tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45978177310163400452024-03-14T01:01:40.806-04:00Invincible SummerXin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.comBlogger563125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-24285741783192175062024-03-10T17:09:00.003-04:002024-03-10T17:09:22.696-04:00I'm Back (on Substack). <p style="text-align: justify;">Long time no blog, to say the least. So much has changed in my life since I last wrote, including that I have a new job. With everything that's different now, it felt right to start fresh with writing at a new place. I'm now <a href="https://xinsinvinciblesummer.substack.com/">writing on Substack</a>, hope to see you there!</p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-75183496259213068182023-08-15T09:23:00.003-04:002023-08-15T09:34:00.976-04:00Things are Weird Right Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEGucZZL69RYnova9TCjkqiSiqsuzYc_KqxQWQO7cU_SkpcErJa5lfkiaGZa8CnRKB6f1x5uA9uNo3ZS-HThjiu1sA5m6Gq7q5MvYNCbGCWOO0Y45duAs9syyyEy442uRD2JR_1dsdmS6Re7_AuZsgvTciwK4tzCRBx4_yRLTqtRAqHYLNKfj8-0JpXU8/s670/Screenshot%202023-08-14%20at%208.29.14%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="670" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcEGucZZL69RYnova9TCjkqiSiqsuzYc_KqxQWQO7cU_SkpcErJa5lfkiaGZa8CnRKB6f1x5uA9uNo3ZS-HThjiu1sA5m6Gq7q5MvYNCbGCWOO0Y45duAs9syyyEy442uRD2JR_1dsdmS6Re7_AuZsgvTciwK4tzCRBx4_yRLTqtRAqHYLNKfj8-0JpXU8/w400-h400/Screenshot%202023-08-14%20at%208.29.14%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Much has happened since I last posted. Most of it isn't particularly good or happy. Before anyone gets too worried, everyone in my family is physically healthy. It's not that kind of bad thing...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been following the Instagram account of a psychotherapist who is also a birth trauma survivor (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thebirthtrauma_mama/">@thebirthtrauma_mama</a>) and listening to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/the-birth-trauma-mama-podcast/id1631408875">her podcast</a>. One of her comments in a recent episode is highly relevant to what's been going on in my life lately: If you don't take care of your trauma, your trauma will take care of you. (I think I'm paraphrasing somewhat, but the gist is there.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm currently on medical leave from work. It's complicated. I'm definitely still processing everything since LB's birth, and I'm getting <i>a lot </i>of therapy and working with a psychiatrist. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The entire situation wasn't that dramatic in some ways, I've still been able to care for LB quite happily, even in my worst times. But there've been days where walking around on sidewalks near typical NYC traffic - or even suburban car traffic in my somewhat quiet town - made me repeatedly flinch, feel the physical effects of fear. It's all been a lot. I feel like a mess. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's an awkward segue into saying I highly recommend the podcast series "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retrievals/id1691599042">The Retrievals</a>." It's about a Yale-New Haven Hospital fertility treatment clinic where a nurse <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/former-nurse-sentenced-tampering-fentanyl-vials-intended-patients-fertility-clinic">repeatedly diverted fentanyl</a> intended for anesthesia for patients, refilling the vials with saline. Obvious content warnings apply, given that premise. </p><span></span><p style="text-align: justify;">By its nature, the subject matter can be extremely triggering. I personally recall reading a long-form article about this situation that included interviews with many affected patients back when I was pregnant. I remember that I found it viscerally painful to read about their experiences and pain. The podcast treats that side of things with a gentle hand. Given my current condition, I'm extra-sensitive to detailed descriptions about gynecologic or obstetric procedures that don't go well, but I didn't feel triggered in that way by this podcast.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">By laying out the stories of many affected patients in their own words, and also their complicated feelings after what they went through - including in future interactions with OB-GYN or fertility care, whether at the same hospital or other ones - this podcast really hits on so many themes that are highly relevant to what I'm feeling. I feel like discussions on my blog and your responses to my posts have touched on these types of themes a number of times over the years, about how society at large - and the medical establishment in particular - dismiss women, minimize their concerns. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've said several times, in various settings, that after LB's birth I can't imagine any first-time birthing person coming away from that experience without being deeply and truly traumatized in some way, no matter how smoothly things went. There's just no adequate preparation for all the things that are to come, and so much that can't be predicted. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The things that hurt me are obviously not the same at all as what happened to the patients in "The Retrievals," but we share some of the questions that haunt us in the aftermath: </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li>Why does society at large - including many of our doctors and nurses, and maybe some of our friends and loved ones as well - so readily dismiss and minimize our negative experiences or pain related to pregnancy and birth, especially if the outcome included a healthy baby? </li><li>Why are women so often ignored in the context of medical care when they say they're in pain, or that they need help? </li><li>Why does it feel like almost no one is really fully talking about these types of things most of the time? About how much can be lost or be forever changed in the process of becoming a mother. </li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One silver lining about being on medical leave is that I think I actually will finally have more time to blog, though naturally I won't be able to tell the entire story of what I've been going through here. I've missed writing here, I really have. I deeply hope that other people had things go better, such that they can't relate that much to the darker, more painful aspects of what I'm describing. (Yet, selfishly, I also... want to feel not as alone in all this. It's all incredibly complicated, and I don't have all the words for it yet.) </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-43571767572790235222023-07-12T10:48:00.001-04:002023-07-12T10:48:26.011-04:00Life Lately: Needlepointing<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBohLFslAgp_ldBz3yEg6xXiUZkxU-NCArSQ5ER2X-gVkFDVkjsS71QiXuHyLznU-AfnKZdo1JRXEmh4jvRVd1_BxcQkJIwzTLT4MA21gufkbx7_bz2MRJX5piCBvkf7t3O9P7rQOGXW-j88G_MGqJvitiF0YCMCJp0GYD6iZkq6Buh1IQIBPvTTaAk7qq/s4032/karly-santiago-ibpDx5Ln0rE-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBohLFslAgp_ldBz3yEg6xXiUZkxU-NCArSQ5ER2X-gVkFDVkjsS71QiXuHyLznU-AfnKZdo1JRXEmh4jvRVd1_BxcQkJIwzTLT4MA21gufkbx7_bz2MRJX5piCBvkf7t3O9P7rQOGXW-j88G_MGqJvitiF0YCMCJp0GYD6iZkq6Buh1IQIBPvTTaAk7qq/w640-h480/karly-santiago-ibpDx5Ln0rE-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/ibpDx5Ln0rE">via Unsplash</a></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Long time no blog, yet again! The transition back to full-time work in the office as a new mom has, naturally, been challenging. It leaves relatively little mental energy for writing about anything really, or even for thinking about clothes and accessories (much less shopping for them). Though I do shop - a lot - for baby supplies, things for the household, and also for my very recently acquired needlepoint hobby.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've long been curious about needlepointing because a few <a href="https://carlyriordan.com/?s=needlepoint">bigger bloggers</a> out <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kristarobertso/?hl=en">there</a> that I'm aware of are very into it. I only started needlepointing around two weeks ago, and I've found that it can be a relatively straightforward hobby to jump right in to. It's essentially paint-by-the-numbers using thread, and the most basic stitches are quite easy to learn. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Given how mentally and physically exhausted I get by the end of each day between commuting, work, caring for LB, and other house chores - I'm often too tired to even watch television and follow a story that way - needlepointing feels like a particularly suitable hobby for me at the moment. I find the repetitive motions comforting. It's also fun to feel like I'm creating something, even if it's only in terms of executing someone else's design or art. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please note that this portion of the post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Because many of the needlepoint canvases one might like to start with are hand-painted, it is a fairly expensive hobby. This was <a href="https://pennylinndesigns.com/collections/kits/products/pink-stripes-key-fob?variant=39879132217401">my first canvas</a>, which I bought as a kit including thread, a project bag, and a seam ripper for $65. With that and a pair of <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bYA0a">embroidery scissors</a> and a magnetic <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bYAZ1">needle-minder</a>, I was all set to get started. In this hobby, one will mostly be shopping from small businesses and/or directly from the artist who designed the canvas, so that's nice at least. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In other news, I was recently able to discontinue blood pressure medication at a little over seven months after LB's birth. I'm told that, in theory, the lingering hypertension caused by preeclampsia should end by around six weeks postpartum. In practice, many patients end up on blood pressure medication for quite a long time after, sometimes for months, sometimes for years. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've made no significant lifestyle changes since LB was born, whether in terms of diet or exercise, and for the first four or five months I required significant doses of blood pressure medication to control my hypertension. After that point, I started to need less and less, until I was finally able to wean completely off very recently. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's good to be off the medication because while the side effects were manageable, they were also quite noticeable throughout the day. During the weaning off phase, I would often get sudden bouts of fatigue and occasionally felt dizzy. I also got a persistent dry cough from an ACE inhibitor I tried towards the end, and that can actually take weeks or months after discontinuing the medication to fully go away. </div><p></p><p></p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-85442309064444687762023-06-11T09:58:00.002-04:002023-06-11T09:59:13.170-04:00More Information is Better<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrmmBBZcW2UQUdcMo9IMGSbUsn9_wU5xgw7q88aIrYh-tsf2K8d0u1hMFaYIDmIo5K4nM24zpSUe9IMH6Hv-fSHTTy31qKlgDY_BtSxDIkjQqXY8KZiqx4BcvFDSTwjxBJe7xsQaxGZXvgT7vQWZC-ozfk46qrOG3m7hs6-qH_oSOxrknqVStb3u7_A/s640/insung-yoon-Mj6C32u_1XA-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrmmBBZcW2UQUdcMo9IMGSbUsn9_wU5xgw7q88aIrYh-tsf2K8d0u1hMFaYIDmIo5K4nM24zpSUe9IMH6Hv-fSHTTy31qKlgDY_BtSxDIkjQqXY8KZiqx4BcvFDSTwjxBJe7xsQaxGZXvgT7vQWZC-ozfk46qrOG3m7hs6-qH_oSOxrknqVStb3u7_A/s16000/insung-yoon-Mj6C32u_1XA-unsplash.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Mj6C32u_1XA"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">via Unsplash</span></i></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Big content warning on today’s post for discussion of various pregnancy complications, some potentially fatal. As always, this comes with a disclaimer that I am not a medical professional, so my understanding of these conditions is only that of a patient doing her best to get educated </p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the many challenging things about my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2023/01/our-little-bean-is-one-month-old.html">birth experience and hospitalization</a> was a feeling that my OB-GYN practice really dropped the ball when it came to explaining any of the factors that started making my pregnancy with LB high-risk. When it came to <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/09/life-with-gestational-diabetes-part-1.html">gestational diabetes (“GD”)</a>, COVID, gestational hypertension, the labor complications I encountered, postpartum preeclampsia, and what to do or expect when I still needed blood pressure medication after my six-week postpartum appointment, I got basically no explanation about the implications of any of those things from the doctors in their group. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">With regards to the GD diagnosis, my OB did at least refer me to the Maternal-Fetal Medicine (“MFM”) specialist at the major hospital system where I would deliver. The hospital had a structured GD program to ensure I could get all my questions answered promptly while receiving closer monitoring of my blood sugar results. There was no such help for any of the other things. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, communication from my OB’s office about who exactly I was supposed to contact to get enrolled with the hospital GD program was almost nonexistent. I got a referral for that first conversation with the MFM, but no other guidance. I only learned weeks after my diagnosis that the OB-GYN actually intended to refer me for continued monitoring throughout the rest of the pregnancy, not just for a one-off conversation with the MFM. I then needed to call (and MyChart message) around at the hospital myself to figure out who I should talk to. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">At least things worked out smoothly, and I got prompt responses to all of my questions once I was in contact with the hospital’s GD team. (This kind of miscommunication, confusion, and moderate delay in getting additional GD care seems to be somewhat common, based on anecdotes I’ve seen from <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/GestationalDiabetes/">r/GestationalDiabetes</a> and my due date subreddit.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Something that initially caused me some emotional distress during the GD treatment process was that the MFM was… extremely blunt… about the many potential highly dangerous complications that could result from uncontrolled GD. I can barely remember the entire list of scary things mentioned because there were so many that I was overwhelmed during the conversation. The complications discussed definitely included problems with the baby’s blood sugar after birth, macrosomia, preterm birth, shoulder dystocia, and stillbirth. (While I didn’t have many of the typical pregnant person anxieties throughout much of my pregnancy, I was terrified of stillbirth because I found the general statistics about how often it occurs to be extremely scary.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once it became clear to me that I’d gotten “lucky” with GD which ended up being relatively easy to control with minimal adjustments to my typical (and not particularly balanced or healthy) pregnancy diet, I initially felt that the MFM consultation was overkill. Why scare a patient with all the details about extremely unlikely risks when it’s not even clear yet how difficult to manage their GD will be? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the MFM’s relative defense, I had disclosed early in the appointment that I was struggling with how to do fingersticks and use the home glucose monitor, and so had almost never checked my blood sugar in the two weeks or so since diagnosis. I might not have sounded like a patient who was taking it seriously. Some of it was probably also the doctor's personality, which leaned towards being more blunt and straightforward, no sugarcoating and heavy on the details and explanations. In hindsight, I actually really appreciate that in a medical provider. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After everything else I went through, however, I now understand that I’m a patient who prefers to have all the information explained to her, clearly and in great detail. I won’t necessarily fully understand everything right away, while it’s being explained to me, but it’ll help me work through and come to terms with what needs to happen, or what I need to do. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In hindsight, it’s pretty wild that no one at my OB’s office explained to me why they initially recommended I be induced at 39 weeks – probably because of the GD, but who knows – or what the implications of gestational hypertension were and why it led to a recommendation for induction at 37 weeks. Nobody explicitly told me I had preeclampsia with severe features – based on systolic blood pressure reading over 160 two times while on bed rest - until the resident mentioned it a few days after I got off the magnesium drip. No one ever explained why adjusting my blood pressure medication for several days after the magnesium required inpatient care, which caused me considerable emotional distress. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's probably also rather wild that I went along with everything despite the lack of explanation. Based on my research since then, I do think there’s absolutely no doubt - zero room for real debate - that my OB did everything they should from a medical perspective, particularly if using the fairly risk-averse and conservative approach that is my personal preference for my medical care. </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-83174789078705728782023-05-18T10:32:00.003-04:002023-05-23T08:46:53.816-04:00Things That Are Different Now<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjT9nkb8rj6hTYsCqfTXQgAbpI2CNJFvltNYud1WHW1lRMD4MLsKqG1j-j_pUTpr5AV40WLVrBnGNCDOfQF-w2EfVI1qgW6U5tJnQsJdrqmyWmyHQdatvdawL5kPUoMD5slaG4iFupQz8SvmKY1j8kJZwO__xIQ2aXaBStVS_fcdo29UArN-sbGTO5w/s1472/post.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="828" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjT9nkb8rj6hTYsCqfTXQgAbpI2CNJFvltNYud1WHW1lRMD4MLsKqG1j-j_pUTpr5AV40WLVrBnGNCDOfQF-w2EfVI1qgW6U5tJnQsJdrqmyWmyHQdatvdawL5kPUoMD5slaG4iFupQz8SvmKY1j8kJZwO__xIQ2aXaBStVS_fcdo29UArN-sbGTO5w/w360-h640/post.jpeg" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">LB was around 4.5 months old here. We love the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bVPk8">Copper Pearl burp cloths</a> (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bVPk9">here</a>) and the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bVPmE">Crane Baby quilted playmat</a> (affiliate links).</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I mentioned recently on Instagram stories, I’ve finished my maternity leave and am back in the office. I'm also hoping to get back in to blogging, now that I'm a bit more adjusted to being a new parent. And let me just say, it's all been an <i>incredibly</i> wild ride. Among other things, K and I moved out to the NYC-area suburbs a few months earlier than originally planned. We've had tons of help from my in-laws, both with the move and with caring for LB, but it's still been intensely difficult to get everything done. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For obvious reasons, I'll probably be writing mostly about things related to parenthood and baby care items in the near term. There will be a fair bit about personal finance management too, at times, and some talk about fashion and shopping as well. It’s probably not surprising that my clothing-related needs and preferences have changed significantly, given everything that's new in my life! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's been surreal going back to the office, walking to and from the train station, when the last time I was in any of these places was in late November, before LB was born and before my long hospitalization. My life has been completely transformed, in more ways than I can count, but the office and its immediate surroundings are still largely the same. I sort of can't believe I'm no longer living in NYC, and I feel like I never really got to say a proper goodbye to my old life. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">Because of the <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2023/01/our-little-bean-is-one-month-old.html">traumatic circumstances</a> surrounding LB’s birth, in particular the seven extra nights in the hospital, I often find myself disconcerted to be having the sorts of conversations that feel like they belong to someone with a more “typical” postpartum experience. Yes, my family is doing well, LB is growing up so fast, etc. etc. It feels like essentially no one I encounter offline – no one but K, not even our immediate families - can possibly understand what I went through, or acknowledge even a small percentage of what happened. I yearn to talk about it offline, just a little, and in a socially appropriate way, but I don’t think such a way exists. And yes, I’m definitely getting mental health treatment, and have been for a while now. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm not quite ready to write a more in-depth post or two about my experiences with entering parenthood, so for today here's a quick post about some of the near-infinite list of things that are just so different now, in no particular order. Content warning, by the way, for some discussion of health problems and the like. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>I'm on medication for high blood pressure. </i></b>Some percentage of preeclampsia patients end up with chronic hypertension that lasts longer - sometimes much longer - than six weeks postpartum. Like diabetes, hypertension also runs in my family, so I may have been destined for this eventually, but my relatives who take blood pressure medication typically didn't start until they were much older than I currently am. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>I totally understand now why people would want their pregnancy and birth supervised by a midwife instead of an obstetrician, and outside of a hospital.</i></b> With all that’s happened, I will never be eligible for any of that with any responsible provider in NYC, and I was also no longer eligible during my pregnancy with LB after the gestational diabetes diagnosis. Nor would I ever seek out such options, given my new medical history. But I do understand. I felt so extraordinarily disempowered by my hospital experience. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">While my OB-GYNs gave me the cautious and conservative type of medical care I wanted, I also felt like they never actually explained anything to me after my pregnancy started turning into a high-risk one. Why did they suggest an induction at 39 weeks before I got my gestational hypertension diagnosis? (Was it because of my diet-controlled gestational diabetes? Or was it for ARRIVE trial-type reasons? I guess by the parameters of the ARRIVE trial, it must be the former, but they never actually told me that.) What are the implications of gestational hypertension? Why is induction at 37 weeks recommended for me? Why am I being kept at the hospital for an extra night (after my blood pressure started rising again following delivery)? Why am I still being kept at the hospital after completing 24 hours on the magnesium drip? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>The things I worry about most as a new parent are different from what I expected. </i></b>In general, I haven’t felt many of the more stereotypical new mom anxieties. I haven’t found myself worrying much about when to feed, wake windows, the fact that LB is mostly a contact napper during the day, when certain developmental milestones will happen, etc. etc. I didn't even cry about needing to go back to the office for the first time, nor about the fact that I don’t have any work-from-home flexibility during business hours on weekdays. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Don’t get me wrong, I feel plenty of anxiety and worry about so many things to do with parenting. (Among other things, there are some potential food allergy issues afoot, and that's really stressful.) But I just don’t seem to feel especially sad or worried about a lot of the more typical list of things, at least based on parenting-focused social media. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>I shop super-differently now.</i></b> Let’s just say I’m enriching Jeff Bezos and the Waltons a lot more than I ever imagined I possibly ever would. Nor can I micromanage my subscriptions anymore. I never used to understand how someone could possibly lose track of being stuck on subscriptions they're not currently using for months and months, failing to cancel them immediately when it makes sense to do so. Now I get it. I have a mile-long to-do list and there’s no way to get to all of it, it’s pretty clear I need to prioritize what’s absolutely necessary. For everything else, I’ll get to it if I can… eventually. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Clothes and fashion play a different role in my life now.</i></b> I’ve always favored practicality and comfort to a large extent, but that tendency is now amplified to the extreme. My laundry habits have changed considerably. While I enjoyed spending some of my free time maintaining the fussier items in my wardrobe before LB’s birth, I barely have the time or mental energy anymore to sort out the items that should be line-dried versus going in the dryer, much less to hand-wash anything. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please note that this portion of the post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Obviously, the changes in my life are not limited to the ones I listed above. And to round out this post, here are a few things I wish I knew when I was shopping for baby gear and supplies: (Except that all babies and families are different, so what works for us wouldn’t necessarily work for others, and it’s so hard to know what will work best until one is in the thick of parenting a new baby… Argh.) Huggies over Pampers. A bottle sterilizer without a dry function doesn’t really make for a good time, at least when using bottles that are mostly silicone (we currently use the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bWos8">sterilizer/dryer from Tommee Tippee</a> on <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bWouK">Comotomo bottles</a>). Nicer burp cloths may be worth it (we like the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bWote">Copper Pearl ones</a>). </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-70279629644498359012023-01-01T12:54:00.002-05:002023-06-11T12:47:33.412-04:00Our Little Bean is One Month Old<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkztnUR5OgaawW9TFh819sS6B6hiv29QZSRhRSHU-NVhKR3pJgGGJ9EIvh-_Z9uKkhKWnPdtDZ71cYFsKrMLBhHXCdlIjJA80jXBxzvU-yXkO-2INgY1BPlT3NzO7OFm7DO4NJI7Y9ZjhxVMjKAxqRRKX1AbRBU3CEkAMFDIvJGyyWxX2ucRyg6JURQ/s1472/18460CF0-5BCE-4160-800F-C30B25815961.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="828" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkztnUR5OgaawW9TFh819sS6B6hiv29QZSRhRSHU-NVhKR3pJgGGJ9EIvh-_Z9uKkhKWnPdtDZ71cYFsKrMLBhHXCdlIjJA80jXBxzvU-yXkO-2INgY1BPlT3NzO7OFm7DO4NJI7Y9ZjhxVMjKAxqRRKX1AbRBU3CEkAMFDIvJGyyWxX2ucRyg6JURQ/w360-h640/18460CF0-5BCE-4160-800F-C30B25815961.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Our Year of the Tiger baby all ready for his second ever car trip.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, it's now been a really, really long time since I last wrote here! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is having a good start to their new year. For the past few weeks, K and I have been completely absorbed in learning to be parents to our newest family member. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As some of you may have seen on my Instagram stories, our little bean ("LB") arrived roughly a month ago - at 37 weeks and 5 days - after I was officially diagnosed with <a href="https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/preeclampsia-and-high-blood-pressure-during-pregnancy">gestational hypertension</a> the week before. That particular diagnosis can lead to a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/04/high-blood-pressure-pregnancy-induce">recommendation to induce at 37 weeks</a>, which was what my OB-GYN also recommended, so off to the hospital we went just after Thanksgiving. It ended up being a bit of an adventure, something I think it's safe to say no one really wants from their labor and delivery. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">My induction took around 30 hours before it was time to push, then ended with an urgent c-section not long after due to fetal distress. Thankfully, LB turned out perfectly healthy, and he's been that way since. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was recovering well and fairly quickly from surgery, but the night before my original discharge date (after the standard three nights in the postpartum unit, including the night I delivered) my blood pressure started climbing up again. It escalated into <a href="https://www.preeclampsia.org/postpartum-preeclampsia">postpartum preeclampsia</a>, and before my blood pressure ever crossed into the 170s systolic and before I ever experienced any of the additional <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17952-preeclampsia#symptoms-and-causes">"red flag" symptoms of preeclampsia</a> outside of the high blood pressure, I was sent back to labor and delivery for a 24-hour magnesium drip.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Afterwards, my blood pressure proved somewhat resistant to being stabilized, and my doctors would not discharge me until that was accomplished. Including the time it took to administer and recover from the magnesium drip, I ended up staying a total of seven extra nights in the hospital. LB was able to stay in the hospital with me throughout, though his doctors had declared him fully ready for discharge even before the day we were originally meant to go home. Once the doctors adjusted me up to the correct doses of blood pressure medication that I could continue taking at home to keep my blood pressure stable at reasonably healthy numbers (mostly under 140 systolic and 90 diastolic), LB and I were finally able to go home. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">I went into the birth with absolutely no expectations about how it should go, and with no particular wishes or hopes except for a healthy baby and mom at the end. I'd hoped being open-minded and flexible about labor and delivery would mean I'd be immune to being particularly unhappy or disappointed about how things went. If it weren't for the preeclampsia, I think I'd have felt relatively alright, after having a few weeks to process and get over the initial "baby blues" hormone fluctuations. The preeclampsia and extended hospital stay really did a number on me emotionally, which was exacerbated by my not really being able to sleep throughout my time at the hospital. I'm definitely still trying to come to terms with what happened. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">My extended hospitalization also put K through the wringer emotionally and physically. Because the need for induction at 37 weeks had come as a surprise, we hadn't had time to fully prepare the apartment for the baby. So K would come and spend the day with LB and I at the hospital until I was ready to try and sleep, then he needed go home to do extra work unpacking and setting up the new baby gear or supplies we'd been ordering. (It wouldn't have been possible for him to sleep at the hospital while we were in the postpartum unit, given how uncomfortable the chairs for the patient's support person were and how often nurses needed to come in and wake me up in the middle of the night for medication or blood pressure monitoring.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In truth, I think I should be grateful that my medical team were so cautious with my health. My main preference throughout my pregnancy was that I wanted my OB-GYN to be cautious and conservative with my and LB's health, and that's pretty much exactly what I got. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The more typical postpartum preeclampsia story is probably that the patient initially gets discharged at the expected time, only to return to the hospital and be readmitted barely a few days later, after the increased blood pressure (often at numbers higher and therefore more dangerous than I ever saw throughout my hospitalization) brought about other symptoms that couldn't be ignored. They only released me after they were extremely certain my blood pressure was stable, so I haven't had anything to get stressed about on that front since discharge. Unfortunately, I'm finding that knowing objectively that my doctors did everything I would want from a medical judgment point of view doesn't necessarily make the subjective experience of my hospitalization that much easier. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'll try to blog as often as I can in the coming months. At the moment, shopping for clothes and accessories is the last thing on my mind, so I think I'd mostly be writing about parenting and my lingering feelings about the end of my pregnancy in the short term. (Those may not be the most cheerful topics, as these first months of life with a newborn are quite difficult!)</p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-30972807072542744842022-11-15T13:24:00.000-05:002022-11-15T13:24:15.759-05:00The Cost Of: Prenatal Care, First Two Trimesters<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2aemvrEhRVF2owqM4nWNk1Bd_0_pvAtEs3n9elV_F6oATIoA0pe3NTIMJ583FsLjlIZWjfcetEYEChfV1la3xrb7oyhqGt0nOIyEhZeVRA7UBTVhOOW0rGBQmDcs25uld8OHM0RC4Mprx6zR4b4qYuYAmZuM2KKlpsi4T7I_BxWEsfCD4kMxSsJTWw/s563/coach%20wallet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="563" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2aemvrEhRVF2owqM4nWNk1Bd_0_pvAtEs3n9elV_F6oATIoA0pe3NTIMJ583FsLjlIZWjfcetEYEChfV1la3xrb7oyhqGt0nOIyEhZeVRA7UBTVhOOW0rGBQmDcs25uld8OHM0RC4Mprx6zR4b4qYuYAmZuM2KKlpsi4T7I_BxWEsfCD4kMxSsJTWw/w400-h280/coach%20wallet.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bOgIQ">Coach wristlet</a> (affiliate link) </i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">With any medical care-related expense in the US that's billed through health insurance, it's not necessarily that meaningful to hear about anyone else's experience. So much depends on the vagaries of one's own health plan, something I personally find nearly impossible to decipher or predict before my bills after insurance actually come in. (That's as someone who litigates multi-million dollar commercial contract disputes at my day job, no less!) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nonetheless, I always like to read about how much things cost, including American healthcare. I was originally hoping to do a post like this earlier in pregnancy, potentially one for each trimester. As it turns out, the billing department at my OB-GYN's office can be quite slow, so it was only recently that what I think(?) is the last bill from before the end of my second trimester - nearly 7 weeks ago - was finally processed with my insurer. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This kind of timing isn't necessarily a huge shock in the American system, either. For instance, it was only this June that I finally saw a record pop up with my insurer for a PCR COVID test I took last December, during the start of NYC's Omicron surge. (That length of delayed billing is pretty unusual though, in my experience. There wasn't actually a bill to me involved either, because COVID testing in NYC was generally still free to the patient with government support back in December 2021.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For my prenatal care throughout the first two trimesters, through 26 weeks of pregnancy, the amounts I paid out of pocket for expenses that were - or could have been - put through insurance was: <b>$1,827.68</b>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, I think this solidly establishes my health plan as being "not very good," in terms of the extent and quality of my coverage. Which is something I did already know beforehand. Many biglaw firms <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/biglaw/comments/wqn18j/how_bad_is_biglaw_health_insurance/">are known</a> for <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/biglaw/comments/u5uoqx/how_much_are_you_paying_for_health_insurance/">offering</a> associates extremely expensive health insurance plans, sometimes with poor coverage. My health insurance premiums aren't as bad, but the co-pays and other terms keep getting slightly worse by the year. For one random data point of comparison, a YouTube vlogger I follow who also lives in NYC <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1p85iy7EEA">only paid around</a> <b>$366.00 </b>out of pocket on her insurance for prenatal care through roughly the same point in her pregnancy.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">Some major line items going into my total out-of-pocket spend of $1,827.68 were as follows: </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li>Specialist visit co-pays: $60.00 or $75.00/each x 5 visits = <b>$345.00 </b></li><li>Myriad genetic carrier screening<b><u>*</u></b>: <b>$249.00</b></li><li>Myriad NIPT screening<b><u>*</u></b>: <b>$249.00</b></li><li>Diagnostic ultrasounds<b><u>**</u></b>: $289.38 x 2 visits = <b>$578.76</b></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Under the terms of my health insurance plan, my specialist visit co-pays (initially $60/each and now <b>$75/each</b> due to annual changes to the plan negotiated between my employer and the insurer) don't go to my deductible (the amount I need to pay before my co-insurance kicks in further to reduce part of my required after-insurance out-of-pocket spend). Which is particularly unfortunate, because starting in third trimester, prenatal appointments for even a textbook low-risk pregnancy may take place as frequently as once every two weeks, and then once every week after 36 weeks. And because my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/search/label/gestational%20diabetes">gestational diabetes</a> care is partially covered by another specialist, I'll also have had another handful of separate appointments for that by the end of my pregnancy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The remaining items going in to my total out-of-pocket spend were various much smaller charges for things like blood draws or certain blood tests. I've always found the billing for medical lab tests particularly confusing, as many of the individual tests can be billed separately even if they were all done on the same blood sample, and the out-of-pocket costs seem completely arbitrary. Each individual test generally doesn't cost too much, generally $25 or less after insurance, but the total bill can really add up sometimes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At some point, once I think I've received all my remaining pregnancy-related medical bills, I'll check in again about my out-of-pocket, post-insurance expenses for the rest of the pregnancy, including for delivery. I imagine that most of you who live outside of the US pay or paid at least somewhat less for pregnancy-related medical care, if you've had experience with that? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And ah, I suspect many of my fellow Americans also pay somewhat less, maybe significantly less, for prenatal care through the first two trimesters. Though I think the bills for a hospital delivery are often going to be four figures to a low five figures through insurance, even on better health insurance plans than mine. That's also the general number I'm expecting once I get there. </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b><u>*</u></b>There's an asterisk when it comes to the "through insurance" part on these line items. I paid for these prenatal genetic screening tests out of pocket at the indicated cash price (which is fairly reasonable by US standards) without first asking to have the charges run through insurance. That was partially due to some rather extreme "hard sell" messaging from the testing company, Myriad, regarding how they approach cash price versus through insurance billing. Before getting your results, Myriad essentially tells the patient you can either choose to pay the cash price upfront or try to bill it through insurance and, in so doing, forfeit your right to ever claim the cash price if your insurance company declines to cover the test (which is <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BabyBumps/search/?q=nipt%20bill&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1">not uncommon</a>), potentially leaving one on the hook for a four-figure bill. My insurance plan documents also said something about only covering one prenatal genetic test per pregnancy, and I had no way of knowing beforehand whether I might end up needing something like amniocentesis later. </i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b><u>**</u></b>I've been pretty confused by the way ultrasounds are billed through my insurance. My OB-GYN's office does an ultrasound at each prenatal visit for all pregnancies, which is not standard with all OB-GYN practices in the US. (I don't mind it and am even thrilled to pay for it, as I'd otherwise get too nervous if I couldn't see our little bean every time.) My initial ultrasounds - first, to confirm pregnancy, and then a second dating scan because at the earlier ultrasound it was too early to see much - each cost <b>$289.38</b> after insurance. The receptionists at my OB-GYN's office keep telling me subsequent ultrasounds could cost up to $500 each after insurance. Yet to date I haven't seen an after-insurance bill for anything but my specialist visit co-pays for any of my subsequent ultrasounds after the first two! Not sure if I'm going to get a giant bill for them sometime later, or what. </i></span></p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-44634554265309453172022-11-12T11:50:00.000-05:002022-11-12T11:50:15.295-05:00Fully Recovered from COVID<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvkIJJXxqJpISkv-Xj-_faNnTETYXm7bxomO60ZQy6Jze2DXOF1uBG4xkP9ggbKVuQnV1DZxQbKkLcEi2RZtl_hVB1adoISs0KjhhtJ8FYPNKF31LqOlvaos2j72mKotBTO1O17W0WAbhCScFgR8YI9BG-9yEEJqo-hlBk1-jNKBzDJiXIiG7JoVfhg/s3000/david-mao-m0l5J8Lqnzo-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvkIJJXxqJpISkv-Xj-_faNnTETYXm7bxomO60ZQy6Jze2DXOF1uBG4xkP9ggbKVuQnV1DZxQbKkLcEi2RZtl_hVB1adoISs0KjhhtJ8FYPNKF31LqOlvaos2j72mKotBTO1O17W0WAbhCScFgR8YI9BG-9yEEJqo-hlBk1-jNKBzDJiXIiG7JoVfhg/w640-h426/david-mao-m0l5J8Lqnzo-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/m0l5J8Lqnzo"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">via Unsplash</span></i></a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thank you for all the well-wishes after I <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/11/after-nearly-three-years.html">got COVID</a>! By the time my last post went live on Tuesday (after the onset of mild symptoms on Saturday and first testing positive with my peak symptoms on Sunday), I was already feeling much better. I've since continued to recover fairly quickly: I'm now close to feeling 100%, though have continued to rest at home as much as possible. (K tested at home almost every day, but he never got a COVID positive and his symptoms stayed mild.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Because I hadn't taken advantage of early voting before I came down with COVID - and because a certain conservative-leaning news sources in New York insisted that the only particularly contested race on my ballot, for New York's governor, was going to be close - I needed to step out briefly on Tuesday to vote. (That race turned out the way I wanted.) I masked the entire time I was out of my apartment. It's barely a two-block walk to my poll site; I was in and out in slightly less than ten minutes; and my symptoms were down to a mild cold level, though with some icky-sounding congestion. Nonetheless, I still needed to lay down for an hour or two afterwards to recover my energy. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">While my case of COVID has been extremely mild and quick to pass - even compared to fully vaccinated and boosted friends who were not immunocompromised by pregnancy at the time they had COVID (though I'm the only one who got it after having one of the new bivalent boosters, since those came out so recently) - it definitely felt weird compared to various colds I've had previously, or the flu. I lost my sense of smell completely for two days, which felt out of proportion to the moderate congestion I still had by then. (That, in turn, significantly muted my sense of taste.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hard to pinpoint exactly how, but the cough and congestion just felt really different from my usual bad colds in past years, it sounded much worse than it felt. I think the hit to my energy levels for a few days also felt worse than with typical colds, but I've bounced back now, very quickly. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's looking like my mild to moderate COVID case won't increase my schedule or intensity of prenatal care, but I might not be able to fully confirm this until my next appointment OB-GYN on Monday. I was already due to be seen at least weekly starting at 36 weeks next week no matter what, so I'm going to have plenty of medical supervision regardless. My blood sugar was fully back to normal by Monday afternoon, and it's continuing to look like I won't need to go on medication or insulin for gestational diabetes this pregnancy, which is a huge relief, as that would have opened up a lot of potential issues. </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-65493967465006809612022-11-08T07:29:00.004-05:002023-05-03T05:15:53.256-04:00After Nearly Three Years...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS6ex21p_DgpX33MsnFqOxmrr7a4s9ocM9K8pRij_0SbtBc50dZ-xsb267oFduFT6gos7Oz3jtZKVCBGlCYw0JXGlFgGKQlpFANUW8eZf683nY52h0ygSjd57DDEw471Bee4l69DEhJ5Br75mLQaokcimDd4Tqt1WiDl2SrdF36tNGoYZeH1M67hScQ/s5092/matthew-henry-2Ts5HnA67k8-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3395" data-original-width="5092" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS6ex21p_DgpX33MsnFqOxmrr7a4s9ocM9K8pRij_0SbtBc50dZ-xsb267oFduFT6gos7Oz3jtZKVCBGlCYw0JXGlFgGKQlpFANUW8eZf683nY52h0ygSjd57DDEw471Bee4l69DEhJ5Br75mLQaokcimDd4Tqt1WiDl2SrdF36tNGoYZeH1M67hScQ/w640-h426/matthew-henry-2Ts5HnA67k8-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/2Ts5HnA67k8"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">via Unsplash</span></i></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">... COVID has finally gotten me for the first time, as far as I know! I felt a tiny bit off this past Saturday, but tested negative on a home COVID test. Then, by Sunday morning, my symptoms suddenly intensified to nasty cold level (sore throat, headache, general feeling of malaise) and I tested positive. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Luckily, my COVID symptoms never got too intense, though my congestion and cough still sound really gnarly and worse than I actually feel. I never got a fever, and my symptoms already feel like they're improving, so fingers crossed I continue to avoid getting a fever or anything worse! Because third trimester already involved a moderate amount of shortness of breath, at least for me, that's gotten a bit worse while I have COVID symptoms. (I had my second COVID booster, with one of the new bivalent vaccines, around five weeks ago. K had his around four weeks ago.)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">K started getting cold symptoms the day before I did, which he totally thought was a side effect from getting his annual flu shot the day before that. He's actually still testing negative on home COVID tests though, which hasn't been unusual for my colleagues and friends whose significant others tested positive for COVID in recent months. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This turn of events hardly feels fair because I continue to be religious about masking in public indoor settings except when actively eating or drinking. That's even while at work in a very small office where I generally have only minimal or fleeting direct contact with my colleagues most weeks, including last week (legal practice can be a surprisingly solitary affair, even when done in-person at the office). At this point though - now that masking is essentially no longer required almost anywhere in NYC except in some health care settings, including my OB-GYN's office - the masking rate most places, including on crowded buses and the subway, is generally only around 20-30% here. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">K and I did eat out once last Tuesday, but that restaurant was nearly empty, We also ate out once somewhere busier the weekend before that, which I guess might be the more plausible source if I first got COVID symptoms roughly a full week after? But I don't think most people in NYC who need to go to the office and use public transit like me can ever know for sure when and how exactly they caught COVID these days, since there's generally always a fair amount of it going around. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Like <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/GestationalDiabetes/comments/wxs1ey/not_sure_if_this_is_allowed_but_those_of_you_that/">some</a> other <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/GestationalDiabetes/comments/yo9gb3/recovering_from_covid_and_just_checked_my_post/">gestational diabetes</a> ("GD") patients, I found that COVID caused some chaos with my blood glucose numbers. My blood sugar spikes weren't as extreme as some I've heard about, but on my first day of testing positive for COVID, my after-meal numbers were significantly over what they'd normally be for meals I've had often since I started testing daily. Thankfully, it seems like that particular effect of COVID is also subsiding quickly for me. That's despite losing my sense of smell, which also mutes my sense of taste somewhat, which does make it harder to fully keep up with my recommended eating and snacking schedule with GD. But my glucose numbers haven't been too badly affected by that. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Having COVID during my third trimester isn't the most fun. The occasional pregnancy insomnia has made it difficult for me to really sleep in and get as much rest as I'd like. I'm also still trying to run down whether having COVID while fully vaccinated and boosted will require me to have more follow-up appointments with my main OB-GYN or the specialist team I was referred to for my GD. (But at 36 weeks next week, I was already due to start having weekly appointments with my OB-GYN regardless.) </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-81883775642715180072022-10-31T10:39:00.000-04:002022-10-31T10:39:23.144-04:00October 2022 Shopping Reflections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9cq9oaZUakTE_1noSnFB8S2BvbbecNiYRPAmo0mlDNyDsq-SIRK_cE9FU89LYvHZakcCnUMKykJV6zjTNCBr5eX7boefh4H04vE9Rdk-1bjIKzXEJVUBrJQOBnlvMDUYNXwY-Lky9ohu4arsoN4MKTO11TWz51NSRq_mpWILbnWzNDMbT6MJ_-VBaTg/s640/october%20shop%20part%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9cq9oaZUakTE_1noSnFB8S2BvbbecNiYRPAmo0mlDNyDsq-SIRK_cE9FU89LYvHZakcCnUMKykJV6zjTNCBr5eX7boefh4H04vE9Rdk-1bjIKzXEJVUBrJQOBnlvMDUYNXwY-Lky9ohu4arsoN4MKTO11TWz51NSRq_mpWILbnWzNDMbT6MJ_-VBaTg/s16000/october%20shop%20part%201.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well my third trimester bump is so large and unwieldy now, and my pregnancy-related physical discomfort so substantial, that I'm definitely no longer able to expend any mental energy on trying to wear cute clothes! Almost all my fashion-related purchases this month are maternity wear, to get ready for fall and early winter temperatures in NYC. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was originally thinking I might be able to wear my usual fall/winter uniform of dresses and tights (and sweaters, particularly the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bNqnS">J.Crew Juliette sweater blazers</a>) once the weather cooled down during my third trimester. But after ordering a single pair of <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bNqnJ">maternity tights (from Spanx)</a> to try on, I quickly realized that just wasn't going to work. It takes so much effort to get into a pair of tights now - even putting on socks can leave me winded these days, and significantly more contortions are required to get a pair of tights on fully - that I could only ever manage it for special occasions. It's simply not happening for everyday wear. Thus, I'll be in maternity pants or leggings for the remaining six to seven weeks of my pregnancy. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_aBKXjXqc3FESBc8x9nHeTAH3JXMzXKdjeUoZ8zHz7RhXYFcKt16N2Brk0LZQU1s95IoCU0hsQQHYwC2Z-TBr47c1q5xN-lu2t4e0oPBYQ-imrPk1y8tJnskKoKgyz1Lmgy48UgFBvU7hL9twJa44f9Pb4q-UUB0iIc4AadfIOX1Sv7ED-_MuUCgqA/s640/october%20shop%20part%202%20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_aBKXjXqc3FESBc8x9nHeTAH3JXMzXKdjeUoZ8zHz7RhXYFcKt16N2Brk0LZQU1s95IoCU0hsQQHYwC2Z-TBr47c1q5xN-lu2t4e0oPBYQ-imrPk1y8tJnskKoKgyz1Lmgy48UgFBvU7hL9twJa44f9Pb4q-UUB0iIc4AadfIOX1Sv7ED-_MuUCgqA/s16000/october%20shop%20part%202%20.jpg" /></a></div><p><b>Fashion - (TOTAL: $372.95) </b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://kizik.com/products/womens-vegas">Kizik Vegas Sneaker, white</a> - $140.45* -</b> I got these solely because of Kizik's primary gimmick, that their sneakers are "hands-free", and slip right on. I'm happy to report these shoes work as promised: I do need to angle my foot in a little since I keep them fully tied and the opening for my foot isn't that large, but it's easy enough to do, even in my heavily pregnant state. These took a little time to break in the toe box and ankle, my feet got a bit sore after several hours out and about on the first day of wear. But that's typical enough and I didn't have any blisters or anything. I've been wearing my Kiziks almost every day since receiving them in early October, and they seem to be holding up reasonably well so far. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://wearpact.com/women/apparel/maternity/maternity%20airy%20long%20sleeve%20tee/wa1-yst-ggp">Pact Maternity Airy Long-Sleeve Tee</a>, storm - $40.00 - </b>I bought four maternity tees from Pact once I knew I'd be in pants and leggings for most of my third trimester, and I'm quite satisfied with the quality. (All my non-maternity tees are too short to accommodate my third trimester bump.) The cotton fabric feels nice, though is slightly on the thin side (but the white tee is not sheer, so there's no real problem there). I don't layer sweaters over these for now because it's still somewhat warm. As with many other maternity wear lines, Pact recommends taking your size from before pregnancy - for me, a <b>M</b> - though I found these tees ran a noticeable amount larger than that. This is probably the first maternity wear brand I've tried that I'd describe that way because I grew so much in the bust and bump early on that I'd have done better sizing up in many brands by the middle of my second trimester. One additional issue is that my pre-pregnancy bust measurement puts me solidly in a M on Pact's sizing chart, while my waist and hip measurement belong in a S. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://wearpact.com/women/apparel/maternity/maternity%20airy%20long%20sleeve%20tee/wa1-yst-ggp">Pact Maternity Airy Long-Sleeve Tee</a>, mink gray - $40.00 - </b>While all these Pact maternity tees are good quality, I don't love many of the color choices in their maternity line. This "mink grey" seems awkwardly in between olive green and light grey, so it's not my favorite as far as neutral shades go. Though I needed a lot of tees, so I still ordered this, and it was at least more neutral than some of the other remaining shades. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://wearpact.com/women/apparel/maternity/maternity%20slub%20slouchy%20tee/wa1-ysl-ore">Pact Maternity Slub Slouchy Tee</a>, white - $40.00 -</b> The neckline on these is a bit wide, so the effect can be a bit pajama-like. But I personally still prefer a slouchy, loose maternity tee over a ruched one. Just my nitpicky style preference... </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://wearpact.com/women/apparel/maternity/maternity%20slub%20slouchy%20tee/wa1-ysl-ore">Pact Maternity Slub Slouchy Tee</a>, ore - $40.00 -</b> This is another somewhat odd neutral from Pact. The storm color the long-sleeve tee comes in is truer dark gray. Meanwhile, this ore shade is somewhere between slate blue and dark gray, though that works for my wardrobe a bit better than the more olive green mink gray. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bNqmj">J.Crew Factory Maternity Jamie Pant, black</a> - $44.50 - </b>These have a comfortable soft stretch, though the fabric is fairly thin. I ordered two sizes - <b>6</b> and <b>8 </b>- to try on. From that, I don't think it makes the biggest difference with these pants to size up from your pre-pregnancy size or not, as the two sizes felt very similar. I ultimately kept the larger one because I figured it'd leave more room for the continued growth of my third trimester bump. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bNqnJ">Spanx Maternity Tights, black</a> - $28.00 - </b>(also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bNqny">here</a>) I can't really give much of a review for these because I tried them on just once at home and quickly realized I just wasn't going to be able to regularly put on tights in my third trimester. My belly is just too in the way! As suggested, I ordered my pre-pregnancy size on their size chart and that seemed correct for my early third trimester bump. (Though as with many other brands that suggest taking your pre-pregnancy size in the maternity line, I think that by the end of pregnancy I'll be close to or actually in need of sizing up from that recommendation.) </li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Indicates that price includes sales tax</span></i></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nothing too exciting this month on the shopping front, and that will probably continue to be true for the rest of my pregnancy. There isn't even that much time left now, most likely around six or seven weeks, and that's such a daunting thought! Though I'm also feeling so big and unwieldy already that I'm totally kind of looking forward to it being over. (I was my mom's first baby and was born almost two weeks early with no complications or issues, so part of me is wondering if I might also deliver a bit early.) </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-79018199159306395092022-10-23T14:26:00.001-04:002022-10-23T14:26:11.069-04:00Early Third Trimester<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdC5OLc2YKnN04zNAlsctqIllWTNUdaSmxqjpn05bOkqgP4DC2qlCXqOzfoia4aigd0wd90FrN65Kt3GN3UNowQb6ZLTOjsmsqskP4Q91jK78yW8zhzdppwgkiRNFzhXc-oVrMsbCZtQt4he5OpoPzW7VzM1ZTaw6WLKJXi1t_EKbR8fhlPBfA0ADBWg/s485/pact%20pregnancy%20tee.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdC5OLc2YKnN04zNAlsctqIllWTNUdaSmxqjpn05bOkqgP4DC2qlCXqOzfoia4aigd0wd90FrN65Kt3GN3UNowQb6ZLTOjsmsqskP4Q91jK78yW8zhzdppwgkiRNFzhXc-oVrMsbCZtQt4he5OpoPzW7VzM1ZTaw6WLKJXi1t_EKbR8fhlPBfA0ADBWg/s16000/pact%20pregnancy%20tee.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="https://wearpact.com/women/apparel/maternity/maternity%20airy%20long%20sleeve%20tee/wa1-yst-ggp">Pact Maternity Airy Long-Sleeve Tee</a>: Finally ordered some maternity tops, and Pact's are pretty good.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Things have quieted down considerably for me at the office, just in time for my third trimester pregnancy symptoms to escalate! I have noticeably less energy now and am definitely much less physically comfortable, and I still have around seven weeks of pregnancy to go. I can't even imagine how much bigger this bump can get, and how much more unwieldy it will feel... </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Alas, given my current lack of physical and mental energy, including for blogging, I think I'll be a lot quieter here until after my mid-December due date. I think I'll check in intermittently with my monthly shopping reflections and pregnancy-related posts. Not much room in my brain for thinking and writing about anything else!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Gestational Diabetes </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, my gestational diabetes ("GD") remains well-controlled without medication, or even any particularly onerous changes to my eating habits or the limited physical activity levels I'm currently able to sustain. I'd always gravitated to a somewhat lower-carbohydrate diet just due to my personal tastes and preferences, and I'd also generally craved sweet foods less during pregnancy than at other times, so I'm really not eating that differently from how I was before the diagnosis. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The only real changes I've needed to make so far are: </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">(1) Like many GD patients, I have significantly more trouble digesting carbohydrates without blood sugar spikes in the early morning than later in the day, so I do need to be careful about breakfast. Strangely enough, half a regular white flour English muffin works better for me than a similarly small slice of whole-wheat bread for breakfast, even if the two items have the same carb content. Milk also contains carbs - which I never needed to think about before my diagnosis - so morning lattes are not an especially good idea at present. (This isn't a big deal because I also seem to be back to my first-trimester issue where coffee just doesn't taste right anyway.) </li><li style="text-align: justify;">(2) Only a few foods I enjoy are probably too difficult to successfully work into my lunch and dinner diet at present. One of those is pizza, which is unfortunate. (I could probably have a small slice or two with some non-carbohydrate side dishes for lunch or dinner, but that doesn't quite fit our habits on days that K and I feel like ordering pizza. It's easier to just avoid pizza for the next few weeks rather than try to make it work with my GD.) </li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">And that's it, really, at least for now, which isn't too bad! I'm starting to notice some of my fasting blood sugar readings are now a little higher than in earlier weeks - though they're still a margin below the typical cutoff for an abnormal reading at that time - which is consistent with the experience of many GD patients around 32 to 36 weeks. Fingers crossed things don't escalate to the point of needing medication or insulin, because those things are more complicated to manage and would also make the pregnancy somewhat higher-risk. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Physical Symptoms</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh lordy, things have continued getting significantly more uncomfortable as I progress into the third trimester. It almost feels like each week unlocks new levels of previously unknown discomfort. These days, getting dressed and putting on pants and socks is a big chore that can sometimes leave me feeling a bit winded. It also feels like there's less room in my torso now that the baby has grown considerably, which accounts for both some mild shortness of breath at times and being less hungry or less able to eat larger meals. That also causes a bit of heartburn or reflux.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sleep is becoming difficult, since it's becoming impossible to get comfortable, even with my <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bNhY6">trusty pregnancy pillow</a>. Whenever I try to adjust my position while laying down, my belly feels so heavy and unwieldy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the moment, my most severe third-trimester ache or pain is that I get especially sore in my ribs, always on the right side. (Our little bean tends to kick and move in that area more than any other, maybe that's a factor.) Earlier on, I didn't start feeling rib pain until late evening some days, but more recently it's starting in the mid-afternoon. A <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bNh0r">pregnancy support belt</a> helps, but not as much as it used to. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm now seeing my OB-GYN for routine appointments once every two weeks. With my specialist referral for GD, I also have a separate remote video visit with either a nurse or a MFM roughly once every two to three weeks. Everything still looks healthy and on track, which I'm very grateful for. Fingers crossed that everything continues to go smoothly for the remaining weeks of pregnancy! </div><p></p><p></p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-21150603329180169072022-09-27T09:40:00.000-04:002022-09-27T09:40:32.249-04:00September 2022 Shopping Reflections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVg9dISIrSCzLZRy3UiPJ_A_tdXB_nVeFs-2eJ5SssY8MyttxA4djl4B2PDkntXcFtJydnoL51meNp3XvXG_nw4aoP6C6TckSndCg1nYLpEUj7IxlD-USjwFIPp4Iu-9rhlYkLHsHA5sywnRDD_dIo2QIsXQQmgTmZ6rcmgWCU5VOVb37cHcB7lfYbWw/s640/sept%202022%20shopping.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVg9dISIrSCzLZRy3UiPJ_A_tdXB_nVeFs-2eJ5SssY8MyttxA4djl4B2PDkntXcFtJydnoL51meNp3XvXG_nw4aoP6C6TckSndCg1nYLpEUj7IxlD-USjwFIPp4Iu-9rhlYkLHsHA5sywnRDD_dIo2QIsXQQmgTmZ6rcmgWCU5VOVb37cHcB7lfYbWw/s16000/sept%202022%20shopping.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I haven't done too much shopping this September while things have been so intensely hectic at the office. At least the end to this last big busy period before my eventual parental leave is finally in sight. The nature of my job as an attorney and litigator is, of course, that more work can always come up suddenly. Realistically, though, my parental leave is likely coming up so relatively soon and with some uncertainty about exact start date - my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/09/life-with-gestational-diabetes-part-1.html">recent</a> gestational diabetes ("GD") <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/09/the-second-trimester-part-two.html">diagnosis</a> can cause added unpredictability - that it's difficult to staff me on new longer-term cases or projects.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">With the escalation of my pregnancy symptoms in the last weeks of second trimester - I can hardly believe I'll officially enter the third trimester this week - and the ever-increasing prominence of my bump, I don't feel especially comfortable in any clothes now. That's even true for <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/08/first-trimester-maternity-clothing.html">maternity clothes</a>. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We had a few cooler days here recently, so I wore my <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL4z9">Tibi oversized shirts</a> and <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL4EW">Madewell maternity skinny jeans</a> (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL4E1">here</a> and <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL4Dg">here</a>) out again for the first time in a few months. And the shirts have definitely gone from intentionally oversized chic to "wow, I look like I'm hiding a balloon under there!" My bump still fits comfortably under the belly band of my maternity jeans, though it's hard to imagine what happens when my bump gets even bigger.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As you can see, I finally made my long-delayed decision about a slimmer laptop backpack for work (after a pretty big misjudgment in that product category <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/03/march-2022-shopping-reflections.html">in March</a>). Not a moment too soon, either, because pregnancy is definitely starting to make it harder for me to carry shoulder bags or totes with the typical amount of things I bring to and from work every day.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also tried a somewhat relaxed-fit current-season <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL5le">Tibi merino wool-blend sweater</a> (also <a href="https://tibi.com/collections/knitwear-sweatshirts/products/anna-merino-wool-hole-at-back-pullover-heather-grey">here</a>) with some subtle distressed details and an interesting cutout in the back this month, in my normal pre-pregnancy size <b>M</b>. While it fit and should continue to fit through most of the rest of pregnancy, it was just too difficult to imagine what it would look like after pregnancy for me to justify keeping it. The material was also not the lighter, smooth knit texture I normally expect from merino wool sweaters, there would have been a noticeable itch factor. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fashion - (TOTAL: $481.56)</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL4EH">Knomo Beauchamp Backpack</a> - $205.77* -</b> Amazon currently seems to be the only place <a href="https://knomo.com/collections/backpacks">Knomo's</a> Beauchamp and <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL4Dm">Beaufort laptop backpacks</a> are particularly available to US customers. To be completely honest, I'm also not 100% sure the Amazon listing is fully legit? I don't typically buy fashion items on Amazon... But the product I received feels right, based on having seen the Beauchamp or Beaufort in real life (one of my law school friends has one, but I'm not sure which one). I picked the larger Beauchamp that accommodates up to a 15.6'' laptop, instead of the slimmer Beaufort that's supposed to fit up to a 14'' laptop. I don't find the Beauchamp too large, and I wanted the bigger size that's a bit more flexible because I sometimes need to carry a binder or a lot of papers home. I've been bringing my new backpack to work every day for a few weeks now, and have no complaints so far, though I've also only needed to carry my laptop twice in that time. The straps have been comfortable enough, though I can tell they might not be ideal if I really stuffed the backpack full and it got much heavier. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.catbirdnyc.com/ballerina-bracelet-yellow-gold.html">Catbird Ballerina Bracelet</a> - $275.90* -</b> As I mentioned <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/09/the-catbird-ballerina-bracelet.html">last week</a>, the decision to actually move forward with this purchase was a bit impulsive, after I pulled a near all-nighter to get our most important summary judgment filing out. Though I was also thinking about this bracelet since <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/03/march-2022-shopping-reflections.html">a few months ago</a>. This bracelet is on the dainty side - it's small enough that it feels a bit difficult and fiddly to put on - but it's also not too dainty. I've enjoyed wearing it 24/7 since receiving it and feel like it's reasonably noticeable for such a small piece. My listed price factored in a 10% off code for new Catbird customers signing up for the store's emails, though not the 2% Ebates/Rakuten cash-back (~$5) I also received. </li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Indicates that price includes sales tax and/or shipping charges.</span></i> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't always list my fine jewelry purchases in my monthly shopping reflections, though the price of the Catbird Ballerina Bracelet puts it in the zone of what I typically include. These days, because the idea of shopping for more maternity clothing has so little appeal, I find myself thinking about jewelry a lot more than I usually do. Some of the pieces I sort of have my eye on include the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL61T">Jennie Kwon Diamond Wave Band</a> and this <a href="https://www.catbirdnyc.com/braided-bracelet.html">Satomi Kawakita Braided Bracelet</a>, and various more statement-making earrings, including from <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL628">CompletedWorks</a> (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL63c">here</a>) or <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bL63e">Agmes</a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Except that I still can't really wear dangly earrings because I'm still fairly strict about wearing masks in public settings indoors - can't be too careful in my third trimester, especially with one <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/09/life-with-gestational-diabetes-part-1.html">higher-risk diagnosis</a> under by belt already - and I don't want my mask straps to get tangled on my earrings. And now is also not a great time to shop for rings either, as my fingers definitely swell just a bit too much at this point of pregnancy to wear my engagement ring or wedding band anymore. (I don't think those rings are at real risk of getting stuck, but I'm a bit paranoid about that possibility so I stopped wearing those rings once they started feeling noticeably tighter most days.) Alas, I generally don't get to have a lot of fun with thinking about fashion lately... </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-29456338005401273952022-09-22T09:53:00.000-04:002022-09-22T09:53:18.276-04:00The Catbird Ballerina Bracelet <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNIDTAKDzBbcnkr6un7kDe__PoWIoFdGVLCDCC7dzGyIwbUP9Gfp6Z6zyglmy-FkEYhnaFsZ7hYK7aW2672Z6k-Ot-21q13A4e8A60RLH1USB8qT6NXWUSiqFkxh7Q78lN44GLKFzEPVUAA55kAPtYNRXdeSMtsV3XjKfepgFqplMo-TqDs-W8m1NcA/s1126/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-17%20at%202.29.21%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1126" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNIDTAKDzBbcnkr6un7kDe__PoWIoFdGVLCDCC7dzGyIwbUP9Gfp6Z6zyglmy-FkEYhnaFsZ7hYK7aW2672Z6k-Ot-21q13A4e8A60RLH1USB8qT6NXWUSiqFkxh7Q78lN44GLKFzEPVUAA55kAPtYNRXdeSMtsV3XjKfepgFqplMo-TqDs-W8m1NcA/w400-h348/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-17%20at%202.29.21%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As it turns out, some unexpected developments in court have made it so my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/08/august-2022-shopping-reflections.html">last big push</a> at work before I start my parental leave will almost certainly come to an end by early October, which cuts my total workload significantly from what I originally expected. But that doesn't make this month's intensely busy period at the office any easier! For other attorneys familiar with US litigation, we are right in the middle having seven briefs due in five weeks in one major case, with three of those briefs being for summary judgment. (And our team just came off another busy period of expert depositions and other filings in another case, no less!) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I recently had my first ever near all-nighter for work - I was able to lay down for an hour and a half before going back to the office the next day, though I wasn't ultimately able to fall asleep - in connection with the biggest filing of the seven. After that, I decided I was going to buy another gift for myself, even if there wasn't strictly a professional milestone involved. And because my near-third trimester belly is too big to feel particularly good in clothing, that gift was another piece of jewelry: the <a href="https://www.catbirdnyc.com/ballerina-bracelet-yellow-gold.html">Catbird Ballerina Bracelet</a>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been looking at this piece for at least a few months. I even mentioned it <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/03/march-2022-shopping-reflections.html">back in March</a> as a potential alternative to the <a href="https://jenniekwondesigns.com/products/jadeite-equilibrium-ring?_pos=1&_sid=a30108dc1&_ss=r">Jennie Kwon Jadeite Equilibrium Ring</a> I ultimately chose to <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/08/another-professional-milestone-gift-to.html">commemorate my first</a> defense of a deposition as the first-chair attorney. My interest in the Catbird Ballerina Bracelet came in part from wanting a fine jewelry gold bangle bracelet someday, but all such things are extremely expensive. (Which is natural, because gold is also very expensive!) With the solid bar portion of the design, this bracelet is sort of two-thirds thin bangle, one-third chain bracelet. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Over many years of browsing Catbird's website - they're quite trendy amongst many NYC-dwellers! - with much of the jewelry they stock, I often worry it'll be a little too dainty to really look good on me, or to have a presence and be particularly visible. Though now that I've dabbled a bit more in dainty jewelry like the Jennie Kwon ring (not a design Catbird carries, but they have many other Jennie Kwon designs) and this bracelet, I'm coming around to the idea of this more dainty jewelry. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been wearing this bracelet 24/7 since it arrived, and I think it's lovely and looks good even if it's small. I hope that the design will hold up to that kind of wear and tear. It's a little finicky to take on and off, so it's easiest to just wear it all the time. (The bar portion is a bit bendy and flexible by design, and as for the chain, I know Catbird sells chain bracelets designed to be soldered on permanently, so the chain should be hardy enough to withstand long-term wear?) </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-16094414085782021302022-09-19T08:59:00.003-04:002022-09-21T08:45:29.883-04:00Life with Gestational Diabetes (Part 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuz4sRGQjv2ul1IUj-7RCC7ppN_G7o7Yls97nwCR-eCiLv2ixZ4hYWeBy5wdQaBOXBmqVQcMptCZaMvF-PjJ-0gH9SyXBLxeJyigzojx2qyyJ_7QSaMNRnUkOva7_lPyfN4T5TeJ0gH-HUzg8rPnnJjY9fN7Kv50pcW_BpzDScIEDRlQIoYOJap458w/s800/0000147_contournext-one-smart-meter-app-system.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuz4sRGQjv2ul1IUj-7RCC7ppN_G7o7Yls97nwCR-eCiLv2ixZ4hYWeBy5wdQaBOXBmqVQcMptCZaMvF-PjJ-0gH9SyXBLxeJyigzojx2qyyJ_7QSaMNRnUkOva7_lPyfN4T5TeJ0gH-HUzg8rPnnJjY9fN7Kv50pcW_BpzDScIEDRlQIoYOJap458w/w400-h400/0000147_contournext-one-smart-meter-app-system.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've now had my gestational diabetes ("GD") diagnosis for almost three weeks. It's been a bit of an adventure, and definitely not an especially fun one. The good news is that - at least for now, and hopefully also for the next few weeks or longer - it seems likely I can manage the condition fairly easily with relatively small diet and lifestyle changes. The bad news is I'm finding that the standard of care for gestational diabetics at my OB-GYN practice and the specialists they refer to is not especially high, so there's been little support from my medical professionals. This isn't an insurmountable problem at present because my condition is luckily uncomplicated for now, but it doesn't feel great to navigate it mostly by myself.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Because today's topic is completely about a potentially serious medical condition and the management thereof, an important and necessary disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, so for all things to do with GD, please consult with your doctor first and foremost. Sadly, it does seem like my experience with feeling somewhat left in the lurch by one's medical team is not that uncommon with GD, so I think many people end up finding lots of guidance and help from other people who have been there. (In the past few weeks, I've been on the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/GestationalDiabetes/">r/GestationalDiabetes</a> subreddit for much of my education about how to manage the condition.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>The Emotional Side</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I mentioned <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/09/the-second-trimester-part-two.html">last week</a>, I probably wasn't as shocked or upset about my diagnosis as many might be. I have <i>huge</i> genetic risk factors for Type 2 diabetes in my family, and already had a right-on-the-edge of prediabetic blood sugar reading at a <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2021/07/pandemic-era-health-and-fitness-changes.html#more">physical last year</a>, which means that many of the scary implications of GD for the pregnant patient were things I already knew to be true for me long before my diagnosis. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">That being said, once I finally got in for my specialist consult and officially received medical counseling about the potential <i>very</i> <i>bad</i> side effects of poorly managed GD for both baby and pregnant person, I did feel emotionally distraught for a few hours while I processed that. (This first appointment happened nearly 10 days after my diagnosis, a not uncommon time gap.) My understanding is that much of the severity of GD - particularly around weeks 32 to 36 of pregnancy - is basically not in the patient's direct control because it's mostly driven by the placenta and hormones. Thus, the medical advice can sound a bit like "hey, all these super-bad things can happen, but you really can't control if it happens." Which, yikes...</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">It didn't help that this consult was also the appointment where I learned there's a communication gap between my OB-GYN practice and the specialist's office about who will actually be supervising my GD care and scrutinizing my blood sugar results on an ongoing basis. This isn't a huge problem for now, after I finally figured out finger-stick test (on my own, with help <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/GestationalDiabetes/comments/wah8il/i_cant_get_enough_blood/">from</a> some <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/GestationalDiabetes/comments/h0fqxi/getting_enough_blood_for_these_dumb_strips_is_way/">r/GestationalDiabetes</a> comment <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/GestationalDiabetes/comments/eu9xol/tips_on_getting_enough_blood_first_time_when/">threads</a>). Almost all my readings have been consistently normal, with only one or two spikes with obvious causes that are relatively easy for me to avoid going forward, which somewhat reduces the urgency of getting more follow-up care right at this moment. I'll get to the bottom of figuring out who's actually supervising my care within the next week or so, no doubt, but it's definitely been frustrating!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Diet Changes and Monitoring Blood Glucose Levels</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Throughout the pregnancy, I've been fortunate enough to not have had any major problems with nausea, food, aversions, and the like. I've even been eating somewhat less candy and sweets than I usually do, since those flavors don't strongly appeal to me most of the time. I've also never eaten an especially high-carbohydrate diet because the foods I like best are more on the savory and higher fat and/or protein side of things. Thus, the diet changes that help many people manage their GD - at least until week 32 when hormones often go haywire - have not been too challenging for me thus far. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For the first week after my diagnosis, I hadn't yet figured out finger-stick tests and using a home blood glucose meter - I swear I jabbed myself nearly 20 times over a few days on and off and barely got two or three valid test results - so I was almost scared to eat carbs. That definitely wasn't sustainable, to try and navigate the diet changes without any real monitoring of blood sugar levels. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't know if GD affects the body's ability to get by on very low carbs, because for the first time in my life I sometimes seemed to experience some brain fog if I got too aggressive about avoiding carbs while still eating enough otherwise? That's a question I should bring my doctor, or the dietitian or nurse they refer me to for GD supervision... </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was making two big mistakes when I initially couldn't get the finger-stick tests to work with my blood glucose meter:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>(1) </b>I wasn't applying blood to the test strips correctly, so I just couldn't get enough most of the time no matter how hard I tried. With the Contour Next strips I use - with the Contour Next One monitor - one sort of scrapes the middle of the tip of the strip against the blood drop, and it should flow right on without needing much blood. (Only a small drop is necessary, somewhat less than the diameter of a slightly written-with non-mechanical pencil tip...) </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>(2) </b>I was probably flinching my finger away from the lancing device - I use the Accucheck Fastclix - and thus couldn't get jabs with a neat drop of blood that was easily applied to the test strip. I fixed that by sort of holding my finger down with the tip of the lancing device, say against the surface of my desk. With that tip - and some other common tricks like washing my hands with warm water right before testing, rubbing my finger while holding it low to my side beforehand, and working mostly with my pinky and sometimes my ring finger - I was able to set the lancing device to a lower depth setting and still consistently get enough blood on the first jab. It doesn't really even hurt, though it was initially extremely stressful before I figured it out. </li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For me, the most important readings I currently take each day are my fasting result first thing in the morning - if that number starts going up to abnormal levels by itself, it's a potential sign of needing medication or insulin because the hormones have started to go haywire - and then an hour after my first bite of each meal. Based on my three-hour glucose test results and my occasional readings at two hours after some meals, I don't seem to show any signs of spiking at two hours rather than one hour. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now that I've been logging my blood glucose results faithfully for a few days, it seems like there are a few things I can't do with GD, all of which are somewhat common with many other patients:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>(1) </b>Eating particularly many carbs early in the morning, even things like a small slice of wheat bread - something I can handle perfectly even two hours later in the same day - with eggs and some coffee with milk for breakfast could get me close to a less normal reading, even if it wouldn't be a problem for lunch or dinner. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>(2)</b> Drinking heavily sweetened drinks, as those can cause me to feel slight sugar crash symptoms. I made a mistake once with a Starbucks chai latte which, in hindsight, obviously probably would contain very high added sugar in an amount that's simply not advisable for any GD patient (~35 g added sugar in a tall). (I foolishly didn't check before drinking because I'd recently had a much less sweetened chai at an independent coffee shop and it wasn't a problem.) </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>(3) </b>It seems this is different for many patients, in that it can be unpredictable which types of carbs each patient can eat without causing blood glucose to spike. But corn tortillas, and maybe corn in general, may be a blood sugar spike-causing carb for me that I should avoid. I had my only abnormal fasting number so far the morning after a taco dinner made with corn tortillas. (Other taco meals with whole wheat or whole wheat + white flour tortillas have since been fine.)</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are certain other things that would probably also be too difficult or impractical to regularly incorporate into my diet for now: Delivery pizza night for K and I is no more until after pregnancy, as I would have too hard a time limiting myself to a small enough portion of pizza with the right side dishes for it to be workable. Many patients report that GD control is almost more about pairing controlled quantities of carbs with protein, fat, fiber at each meal than about exactly which carb or sugar-containing foods are eaten.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>The Cost of Diabetes Care</i></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I know I probably ain't seen nothing yet when it comes to the cost of diabetes care, because I'm not currently on any medication or insulin, but dang, even the price of some of the associated tools add up! The first time I went to the drugstore to pick up the basic tools - the blood glucose monitor, some testing strips, the lancing device, and extra lancet refills - the bill was right around <b>$72.00.</b> And that only included a week's worth of testing strips!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The monitors and lancing devices themselves generally aren't too expensive, I paid maybe ~$21 for the monitor and only ~$12 for the lancing device. But kind of like with inkjet printers, it's the refills that will really get you, or price-gouge you. Testing around four times'/day like I currently do may be on the lower side of average frequency for a GD patient, and I've calculated out the cost of my Contour Next testing strips for that at <b>~$2.28/day </b>if I buy in bulk! Lancets are a bit cheaper, and I know not everyone uses a fresh lancet at every jab, but if I do that's going to be another <b>~$0.88/day</b>. </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-89612080743702978402022-09-14T08:36:00.001-04:002022-09-14T08:36:34.936-04:00Vacation to Turks and Caicos <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_Si2ZysmJi-BdUQOBfPuGYOgZ18ivYrRkkUnIze-RQR2mPsobop_wTHSTZ-uM1xu8h5q4Cc2leqeNkYncUChlFrA3qAv7Ozfp_rMcQtZaj4uNHmTqClgM7OOYd-dG6H5D28hJR72oMJt1x4nTnlgnrUpR0hyDqYYDbMcNzKQN4b7C1HkzeO5jDS4dg/s1800/grace%20bay%20beach.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_Si2ZysmJi-BdUQOBfPuGYOgZ18ivYrRkkUnIze-RQR2mPsobop_wTHSTZ-uM1xu8h5q4Cc2leqeNkYncUChlFrA3qAv7Ozfp_rMcQtZaj4uNHmTqClgM7OOYd-dG6H5D28hJR72oMJt1x4nTnlgnrUpR0hyDqYYDbMcNzKQN4b7C1HkzeO5jDS4dg/w512-h640/grace%20bay%20beach.jpeg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Grace Bay Beach: It's a very long stretch of sand, and all of it quite nice and with very calm water.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">I can't believe it's already been over a month since K and I <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/08/life-lately-back-from-vacation.html">returned from our vacation</a> to Turks and Caicos! Our trip took place when I was 20 to 21 weeks pregnant, and in hindsight that was definitely the right time to travel on what you might call our "babymoon." Had I waited even two or three more weeks, air travel and even walking around in a new place would have been significantly less physically comfortable. (And well, little did I know I was about to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which would make eating a lot more complicated...) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This post is sort of a review of both Turks and Caicos as a destination and also of our hotel, <a href="https://www.thepalmstc.com/">The Palms Turks and Caicos</a> ("The Palms"), both of which we enjoyed and were quite happy with. I'd totally love to go back to both on a future vacation, though it must be said Turks and Caicos is generally a super-expensive destination, and I'm not entirely sure K and I's general career plans would make either place the most feasible trip price-wise for us once we are a family of three or more. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">My primary goal when selecting a vacation destination - it was K and I's first big trip together since the start of the COVID pandemic! - was total relaxation on a nice beach. When I started planning the trip this May, Turks and Caicos was one of relatively few Caribbean destinations that didn't require a negative COVID test result for entry, and that was a big part of why we selected it. Because I need to go to the office every day, and NYC doesn't have the <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data.page">lowest rate</a> of COVID positives, it would've been too nerve-wracking to know our fairly expensive trip could be disrupted by a positive test. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Getting There</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">JetBlue runs round-trip direct flights from JFK airport to Turks and Caicos basically every day, and that was the most convenient option for us. (United flies direct from Newark, probably the next best option for many NYC-area travelers.) We've heard a lot of horror stories about flight delays and disruptions recently, but I think the nature of JetBlue's JFK-Turks & Caicos schedule is such that any disruption more significant than an hour or so's delay here and there is relatively unlikely. Our flight home was delayed 40 minutes, and that was the only problem we encountered. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been hearing a lot about how expensive air travel is recently from various friends who've flown often for both work and pleasure this year. I don't think that was too apparent with our tickets for this trip, maybe due to the location. We paid right around <b>$395/person</b> for our flights, which isn't too bad, I think?</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">Be prepared to wait a long time at both passport control and customs when coming in to the Providenciales airport, the main one for international tourists. (And also for a long wait at airport security when returning home.) It's a very small airport, and I think the international flight schedule is such that all big incoming and departing flights are generally around the same time as each other. We probably waited around two hours to get in to the country. K and I are generally pretty paranoid about getting to the airport early before international flights, so we chose to get to the airport around two and a half hours ahead for your trip home. It probably took around 50 minutes to get through security, so we spent a lot of time waiting for our flight.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The entry and exit experience from Turks and Caicos is significantly less efficient and comfortable than what I remember of travel through the big international airport <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2016/04/life-lately-wedding-festivities.html">in Grand Cayman</a>. When waiting to go home, there aren't a lot of amenities at the Providenciales airport, and the seating is a bit limited and very uncomfortable. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">One way to try and get around the long waits at Providenciales airport may be to buy "Fast Track" services that will let you cut the lines at immigration/customs and airport security, but those are quite expensive. It seems prices start at <a href="https://www.visittci.com/providenciales/getting-here/pls-fast-track">$70/person each way</a>, so that could add significantly to the cost of plane tickets. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Getting Around</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Taxis are fairly expensive in Turks and Caicos, with fairly standardized pricing set per person by destination. (I think it was <b>$38/two people</b> to go from the airport to The Palms, and maybe <b>$20 to $25/two people</b> to go from The Palms into the main tourist "downtown" area of Grace Bay near Graceway Gourmet.) Generally, taxi drivers have large vans so each taxi trip will be shared with multiple families/parties of travelers if departing from, say, the airport, or a hotel or restaurant that happens to have a few groups all leaving at the same time (and sharing the trip probably doesn't reduce the cost per person, as far as I could tell). Turks and Caicos isn't too big, so any given car ride probably won't take too much longer than 10 to 15 minutes or so. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">While The Palms doesn't look like it's all that far away from the main tourist "downtown" in Grace Bay <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Palms+Turks+and+Caicos/@21.7914486,-72.1906027,15z/data=!4m8!3m7!1s0x0:0xfa1dc86321c86ad3!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d21.7914486!4d-72.1906027">on Google Maps</a>, K and I found it was definitely too far to walk, whether on the beach or on local roads, with the considerable heat and humidity of late July and early August. (With my pregnancy and K's old sports injuries, we definitely have a harder time walking longer distances on the beach than most, however. We definitely saw many other tourists, including some families with young children, seeming to have an easier time walking.) The Palms provides bicycles that guests can borrow, but I don't know how to bike, so that wasn't an option. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As far as I could tell, it could be really nice to be much closer to the tourist "downtown" while vacationing in Turks and Caicos and to have more options for restaurants not at one's hotel, or to buy groceries. I think the best hotel for that location preference in a similar-ish price point as The Palms might be <a href="https://www.sevenstarsgracebay.com/">Seven Stars Resort and Spa</a>, but they seemed entirely sold out around the time K and I traveled! (The Ritz Carlton also has that good location, but would generally be more expensive and probably not come with free breakfast, which in Turks & Caicos will have a substantial effect on the total cost of your vacation!) </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Staying at the Palms Turks and Caicos</b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFjb_A_39laAD2q4UDLVj-qhuSKv7BrBk6J5ovNigRWA2P8IEq01VETVsdBlA21eU1HSSTzuth4btVljP6YDgcd-tR2S92DLWRUu8f-LDjjhFR05q1MQQm6ng_BbAtWM7mW3yaQXOy1a76AxSQMq242rUOm1uAwJCUEZPIACLYpeJAzWfuDy6N-SuJQ/s4032/the%20palms%20grace%20bay.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFjb_A_39laAD2q4UDLVj-qhuSKv7BrBk6J5ovNigRWA2P8IEq01VETVsdBlA21eU1HSSTzuth4btVljP6YDgcd-tR2S92DLWRUu8f-LDjjhFR05q1MQQm6ng_BbAtWM7mW3yaQXOy1a76AxSQMq242rUOm1uAwJCUEZPIACLYpeJAzWfuDy6N-SuJQ/w480-h640/the%20palms%20grace%20bay.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The main courtyard area past the hotel lobby at The Palms.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Hotels in Turks and Caicos are definitely on the expensive side relative to other destinations K and I have thought about in the past! The four and five-star beachfront hotels we were looking at up and down Grace Bay, the really popular beach in Turks & Caicos, probably all cost at least <b>$400+/night</b> (before local taxes and standard resort fees that'd probably bring it up to <b>$500+/night</b>) for a standard room. (Many properties there also do mainly apartment-style suites that can accommodate larger families more comfortably, but the pricing for those starts even higher.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">K and I booked our stay at The Palms with Chase credit card points accumulated over each of our many years as Chase Sapphire Preferred ("CSP") cardholders - I'm not sure this is the best-value way to use those points if you ask people more knowledgeable about credit card rewards programs - but it made sense for us because we didn't think we'd be trying to get business or first class international long-haul plane tickets with our points anytime soon - so we didn't pay money this time around.<b><u>*</u></b> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Chase priced out the cash equivalent of our stay at The Palms at <b>~$650/night total</b> (including resort fees and local taxes) for a "junior suite," a standard room with kitchenette with mini fridge, extra sink, and microwave. From my research before we decided to book with Chase points, I think if we'd booked directly with the hotel instead, there would have been other discounts available when staying seven nights or longer, such that the actual price would have been somewhat lower than what Chase quoted. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fxM0HlulqvYOkUslkL6ROWOIRom6v9ELdvRS-oRpPWcPuYGDMq8v23FJG-eIzmo85_M_NjnuRLTuz7l5gRkYsMu-sPuSVBaFxI79wR--V-JnUXmGGo3QrB8DenJT2Ld6vKClYg6oNaWmFsFVfKSeNMqzWid7oU59BPkCE0cfT1f4H6cro9YsSVsaTA/s4032/IMG-8382.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fxM0HlulqvYOkUslkL6ROWOIRom6v9ELdvRS-oRpPWcPuYGDMq8v23FJG-eIzmo85_M_NjnuRLTuz7l5gRkYsMu-sPuSVBaFxI79wR--V-JnUXmGGo3QrB8DenJT2Ld6vKClYg6oNaWmFsFVfKSeNMqzWid7oU59BPkCE0cfT1f4H6cro9YsSVsaTA/w480-h640/IMG-8382.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The beachfront area at The Palms, with sun-beds and beach umbrellas for hotel guests.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">We enjoyed our stay at The Palms. The bed was comfortable, the room a good size, and I thought the decor was nice in a casual beach house way. There wasn't a "do not disturb" sign and the exact times they came by to clean our room changed a bit throughout the week and wasn't the most predictable, but that's a fairly small quibble that didn't affect our enjoyment of our stay. Like a few reviews on Tripadvisor mentioned, the hotel Wifi was too slow for remoting in at work or to reliably watch YouTube or Netflix, which also didn't affect our enjoyment, just something to keep in mind if that would be important to you. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The hotel has a free breakfast buffet, which I thought was good, especially the omelette station for fresh made-to-order eggs. (It's not the fanciest breakfast buffet I've ever seen though, definitely not as nice as the ones I'd generally encounter when traveling for business.) Many dining areas at the hotel are outdoors, including the breakfast area - and the indoor dining areas at one of the restaurants and the bar have large windows that they keep open - which certainly feels more COVID-safe. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">And between my business trips this year and our vacation, I've found I don't actually feel strange now about eating at hotel breakfast buffets due to the recent COVID pandemic. So that's <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2020/10/small-things-that-might-not-be-same.html">one prediction</a> about how things would change after the pandemic that I was wrong about. (I might also have been wrong about their being a big change to American culture around taking sick days off from work or school, unfortunately. People stay home from work in my industry if they're COVID-positive, of course, but generally not for other times they have cold symptoms...) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">K and I always found that there were enough free sun-beds and beach umbrellas at The Palms's beach area, regardless of when we dropped by. Though there's a little trick to it if you feel strongly about being in the front row nearest the water: Many of the bigger suites at the hotel may come with butler service, so they get first dibs at reserving front-row sun-beds and umbrellas - and that's often for fairly large families or groups - so anyone else that wants in needs to wake up early to make a claim and maybe leave a book or beach items out to "reserve" the sun-beds before breakfast. I've read from Tripadvisor reviews that seating around the pool feels in much shorter supply, but K and I always prefer the beach, so that didn't affect us. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Dining in Turks & Caicos</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Food is generally extremely expensive in Turks and Caicos, particularly when eating on-property at a hotel like the Palms. I didn't fully research this before we arrived, and even for NYC dwellers who've observed the effects of inflation on increased prices at restaurants in NYC, we were initially a bit taken aback. Though we understood it's in the nature of a location that basically needs to import all food items period, except for maybe some local seafood. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I did at least find that restaurant food portions were all quite generous compared to what people come to expect when dining out in NYC. All the lunch and dinner food at The Palms was quite good, and portions were big, so it definitely felt fine to mostly dine on-property during our vacation. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For the restaurants at The Palms and similar hotels, after factoring in local tax and tip, I'd expect to pay <b>$55/2 people</b> for a light lunch (e.g. salad without chicken or shrimp, or an appetizer-sized dish) or up to <b>$75/2 people</b> for a heavier lunch with someone ordering a drink. We went into the tourist "downtown" area one day and paid around <b>$60/2 </b>for a heavier lunch at a more casual sit-down restaurant (at <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147399-d1965892-Reviews-Thai_Orchid-Providenciales_Turks_and_Caicos.html">Thai Orchid</a>, which is pretty good). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also walked off-property along the beach to <a href="https://www.hemingwaystci.com/">Hemingways at the Beach</a> for dinner a few times, typically paying around <b>$110/2 </b>including tip and tax for two entrees and an appetizer. For dinner at restaurants at The Palms and similar hotels, the price for dinner would be closer to <b>$175/2,</b> or <b>$200/2 </b>if we decide to get both a desert and appetizer, or maybe a more splurge-y entree or if K had a glass of wine. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Given the need for basically all food items to be imported, I think food would still be quite expensive if one relied more on buying groceries and cooking while in Turks and Caicos. I saw a few fairly jaw-dropping prices in photos from <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x894b4fa334ae15d7%3A0x76aee326d310cea5!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNr1PNzY1oZoQKFxaMiO0B-JVy95wTqm_-rkqjV%3Dw426-h320-k-no!5sgraceway%20gourmet%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipNr1PNzY1oZoQKFxaMiO0B-JVy95wTqm_-rkqjV&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiSvb_Xt436AhVSrYkEHf9QCh0Qoip6BAhbEAM">Google reviews of Graceway Gourmet,</a> though well, still more affordable than prices at sit-down restaurants, naturally. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, we had a very wonderful and relaxing time in Turks and Caicos and a great stay at The Palms! I would totally go back, though not sure it's in the cards for us - too fancy! - for quite some time after our little bean is born and with our current plans for our careers and potential pay-cuts relative to biglaw compensation. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><u>*</u></b> I had my CSP for at least a year longer than K, I generally spend more because of shopping, and I've also been a little more aggressive about churning other Chase cards over the years, including the United MileagePlus and a Chase Freedom. So I still have around 220,000 United miles transferred from Chase Points left, which I transferred to United before 2020. K's pretty much drained his points now.</span></p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-76497276349298633372022-09-12T08:34:00.003-04:002022-09-17T11:55:19.797-04:00The Second Trimester (Part Two) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJVuwSL_olQsDx3PGJsKoDMJG8hpX4t70rQ0vIesg3aZteJ_uc7YDDrpJ2Tyf0EoQEvM06VpkXnlUjAi3JNCttxhdCiFHDbjM-34IjQylBkhMXHSKS9vvs4so6wdFfgk4ATgi-lvNstnxzmxhrpYpzwssyR0vlPRrtsLci0mHkDzgOxHw74NNQTV0Xg/s968/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-10%20at%203.03.19%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="926" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJVuwSL_olQsDx3PGJsKoDMJG8hpX4t70rQ0vIesg3aZteJ_uc7YDDrpJ2Tyf0EoQEvM06VpkXnlUjAi3JNCttxhdCiFHDbjM-34IjQylBkhMXHSKS9vvs4so6wdFfgk4ATgi-lvNstnxzmxhrpYpzwssyR0vlPRrtsLci0mHkDzgOxHw74NNQTV0Xg/w383-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-10%20at%203.03.19%20PM.png" width="383" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm now close to the start of the third trimester! Alas, in the past three or four weeks, I've started to experience bigger challenges from certain side effects and symptoms of pregnancy. I'm maybe a little - or a lot - worried about what the entire third trimester will feel like, if I'm already starting to have a hard time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Physical Symptoms: </i>Thank goodness, the itching I mentioned <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/07/the-second-trimester-so-far.html">in late July</a> went away by itself pretty quickly in the following three to four weeks. I've asked the doctor about it, and they aren't worried. My acne is a bit better for now. Most of the disruptions to my digestive system have also improved, though are still noticeable. I've been very fortunate in that the worst nausea I've had during this pregnancy in the first trimester still wasn't that bad, definitely not enough to throw off my eating habits. That symptom seems to have disappeared now in the second half of the second trimester.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sadly, what is more difficult for me now in terms of physical symptoms is that I've started experiencing all kinds of aches and pains. I currently live walking distance from my office, with my commute on foot taking 18 to 20 minutes each way. As of three weeks ago, I've started taking public transit to and from work instead of walking - even though it doesn't actually save me any time - because I was experiencing too much pain and discomfort. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I normally love grocery shopping - it's my favorite chore and never feels like an imposition - but I've found I pretty much need to stop running that errand alone as well, as I can't really carry a not-particularly-heavy full bag of groceries - and definitely not two such bags - for 10 to 15 minutes while walking home anymore. I end up sore all over for more than a day afterwards. I'll really miss doing this basic task on a whim for the rest of my pregnancy. (I can still maybe grab a few lighter items at a time from the nearest grocery store to home or work in a pinch, but no more big shops unless K is there to carry most of what we buy.) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please note that this portion of the post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In order to try and manage the discomfort, I've been using a fairly large pregnancy pillow, the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bLwtO">LeahCo Snoogle</a>, for quite a while now, since week 12 or so. I didn't really need it at first, but now I definitely do, and I've particularly appreciated having the pillow since week 15. I also bought a much smaller and more easily packable <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bLwsO">Boppy</a> wedge-style pregnancy pillow (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bLwuw">here</a> or <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bLwuB">here</a>) for K and I's recent vacation, which also worked fairly well to keep me sleeping on my side and was reasonably comfortable. When I'm laying down and using my computer in bed, I use both the Snoogle and Boppy to lay down on an incline. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Much more recently, I've also started wearing a pregnancy belt under my clothes, and it definitely helps a lot and is even necessary for me now, even with a bus commute and sedentary desk job. I picked one fairly randomly <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bLwu9">on Amazon</a>, sizing up to account for how I have a few months of pregnancy and growth to go, and it works pretty well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">One-Hour Glucose Test: </i>My OB-GYN's office has patients take the one-hour glucose tolerance test ("GTT") for gestational diabetes during their 24th week appointments. A lot of people say the glucola drinks used for the tests taste gross - the one-hour version contains 50 grams of sugar in 10 oz, compared to, say, the 39 grams in a 12 oz bottle of coke - so I felt some trepidation, especially because I basically never drink soda or juice and only rarely get sweetened lattes. They also instruct you to drink the entire thing in five minutes or less.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;">In actuality, I didn't find the drinks for either the one-hour glucose test or the three-hour glucose test (100 grams of sugar in 10 oz liquid) to be too bad. And I actually thought they tasted equally sweet to each other - a manageable amount - even if the three-hour test version has double the sugar content in the same volume! I got the orange version each time - lemon-lime and fruit punch flavors also exist - and I'd describe it as being like a flat orange soda, or maybe like how I'd imagine Squeezits or those little barrel-shaped juice bottles with foil tops to taste, if anyone else <a href="https://www.eatthis.com/1990s-snacks/">remembers those</a> from the 1990s. It helps with the flavor if the glucola is refrigerated/cold. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Though I totally understand that patients who are experiencing nausea might have trouble keeping down the glucola. And it certainly isn't something I'd ever seek out for fun, though I really didn't mind it and won't feel any further trepidation about it during any future pregnancy, if that's in the cards. My energy and hunger levels were a bit all over the place for the rest of the day after each test, however, which wasn't terribly fun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't think all doctors out there instruct patients to fast before starting the one-hour test, but mine did, for two hours beforehand (water was allowed during that two-hour window, but nothing else). I was asked to drink the glucola at home one hour before my appointment time, keeping track of the exact time I finished, within five minutes of starting to drink. They do a blood draw at the one-hour mark. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, I failed the one-hour GTT, which is not uncommon as the cutoff before they make you take the three-hour test can be quite conservative. I think I read that up to 25% of patients fail the one-hour, but many - maybe even most - go on to pass the three-hour GTT. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Three Hour Glucose Test: </i>While I didn't end up minding the taste of the 100 grams of sugar glucola, the three-hour GTT is definitely more onerous than the one-hour test. I was told to fast for 12 hours before starting the test, and couldn't have any water after drinking the glucola. They take a blood draw before starting, then additional draws at one, two, and three hours, for a total of four blood draws, and I needed to wait at the doctor's office the entire time in between. I brought my laptop so I could work, but found that I couldn't really focus - especially with my first hour sugar rush - so I mostly just browsed the web. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alas, I failed the three-hour GTT, and it was not at all a borderline or ambiguous result. I officially have gestational diabetes ("GD"). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In general, I'm not as upset or worried as I could be. I have some very strong genetic risk factors for diabetes in my family, so I'm not fully surprised by my test results and had been mentally preparing myself since I failed the one-hour test. (Being Asian-American of Chinese descent is also a risk factor by itself.) I know this diagnosis is mainly due to my placenta and hormones, it's not a reflection of my health from before the diagnosis. Based on my numbers so far, it also seems likely I can control the condition with diet and exercise for at least a few weeks. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There definitely are some really dangerous and scary potential side effects and complications from GD if it isn't well-managed. I certainly don't look forward to potentially needing medication or insulin later on, since I know the condition sometimes gets more difficult to manage later on in pregnancy based on hormonal changes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm still waiting for my first consult with a specialist after getting my GD diagnosis last week, though one can easily buy blood sugar testing supplies over the counter and research the basic guidelines for trying to manage the condition with diet and exercise. I'm having a pretty hard time figuring out the finger-sticks for blood sugar testing, alas. We'll see how difficult I find the new dietary restrictions. I wasn't really craving sweet foods very much throughout this pregnancy, I actually think I eat less candy and less sugar than I did before. But I'm nervous about other carbohydrate-containing foods and figuring out what I can eat...</div>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-86943271064903066622022-08-24T09:01:00.000-04:002022-08-24T09:01:57.530-04:00August 2022 Shopping Reflections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigp802wdoh_uC84TMmeaw1iLSdCCAQxRfaeIFFv35EF0FM_9rmJD-NG1aCk1d7oOGISfD6dHzaLLuN2tRV0eBinb3MFxneKElLaNiiaegjwXIzTgI87Q7oVplzWEzxCF8FGWiE3fUBuEJGG3QC4NcyNbzNnuguN06XrVk3oluYM6tm8LGhlkfp_C_2eA/s685/august%202022%20shopping.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="685" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigp802wdoh_uC84TMmeaw1iLSdCCAQxRfaeIFFv35EF0FM_9rmJD-NG1aCk1d7oOGISfD6dHzaLLuN2tRV0eBinb3MFxneKElLaNiiaegjwXIzTgI87Q7oVplzWEzxCF8FGWiE3fUBuEJGG3QC4NcyNbzNnuguN06XrVk3oluYM6tm8LGhlkfp_C_2eA/w640-h448/august%202022%20shopping.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's a few days early for my end-of-month shopping reflections, but I'm pretty sure this is it for August. Things are starting to ramp up at the office again, alas, for what's hopefully the last big, but fairly extended push - this current busy period should last into at least early or mid-November - at work before my due date, so I probably won't be posting quite as frequently in the next few weeks. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">With my recently published <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/08/first-trimester-maternity-clothing.html">first trimester shopping reflections</a>, it's probably somewhat obvious that pregnancy has not been particularly great for my general goal of being more careful and minimalist-ish about my shopping. I didn't fully anticipate all the changes my body would go through, particularly if I wanted to buy more relaxed-fit non-maternity clothing in hopes it would work for at least some portion of the pregnancy. Navigating sizing for maternity wear, and trying to pick items and sizes that might work throughout the entire pregnancy, has also been difficult. And I'm still nearly four weeks off from the start of the third trimester, so who even knows how much harder things might get later on...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I'm trying not to complain too much, but I think most people who've spent any time shopping for maternity wear would agree with me that the choices out there are dire, and are often quite overpriced for what you're getting to boot. Many of you have mentioned having that exact feeling! As I explained in my first trimester shopping post, I'm already very tired of shopping for and wearing maternity clothing. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">These days, between being busy at work and feeling too tired in the evenings to do much besides watch TV and window shop online, I do find myself spending lots of time looking at jewelry and accessories, in other words, non-maternity items I can still wear. I'm desperate to feel like my old, pre-pregnancy self, and browsing for jewelry and accessories seems like one way to try and get that feeling back. I keep reminding myself not to impulsively buy anything too expensive. (The recent state of the economy, with <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/06/the-post-covid-era-nyc-rental-market.html">rent increases</a>, inflation, and the performance of the stock market, all help keep me in check, along with the prospects of impending childcare-related expenses for our little bean and my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/06/suiting-up-for-job-interviews.html">hopes for my government job search</a>, which would definitely come with a dramatic pay-cut if I were to be successful.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fashion - (TOTAL: $369.18)</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKHJI"><b>H&M MAMA Ribbed Nursing Dress, black</b></a><b> - $34.99 -</b> After spending tons of time browsing what feels like almost all the maternity wear options in the US, including bigger retailers like <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKHRN">ASOS</a>, <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKHP9">Target</a>, <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKHRr">Old Navy</a>, and <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKHRu">H&M</a>; dedicated maternity brands like <a href="https://www.seraphine.com/en-us/">Seraphine</a>, <a href="https://www.hatchcollection.com/">Hatch</a>, and <a href="https://www.kindredbravely.com/">Kindred Bravely</a>; and smaller brands like <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKHRH">Storq</a> and <a href="https://wearpact.com/women/apparel/maternity">Pact</a>, I've found there doesn't seem to be much getting around relying heavily on "fast fashion" if shopping new in this market. Though it probably is plausible to depend exclusively on shopping secondhand. There are certainly lots of options on <a href="https://www.thredup.com/maternity?department_tags=maternity">ThredUp</a>. (I imagine most customers are in maternity wear for such a relatively short period, a few months at a time, that many end up with plenty of used maternity clothing still in good enough condition to donate or resell. That's even while factoring in that much of it isn't especially good quality or durable relative to the price!) Honestly, out of all those brands, I think H&M's been the best for more consistently offering relatively non-frilly, non-ruffly, less ruched, and less peplum-y maternity wear, with more options in cotton and not just viscose or rayon. A lot of the more basic and simple H&M maternity designs I'm most interested in do tend to sell out in my size, however. This dress is 95% cotton, 5% elastane. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKHIt">H&M MAMA Cotton Dress, black</a> - $24.99 - </b>And this dress is 100% cotton. For both H&M maternity dresses this month, I find the fabric noticeably thinner than I'd expect from a comparable item in H&M's non-maternity line. These are both simple black dresses for days I need to wear business casual (or something more formal, but business casual is the best I can currently do). I picked size <b>L </b>in both based on H&M's non-maternity clothes sometimes running a little smaller than, say, J.Crew or Ann Taylor, so my typical pre-pregnancy size in H&M can be L instead of M, depending on the item. These maternity size Ls are somewhat bigger than I need right now, but I'm expecting to grow plenty more in the bust and belly in the coming weeks, so I'm pretty sure I picked the right size if the goal is to have maternity items last through the end of the pregnancy</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKHJW">AGMES Pearl Stud Earrings</a> - $163.31* - </b>(also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKHRb">here</a>)<b> </b>I mentioned having recently learned about AGMES jewelry from other stylish people <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/08/life-lately-back-from-vacation.html">a few weeks ago</a>. This is a fairly small and subtle pair of irregularly-shaped freshwater baroque pearl studs on sterling silver posts, which are a bit more interesting than my usual round pearl studs. I don't think these are quite as eye-catching as AGMES's more typical designs, but because I'm still wearing face masks in almost all indoor public settings - can't be too careful while immunocompromised by pregnancy - I still can't wear bigger or dangling earrings without getting them tangled up in my mask straps. On a separate note, am I the only one who usually expects new-to-me jewelry to be a bit bigger than it actually is before I open the package? That's solely my fault and not on any of the designers or retailers, by the way. I'm just <i>really</i> not great at judging what small objects' size measurements will translate to in-person. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://tibi.com/products/merino-wool-sweater-combo-pullover-black-multi?variant=39426845802560">Tibi Merino Wool Sweater Combo Pullover, black/multi</a> - $145.89* -</b> This is from Tibi's end-of-season sale on their Spring/Summer items. I sized up from my usual Tibi size to a <b>L</b>, and I think this top should still fit me when I get to the third trimester and the weather's cooled down. Design-wise, this is sort of a merino wool sweater in the front, and a cotton button-down in the back, both are halves of things I currently <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/03/february-2022-shopping-reflections.html">own</a> and <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/03/march-2022-shopping-reflections.html">like</a> from Tibi. </li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Indicates that price includes sales tax. </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And that's it for August! Maternity tops are a category I really haven't shopped for enough yet, though I'm most likely going to put that off for as long as possible while the weather is still too hot and humid in NYC for anything but my lightest dresses. Once I do get around to it, however, I think <a href="https://wearpact.com/women/apparel/maternity">Pact</a> has a better range of more basic maternity tees with some non-ruched options and a decent selection of neutral colors compared to many larger retailers. </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-10519549420336400602022-08-18T08:54:00.000-04:002022-08-18T08:54:16.500-04:00Another Professional Milestone Gift to Myself<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuh2I1q0FhgRx6ngDpRPs4f5zJmtpR2r4Z71gYs1m-OqCEb8FdTtu__OKG7QzdG30QpKToO9r9OdxnYJf0jRgQxjHhJil_s5pIShsL8NBM9Sjf7byL6WJYyVik26vmOKCzY7fjJ2e-81yIS0QCxvMsa74S4FMTCJu3m1N5tyXgiWTlFSNwEgimYxr9EA/s958/jennie%20kwon%20jadeite%20equil.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="958" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuh2I1q0FhgRx6ngDpRPs4f5zJmtpR2r4Z71gYs1m-OqCEb8FdTtu__OKG7QzdG30QpKToO9r9OdxnYJf0jRgQxjHhJil_s5pIShsL8NBM9Sjf7byL6WJYyVik26vmOKCzY7fjJ2e-81yIS0QCxvMsa74S4FMTCJu3m1N5tyXgiWTlFSNwEgimYxr9EA/w400-h203/jennie%20kwon%20jadeite%20equil.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The <a href="https://jenniekwondesigns.com/products/jadeite-equilibrium-ring?_pos=1&_sid=a30108dc1&_ss=r">Jennie Kwon Jadeite Equilibrium Ring</a>.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Back in <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/03/march-2022-shopping-reflections.html">March</a>, I mentioned that I thought I might get the chance to defend my first deposition as the first-chair attorney soon. I wasn't 100% sure this would happen - there were some potential complications with client preferences for more senior attorneys to do important things - but it ultimately came to pass. That's another professional milestone in the books, though one that doesn't feel quite so big or daunting as <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/02/another-gift-to-myself.html">taking a deposition</a> for the first time!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ever since paying off my substantial - mostly for law school - <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2015/12/financial-picture-part-1-going-to-law.html#more">student loans</a> last year, I like to commemorate my professional milestones by <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2021/08/that-gift-to-myself.html">buying jewelry</a> for myself. For defending my first deposition, I took a few months to decide what I wanted. I ended up choosing this <a href="https://jenniekwondesigns.com/products/jadeite-equilibrium-ring?_pos=1&_sid=a30108dc1&_ss=r">Jennie Kwon Jadeite Equilibrium Ring</a>, which I've been wearing almost every day since I received it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I wasn't initially sure such a dainty design would work for me. With super-small or dainty pieces, I sometimes worry they might not have as much of a presence, or that they might not suit me as much as something a bit bigger. It turns out I really love this piece, and it makes me curious about potentially buying more Jennie Kwon jewelry in the future, especially because I now have some interest in slowly building a collection of stacking rings for daily-ish wear. (I'm somewhat influenced in this by <i><a href="https://www.instagram.com/myjewelrydiaries/">@myjewelrydiaries</a> </i>on Instagram, she has a sizable collection of yellow gold rings that she wears in various combinations.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">One other Jennie Kwon design I find particularly intriguing is the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKpMK">Diamond Wave Band</a> (affiliate link), which I think might stack nicely with my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2019/10/a-thousand-times-yes.html">engagement ring</a> and wedding band. I also like the look of the <a href="https://jenniekwondesigns.com/products/east-west-green-sapphire-equilibrium-ring">East West Green Sapphire Equilibrium Ring</a>. I love how sapphires come in such a wide range of colors! </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-40515686406467456472022-08-15T08:19:00.000-04:002022-08-15T08:19:51.578-04:00First Trimester Maternity Clothing Shopping Reflections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIftiwjfwww5fOveB3xAE53TO5vdk5e-19qEHy8b66wInd4yK6yn2_dmPuNYXMzRTPNlcOhsKS-mkY1zdn_nS8KpI2WeBzGTVPwNIZlrUEIW8D-N9TSc0v-okTquxahadtW5E8a_z90LCEIcqRRZ_hx31LJfHVTzxxOpZDquHzIZw906ezKyyQiUaXQw/s640/first%20tri%20maternity.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIftiwjfwww5fOveB3xAE53TO5vdk5e-19qEHy8b66wInd4yK6yn2_dmPuNYXMzRTPNlcOhsKS-mkY1zdn_nS8KpI2WeBzGTVPwNIZlrUEIW8D-N9TSc0v-okTquxahadtW5E8a_z90LCEIcqRRZ_hx31LJfHVTzxxOpZDquHzIZw906ezKyyQiUaXQw/s16000/first%20tri%20maternity.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/07/june-2022-shopping-reflections.html">As promised</a>, I've finally put together my first trimester maternity wear shopping reflections, for items I ordered in April and May, before I was ready to <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/06/the-first-trimester.html">announce the pregnancy</a>! Not all these items are explicitly labeled maternity wear, actually, but for the ones not so categorized, I didn't think I'd be able to explain them without pointing to the pregnancy. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In general, I've found that my body has changed very quickly with pregnancy, much faster and just <i>more</i> in all the relevant ways and dimensions than expected. Heck, I think my bust went up a full cup size super-early in my first trimester. And now that I'm solidly in the second trimester - particularly as I get into the later weeks - the changes progress even more quickly and noticeably, and often seem to pop up suddenly. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For instance, in week 13, practically overnight, there was an undeniable bump, albeit one that was pretty small in the mornings, until I got bloated throughout the day. Around weeks 18 to 19, suddenly the bump felt huge most of the time, particularly on weekdays when I walk to and from the office. After week 21, the bump was huge all the darn time. I can only imagine that because the baby is to grow exponentially in the next 18 weeks or so, from roughly a pound at 22 weeks now to something likely more than 5.5 pounds - maybe a lot more - the physical changes will continue to escalate more quickly than I can currently imagine!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/">I recently discussed</a> how, until I got pregnant, I was worried I'd have tons of anxiety about body image and all the inevitable changes to my body from pregnancy. As it turns out, this pregnancy also seems to have rewired my brain to worry and stress much less about almost everything in life, so I haven't been too, too bothered by all this so far. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcmXnK2FDzVxlV28ptSp2jTmomODheSdNLv97jB295iWjIsPxR9AIvVMXZv-ZW6d76xrj7T8lg6L-sIexIVs1fhyZf0LCmv2h6XPiXdgY5tRHZ4O37ws7XVNqjGma0om2rBKjTm8ju78QLnh7zS0v9UrAQzGkZW6--p09ysw5vq6o0bYfMcL-PftZmA/s566/first%20tri%20maternity%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcmXnK2FDzVxlV28ptSp2jTmomODheSdNLv97jB295iWjIsPxR9AIvVMXZv-ZW6d76xrj7T8lg6L-sIexIVs1fhyZf0LCmv2h6XPiXdgY5tRHZ4O37ws7XVNqjGma0om2rBKjTm8ju78QLnh7zS0v9UrAQzGkZW6--p09ysw5vq6o0bYfMcL-PftZmA/s16000/first%20tri%20maternity%202.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">But I must admit I find shopping for maternity wear extremely annoying. Part of it is I'm frustrated that I've proven not good at predicting all the body shape changes I need to take into account when buying <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/07/june-2022-shopping-reflections.html">non-maternity clothes with more relaxed fits</a> which I thought would work for my pregnant body. Also, it certainly caused consternation that many of my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/08/pregnancy-and-body-image.html">pre-pregnancy predictions</a> for how long I'd be able to wear my looser-fitting clothing from my existing wardrobe turned out quite wrong. I didn't expect that basically my entire collection of business casual dresses, especially those <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2018/10/september-2018-shopping-reflections.html">secondhand</a> J.Crew Presentation <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2017/02/february-shopping-reflections.html">dresses</a> - which are not too snug in the bust and have lots of room otherwise - would be uncomfortable and essentially unwearable by week 7 or so. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, I find that the value for money and variety of designs available in the maternity wear market, at least for US-based customers, is significantly worse than I'm used to as a customer. I guess I've become super-picky about my clothing throughout my years of keeping this blog and spending lots of time thinking about - and sometimes overthinking - my shopping and what works for my lifestyle and my personal style preferences!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's so much viscose and rayon jersey in maternity wear, materials I'm definitely not fully opposed to, but that I don't prefer because of a history of unpredictable issues with durability, unexpected shrinkage, or other trouble when machine-washed. (Keep in mind I'm pretty careful with my laundry, washing only in cold water and generally in a mesh bag to protect the clothes; I also never put viscose or rayon items in the dryer either, I always air-dry.) Many of those viscose or rayon maternity items also feel quite overpriced - especially from Hatch Maternity, ouch - even if I try to shop on sale. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Also, I find many common design elements in maternity wear... dispiriting. (I know, I know, I'm starting to sound whiny, and maybe a bit unreasonable.) I generally hate ruching and peplums. I don't like empire waists on tops (though I'm okay with them on dresses). I'm not fond of super-stretchy items that will feel like they're stretching tightly over the curves of the body. The prints that are available tend to be quite dull and generic, particularly the florals. The colors available can be limited and sometimes... odd. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">All in all, even though I was initially excited to start shopping for maternity wear, I'm already quite over it despite being barely halfway through this pregnancy. But based on how big my bump and bust already are, I almost certainly won't be able to avoid relying heavily on maternity wear in the third trimester. Mainly because of my still-expanding bustline, I already need to "size up" in many maternity wear brands and I'm only in week 22 of pregnancy...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbZ5buWbidq18bmCuWIieYxYmiBSX1NYtXJUCTvCF0j_m25-mVkNXv6HRLHAFJ4IuIFrg119uQRBRZuDCPaB6m5v5Njij1RGFp1qxDGzxQ0kGMVDKbPS8QhYiA9w7cnJVl2aWMP-IOmYX8CkBhse3RZJ-2vbdu39tEOb1YmDr4KvzeelJdyF6MAipkg/s622/first%20tri%20maternity%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbZ5buWbidq18bmCuWIieYxYmiBSX1NYtXJUCTvCF0j_m25-mVkNXv6HRLHAFJ4IuIFrg119uQRBRZuDCPaB6m5v5Njij1RGFp1qxDGzxQ0kGMVDKbPS8QhYiA9w7cnJVl2aWMP-IOmYX8CkBhse3RZJ-2vbdu39tEOb1YmDr4KvzeelJdyF6MAipkg/s16000/first%20tri%20maternity%203.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fashion - (TOTAL: $1036.22) </b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ915">J.Crew No. 2 Wool Pencil Skirt</a>, heather coal (sized up) - $93.24 - </b>These first two purchases were items I already owned, but sized up, which would have been difficult to explain without referencing the pregnancy. It turns out I timed this order poorly because I only wore this skirt for two first-round job interviews occurring by week 7 of pregnancy, when I could still fit in my old pencil skirts. Though I probably did appreciate having the extra room with the larger skirt due to bloating, but the look may have been a bit dowdy because there was more extra fabric in the hips than I needed at the time. No further interviews have been scheduled since, and if they happen now, this one size up pencil skirt definitely won't fit anymore. I'm not actually sure what I'd even wear to a business formal job interview right now, or anytime later in pregnancy. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://tibi.com/collections/tibi-online-sample-sale/products/miles-shirting-scallop-sleeve-upcycle-boyfriend-sheeve-upcycle-boyfriend-sh?variant=39309066928192">Tibi Miles Scallop Sleeve Boyfriend Shirt, chambray blue</a> (sized up) - $98.00 -</b> I already had this <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/03/march-2022-shopping-reflections.html">in white</a>, and decided to go one size up in blue. This shirt is intentionally oversized, but because my bustline expanded so quickly, the bigger size suits me better now for getting the "chill" look. Even with Amy Smilovic's ample style sense and creativity, there's not too much even she can do with maternity style, see her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18237553294022256/">Instagram story highlight about</a> that. Her point about wanting to still feel like one's "old self" during pregnancy really resonates with me, which makes it a pity that the vast majority of my pre-pregnancy wardrobe became inaccessible by the end of my first trimester. One of her main styling ideas for pregnancy is intentionally oversized tops one would have liked pre-pregnancy, and relaxed button-down shirts definitely work that way for me. I typically wear them over the Elizabeth Suzann Bel skirt (with waistband pulled up above my bump). For now though, with the high temperature each day in NYC staying well above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, it's a little too hot and humid for long sleeves, even if the cotton material is light and I roll the sleeves up. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKbp1">Tibi Classic Shirting Oversized Shirt, white</a> (sized up) - $112.95 - </b>(also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKbqe">in blue</a>) This was a lucky find on The RealReal; it was new with tags, and I'm 99% sure it's the <a href="https://tibi.com/products/classic-shirting-oversized-shirt">current season item</a> on <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/02/still-totally-obsessed-with-tibi.html">my long-term wishlist</a>! Hopefully my bump won't be too big for these shirts once the weather cools down, which might not happen until I start my third trimester... </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.hillhousehome.com/collections/the-nap-dress-shop/products/the-ellie-nap-dress-moody-floral-poplin?variant=39792154837035">Hill House Ellie Nap Dress, pond floral</a> - $163.31* - </b>These next two dresses are not labeled maternity, but are well-known for generally fitting throughout pregnancy due to stretchy smocking and straps, and spacious skirts. I didn't think I'd be able to explain these without pointing to the pregnancy because I'd <i>never </i>wear these normally, they're just not my pre-pregnancy style. I generally dislike smocking, I feel it'd emphasize my curves way too much because I'm so busty; plus the very ruffled straps would draw more attention to my bust and shoulders and could look unbalanced to the rest of my body. But now that my body shape has changed so much and my belly will eventually be bigger around than my chest and shoulders, I'm more open to this silhouette. The smocking also feels like a good way to accommodate my expanding bust. This pond floral print would be too twee for me pre-pregnancy, but I like the color combination, and when I ordered these dresses I felt like leaning in to wearing something very different from my pre-pregnancy usual. (Light summer dresses are very much "old me," even if the print and overall design are not.) </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Hill House Ellie Nap Dress, blue mosaic (sold out) - $163.31* - </b>Even with pregnancy and my expanded bustline, I found the common online advice to size down at least one size (up to two if you're smaller in the chest) to work for me. I tried my "true" size <b>M </b>around week 9 of pregnancy and found that <b>S</b> worked better. Now, though, in week 22 I'm starting to wonder if my chest might expand enough that maybe I shouldn't have sized down after all. It seems the one exception to the almost universal size down advice is if you're really busty (see this <a href="https://simplyelsa.com/post/">other blogger's review</a>) because then the smocked bodice might not be long enough to cover to the top of your rib cage when stretched. But only the rare customer would have this issue, keeping in mind I was already extremely busty and seem to be growing more in that area than the typical pregnant person. Also, while I'm personally satisfied with these dresses as someone with an... extremely robust shopping budget - just see that gigantic total spend for my first trimester, ooph! - I don't think there's any getting around how the value for money on these Hill House dresses might not work for many. The cotton poplin is quite thin, though I don't find it see-through with this white-backed print, and the prints feel somewhat cheaply printed on. (It's hard to articulate exactly what I mean, but the prints don't have the visual dimension of, say, my printed cotton Heinui dress.) </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Seraphine Black Super Stretchy Maternity Skirt (sold out) - $34.67* - </b>This is a standard stretchy jersey maternity pencil skirt, something one can find from many other brands (for instance, at <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKeuu">ASOS</a> or <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKevB">Storq</a>). Seraphine recommends buying your pre-pregnancy size, though I find that - maybe because it's a UK-based brand - each of their sizes runs slightly smaller than I'd expect from, say, J.Crew or Ann Taylor if using that guideline. Seraphine ships very quickly to US customers, but returns need to go back to the UK and take an extremely long time to be delivered and fully processed. (Seraphine has a few US-based stores, mostly in NYC, but online orders can't be returned in-store.) 20% off sales are fairly frequent, and I've gotten that discount on all my orders from them thus far. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.seraphine.com/en-us/black-maternity-nursing-dress-peachey-ss/">Seraphine Maternity Nursing Dress, black</a> - $66.67* -</b> All three of these dresses are essentially the same design in stretchy rayon jersey, with differences in color and sleeve length. I bought this one first, in <b>US size 10</b>, when I was around pregnancy week 7 and thought it might be a little big. But it turns out the other two dresses in <b>US size 8 </b>were starting to feel a bit more snug than I like by week 17 or so. I also ordered several more structured or formal workwear-looking Seraphine dresses to try, but just didn't like any of those. I think those designs would better suit someone at least a bit taller than me. I've washed this dress four or five times since receiving it - always in cold water with a mesh bag and air-drying after - and it's already showing some pilling in the spots nearest my hips, which is odd. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.seraphine.com/en-us/burgundy-maternity-nursing-dress-peachy-long-sleeve/">Seraphine Maternity Nursing Dress, purple</a> - $71.47* -</b> Due to the summer weather, I haven't worn these two long-sleeve dresses as much as the one with short sleeves. I generally consider rayon breathable enough for summer, but one pregnancy side effect seems to be that I'm even less tolerant of heat and humidity than before. Seraphine officially says this color is "burgundy," but it reads more purple to my eyes. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.seraphine.com/en-us/navy-white-polka-dot-3-4-length-sleeve-maternity-nursing-dress/">Seraphine Maternity Nursing Dress, navy dot</a> - $71.47* -</b> And another one of the same dress, this time with polka dots. Seraphine does this dress in so many colors, and I think it works well as a comfortable maternity business casual dress. I could see myself potentially buying another one or two and relying solely on them for my more formal work occasions until the end of pregnancy, layering my <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKeCG">J.Crew Juliette sweater blazers</a> (worn <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2018/09/review-jcrew-juliette-collarless.html">here</a>) on top as a jacket when the weather cools down. The combination of these dresses plus those sweater blazers aren't adequate for true business formal, but with all the ongoing changes to my body, there's simply no way to wear anything that's actually business formal. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ94h">Madewell Maternity Over-the-Belly Jeans, danny wash </a>- $161.13* - </b>(also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ94l">here</a>, <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ94o">here</a>, or <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ94m">here</a>) By week 9 of pregnancy, I <i>definitely</i> needed maternity jeans or pants. Most reviewers say they sized down one from their pre-pregnancy denim size, but I found that didn't work for me and I took my usual size instead. I guess I've discovered I really don't like for super-stretchy clothes to need to stretch a lot and fit too closely to my body, a preference that's really quite incompatible with how many maternity clothes are designed and intended to fit. No petite or "short" inseam sizes are available for these jeans, and they're a little long for my short-for-5'3'' legs, but I don't think they desperately need a hemming on me either. Around week 9 or 10 o, my bump was not yet large enough to be fully comfortable under the over-the-bump waist panel - the upper edges started to cut in to my sides after a full day of wear. But by week 13 or 14, these jeans fit comfortably for a full day of walking around. Maybe a <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKeD2">maternity jean with stretchy side panels</a> would have suited first trimester better, but I didn't think those side panels looked comfortable, and by now the over-the-belly waistband definitely makes sense. </li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Indicates that price includes sales tax and/or shipping charges. </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh boy, that is a lot, both in terms of total number of items and total spend, especially given that this was not my only shopping in <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/search/label/monthly%20budget">April</a> and <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/05/may-2022-shopping-reflections.html">May</a>! My hope is that this takes care of almost all my business wear needs through the end of pregnancy, save for maybe another one of those Seraphine jersey dresses and a few pairs of maternity tights for fall/winter. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm hoping the Madewell jeans are the only pair of maternity jeans or pants I'll need, since I far prefer the fit of dresses and skirts. I probably will need some actual maternity tops too, but hopefully not too many. I should at least be done with summer clothing now, since I mostly rely on those Heinui and Hill House dresses, and also my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2020/04/march-2020-shopping-reflections.html">Elizabeth Suzann Harlow dress</a> and <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2019/06/june-2019-shopping-reflections.html">Georgia dress</a>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As always, I don't list sleepwear, activewear, swimwear, underthings, and socks in these posts, categories of items I find boring and am unlikely to overbuy because they're so utilitarian-only for me. I did order a few maternity swimsuits to try before my recent vacation, and my favorite was the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ94B">Motherhood Beach Bump Bikini</a> (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ94E">here</a> or <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ96l">here</a>; cheapest but mostly final sale <a href="https://www.motherhood.com/search?q=beach+bump">here</a>), though I would have done better mixing and matching top and bottom sizes rather than just getting a size <b>M </b>set. I wore that and some non-maternity bra-sized bikinis in Turks and Caicos. Most other maternity swimwear I tried on was simply not large enough in the bust for me, so that's a product category that generally just doesn't work for my body, I think. </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-1117433622776325142022-08-11T08:58:00.000-04:002022-08-11T08:58:05.922-04:00Life Lately: Back From Vacation<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0e2S0rVCScu1naGUU0s5IIhD8QNJLrjNRU_6Rfbaa8Sf8OQvf7ikChSKmWspdLzpLbAE4zA_z572wJDIeTrkrJN9MeeLB715g-yXzopPgfGjJwM3aMn4VpvWa9kYrJXk1Pt47pJ9W5wRB-kRACTLzmgvzvrPSVy6N1yxC5vbel613vW8r3iDGGBidJw/s4032/20220804_075752.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0e2S0rVCScu1naGUU0s5IIhD8QNJLrjNRU_6Rfbaa8Sf8OQvf7ikChSKmWspdLzpLbAE4zA_z572wJDIeTrkrJN9MeeLB715g-yXzopPgfGjJwM3aMn4VpvWa9kYrJXk1Pt47pJ9W5wRB-kRACTLzmgvzvrPSVy6N1yxC5vbel613vW8r3iDGGBidJw/w640-h480/20220804_075752.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">One of K's photos from beautiful Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">I just got back from a lovely and rejuvenating vacation or "babymoon" to Turks and Caicos, and am now settling back in for several more extremely busy months at the office before our little bean arrives. Today's post is a grab bag of a few smaller, non-pregnancy related things that have caught my attention recently. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I greatly enjoyed this <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/a40708761/this-is-how-you-keep-a-fashion-brand-alive-for-25-years/"><i>Harper's Bazaar </i>article about the history of Tibi</a> as the brand reaches its 25 year anniversary. There won't be too much new information here if you've followed the company and its founder Amy Smilovic for a while, but I still find the story of Smilovic's complete reinvention of the brand around 2011 fascinating. It's particularly interesting because Tibi was first founded with its original more preppy, print-focused aesthetic - so different from the brand's approach to design today - in 2008, around when I first became interested in fashion (though I didn't have any sense of my personal style and just read about what was popular in fashion magazines and other blogs). Many brands I remember from back then are no longer around.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of things I first came across in part because of my interest in Tibi, here's another jewelry brand somewhat in the same design vein as Smilovic favorite <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKdxH">CompletedWorks</a> (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKdw5">here</a>, <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKdyK">here</a>, <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKdyQ">here</a>, and <a href="https://completedworks.com/">here</a>): I recently learned about <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKdw1">Agmes Jewelry</a> (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKdx1">here</a>, <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bKdx6">here</a>, and <a href="https://agmesnyc.com/">here</a>) from fellow Tibi fan <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thecreativeclassicist/" style="font-style: italic;">TheCreativeClassicist</a>, who in turn discovered it in part because of new J.Crew head of women's design, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/olympiamarie/?hl=en">Olympia Gayot</a>. Agmes is somewhat similar to CompletedWorks in that both favor very contemporary, more sculptural designs. Some Agmes pieces I like can be found in the widget below: </p><div data-sc-widget-id="P-62f1398888f6695423d9e2e4"></div><script async="" src="//widgets.shopstyle.com/shopstyle-widget-snippet.js"></script><p style="text-align: justify;">These days, I find I have many ideas for longer-form posts, but not much time and energy to write them because of my long hours at work. Among other things, I haven't really written about personal finance or money for a long time. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">One big idea is for a post about K and I's experience with negotiating and signing a fairly straightforward and simple prenup, which then became a postnup - a distinction that generally doesn't make a significant difference under New York law - due to getting time-crunched in the weeks before <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2021/10/our-courthouse-wedding.html">our courthouse wedding</a> last year. Throughout the process, I did learn that <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2017/10/sunday-reading-grab-bag.html">some of</a> my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2018/02/sunday-reading-messy-intersection-of.html">original assumptions</a> about prenups were a bit incorrect. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In general, I feel like many people around my age in the US have a fairly accurate sense about how prenuptial agreements generally work and why both people entering a marriage might want one. For instance, when the topic comes up on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE/">r/MoneyDiariesActive</a> (e.g. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE/comments/wi3q6l/lets_talk_prenups/">here</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE/comments/mm9n00/prenups_do_you_have_one_do_you_want_one_have_you/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf">here</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE/comments/tevhk0/normalize_the_prenup/">here</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE/comments/p8it7f/thoughts_on_prenups/">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE/comments/w8slsf/prenup_how_much_did_you_spend_on_it/">here</a>), most replies are in the zone of reasonably correct. There aren't too many people whose views are completely off-base. People do sometimes forget that because prenuptial (or postnuptial) agreements are contracts, they can be negotiated and customized to a potentially <i>very</i> large extent by the parties. Thus, relatively few things are inherently true about all such agreements. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Entertainment-wise: This year's Formula 1 racing season has been incredibly dramatic, but often not for happenings on the racetrack. K and I continue to derive tons of amusement from following the sport. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also recently took advantage of a few months of free Apple TV+ through one of K's other subscriptions, and it's been fun watching some of their shows, in particular <i>Foundation</i> and <i>For All Mankind</i>. The writing quality on <i>For All Mankind</i> can be uneven - it's an alternate history about the space race with very long time-jumps between seasons, which can cause some issues with character development - but we've still been really enjoying it so far. </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-81663884022435880372022-08-08T08:40:00.000-04:002022-08-08T08:40:38.002-04:00Skincare Reviews: Some Mineral Sunscreens for Body<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOz_3qkjHKZ6PTWnZ5CNty21ud5FZA7wLN8P_HK_eDVFWAS3rHaYdM2WfSvKg074Xvd4tm6sDdmZUxnqE3b0BD7JDSwVIGNAazG_BBl3wF4UGc48xmZU6bAt4Xuz9RUqAARdxiZMR3MGBeLsqdvzIm8Sg910RqYlZRgaUgi7M5RxtcvbK7aFucpaHew/s640/mineral%20sunscreen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOz_3qkjHKZ6PTWnZ5CNty21ud5FZA7wLN8P_HK_eDVFWAS3rHaYdM2WfSvKg074Xvd4tm6sDdmZUxnqE3b0BD7JDSwVIGNAazG_BBl3wF4UGc48xmZU6bAt4Xuz9RUqAARdxiZMR3MGBeLsqdvzIm8Sg910RqYlZRgaUgi7M5RxtcvbK7aFucpaHew/s16000/mineral%20sunscreen.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">During our recent Turks and Caicos vacation - in which K and I spent basically all our daylight hours relaxing on the beach, with several dips in the ocean throughout - I tested out three different mineral body sunscreens. In trying to research "reef safe" and mineral sunscreens before our trip, I found myself quite overwhelmed because there were <i>so</i> many brands out there, many of them smaller or less well-known than what's typically available at many US drug stores. So I figured I might as well review the ones I tried, in case that information could possibly help anyone else!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Please note that my reviews here are subjective and not particularly scientific. I'm basically going off my personal observations from using each of these sunscreens for the equivalent of around two full beach days each, ~10:30 AM to 6:30 PM, switching between them as I ran out of one or the other. (Many mineral sunscreens aren't available in super-large packages like the drugstore brands.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Each day, I reapplied sunscreen roughly once every 2 hours, or a bit sooner if I thought more sunscreen than expected had washed off during one of my quick ocean swims. So I was generally applying around 4 times a day, and maybe a fifth time on my shoulders and arms, spots that felt like they got more sun exposure. Additionally, I wore a straw sun hat - albeit one that'd gotten a bit floppy and squished from somewhat careless packing - and also tried my best to stay as covered as I could under a beach umbrella whenever I wasn't in the water. That beach umbrella definitely wasn't perfect protection because of how the angle of the shade changes drastically throughout the day with the sun's movement. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I may not have picked the best or most popular brands of mineral body sunscreen available in the US. I didn't have much time or mental energy for research before our trip because I'd been so busy at the office. Every time I searched Google for the "best" mineral or reef safe sunscreens, I felt like many websites had drastically different lists of recommended brands or products. Plus, I was nervous about buying any fancier, Sephora or department store-priced mineral sunscreens if I didn't have someone I personally know make the product recommendation. Thus, I ended up sticking with things sold at Target, which maybe limits one's options too much in this product category. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">My biggest worry was that, with many mineral sunscreens, one often sees at least one or two extremely negative reviews. Think something like "this sunscreen doesn't work at all, we still got badly burned wearing it" or "it was impossible to blend into my skin" or "this had a really off texture that made it difficult to use." If any of the sunscreens I picked turned out to have issues like that, it would have been a disaster with the kind of high sun exposure beach vacation I was planning. Happily, there weren't any big problems, all the sunscreens I tried were reasonably functional. All three also had no noticeable scent or fragrance. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Though one warning, I generally found these mineral sunscreens were not very waterproof, with sometimes very visible signs that they were washing off, potentially after an extremely brief swim. I think this may be a common issue with many or even most products in this category, compared to many chemical sunscreens? </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8y3">Pipette Mineral Sunscreen, SPF 50</a> - ~$12.00/4 oz (~$3/1 oz) - </b><span style="text-align: left;">(also </span><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8AG" style="text-align: left;">here</a><span style="text-align: left;">, </span><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8AJ" style="text-align: left;">here</a><span style="text-align: left;">, or </span><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8AL" style="text-align: left;">here</a><span style="text-align: left;">) This Pipette sunscreen was the easiest to apply out of the three I tried, in that it absorbed the most quickly and was the least prone to leaving a noticeable white cast. (Though especially when I applied in a hurry on the beach with sand and dried salt water still on my skin, all these sunscreens could leave a white cast. I think that's expected with mineral sunscreens under those conditions, it's likely the inherent nature of the product.) But this was also the sunscreen that seemed the least water-resistant of the three, and the most prone to washing off while swimming. I'd notice it was visibly starting to come off my skin almost immediately once I submerged myself in the water. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Nonetheless, because this Pipette sunscreen felt like the one that applied most quickly and easily, with the least tendency to leave a white cast, I think I'd still pick this if I wasn't doing any water sports and also didn't expect to sweat especially much. Of the three sunscreens, this one also had the runniest texture and was the only one that could separate a bit in the tube: I needed to shake it well before using the first time. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8zf"><b>Native Unscented Mineral Sunscreen, SPF 30 </b></a><b>- $19.99/5 oz (~$4/1 oz) - </b>Out of the three body sunscreens I purchased for the trip, this product was very middle of the road. It was the next easiest to apply, though didn't absorb quite as quickly or easily as the Pipette. The texture is a more liquid lotion compared to the Blue Lizard, which seems like it should absorb quickly. Though in practice, it needed a more careful and slower application than the Pipette to avoid a visible white cast. (And again, for beach applications, there was no avoiding some white cast.) I found this one to be the next most prone to washing off in water, something that was also visible on the skin after I'd been in the ocean for a while, though it wasn't anywhere near as bad or as quickly as with the Pipette. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">With the relatively elevated price, not having the smoothest application, and the poor water resistance, I think it's hard to make a case for preferring this sunscreen over the other two. Though I wouldn't actually call it a "bad" product either. I totally didn't mind using it until it ran out, it just can't quite compete with the strengths of the other two I had on hand. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8A0"><b>Blue Lizard Sensitive Mineral Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50</b></a> <b>- ~$14.99/5oz (~$3/1 oz) - </b>(also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8AU">here</a>) This one felt like the slowest to apply and absorb into the skin, and I don't think I could avoid some visible white cast even when I first applied it more carefully and methodically in the hotel room in the mornings. I would ultimately say the Blue Lizard was only marginally more difficult to work with than the Native sunscreen under the same conditions, and both were tough to work with while on the beach with sand stuck to my skin. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It might seem like the application challenges should be disqualifying for my recommending this product at all, but this body sunscreen was also the only one of the three that seemed to make a real case for water resistance. I would notice a bit more of the visible white mineral substance on my skin after getting in the sea with the Blue Lizard sunscreen on, but it seemed to stay put instead of slipping off, like I noticed promptly and seemingly quite seriously with the Pipette and less and more slowly with the Native sunscreen. Heck, the Blue Lizard sunscreen was arguably so water resistant that I noticed it was actually a bit difficult to wash off the noticeable white mineral substance in the shower at night after our beach days. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Based mainly on water resistance, this is the mineral body sunscreen I'd pick if I was spending at least a few hours swimming or if I expected a ton of sweating over a long day outdoors. The price is also quite good.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And this isn't really on-topic in a post about body sunscreen, but I also brought my <b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8Bp">Dr. Jart</a> <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8Bp">Every Sun Day Mineral Sunscreen</a><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8Bp">, SPF 50+</a> </b>(also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJ8Ab">here</a>)<b> </b>on my vacation to test it out in more extreme sun conditions than I <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/05/skincare-review-dr-jart-every-sun-day.html">usually encounter</a> in NYC. Both K and I used it on our faces, applying 3 to 4 times a day during our beach days, and we found the Dr. Jart to be effective and pleasant to use, with what seemed to be reasonably good water resistance. I don't think I particularly noticed signs of this washing off when we got in the ocean, though we also didn't dunk our faces in the water. (This sunscreen sometimes left a bit of a noticeable white cast when I reapplied without a mirror on the beach with some sand and dried salt water on my face, unlike when I apply it at home in the mornings. But that's probably to be expected.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">If you have any favorite mineral sunscreens for face or body, including at fancier price points, I'm definitely interested in hearing about them! This is a segment of the skincare market I don't know well, so I'm always eager to have more recommendations for products to try. </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-82271506394838361422022-08-05T16:15:00.001-04:002022-08-05T16:15:29.993-04:00Pregnancy and Body Image<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Wp77NJ5iJiUFhw8oV6YaCXhomK17IMEIyDi7TFo6wkXIiiP69d7vLsmVyHJsYNxr25dANjx8GCbsdL3CidrtQlQFZdef_fD6KA_EeJSO2WTC97FM5EHPXNHQyIRQ-_knyeGP3wcYPK3Ox6P_Zrme1boE17dTNNiVpw3wJnyKMXN_YqYvB0OagwFM-g/s1137/vanessa-7VqCnFPH1XY-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Wp77NJ5iJiUFhw8oV6YaCXhomK17IMEIyDi7TFo6wkXIiiP69d7vLsmVyHJsYNxr25dANjx8GCbsdL3CidrtQlQFZdef_fD6KA_EeJSO2WTC97FM5EHPXNHQyIRQ-_knyeGP3wcYPK3Ox6P_Zrme1boE17dTNNiVpw3wJnyKMXN_YqYvB0OagwFM-g/w360-h640/vanessa-7VqCnFPH1XY-unsplash.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/7VqCnFPH1XY"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">via Unsplash</span></i></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Before I got pregnant, I was worried I'd constantly be extremely anxious about all kinds of details, including but not limited to the health of the baby; my health; everything I needed to do to get ready for baby's arrival; starting to plan out future childcare for after my parental leave; money and the many expenses associated with raising a child; how to parent and take care of an infant, etc. etc. In reality, "pregnancy brain" has, for me, seemed to come with a pervasive sense of calm. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">My mind feels newly hard-wired to not worry excessively about much of anything, really, particularly things that aren't immediate concerns or that aren't meaningfully in my control. Among other things, I've faced our recent busy period at the office with minimal extra stress or anxiety, I've become really good at taking it all a day at a time and being almost absurdly zen. That's quite out of character for me! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm admittedly noticeably below average when it comes to Type-A personality tendencies relative to my typical law school classmate, and to most other attorneys who started their careers in biglaw. But historically, I still tend to get highly anxious about almost all of the many super-stressful things that come up in litigation practice and my work.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Please note that, as the title suggests, today's blog post is all about body image and will also mention some things to do with weight-related numbers and pregnancy symptoms. Along with that comes the usual important disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional, so please keep that in mind whenever I discuss health-related details. But I am guided by the advice of the team at my OB/GYN's office.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the smaller topics which I feared I'd be highly anxious about throughout pregnancy - relative to the legion of other things that could also be on my mind - was body image, and the changes my body would inevitably go through. Longtime readers may recall I have some insecurities and hang-ups about certain <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2015/05/camera-shy.html">things to do</a> with my body shape and physical appearance, in particular <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2018/05/the-shape-of-my-discontent.html">my chest measurement</a>. <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2021/07/pandemic-era-health-and-fitness-changes.html">Body weight</a> can also be a sore spot at times, and my acne situation has almost never been particularly good throughout my entire adult life, despite <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2017/06/the-cost-of-course-of-dermatologist.html">longtime treatment</a> with plenty of fairly strong <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/search/label/skincare">prescription topicals</a>. Pregnancy was not expected to help with... any of that, really. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">My bust measurement definitely started expanding quite early on, I'd say by <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/07/june-2022-shopping-reflections.html">almost a full cup</a> size as early as week 7 and a bit more since then. With all the bloating, I also needed maternity pants very early, by week 9 or so (and I also needed to stick to my more relaxed-fit jeans for comfort reasons since week 6, shortly after I found out I was pregnant). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Before pregnancy, I also thought I'd still be comfortable in some of my more relaxed-fit business casual clothes - <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2017/02/february-shopping-reflections.html">such as</a> those <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2018/10/september-2018-shopping-reflections.html">J.Crew Presentation</a> dresses, or my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2021/07/july-2021-shopping-reflections.html">Heinui Noe dress</a> - throughout most of the first trimester at least, since those items had some space in the bust and a lot of room in the waist. But I was sized out of the lion's share of my old wardrobe much more quickly than I expected. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Given my long history of bust-related body insecurities, I would have thought I'd become really preoccupied by how quickly that measurement has expanded, especially if I don't know if some of the changes might stick around after pregnancy. But I find that I just... haven't been worrying about it at all, my brain just won't go in that direction. Not sure if that will change later on, but we'll take it a day at a time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My first trimester weight gain also felt <i>extremely</i> fast - 10 pounds by week 12 - probably exceeding most predictions for how quickly it should generally go that early on in pregnancy, given my starting weight. Though I don't think it's particularly standard for many OB/GYNs these days to raise weight gain as a potential problem or issue to keep an eye on unless the trend persists for longer, and so my provider also didn't bring it up with me at the time. (And thank goodness for that, as I've since found that pregnancy weight gain definitely doesn't feel directly correlated to anything in my control, whether food or exercise. So being given a doctor's instructions about weight could be incredibly stressful!) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The weight gain trend leveled off very suddenly in the second trimester even though I was still eating normally, so I'm now more on track with standard projections in that area for the pregnancy as a whole. I think some general guidelines say there's often not much weight gain in the first trimester, and then one can expect up to a pound a week in the second and third trimesters for someone in my starting weight range, but that's not quite my experience, or even the experience of many pregnant people? It's just not been linear at all for me.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I've actually been surprised to find I also haven't really worried much about my pregnancy weight. I've been very lucky to have relatively little nausea and food aversions, enough that I've never thrown up and that I've pretty much been able to eat like I used to, except for newly following some of the US government guidelines on <a href="https://www.foodsafety.gov/people-at-risk/pregnant-women">food safety for pregnant persons</a>. Under those circumstances, I'm not sure there's anything to worry about on the weight front unless and until I receive instructions from my OB/GYN about it. I know there could be diet management-requiring conditions that come up later, which wouldn't really be in my control (I'm quite nervous about the gestational diabetes test at 24 weeks!), but we'll also worry about that when the time comes, if it's needed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One somewhat unexpected thing is that I've found shopping for maternity clothes to be more annoying than expected. There's really not a lot out there in the US market for people who sometimes need to dress in more formal clothing at work during their pregnancy. Seraphine's one of the only brands I've come across with a decent selection of <a href="https://www.seraphine.com/en-us/maternity-clothes/maternity-work-wear/">maternity workwear</a> that might kind of suit my needs, though the value for money also isn't quite what I'm used to from my pre-pregnancy shopping. It's also looking like my bust size may end up causing significantly more issues with the fit of maternity wear items than I expected. Many items I've tried on already strain to fit in that area and I'm only partway through the second trimester! </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-15935881284265933992022-07-27T10:25:00.000-04:002022-07-27T10:25:13.283-04:00July 2022 Shopping Reflections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBM7IONENFXOsQtFjup1aPxc82cpCIELdA9Rxtwgo-A2O24UuP02ypmUmMx3XA5s1L4NLaWxIOctr_TrT2BJT1mhttjt68TK9Cs_fXWBV5QL1qRTYpAIqyk_ZR-TWbMNSiFDkPESm5A6zqcjmkQz96mgBD49I_vJY7W_i9EZ1cVDy8rxYi5D9i5zpaFw/s640/july%20shopping.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBM7IONENFXOsQtFjup1aPxc82cpCIELdA9Rxtwgo-A2O24UuP02ypmUmMx3XA5s1L4NLaWxIOctr_TrT2BJT1mhttjt68TK9Cs_fXWBV5QL1qRTYpAIqyk_ZR-TWbMNSiFDkPESm5A6zqcjmkQz96mgBD49I_vJY7W_i9EZ1cVDy8rxYi5D9i5zpaFw/s16000/july%20shopping.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Thanks to my recent particularly intense busy period at the office, I'm way behind on writing that post I promised about my first trimester "items explicitly labeled as maternity wear" shopping. Hopefully I'll be able to get to it soon. In the meantime, here's my July 2022 shopping reflections post, now including both maternity wear and "regular" wardrobe purchases. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">K and I are headed off on a beach vacation - I guess one could call it a "babymoon," given the timing - to Turks and Caicos very soon! I absolutely can't wait. After all my long hours at the office this year and all the business travel, I was desperately in need of a chill vacation. We don't plan to do very much at all besides sit on the beach and relax, and that will be amazing. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fashion - (Total: $235.25) </b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDr1">Old Navy Maternity Rollover-Waist Linen-Blend Shorts, flax</a> - $25.99 - </b>Although I didn't really have the beginnings of a noticeable baby bump until around week 13 of pregnancy, I did have so much bloating on and off before then that I haven't really fit into non-maternity pants since week 9. And between weeks 6 and 9, I only felt comfortable in my most relaxed-fit jeans, mostly the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDuX">Tibi Brancusi</a> (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDuV">here</a>). These shorts are primarily for my upcoming beach vacation, as I don't normally spend much time wearing anything but dresses in the summer. (While my office is still not back to its original business casual dress code, shorts would definitely be a bridge too far!) I liked these linen-blend shorts better than another pair of <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDu6">Old Navy maternity shorts</a> I also tried on, these are a bit lighter in material and have a less bulky rollover waistband. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDrU">Longchamp Le Pliage Filet Bag</a>, white - $119.76* - </b>(also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDrZ">here</a> and <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDp8">here</a>) This was admittedly a highly impulsive purchase, inspired in large part by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CfbOoaiP5ro/">some</a> of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfbtl_DhjaM/"><i>Lumiere d'Helen's</i></a> Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfl21I_BCCb/">posts</a>. I think it'd be reasonable to consider this a ridiculous price for a bag comprised almost entirely of cotton string, but I'm really enjoying carrying it so far, it's so light and is a fun look for summer. At present, I mainly use this for groceries or as a second bag - in addition to my recently-purchased <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDvE">Madewell woven leather Transport tote</a> (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDvJ">here</a>) - while I'm commuting to or from work. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDsa">J.Crew Cotton Voile Ruffle Beach Dress</a>, navy - $44.75 - </b>My bump's now big enough to pull up the hem on my <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2015/03/march-shopping-reflections.html">old swimsuit cover-up</a> from J.Crew, so I was in the market for a new one. This "beach dress" definitely seemed relaxed-fit enough that it should work for pregnancy, even if it's not labeled maternity wear. I liked both of these colors, so I decided to get both since we'll be spending a full week in Turks and Caicos, and I plan to be at the beach or pool most of that time. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDsa">J.Crew Cotton Voile Ruffle Beach Dress</a>, vivid flame - $44.75 - </b>This beach dress runs extremely large, by the way. Pre-pregnancy, I was a true size M or 8 or 10 in most J.Crew tops and dresses, and the size S/M in this is huge on my current body! Part of it is my being only 5'3'', I guess, this item is definitely designed for someone taller - as are most regular-sizing clothes ever, admittedly - so it's maxi-length on me. The cotton voile is on the very light and arguably flimsy side of what one might expect, I don't think this would be suitable for most people to wear anywhere outside of poolside or the beach. </li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This month, I also tried on the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDwG">Quince 14k bold stacker ring</a>, but returned it because I didn't like the way it looked on my hand. I tend to like the look of daintier rings, and also some very thick ones, but a lot of more medium-sized "bold" rings often don't suit me as well. I probably also need something between sizes 7 and 8 for my index finger, so anything that's only available in full ring sizes probably won't work. </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-74166995245691102032022-07-25T11:13:00.000-04:002022-07-25T11:13:44.153-04:00The Second Trimester (so Far) <p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15j7RSWizuuMuPOObIWTj9NqoHXxnXkjRQI5lIUZn5kV_JECxlFmqpWc9cI-WE6Lyz_sLI6U8YZCLeMQUhELhRkuuYU9xLbh7Ztl7942Tce1xuZpnPlnCGFEqYY4b3BiwRSAnGU1mJY8jtyd_m3s4w_KFpzC3fQwq5Cox8TbF2L30VzLAY-bJrWy93Q/s605/nuna%20pipa%20rx%20car%20seat.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15j7RSWizuuMuPOObIWTj9NqoHXxnXkjRQI5lIUZn5kV_JECxlFmqpWc9cI-WE6Lyz_sLI6U8YZCLeMQUhELhRkuuYU9xLbh7Ztl7942Tce1xuZpnPlnCGFEqYY4b3BiwRSAnGU1mJY8jtyd_m3s4w_KFpzC3fQwq5Cox8TbF2L30VzLAY-bJrWy93Q/w373-h400/nuna%20pipa%20rx%20car%20seat.jpg" width="373" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>We recently bought the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDoF">Nuna Pipa Rx</a> infant car seat from the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bJDoD">Nordstrom Anniversary Sale</a> (affiliate links), but it's now sold out. </i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh my, things went rather sideways at work in the past few weeks - some big deadlines ended up being far more difficult than our team expected - so I'm generally quite behind on things I wanted to write for the blog. I'm completely exhausted, but at least I'm taking some vacation time soon, which will hopefully feel rejuvenating! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This entire year has been fairly nonstop at the office for me. With that plus the added stress of big life events like the pregnancy and those <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/06/suiting-up-for-job-interviews.html">government job interviews</a>, it's all left me with basically no mental energy for anything except watching TV when I get home from work. I haven't really been able to get myself to read for fun most of this year. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm now in my 20th week of pregnancy, partway through the second trimester. Some symptoms are better than in the first trimester, particularly the nausea, and also coffee and tea taste a bit more normal again, yay! But I don't think my energy levels have actually improved that much overall. Most of my symptoms are honestly still pretty similar in intensity to before, especially the acne and disruptions to my digestive system (alas, both things are quite un-fun!). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For the past 4 weeks or so, I've had my first persistent enough symptom to want to raise it at my next prenatal appointment: My skin gets itchy throughout the day. I'm not usually great about moisturizing regularly with body lotion, but I started to be religious about it and that didn't even help so much. There's no rash or anything, and I don't think it's from dry skin either. Thankfully, this particular symptom is a little better now than it was around week 17. I think this is a fairly common side effect of pregnancy and is generally benign, but it can also be associated with some rare but serious side effects, so I'll still raise it at my next appointment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/06/the-first-trimester.html#more">mentioned</a> that I started getting a small but definite baby bump around week 13 (and that I've had enough bloating on and off since week 7 that I personally felt like I generally looked like I had a bump at least half the time, particularly towards the end of the day). But wow, all of a sudden in week 19, my bump really, <i>really</i> popped! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's definitely gotten to the point where even strangers can notice, and I grumble internally about how I feel like a beach ball. If the bump looks and feels this large at 19 weeks, I shudder to think about what I'll feel like past, say, 30 or 35 weeks. I definitely have a more difficult time now with the hot and humid NYC summer weather than I did pre-pregnancy, but at least the weather will hopefully cool down somewhat by the time I reach the third trimester... </p><p></p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4597817731016340045.post-21986420899616277132022-07-06T07:10:00.000-04:002022-07-06T07:10:41.532-04:00June 2022 Shopping Reflections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC51KDL0BY7PYcA0qTb2UyW21KDaEuJaA05a0OWBpOE8wgUXpO224pskV7KzWomb3oUX1pIomtUbW0ZXx5lVYIx2oKfuqIiunvD8zeOzdfaA0FtH1XvbFgI3QJTLm0T1R3OsezTKqXCdt3j1oRfW4C5mONu5vKxUjEO27EtAdyhm0ttNUeju2Auxt5CQ/s640/june%202022%20shopping%20revised.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC51KDL0BY7PYcA0qTb2UyW21KDaEuJaA05a0OWBpOE8wgUXpO224pskV7KzWomb3oUX1pIomtUbW0ZXx5lVYIx2oKfuqIiunvD8zeOzdfaA0FtH1XvbFgI3QJTLm0T1R3OsezTKqXCdt3j1oRfW4C5mONu5vKxUjEO27EtAdyhm0ttNUeju2Auxt5CQ/s16000/june%202022%20shopping%20revised.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Now that I've <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/06/the-first-trimester.html">announced my pregnancy</a>, I can also start talking about maternity clothes, which have been a part of my life for a while now. It's probably different for every pregnant person, but I was getting extremely bloated by week 7 of pregnancy - in late April - so I first started shopping for maternity clothes then. It also felt like I'd gone up most of a cup size by that time (and that measurement is still growing, though more slowly now). The bloating in my stomach has never really consistently gone down until very recently, around week 13, only to be replaced by the start of an actual bump. As a result, I haven't been inclined to wear anything particularly fitted at the waist or chest for months now. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I now have a backlog of items from before June that still need to be listed in a shopping reflections post, because up to now, I've been omitting anything I bought solely for maternity wear reasons. For obvious reasons, I wasn't going to disclose any of those until I felt ready to announce the pregnancy more widely! </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission - at no extra cost to you - if you click and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'll probably write a separate first trimester maternity clothing-focused shopping reflections post soon. But after that, future maternity fashion purchases will go into my regular monthly shopping posts. Spoiler alert, it's taken some time to get used to the changes in my body - and I'm sure many more changes will come that I can't fully anticipate yet - so I'm not able to be as careful or minimalist about maternity wear purchases as I've tried to learn to be with my other shopping. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fashion - (TOTAL: $697.67)</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://heinui.com/shop/ro320vioco0cpz0xjzindfjbeqq7u9">Heinui Cora Dress, blue gingham linen</a> - $309.99 - </b>My <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2020/08/august-2020-shopping-reflections.html">first</a> Heinui Cora dress in cotton voile (<a href="https://heinui.com/shop/cora-dress-in-the-girls-and-fish-print">currently available again</a>), worn without the belt, has proven to be the perfect summer maternity dress, even if it wasn't designed for that. The Cora is generously sized throughout the body, so it should be wearable until the end of NYC's typically long summer in late September, when I'll be almost in the third trimester. (It might also remain wearable much later in pregnancy, but cotton voile wouldn't suit cold weather.) Heinui has a few linen or cotton-linen blend Coras in various plaids and checks, and I thought this blue gingham would be pretty. This material is a medium-weight linen, a bit thicker than what LinenFox uses. I like the gingham and the Cora design, but cotton voile is better for hot, humid NYC days, so I reach for my other one more often. Because the linen is also heavier and thicker than the cotton, this dress doesn't flow and lay quite as closely to the body when it's unbelted. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>LinenFox - $234.84* - </b>I put together a LinenFox order <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/05/may-2022-shopping-reflections.html">in May</a>, picking items I thought would work as maternity clothing based on their detailed product measurements. But I probably underestimated how much my expanding bust and eventual bump wouldn't work well with the length of tops not specifically designed as maternity wear. </li><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bIPIs">Harper tunic</a>, white -</b> This top - which I got in size <b>S </b>because it's quite roomy - will work for a while with my 16 week bump and current bust size, but maybe not for that many weeks after. At some point, the hem of this top will be too short to cover everything, or it could get too small all around before then. </li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bIPIp">Olive top</a>, black - </b>This one-size-only top is very wide and relaxed, but the hem is unfortunately quite short in the front, so the shape already doesn't work for my current body. This store photograph makes that really obvious, but I'd seen some Etsy review photographs that suggested differently. Alas, hopefully this top will fit me after pregnancy instead.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bIPG2">Anna dress</a>, graphite grey -</b> This dress - which I got in size <b>L</b> based on product measurements - is suitable as a maternity dress, at least for now. So that's one item in this order that fully works for my intended purpose! (The <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bIPG1">LinenFox "Summer" dress</a> I bought <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2019/08/august-2019-shopping-reflections.html">a few years back</a> also works well.) The shape of the Summer probably makes a better maternity dress actually, as the Anna's waistline hits me at an odd spot now, somewhat far under my bustline (but I don't have much of a waist anymore so it looks awkward). </li></ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bIPHc">Birkenstock Arizona sandals, taupe suede, soft footbed</a> - $152.43* -</b> (also <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bIPHe">here</a> and <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bIPIx">here</a>) - It's been hard to find sandals now that my ankles and feet could expand a bit in the coming months. My <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2019/05/april-2019-shopping-reflections.html">old Fitflop "the Skinny"</a> sandals are still comfortable, but Fitflop has redone the current version, the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bIQGK">Lulu</a>, and the sizing and feel just aren't the same anymore. I wanted to try the <a href="https://shopstyle.it/l/bIQFh">Mephisto Helen</a> someone here recommended, but those are a bit narrow for me at the moment. So I've ended up with regular-width Birkenstock Arizonas, which are quite roomy. I found these reasonably comfortable out of the box, though they also felt more broken in and less stiff in the footbed after wearing them around outside for the better part of two days. My recommended size <b>38</b> based on my foot measurements - my feet were a somewhat wide women's 7.5 before the pandemic; I've felt they were starting to lean slightly bigger than that even before my pregnancy for whatever reason - is definitely the right width and length, but the straps are a little loose at the tightest setting. I may need to buy a leather hole punch to tighten the straps a bit. </li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Includes international shipping and/or sales tax. </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's it for this fairly shopping-heavy month, though many of these were made-to-order items that were in the pipeline since <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/05/may-2022-shopping-reflections.html">May</a>. I'm also hoping to get my first trimester shopping reflections post up in the next two weeks or so. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">And ugh, I don't really know what to say about all the bad things from our Supreme Court this term. I've always believed strongly in reproductive rights, have always been ardently pro-choice since I was old enough to understand what it meant. Pregnancy has only intensified those feelings. I just don't understand how anyone could believe in forcing this on anyone who doesn't want it, or in letting legislators interfere with decisions that should be made solely by patients and their doctors. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since the overturning of <i>Roe</i>, my mind often strays to things that are hardly the point, hardly the worst of the countless implications. When the draft opinion leaked, I <a href="http://www.invinciblesummerblog.com/2022/05/april-2022-shopping-reflections.html">mentioned</a> how I was reminded of an <a href="https://jezebel.com/interview-with-a-woman-who-recently-had-an-abortion-at-1781972395">older article</a> about someone who needed to travel from NYC for a termination for medical reasons abortion at 32 weeks. New York and Connecticut - my most likely future home states during my reproductive years - abortion laws are essentially identical. Abortion is freely permitted until "viability", commonly thought to be 24 weeks (but occasionally 26 depending on the provider). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After viability, there is a health or life of the pregnant person exception in both states, which I believe - in practice - generally means abortions are not typically available after that time due to lack of a consistent, universally acknowledged way to interpret or apply that standard to all possible facts, see e.g. <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktokbabydoc/video/7116868343784541482?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en">this TikTok</a> from a Maternal-Fetal Medicine physician in Texas. In other words, that type of exception is likely not exceptionally meaningful in practice, if it might require a doctor or hospital to consult an attorney to determine whether the case squarely falls into the legal exception. (I don't think life-saving care for pregnant persons that may harm a fetus is generally denied in NY or CT past viability, but I wasn't really able to find information about peoples' lived experiences with that.) </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As an attorney, albeit not one who has ever worked on medical issues, I have a general understanding of how lawyers advise clients in general. I can speculate about how lawyers approach advising hospitals or providers on health or life of the mother exceptions and other exceptions in their home state's abortion laws (and other state's abortion laws as well, to the extent other states try to penalize out-of-their-state conduct). In practice, attorneys and their clients are often fairly risk-averse when interpreting laws that could result in civil or criminal liability under certain circumstances. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Just some of my fragmented thoughts in these times, touching on some of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/opinion/post-roe-chaos.html">broad implications</a> of <i>Roe's</i> overturning and other preexisting issues affecting access to care... </p>Xin @ Invincible Summerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06880478894796779040noreply@blogger.com0