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!

13 Weeks

Well, the morning (“all day”) sickness is back full force.  It was nice to have a few good days.  I now have a new outlook on feeling sick…if you can’t beat it, join it (so to say).  I picked up some girlie TV series on DVD and I make sure to have a ton of granny smith apples in the house and a full bottle of water in the bathroom just in case.  I also keep food by the bed and have taken it easy on “different” foods (food that hasn’t been tested yet…by my belly).  I am limiting my outings to 2 full days a week and 1 hour at a time anything beyond that is risky.  I have decided not to fight it, my body is obviously telling me to take it easy and I am blessed to have the choice to take it easy (besides yoga pants fit so much better than real pants).  I have also decided to stop weighing myself, I was really disappointed that I only gained back 1.5 lb’s last week and started to lose again this week.  I have also been discouraged by not being able to eat much and people telling me I need to eat…I honestly eat all day long, just not actual food.  I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and he will tell me if I need to worry.

I have a new and odd symptom…for the past week or so I have had this horrible taste in my mouth and no amount of teeth brushing worked.  I thought I was dehydrated so I have doubled my water consumption.  Turns out you can Google any strange feeling along with pregnancy and find a whole slew of ladies suffering from the same thing.  Well apparently that bad taste is something that some women get while pregnant and the only thing that can completely cure it is giving birth…however there are tons of home remedies that seem to work (always carry gum or mints, gargle with baking soda and water, eat a lemon after eating anything else) I have tried the baking soda and the gum and so far things taste much better.  I wish I could describe the taste but honestly it’s one of those things you have to experience to really understand.  I can honestly say Google has been a blessing and a curse…I can spend all day looking up information but when I find something it sure is helpful!

******Cool Week 13 Fact: Our baby is developing vocal cords this week...I know it sounds crazy but I can’t wait to hear his or her little cry!

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

I've Made It

This one is for all you ladies who love shoes, who look at designer shoes like a child looks at Santa, but can’t afford or can’t imagine spending $800 on a pair of shoes.  This is for all the girls who use a hot pair of heals to make a simple t-shirt and jeans look like a million bucks…
Well my job here as an ex-pat wife has been the most challenging task of my life.  I have to keep my American girl independence and my American girl expectations of a marriage with Chinese materials without insulting the Chinese culture.  The biggest challenges lead to the biggest rewards!  My biggest reward is becoming so much closer to my wonderful husband…but beyond that I have embraced the simple life.  I love that my refrigerator can only hold things we will actually use (as opposed to my pantry and fridge at home which had plenty of room for any sauce, condiment or fun sounding treat I saw at the store).  I love that when thinking about baby stuff I have decided to be a minimalist mom (looking online at babies-r-us makes me wonder how any little baby can actually “need” all that stuff).  Another benefit is the cheap things we can get here (fruits and veggies, DVD’s, airplane tickets).  One thing I have heard about but hadn’t seen is the copy designer shoes.  I have seen the bad copy’s and honestly they are fine (but are cheaply made and don’t give your feet proper support).
Yesterday at LoHu everything changed!  I just went to keep a friend company and to pick up something from the tailor.  I have come to find that I get the best deals when I don’t actually need anything.  Jodie and I stopped at a shoe store and I was asking to see if they made tennis shoes in Adam’s size.  The girl said they didn’t have anything here but she could take me to her other shop right next door.  Jodie was working on a deal so I went with the girl…we went to a bedding store, I was very confused…especially when she lead me to the closet.  Well this closet wasn’t a closet at all but a secret store with the high quality copy bags and shoes!!!!  No were in sight were there men’s tennis shoes but I didn’t care I was in shoe heaven!  I saw Jimmy Choo, Tods, Chanel, and the list goes on…  I tried on a pair of amazing Jimmy Choo’s and a pair of strappy Burberrys’.  The girl went to get Jodie who insisted that I obviously wasn’t in the bedding store and refused to come in (these are little 9x9 shops and she could see I wasn’t there) so I went to get her and she was as amazed as I was.  The girl quoted me a price of 1700 RMB ($250) for both pairs…since I don’t actually need shoes and I didn’t intend to come home with anything I aimed low in the bargaining and got both pairs of shoes for what I would pay for decent off season shoes on sale at Belk.  Not only that, but I now have the business card to get me to the girl with the shoes! 

Nothing Says HAPPY BIRTHDAY Like Disney!

Since Adam and I don’t “need” anything, and we really don’t want more stuff…more stuff means more furniture to put the stuff, which means we need more space and a never ending battle of STUFF!  So we go on trips for our birthdays, anniversary, etc…  Who knows with the little one coming soon this may be our last birthday trip just the two of us (but don’t feel too sorry…we still have 3 more big trips planned through the end of the year).  We may end up turning to the “something we need but don’t buy because we would rather spend money on the baby” gift giving couple (which is totally fine), but for now it’s all about Disney!

Everyone told me not to go in with high expectations (not possible…I but on a calm face but I was totally giddy on the inside); they said it is nothing like Disney Land (or World) in the states.  But Disney is a magical place no matter how lame it may seem.  I figured my friends 4 year old can celebrate his birthday there and have a good time, the for sure I can. 
First of all Disney Hong Kong has its own train on the MTR which truly gets you into the Disney spirit (windows and rings shaped like Mickey, statues of the characters etc…).

We stayed at the Disney Hollywood Hotel (a 1950’s Hollywood themed hotel) and spent all day Saturday at the Park.  There were only 3 rides that “expectant mothers” weren’t allowed on.  I actually went on one that wasn’t a ride but a haunted hotel.  We did everything from see the top shows to riding it’s a small world, to waiting in line to have our picture taken with Mickey, to sitting front and center for the parade and fireworks. 

A really cool part of the trip was this was the first weekend of the Halloween theme so all the characters were dressed for Halloween, the Disney villains were the stars of the parade, and they had special Halloween events.  We left totally satisfied with what we were able to do, and with me just beginning to feel the “pregnancy soreness” after a day in the sun and on my feet.  I can see why people aren’t impressed with HK Disney; honestly we could have done it in a half a day if I wasn’t pregnant (spending time searching for the perfect baby gift, taking snack breaks every couple hours etc…).  But I had an amazing time!

12 Weeks

I feel sooooooo much better!  I have gained back 1.5lb’s and I actually feel hungry, but not only that I have actually eaten food fit for an adult (rather than the baggies of goldfish crackers and cheerios that were my lifesaver when I left the house).  I am almost in the 2^nd Trimester (which means I may get clearance to exercise again).  My energy level is up (I am guessing because I am actually giving my body the proper fuel.  Now I need to focus on gaining the 6 lb’s I am down, plus the 3-5 lb’s recommended weight gain for the first trimester, in a healthy way.  I still need to have snacks every couple hours or else…well use your imagination…however my snacks need to be more substantial and have more variety, an apple can no longer satisfy my hunger.  Now it’s an apple, some pretzels and some candy.

I am really starting to feel pregnant!  I am showing, and I have some hip pain (which is apparently something that happens more frequently if you live in Norway or are of Norwegian descent...I looked it up on the internet and started to be concerned at the fact that I was experiencing hip pain so early and found out about the Norwegian thing…weird).  It was also nice for people to offer their seat on the MTR in Hong Kong and to let people pass me in the immigration lines.

Now…I think…everyone knows about the pregnancy, which is such a relief.  I was honestly worried that people would think I was a bad mother (before the baby was even born) because of the decision we made to have the baby overseas.  Adam and I are 100% confident with our decision, we know it’s not going to be easy…but is it really easy anyway…and it will be tough not having family or old friends around, but we will not be alone at all (in fact another friend here is pregnant as well and is due 4 weeks before I am), I have already gotten tons of meals (for Adam since I couldn’t bring myself to cook), tons of hand me downs, some amazing advice and support from my “Huizhou Ex-Pat Family”.  Even though we have known each other only a short time, there is something about being the only few people, in a city of 4 million, that can speak English that brings a group together.  I really hope someday Adam and I can take our children on a tour around the world to visit these forever friends wherever they may be. 

The support we get here is wonderful but the support we have gotten from EVERYONE back in our home country is priceless.  I will remember everyone’s reaction when we made our little announcement on SKYPE for the rest of my life, and I am so thankful that everyone kept our secret and let us tell (It’s my right as a 1^st time mother to hear 1^st reactions 1^st hand); I am also saving all the amazing e-mails full of positive thoughts and excitement.  I know people are wondering about our “Pre-Birth” plan but there are a few details I need to iron out.  I will do a special post on that soon!

*****Cool Week 12 Fact: My baby has doubled in size in the past 3 weeks (good to know since my belly has also doubled in size). 

Like Most Things in America…Our Baby Was Made In China

Yeah, that’s right…

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!!!!

Keeping this secret is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life…especially since we use skype and a webcam, and I had horrible all day sickness!  When people would call I would open my tired eyes and smile through the nausea (and hide any pregnancy books that may be near the computer).  It almost slipped a few times but I got really good at lying.  No we aren’t planning a trip in March, we will be having a baby in April and I don’t think it would be a great idea, No I didn’t just go to Hong Kong for the heck of it…I went for doctors appointments, No I don’t think beer is disgusting and I do love wine, No I didn’t eat it…I played with it and pushed it around the plate because either I didn’t want to hurt the baby or I didn’t want to vomit all over the table,  Nope, I didn’t play golf…the doctor took me off exercise that week and our coupons expired at the end of the month, unfortunately won’t get to ride space mountain on my birthday trip to Disney…they don’t let pregnant women ride, nope, I don’t feel fine (actually I want to puke then take a nap).  Those are just the lies I remember…so please forgive me if you were at the receiving end of one of our lies.

Back to the good news…our baby is fine and is 11 weeks and 1 day old today.  We told our families a couple weeks ago (our plan was to wait until after the first trimester).  We made them keep our secret and then we started asking ourselves…why are we keeping this secret?, we already told some people…why not just tell everyone!  So last Sunday we sent out e-mails and facebook messages (tacky, I know but we couldn’t call everyone and it’s not like we can just tell people as we see them at work or at church).  And as my birthday gift to myself I get to make the official announcement on the blog.

I have written blog entries (but hid them…go me and my mad technology skills) for the pregnancy so far, so if you would like to read about how I felt or what happened at doctor’s appointments go for it…I figured if we were living in NC I would have told everyone as soon as I knew and I would have shared all my pregnancy symptoms, doctors appointments and pictures with family and friends, so this is my way of pretending like we are living right around the corner.  Plus we have some ultrasound pictures!