs and photos.

Though brief, a wonderful family visit!

Prenatal Yoga

My first class at Glenmore Wellness Yoga Center was such a blast. I'm really surprised it was so cool because I'm not that into yoga. I've done Bikram a few times--the "hot yoga" where you sweat like ex-UVA basketball coach, Pete Gillen--and enjoyed it. Well, except for the time that I puked after class because I was so dehydrated. But I digress.

Prenatal Yoga was a much better experience. I was immediately greeted by the teacher, Heather, who was rather young and super-peppy. We got to chatting and it turns out she lives in my neighborhood. Go figure.

Anyway, she asked me right off the bat if I was planning on having a natural birth, because they kind of promote it, and a lot of women who want to do a natural birth attend the class.

Seriously? Uh, no. I want drugs. "Feel free to inject patient with anything at time of birth" is what I want my hospital chart to say. Not trying to win any awards for bravery in the delivery room, that's for sure.

After making it clear where I stood on natural birth and she didn't demand I leave, she asked if I had any problem areas or parts of the body I wanted to focus on. I told her that up until recently, I'd been feeling great. But lately, I had a lot of achiness at the base of my spine.
She explained what I'd been experiencing was sciatica. The sciatic nerve is a long nerve that runs from the lower back to the backs of the legs and feet. The weight gain during pregnancy and that additional pressure on that nerve can sometimes cause it to be inflamed, resulting in the pain I'd been feeling. Rest assured, said Heather, we will do lots of exercises in class to tackle that common pregnancy symptom. Battlestar Sciatica, here I come!

Class began with introductions. To my right was a 39-weeker. Yeah, this woman was due in a week and she was at class. I'm surprised she could still stand up without toppling over, she was so huge. And to my left was an 11-weeker who said when she signed up for yoga, she didn't expect to be in this class. I guess her babe wasn't exactly planned. The rest of the students were somewhere in between, most having their first babies like me.

The next hour was pure bliss. Heather put us in all sorts of crazy poses to stretch our growing, achy bodies. I definitely joined the chorus of moans when we did cow-face pose to stretch our hip flexors. Eagle arms was another one that got everyone nearly orgasmic. Who knew I carried so much stress in my upper back?

The last 15min of class was dedicated to "sevasana" or as I like to call it, "nap time." With the lights turned out and 2 comfy pillows propping our head and legs, Heather played some spa music and told us to "breathe away all of our stress."

With such a great first class, I undoubtedly signed up for a month pass. Can't wait till next Wednesday!

Something's In the Water...

I just mentioned in my Foxfield posting that my pals, Amy VandeSand and Kat Kapinos, are also expecting.

Well, my inbox just popped up with an email from my friend Julia Pearson, and guess what??
She's 10 weeks pregnant!!

Foxfield 2008

Saturday, April 26th will go down as a very significant day in history for me-- my first sober Foxfield. For those of you who are unfamiliar, if you google Foxfield Races, the first hit describes it as "The Foxfield Races, in Charlottesville, VA, is a 'tailgating affair' unlike any other steeplechase." Yeah, so basically, someone brings in some horses and puts on a race to legitimize the all-day drunkfest that is really going on.

This year was a ton of fun, though I can't say it actually felt like Foxfield since I was a sober sister. Thankfully, I had 2 other preggos there with me, pretending that our sparkling water was actually a vodka cranberry.

Me, Kat & Amy

In addition to the fellow preggos, Dan & Laura Magid, Melissa & Chris Freeman, John & Molly Ketchum and my favorite pal from Corner Meal Plan, Ed Maginnis, all helped make Foxfield2008 an unforgettable event!

Me, Sydney & Laura

Baby Girl needs Cowgirl Booties

I have this little calendar that was given to me by my mother-in-law, Nancy, called "Countdown to a Miracle." And each day it gives me a little piece of trivia about the baby and how things are developing. I just love it! I keep it at my desk at work and the first thing I do each day is check out my new baby fact. (A very good gift idea for any preggo in your life, just fyi.)

This past week, one of the entries said something like, "I like to dance when you play music." And another website told me that about this time, babies can also hear and recognize your voice.

Upon receiving this news, I naturally start playing all sorts of music for Baby Girl, trying to see what she likes best. Each morning on the way to work, I'd play a different genre--classic rock, pop, even a little rap.

After testing for 5 days, Baby Girl seems to rock out whenever I've got K95 playing--the local country music station. She goes particularly nuts if Kenny Chesney comes on singing "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."

Either she really likes it, or she's banging around trying to get me to turn it off and quit my horrible singing.

Hmmm... on second thought, maybe I should keep testing. We'll do classical and oldies next week. I'll keep you posted.