A Shout Hello, and the Musings of a Soon-To-Be Old Fart

What's happening underneath that bump?

The rapid growth phase begins to slow down this week. Organs and body functions are strengthening rather than growing and baby can respond to outside stimuli. The digestive system and heart are maturing, the legs are reaching their relative proportions and the buds for permanent teeth are forming this week. He or she is 10.5 ounces, and is nearing seven and half inches. The vermix the creamy film that protects your baby's skin from liquid is still being produced, and will continue to coat the body until and the legs are reaching their relative proportions.

After days of agonizing over whether all those weird sensations I feel in my belly region were made by the baby or my stomach or my bowels, I finally felt the baby move for the first time with certainty on Sunday night.

Hubby and I were in bed, getting ready to turn in, and I had my hand on my stomach. All of a sudden, I felt my hand go "bump". Baby definitely made sure to make his/her presence known. I personally think he/she got tired of being squished and was kicking at my hand to have me move it. I had John place his hand on the same spot and after awhile, baby dutifully gave two more kicks there. It was the coolest thing! I can't wait till he/she gets a little bigger so that he/she will be capable of giving good strong kicks. It definitely makes it feel more real - and less like I'm just sticking a basketball under my shirt...Which, by the way, my belly seem to have grown quite a bit within the past week, during that growth spurt, I was actually having difficultly breathing! I don't know if I can handle getting much bigger!!

As I progress along with my pregnancy, I find myself getting more sensitive to salt - I'll get massive headaches that will last for days if I consume "too much" of it. So there goes my favorite Chinese restaurant take-outs (which, by the way, I don't understand why they are always loaded with sodium.....it's only the restaurants found here though.....I don't ever remember Chinese food being that unhealthy back in Malaysia). As a result, hubby and I have started cooking more. It's healthier (well, in the sense that at least we know WHAT is in it - the calorie part is still up for debate) and it's definitely cheaper. Albeit meal times may get a tad bit monotonous since we're stuck eating leftovers for days on end. That outcome definitely stresses the importance of cooking well, and having dishes that we like.

So on Sunday night, hubby decided it was time for him to step up to his chef duties and he made pizzas for dinner (which lasted all the way through Thursday's dinner......)

By the way, the area rug that I mentioned in the last post is DONE and has been moved into place:

Our guest room

On a more dismal note, I'll be turning 25 this weekend. I'm getting old - I'll officially be in the "30's" group rather than the "20's" when my age is rounded up. And that even without horror of the result of basic mathematics, being 25 itself in some ways, scare me. 25 year-old women, to me, are those who have their lives in control - they are the ones whose hair is always perfectly coiffured, and nails are always perfectly manicured; they always look polished, they have the great clothes, the great shoes, the great bags; they are accomplished and are getting more and more so by the minute.

Me? I feel like I'm perpetually stuck at the age of 16. I don't feel like I've quite grown up yet. Sure, I'm married, own a car, own a house, have a good job and I have a baby on the way. But that wasn't quite the dreamlife I had in mind when I was "planning" my future back when I was teenager. Not that I mind my life right now. Heavens no. But it just wasn't what was "planned". And therefore, I never felt like I got past that "planning" stage because things never did take off the way I hoped it would.

Blame it on TV and Hollywood for creating a "mold" of what success should be, of what it should look like - thin, rich, beautiful.

Perhaps it's time to rewrite my plans.

Baby Junk

What's happening under that bump?

All of your baby's crucial development is finished, and now, he or she will be growing as your due date nears. The baby is up to almost six and a half inches and weights 9 ounces. You'll definitely be able to feel the baby's movements quite strongly now,and kicks can be

felt by placing a hand on your belly. Your baby can hear the sound of your voice as well as your heartbeat. If you make a sudden noise, the baby will become startled and may even cover his or her ears! The baby has as much sleep and awake time now as a newborn. The scalp hair begins to grow. If your baby is a girl, her uterus is starting to develop.

I've decided to include a belly shot with every (rare) post that I make just so I can share my ever-expanding waistline. And believe it or not, it was actually my husband's idea for me to start tracking my bump progress. Yay to him for trying to be an involved party in this pregnancy!

As of today, I've gained about 8 lbs, which is about 3lbs more compared to 3 weeks ago, during our doctor’s visit. According to the numerous pregnancy books I have, I'm right on track (well, in the sense where I’m suppose to gain about 1 lb a week. As for total weight gain for those who are in their 20th week, it averages out to about 10 – 15lbs. But since they are probably referencing Caucasian women, I should be ok, since Asians are typically smaller than them). And 8 lbs just seem to be more fitting to the bulk I'm sporting these days.

I have yet to feel any movement though - nothing certain, at least. Baby's still there though! (Checked last night using my handy dandy doppler (apparatus used to hear the baby's heartbeat) - highly recommended for those who are a worry wart like me!)

So I've past the point where someone could possibly think that I've indulged in too much burgers/fries/beer (unless they are frigging idiots). But honestly, it's starting to get uncomfortable. Bending over is uncomfortable, sitting upright is uncomfortable, and sometimes breathing is uncomfortable - like someone is sitting on my chest and I'm trying to take as deep of a breath as I can, but will end up feeling like my chest cavity is about to burst). I can't imagine how it'd be as the baby gets even bigger! And I definitely can't imagine how women who have multiples feel!! And just to demonstrate how much I've grown (and therefore, how much of my closet I have to pack up), this is what my pants/skirt section looks like right now....

A few miserable pants that are stretchy to begin with. Is it any wonder that I've been going about looking like a schlub? Because I can't fit into the stuff that I like! Gah. The silver lining is that it now takes an efficient 15 minutes for me to get out of bed and out the door for work. That means I get an extra 15 minutes of sleep each work day (which I need, since my energy level is still not where it used to be). By the way, my clever husband made the pants rack and I painted it.

For the past few days, I've been slaving away on edging (is that the proper description?) an “area rug” that we bought for the guest room....It's suppose to only be a temporary fix until I figure out (and find) what I really want there - but knowing me, I'll probably leave it there for years to come (or at least, until we move into a new house). So I decided to at least make it look a little more presentable (rather than it looking like we just cut a piece of scrap fabric, threw it down on the floor and called it good) and hopefully, a little more durable. Hence, I proceeded to suffer through numerous needle pricks (I've even managed to prick myself on my bum - don't ask me how), back and neck aches. And let me tell you, having a big belly does not help the situation! It took me close to 4 hours just to finish ONE pathetic side. Oy!

As for my husband, he put the stroller together last weekend. Yay! We no longer have a large box sitting in our living room. The upper fabric is not on yet, so it’s not quite complete (since it’ll still be quite a while before baby gets here) but isn’t it pretty?

Bugaboo Cameleon - Black canvas base

It’s definitely much bigger than I remember it being when trying it out at the store, but it definitely is still very lux! I love that it’s an actual bassinet, rather than just a typical “car-seat” type deal. Hopefully baby will be cooperative and not fuss when we try to transfer him/her to this from the carseat when we are out and about. And since we are on the subject of baby stuff, here’s an inventory count of what we bought/received for the little stinker:

Hubby's first purchase for the baby...We are going to have some explaining to do if the baby is a boy! "Um, sorry Jr, see...we were really thinking that you'd be a girl....would you like to try it on anyway??"

Mr. Elephant - I have been playing this to my belly every night ever since I got it (around wk 15-16? Way before its hearing capabilites were even developed) . Lets hope that when the kid is born, it'll calm down with the tune of "Rock-a-bye, baby".

Presents from my brother in law and his family - they've decided that it's going to be a boy, for some reason. And how adorable is that hula-skirted monkey?? When you pull the string, it'll start shaking its hips!

Hit the jackpot - care package from my mother-in-law

And finally, clothes and other crap that I bought :

Can you tell that I’m smitten by baby girls’ clothing??? Ever since John got it into my head that it’s probably a girl, I took it as a free pass to start stockpiling on girl stuff. However, now that my belly is more pronounced, it’s looking suspiciously like a boy bump…arrgh! Now I’m questioning the “smartness” of the idea of letting it be a surprise. *sigh* It doesn’t really matter either way (boy or girl), but it would definitely have made life a little easier when preparing for him/her to come.

Thank goodness that we already have names picked out, for boy AND girl.