Growing

Tomorrow I am 9 weeks pregnant and I am getting bigger! My waist was 30" pre-baby, and it is now 2.5" larger. Today was the first day that my pants were too uncomfortable to button. I've been wearing a lot of dresses, but I might have to figure out an interim-maternity solution for work clothes soon. I can either buy a few more loose dresses, buy larger clothing, or buy a belly band to wear my pants unbuttoned. Oh, the choices!

I'm looking forward to actually showing, rather than just getting fat. But I suppose I have a few more weeks left where it will get worse before it gets "better".

The good news is that the baby is also growing too. We had our first ultrasound on 7/9 and got to see the heartbeat. I was too worried to really look at it myself, but John and the doctor looked intently so I trust them that it was there. Although the official printer wasn't working, John was able to take a first picture of our baby with his blackberry.

John is already very attached to this little one. I'm still trying not to be too attached but just enjoy that I am able to stay pregnant for this long. I will let myself get attached and get (even) more excited when we get to our next ultrasound at 10w2d.

The baby seems to want me to know that it is there, though. I've had a few bad days of nausea and even threw up 3 times in the last 8 days. While feeling sick isn't wonderful (obviously) it does help me feel more confident that we're both still okay so far. Otherwise, I feel like I use up all my energy just trying to eat, sleep, and work. I can't wait until I have more energy to actually do things that I'd like to do before the baby - like sewing classes, working through my knitting to-do list, and reading more books.

Weekly Recipe: Daily Granola

I found this recipe at http://orangette.blogspot.com/2008/02/consider-it.html. When I was younger, my grandfather used to make wonderful homemade granola and I've always wanted to make my own. While this wasn't as good as my grandpa's, it seems like a pretty good starting point. I like the ingredients, but the end result was a little too chewy and sweet for my taste. Next time I'll cut down on some of the sweeteners and let it bake a little longer (I did about 40 minutes this time).

Daily Granola (Modified from Orangette.com who modified it from Nigella's Feast

Dry ingredients:
5 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups raw almonds
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1 cup hulled raw sunflower seeds
1 cup dried coconut
¾ cup sesame seeds
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt

Wet ingredients:
¾ cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°F. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and stir well.

Spread the mixture evenly on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until evenly golden brown. Set a timer to go off every ten minutes while the granola bakes, so you can rotate the pans and give the granola a good stir. Remove the pans from the oven, stir well – this will keep it from cooling into a hard, solid sheet – and set aside to cool. The finished granola may still feel slightly soft when it comes out of the oven, but it will crisp as it cools.

Scoop cooled granola into to a large zipper-lock plastic bag or other airtight container. Store in the refrigerator indefinitely.