Yucky feeling...

I'm almost 34 weeks! 3 more weeks and I'm considered full-term. Come one 3 weeks!!!! I am so done being pregnant! Since we'll have a c-section when I'm 39 weeks, I only have 5 more weeks to go... Why does that sound so soon but feels so far away???

This morning, I woke up feeling totally nauseous and yucky. It's like as if 1st trimester is hitting me now in my 3rd trimester. I've been so lucky to not have morning sickness with this pregnancy. May be I'm going to have it now that I'm almost done?! It's probably all the pregnancy hormones going through my body or that 2nd bowl of spaghetti that I ate last night which I knew I shouldn't.

My stomach is crowded now with the growing baby that I can't eat as much as I used to. I run out of breath super fast too! Just few more weeks......

I've been too lazy to take a belly photo so here's a photo we took of me helping Avery open her gifts at Christmas. You can kind of see how big my belly is.... It actually sits on my lap when I sit down!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! Hope you have a wonderful time of celebration with your loved ones! The Hwang family is headed to Fullerton to spend Christmas with my family. See you guys soon!

A baby without a name....

I am almost 32 weeks pregnant. By now, our baby weighs approximately 3.75 pounds (large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus. Unfortunately Paul and I have yet to name our little girl. We have zero ideas!!! To be fair to myself, I have thrown out a few ideas but Paul has shot them down left and right.... I say come up with some of your own ideas then, Paul!!!!

I realized this morning that I miscalculated my maternity leave. BOO HOO.... It doesn't start on the 11th but actually on the 14th.... Oh, you don't know how sad I was when I realized my working days have been extended 3 more days! It feels like 3 more weeks!! Luckily I have the holidays to make this time seem to go by faster.

Here she is!

Finally took my belly photo last night.. My belly is lot pointier this time around... It's allll in the front..

Here she is at 30.5 weeks!

Super Trooper...

I'm getting close! It's now over 30 weeks. When I sit at my desk at the office, my tummy is pressed against the desk as I type. My hip and groin joints hurt quite a bit now and uncomfortable to walk long distance. Baby #2 and I saw Dr. Bohn last week for my 30 week checkup and I gained 3 more pounds for a total of 18 pounds. Right on target! 1 pound a week will put me somewhere around 28 pounds weight gain which will be exactly the same as the first pregnancy.

I was a super trooper this weekend. Avery spent Saturday - Monday at grandparents' house so Paul and I had an adult-only weekend. Although we missed Avery like crazy, we had a fun-filled, busy 2-day weekend. Saturday night was our friend Mark's Christmas party which was a lot of fun. Surprisingly, I lasted until past midnight! Paul and I spent our Sunday Christmas shopping for over 4 hours (wow, I walked for 4 hours) then we went to dinner with the Hongs. I was very proud of myself for getting my butt off of the couch to do all these things. And today, I'm back at work.......

Starting to feel uncomfortable...

Only 10 more weeks to go! Wow, time flew with this pregnancy. Only 27 more days of work left! My brain is now filled with countdowns. Countdown till #2 comes, countdown till maternity leave, countdown till Avery turns 2... Lots of things happening in our lives!

I'm already 30 weeks but I'm not sure if my tummy has gotten any bigger since my 28 week picture. I have to take another one soon... With this pregnancy, my belly is definitely pointier and it's all in the front. With Avery, my belly was rounder and more evenly spread between my sides and front. This baby is definitely more active in my tummy too which makes falling asleep a bit of a challenge. Today, I'm feeling a very uncomfortable pressure on my pelvic bones and groin. I feel like the baby is going to just drop out! May be because I'm sitting all day at the office?? Walking is a bit painful these days with the joints loosening and everything...

I shouldn't complain. This still has been a much easier pregnancy than the first time!

28 weeks!

It's now been 28 weeks of baking time! Baby girl and I went to see Dr. Bohn yesterday and got our glucose test results (which was fine) and heard the heartbeat and saw her quickly on the ultrasound. I've gained 3 pounds in the last 3 weeks which makes it a grand total gain of 15 weeks. I think it's about the same or little less that what I gained with Avery. #2's heartbeat was nice and strong at 150 beats per minute and she moved a lot during the ultrasound. We saw that she's moved to head down position already! Which doesn't really help us since we're having a c-section...

This pregnancy is still pretty easy and breezy. Work's been busy and a bit overwhelming so I'm still very much looking forward to my maternity leave. Christmas time is usually pretty light at work so that'll be nice! My friend, Heather, lent me a huge box of maternity clothes for work so that's been super nice. I have so much clothes to wear to work!!! Thanks Heather!!!

Below is my 28 week belly photo Paul took last night.. WOW!

41 days of work left!

I'm so looking forward to my maternity leave that I took out my calendar today and counted how many days of actual work I have left. I have 41 days left!!! Although it's 2 months and 1 day till my maternity leave, if you take out all the weekends and holidays, it's only 41 days! Well, today it feels like ONLY 41 days but on some days, it feels like STILL 41 days?! Work has been extra busy and extra stressful these days so it hasn't been fun waiting for January 11!!!! But! The end is near!

Finally! 26 week belly pics!

Finally! I remembered to take out the camera last night for my belly pic. It's been waaay too long since I posted pictures. My belly is definitely bigger this time around than with Avery. When I compare pictures from first pregnancy at 26 weeks, this belly is growing much bigger although people in my office say I'm so tiny... Strange.. I don't think I'm tiny at all...

For your entertainment, I'm doing a side-by-side comparison of 1st pregnancy belly at 26 weeks and the picture I took last night..

<--#1 <--Yesterday

25 Weeks!

Already 25 weeks! Can't believe it. I really need to take a new belly picture but since Paul's been out of town, I have no one to take a picture for me! May be I can teach my little Avery to use a camera...? Probably not, since the last time she held a camera, she dropped it on the floor right AFTER she said "uh oh" which makes me think that it was intentional. And of course it broke the lens and it cost us $150 to repair it. So that's not a good idea.....

Little girl #2 and I went to see Dr. Bohn today and everything checked out just fine. She gave us a little scare since we couldn't find her heartbeat for a long time. Dr. Bohn said she can feel the baby moving, probably running away from the doppler machine so she wasn't too concerned. But the worrisome mommy that I am, I worried that we couldn't find her heartbeat. When we found it though, it was beating so strong and fast at 159 beats/min. Today was my glucose level test to test for gestational diabetes and had to drink that yummy sugary "tang" drink. Unlike Avery's pregnancy, this one made me a little nauseous. I also got a flu shot to prepare for the upcoming flu season. To my surprise, I only gained 2 pounds in the last month. Which makes it a grand total of 12 pounds so far which is odd since I feel like I've been eating non-stop and gaining like 10 pounds a month!

I continue to feel great during the day, pooped and tired by about 7pm. Appetite's been good but having this huge urge and desire to go on a vacation and get away from all responsibilities! If I can sit on a beach and just read a book and not talk to anyone or do anything, that'd be heavenly....... But then my daydreaming ends just about there because I don't think I'll be able to last for more than 10 hours without seeing my Avery! Well, 3 more months and I'll have 2 little girls I won't be able to live without!!!! But then my life will be twice as chaotic, right?????

Korean Food Galore!!

I'm approaching 24 weeks now. Time is just flying by with this pregnancy! I'm just counting down the days until my maternity leave!!!! Yay!

With Avery, I didn't eat much Korean food and I didn't have much craving for it. For the first 6 months, I couldn't even smell Korean BBQ since it made me gag. Kimchee just was so unappetizing looking to me... This time around, all I want is Korean food, every single meal! Paul keeps asking me what do you want to eat? And almost everytime I want Korean food! I feel bad since Paul would rather eat fried chicken or burger or pizza... He's been very accomodating! Thank you, babe!


Here are some pics of what I've been eating... I've been making kimchee fried rice at home A LOT. Yesterday, I had Paul pick up some Pho for me (I know, it's not Korean). Couple days ago, I got a Yukgaejang (spicy shredded beef soup) recipe online and made it myself. I must say, that turned out really well! Probably is, I made enough to feed an army! Tonight, we're eating dumpling and rice cake soup, Paul's favorite!!! I hope I'm not eating too much spices for our little one. Surprisingly, all this Korean food hasn't given me much heartburn! I'm telling you, this baby is AWESOME!!!!

Almost 22 weeks!

Moving right along! We finally took a belly picture last night! Hooray!!! And wow, my belly looks huge now! Please keep in mind that the belly picture was taken AFTER we had a big Korean dinner... Little girl has been so active in my belly and I've been talking to her more and more, in the car, in the shower, just whenever I can get a quiet moment alone with her. I'm sure she can hear my voice by now and I want her to know how much we're anxiously awaiting her arrival. But not too soon! 2 of my friends already had their little ones a month early this month and thankfully the babies are healthy and strong! Yay! I just want our little girl to come closer to due date so I can have some time off of work before she arrives! Yes, it's 100% for selfish reasons!!! I found out that I won't be going on maternity leave until January 11 so it only gives me 3 weeks until our scheduled C-section date... Which means, if she comes early, that 3 weeks will become less and I really want my 3 weeks!!! I should really stop thinking about maternity leave... I'm getting too impatient!

Ok, drum roll please.... My 21.5 week belly picture:

21 Weeks!

Wow, already 21 weeks! I'm so behind on my belly pics.. I'm sorry baby girl, mommy's been so out of it!!! I promise to take one this weekend. I'm so glad that we finally found out the sex of this baby. Knowing that it's a baby girl makes me bond with her so much more. She'll be an angel I'm sure as she's been an absolute angel so far in my tummy. Everything's going super well and (knock on wood) I still don't have any of the pregnancy symptoms I had with Avery. Oh, my little Avery gave me some trouble when she was in my tummy!!!

I had my 21 week appointment with Dr. Bohn today and everything checked out just fine. EXCEPT... I gained 10 pounds in the last month!!! How is that possible??? I honestly don't look like I've gained 10 pounds, seriously I don't! So that makes the grand total weight gain to... drum roll please.. 10 pounds! I didn't gain any weight the first 4 months of the pregnancy so 10 pounds is all I've gained. Still.. all in 1 month seems extreme.. I remember with Avery, I dind't gain any weight the first 4 months and I gained 8 pounds the 5th month. So I guess I'm on track with how I was with Avery which always to me is a good sign...

I've been feeling the baby girl move for almost a month now.. I started to feel her move a lot earlier than I did with Avery. This little girl is very active!!! She's swimming around in there at all times of the day and night! I hope she's calmer when she's out of my tummy so we can all get some sleep! I found out today that my maternity leave will begin January 11. Oh, can't wait!!! I'll get to spend some much needed mommy and Avery time before little girl #2 arrives. Then it'll be 3 girls against daddy!!! I'll have to have pep talks with my little girls on how to gang up on daddy!!!!!!!!

You know what I just noticed? All of our doctors' names start with B... Dr. Beesley, Dr. Bohn and Dr. Bochner. How strange..

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!

Avery will have a little sister!!! When I went to see Dr. Bohn, her guess actually was a boy! She thought she saw a little pee pee couple times but I guess she was mistaken! We went to see Dr. Bochner this morning, who is the guru to ultrasounds, and he confirmed 100% that this one is also a girl and VERY healthy. She fooled us all, didn't she? She's been such a good little girl that we all thought may be it's a boy! I guess it turns out she's just a good girl, period! So I guess Paul and I will be parents to 2 beautiful, cutie-pies and we're so excited. Well, I am for sure! The thought of Avery having a little girlfriend to play with is just too cute for words. They can play tea-party together, dress up in princess outfits together.. Share clothes, talk about their dates (when they're like 30 years old), oh how exciting!!!!

I can't wait to have 2 girls snuggling with us and kissing us all the time!

Ugh, Need to Rest!

My condition these days? Completely EXHAUSTED!!! I need to take a few days and just rest... Hopefully that day will come soon. This weekend, I went to Phoenix for a conference from Friday to Sunday. Avery was left home alone with daddy. I missed Avery and Paul so much, I almost got a ticket to come home on Saturday night! I told Paul when I got back, "Never again.. Never going on a trip without you guys again!" I spent most of my conference looking at pictures of Avery and talking to Paul... How much more attached can I get to my family??? It was so quiet in my hotel room that I couldn't sleep for even couple hours the 2 nights I was there!

When I landed on Sunday night, we went straight to my parents' house to celebrate my niece Minji's 3rd birthday. We didn't get home till around 11pm and I was completely pooped. But for some reason, I couldnt' sleep again!!! I think I was too tired... I was a zombie on Monday at work and on Monday night, I was able to get some good sleep.. Except... Avery and Paul got a cold while I was away and Avery was coughing so much that she ended up throwing up couple of times in her sleep.. Changing sheets in the middle of the night is not that fun. So today is Tuesday and I still feel tired. I can feel the baby kicking like crazy in my tummy so I presume that the baby is not tired like mommy is. Hopefully tonight I will be able to go to bed by 10pm and wake up refreshed for our appointment with Dr. Bochner tomorrow!

Stay tuned.. We find out OFFICIALLY what the sex of this baby is.....

18.5 weeks!

I forgot to blog when I turned 18 weeks so now I'm 18 weeks and 5 days. Belly is growing, baby is kicking and swimming constantly (a lot more than Avery did) and appetite and energy is increasing. I love having more energy to play with Avery. I may be jinxing myself by saying this but this pregnancy has been just a breeze!!! Other than the tired phase lasting longer than the first pregnancy, it's been super easy! I'm eating well, I can actually eat meat (lots of it too!) and no problem with constipation or sleeping or any of that. My hips are already starting to hurt though which I hate.

I'm trying to wear my normal clothes as long as possible but moving on to maternity clothes may be inevitable in the near future... Belly is growing more and more and once I eat a big meal, I look at least 7 months pregnant! I think I was just made to have a big pregnant belly!!! I think Avery is finally sort of getting the concept of baby in mommy's belly... Kind of. She rubs it and says "baby"... But does she really get it???

Below is my belly pic at 18 weeks and some... Paul made me laugh when we were taking these.

I did something bad....

I had a 17 week check up with Dr. Bohn today. Paul couldn't go with me since he's out of town. He should have known better than to send me to the doctor by myself!!! hehehe... Paul has expressed this time around too that he does not want to know the sex of the baby.. He said that with the first pregnancy but my puppy dog face made him give in. Typically during the 17 week exam, Dr. Bohn only checks the heartbeat with the doppler machine and doesn't do an ultrasound. An ultrasound is done at 20 weeks when we go to Dr. Bochner and he checks the anatomy of the baby and for birth defects. At that time, Dr. Bochner tells us with 100% certainty what the sex of the baby is. So I went to Dr. Bohn with no expectations whatsoever.

First off, I only gained 1 pound in this pregnancy so far. I think I gained 2 pounds by this time with Avery. Since I lost so many pounds when I was sick few weeks ago, I supposed 1 pound makes sense. Baby's heatbeat was so so so strong and fast. By just the heartbeat alone, Dr. Bohn said it could possibly be a girl since it was so fast. But then when we talked about my symptoms so far, she said it sounded like a boy.... hmmm.. Mixed signals!!!!

Dr. Bohn was so curious as to the sex of this mystery baby that she said "fine, let's do an ultrasound so I know for me!" The baby on the ultrasound was the most active baby I've ever seen! The legs were kicking, arms were flying, squirming like crazy! It was like a baby on caffeine! Complete opposite of Avery. Avery was either sleeping or just calm whenever we did ultrasounds... Dr. Bohn said the legs were crossed most of the time but there were 2-3 times when he/she uncrossed his/her legs and she was able to see what the sex was.... She told me what she thinks it is but she said it was her "unofficial" diagnosis and she wanted me to confirm with Dr. Bochner in 3 weeks. So I won't reveal the "unofficial" diagnosis just yet!!!!! Paul has told me that he wants to think about whether he wants to know the unofficial verdict.. I'm dying to tell him though!!!!

In the first ultrasound below, you can see the baby's face. Eyes, nose, and mouth. In the second ultrasound, the baby's legs are up in the air. So cool!

No fun without me!

Last night while Avery, Paul and I were playing and laughing really hard, baby #2 gave me the strongest kick or elbow nudge I've ever felt. I jumped and let out a yelp since it kind of hurt! I think if we were looking at my tummy we could have seen a foot or elbow poking out. I think it was his/her way of saying "don't have any fun without me!"

16 Weeks!

Wow, it's been almost 3 weeks since my last blog entry... Sorry!!!! Nothing's wrong, just been busy. Paul, Avery, baby #2 and I took a 9 day trip to Philadelphia for Hwang family reunion. It was hot and humid for the first few days but it was so nice to see all the brothers and parents. Avery finally got to meet her cousin from Korea, Elizabeth. The two of them playing together brought tears to my eyes. They were hugging and kissing constantly and we heard that Elizabeth went looking for Avery every morning in our room after we left. They're only 1.5 months apart so it was perfect!!! Now we're back in LA, back to work, back to our everyday lives. By the way, CONGRATS to the Newmans as Tiff delivered a beautiful healthy baby girl yesterday. Welcome to the world, baby Bennett May Newman!!! Charlotte will be such an awesome big sister!

Today marks 16 weeks of our pregnancy. I presume the baby is growing well and happy in my tummy. I hate not seeing an ultrasound everyday to make sure! For about a week until couple days ago, my head was pounding everyday. It was almost debilitating where I couldn't focus, play with Avery or do anything productive. But yesterday and today, I feel great! I have more energy in the mornings and don't have any weird nauseous feeling but by about 8pm, I'm completely BEAT! I am so tired and sleepy by 8pm that I can just fall asleep right on the couch! I'm sleeping well at night and my super vivid dreams have subsided for now. Those pregnancy dreams are wild!!! It feels so real! I told my big bosses that I'm pregnant yesterday. I think they're happy for me... I think...

Below is a picture we took to mark our 16 weeks:

Oh.... YUM!

My newest craving... BURGERS!! Couple days ago after my doctor's appointment, I didn't have much time for lunch so I grabbed a McDonald's Big n Tasty Burger. Oh it was so good!!! Then last night, I really wanted to eat an In n Out burger so Paul picked them up for me... A double double!! The only problem was there was not enough! I wanted to eat another one when I was done.... It's so weird how I go into burger mode when I'm pregnant.. I ate lots of burgers when I was pregnant with Avery too. I normally don't like to eat burgers.. So strange but I love it!

1st trimester down syndrome screening

Today marks 12 weeks and 5 days of our pregnancy. We went to see Dr. Bochner for our 1st trimester down syndrome screening. It was so good to see Dr. Bochner since we haven't seen him since the week Avery was born. I love going to our doctors since everyone there knows us and they are just so nice and pleasant! Dr. Bochner did an ultrasound to get a nice picture of the baby's spine area to measure the fluid between the skin and the spine. We'll know the results in about 10 days, I'll be biting my nails in the meantime!!! He also measured the baby and he measured at almost 3 inches, just perfect size for his age!!!

Below is the picture of our little baby at 12 weeks and 5 days:

After we saw Dr. Bochner, we saw Dr. Bohn. Dr. Bohn listened to the baby's heartbeat which was great and we talked about some of my concerns, questions and just this and that. I feel so much better everytime I see Dr. Bohn. I just love my doctors!!!

Back from the dead....

That's what it feels like today, back from the dead! I feel like I've come out of a coma. Well, about 70%. What I thought was a cold turned out to be much worse. Last Monday, I woke up with a sore throat and body aches and I couldn't go to work. By Tuesday morning, I couldn't swallow, drink, eat, sleep or talk because of my throat pain which spread to my ear. I couldn't get out of bed until Thursday morning when I finally went to see a ENT specialist. The diagnosis was tonsilitis with mild strep. I've struggled with my tonsils all of my adult life and it rears its ugly head when I'm exhausted. I think I had a pretty tiring weekend last week because it came back. The odd thing to me was that I had my tonsils taken out 3 years ago and gosh, was that painful! I do not recomend tonsil surgery as an adult. The pain is excruciating. So I was more than upset when I found out that tonsils which I don't have, is inflamed again! Apparently, the soft tissue left from where the tonsils were taken out can still get inflamed. Yikes. When I was pregnant with Avery, I had similar symptoms and was treated with antibiotics. After I had Avery and was recovering from c-section, I was also treated with antibiotics for the similar symptoms. I guess it's something I'll have to deal with for a long time!

My regular ENT doctor who was about 80 years old the last time I saw him has since retired so I had to call about 10 doctors before someone would agree to see me on such short notice. The problem I had this time was that the ENT doctor I saw refused to give me antibiotics without the consent of Dr. Bohn, my OB-GYN because I'm pregnant. The wires were crossed with Dr. Bohn and I wasn't able to get a prescription until Friday afternoon which made me very frustrated since I was in so much pain. I finally decided to take Avery (poor Avery was such a good sport, trying to leave her mommy alone for a week) and retrieve to my parents' house for the weekend... I needed my mommy to take care of me! I felt like if I went to my parents' house, my mom will magically make me feel better... Which ended up being true, but it was probably the antibiotics that did the trick...

By Sunday morning, the antibiotics were finally working and I was able to eat a little. I had lost about 6 pounds in the last week which was 6 pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight. I was so afraid that I was starving my poor baby in my stomach. I have my 3 month check up with Dr. Bohn tomorrow so we'll make sure the baby is safe and healthy. I am so lucky that I have such good support system. I'm so thankful to my parents who unconditionally take care of me at all costs, to Paul who has been so understanding and supportive while I've been recovering, to my wonderful nanny for keeping Avery away while I was in bed and to my darling Avery who has been such an angel even though she wanted her mommy all the time.... By Sunday, I can see in Avery's face her frustration of not being able to play with mommy. She'd come to me, sit on my lap, hold my shoulders and try to get me up and say "umma, up up"... then she'd crinkle her nose and look so frustrated when I couldn't get up. That made me cry all the time...

Today, I feel much better and I am excited to eat and see Avery later to play with her. I'm on a mission now to eat eat eat!!! We finally took a picture last night of my belly. This is my belly at 12 weeks and 3 days. Finally, we're in second trimester!!!!

Below is a picture we took this weekend of our little munchkin and her cousin, Minji, wearing matching outfits that grandma got them. Aren't they so cute???

Boo hoo...

What all pregnant women dread has happened.. I got a cold! Sore throat, coughing and body aches. Luckily I don't think I have any fever. But boy do I feel crappy! I stayed home from work yesterday and slept a whole lot thanks to our nanny who kept Avery busy. Avery did take a 1.5 hour nap with me which was nice because when we woke up, our house was all spic and span like a cleaning fairy dropped by! I felt better by night but when I woke up this morning, I felt crappy again. But here I am at work, trying to be a trooper and get through the day. I don't think I can do another day at home just sleeping all day...

I think when I say I'm sick, everyone thinks "don't get Avery sick" or "don't take any medicine for the baby". I'm trying my best not to get Avery sick but I can't really help it since we're pretty much attached at the hips these days... And of course I'm not taking any medicine! Why do you think I feel so crappy???? Yes, I'm sick and I'm bitter.....

11 Weeks and Counting!

Wow, already 11 weeks! 1 more week and I'm done with first trimester!!! Wahoo! Although this has been a pretty comfortable pregnancy so far compared to the first one, I still don't like first trimester.. The tiredness, occassional nausea, bloating, constant hunger, constipation and pulling feeling in my belly are all not-so-fun and unglamorous part of being pregnant. When I was pregnant with Avery, in the first trimester I often wondered "who says being pregnant is beautiful??" It was certainly not beautiful for me, neither by how I felt or how I looked! This pregnancy is not beautiful but at least comfortable. May be people were saying that the idea/concept of pregnancy is beautiful - the fact that we're carrying a little human being who is part of us in our bellies. That is beautiful to me! I can't believe I'm responsible for giving a little person his/her life! (tear, tear) I can't wait till second trimester when I really begin to look pregnant. Right now, I just look like I'm bloated or have "ddong-bae" as Koreans would say it (it means a fat belly). One thing I do have now which I love is the pregnancy glow. I've heard from multiple people that pregnancy makes me look glowing, haha. I don't feel like i'm glowing but sure, I'll take the compliment wherever I can get it!!!

Now that the nervous first trimester is almost over and after 1 more week I'm in the clear for miscarriage, I'm full of thoughts of meeting our second little one and watching Avery welcome her little brother/sister. I'm so excited to see her interact with him/her. I wish I can know now whether it's a brother or sister.. But of course Paul is determined this time to not find out the sex until the baby is born. Geez, again??? That's what he said the first time and drove all of us insane! Hopefully he'll change his mind in the next couple months.. Or I'll just have to be sneaky and find out myself without him knowing. Is that wrong?? Probably is... It feels like it is...

Paul and I decided last night that since it's taking us so long to take a belly picture, we'll just wait until the last day of first trimester to take one... There's not much to look at right now anyways. It'll be a picture celebrating the end of the dreaded first trimester!!!

No way!!!

Out of pure boredom/procrastination at work, I googled "interesting baby products" hoping to find some items we can get for our #2 that Avery didn't have. Wow, there are some twisted minds out there to create these strange things! I thought I'd share a few..

"Monkey Bottle Hugger"
This is a bottle cover to keep the milk at constant temperature and prevent condensation. I think Avery did just fine with her milk without a strange monkey hanging out of her mouth!

"Snot Sucker"
The Swedish invented this one.... Enough said.

"Babykeeper Basic"
This has to be illegal in some countries... You're supposed to hang your baby on the bathroom stall door while you do your business. Seriously??? This is just wrong!



Lastly... I might get this for Avery, haha!!

"Baby High Heels"
This was designed by 2 friends for a laugh. It makes me laugh for sure!




Ok, time to get back to work!!!!

10 weeks!

Today marks 10 weeks of our pregnancy. According to babycenter.com, baby is a size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, the baby has now completed the most critical portion of his/her development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature. Vital organs — including kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver — are in place and starting to function. The baby already has tiny nails forming on fingers and toes and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow. It's just amazing how babies grow in your tummy! I still look fairly normal, tiny bulge on my tummy which is probably from being bloated. No, I still haven't taken a belly shot! Gosh, I'm so lazy these days!!!

I think the worst is over!!!

I hope I'm not jinxing myself when I say this but I think the worst of first trimester may be over. I don't have any nausea anymore and I think I have my appetite back! I've been having cravings too which is odd for me in first trimester. I never had cravings with Avery and my morning sickness lasted till the first day of second trimester. This time, I didn't throw up once, the nausea lasted only couple weeks and it was only for couple hours a day! Wow, so much better than the first time!!!! I hope this is it!!!

Feeling better?

I feel much more at peace about this pregnancy now that we saw a healthy little baby at our 9 week appointment. I've been such a nervous wreck about possible misfortunes that might happen... With 3 weeks left of first trimester I feel optimistic and confident. I'm also looking forward to having more appetite and energy in second trimester! Why do we have to feel so blah when we first get pregnant when it should be the time of happiness and celebration?? All I want to do is lie on the couch when I get home from work. I don't even have the energy to play with Avery which I'm feeling very guilty about... 3 more weeks and Avery can have her mommy back!

Today, our baby is a size of a grape, almost an inch long. I asked Dr. Bohn about my growing belly and she said it's most likely just bloating since my uterus hasn't grown that much. By night time, my belly is noticeably round and big. At our appointment on Tuesday, Dr. Bohn also mentioned that she prefers to schedule c-sections a week before the due date which would make the birthday of our little one on February 4, 2011. Is that a good day??

2nd Doctor's Visit

Today, I'm 8 weeks and 4 days pregnant and Paul and I went had our 2nd appointment with Dr. Bohn. It was nice to have Paul with me for the appointment since I'm such a nervous wreck at these appointments, especially in the first trimester. We saw the ultrasound and saw our little baby wiggling around. It seemed like he/she was hiding a little bit in my uterus since it took a little while to find the little one. As Paul pointed out, the baby is in the "gummy bear" stage and growing very well according to Dr. Bohn. Oh, I haven't gained any weight since the start of the pregnancy. I didn't gain any weight with Avery until my second trimester so I suppose this is no biggie.

To Eat or Not To Eat....

To eat or not to eat, that is the biggest dilemma of my day... Could a person be hungry like this alll the time?? The problem is that I am starving all the time but I don't want to eat anything.. Nothing sounds or looks good to me. All of a sudden I think to myself "oh, a salad sounds good.." then I buy a salad for lunch then couple bites later, it makes me want to hurl.. It's a curse!!! I am still trying my hardest to eat every 2-3 hours and drink lots of water. At least my morning sickness is in control and the nausea only comes couple times a day and it's not even that bad!

I've been meaning to take a picture of my belly before it gets any bigger but I've been lazy. I think my belly is already popping out a little bit at 8 weeks! Is that possible? I find myself wearing dresses most of the time to work or putting on my size 4 pants that I bought right after I had Avery. I call them my "transition" pants. Being fashionable and stylish is a thing of the past for me.. It's all about comfort now!!

Isn't my princess Avery so beautiful?? I think her molars are ready to come out.. She's been such a cranky-pants!

New week, new symptoms...

Finally, I feel like I'm pregnant! I've been saying to my best friend that I wouldn't know that I'm pregnant if it wasn't for my sore boobs. I've had ZERO symptoms unlike my first pregnancy. After reading my diary from when I was pregnant with Avery, I figured out that I had morning sickness when I was a little over 6 weeks pregnant. This time, I'm over 7 weeks and nada! But on Saturday, I began to feel a symptom that is so familiar to me. NAUSEA! It feels like I'm on a boat 24 hours a day, feeling sea sick. When I wake up in the morning, I feel queezy then I feel much better after breakfast. Then when I try to clean or play with Avery or do anything that requires a little bit of energy or movement, I feel nauseous again. Being in a car is the worst torture! We had to drive on a windy Sunset Blvd. this weekend and I had to grab on to the door handle for stability with a plastic bag on my lap... Yikes! Then once I'm on solid ground, I'm ok.. Then before I go to bed, I'm nauseous again... I've read that although it hasn't been proven that a person with morning sickness isn't guaranteed not to have miscarriage, it is a sign of healthy pregnancy hormones and there has been less occurance of miscarriage among women who had morning sickness. I think when you're pregnant you try constantly look for signs or internet articles or conversations with people that helps ease your mind about your pregnancy. I know I'm doing the same when I seek out articles that tell me that morning sickness is a good thing. I've been secretly worried about this pregnancy since I haven't had many symptoms. But now that I feel morning sickness which is what I had with the first pregnancy, I feel more at peace. It's funny how I hoped for a smoother and easier pregnancy this time around but I'm worried when it's too easy! Just can't win!!!

Some of the symptoms I'm feeling now:
Nausea
Sore boobs
Bloating (but much less than the first couple weeks).. didn't have this with first pregnancy
Chills (I'm always cold to the point of shaking).. didn't have this with first pregnancy
Hunger
Frequent bathroom trips at night
Tiredness

Oh no.. It's starting...

I woke up couple days ago feeling icky. My morning sickness with Avery was so fierce that I hoped it wouldn't be so bad this time around. As the day went by the nauseous icky feeling went away but still felt 200% bloated.. The icky feeling in the morning continues but I don't think it's developing into a full-blown morning sickness just yet. If it continues like this, I'll be happy! I started to go to the bathroom every 2 hours during the night. It sucks since I'm so tired when I sleep but I have to get up like 4 times to go to the bathroom!! Little price to pay for a new life!!!

First Doctor's Visit!!

I had my first appointment with Dr. Bohn this morning. It was the longest 2 weeks I had to wait to see her! It was such a strange feeling to do everything I did with pregnancy #1 all over again when I got to the doctor's office. Lots of paperwork!!! I still don't have much of the pregnancy symptoms other than little waves of nausea (but it might be the "too much garlic in yesterday's dinner" or "I had too much sugar today" kind of nausea). I hope it continues this way!

The reactions I got from nurses were "wow, we didn't even know you were trying!" And my reaction to that was "neither did I!" This one really was a big surprise to us.. Dr. Bohn confirmed the due date to be February 11, 2011 and did an ultrasound not really expecting to see much since I'm only a little over 6 weeks. I expected to just see a yolk sac but THERE IT WAS! Our little baby with a tiny heartbeat! (below where the red arrow is pointing) I thought with the second one, it'd be less emotional but no, it was still very emotional to see the little tiny "jelly bean" with a flickering heartbeat! Just amazing!!! I'll be going back to see Dr. Bohn in 2 weeks so I'll get a video of the heartbeat then!!! Stay tuned.....

Everything's "A-OK" right now....

We're approaching 6 weeks and I don't have many symptoms other than bloating and sore boobs. At 6 weeks, some people don't even know that they're pregnant so I guess it's normal to not have many symptoms. I do get very sleepy in the afternoon and around 8pm but that may be because of my big lunches and dinners, haha. I love that now I can eat whatever I want without feeling guilty because now, it's "for my baby." Who's gonna argue with that?? Our first appointment with Dr. Bohn is on Monday morning. How exciting!!! Will I be able to see the baby's heartbeat?? When we went to our first appointment when I was pregnant with Avery, we just saw a yolk sac and nothing else. When we went the following week, we saw her heartbeat and I totally broke down in tears!!! I can't believe she's growing up to be such a beautiful little angel when I feel like it was yesterday that I saw her heartbeat!! Just crazy!

World Cup Weekend!

Daddy went out with Uncle Steve to watch the 4am game of Korea vs. Greece. Thank goodness they won! Daddy will probably be out of commission pretty much all of Saturday. USA is playing England right now.. Are they going to win???

This morning, I videotaped Avery walking while daddy slept. She's a pretty good walker even though she walks really slow with her legs wide apart. She just started to bend her knees when she walks. It's too cute!

All in my head...

Now that I've found out that I'm pregnant, I TOTALLY feel pregnant! How mental is that? I feel like my tummy's getting bigger, I feel like I want to eat all the time, etc... But I know that none of those symptoms come until much later, haha! I am hungry when I wake up though, that's for sure, but I think I always was hungry even before I got pregnant... I just never did anything about it. Now, I wake up and have a glass of milk, have some fried egg and try to eat a yogurt while I'm at work for my baby. I want to be a good host monkey, as Paul calls me. That's all I am? Just a host/carrier??? Why am I so bloated today????

Here we go again!

Just found out this morning that we're having our second baby. This was a complete surprise to us since we haven't been trying (hehe) all that much and we just talked about having our second this month... I just had a pregnancy test lying around in our bathroom so I figured I'd just see, since I was only 1 day late. I was in the bathroom in disbelief and called out to Paul.. Paul came running thinking I've fallen in the shower or something. I showed him the test and he was more excited than ever! He was actually kind of giddy! The news hasn't fully registered in my brain yet.... Even 5 hours later. We immediately went and whispered in sleeping Avery's ear, "you're gonna be a big sister!" As soon as we said that, she opened her eyes and flahsed us a smile. Aww, my little angel...

So it begins again, another chapter in our lives. Avery's going to have a little sister or brother! Can't wait to meet you, little one! We're only a little over 5 weeks pregnant today so we have obviously a very long way to go and my efforts to live a healthy life begins today! I hope this pregnancy is easier and smoother than the last one! But if it isn't, it's ok too.. Look at what a beautiful, wonderful daughter Avery turned out to be!!!!! I better read lots of books about how to prep Avery for a new baby. I know she'll be an awesome sister!