RO: N-avem nici cea mai vaga idee cand au trecut deja noua luni de sarcina. Timpul chiar zboara, no doubt about it 🙂 Si pentru ca de-a lungul acestei perioade rareori am vorbit despre perioada de maternitate si cum ne-a influentat vietile si mai ales calatoritul, ne-am gandit sa punem acum totul in scris, cat este informatia proaspata. Nu de alta, dar am auzit niste zvonuri cum ca proaspetele mamici nu prea stau bine la capitolul memorie (:D) si nu am vrea sa dam uitarii cateva dintre aspectele importante ale sarcinii 🙂 Motivul pentru care am fost atat de discreti in social media in legatura cu sarcina a fost unul destul de simplu, si anume teama. Pierdusem o sarcina in saptamana a 9a de dezvoltare, lucru care ne-a marcat pe amandoi destul de puternic. Asta pana sa aflam ca in vremurile noastre sarcinile pierdute in primul trimestru sunt la ordinea zilei, mai ales in randul persoanelor stresate, care nu duc tocmai un stil de viata sanatos. Insa chiar si asa, in cea de-a doua sarcina am suflat si in iaurt cum s-ar spune, si dintr-o precautie dusa la extrem, am preferat sa nu ne entuziasmam pana cand nu aveam sa fim complet siguri ca sarcina decurge normal, asa ca am asteptat sa trecem de pragul critic de 13 saptamani pana cand am dat vestea familiei si prietenilor apropiati.

EN: We have no idea when did these night months of pregnancy pass. Time really flies, no doubt about it 🙂 And because we have rarely spoken about maternity and how this period of time influenced our lives and especially our travelling, we thought that we should put everything in written, while the information is still fresh. As we heard some rumors saying that after giving birth, mothers have some kind of memory issues (:D) and we wouldn’t want to forget some of the most important aspects of this pregnancy 🙂 The reason why we have been so discreet in social media about this pregnancy was simple – it was fear. Passing through a miscarriage in the 9th week of pregnancy deeply affected both of us. At that time we didn’t know that loosing a pregnancy in the first trimester is quite a common thing, especially among the stressed persons, that do not have quite a healthy style of living. But even so, at the second pregnancy we’ve been very cautious and we preferred not to get over-enthusiastic until we were completely sure that the pregnancy was normal this time. So we’ve waited to pass the critical step of 13 weeks until we announced our families and close friends. 



RO:  In ceea ce priveste calatoritul, planurile initiale erau de-a dreptul marete, cu idei fantasmagorice de mers cu avionul pana la limita maxima acceptata de companiile aeriene, cu destinatii exotice si long haul-uri care mai de care mai indepartate. Realitatea a fost insa putin diferita, desi n-avem ce spune, restrictiile au fost rezonabile. In primul trimestru de sarcina am calatorit in Coreea de Sud, cateva zboruri in Germania, Italia si Spania si un drum pana in Montreal. Am fost insa nevoiti sa renuntam la o vacanta in Mexic, in principal din cauza virusului Zika (care la momentul respectiv facea valva destul de mare si pur si simplu ne-a fost teama sa ne asumam riscul de a ignora toate avertizarile si restrictiile pentru femeile insarcinate). Trimestrul doi de sarcina nu a fost la fel de “ofertant” in materie de calatorit, din cauza unei probleme de sanatate aparute in sarcina (pe care o detaliem mai jos), care a limitat toate vacantele noastre la escapade scurte de weekend, in tara. A trebuit sa renuntam la niste bilete de avion catre Dubai si Abu Dhabi (cumparate special pentru asa zisul babymoon haha – da, chiar gasisem scuza perfecta pentru a mai pleca undeva la caldura inainte de venirea bebelusului :D), insa din cauza unui episod mai hormonal si mai lacrimogen decat necesar (mamicile si mai ales sotii lor stiu despre ce vorbim :D) a fost musai sa mai plecam o data in Olanda, in saptamana 27. Care de altfel a fost si ultimul zbor cu avionul din sarcina. Limita de saptamani pana la care se poate zbura difera de la companie la companie, si chiar daca saptamana 27 este in mod normal acceptata peste tot, KLM-ul a cam strambat din nas atat la dus cat si la intors 🙂 Insa am avut confirmarea doctorului ca este in regula sa zburam, in caz ca aveam sa intampinam probleme.

EN: Regarding travelling, we really had big plans, with astonishing ideas of flying until the maximum pregnancy limit, with exotic destinations and far away long haul flights. The reality was a bit different. even though the restrictions were quite reasonable. In the first trimester we traveled to South Korea, a couple of flights to Germany, Italy and Spain and then a flight to Montreal. We had to give up to a trip to Mexico mainly due to Zika virus (that was really making a noise in the world at that time and we couldn’t take the risk to ignore all the restrictions and warnings for pregnant women). The second trimester was not so appealing in terms of travelling, due to a health issue (we will detail it below) that limited all our vacations to short getaways in our home country. We also had to give up to some airplane tickets to Dubai and Abu Dhabi (bought especially for a baby-moon vacation haha – yup, we have found the best excuse to go somewhere warm before the baby :D) but due to a hormonal and soupy scene (mothers but especially their husbands know what we’re talking about :D) it was absolutely necessary to go one last time in The Netherlands, in the 27th week. Which was actually the last flight in this pregnancy. The pregnancy limit differs from one airline to another, and even though week 27 seems to be OK for most of them, KLM was not quite happy about this 🙂 But we had our doctor’s confirmation that we are safe to fly, just in case someone would have asked for it. 



RO: Simptome de sarcina?! Nu stiu cum de-am avut atata noroc, insa n-am avut niciun fel de simptom de sarcina. Poate doar o balonare mai accentuata in primul trimestru si o usoara depresie cauzata de schimbarile fizice ce se intamplau in corp (si un milion de miliarde de hormoni agitati :D). In rest, singurul inconvenient cu adevarat enervant a fost foamea. Foame excesiva. Dar cand vorbim despre un corp privat ani de zile nu de nutrienti, ci de hrana pur si simplu, probabil ca a fost o reactie normala pentru a-si recapata puterile.

EN: Pregnancy symptoms?! Not sure where did all that luck come from, but I had absolutely no pregnancy symptoms. Actually just some pronounced bloating in the first trimester and a slight depression caused by the physical changes of the body (and literally tons, but tons of hormones :D). Other than that, the only annoying downside was hunger. Excessive hunger. But when you talk about a body that in the past few years was deprived of food and nutrients, it might seem just normal reaction to regain its strengths. 

RO: Si daca tot am atins acest delicat subiect, spunem doua vorbe (nu mai mult, ca sa nu incurajam obsesia catre aceasta problema :D) despre dieta si ingrasat. Dieta pe timpul sarcinii a fost in continuare una vegetariana (sunt vegetariana de mai bine de 7 ani), dupa discutii si confirmari de la medicul ginecolog si nutritionist. Este o tematica destul de sensibila, care poate naste foarte multe controverse, asa ca nu vom insista prea mult pe aceasta parte. Ca este vegetarianismul bun sau nu in sarcina (sau inafara ei), nu poate confirma nimeni 100%. Cert este ca daca inainte nu puteam manca absolut deloc carne, in timpul sarcinii repulsia fata de aceasta s-a accentuat. Sfaturile medicilor au fost sa ascult nevoile corpului si sa suplimentez lipsa proteinei din carne prin alte alimente. Am facut analize mai des decat normal si au fost monitorizate indeaproape orice posibile carente. Unde a fost nevoie, s-a intervenit fie cu suplimente (vitamine), fie cu indicatii de a manca mai mult anumite alimente. In rest, am respectat regulile normale de dieta in sarcina: fara alcool, fara oua crude sau mancaruri facute din oua crude, fara peste crud, fara sushi, fara branzeturi nepasteurizate. Desi planul initial era sa am o dieta controlata si foarte atent urmarita, nu am reusit acest lucru si de multe ori am mancat dulciuri si alte “rasfaturi” pe care inafara sarcinii nu le-as fi incercat 🙂

EN: And now that we’re reached this delicate subject, we’ll say a few words (not more than that as we don’t want to encourage the obsession towards this problem :D) about the pregnancy diet and gaining weight. My diet continued to be a vegetarian one (I’m a vegetarian for more than 7 years), after discussing and getting confirmation from my gynecologist and nutritionist. This is quite a sensitive subject, that can lead to certain controversy so we will not insist too much on this matter. If being vegetarian if OK or not in pregnancy or in general, no one can confirm this 100% sure. One thing is for sure, if before I could not eat meat at all, during pregnancy I have become even more repelled by it. Doctors advised me to listen to my body’s needs and to be careful to supplement the lack of protein with other foods. I have made periodic check ups and blood tests and each deficiency was closely monitored. When it was needed, I have taken supplements (vitamins) or ate certain foods that I had to eat more. Other than that, I just followed the normal dieting rules in pregnancy: no alcohol, no raw eggs or foods made from raw eggs, no raw fish, no sushi, no non-pasteurized dairy. Even though the initial plan was to have a controlled and monitored diet, I could not do this and often ate sweets and other “indulgences” that I would have never tried before pregnancy 🙂 




RO: Despre ingrasat… oh boy, oh boy, pe cat de repede incepem acest paragraf, pe-atata de repede o sa il si incheiem haha :)) Lucrurile nu stau prea roz la acest capitol desi situatia putea fi mult mai “dramatica”. Sfatul medicului a fost sa ma incadrez intr-un maxim de 10-12 kg luate pana la sfarsitul sarcinii – evident, a parut ca o gluma avand in vedere faptul ca dupa primul trimestru de sarcina si foamea-i aferenta, aveam deja 6kg in plus pe cantar. Trimestrul doi a venit insa cu o crestere mai usoara, ajungand la un total de 10kg in plus, iar trimestru trei inca vreo 3 kg pana in saptamana 35. Cu alte cuvinte, 13 kg luate pana aproape de finalul trimestrului 3 (don’t do the math :D), iar de aici incolo, Dumnezeu cu mila. Cantarul a fost aruncat si am renuntat la orice fel de cantarire din cauza reactiilor total nepotrivite de dupa rezultat. Gata, let’s drop the subject! 😀

EN: About gaining weight… oh boy, oh boy, we’ll start this paragraph as quickly as we will end it haha :)) Things are not quite great in what concerns this matter even though the situation could have been more “dramatic”. Doctor’s advice was to gain a maximum of 10-12 kg until the end of the pregnancy – of course, this seemed like a really bad joke considering the fact that after the first trimester and its afferent hunger, I have already taken 6 kg. The second trimester came with a slighter gain, reaching a total of 10 more kg and the third trimester brought 3 other kg until week 35. In other words, gained 13 kilos until almost the end of the third trimester (don’t do the math :D) and from now on, God have mercy. The scale was thrown away and I gave up to any kind of weighting due to the inappropriate reactions after seeing the result. But that’s it, let’s drop the subject! 😀 

RO: Probleme in sarcina – in principiu a fost o sarcina extrem de usoara, fara complicatii majore, fara simptome, cu toate morfologiile de trimestru facute la timp, cu rezultate bune si fara niciun fel de ingrijorare. Insa, pe la jumatatea sarcinii (saptamana 24) am avut un episod ciudatel in care s-au declansat contractii (la momentul respectiv nu stiam ca sunt contractii, le percepeam ca pe niste dureri abdominale) si s-a scurtat colul. A fost nevoie de cateva zile de internare in spital, recomandare de repaus aproape total pentru cateva saptamani si tratament (slava cerului nu a fost nevoie de stat la pat pana la finalul sarcinii, asa cum se preconiza initial, si nici de cerclaj). La scurt timp, colul si-a revenit insa am avut grija sa nu fac foarte mult efort. Apoi, spre finalul sarcinii s-a declansat o mica hipotiroidie, care este tinuta sub control cu tratament. All good pana in acest moment, cand am atins aproape 39 saptamani 🙂

EN: Pregnancy problems – this was mainly an extremely easy pregnancy, with no major complications, no symptoms, with all the morphology tests made properly, with good results and no reasons to worry. However, somewhere at the middle of the pregnancy (week 24) some contractions were triggered (at that precise moment I could not identify them as contradictions, perceiving them as simple abdominal pains) and the cervix was shortened. A couple of days of hospitalization were needed, almost total rest in bed for a couple of weeks and treatment (luckily, it was not the case to stay in bed until the end of the pregnancy, as it was initially thought and no cerclage was needed). Soon after that, the cervix was back to normal but I just had to be very careful with the effort. Then, at the end of the pregnancy I had a slight hypothyroidism which was held under control with treatment. All good so far, when almost 39 weeks are reached 🙂 

RO: “Cum o sa nasti, natural sau cezariana?”, am auzit intrebarea aceasta de atatea ori, ca raspunsul ne pare deja redundant 🙂 Din nou, subiect controversat, parerile sunt foarte impartite si fiecare tabara are argumentele sale pertinente. Cum nu suntem medici si nu avem catusi de putin o parere documentata, vom spune doar ca am ales din motive personale cezariana, la Regina Maria. Pur si simplu asa am considerat ca este mai bine si ne asumam eventualele inconveniente de dupa o procedura medicala. Doar o avem exemplu pe mama-eroina, cu trei cezariene la activ 🙂

EN: “How will you give birth – c section or naturally?” we’ve heard this question so many times, that the answer now seems redundant 🙂 Again, this is a very debatable matter, people have different opinions and each side has it’s pertinent arguments. As we are not doctors and our opinion is not enough documented, we’ll only say that I have chosen the c-section due to personal reasons. That’s what we considered is better for us and we take this decision upon ourselves, along with any inconveniences that a medical procedure could bring. In the end we have my hero-mother as an example, with three c-sections 🙂  

RO: Emotii inainte de nastere. Vai doamne! Vom face si noi ca Scarlet O’Hara si ne vom impune sa nu ne gandim la asta pana in dimineata zilei in care vom merge la spital 😀 Emotii, frici, nelinisti, le vom avea pe toate, fara doar si poate. Dar suntem pregatiti sa il cunoastem pe ciufulit si asta ne ofera suficienta incredere ca totul va fi bine 🙂 Toate fotografiile din acest articol au fost facute de Catalina Andrei la Palatul Ghica din Caciulati si suntem atat de mandri de cum au iesit, ca abia asteptam si urmatoarele sesiuni cu cel mic! 🙂

EN: Emotions before giving birth. Oh Geeez! We’ll do exactly what Scarlet O’Hara used to do and we’ll think about this in the morning when we’ll go to the hospital 😀 Emotions, fears, anxiety, we’ll have them all, no doubt about it. But we are ready to meet the little guy and that gives us enough confidence that everything will be good in the end 🙂 All the photographs taken in this article are made by Catalina Andrei at Ghica Palace from Caciulati and we are so proud of them, that we simply can’t wait the next sessions with the baby! 🙂