WHAT?? It's only 53 days away until my due date? I was surprised to see that when I saw the bump ticker today. If I simply calculate the 40 weeks of pregnancy, it converts into 280 days. I have completed 81% of my pregnancy process. WOW!
I am looking back all the weeks which have passed and it makes so much sense why there are 3 trimesters. They are different and here are quick recaps of my pregnancy experience.
1st Tri
- Morning sickness started around 8 weeks. I had to put something in my mouth so often, otherwise, I would get nauseous. I had a food aversion esp. meat, veggies and some of my favorite food. Pasta & potato were my lifesavers. I love cooking, but I couldn't bring myself to cook some nights.
- Mentally, I was sooooo scared of something bad might happen. Especially after I found out that one of 2 embies didn't survive in my body, I learned that my body isn't all that safe and secure. My OB told me that my progestrone level is excellent and I am a great candidate for having twins, so that made me think my uterus was like a 5 star hotel, but I was totally wrong. I had so many nightmares during the 1st tri and my anxiety was out of roof.
2nd Tri
- I felt more pregnant and pregant as weeks went by. U/S from my NT scan blew my mind that there is in deed a baby in me. The baby was jumping up and down, busy sucking her thumb, etc. I felt a precious life in me.
- Pregnancy annoucement. Such a great feeling to share the wonderful news with family and friends, but I felt there is no turning back. I often thought how I would react or what to say to people if we lost our baby. Like everyone says, I had a lot of energy during 2nd trimester. Eventually, I overcame my fear and started enjoying my pregnancy. I bought many baby books and frequent trips to baby stores.
- Gender reveal. It was a nerve racking but over the moon experience. My DH didn't want to find out the gender so we have a surprise to look forward to. I understand why some ppl don't want to find out, but here is what I felt when we found out. Until the gender reveal, I felt "we are having a baby" and it was a baby in general, but finding out that "we are having a daughter" was a very special moment. To me, it gave me more realistic expectations and made my baby and I closer.
- Feeling baby's movement. This is one of the best experiences during the pregnancy. I started feeling my baby moves day after we found out the gender. It's so innocent, soothing and intimate experience. This really helped to ease my pregnancy anxiety.
3rd Tri
- My belly really popped and I look obviously pregnant. I actually really really love my look in 3rd trimester! I never appreciated beauty of pregnant women before, but I do now. They look absolutely stunning!!! I started noticing more pregnancy & baby stores in town.
- Physically, I am feeling more uncomfortable every week. At this point, I cannot seem to find a comfortable posture on my couch, so the best is to lay on my sides. However, I am quite lucky that I am sleeping really well. My baby sleeps when I am sleeping, so she has never woken me up. I do get up to go pee middle of the night, but I can usually fall right back to sleep. Speaking of pee, it's embrassing, but I sometimes pee in my pants when I sneeze or laugh really loud!! I cannot help it!!!
- Increase in appetite, esp. sweets. I seldom needed deserts after dinner but it's a must item now. I would usually order more meaty type breakfast (eggs/ham,etc) when we go for a brunch on weekend, but empty calories items such as pancakes/french toasts are so much more appetizing to me now!
Let's see what coming up days/weeks/month will bring, but I cannot contain my excitement because it's getting closer every day to finallly meet our baby girl !!!!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Week 31 & Day 6: Monthly OB Appointment
It's a snowy day in Cincinnati, so I was extra careful when I went outside this morning. I already gave up my favorite shoes with heels a while back when I found out that I was pregnant. Since I am small, I like to add more hights by wearing heels, but not during my pregnancy. UGG boots are my life saver this winter!
As I expected, there was nothing special about my visit to OB today. I gave my urine sample and a nurse took my BP and checked my weight. I gained 4 pounds from a months ago. After that, my OB checked the baby's HB and measured my belly. She said "Your baby and you are doing fantastic so far!" I wish I could see her on the u/s...but it was really soothing to hear her fast and good HB! I asked OB what my baby's orientation is because I thought she is head down now. I was WRONG! She touched my belly and said "The baby is probably in the sideway position." It's kinda funny that a baby can position herself/himself in certain ways in a tight uterus! I feel my baby often, but I am just curious where her head is or if it's her arms/legs when I feel movements. I heard preg women would need to go pee more once the baby's head is down. I drink a lots of water, so my bathroom trips are frequent already. Maybe, I will notice this eventually.
My OB visit is set for every 2 weeks from now on. It's officially less than 2 months away from my due day, so I cannot contain my excitement!!!
How am I doing?
Some days are a bit uncomfortable esp. after I come back from work and my sciatic nerve pains are back, but I am not complaining!!! I realized how much I enjoy being pregnant. I might change my mind once I experience "This is really uncomfortable stage" later, but I am so happy that I could get pregnant. I look back sometimes where I was at and how I was feeling a year ago, being able to get pregnant repaints my world from gray to sunny blue sky.
Oh, infant car seat canopy arrived :) The order took a while b/c this particular type was back order, but it was worth the wait! I love the color and print inside out. Actually, this was free from http://www.carseatcanopy.com/. I only paid its shipping cost and an optional embroidery of our baby girl's name. I was a bit worried about the quality since it was free, but it's really good! The inside is so soft and I can use it for all year round. I cannot WAIT to share our baby girl name...Miss H.. :)
As I expected, there was nothing special about my visit to OB today. I gave my urine sample and a nurse took my BP and checked my weight. I gained 4 pounds from a months ago. After that, my OB checked the baby's HB and measured my belly. She said "Your baby and you are doing fantastic so far!" I wish I could see her on the u/s...but it was really soothing to hear her fast and good HB! I asked OB what my baby's orientation is because I thought she is head down now. I was WRONG! She touched my belly and said "The baby is probably in the sideway position." It's kinda funny that a baby can position herself/himself in certain ways in a tight uterus! I feel my baby often, but I am just curious where her head is or if it's her arms/legs when I feel movements. I heard preg women would need to go pee more once the baby's head is down. I drink a lots of water, so my bathroom trips are frequent already. Maybe, I will notice this eventually.
My OB visit is set for every 2 weeks from now on. It's officially less than 2 months away from my due day, so I cannot contain my excitement!!!
How am I doing?
Some days are a bit uncomfortable esp. after I come back from work and my sciatic nerve pains are back, but I am not complaining!!! I realized how much I enjoy being pregnant. I might change my mind once I experience "This is really uncomfortable stage" later, but I am so happy that I could get pregnant. I look back sometimes where I was at and how I was feeling a year ago, being able to get pregnant repaints my world from gray to sunny blue sky.
Oh, infant car seat canopy arrived :) The order took a while b/c this particular type was back order, but it was worth the wait! I love the color and print inside out. Actually, this was free from http://www.carseatcanopy.com/. I only paid its shipping cost and an optional embroidery of our baby girl's name. I was a bit worried about the quality since it was free, but it's really good! The inside is so soft and I can use it for all year round. I cannot WAIT to share our baby girl name...Miss H.. :)
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| Personalized Car Seat Canopy |
Monday, January 21, 2013
Week 30 & Day 6: Day Care & Pediatrician Check *2!
Wow, I stepped in the 30th week!!!! Moving from 20 week to 30 week feels different. I feel more pregnant and I notice some physical changes, too!
I have been feeling my belly stretching more. It doesn't hurt, but it's not a pleasant feeling. Oh well, my baby is growing, I guess! I am also guessing my baby turned her head down now because I am having new sensation in the past couple of days. First of all, I feel her hiccups in the lower belly. Second of all, I feel some movements below my boobs and I am wondering if they are her legs! Lastly, I feel more pressure in the lower belly. I know a baby can change her/his orientation anytime and I don't have to concern about this yet, but it's really interesting to pay attention to changes. Oh, I am getting sweet cravings! Even I am so full from dinner, I cannot go without eating some sort of desert every night.
Day Care
YES YES YES!!!! We finally found the ONE we feel comfortable sending our daugher to. I have to say it took a couple of months to choose one and I am so relieved the searching for a day care is over. We went to visit 5 different facilities and we chose the last one we visited. I had no idea there are so many day care places. They are everywhere!!! It's good that we have several choices, but I was getting overwhelmed!!!
Here is a quick summary of day cares:
#1 - Close to work and I can literally walk. This was the cheapest, but the smallest building space. The building looks old / cluttered.
#2 - On the way to my work. It looks new and clearn inside / outside. They have "watch me grow" camera system so I can log in and monitor my baby from the Internet. Go-Green focus. Price - a bit high
#3 - On the way to my work. Well known day care (aka Kindercare). Strong educational curriculum. Diverse environment (both babies and teachers). Price is same as #2
#4 - Close to my house. Price is great and includes diapers! It looks clean and organized. There is a big gym room for kids to run around and play when the weather is bad outside. Day care staff seem questionable...
#5 - Close to my house. Price is average. The building looks nice and clearn inside and outside. They have "watch me grow" camera in each room. Tons of activies for kids and parents (e.g. Parents date night). Teach Spanish and Japanese from 18 mon!!!!
#5 wasn't under the rader at all and I just saw it on the way to #4, so I said to DH "Let's check it out just in case". I am sooooo glad we did because we both felt great about #5. I couldn't believe that this place teaches Japanese to toddlers. That was a total surprise and bonus. I am huge fun of diversity and having multi-cultural environment for my kids is very important for me.
The key of choosing the right place was to bring my DH to the facility tour. He noticed something I missed and gave great input.
Pediatrician
We are done with this item, too! By the way, pediatricians are everywhere, too. I got a list of recommended places from my OB and went to angieslist.com to check their reviews. I picked 2 based on the review and setup an meet & greet appointment.
#1 - A bit out of way from our house. Smaller clinic with 2 doctors. Their buiding is newer and has a cool fish tank! One of the nurse is a lactation consultant. Friendly staff and we met both doctors. They seem very nice and answered all our questions.
#2 - Closer to our house. Bigger clinic with several doctors. Open until 8 during weekdays and Saturday afternoon. The meet and greet session was very formal and professional and they gave us a packet to take home (plus cookies & chocolate!). One nurse who attended the session was a lactation consultant. Has a lab in the building and the staff seem knowledgable.
To be honest, we liked both. The biggest difference is that #1 offers more personal approach as there are only 2 doctors, so he/she will get to know our baby personally. However, other places will give us flexibility on who to see when our baby gets sick. We really liked the longer business hour and weekend hour. #2 meet and greet was so professionally done, so we felt good. I like that both places have a nurse with lactation professional background.
We agreed to pick #2 and didn't feel needs to see anymore facility, so this item is off of my to-do list!!
I have been feeling my belly stretching more. It doesn't hurt, but it's not a pleasant feeling. Oh well, my baby is growing, I guess! I am also guessing my baby turned her head down now because I am having new sensation in the past couple of days. First of all, I feel her hiccups in the lower belly. Second of all, I feel some movements below my boobs and I am wondering if they are her legs! Lastly, I feel more pressure in the lower belly. I know a baby can change her/his orientation anytime and I don't have to concern about this yet, but it's really interesting to pay attention to changes. Oh, I am getting sweet cravings! Even I am so full from dinner, I cannot go without eating some sort of desert every night.
Day Care
YES YES YES!!!! We finally found the ONE we feel comfortable sending our daugher to. I have to say it took a couple of months to choose one and I am so relieved the searching for a day care is over. We went to visit 5 different facilities and we chose the last one we visited. I had no idea there are so many day care places. They are everywhere!!! It's good that we have several choices, but I was getting overwhelmed!!!
Here is a quick summary of day cares:
#1 - Close to work and I can literally walk. This was the cheapest, but the smallest building space. The building looks old / cluttered.
#2 - On the way to my work. It looks new and clearn inside / outside. They have "watch me grow" camera system so I can log in and monitor my baby from the Internet. Go-Green focus. Price - a bit high
#3 - On the way to my work. Well known day care (aka Kindercare). Strong educational curriculum. Diverse environment (both babies and teachers). Price is same as #2
#4 - Close to my house. Price is great and includes diapers! It looks clean and organized. There is a big gym room for kids to run around and play when the weather is bad outside. Day care staff seem questionable...
#5 - Close to my house. Price is average. The building looks nice and clearn inside and outside. They have "watch me grow" camera in each room. Tons of activies for kids and parents (e.g. Parents date night). Teach Spanish and Japanese from 18 mon!!!!
#5 wasn't under the rader at all and I just saw it on the way to #4, so I said to DH "Let's check it out just in case". I am sooooo glad we did because we both felt great about #5. I couldn't believe that this place teaches Japanese to toddlers. That was a total surprise and bonus. I am huge fun of diversity and having multi-cultural environment for my kids is very important for me.
The key of choosing the right place was to bring my DH to the facility tour. He noticed something I missed and gave great input.
Pediatrician
We are done with this item, too! By the way, pediatricians are everywhere, too. I got a list of recommended places from my OB and went to angieslist.com to check their reviews. I picked 2 based on the review and setup an meet & greet appointment.
#1 - A bit out of way from our house. Smaller clinic with 2 doctors. Their buiding is newer and has a cool fish tank! One of the nurse is a lactation consultant. Friendly staff and we met both doctors. They seem very nice and answered all our questions.
#2 - Closer to our house. Bigger clinic with several doctors. Open until 8 during weekdays and Saturday afternoon. The meet and greet session was very formal and professional and they gave us a packet to take home (plus cookies & chocolate!). One nurse who attended the session was a lactation consultant. Has a lab in the building and the staff seem knowledgable.
To be honest, we liked both. The biggest difference is that #1 offers more personal approach as there are only 2 doctors, so he/she will get to know our baby personally. However, other places will give us flexibility on who to see when our baby gets sick. We really liked the longer business hour and weekend hour. #2 meet and greet was so professionally done, so we felt good. I like that both places have a nurse with lactation professional background.
We agreed to pick #2 and didn't feel needs to see anymore facility, so this item is off of my to-do list!!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Week 29 & 6 Days: Baptism Prep Class
Even though my baby girl is not here yet, looking into a baptism is one of things on our mind. 10 months of pregnancy seems a plenty time to get ready for our baby, but I feel like we are running out of time!! We are still in the process of finding a daycare & pediatrician and prepping a nursary. Those items do take time!
My DH was born and raised in a catholic family. On the other hand, I didn't grow up around religion, so I decided to become a catholic before we got married. We actively started going to a church a year and half ago. I love our church and it helped us so much during our fertility struggles as well as pregnancy. I remember about this friendly family of mom/dad/daughter started talking to us when we started going to this church. We found out that the mom works for an adoption agency. We were going through fertility treatments when we met, so I really thought an adoption was our calling. Thankfully, IVF worked and we didn't have to pursue an adoption, but I did some research about an adoption here and there.
Anyway, we met a baptism coordinator last night. There was another couple in the class who already had a baby 4 months ago. When the baptism coordinator introduced herself and told her background, I immediately connected her. She said she struggled with infertility so they ended up having quadruplets! Then, she was blessed for miracle children afterwords, so she has 6 kids. Of course, I didn't raise my hand or speak up and said, "We also had infertility issue!", but it made me really emotional. I think I will always have a big respect and connection to those who went through fertility issues.
She explained the background of a baptism as well as the procedures. Having god parents are important for this sacrement. We haven't picked one yet and it turned out that this decision isn't easy to make. We are between DH's sister/husband & our couple friend. We need to figure out our personal criteria to pick an appropriate god parents for our baby. Family v.s. Friend.... DH's sister/her DH are little younger and bit immature. They are trying to have a baby, but they still smoke and party. I know they are good with kids and his family will be there with us forever. On the other hand, our friends are mature, have a baby and amazing people. However, will our friendship be forever? My DH's god mother was a best friend of his mom, but they never see her anymore. I don't know....we need to talk more in deepth on god parents...
How am I doing lately?
My DH was born and raised in a catholic family. On the other hand, I didn't grow up around religion, so I decided to become a catholic before we got married. We actively started going to a church a year and half ago. I love our church and it helped us so much during our fertility struggles as well as pregnancy. I remember about this friendly family of mom/dad/daughter started talking to us when we started going to this church. We found out that the mom works for an adoption agency. We were going through fertility treatments when we met, so I really thought an adoption was our calling. Thankfully, IVF worked and we didn't have to pursue an adoption, but I did some research about an adoption here and there.
Anyway, we met a baptism coordinator last night. There was another couple in the class who already had a baby 4 months ago. When the baptism coordinator introduced herself and told her background, I immediately connected her. She said she struggled with infertility so they ended up having quadruplets! Then, she was blessed for miracle children afterwords, so she has 6 kids. Of course, I didn't raise my hand or speak up and said, "We also had infertility issue!", but it made me really emotional. I think I will always have a big respect and connection to those who went through fertility issues.
She explained the background of a baptism as well as the procedures. Having god parents are important for this sacrement. We haven't picked one yet and it turned out that this decision isn't easy to make. We are between DH's sister/husband & our couple friend. We need to figure out our personal criteria to pick an appropriate god parents for our baby. Family v.s. Friend.... DH's sister/her DH are little younger and bit immature. They are trying to have a baby, but they still smoke and party. I know they are good with kids and his family will be there with us forever. On the other hand, our friends are mature, have a baby and amazing people. However, will our friendship be forever? My DH's god mother was a best friend of his mom, but they never see her anymore. I don't know....we need to talk more in deepth on god parents...
How am I doing lately?
- BH - Feeling frequent Braxton Hicks. It's not uncomfortable, but my belly becomes rock solid! It does happen randomly and it hits me even when I am walking on the treadmill.
- Hiccups - I didn't know what this feeling was but I found out it was my baby doing hiccups!!! It's like slow heartbeats with a rythm. Very soft muscle plasm. My baby is having hiccups..how cute is that!!!
- Leg Cramp - Not liking this! Thankfully, I only experienced this twice, but it happens middle of the night. It woke me up and hurt like hell!!!! Looks like this is pretty common pregnancy condition.
- Linea Nigra - The line on my belly....it's not too dark yet, but I see it!!! I don't have stretch marks yet though!
- Bump - Bigger!!! I popped and love my pregnancy look :) I decided I wanna do maternity photos, so that's another checklist item to hit soon!
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| Recent photo of my bump! I gotta take more pic often |
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Week 28 & 4 Days: Upset and Frustrated
Before I go into my upset & frustrating experience over the holiday, let me start with some positive news.
Looks like I passed the glucose challenge screening test! My OB hasn't called me back, so it means I am good to go :) We finally traded in my car with a family friendly Ford Escape over the holiday. We received a really good end-of-year deal and I absolutely LOVE my new car!!! The holiday break was so nice and we welcomed the year 2013 with good friends with a total new mindset.
This is what happened...
My bestie's baby girl (3 months) had a baptism last Saturday. It was very special because she choose me as a god mother besides her sister. I felt very special and I do consider her baby as my second daughter.
Everything went well at the ceremony and she invited her guests to her house for lunchen afterwords. I was mingling with people and then, I started talking with my bestie's husband mother and his business partner. We were talking about my pregnancy, baby, etc. Suddenly, the business partner said "Well, it's great that the first try worked for you guys. Thanks to the advanced technology". The mother was also nodding and adding some other comments. My head went blank for a second. I didn't know what they were talking about first, but it hit me that they were talking about our IVF. I smiled and said "I know, we are so thankful", but in my head "HOW THE HELL DO THEY KNOW ABOUT THIS???"
My DH and I decided not to be open about our IF struggles, so very few people knew about this. Only my parents, DH's parents, my bestie and 2 of my GFs. In the beginning of our IF treatment, no one knew about it, but I really needed someone to talk to and vent, so I shared our personal struggle with my bestie. She was so sincere and gave me a lot of emotional support through our journey. My DH wasn't happy about it and said "Everyone will know about us", but I said "No, they won't" Right before our IVF, I found out that my bestie's husband knew that we were having IVF. Both of them are good friends of ours, so it didn't bother us that she told about our personal matter to him only.
I haven't yet confirmed, but I am 100% sure it was him that who told his mom & business partner about our struggle and IVF.
The night when my DH and I went to bed, a big emotion hit me really hard. I couldn't stop crying. I was crying and so upset that how could he share our personal matter to some other people? Is fertility treatment some kind of cool things to tell other people? Do you know how emotionally & physically hard it was for us to go through that and finally have a baby? Maybe, you cannot understand the IF world and the reason why we kept this as a secret because you didn't struggle to have a baby. You guys weren't even trying to have a baby. It was an accident (well, they weren't preventing, to be accurate) Who else did you tell about us? Do our circle of friends know, too? Why did you have to share our names? Couldn't you just say "Someone I know is having a IVF..." How could you be so incensitive to this subject matter??
Waves and waves of emotion took over me that night and I couldn't fall a sleep at all. I felt upset and so unrespected. I was physically tired from crying and being so emotional but I couldn't sleep until 5:30am. I felt really bad for my baby girl because she knew I wasn't sleeping, so she kept moving. It made me cry more that I wasn't proving her good night sleep. I slept for 2 hours and broke down when DH woke up. He didn't blame me at all ("See I told you"), but listened and understood why I was so upset. He suggested that we remind my bestie/her husband that this is very personal so not to share with others. I felt a lot better after talking to my DH.
I am over with this and no longer upset or frustrated, but I will like to let him know how I felt and remind him to respect our personal matter.
Looks like I passed the glucose challenge screening test! My OB hasn't called me back, so it means I am good to go :) We finally traded in my car with a family friendly Ford Escape over the holiday. We received a really good end-of-year deal and I absolutely LOVE my new car!!! The holiday break was so nice and we welcomed the year 2013 with good friends with a total new mindset.
This is what happened...
My bestie's baby girl (3 months) had a baptism last Saturday. It was very special because she choose me as a god mother besides her sister. I felt very special and I do consider her baby as my second daughter.
Everything went well at the ceremony and she invited her guests to her house for lunchen afterwords. I was mingling with people and then, I started talking with my bestie's husband mother and his business partner. We were talking about my pregnancy, baby, etc. Suddenly, the business partner said "Well, it's great that the first try worked for you guys. Thanks to the advanced technology". The mother was also nodding and adding some other comments. My head went blank for a second. I didn't know what they were talking about first, but it hit me that they were talking about our IVF. I smiled and said "I know, we are so thankful", but in my head "HOW THE HELL DO THEY KNOW ABOUT THIS???"
My DH and I decided not to be open about our IF struggles, so very few people knew about this. Only my parents, DH's parents, my bestie and 2 of my GFs. In the beginning of our IF treatment, no one knew about it, but I really needed someone to talk to and vent, so I shared our personal struggle with my bestie. She was so sincere and gave me a lot of emotional support through our journey. My DH wasn't happy about it and said "Everyone will know about us", but I said "No, they won't" Right before our IVF, I found out that my bestie's husband knew that we were having IVF. Both of them are good friends of ours, so it didn't bother us that she told about our personal matter to him only.
I haven't yet confirmed, but I am 100% sure it was him that who told his mom & business partner about our struggle and IVF.
The night when my DH and I went to bed, a big emotion hit me really hard. I couldn't stop crying. I was crying and so upset that how could he share our personal matter to some other people? Is fertility treatment some kind of cool things to tell other people? Do you know how emotionally & physically hard it was for us to go through that and finally have a baby? Maybe, you cannot understand the IF world and the reason why we kept this as a secret because you didn't struggle to have a baby. You guys weren't even trying to have a baby. It was an accident (well, they weren't preventing, to be accurate) Who else did you tell about us? Do our circle of friends know, too? Why did you have to share our names? Couldn't you just say "Someone I know is having a IVF..." How could you be so incensitive to this subject matter??
Waves and waves of emotion took over me that night and I couldn't fall a sleep at all. I felt upset and so unrespected. I was physically tired from crying and being so emotional but I couldn't sleep until 5:30am. I felt really bad for my baby girl because she knew I wasn't sleeping, so she kept moving. It made me cry more that I wasn't proving her good night sleep. I slept for 2 hours and broke down when DH woke up. He didn't blame me at all ("See I told you"), but listened and understood why I was so upset. He suggested that we remind my bestie/her husband that this is very personal so not to share with others. I felt a lot better after talking to my DH.
I am over with this and no longer upset or frustrated, but I will like to let him know how I felt and remind him to respect our personal matter.
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