Sitting on the beach in Bali while getting a foot massage…does life get any better than this?

Our trip to Bali was just what we needed.  I decided to not do a whole lot of planning since this was supposed to be a relaxing vacation and I figured like in Thailand you can get tour packages much cheaper from men on the street then you can from the internet. 
I really wanted to stay in Ubud which is the more cultural area but the hotels in our price range got mixed reviews, the complaints being that they were too far from town to walk.  After thinking about it staying on the beach was the smarter choice (I mean who wants to sit in a cab covered with sand).  We stayed on Kuta beach which is meant to be where young people hang out to get drunk and party…not what I was planning on doing over the weekend so we stayed on the edge of the beach close to the airport.  Our resort had a private beach and right outside the entrance we had an Indian restaurant, a Thai restaurant, a Mediterranean restaurant and a Mexican restaurant.  There were also market streets and DVD shops.  I know we don’t need another DVD but we had to check for Christmas movies since we haven’t been able to find any in Huizhou. 
Friday we got to Bali around noon and went straight to the beach.  We spent the majority of the day at the beach before moving to the pool.  That night we explored the Kuta area and had an amazing dinner at the Mediterranean restaurant.

This is what Adam did...

and this is what I did...the best feeling in the world as a pregnant woman

Saturday we took a tour of Bali which took us to many of the handicraft areas.  We saw how they handmade jewelry, we saw a woodcarving area, an art area, a fabric painting area and a furniture shop.  We also ate lunch with a view of a volcano which is “alive” but hasn’t erupted in 15 years or so.  We stopped at a coffee plantation where Adam was able to taste the fresh coffee.  (Cool story about the coffee plantation: there is a coffee bean which is fermented by going through the digestive system of an animal.  The animal kind of looks like a cross between a cat and a rat…but anyway the animal eats the coffee beans and poops them out, someone gathers the poop and cleans off the beans, which are still intact, and roasts the beans.  This is apparently the most expensive type of coffee…Adam decided against having a sample of this coffee)  The end of our trip took us to Ubud where we walked through a monkey park and walked the streets looking at the handicrafts we just saw being made. 

Sunday we walked around another area of town after breakfast, then, after lunch spent the remainder of the day at the beach.  The wonderful family who worked our beach gave massages and went on beer runs for Adam among other things.  As annoying as it is having people try to sell you stuff while you are trying to relax on the beach my foot massage and Adam’s ability to get a beer without leaving his chair made it more tolerable.  Thankfully living in China has taught 2 people pleasers how to say “no” in a way that makes them leave us alone. 

Like all the other trips we have taken this trip was way too short…I have added it to very long list of places we will take our children to when we tour Asia and show them where mommy and daddy lived for a little while.

22 Weeks - Pregnant in Bali

For as many things I had to do this week and for the number of times I had to eat on the run and wake up early I did pretty well!  I didn’t vomit at all!  I am able to eat even more (variety not amount)…I am still not able to eat a decent amount at a sitting.  I am eating about 1/3 of the amount of food I ate at a meal pre-pregnancy but I do eat snacks and it probably equals the same amount of food eaten per day. 

Bali was amazing for pregnancy, sitting on the beach, belly sticking out of my bikini, great food, pools and an ocean that made me feel weightless.  I told Adam we may have to go back the next time I am pregnant.  Flying wasn’t the most comfortable since we chose a budget airline, however when they saw the belly they put us in the front of the plane (the not quite first class seats that people pay extra for) which had more legroom.  They also put me in an aisle seat so I could get up as needed.  Our budget airline didn’t do connecting flights so we had to go through immigration in Bangkok, however their “special needs” line included pregnant people (and their husbands) so we got through the line fairly quickly.  This trip was the first time I had experienced special treatment because I was pregnant…I guess my belly is obvious to the world and not just to me anymore.  I am beyond the point where people wonder if they should ask if I am pregnant or if they should keep their mouth shut because I could just be fat. 

*****Cool Week 22 Fact: My baby responds to sounds and melody…so I should sing to him.  They say the same sounds will soothe him after he is born (I guess they never heard my singing voice).

Bali Video

Here are the monkeys we saw in UBUD BALI

"It's still a boy!"

Have I mentioned that I love my doctor in Hong Kong?  He makes the exhausting trip to Hong Kong worth my energy.  Not only does he show me real time pictures of my boy, but he has a great sense of humor.  He checked to make sure and…lo and behold my baby is not shy one bit and we got a perfect view of his little manhood! 

Our boy is growing perfectly despite the fact that that his mama isn’t keeping up with him.  Another thing I found out for sure today (which I already claimed without fact) was that I must have heavy bones.  My doctor was surprised at my pre-pregnancy weight, not that I was overweight but I am over the weight that a person my size typically is.  Anyway slowly but surely…only 4 more lb’s to go before I reach the weight I was in July.  I am not trying to gain weight thought…my goal is to continue to eat healthy food and just eat more and more of it.  I don’t think it would do anyone any good if I gained a ton of weight by eating candy and junk.  I do, however eat my share of popcorn and gummy bears…but a girl can’t live off of carrots and apples can she…

Goodbye My Friend

My friend Jodie, my lifesaver, my lunch buddy, my pedicure friend, my shopping partner, my support system here in Huizhou is moving.  This is part of being an ex-pat but it doesn’t make it any easier.  She was my first friend in Huizhou and she is the first person that I have gotten close to that is leaving.
Before we moved here I was given Jodie’s e-mail address because she was a friend of a friend of a coworker of Adam’s and she lived in Huizhou.  She is one of 6 ladies I know that are ex-pat wives in Huizhou and 5 of them moved here after I did…so basically it was Jodie and I for a while (her best friend here left right before we moved here).  I e-mailed Jodie as soon as we were settled into the first hotel and made plans with her for 2 full days within that week.  I took a Taxi to her apartment complex (now mine) and she told me I would know her because she was the blonde Australian woman standing in front of the KFC. 
Since Adam started working Jodie has been the one that told me what stores were the best for produce, which brands were the best, what price was acceptable when bargaining and other useful facts.  I say that Adam and I live in two different China’s, well Jodie lives in my China…the one where people stare at you and take your picture, the one where people rip you off because of the color of your skin, the one where things break in your apartment all the time, the one where people usually don’t understand what you are talking about, but also the one where you learn by becoming a local.  Jodie and I both love our little city of Huizhou but it is time for her to move on.
This day has been a long time coming because Jodie’s move has been postponed from June to July to September to October and now November.  I have tried not to think about it and I have secretly prayed that things keep happening to make her have to stay (sorry Jodie).  Her husband has been working in their new hometown for a few months now, Jodie has been waiting for everything to be settled (his contract, their apartment, etc…) before she and her two boys move.  Well now everything is settled and she is leaving me.  I am glad for her because she no longer has to be a single parent, and she no longer has everything up in the air, and she gets to see her husband again.
On the plus side she isn’t moving far (a cheap 1.5 hour plane ride) and it is to the “Hawaii” of China, where her husband works for a 5 star resort hotel.  I guess that means I may need to take a trip or 2.  Another plus side is that the Island doesn’t have much so she will still have to come to Shenzhen or Hong Kong to do some shopping…and I will happily meet her.  She has already said she would come keep me company for a few days while I am in Hong Kong waiting to have the baby. 
So I guess it isn’t really goodbye.

21 Weeks

I have finally discovered the reason for the random morning sickness I have been having.  Turns out if I wake up before my body is ready (like with an alarm) or get out of bed as soon as I wake up then I get sick.  Normally I wake up around 8:00 (which is sleeping in on the non pregnant Lindsay clock) and lay in bed until 9:00 (or until I feel like I might wet the bed).  It is a really good thing I am not working because when I have to get up early it usually starts off with a lot of dry heaving, then I eat something just because I have to, and vomit that up (I have tried not eating but I just throw up water).  The only cure is to take a nap and start the day over again…I usually feel better around lunch time.  As long as I can relax in the morning I am generally ok. 

Last Thursday I went baby clothes shopping at a street market specializing in copy children’s clothing.  I came back with some really cute things for my little man.  I have taken pictures and will post them soon.  But forget about the clothing and socks, I found a book shop that sells Children’s books in English…needless to say I went a little crazy.  You can’t beat great books at yard sale prices…never mind knowing that they have a store near my home where they sell books in English!

Tomorrow I have another doctor’s appointment.  At this appointment he will measure baby’s everything to make sure all is well.  I am really excited about the appointment like I am for all of them.  I will let you know how things go…however judging on how much my belly is growing I have no doubt the baby is growing right on schedule.

I have gotten to the point where I am not sleeping well.  I can only sleep on my left side and I think the baby’s foot is getting caught by my rib which feels like I am laying on something.  I have to switch to my right to shift him back into place then switch back.  I am also getting up to use the bathroom 3 times a night.  I guess it is good practice for when my newborn boy is hungry. 

*****Cool Week 21 Fact: The baby has visible eyebrows and eyelids.

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.