CeCe laughed. “You show me a woman who doesn’t smile when her man drops nine million in cash on a house for her, and I’ll show you a fool.”
Now in her third trimester, CeCe was having the usual issues with her pregnancy. The first few months were rough for her. She had a severe form of morning sickness know as Hyperemesis gravidarum. CeCe suffered with excessive nausea and vomiting, which was preventing the adequate intake of food and fluids. Her doctor in New York recommended a friend from medical school that was practicing in Nassau. He told her that the leveling off of the hormone hCG was the reason her nausea was letting up.
It was in her fourth month that CeCe first began to feel the baby move. She was plagued by constant heartburn. “Try some papaya to relieve the symptoms. Make sure you get plenty of fiber in your diet to forestall the constipation that troubles some mothers. You are almost certainly finding it necessary to move into larger, looser clothing.” Her Doctor advised.
“That happened some time ago,” CeCe told the doctor on her first visit.
“The average weight gain at this point is five to ten pounds.”
CeCe cut her eyes at Black. “I’ve gained more weight than that.” She was very sensitive about the amount of weight she’d gained, which was closer to fifteen or twenty pounds.
The doctor saw the way she was looking. “However, you are an individual, not an average, so if you have been eating good food in appropriate amounts you have gained just the right amount for you.”
CeCe complained that her skin was extra dry and itchy, especially where it is stretching. He told her to use a moisturizer to soothe it and to remember to drink plenty of water. She was still suffering from dizzy spells because her blood sugar levels were affected by the pregnancy. He suggested that she may benefit from eating smaller meals more frequently.
“Your breasts have each gained six or seven ounces in weight.”
“I noticed,” CeCe said.
“So have I,” Black added.
“The areola, or dark area around the nipple may actually be getting larger. This effect of pregnancy can last up to a year after the birth of the baby.”
Black smiled.
“If you have noticed a reduction in your sex drive, you may find that it returns now and sex is particularly enjoyable.”
“That hasn’t happened,” Black said.
It had been months since they had sex and he hadn’t been with anybody else. CeCe gave him the look.
The doctor continued. “Is sleeping on your belly becoming uncomfortable?”
“Yes it is, so I’ve been sleeping on my back.”
“Sleeping on your back may cause your growing uterus to compress major blood vessels, so learn to sleep comfortably on your sides, using extra pillows to help support your arms, legs and belly.”
“I can do that.”
In her third trimester, heartburn was still a problem for her. On one of her visits to the doctor he noted a rise in her blood pressure. “That is called PID or Pregnancy Induced Hypertension.”
Where CeCe had been feeling pretty energetic throughout her second trimester, she was now beginning to slow down. “Pay attention to your body’s signals and rest when you need to. Exercise is still an important activity for you, even though it gets harder as you get larger and heavier. Try swimming, stretching and walking, these are all excellent options for you.”
“Why am I waddling?”
“This is because the ligaments in your pelvis have softened, allowing your hips to spread in preparation for birth.”
She told the doctor that the increased weight of her breasts was uncomfortable for her when she slept. He suggested that she try wearing a soft but supportive bra to bed. Something Black didn’t like, but had no choice but to accept. “We ain’t havin’ sex anyway,” he mumbled the first night she wore it to bed. Throughout the entire time her biggest complaints were that it was hot and she was fat, her ankles were swollen and that made her miserable. She passed that misery on to Black.
When Black wasn’t busy with CeCe and Michelle, he was with Meka, who had been doing very well day
trading for them. Day trading is the practice of buying and selling financial instruments within the same trading day so that all positions are usually closed before the market closes for the trading day. Some of the more commonly day-traded financial instruments are stocks, stock options, currencies, and a host of futures contracts such as equity index futures, interest rate futures, and commodity futures.
“Day trading used to be an activity exclusive to financial firms and professional investors and speculators,” Meka explained to Black when she recommended they get in to it. “Most day traders are bank or investment firm employees working as specialists in equity investment and fund management.”
“Which is what you used to do.”
“Exactly. But now with the advent of electronic trading and margin trading, there is no reason that with my skills and your backing, we can’t make this very profitable.” That day, they became partners. Meka used a number of day trading strategies and began producing right away. “Scalping is an intra-day technique that usually has the bid holding a position for a few minutes. Shaving is a method which allows the trader to jump ahead by a tenth of a cent, and a full round trip.”