Week 38 Comparison

Less than 2 weeks and counting down!! It's now a mad rush to get things in order.. hence, the less frequent posts. Sorry!

We have slacked on taking weekly belly photos this time around, but for comparison, we have captured a Week 38 photo of current Baby Boy pregnancy with that of my pregnancy with Emilia. My weight is roughly the same as when I was pregnant with Emilia, if anything, maybe 1-2 pounds more and that's it.


No official poll, however, we are taking guesses on when we think the baby will be born --> whether he'll be early or late and what time, when we will go into labor, how long labor will be, and how big or small he is. Ryan and I, of course, differ in all these categories.

The Count Down Begins...

Update on Emilia's Roseola: She is now starting to look and feel better. The rash is mostly going away, only a faint remnant. She lost about a pound during this, but her appetite is coming back. She was still really irritable yesterday, but today her mood seems to be more on the chipper side.

And so, with Emilia back to high-energy, we've started getting ready for little bro's arrival. The count down begins as we are less than a month away from due date. I'm at 36 weeks preggers right now, able to hold a mug of water on my table of a belly, and at the last check up, baby bro is upside down and has a weight estimate of 5-5.5 lbs right now with 4 weeks left to go.

I'm not sure how much Emilia understands the concept of a baby brother coming, but she loves to give her "brother" sweet little pats and kisses (that is, she loves to pat and kiss my belly). She "reads" the baby magazines and loves to point out all the babies in it. And I've referred to our family and how much fun her play time will be when she'll have her baby brother to play with.

Thank you thank you to friends that have given baby boy or gender neutral clothing to us! He is well equip with clothes up to 6 months now and even has a few items up to 9 months. We're slowly, but surely, getting ready for the big day... washing everything, bringing out all the stashed newborn gear and cleaning them - baby carriers, carseats, bouncer, bottles, etc.

Just like with Emilia's birth, we are planning for this blog to be the source of information update. Makes it easier. Family and friends can check in on their own time and be updated on the latest news. We're excited and nervous at the same time. As we've heard from so many, that life changes even more drastically with the arrival of a 2nd baby. Baby boy, we're ready for you. Come on out soon!

2011 Mid-Year Update

It seems to me that time is on super lighting speed. Our baby girl somewhere along the way grew out of being a newborn baby into a new toddler. Right when Ryan and I think we have the parenting thing figured out, she learns something new and stumps us once again. While we highlight some of the fun and tender moments on this blog, we fail to completely capture all the details of the good and the not-so-good along the way. As life goes, there are ups and downs and plenty of challenges. Challenges with learning how to grow as parents with Em because every step of the way is still all new. Challenges with how to balance life with having only a finite amount of time with work, responsibilities, quality time with family, maintaining contact with friends and family, exercise (barely existent), and all the in-between.


Life is much much different now than 2 years ago (pre-Em) and I remember my own perspectives back then as I tried to envision life with a husband and a baby girl. I laugh now because it has been not even close to what I imagined being settled and having a family would be like. Let's just say, climbing Mt. Everest was fun, adventurous, breath-taking... but I can't even bring a fair comparison to any adventures I've experienced with the fun and adventures we have now with Em as we see a little of us in that strong and developing personality of hers. Every day holds something new and unexpected. I see a little Ryan in her as she tries to climb on EVERYTHING... or when she takes the avocados and arranges them in a neat line across the floor. I see a little bit of myself when she adamantly and stubbornly refuses to eat the blended kale porridge mix I make her.. or when she has that spark in her eye which I know means something has caught her curiosity. It is pretty neat to look and find similarities with our personalities and our little girl.


So, long story short.. our life is, and will continue to be non-stop adjustment. As Ryan also blogged a few posts earlier, our home has required just as much of his attention lately. He's been hard at work every chance he gets at maintaining it and trying to make it more kid friendly. The avocado harvest came and went and along with it, more maintenance for Ryan.

Surprisingly, I would have thought my priority on family would take precedence, and subsequently expect that my ability and drive for work would diminish. Not so, in fact, quite the opposite. I have a renewed focus with work, because work now matters even more as it will provide for my children's future. So, when not focused on family, the other portion of my time has been focused on work. I won't go into details, but work has definitely been a challenge trying to get where I want to be career-wise in this downturned economy. It makes me understand and appreciate how hard my parents worked, and also understand that as full-time working parents, we sacrifice being able to spend more time with our kids, to try to give our kids more for their future. It is a fine balance.

So... all in all, Ryan, Emilia, and I have all been keeping busy in our own ways. I guess it's just called Life. =)

The next BIG adjustment is right around the corner with the arrival of Emilia's little brother, our baby boy. Again, I can't imagine how things will be, but we're looking forward to his arrival. Here's our sneak peak at the little guy from a few weeks ago:

First Stage!

Officially in first stage of labor... 10 minutes apart, 40 seconds of discomfort, past several hours. Piece of cake, no problemo right now. I'm even still blogging!

Time? Maybe?

I've been having on and off Braxton Hicks (practice contractions) for the past month now.. they are painless, short and just feel like a muscle tensing up. The past two nights, they have become a lot more frequent and regular, but no pain. This morning however is a little different. The contractions are definitely not comfortable now and have become regular ~20 seconds long, and roughly ~8 minute interval apart. Hence, I am up blogging this since I can't go back to sleep. However, this is still considered irregular and not labor yet... so, now we just wait and see.

Ode to the Belly

Belly, oh belly, at first forgotten you always were.
I thought you were still slender, forgetting you were not.
Squishing in between tight spaces, you should not.
However I have grown with you as you have grown with me.
Twice I think before walking between them parked cars,
And now you are happily unscathed by those rigid side-mirrors.
Belly, oh belly, how content you now are.

Belly, oh belly, how we have grown!
From early days of seemingly chunky over-weight,
To the reminiscent shape of ancient Romanesque arches.
The Buddha of you now brings lucky rubbings from those around,
And my excuse to pat and talk to you.
Proudly you stand and out front you have become.
Belly, oh belly, you do protrude so!

Belly, oh belly, once my paranoia, now my convenience.
How wonderful we are together!
My mug securely rests on you, as we cozy together.
A base you provide, as I scribble notes on your supportive surface.
Belly, oh belly, these are the last days we have together.
I eagerly await your bundle, though will also miss these days soon of old.
Belly, oh belly, oh belly of mine!

Pregnancy Update: External Cephalic Version

Our last mid-wife appointment was on Friday, where we were hoping that baby would have moved from her head-up, breeched position to head-down vertex.

I have been seeing an acupuncturist and a pre-natal chiropractor, along with tilt exercises and alternative remedies (chinese herbs and moxibustion) every single day this past week to coax baby into turning around. However, baby is a stubborn little tiger and is comfortable in a 100% complete buddha breeched position.



The ultrasound technician was really patient and helpful this time, explaining what we were seeing and the position baby is in. Baby pretty much looks like the image above, except her hands are in front of her face. The technician also showed us something new! She showed us baby's chest/lung area where we could see some movement, which is baby practicing how to breathe!! She also told us that baby has a lot of hair on her head and we could see the strands on the back of her neck! That is pretty amazing!

The other news we have is that now at 38 weeks pregnant, with limited room left for baby, the chances of her flipping on her own are very small. After spending a week trying alternatives, it is highly recommended for us to try the External Cephalic Version procedure, which is a procedure done at the hospital where the doctor externally and manually presses and moves the baby. (Here's a Youtube video of the procedure with cheesy music).

It is an uncomfortable procedure with minimal risk, but there is small risk that something goes wrong and a C-section would be needed right away. Anyhow, the alternative of not doing the procedure would be a for-sure scheduled C-section. While lots of people get C-sections and are just fine, the benefits of a natural birth for both baby and mom helped lean us towards giving this a try. So, we go in tomorrow morning, Monday, for the External Cephalic Version. Turn baby turn!!

T-28 Days

February is here! Will baby arrive on her expected due date, February 28th? And what is her name?!?

The baby pool is in high effect as we will soon also find out who the winner is on guess-timating the closest to baby's arrival. The boy guesses still have a 23% chance that both ultrasound techs were wrong in interpreting the gender! =)

We are now at 36 weeks into the pregnancy and baby is usually considered full-term at the end of 37 weeks. My "practice contractions", the Braxton Hicks, have started and I feel them on a daily basis now. However, baby is quite content staying high in the belly in a breeched position. So, typical babies come out between 37 and 42 weeks... where will she fall in?

There is the last minute mad rush now to get all affairs in order - wrapping up projects at work, finalizing maternity leave and insurance, organize the house for baby AND the stream of family that will be visiting, and stocking up with food for when we won't have much time to grocery shop or cook.

Also, if anyone has easy, simple food recipes that are healthy to pass on to me, that would greatly help.

Last minute guesses for birth date, birth time, weight, and length are still open in the pool!

The Belly Progression

We have been taking photos of the growing belly about every week or every other week. Here's the progression so far...

Counting Down...

So much has happened this past year, even our last posts doesn’t give any insight to a full-throttled year that has lead up to the here and now… counting down the next few weeks til our baby girl arrives. While I hope to go back and fill in the details of life that has passed, I’m just going to hopefully start being regular on updates. Currently I am about 34.5 weeks pregnant with our little girl and about 25lbs weight gain. Right on track little one for her due date of February 28th. Ryan and I have been busy trying to get everything ready. Ryan has been fixing up the house with childproof electrical outlets, working lights and switches, upgrading the faucets, and turning the once climbing/mountaineer gear room into now two rooms – a forest-themed, owl inspired baby room and an office/guest room for me. I had some help this weekend from my awesome friends, Suzanne and Debbie, who came to help me decorate baby’s room with forest wall decals. Her room is definitely the brightest and most welcoming room in the house. Ryan also put up on the ceiling, the National Geographic glow-in-the-dark stars set to some of the major constellations we have in the night sky. In the meantime, I have been in nesting mode, sanitizing the drawers, shelves, and cabinets, and washing all of baby’s clothes and arranging them according to size. All in all.. we’re busy getting ready. Her arrival is right around the corner and we want to be ready.

Before Baby Room Photos


Before Office/Den