LETTERS TO THE BELLY #1

April 22, 2010

Dear Baby,

Mommy apologizes for freaking out today. It’s just that she loves you so much and the thought of you possibly escaping from her is too much to bear.

Mommy also doesn’t care that the nurses at her OB/GYN now thinks she’s nutso for calling them up and asking whether she could come in to listen to your heartbeat. They should be used to crazy, hormonal first time mothers after all.

But boy, was it a huge relief to hear the thumping of your heart. 154bpm. Daddy now thinks that you’re actually a boy rather than a girl since your heart rate has gotten a bit lower. Just between us, regardless of whether you are a boy or girl, Daddy will spoil you rotten and you will definitely have him wrapped around your tiny little finger. Even though he denies it now but you just wait and see.

Mommy has a small favor to ask, can you please give her some energy back so she can go shopping for more than 2 hours at a time? Shopping was one of her true loves and she really misses it!

And one last thing, keep growing Baby, Mommy and Daddy can’t wait to feel your first kick.

Love you lots,

Mommy

NEVER GET IN THE WAY OF A PREGNANT WOMAN AND HER FOOD!

I enjoyed two glorious weeks of gastronomic bliss! I had a huge appetite, the meals I ate tasted fabulous, and I was able to eat and eat w/o any negative side effects (i.e., heartburn, indigestion, weight gain). My THING was Potbelly's chicken salad on toasted multigrain, topped with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and the piece de resistance, hot peppers. Hmm yum. I'm drooling as I am typing this. I ate 5 of these sandwiches over a span of 7 days. It was the best time of my life. Some of you guys reading this might think I am exaggerating, but for those who have been pregnant or who are currently pregnant, you know exactly what I am talking about. There's just something that happens to a pregnant woman that makes her deliriously hungry, and watch out if you are in the way of her and her beloved sandwich. (Note: after consuming 5 delicious sandwiches, I realized that chicken salad was considered a deli meat that pregnant women should avoid due to listeriosis)

Here are some pics of other stuff I ate:

A DAY IN D.C.

AT and I seldom venture into DC, too much traffic, parking is a hassle and there is always a chance of running over a wayward tourist. But last weekend the weather was so nice and I wanted to try out a restaurant on M street and see if the cherry blossoms were still in bloom.

The gorgeous cherry blossoms were all gone, replaced with regular green leaves. I did manage to get a few snapshots of some tulips. If you can't tell by his frown, AT didn't want to take this picture.

It took us forever, as expected, to find a parking spot nearby Hudson Restaurant and Lounge. The restaurant was modern and sleek and served "contemporary comfort food".

We ordered Belgian waffles topped with brandied bananas and pecans, Angus steak and eggs, and the Hudson Burger (angus beef, toasted brioche, pickled red onions, mushrooms and bacon) served with mouthwatering french fries. Everything except for the waffles were delicious. I could've used a mimosa though.



After that "light" brunch, we had to take a stroll through the streets of DC. Walking around, holding hands and talking about anything and everything made me realize a few things - first, we should do this more often, second, I really get along with my husband, and finally, that we better savor this time because pretty soon even leaving the house with a baby in tow will be a feat in of itself.

BUMP WATCH WEEK 13

I felt it was time to take some belly pics. As you can see there is a slight bump.

Some more visuals. Btw my jeans are being held together by a hair band looped around the buttons.

HIGHWAY ROBBERY

So on Saturday, after what seems like months being cocooned away, I made it out of the house and went on a shopping spree! The weather was fabulous and after all my positive appts. during the week, I was feeling wonderful and when I feel good, I like to spend some money.

My first stop was Old Navy where it was $5 polo tees day. Of course, by the time I got there the only sizes left were smalls and x-l, but I managed to grab a few for my mom. I stopped by the "maternity" section which consisted of 3 rows of clothes. Sad huh? And the items were expensive too! $49.50 for a pair of jeans? This is Old Navy, the land of $5 polos and 99cent socks. Needless to say all I bought were the polo tees.

Next stop was Target. Okay I guess you guys were thinking I went to the mall like Tysons or Pentagon since I stated that it was a shopping spree. After being on the couch for the last month and a half, going to the nearby 7-Eleven was a shopping spree for me. So at Target, I had to stop and get something to eat. It had been 2 hrs since my last meal. Target is not known for its delectable cafe selections so I got a soft pretzel to tide me over. I miss my time at GWU and those $2 gigantic soft pretzels you get at the hot dog carts.

I ended up buying a belly band and my first item of maternity wear - a pair of denim capris that were oh so comfortable! Clothing manufacturers should make every single pair of pants with a stretchy cotton spandex waist. It was pure bliss to wear those capris the next day. And they were a bargain at $24.99.

THE DOPPLER EFFECT

Last Friday, I went to my dr. for my 12 week appt. Since I had just been to the u/s appt. I was feeling quite upbeat about the pregnancy. The only nervewrecking thing was weighing in. Based on how much I had been shoving into my mouth the past few weeks, I was hoping that my weight gain was under 5lbs. To my utter surprise, I actually lost 3lbs. SAY WHAT?! I'm just going to accept this and not try to ponder the many mysteries of the universe. However, the dr. did express some concern and told me that she didn't want me to eat too healthy that I am losing weight. No worries there, I've been eating pizza all week long!

A couple of more awesome things about this appointment included the nurse whipping out a doppler monitor to measure the baby's HB. And it took her awhile, or what seems like awhile. She probably heard the anxiety in my voice b/c she kept saying that it was very hard to detect a HB at 12 weeks with a doppler and that she's had no luck with any of the other pregnant patients that morning. However, she kept on trying and after moving the monitor around, we finally heard the glorious sound of my baby's heart pumping away at 163 bpm. According to the dr., to be able to hear the baby's HB using a doppler at a mere 12 weeks is a "major achievement in the baby's development." It turns out that a doppler usually only picks up a HB at the 14week+ mark. Happy to hear that our kid is already an overachiever! The other great news was that my blood work was "excellent" - everything came out fine, blood count, iron levels, and my blood type is O+ so be nice people, I'm a universal donor (except for those with O-, sorry you're on your own). All in all it was a very good appt. and one of the best weeks I've had so far.

Upcoming major events: 16 week screening (more blood and prolly another doppler hearing), 20 week detailed anatomy scan for the baby (also time for finding out the sex which we're opting not to do), and 32 week growth u/s.

12 WEEK ULTRASOUND

Finally today arrived!! Everything turned out well.

The baby measured normal at 12weeks 1day with a HB of 163. He/she was kicking and doing somersaults throughout the screening. Baby also had a bout of hiccups which made us all laugh. So cute to see its tiny body shaking with the hiccups.

Nuchal translucency, nasal bone and heart measurements were all normal so we can breathe a huge sigh of relief. However, the technician had a hard time measuring the nasal bone b/c the baby would not cooperate and kept lying on its side. I had to cough, laugh, lie on my left side, have my hips propped up by a cushion, jog in place, bend over and touch my toes and walk around, all to see if the baby would move and get into a better position. The baby would move around but then go back to its original position. I guess that was comfy! So a 30 min appt. took almost 2 hrs. (btw I had to empty my bladder 5 times during those 2hrs.) It wasn't until I switched over to my right side, that we finally got the view we wanted. The hubby proudly commented that our baby is very stubborn. I wonder if 16 years from now, he will still feel the same way about this characteristic?

We were able to see a hand with all 5 fingers, legs thrashing about, arms waving around. It was wonderful. I think I can start to relax now and just enjoy the ride.