Only 15 weeks to go...

Today--25 weeks and then some



Being More Productive
In an effort to be more productive when I am at home, I have been "training" myself to do things other than go on the computer when I have some free time. It is all too easy to just park it here. This is helping me to not save Bible study time until I can't even keep my eyes open and to work more on the mini plushies I am making for our little one. So far, things are going really well with that.


I made the fox on Sunday and just finished the bear today. They are far from perfect, but they are full of love. ♥ As you might be able to guess, I basically used myself as the "model" for the fox. As much as I love the fox, I love the bear that much more. I designed the face imagining our little boy's bright and cheerful smile, so how can I not be in love with it?

I was going to do either a rabbit or frog next, but Appa is jealous I haven't modeled one after him yet, and using his face for a frog or rabbit just doesn't fit. I wanted to do a white tiger, but that would take ages with all of the stripes. We'll see!

Kicking My Butt
Our son has been having a blast just squirming around all over the place recently. He's been head's up again the past few days, and I have no idea where his nap time antics today have him positioned right now as he wiggles about. All I know is that he was literally kicking my butt all morning. He's a really funny boy. He usually flips back down when watching MMA (mixed martial arts), so we'll see how the K-1 match on Sunday works out. (That's what got him back down last time! I was sleeping, and he stayed up watching with Appa.)

Back to School...
Not really school, but we will be going to our first birthing-related class on Monday. It's sort of an intro class to one we are planning on taking for three Saturdays in September since August is pretty busy for us. I am very interested to see how it goes. To my understanding, it's a different sort of birthing technique, if not just simply breathing/relaxation technique, called Sophrology, which is more popular in France and apparently Asia. It sounds like it lines up with other pain management methods, so we'll see how it goes.

Our hospital offers a ton of different classes for free, so I think we'll also be taking one on Thursday morning next week. I'm very blessed to have a pretty relaxed morning schedule that allows me to move things around a bit in order to be able to take advantage of some of these classes.

There are classes that are offered by an expat who is a doula here that seem really great, but we're going to try these options first since they are free of cost and much easier for us to access. We'll see how it goes! If I still feel like I need something more, I will look into taking her course as well.

So in Love
It's been amazing how much our love has grown for our little one since being able to give him a little bit more of an identity with knowing that he is indeed a he. (Not to say we won't have this love if he somehow ends up a she!) We've both been so enamoured from the start, but putting a name to him and just getting to imagine our lives with our little boy has just been amazing for us both. Hee Suk has always sent me cute text messages as if they were from our baby and has loved being close to my tummy and kissing it right from the start, but he does it far more now. It's really an incredible thing to not only realize how much your love has grown, but how much another's has as well. He talks to him all of the time as well (as do I), and it just brings me so much joy.

The American Economy
News reports here have Obama stating that the American economy is on an upward trend, that it will only get better from here on out. Experts have revealed, though, that Obama has based this information solely on the sudden increase in sales at the Lakeville Super Target, where Ash's Grandmother has single-handedly met the entire year's sales goals by shopping in the infant's department alone.

OK, that might be exaggerating it a tad, but Grandma really has wasted no time in grabbing some great finds. Ash has just given me a good kick in the bum as a way of saying, "Many thanks, Grandma!"

"Big" Purchase
Even though we've got some time on our side still, I have been itching to just get things bought. This desire has been slightly satisfied by our most recent purchase for baby--the Pognae (Official Site).

We were going to order the sheep pattern for an additional 20,000￦ (around $20), but what kept us from doing so wound up being the black straps--not a fan of black for baby stuff. We thus just ordered Indigo Light, in addition to the newborn insert and the straps you can attach for baby to kind of suck on instead of gnawing on the actual carrier. We figure having the cutest design on the face of this planet isn't *that* critical, so we'll buy something else ridiculously adorable with the money, for sure.

The Pognae is the Korean equivalent of the Ergo but is much less expensive (and far cuter, in my opinion!). I am really excited about it.

Coming Up in August
We've got two baby fairs we are planning on attending. Since I don't like doing "big" things on Sundays (it's just so exhausting for me), that will take up two of our Saturdays. We *might* not end up going to the one in Ilsan, but I would like to so long as we are up to it. We have a few things we know we will be purchasing because of the great deals they offer there, so we'll see what we walk away with! The timing is absolutely perfect, too--we can be sure the photo package we signed up for is indeed the best deal/quality just before hitting the point where I should be getting my maternity portraits done, and it's just an all-around great time to start cramming in stuff for baby in our place.

This month's doctor's appointment is also right at 28 weeks, which means it's time for the RhoGAM shot. I feel bad for any pregnant woman who sustains a fear of needles throughout pregnancy and beyond.

A Special Announcement
Happy Birthday, Grandpappy!


That's about it for now. Appa will be home shortly, and I think that covers most of what's been going on recently.

Our Heavenly Father, You have blessed us with such wonderful people in our lives to share in the joy of bringing this little boy you have sent to us into this world. Please bless them greatly, holding them in Your hands in their trials as You have continually done for us. You are so amazing!

For My Family

Since we are keeping his name under wraps until he is here, my sister has dubbed him Ash, as in Ash from Pokemon. I think it's awesome. ♥

The Results are In!

And I do not have gestational diabetes!

OK, so I am teasing. I know what you really want to know--boy or girl?

Even though our hospital has a strict policy on not telling the sex of the baby, that certainly didn't stop our little one from clearly telling us: our little bonbon is all BOY! Appa did not catch it, but there was no mistaking what I saw clear as daylight.

We are incredibly excited. I won't go into detail now, but with all that we have been through with trying to conceive (which I know is not nearly as much as others go through but was still very trying), it actually feels very appropriate that God would bless us with a son first. That might not make much sense to anyone else, but it does to us. That's all that matters. ^^;; (This is certainly not to say the delight of a girl would have been any less!

Our Little Man






I think his chin resembles mine a bit...

The Appointment
So our appointment was Wednesday morning, and as I mentioned before, this was the one-hour glucose challenge to test for gestational diabetes. I chugged the drink and didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as some people make it out to be. The aftertaste left something to be desired, but it wasn't bad at all.

I completely crashed within five minutes, though. I felt so utterly exhausted and was hardly coherent. I swear it was some orange-flavored soju (Korean alcohol) or something. All I could really do was rest my head on my husband's shoulder and wait to be called in by the doctor for the ultrasound. I tried to say something to him, but I could hardly get anything out.

When we were finally called in, we went straight to the ultrasound spot. Like I said, he was not afraid to show that he is all boy. Right before the doctor started, Hee Suk said, "We don't need to record it, right?" If I had been more coherent, I would have smacked him and said, "Of course we do!" However, I was so out of it that I said, "Uh...o...kay..." He is kicking himself so hard right now because he didn't know exactly what he was looking at and therefore didn't catch the spot where our little boy showed his stuff.

I had so many questions I wanted to ask the doctor, but I hardly registered anything she was saying. They can wait until next time (four weeks from now), though, when I go in for my Rhogam shot for being Rh-.

Head's Up
The day of the appointment, baby decided to switch to a head's up position. I don't want to say breech at this point just because, but he is still there. I knew this as soon as we got on the bus to head to the hospital. He was kicking probably about as low as he possibly could. I am not freaking out about this, but I am trying to get him down sooner rather than later and hope he stays there. (Yes, I know there is still quite a bit of time for him to move around.)

Stats
Mama
Blood Pressure: 108/64
Heart Rate: 85bpm
Weight: ~65kg (143 lbs) I had weighed myself elsewhere just a couple of days earlier and was closer to a low 64kg, and I was about 1kg (2.2 lbs) higher when I weighed myself at the hospital (same type of scale). I rounded down to 65kg because I had had a lot of water in the morning.
Glucose Level: I don't know what to call it, but I passed with a 91.

Baby
I didn't hear any mention of length, but she did mention the weight was about 730g. I saw her notes and saw she jotted down 732g. I actually don't care much for the weight measurements since they are so often off, but if it is true, it seems like he's growing very well (of course he is!). Maybe I misheard/misread, though...

Today--24 weeks and 1 or 2 days


In the picture, I am wearing the skirt I bought when I went out with Sarah. Seriously, it is ridiculously comfortable. I'm going to buy it in all the colors of the rainbow. OK, not quite, but I do want to buy at least one more. I love it to no end.

Our little boy is still heads up. I had to go to the dentist today for her to put me out of the misery she mistakenly put me in last time (she just wasn't focusing for whatever reason and did not do a good job with my top wire), and he was kicking the entire time I was in the chair, which was about 50 minutes! He was moving all over the place, but it seems like he is still kicking quite low. Our little one is incredibly responsive to sound (not to mention food!), which I have typed about before (Transformers, UFC...). It will be fun to see how he enjoys Harry Potter this weekend after we munch on some pizza!

Old Wives' Tales
They are as they state--just tales--but several have proven true for me! The foods I have craved (salty, pork...staying away from sweets), and the obvious way I am carrying were both signs of a boy, and lo' and behold, we're having a boy! There are probably others that have fallen true as well. It's not important, but it's a little fun to think about.

That's about all I have for now. Exhaustion is setting in (it has been one crazy week!), so I need to go and rest up.

"Congrats" to those whose guessed right! The votes wound up being very close with slightly few more people guessing we were having a girl. ^^

Thank You, my God, for such an amazing blessing! Please continue to hold him in your hands and help him grow and thrive. We dedicate him to You!

2 "Milestones" I Forgot to Mention

This will probably seem really insignificant, but from the past week...

1. My belly button. ;~; It's only in when I am lying down now. My poor belly button. It'll go back in soon enough, though. ^.~

2. I decided to start using some stretch mark cream. No stretch marks yet, but I figured with baby getting so much bigger these days, I might as well.

Much love~

Good Buys

First, my 23 weeks and some-odd days belly pic, taken yesterday:



Second, the young ladies chicks on the subway need to realize that saving their feet from agony because they decided to wear strappy 5" stilettos of doom is no excuse not to stand for a pregnant women or the elderly and those who should be getting seats.

Third, the people who decide to sit in the seats designated for the elderly, handicap, pregnant and those with babies on the bus but aren't any of the above should be ashamed of themselves while they sit and stare out the window so as to avoid eye contact with the people who should be sitting in those sits but are instead getting thrown around. Oh, but that text message to your BFF does look incredibly important, as does that game on your phone. Sorry.

Snark aside... ^.~

Taekwon!
I think baby stayed up all night just having a blast kicking everywhere. I was a little worried because of some minor thing that happened on Thursday and because baby was kicking so low and then not kicking very much, but he/she made up for it last night for sure! (I know this is all normal. ^^) I managed to eat some spicy ramen (신라면) today, and that got baby going, too. (For those out of the loop, it has been very difficult for me to eat even my favorite sauce because I am very sensitive to spicy foods these days.)

Special Milestone!
I had my first sight of the "liquid gold" yesterday--colostrum. I was a little weirded out at first, but I went and checked my What to Expect book and the breastfeeding book I have and realized that all was well. I wonder if this means I'll have the "honor" of being one of those who leaks throughout the latter half of pregnancy. I guess we'll find out soon enough! Like I've mentioned before, it's amazing how God shows us such things throughout pregnancy to assure us that all is well.

Some Time Out
I met my friend Sarah today, and we hopped on over to Dongdaemun to go fabric/craft supply shopping and to find some maternity denim capris. It was great! I had never been to the shopping complex for craftiness galore, and it was really awesome. I will definitely be going back in the near future. Way too much cuteness. I did walk away with some hard felt and stuffing and will be searching for ideas of things to make.

We went to Migliore for my capris since I had purchased my pants there before and had found a great deal. I checked a few shops on GMarket, but they were all skinny style (Seriously? For pregnancy?) and definitely did not seem like I'd be able to get them over my thighs. The first shop we stopped by, most of her capris were 40,000won. I told her it was too much since I had purchased pants before for 20,000won, so she found a few in that price range. They were XLs but skinny style, so I could not get them up all of the way! She then told me that the only other thing she had were 2XLs in the 40,000won price range. She gave me one more pair to try on, which fit fine, but I still decided to go elsewhere. Thankfully, she was preoccupied with others. ^o^

I went to the spot where I had purchased my pants. I think it was a different seller, but behold! A rack marked 20,000won! The first pair I tried on was perfect, so I took it. I got a very comfy skirt from another shop for 10,000won, which I think I'll be able to wear with many different things. Pair that with the awesome deal I got on two pairs of capris from GMarket the other day, and I am set! My pregnancy wardrobe has not cost me much at all, which makes me really happy.

And only one person today asked if I was Russian, so I thought that was pretty good considering how many different little shops we went to. XD

Coming Soon
Our 24-week appointment is on Wednesday! Hopefully, this should be the last time I say, "We'll be finding out whether we're having a boy or girl!" The poll I have will close in a few days accordingly, so vote if you haven't already! It's a pretty close race now. As I mentioned after our last appointment, I will be doing the 1-houe glucose tolerance test. I think the most torture will be not being able to drink anything after drinking the goop. Oh, well.

That's all for now! I'm off to get inspired for more felt crafts. Shopping with Sarah today was dangerous!

Thank you, my Lord, for a fantastic day and for always calming my worries and fears in the most blessed of ways.

I forgot to mention--last night

Last night, baby was hilarious.

So far, we are convinced our little one is a night owl, just like us. Baby kicks throughout the day, but especially at night. Last night, Sesame decided to really have at it!

After I finished my shower, I went and lied down in bed. He/she just let loose! The kicks were so strong and all over the place. I said that I was sure baby was going to be born like the alien in whatever Alien movie that was, but Sesame didn't like that comment too much. ("I am not an alien!" POW.) I had Hee Suk watch my belly, and even he jumped back laughing, full of pride that he's clearly passing his taekwondo genetics down to our little one. Feeling the kicks is entertainment enough, but it's so weird to actually way the huge sudden bulges that distort the shape of my belly.

That's about all for now, though. The past few nights, I have had some really, really psycho nightmares (think horror movie quality...even though I never watch horror movies--not even the commercials for them!), so it will be interesting, to say the least, to see how that develops. I was blessed to have a bit of a reprieve, but maybe they're coming back fiercer than ever now. We'll see!

Sending prayers to all those who are reading this! Thanks to those who are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers as well. ♥

So THAT'S why...

Over the weekend, I decided to start looking for good deals on newborn clothing essentials--you know, onesies, sleepers, what have you. I haven't seen a single thing in stores anywhere for newborns except this gigantic gift sets in a bath basin...thing, so I decided to do a little searching on GMarket.

Let's just say it was not a fruitful shopping experience.

I just couldn't understand why newborn stuff was nowhere to be found, why everything was pretty much 3 months and up. I just want one of those simple packs of onesies you can get at Target and pretty much anywhere else for under a million dollars!

Our adventures at HomePlus on Sunday led us to the baby section so I could get some answers. The lady proceeded to show us how it's done here in Korea. Holy crimineys, it's way different in my opinion. Let me try to give you a photo tutorial.

Step 1


You get a little cardigan-type thing like this. There are usually two ties on the side. Put it on baby.

Step 2


Remember this gift I received for Teacher's Day? I don't think it's a bath towel anymore. After dressing baby in the cardigan, wrap baby snuggly in this. Voila! This is how you keep your newborn dressed at home.

Step 3--Going Out!
You must be wondering, "But what if you need to take your baby out? Surely, you must have some cute little fancy pants for going out!"

No cute fancy pants, but...



Take the term "bundle of joy" to a whole new level with this incredibly thick baby-size hooded comforter!

As Baby Grows
Just buy everything in really big sizes so that even though your baby will be swimming in cotton for about the first half of his/her life, you won't have to keep buying new clothes!

Yup.

I am, at least, at peace with why I can't find any of the clothing items I want. I should have guessed all of this, considering the whole traditional 100-day stay-away-from-civilization tradition and knowing how Koreans like to keep their babies ridiculously warm (maybe THAT'S why they don't sweat like pigs like many foreigners do in the summer time here!), but alas, I made no such rational connections.

Insert: I will add that I think swaddling is a perfectly fine thing to do and plan to get a couple of swaddles, but not as an all-day affair!

And truly, there are some absurdly adorable things once baby starts wearing clothing sized three months and up. I can't complain there.

But seriously. I just want some onesies and sleepers for a newborn. Is that so much to ask for? I know babies grow quickly. I am just asking for the basics here, not for an entire closet full of newborn clothing. Is that really so much to ask for, Korea?

To those of you who might have made some newborn clothing purchases for us, THANK YOU. I know I shouldn't be spazzing about getting this stuff, but it's just one simple thing that I didn't think would end up being so complicated. It all ties into my issues with wanting to know I'm able to get a task done a certain way and just getting it done, which is proving difficult right now. Korea just has a very different shopping culture as well, and while it is super amazing and fantastic most of the time, it drives me to insanity others.

And this is totally not a post begging for anything. I am just typing up my findings and inserting a few rants in-between. We will figure it out. It will be fine. We have some time still. Now I am consoling myself.

Anyway, just thought I'd share! Welcome to Parenting in Korea 101.

Rat + Tiger = Cow

I am so far behind on posting! Our anniversary trip went very well, but we were so exhausted after coming back. I feel like our vacation style is a little opposite sometimes. We wake up really early (we are super serious breakfast buffet people) and get a start out when things start opening so as not to miss anything. If we had more time, I am sure we would have slept more, but who knows when we will be back in Gyeongju? We went to many fantastic sites and enjoyed pretty much perfect weather the entire time. Though the water wasn't super warm, we enjoyed some outdoor swim time as well. The hotel there was absolutely amazing. It was really a perfect trip.

Friday-21w2/3d


Please excuse the weird face.

One of the most fun things we learned on the trip was how the year our baby is going to be born in coordinates with the years Hee Suk and I were born in. We don't believe in zodiacs in the least, but it's still fun information! Hee Suk was born in the year of the rat, and I was born in the year of the tiger. This is the year of the cow. I knew all of this, but I didn't put two-and-two together until we went to Silla Millenium Park and saw the zodiacs all lined up.

The only thing I remember of the order of the zodiacs is the first from from trying to memorize them while studying with Satoh-sensei: ne, ushi, tora, u. This means "rat, cow, tiger, rabbit," and is all I needed to remember, apparently! Baby comes right between the two of us. We decided to take a picture of us standing in front of the cow for baby.




The happy family. ^^

Otherwise, not too much to report. My belly is definitely wider now. Baby has been doing some serious renovations in there, kicking all of the time to make more space. ^.~ Unfortunately, this also means my belly button doesn't have much longer until it is definitely an outie. Oh, well. It'll go back in soon enough. Less than 18 weeks until our due date!

Taken today, about 22w3d


I think that'll do it for now. As always, I have so many things I hope to update on soon. Time to start power blogging!

Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb, you have been my God.
Psalms 22:9,10

On Vacation!

Well, not yet, but I doubt I will be updating at 6am tomorrow morning.

I will teach my early morning class, and then we will quickly come back home to grab our bags and head out. Like I at least think I mentioned, we're basically doing lunch in Daegu, and then heading down to Busan after that. I am way excited. I love the KTX (super duper fast train), and taking it just makes me feel like we are truly getting away.

I was being a spaz about what to wear down because I want to be able to show my belly. I picked out my favorite summer dress (from Old Navy), but my bosom has grown so that it's more noticeable when I wear the dress. It's more cleavage than I want to be toting around his father especially, but thankfully, a light cardigan my mom sent me is just perfect for throwing over to cover up a bit. The day is saved.

All that's left to do is pick up some more chocolate chip muffins on the way back from teaching, and that's it! I have not wanted chocolate at all during this pregnancy, but I have had a craving for soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chip muffins every now and again. A week or two ago, I finally caved in and bought the chocolate chip muffins at Paris Baguette, and they are SO good. I should also buy a few drinks with a little sugar in them.

Anyway, I need to make some...I don't know how to even remotely translate it into English, but it's pretty much sushi rice that's tucked into the yummy brown tofu...pouches. Then it's off to bed for me.

I'll definitely have pictures to share when we get back! Much love to you all!

Thank You, my Lord, for this wonderful opportunity to get away and for two years full of blessings (often disguised as very trying times) with an incredible man. You are so good!

July already?

So I totally didn't make my mini "goal" for updating in June (I hope to have at least 10 entries a month--fell just short), but there's no use crying over it.

I did not take a bump picture last week, but I will do my best to do so today. I think if anything, my bump might be a little wider now. Baby is definitely pushing more stuff upwards, too, because bending my torso feels a little funny. Don't get me started on the continued threats from my belly button! ^.~

One student made the "mistake" yesterday of saying, "I think your baby is small," because I don't have a massive bump by everyone else's standards. -.-; If only people realized how much bigger this is for me! Crazy talk.

Our plans for this month have changed slightly. We were going to go to some group thing in Incheon with Hee Suk's friends, but we decided to skip that and move our anniversary/baby moon/summer vacation trip up to this weekend. I will teach Friday morning, and then we'll head out to Daegu after that. We'll visit his father there for a couple of hours (we haven't seen him since our American wedding), and then we'll go down to Busan to see everyone else since we won't be making another trip down there for a long time. We'll check out of our hotel Saturday morning and head over to the real vacation--Gyeongju! I've been wanting to go for so long, so I am very excited.

We bought a hotel membership package for a really incredible deal for our anniversary (actually, Hee Suk likes to proudly proclaim it our "Prenatal Care Package"), so we'll be staying at some really nice places. There's even going to be a swimming pool at our hotel in Gyeongju! I am very excited. Our weekend stay (which is pretty much free with the coupons from our membership packet) already is of greater value than what we paid to be members, so that's really, really awesome.

On a not-so-happy note, though, it turns out it's a good thing we changed our plans a little to include a quick trip to see his family (we were originally just going to spend all of our time in Gyeongju). We don't know how long everyone else has known, but we only just found out yesterday that Hee Suk's father has lung cancer. We're not really surprised, given his age and smoking status, but it is still a bit of a shock.

In baby news, not too much to report. Baby kicks all of the time, which is obviously a great thing. Pregnancy has led to a few small annoying skin tags for me, but other than that, not too much else has happened recently. The humidity of the Korean summer has kicked in, so I feel like the sweatiest of pigs as soon as I step foot outside.

The bus that I mentioned in my last post caused me a mental breakdown yesterday--a full on sobbing episode while I was outside. For two weeks, it has stopped at one spot that is on the way back home for me. Not as convenient as the drop off point, but good enough. I missed one yesterday and waited for the next. The bus driver drove right on by, waving that he doesn't stop there. I lost it.

I had a feeling that was not a permanent stop because that bus number wasn't listed there, but seriously? When you've stopped there for two weeks and you've got someone waiting to catch it, pick them up and tell them that it's no longer a stop for the next time around. I sobbed and sobbed on the phone to Hee Suk but made it home just fine, of course. (I live close to the building most of my classes are at, but with fatigue plus humidity of doom, it's nice to take the bus sometimes--yesterday threatened rain as well.)

Anyway, the life of a pregnant woman. ^.~

Hopefully, I'll get a picture up soon!

Much love~