I've been spending time with family lately and haven't had time to blog, so I just wanted to pop in and catch up. Thanks to all who sent me comments, and for all the happy mamma and baby vibes :-)

I'm doing well, though I think the rest of my pregnancy will be spent either drinking water, looking for a toilet, or having a contraction, with the first two activities being the priority. My sister had the same phenomenon.

The only problem with all this water is that my blood volume is increasing faster than my iron stores. Increased blood volume is a very good thing during pregnancy, I just figured I was certainly getting enough iron with 100% in my prenatals and plenty of red meat, but I started to feel light-headed occasionally and the doctor checked my iron and found it to be a little too low. It's allowed to drop a bit in pregnancy, due to the blood volume, but mine dropped a little too much. So now I'm taking Flora iron supplement, Floravitex I believe, the gluten-free version. I'm also eating even more red meat, and craving it. I'm thinking my celiac disease was triggered when I had mono at 19, and all my higher iron levels became a thing of the past at that point.

I went to my favorite restaurant out near my town or origin, Stockman's, and had one of the more compliant meals I've had in a while...all-you-can-eat sirloin with sauteed vegetables (broccoli, squash, mushrooms, onions, tomato) and it's a lovely combination. I need to cook like that for myself! Most everything is cooked with just butter, salt and garlic, and the local beef they serve is mostly free-range.

Anyway, thanks for tuning in!

Thanks for the comments and concern everyone! I'm getting lots of help, and getting used to drinking lots of water. I had one painful contraction early yesterday morning, so decided that I need to drink my water throughout the day (and night), and I haven't had any bit of trouble since. I'd like to sleep through the night better, but I'd rather keep my pregnancy on track. I've heard your body adjusts to more water, after a few days, and maybe I won't have to get up in the night quite as much...but I'm not counting on it!

Thank goodness it was false, because it's much too soon for any trips to the hospital. This pregnancy has been full of Braxton Hicks contractions, some fairly hard ones, but last night they became regular enough to worry about and get checked out. I didn't think it was anything of consequence, but it was hard not to worry about it when everyone else around me was going bonkers. At least the moved me to the front of the line in the Emergency room...it was quite busy for a weeknight (2-3 hour wait), and the contractions were already stopping by the time I got upstairs to maternity. When I walked in, they asked with a great deal of worry, many times over, "You're how far along??" I just started looking pregnant at 26 weeks.

This hospital is great, I delivered my first there and have always been impressed by the staff. The nurses there have probably delivered more babies than most doctors, and they are equipped to handle any situation, even the situation this could have been. The thought of having a baby this early is truly horrifying, I am so glad it wasn't to be. I'm glad some test results were already in before I turned on the TV and saw their show on premmies, and how tiny a baby is at this stage, it really is the limit of survivability, and that's one limit we don't want to push.

All the tests came out fine, I wasn't in any sort of real labor. Most likely it was due to dehydration, as I'd been outside earlier in the day and had forgotten to bring water with me. I got quite thirsty by the time I got back to water, and I drank like a camel, but it was a bit too late. Now water is my top priority, and I'm really guzzling it, with a goal of 80 oz. per day.

After a big-needled IV to make sure I was good and hydrated, and the results from all the tests, I got to go home. Nice as the hospital is (it really is), I really didn't want to stay there just yet. I don't have to be on bed rest or anything, but I will be taking better care of myself for sure. I want to be the great pumpkin for Halloween!

I'll never understand why I throw myself overboard sometimes, but I'm grateful to have a life preserver so I get back out of the deep water. I have knowledge of the effectiveness of the BTD, the benefits of beneficials, the agony of avoids...I know this stuff completely in my brain, body and memory, yet I still fall off the wagon every now and then.

I guess it goes back to "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" Part of me just wants to go on dietary Mardi Gras every now and then. I get enough bio-feedback on the gluten front that wheat is not a temptation, but sometimes everything else is. I think it all started with a snack-sized Almond Joy... I used to love those. It escalated into a couple (okay, three) McDonald's double cheeseburgers with no bun, but everything else, and I mean everything. I hate to say it, but those sure tasted good-at the time. They prepare the bunless version quite nicely, with a bit of lettuce around it...but I digress. There were probably three ears of corn in that thing between the sauces and cheese, and numerous other avoids. I suppose one or twice a year won't do any lasting damage, but I'm done with that binge for now. Of course, it made me a foggy-headed slug, then I couldn't get my rings off at bedtime, and my heartburn was back. I'm a walking commercial for dandruff shampoo now, as well...lovely corn.

Good news is, this new day has been compliant so far. I so wanted to put cheese on my broccoli omelette this morning, but I stuck with nutritional yeast. Let the healing begin!

Yes, still on an ice cream kick, my cuisinart ice cream maker and I are on very close terms these days! With the heat of summer and pregnancy cravings, it really helps me to avoid the avoids. This time, I wanted to satisfy the ultimate craving for Green Tea Ice Cream. Everything I've found in the US has been sadly underflavored, so I used 5 tea bags for 2 cups macadamia milk and steeped it near boiling for 3 minutes. I then added I think 1/2 cup of light Agave nectar (to taste). After it started to cool down, I put the bags back in while it chilled. I added a little food coloring, in case others with more colorful tastes in my family wanted to try it. That won't be necessary next time, I seem to be the only fan of strong green tea ice cream here. (My husband has only had the ceremonial green tea, which is strong and really made him feel too buzzed, so he won't try it again. As for me, I find it helps me relax. It's very occasional now that I'm pregnant, and I no longer need it to help my heart palpitations now that sugar and corn are foods from a past life.)

Anyway, 15 minutes in the cuisinart, and it was ready, another half hour or hour in the freezer and it was at its best. (I need to figure out how to keep it from freezing solid after that...glycerine? lecithin? we'll see, but it always makes a good slushy with liquid added)