4 more weeks!!!

i really can't believe i only have 4 more weeks to go, esp since it now means i can go at any time. well... hopefully after next week since the baby will be full term at 37 weeks. my coworkers were planning a surprise baby shower for me, but somehow i was on the email list so i now know about it. hehe. they still haven't set a date yet but the last baby shower we had at work, the guest of honor didn't make it because she had given birth to her baby that morning!! she was 2.5 weeks early AND her labor was a breeze- she basically slept through most of it!! she woke up in the morning feeling pain at 5:15am, timed her contractions and called doctor, dr said, oh i don't think you need to come to the hospital until 7am. she packed her hospital bag and was ready to go at 6:15am, so decide to go to hospital a little early and arrive at 6:45am, and has baby at 7:05am!!! OMG!! she was saying if she had gone to the hospital at 7 she really might have had the baby in the car. wowzers, it would be awesome if my labor was so easy, but i don't know if i'll be so lucky. it's so interesting how labor can be SO different for different people...very odd.

more classes

on sat 7/26 we took a childbirth preparation class (basically a lamaze class but they can't call it that because it's a brand or something). it was a full day class and we mainly just practiced some breathing exercises and some various positions to use when you're in labor. even after the class i'm still soooo nervous about it. on one hand i'm totally ready for this baby to be out of me, and on the other, the labor and postpartum period makes me very worried. i think the main thing is just not knowing what it will be like. i mean, you can try to prepare yourself as much as possible by reading up about it, attend as many classes as you want, but it's still not the same as actually going through it. plus everyone experiences something different, so who knows what mine will be like! i'm really curious to see what contractions feel like and how i'll deal with the pain. my plan is to only get the epidural if i totally can not handle the pain. in all the birthing videos we watched in class, everyone seemed pretty calm when they were in labor. i mean, it looked like it hurt, but they weren't screaming their head off or anything haha another concern i have is the size of the baby's head. since j has a big head, i'm afraid the baby might have a big head too!! i would like to avoid a c-section if at all possible.

anyways, i think once i'm actually going through it all, i'll just have to deal with whatever comes my way and i'll probably be fine. but since i still have a month to ponder what it *might* be like, what *might* happen and what *might* go wrong, it's a little nervewracking. i just need to try to think about other things.

mon night 7/28 we took a breastfeeding class. it was a pretty good class and only 2 hours (thank goodness!) it seems like kaiser santa clara has a really good support system and really wants you to be successful, so i'm feeling fairly confident that breastfeeding will go ok (i hope!).

we are now D-O-N-E with classes..yippee!! baby can come out now =P

4D ultrasound

on mon we went to get a 4D ultrasound done at Siemens in Mt View. If you know anyone that is pregnant and interested in getting a 4D ultrasound, let me know and i can send you the info. they are always looking for models (to collect data to improve their software) and they pay you to go in. so instead of spending $150 to get it done somewhere, i got paid $40! =P

anyways, it was really cool to see the baby...it's still a boy =) he's head down (thank goodness! if he's breech i would have to try to get him to flip or else be scheduled for a c-section) he likes to suck on his hands or put his hand in front of his face, so the tech constantly had to try to get the baby to move his hand to get pictures of his face. he yawned a few times and it was so cute. i can't wait to finally meet him in a few weeks!!!

you can check out some of the photos here

the ultrasound estimated the due date to be 8/29 and calculated the baby to weigh 5.2 lbs (but tech said could be off by 12oz). usually the baby gains 1 lb every 2 weeks, so estimated 8 lb baby. we'll see how accurate it is!

newborn care class

last weekend we took a 6 hr newborn care class. it was basically a class about what you need to know once the baby is here. it was very informative and interesting...the instructor was very much into breastfeeding and being green. she kept on advocating cloth diapers, so it's something we are considering. there's a cloth diaper service in the bay area that will pick up/deliver diapers every week and the cost is only a few cents more per diaper than disposable diapers. i just don't know how leaky cloth diapers will be, but we're attending a "diaper 101" session in august at the store that provides the cloth diaper service so we'll find out more info then. the instructor also said that we shouldn't use disposable wipes in the first few weeks and to just to use a washcloth and water!

each day i feel like i'm getting bigger and bigger...still have 6 more weeks to go! the baby is pretty active and moves around a lot which makes it fairly uncomfortable for me. it's interesting to see all the shapes my belly contort to though. a lot of times there will be something sticking out, it's very funny. we're going to do a 4D ultrasound on Mon so i'll see how the baby is oriented and hopefully get a better idea of what's poking me!!

32 week appt

had my 32 week appt today, waited half an hour for a ten minute checkup. ugh i was so annoyed. took a pee test, got weighed, took blood pressure, measured belly, and listened to heart beat - everything checked out fine. the dr gave me some pre-admission forms for labor and delivery and talked a little bit about the birth plan. omg. i can't believe the birth is coming up so soon...a little more than 7 weeks to go! eek.

on sunday we went to babiesrus with MIL and FIL before they drove home and we got the crib and a BUNCH of clothes. so i think we now have most of the big stuff. now we just need to go buy the diapers, wipes, and other misc items that we'll need and then we should be set. we really have nowhere to put all this baby stuff we've accumulated though..all the gifts are still hanging out in our living room and probably will be there for a while :)

baby shower

on sat 7/5 my sister threw us a baby shower! it was the first for all of us so we kind of just did whatever. it was just supposed to be a fun get together before i have the baby (who knows how much socializing i'll be able to do after the baby comes!) so it was a great success. my sister came over at 10am to start cooking and decorating. i was helping a bit and barely had enough time to change and throw on some makeup before the first guests arrived! even though there was no heat wave, with so many people in our house it got really H-O-T, especially since we have no A/C. the games were entertaining, especially the baby food and poopy diaper one hehe we got some very nice gifts and i can't wait to use them all when the baby comes! it was good to see everyone again (esp those that travelled from afar) and hope everyone had a good time!

late pregnancy class

On 7/3 i had an 1.5hr late pregnancy class. i told j he didn't have to go since it was at 6pm and we'd be taking plenty of other classes. i turned out to be the only one without their partner heh. anyways, the teacher went over the fun symptoms we should be dealing with now -lower back pain, frequent urination, swelling, problems sleeping. unfortunately all she could say was, it only gets worse until the baby comes. yay. then she talked about contractions, going into labor, and when to go to the hospital. she also talked about the birth plan which is basically just a form you can fill out beforehand which indicates how you would like your labor & delivery to go. ie if you would like an epidural, if you plan on breastfeeding not to feed the baby formula, who to cut the umbilical cord, if you have a boy whether or not you plan on circumcising, stuff like that.

i'm still undecided about the epidural, i'm not opposed to it but if i can handle the pain, i would prefer not to have it. since i have no idea what the pain will be like, i'll play it by ear. but i think most likely i'll be getting the epidural hehe

and one big decision we are still undecided about is circumcision. it's a pretty controversial topic though and is mostly done for aesthetic or religious reasons. the american academy of pediatrics no longer recommends the procedure saying that there isn't enough evidence that it has any health benefits. i'm kind of 50/50 on it, both have pros and cons so hopefully we can come up with a decision.

30 week update

10 weeks to go!!! i can't believe i'm almost in single digits, kind of freaky...

the baby gets hiccups several times a day, i would say 3-4 times a day. he moves around a lot, especially at night time. i now get up 1-2 times at night to go pee, mainly because it takes me a looong time (almost an hour) to fall asleep. so usually within that time frame i use the restroom again. it takes me so long to fall asleep because of the heat wave (sooo hot in our room!) and i can't find a comfortable position to sleep in. my shoulder/arm that i'm sleeping on usually loses circulation so i have to adjust...not fun. luckily my back hasn't been giving me too many problems, i know a lot of women need to use a lot of pillows when they sleep because their back hurts, but i've been ok. the only time my back starts hurting is on weekends when i'm actually up and about doing a lot of things. on weekdays i'm mostly sitting and working, so it doesn't strain my back.

i haven't really been talking to my stomach because i don't feel like the baby really responds to my voice. and when i start talking, tofu looks at me funny. haha some people read books or play classical music but i haven't done either. the baby doesn't really seem to respond to j's voice either, but i still make him say something before we go to bed =) sometimes the baby will give a little kick or move around

we signed up for several baby classes so that's what we'll be busy doing in july. and buying all the baby stuff. july will be really busy..i want to have all the important things ready JUST IN CASE the baby comes early. i highly doubt that'll happen but you never know.

28 week appt

I had my 28 week appt today, nothing really eventful happens at these prenatal appts. i get my weight taken, blood pressure taken, the dr measures my belly, and then we listen to the heartbeat. that's it! everything looks fine. i've gained 15lbs so far. my belly button is almost completely flat now, but hasn't popped out (i hope it doesn't). i feel like my stomach is huge already, but no stretch marks so far.

my sweet tooth is back in full force- really loving sweets. doughnuts, chocolate, ice cream, candy. over the weekend i made brioche french toast stuffed with nutella and bananas. i made rice krispie treats the previous weekend. i've been also loving fruits, so we've been going to the local farmer's market every weekend. navel oranges, white peaches/nectarines, pluots, cherries, strawberries. summer fruits are my fave!

gestational diabetes test

i went in yesterday to take the gestational diabetes test and thankfully i passed! there are two tests, the 1 hr and the 3 hr test. if you fail the 1 hr, you have to take the 3 hr, otherwise you don't. for the 1 hr test, you drink this really sweet soda-like drink within 5 minutes (about the size of those mini water bottles), wait 1 hr, and then get your blood drawn. for the 3 hr test, you drink a similiar drink and have to get your blood drawn every hour for 3 hours. i'm soooo glad i passed the 1 hr, i was already getting restless sitting in the lab for an hour, i really did not want to have to go back and do the 3 hr. i was worried because i heard most people fail the 1 hr and usually pass the 3 hr, so i was thinking i might be one of those because i'm such a carb lover! luckily i read a tip somewhere about not eating breakfast and taking the test in the morning, so i did that and passed! yay!