Healthy and Happy Pregnancy

We're almost at the end of the pregnancy and all in all it's been mostly trouble-free. Other than Lediya's two or three hurling incidences, it's been pretty great actually. You can chalk it up to good luck but I think it most of it can be attributed to good nutrition. More specifically, taking the right combination of multivitamin/multimineral supplements. Here is Lediya's daily regimen:

1. Prenatal vitamin - Lediya first took Natelle vitamins, but at $40 per month for a prescription, I quickly looked for a more cost-effective alternative. I found that the Nature Made Prenatal vitamins worked well, with similar amounts of nutrients as the Natelle. Also, you can get 300 tablets for $13 at Costco. The most important ingredient, at least in the first month of the pregnancy, is taking the suggested amount of folic acid to combat spina bifida.

2. DHA supplement - She also takes Expecta Lipil, a docosahexanoic acid (DHA) supplement. DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that is needed for normal brain function throughout life. The 200 mg of DHA in Expecta comes from a non-fish source and supports baby's brain and eye development. It is also passed through breast milk after birth.

3. Calcium + Vitamin D - Lediya takes at least one tablet of this combination per day. The calcium is important for teeth and bone development in both the mother and the fetus. Vitamin D, among other things, helps the body absorb the calcium. Our favorite brand is OsCal because it provides 500 mg of calcium (50% RDA) and 400 iu of D (100% RDA).

4. Iron - Due to the blood volume increasing by 50% during the pregnancy, and also the possible loss of a lot of blood during childbirth, the doctor recommended us to take an iron supplement after the 16th week. She is taking Feosol ferrous sulfate, which provides 65 mg of elemental iron (360% RDA). The blood test she took last check-up revealed that her iron levels are pretty good.

Finally, I'm a stickler at these kind of things so Lediya hardly ever misses taking her vitamins. It's been a great pregnancy so far and now we're nearing the end.

Lucas' College Savings

Ever since we found out that Lucas was on his way (about 7 months ago), we've been investing in his education. More specifically, we've been saving in a Fidelity 529 College Investment Plan, run by the State of New Hampshire. Why New Hampshire? Because it has one of the best selection of low-cost Fidelity mutual funds. Also, 529 accounts can be used at any educational institution, not just at New Hampshire. Lucas' plan is invested in an age-based portfolio that automatically allocates its holdings based on age. Right now, since he still has 18+ years to go until college, the plan is invested in a mix of stock index funds (domestic and international). Check out savingforcollege.com for more information about 529 plans.

Why didn't we choose Vanguard, you ask? Although most of our portfolio is with Vanguard, their initial investment requirement is pretty steep for 529 plans ($3,000). Also, our Fidelity Investments 529 College Rewards MasterCard, our primary credit card, is linked to the 529 plan. It re-invests 2% of our total card purchases back into the 529 account (about $150 a quarter, not too shabby).
Finally, all our credit cards and grocery cards are linked to Lucas' account at Upromise. It's a site that saves a percentage of eligible purchases in an education account. So whenever we buy, say Florida's Natural orange juice at Albertson's or Mobil1 synthetic oil at PepBoys, 2% of the purchase price is transferred to the account.

We feel that we've got a head start on Lucas' college savings, and we'll gladly use the power of time and compounding to work to his advantage.

Baby Showers

Here are a couple of pictures from this past weekend's baby showers. First picture is from a baby shower at my workplace and the second one is our baby shower for my family's side.

Week 36

It was very busy last week - we had three baby showers! My workplace threw one for us on Thursday evening, Lediya's workplace threw a surprise one for her on Friday morning, and on Saturday, we had one for my side of the family. We pretty much have everything we need, after the baby showers and our trip to Target and Babies R Us this Sunday. Bring on Lucas!

Week 35

We've now taken all of our classes, yipee! Now let's just hope that I remember all the breathing techniques.

Week 34

Got a lot of stuff done this weekend. Nursery is pretty much done. I assembled the Papasan cradle, and we also received a crib from Lediya's aunt (purchased at Bergstrom's). Now just need to get that hospital bag packed. We also have two more classes left, an all day one this Saturday focusing on labor and delivery and a class on becoming a parent this coming Monday.

Lediya now is suffering from swollen feet but otherwise she still feels good. Knock on wood!

Kaelyn at 9 Months

We babysat Kaelyn this past weekend. She just turned 9 months old this past March 6. So fast! I actually babysat her alone for an hour and a half. We had a lot of fun. Pretty soon she will be meeting her little cousin Lucas.

Papasan Cradle Swing

This weekend, Lediya's mom bought us a Fisher Price Baby Papasan Cradle Swing from Babies R' Us as a shower gift. We had heard great things about the cradle swing from other parents and from various forums around the net. I figured I had an hour or two to spare so I decided to assemble it on Saturday night. It was pretty easy actually. It's the first baby accessory that is in our nursery.

It seems like every weekend now is devoted to getting ready for Lucas' arrival. Getting exciting!

Week 33

Oops, I skipped a week. A lot has happened the past couple of weeks. We've taken two breastfeeding classes and also had an appointment earlier today. Things are normal. Now her appointments will be every two weeks. It's getting closer and closer!

Wicked

Thanks to Jimmy, Lediya and I went to see Wicked at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood on Sunday night. It was simply awesome, one of the best musicals we have seen (and we've seen more than handful of them). We really enjoyed the back-story of the Wicked Witch of the West and how it relates to all of the characters from the Wizard of Oz. She really was a good person to begin with!

We especially enjoyed the music and the acting. The two lead characters, Elpheba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) had amazing chemistry and performed really well together. We highly recommend seeing this musical, and having it at the Pantages is just amazing.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

I'm now about 5 hours in this amazing game for the Nintendo Wii. I've played the Zelda series ever since I was in the 8th grade and have enjoyed every single one. This is the best Nintendo series, period (with apologies to Super Mario Brothers). Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the reason why Nintendo is considered by many to be the top game developer in the industry.

The game makes innovative use of the Wii controller. Instead of mashing buttons to swing your sword, you actually physically swing the remote. You also use it for targetting the slingshot, fishing, throwing your boomerang, and so on.

While the game is not true HD, it is presented in 480p which is good enough. The game play and the story more than makes up for the graphics "shortcoming." I'm not sure if I'll finish it before Lucas arrives in April but we'll see.

Baby Shower

Click here for more photos!

This past Saturday we had our baby shower for Lediya's side. We had about 35 friends and family attend and it was a great time. Lots of good home-cooked food too. Grace, the organizer, kept us entertained by holding a variety of games. The most hilarious game was the one in which the guys had to suck juice from the bottle, and whoever managed to drink the most juice within the time limit won. Jake was the winner.

The guests were also entertained by playing the Nintendo Wii. Such a fun video game system! People loved it. It was nice to see family and friends get together to celebrate the coming of Lucas Patrick.

Baby Beltran = Lucas Patrick

Well, it's official: Baby Beltran is now known as Lucas Patrick. The name consists of our initials (not intended). Lediya picked the first name and I picked the middle name.

We can't wait to meet the little guy in about 6 weeks!