Week 17 and Definitely Showing!

We had our appointment with Dr. Wong today, everything went perfectly- we went over my last blood test and everything is normal. We saw Baby Lee moving around on the sonogram again, and we are having another blood work for the second trimester.

On the sonogram we were able to see that s/he got much bigger and based on some measurements, s/he weights about 6 ounces hehe. We can see his/her ribs, spine, heart.. etc. it was pretty cool.

We are going to schedule our 3-D sonogram at Beth Israel in a few weeks and we can't wait to see the baby 3D!

I've gained 4 lbs and I am totally showing now. I look like I'm carrying a basketball haha. Although I still fit into my clothing but I know it won't be long till I need to wear maternity so I went ahead and bought some!!! Here are a few of my purchases thus far:

I can't wait till it gets warmer and I get wear all these pretty maternity dresses!

We have been holding off on any baby related purchases simply because it just feels too early. We plan on painting the baby room during Easter break :) and then after that, we will start purchasing nursery items yay! We did go window shopping and have an idea of what we want for the baby's crib, stroller, and car seat... I can't wait to set up the nursery <3

Week 14 Update

Sick and Pregnant Again
I am sick again. I started feeling the symptoms of a cold mid last week right before the start of our mid winter break and it's just been going downhill. I think it's a pattern now, whenever there is a break, I get sick... sighs... Luckily, this time I am not having a fever (yet) and it's really not too too bad. I have a major runny nose (sneezing every 5 minutes or so and using boxes of tissues), itchy throat and some cough. Danny usually doesn't get sick from me, but this time he's not so lucky either :(

Mid-Winter Recess
Besides this annoying cold, my break has been pretty relaxing so far. Danny and I spent the weekend relaxing together per usual. Then, on Monday I went out to the city to have lunch with Dorry at Chipotle (my fav!), followed by a 80 minute ease massage (super duper relaxing), and then had afternoon tea with Syl. It was such a relaxing day for me to be able to get out there and just catch up with friends :) and don't even get me started with the massage... ahh... it was truly heavenly. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with my parents helping them with some business related issues. Today, I had lunch with Sara, Annie, and Baby Evan at BKNY :) they were giving me lots of tips!

Baby Book
Our baby book arrived yesterday!

We ordered it on amazon and it's even cuter in person! We picked a gender neutral baby book since we don't know the sex of the baby yet. I can't wait to start filling it out hehe

Postpartum Doula
My parents hired us a postpartum doula to help us out when the baby arrives. They actually hired this doula as soon as we told them about the baby weeks ago. At first we weren't so keen on having a stranger living with us... but after talking to a few moms, I am so grateful that they did. The doula will live with us for 40 days after the birth of the baby and she will take care of the baby, cooking, and all the other household chores. Being a first time mom I'm sure I can use some help from an experienced doula! She will be sleeping in the nursery with the baby so we'll put a twin bed in there for now. This definitely will free me up so I don't have to do the nighttime feedings. Plus, this puts the pressure off our parents so when they come and visit, they can just spend time with us and the baby instead of handling house chores. It really puts me at ease knowing there will be someone here helping out when baby lee finally arrives :)

That's all the update for now, I hope this break never ends ahh!

Week 13 and Going Public

We had our 3rd appointment with Dr. Wong this past Saturday. This was the first appointment where Danny came into the exam room with me since we can now do an external u/s. I was preping Danny in case we weren't going to do any u/s since it's not common that mom-to-bes get u/s done at EVERY appointment. But to our surprise, not only did he get to see the baby through the u/s, Baby Lee was VERY ACTIVE and s/he was moving non-stop!! We saw Baby Lee kicking, waving, and even stretching! It was such an amazing moment for us. I just can't believe how human like s/he is already!  We weren't prepared for all that movement so we couldn't video tape it, but for sure, next time we will!

Dr. Wong measured Baby Lee's length and determined him/er to be at 13 weeks (which is a few days older than we originally thought s/he is) but my due date is still going to be on August 23. The good news is that it doesn't look like Dr. Wong will be away on vacation during that time (YAY!), I really really really pray that she will be the one that delivers the baby because we love her!

During the u/s, she asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby since she can look for it already... we hesitated and I finally said "No"... ahh!!! For now, we decided NOT to find out the sex of the baby until that big moment in the delivery room when the doctor announces... "IT'S A BOY/GIRL!"... but knowing me, it's going to be reallyyyy tough not to find out! We'll see what happens at our next appointment (Week 17)...

Another good news is that I haven't gained any weight even though I feel like I look like a boat already... My goal is not to gain any weight until 5 months into the pregnancy.. we'll see what happens

We decided to go public on facebook since my first trimester is coming to an end :) and this Saturday will mark the beginning of our second trimester! Super excited hehe

Hope everyone is/will be having a wonderful Valentine's Day/Evening!

Here is a picture of Baby Lee at Week 13:

10 Weeks Update

As we are heading toward the end of our 1st trimester (3 more weeks!), some of my early pregnancy symptoms are disappearing! I no longer feel any cramps and my skin is clearing up nicely. I am also not feeling as tired and only take occasional naps in the afternoon (3 times a week?). I do feel bloated all the time and you may think I'm crazy but I am already showing :( My stomach used to be flat and now there is always a little bump.... I still fit into my clothes fine but the bump is definitely there! I feel like such a fatty. I feel hungry all the time, so I snack through out the day. I have to eat small meals now because I get extremely uncomfortable when I overeat. This has been tough because I am used to eating until I am 100% full but now I have to control myself so I am only 70% full. Here is what my eating schedule is like on a normal school day:

7:30AM- On our way to school, I usually stop by a bakery and grab a bun and a cup of milk tea (it's my cup of caffeine a day, it's allowed!)
10:15AM- Right before the end of my prep period I would snack on a yummy washington apple. You won't believe this but I used to hate apples before getting pregnant, now I crave them! Sometimes I can have multiple apples a day!
11:30AM- On Monday and Wednesdays I am free during this period so I would have a cup of FAGE yogurt or any other fruits I may have brought that day
12:40PM- This is my lunch period and I would have my apple (if I didn't have time to eat that in the morning) or my yogurt (if I didn't have that break at 11:30AM) first and then I usually have left overs from previous night's dinner... yumm!
3:00 PM - 5:00PM - depending on the day, I usually get home anytime from 3:00PM to 4:30PM and by this time I am usually starving and would have another snack. Lately, I've been either having guacamole or salsa dip with chips, and/or some fruits (black berries, blue berries, clementines, another apple?), or cereal.
8:00PM- We usually have late dinners because Danny doesn't get home until then. It's always a struggle not to overeat during dinner time since I am so used to having ginormous dinners :( but Danny has been good at warning me that I am overeating lol

So that's it- my preggo diet! I have been weighting myself on a weekly basis and I am happy to say that I haven't gained any weight yet and the goal is not to gain anything until we are 5 months pregnant (Dr Wong's order!). I am optimistic about that goal since my metabolism has been high and it's just been rare for my weight to fluctuate either way.

I am so excited/anxious/hopeful about the rest of the pregnancy (30 more weeks?)... can't wait! =D

Loving Being Pregnant

I know it's really early in the pregnancy to say this, but I LOVE being pregnant! I really really really love it. No, I can't feel the baby yet and the idea of having a baby growing inside me is still very foreign to me, but I am loving these first few months of pregnancy. Besides the fact that I feel tired easily, I need to nap almost everyday at 3:30PM sharp, and get to bed by 9PM nightly, my body feels great. I have a great appetite, I feel happy, upbeat, and just overall at a really good place. Baby Lee is giving me a different perspective in life- I don't stress about work anymore, I'll take the challenges as they come. I don't fuss about small things when they don't go according to plan, because hey, it's not a big deal. I take care of myself much better, I eat well, sleep well, and just am a happy person. Not that I was not a happy person before, but there is definitely a noticeable difference ever since the day I saw the double pink lines :)

Some of the highlights of this week:

I told Dorry about Baby Lee earlier this week and she was so excited! It made me feel so loved :)

My sister Wing has been pampering me ever since she found out I'm preggo hehe, sometimes she would pick me up from work with food and just spend time with me (well it is her winter break so she has nothing better to do anyway =P) 

My grandpa called me a few days ago to congratulate us! My parents just cannot contain themselves... even though I asked them not to say anything until the end of our first trimester. But it's okay- I don't blame them :)

Most importantly, Danny has just been wonderful... but he has always been wonderful anyway so I guess nothing has changed.

Symptoms

Some of the early pregnancy symptoms that I had/are having:

1. cramps- I started having cramps even before I got a positive pregnancy test. The cramps felt just like menstrual cramps and they were more severe during the first month of pregnancy. Now, I rarely feel any cramps
2. sore breasts
3. frequent bathroom trips
4. acne- ahh! it's like I'm back in high school again, so awful :(
5. eczema- my eczema has gotten worse since the pregnancy and I am battling it with lots of lotion and the humidifier
6. dizziness- sometimes I feel a little dizzy, but not too often
7. tiredness- I get sooo sleepy around 4:00PM and desperately need to nap. Luckily, my teaching schedule allows me to be lazy like that hehe. I get home from school around 3:30PM, take care of the pups and go down for a nap :) After the nap, I would feed the dogs, lesson plan, cook dinner for us and wait for the hubby to come home
8. increased appetite- this one is hard to say since I've always had a big appetite. But I think there is a noticeable difference because I must eat breakfast now, I wake up hungry!
9. food aversion- you are not going to believe this... but I started to dislike... wait for it- chicken and rice!!!! ahh! I cannot believe this! Last night we went to get chicken and rice and I took like 5 bites from it and I couldn't have it anymore. Besides chicken and rice, I also dislike boo dae jigae... I know, I know, these are like my favorite foods! On the bright side, they are not exactly "good" for me so maybe it is better that I started to hate it.

The good news is I am not experiencing any nausea- so no morning sickness! Dr. Wong said if I a not experiencing it now, chances are, I won't be experiencing any at all during this pregnancy. I am truly blessed and grateful that I can experience food the same way during my pregnancy! :)

8 Weeks and 3 Days

We had our second OBGYN appointment today, and this time I get to meet with Dr. Wong! I absolutely looove Dr. Wong, she is soo detailed and super nice. Dr. Wong is my dad's cousin and pretty much our whole family goes to her. My mom adores her and she is very happy that I decided to choose Dr. Wong as my OBGYN.

When we arrived at her office today I was a bit anxious since we were not able to see the baby's heartbeat during our last visit. So this time we should definitely be able to see the baby's heartbeat (if everything is normal). And there it was! I saw the baby's heartbeat going reallly fast on the monitor! She even gave me a printed copy of it! haha

I got two vials of blood drawn from me today for some routine testing. Our next appointment will be 4 weeks from today which is on Valentine's weekend and if all goes well- we will go public that week!

Oh yes, our expected due date is August 23, 2011. I hope the baby will arrive a week early though because Dr. Wong will most likely be away at the end of August :( nooo!!

Since twins run in my family, Dr. Wong checks for any signs of a second baby and luckily- there is only one baby lee in there. My mom was disappointed that I am not having twins though :)

Here is baby lee's first picture: