Week 25 Day 4 - 5 Motivational Quotes To Live By, 10k Milestone

11:51am


If you look to the right of my page, you should see the "Dad Bloggers" icon. Yesterday I was honored to be added to the group of hand-selected members. Maybe this blog isn't wasting my time after all. I like to think that there is purpose to it, though my wife doesn't see one... Or I should say, DIDN'T.

If you don't already know, she was never interested in this blog, or what I was writing. She read a few posts at first, then told me I was talking too much about myself, and wasn't enough content related to being pregnant. I told her that it was fine(because I am a guy, and I know everything) and that she was wrong. Well, it wasn't really taking off, and people would view it, but wouldn't return for more. Recently, I have started to realize that my readers might want to hear more about our pregnancy rather than what I ate for lunch that day. So I have changed my writing habits, and surprise, surprise; even my wife now reads the blog daily. She said she is impressed by what I say, and that I am going to make a great dad. She is happy to see me so involved. I am not very emotional in person, but I feel like writing lets me say what I wouldn't say out loud. I believe that this is also why today, I hit over 10,000 pageviews. To many, that may seem like nothing. But to me, that's a huge milestone. Especially coming from someone who was always quiet, shy, soft-spoken, and not much of a go-getter. So a big Thank You to everyone who has stopped-by!

My Favorite Motivational Quotes -

• "A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."
  -Ayn Rand
• "Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later."
  -Og Mandino  
• "Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward."
  -Victor Kiam  
• "Either you run the day or the day runs you."
  -Jim Rohn 
• "The secret of getting ahead is getting started."
  -Mark Twain

"The Tallest Oak in the Forest, was once just a Little Nut that held it's ground."

Now that you are too motivated to sit home and read blogs all day, follow me on -

Facebook

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(Did you notice, that I totally contradicted my whole post, by not writing anything about pregnancy? Way to be observant!)

 9:59pm

Just got home from shopping for maternity clothes. Not for me obviously, even though my belly is growing as well.... She got a lot of good deals, but maternity clothes aren't cheap. I recommend a second hand store, you wear the stuff for a couple months, why spend full price? Some people are weirded out about lightly used clothes, but once you wear a new pair of jeans, guess what, it's slightly used now. 

Watching the end of the Blackhawks game, they are up 3-2. They got this.

  

Week 23 Day 3 - Best Foods for Pregnant Women

9:21pm

This will be our daughter someday!

Top Foods for Pregnant Women

Whole grains

Enriched, whole-grain breads and cereals are fortified with folic acid and iron and have more fiber than white bread and rice. Work whole grains into your day: oatmeal for breakfast, a sandwich on whole-grain bread at lunch, and whole-wheat pasta or brown rice for dinner.

Beans

Add black beans, white beans, pinto beans, lentils, black-eyed peas, and kidney, garbanzo, or soy beans to your diet. Try them in chili and soups, salads, and pasta dishes. Besides providing protein and fiber, they are also good sources of key nutrients, such as iron, folate, calcium, and zinc.

Salmon

Omega-3 fatty acids are good for your baby's brain and eyes, and salmon is a great source. Plus it provides protein and B vitamins. Salmon is also relatively low in mercury compared to other fish. Try it grilled, broiled, or on a salad. You can safely eat up to 12 ounces of low-mercury fish, such as salmon, per week. 

Eggs

Eggs are versatile and a good source of protein that provides amino acids you and your baby need. They contain more than a dozen vitamins and minerals, including choline, which is good for baby's brain development. However, be sure not to eat undercooked or raw eggs.

Berries

Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are delicious snacks and taste great in pancakes and on top of cereal. Berries are packed with vitamin C, potassium, folate, and fiber.

Low-fat yogurt

One cup of plain, low-fat yogurt has more calcium than milk, is high in protein, and doesn’t have the added sugar of flavored yogurts. Dress it up with fruit or crunchy, whole-grain cereal.

- WebMD

I have to work from 12pm-8pm today. I actually am starting to like the later shifts, I can sleep in a little bit, and also because I usually get to cut more at work when I work later. My wife has to go to the wake of the guy that lost his life at her work last week. Still so sad.

The "Today Show" on NBC is doing a special on the city of Chicago this morning. Pretty cool to see them talking about all of our unique attractions, foods, and what makes this city so special. Nothing better than a Chicago-style hotdog, or a hot day at North Avenue Beach, or even better, a Pizzeria Uno Deep Dish Pizza! If you have never been to Chicago, it is worth the trip, just come in the summer because it sure gets cold here in the winter! And stay a few days because there is just so much to see.

7:19pm

It has been crazy at work today. So much to do and because I started at Noon instead of 9am, I was naturally 3 hours behind. Not fun, but at least it's almost over now, and I am off tomorrow. Thursdays are the worst. 

My wife is at her cousin's wake right now. I will probably beat her home. 

Week 21 Day 5

9:41am


Well, we still are undecided on a name. Tonight would be a good night to sit down, come up with a serious list, narrow it down, and decide on a name. I know, that once she comes out, the name will pop into our heads and it might change. I just have a feeling. She is going to be one of those babies that just looks like her name.


If you notice, I have added a few more pages to the blog.

-There is now a Resources page where I have compiled some of my favorite websites. There is also printable coupons! Who doesn't like coupons?

-The Subscribe page is for your RSS feed. You can subscribe via Feedburner and get all of my blog and anybody else's blog's update all in one convenient place. I use iGoogle for the other blogs that I follow.

-You can now Contact Me with any questions or inquiries. I will try to respond to all emails within 24 hours.

Because this blog is gaining popularity quickly, I am considering moving from Blogger, to my own separate server. My wife and I will have to make that decision in the near future. Blogger is free, but very limited to what I can do and personalize. We'll see. I would love some feedback about our blog! Anything you would like to see? More information you want? Something you don't like? Let me know!

Belly Pic, Straight on this morning. Getting bigger!

Starting the morning right again! Made a 5-egg omelette for myself with some Cholula Chipotle hot sauce.

HEALTHY. DELICIOUS. PROTEIN. PROTEIN. PROTEIN.

Now THAT is good!

I have to work at 1pm today. No fun, but hey, it's an income. Can't really complain. Not sure if I will be cutting today or not, but most likely not. I'm usually the gofer when I work nights. At least I will have another coworker there with me, for a while we were by ourselves at night. BORING

I am excited because I am off next Monday. My wife has another ultrasound Monday afternoon and since I have missed the last couple, I can finally make it to this one! I wasn't able to be at the last ultrasound where she found out it was a girl. I would have really liked to be a part of that but I couldn't due to work. She has a DVD of the ultrasound so that helps recreate the experience somewhat.

Ok, that is enough writing for one morning! Make sure to check out the new pages, and send me some feedback! Thanks!

7:31pm

Only an hour and a half left of work. Pretty much everything is already done so now it's time to play the "watch the clock and wait" game. It's one of the worst games that I have ever played. 

My wife says I spend too much time on the computer. Which is pretty true. I get caught up in what I am interested in at the moment. So tonight when I get home I am spending time with her. No computer, no iPhone, no iPad. Just her. 

Before I go I wanted to show these new Quinoa burgers I found at the grocery store. I am not sure if they are as beneficial to your health as real regular Quinoa. But I thought it was interesting. And new. A little pricey though. But so is Quinoa in general. I really like it. My wife doesn't care for it. Loaded with protein. 

Oh and a cool picture I found. It makes my day at work not seem so bad...

Week 21 Day 4

7:13am

There are a few Facebook pages that I follow. They have some good information and entertainment for expecting mothers/fathers. You might want to check them out if you are interested. 

http://www.facebook.com/beingdaddies

http://www.facebook.com/proudparentsyay

And of course my fan page - http://www.facebook.com/pregoformen

I get a few laughs out of watching her try to fit into her old jeans(she doesn't think it's very funny, but she jokes around back with me). She knows she's pregnant, it's going to happen. Luckily for her, she is only getting bigger in her belly, she doesn't seem to be gaining much anywhere else.


We need to figure out what hospital she would like to deliver at. We have two close options. One is a 
"Level 3", meaning that they have a little bit better equipment and staff for if something were to go wrong. 
The other is a little bit closer, and has maternity suites. More comfortable for her and I, and has great reviews, 
however is only considered a "Level 2". Her doctor told her that he recommends that she does
 the maternity suites because it is less like a hospital and more like a home, and because she is healthy 
and has no complications. Now if something were to come up later on, and he thought that she was
 going to be premature or have problems, he would have her go to the "Level 3". Monday nights they
 give tours of the maternity suites in "Level 2" so I think we are going to go check them out soon. 

1:53pm

I have been messing with my blog for the last couple hours. Sometimes I want to change the layout and sometimes I don't. Does anybody have opinions on what they would like to see?

Our daughter has been kicking like crazy the past week or so. And of course my wife always says, "Wow, your daughter is hungry again!" I'm not sure if I buy that statement or not, but she sure eats a lot! Must be our daughter, because my wife still looks great. I am more attracted to her now than I ever was before. Weird... They say that's normal though.

She made me a root-beer float last night, and it was delicious, but this morning I decided, that was enough. I have to start eating healthier, and so should she. For the most part, she eats better than I do. For the second half of last year, I got really into working out and eating healthy. I lost around 20 lbs in just a couple months. I use my FitBit step tracker, combined with the iPhone app MyFitnessPal. Both of those work in harmony with each other and make your goals more achievable.

So this morning I made myself a nice healthy, protein-packed breakfast. Four scrambled eggs, a cup of old-fashioned oatmeal(sweetened with cinnamon and Agave Nectar which is much better for you than regular sugar), Fage 2% Plain Greek Yogurt(LOVE this stuff, 0% is really good too if you want NO fat), and a hefty scoop of plain old peanut butter. I LOVE hot sauce, but I especially love Cholula on eggs(and just about anything else, too). Hot sauce gives you a complex flavor boost to just about anything, without the sugar and fat of other condiments (like ketchup or BBQ sauce! Terrible!). Unless you are worried about your sodium intake, hot sauce is much better for you.

7:05pm

My wife is making me some tuna salad concoction for dinner. I'm not too sure what she is putting in it but it looks good so far. She is eating leftover pasta from yesterday. She is afraid to eat tuna because she was told to limit high-mercury fish to only once a month. I think that's crap, but she follows the rules better than I do. Oh wow, she just put the plate down in front of me. Impressive...

7:50pm

We are both cuddled up on the couch getting ready to watch the Blackhawks game. I have some Tostitos Scoops and Herdez Taquera Salsa for a snack. This salsa is the BEST! It is pretty hot, but man, is it good. It reminds me of the hot salsa from Chipotle. The red one, made with chile de arbol. Yum!

Here is my wife's prego belly pic. As you can see she still isn't very big. For 21 weeks pregnant.