Pregnant By Association

I never really liked when people said “WE are pregnant”.  Adam and I are not pregnant, I am pregnant, WE are expecting a baby.  However Adam is pregnant by association.  While I was losing weight he was gaining weight since he would eat the food I couldn’t.  Our trips include snack breaks, and allow for sleeping in and relaxing in the morning.  Adam gets to sleep in on vacation, eat lots of great foods and benefit from my frequent snack breaks, and now that I can actually eat he benefits from spending money on great food when we would normally try to save money and eat cheap…however he now has to carry a backpack when we go out (I carry the baby…Adam carries everything else), he carries the cameras, my snacks, water, basically everything we need for a day out.  He also has to deal with the luggage…I would help but he doesn’t let me touch the suitcase.  We also get preferential seating on airplanes, when we came back from Bali we got to sit in first class for free! 

25 Weeks

This has been a wonderful week!  Well besides the fact that our water wasn’t hot and would randomly cut off…haha.  I have finally gotten that second trimester burst of energy that everyone has been talking about!  I planned and got everything ready for a party for 50 people (including baking cookies in a toaster oven).  I took a trip to Shenzhen because our water was off for a day.  I went to my first ever Chinese wedding.  A couple of my favorite things this week were staying in a hotel with heat and a nice hot shower and celebrating Christmas with some great people! 
I think the biggest celebration this week is my appetite is slowly returning.  Friday at our Christmas party I was able to eat a slice of pizza and a chicken nugget from KFC.  Pizza is something that if someone mentioned it around me I would either get sick or not be able to eat the bland food I planned on eating.  Anything other than French fries from KFC have also been on my “no” list.  Saturday I ate a whole grilled cheese sandwich and Sunday I ate 2 whole slices of pizza.
This week the baby is supposed to weigh about 1.5 lbs.  I am now in the positives!  I weigh 1.5 lb’s above my starting weight!  I never thought I would be so happy to be gaining weight. 

I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow which is really exciting but this one is a little scary.  I find out the results of Adam’s blood test which will let us know if I am RH- or not.  I also have to get approval to fly.  The airlines require a doctor’s note once you are 27 weeks, I will only be for 2 days before we fly home.  I don’t have a problem telling the airline that I am a week earlier, but during my last visit to the doctor he asked what our Christmas plans were.  I thought he was being casual so I told him that we were going to Australia and would be there through the New Year.  He said that he would need to see me right before to clear me to fly.  I know that everything is OK, I know that the baby is growing (at least my belly is showing a lot of growth) and I feel him kicking all the time, but I am paranoid that he will find some reason that I can’t fly…I would be devastated!

I don’t know if it was the excitement of Christmas or I have in fact gotten an extra burst of energy but I hope it sticks around for at least a month.
******Cool Week 25 Fact: If the baby is positioned the right way you can hear his heartbeat by putting your ear up to the belly.  Adam tried this out and the baby kicked him in the head…haha!  I like this kid already!  Another cool fact if you could see the baby you would know what color hair they have.

20 Weeks

I can’t believe I am at the halfway point…on one hand I feel like it was only yesterday that I took the pregnancy test and on the other hand I can’t remember what it was like not carrying my little boy. 

I have spent a lot of time looking at sheeting fabric and pricing crib bedding at target.  The goal is to have much cuter and more unique bedding for a fraction of the price.  I went to 2 wholesale markets in Shenzhen and the Fabric street market in Hong Kong and came back with a wad of cash and an empty rolly cart.  I could not find a print that was good enough for my boy, unique enough, or something that I totally fell in love with.  I had a plan in my head and so far it is not working out.  I think I have decided to go with a solid color and do bright accents…so back to my fabric market on Wednesday. The problem I am having is the fabric looks either too babyish (I don’t want pastel or primary colors) or the fabric has cartoon characters all over it…not for my kid…at least not until he can talk, and maybe not even then (God forbid he turns out like me where he can out stubborn anyone until he gets his way…only room for one of us in this family). 

I am exclusively in yoga pants or maternity pants…I love that my jeans have the feel of yoga pants but the look of jeans.  I have yet to find a maternity shirt I like so I am just wearing things that are long and baggy.  I have had plenty of things copied at the Tailor, so I am all set for fall/winter…however it is mid November and I haven’t seen a sign of fall yet.  Next trip I am having some of my shorts copied only with a maternity band and some warm weather clothes for my Christmas/Summer vacation in Australia.  Until then I am wearing the same 4 shirts (if I am at home I wear old t-shirts so I can use my 4 good shirts a few times before washing).

Right now I am all baby…the only place I am gaining weight is in the belly (up another pound…only 8 more to go until I am at pre-pregnancy weight).  I am really excited that I am gaining my pound a week (well for the past 2 weeks) that I should be gaining.  I have gotten to the point where it is uncomfortable to bend at the waist.  My ligaments on the sides of my belly are stretching (and painful) and my hips are spreading again.  I walk like a duck, I stand up like an old person, and I nap and eat like a toddler…no doubt I am pregnant.  I love looking pregnant (I know I said this before but I really mean it now) and there is no question there is a baby in there. 

I know living in America I would have had this weeks ago but I had my first ever conversation with a stranger about pregnancy.  I was in Hong Kong, which is probably why I was able to have this conversation and the woman was from Texas, which is probably why she felt like she could ask me about it.  I was at Outback Steakhouse and really wanted a salad and a bloomin’ onion.  Adam was at a work meeting so I was “that pregnant lady” who goes to Outback and orders herself a bloomin’ onion.  A woman from Texas and her husband (from Turkey) sat beside me and she immediately started talking about how they had to get a bloomin’ onion and how Americans LOVE them.  Then she started talking to be about the onion then we got to my favorite question “how far along are you?”.  I have been waiting for people to talk to me about it (and not just about me to other strangers).  That little question totally made my day!

*****Cool Week 20 Fact: Baby can hear now…he can even cover his ears if he hears a loud noise (he will have a lot of practice with that here in China, never mind with the construction in the apartment above.

Little Yoda or Little Adam

I had my doctor’s appointment which is always the highlight of my week, but I always get nervous a couple days before (especially since I felt REALLY good yesterday…I figured something had to be wrong).  This was the first appointment where I had to wait more than 2 min. to see the doctor, which actually was a good thing since there is no eating on the MTR (Hong Kong subway), in the stations and honestly eating in the middle of immigration isn’t the best idea (although I have done it before)…so I got a chance to nibble on some cheerios and goldfish. 

Basically the baby is growing very quickly (and by quickly I mean my due date keeps getting closer and closer).  I have had every appointment on a Tuesday and the first appointment showed that I was 7 weeks and 1 day, the next appointment showed 9 weeks and 3 days, this appointment showed 13 weeks and 5 days (based on the size of baby)!  This makes me wonder if I will have a little baby like me (6 lb’s)…a little Yoda (which apparently is what my parents called me when I was born because I was so small and wrinkled…nice huh), or a bigger baby like Adam (he thinks he was 9+lb’s), who I am sure didn’t get made fun of by his parents.  The baby has a bladder (so the kidneys are working) and a stomach (so he/she should be swallowing).  I saw both arms, both hands, both legs and both feet.  The whole time we had the ultrasound on the baby had its hand in front of its face…so cute…almost like he/she was saying MOOOOOM, no more pictures (but as a mother it is my right to take as many pictures of my child as I want)!

Now for the food issue: The doctor didn’t seem concerned at my weight loss (because the baby was growing).  We did discuss the problem though and since I kept hydrated and wasn’t vomiting everything up, he thought I would be fine.  He asked me if I had tried EVERYTHING…including eating McDonalds.  I told him that french fries are my go to food and he was ok with that.  I told the doctor that the main issue for me is that I CAN’T eat most foods and he totally understood (basically I gag as soon as “bad” food is put in front of me or I tough it out and decide to put the “bad” food in my mouth…so I am gagging when I try to swallow and unless I have an emergency apple nearby I am miserable and gagging for the next 10 min.).  I am so glad he understands and I know people mean well but telling me to just eat it anyway doesn’t help, and my doctor didn’t do that.  He told me about his own wife who was sick and couldn’t eat much for the whole 9 months of both her pregnancies and he said both of the babies were full term and full sized (then he said I don’t know if knowing that will make you feel better or worse…but just know the baby looks great).  It seems like every time I see Dr. Doo I like him more and more!

Just Out of Curiosity…OLD WIVES TALES TO PREDICT GENDER

I read somewhere that with good equipment a doctor can predict the gender of the baby by ultrasound as early as 12 weeks at 80% accuracy.  Now they can tell with more certainty they can tell between 16 and 20 weeks.  So chances are I won’t find out anything until my October appointment (I will be 17 weeks) but just in case I decided to look to old wives tales to see what they say.

1)     I am carrying low – BOY (looking at my small bump and with my occasional lower back pain…I could be wrong about how I’ll carry when I am bigger but for now – LOW)

2)     My cravings are more sour then sweet – BOY (now when I say craving keep in mind nothing tastes good to me)

3)     My face is thin and pale – BOY (again…I have lost weight and am nauseous)

4)     My face is totally broken out – GIRL

5)     According to the Chinese Birth Charts – BOY or GIRL (I checked 2 and one said boy the other said girl)

6)     According to the ancient Mayans – GIRL (apparently if your age and the year of conception are both even or odd it’s a girl…if one is odd and the other is even it’s a boy)

7)     The ring test says – GIRL

8)     Morning Sickness? Check – GIRL

9)     Apparently if you look at what your mother had (girl then boy) and you are the first born you start with number 2 then move back to 1 – BOY

10)  Mothers Gut - ???? My feelings are totally based on what names I like better – GIRL, the clothes I find cuter – BOY or GIRL, I keep calling it a he (but it’s easier to say) – BOY

It looks like I have a 50% chance of having a boy and a 50% chance of having a girl…hmmmmm

5 Weeks

my bloated before look

It’s official I had a doctor’s appointment in Hong Kong this morning where they took a blood test and determined (according to my HCG levels) that I am 5 weeks along!  The first thing the doctor said was “What happened?...I thought you were going to start trying in a few months!” then he laughed when I said I thought you had to go off the pill a few months before trying to get your body back on schedule (I love a doctor that doesn’t mind teasing you a little…it makes me more relaxed). It was too early for the first ultrasound so Dr. Doo (pronounced Dew) said he would save me some money and do the full examination at my next appointment.  Not only is my doctor totally cool, highly recommended by Hong Kong ex-pats, but he likes saving me money…I think he is a keeper.  I wasn’t surprised but I was relieved that my blood levels are good (whatever they are and whatever they mean).  My next appointment is August 17^th (maybe I will hear the heart beat).  The only bad thing about my doctor being in Hong Kong is Adam can’t come to all the appointments with me (it takes 3-4 hours to travel one way).  GLASS HALF FULL: baby number 2 will be special for daddy because he will be able to go to more doctors appointments when we live in Raleigh and he doesn’t have to take the full day off (not that we are planning baby number 2 yet).  Adam is saving the days off for my big doctor’s appointments.

Between the blood test and hearing the results I wondered a couple baby stores planning on picking something up…a “I bought you this when I found out I was pregnant with you” gift.  Unfortunately I am totally caught up in the little girl stuff vs. little boy stuff...the neutral stuff is really cute but not as cute as the little blue booties with a train or the little pink hat with a flower.  I guess I will have to wait until we find out to start buying things…but for now looking at everything is enough to keep me happy.

I treated myself to Dr. Oz’s pregnancy book, and it looks interesting…it talks about why everything happens where What To Expect just kind of tells you what happened.  After I get my amazon shipment (another pregnancy book…it is really fun to learn about all the cool things my body is doing and how my baby is growing…and a couple pregnancy workout DVD) I will be an expert of my own body and the best possible home for our little baby. 

***COOL WEEK 5 FACT: The baby's heart started beating!

All the signs point to PREGNANT!

I took 3 more tests just for my own piece of mind.  There wasn’t a doubt in my mind until they told me they would take a blood test before I could see the doctor…I started thinking how awful it would be if the test came back negative after I got so excited and I was stuck in Hong Kong totally disappointed.  So never mind the fact that I am 2 weeks late (when I am normally like clockwork) and never mind that I am tired and bloated and I have gained 1.5 kilo’s (my scale in Kilo’s which I don’t mind since the number is much smaller) and never mind that I really feel it (it is crazy I felt cramps and just weirdness in my belly).  I needed the three more tests for my own piece of mind.  They all came back positive.  I am so excited about my doctor’s appointment, until then by my calculations I am 5 weeks.  It is so cool to think that the baby is the size of a poppy seed and next week it will be an orange seed with a beating heart the size of a poppy seed.  It is growing so quickly…no wonder I am exhausted.

3 Positive Tests

We planned on starting to work on getting pregnant at the end of the summer/early fall.  Well our plans don’t always pan out the way we expected.  I went to the doctor for a pre-appointment in June and he gave me some prenatal vitamins and said that I should go off the pill two or three months early.  And well apparently I got pregnant right away.  I took a pregnancy test after I was a little late and we both went in after 5 min. to look at it together.  At first glance I didn’t see anything but we both noticed a very light second line.  I took another test 3 days later and we had a darker line but it still wasn’t DARK.  At this point we were in Vietnam and I was convinced I was pregnant.  I had lots of cramps and an odd feeling in my belly plus looking back it explained why I had been so tired lately.  I had been up to working out at the gym 3 times a week (half hour of cardio and half hour of weight training) and I had felt like I could go all day, plus I was doing yoga daily and my wii fit when I wasn’t at the gym.  All of a sudden last Sunday I couldn’t make it through my whole workout.  Monday I pretty much laid around all day, Tuesday I tried to go to the gym again and I could only last 15 min before I started cramping up.  Wednesday we had the very faint test so when I went to the gym on Thursday I slowed down the workout allowing me to last 30 min.  BACK TO OUR SECOND TEST…I figured I better be pregnant because I couldn’t explain my sleepiness and my weird belly feelings any other way.  Adam needed another test so we bought one in Vietnam (the test I bought in China was the equivalent to about $1 US and the one in Vietnam was about $0.75 US….so we were a little worried about how well they worked).  Positive again.  Yesterday I made an appointment at the doctors in Hong Kong for Monday.  After I heard they would be taking a blood test before allowing me to have an appointment with the doctor I started getting paranoid about these tests being wrong and my symptoms are all in my head.  So on my outing this afternoon I plan on buying some more tests, different brands so that I feel sure before I get all the way to Hong Kong and have to come back because the Asian tests aren’t accurate.  We are planning on not telling anyone back in the US until we are three months into the pregnancy, just to make sure things are OK.  I will keep up this journal so that I don’t have to try to remember these stories to share with everyone once they know.