(Another entry from my ‘hidden’ pregnancy diary…remember – ignore the incorrect date of the post) How far along? 6 weeks 3 days How big is baby? This week, baby has grown to the size of a sweet pea! 
How I’m feeling? With all the excitement of starting our overseas trip, my pregnancy anxiety appears to have calmed down, at least a little. I did have a mini meltdown today when I thought by breast tenderness was easing and spent too much time researching the signs of a missed miscarriage. The rational part of me knows that I need to stop googling and relax, which is apparently easier said than done! 
(Excuse the post-workout sweatiness. We had just been for what was to be my first and last run during this pregnancy!) Weight? no idea! How I’m changing? I am still noticing a definite ‘softening’ throughout my body, but other than that I haven’t noticed any further changes this week. What I miss? Margaritas! There is too much Mexican food in the USA – with too many yummy margarita varieties on the menu. Mineral water will have to do. 
Symptoms? My boobs are still tender (mostly), although I think they are less tender than they were a week ago. I have still had zero morning sickness, and I am now beginning to think that I might be one of the lucky ones who doesn’t suffer from any. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hopefully I am not speaking too soon. Cravings? Fresh fruit. And salads. Perhaps it is the warmer weather over here in the USA but I cant seem to get enough! 
Food Aversions? None. It is quite crazy. The last time I was pregnant (but sadly miscarried) I had a huge aversion to all meat. This time around, if anything, I am almost craving meat with every meal. Iron levels perhaps? Highlights this week? The highlight of this week was most certainly having an early dating scan before we left for our trip, during which our little sweet pea measured spot on for 6 weeks. Also, within seconds, we could see our little sweet pea’s flickering heartbeat, and I cannot express enough just how relieved and emotional I was.
Pregnancy Update – Week 4
Since Mr BBB and I were undergoing fertility treatment, we found out that we were pregnant early. Really really early. Like 4 weeks early. 
So as you can imagine, the first trimester (and all the ‘increased’ risks associated with the first trimester) felt like it went forever. Luckily for me, however, we did have 4 blissful weeks in the USA during this period, that was a wonderful distraction for my overactive brain. But hey, let’s start this story from the start. My ‘hidden’ baby diaries (a little pregnancy Q &A – with some very dodgy sans-makeup photos) can now be revealed 😉 Pregnancy – Week 4 
How far along? 4 weeks 3 days How big is baby? This week our little one is the size of a poppy seed. 
How I’m feeling? Super excited and super scared all at the same time. Having had two miscarriages previously, and been consumed with the ordeal of fertility treatments for almost a year, I know that there is a long way to go until I will relax. For now, I am just trying to focus on the positive and keep my anxiety at bay. Weight? I am starting this pregnancy journey certainly at a weight that is more than my ‘happy’ weight, but the fertility drugs certainly played a part in that. 
What I miss? Exercise. I deliberately took a big step back from exercise this week and pretty much stopped all together. Until I get a few weeks of good blood HCG / progesterone results, I am not wanting to push things. I know that they say you can continue exercise throughout pregnancy, and I plan to (hopefully), but having suffered pregnancy losses previously I am being very cautious at the moment. Symptoms? sore boobs that appear to have doubled in size already lol. Like ridiculously. I also had a few twinges in my abdomen, and some tiredness, but nothing too noteworthy. My sense of smell is also CRAZY strong at the moment. Cravings? Chocolate and soda water with fresh lime. I just cant seem to get enough of either! Food aversions? none at the moment. Highlights this week? Hearing those wonderful words from the nurse – "you are pregnant", and seeing the look of pure happiness in Mr BBB’s eyes when I told him.
Pear-fect dessert
I was searching for a sweet cake recipe that could be made in advance for a lunch we were hosting the following day. With the warmer weather I had pears in mind for the base ingredient, and was lucky enough to find this recipe which I was able to adapt to become wheat-free.
It was a beautiful moist cake, that kept well overnight. The cake was spicy and dense, and the pears were beautifully caramelised. However, we all agreed that it would be even better served warm – fresh out of the oven – with a good dollop of cream. Next winter perhaps!
A word of warning – there is a lot of sugar and butter in this cake, so its probably not the best choice for anyone watching their waistline 🙂
Pear and Almond Cake
Adapted from taste.com.au
180g brown sugar
250g unsalted butter
3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into slices
300g caster sugar
3 eggs
250g gluten free plain flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
80g almond meal
250ml buttermilk
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Grease and line the base of a springform cake tin with baking paper. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the base (it will seem like a lot!). Melt 100g of the butter and pour over the brown sugar.
3. Top the sugar mix with the pear slices, overlapping as you go.
4. Meanwhile, beat the remaining butter and caster sugar for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
5. Sift together flour, spices and baking powder and fold into egg mix with the almond meal.
6. Stir in buttermilk, then mix to form a smooth batter.
7. Spread the batter over the pears, and place on a baking tray (this is very important as I found that some of the butter escaped the bottom of my cake tin during the cooking process.
8. Cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes. I covered the cake with foil after 1 hour as I found the cake was starting to brown too quickly.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the cake tin, and invert onto a plate.
Happy baking 🙂
The super berry
There is always an air of excitement in our household when we discover that fresh blueberries are available for a reasonable price. Not long after, a batch of muffins generally appears on the kitchen counter – although they dont seem to last for long.
Blueberries are packed with antioxidants and vitamin C, and are a low kilojoule / low GI addition to your diet. They are even said to promote brain health, preserve vision and protect against cancer. Blueberries really are are quite the super berry, and a perfect ingredient for these light and fluffy muffins!
First, self raising flour and caster sugar are mixed together, with a generous amount of blueberries thrown in.
Add buttermilk (the secret that makes this recipe wonderful!), vegetable oil and an egg and stir the mix until just combined.
Divide the mixture among 12 muffin cases, filling to about 2/3.
Bake in the over for 20 mins then enjoy!!! I guarantee they wont last long 🙂
