Hic-cuper

38 week and still pregnant. There's something new happenned during my OB checkup this morning. When the midwife monitoring my baby's heartbeat with the fetal doppler, we heard the baby having hiccups. Not just once, but several times. Oh, the sound of hiccups is so cute, yet funny. I read about the experiences of moms feeling baby's hiccups inside the womb during pregnancy; however, I can never grasp the sensation of baby hiccupping inside me. How sweet it is to have my baby get caught in action with hicupps during the exam today. Neat.

It was an unsual weekend. My baby's grandparents arrived last Friday and they'll be staying with us for 3 months. They're still getting adjusted to the time zone and Michigan weather. It's nice that the weather is getting warmer. We are looking forward to seeing our little one soon.

Full term

37, the magical number. I am at 37 week 1 day now. As of yesterday, my baby is officially considered full term.

Yesterday, I went for my OB appointment. The office was moved to a new building, a block away from the old one. It was the first day they started seeing the patients in the new office. It looked like things were still undergoing transitions though. Technicians and workers were all over the place trying to put things in place. People were scrambling and the noises were echoing.

It was a long wait. My baby was in a hyper mode during the wait. She was kicking and rolling actively inside me. It was weird that I didn't feel her movement much the day before. Could it be the chocolate cake I had for breakfast? Oh, it was the cake I baked the night before. I had an urge to bake that just could not be ignored.

Finally, I was attended by a midwife's assistant. As usual, I got weighted and blood pressure checked and then waited again in the room for the midwife. My Group B Strep test came out negative. Fundal height measured 37cm. Baby's head down but not drop yet. Baby's heartbeat was 143 beats per minute. My midwife told me that she felt my baby's kicking when monitoring her heartbeat. When the check up was done, my midwife said to me, "I'll see you in a week if you're still pregnant". It sounds like any day can be "the" day from now on. Well, I'm not tired of pregnancy yet and hopefully I'll see my midwife next week.

Today, my bump was touched! I saw our office's cleaning lady in the hallway when I came back to the office after a stroll at lunch break. She eyed on my belly in surprise and disbelief. Then, she came to me with a hug and gave my bump a gently pat. For her, it was like my pregnant belly just popped out of nowhere overnight. Never in doubt, my pregnant belly is getting the attention now.

36w5d belly

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Girls’ lunch out!

Girls only. Today’s weather is superb: blue sky, glorious sunshine and crisp breeze. A party of eight ladies were having lunch at Saffron today in celebration of my baby girl. Our boss is kind enough to put this lunch-out on the company’s tab. We had a fantastic time, great laugh and awesome food. Indian food was really spicing up the heat! We’re looking forward to many more pregnancy celebrations to come. Who’s next?

Crack me up

The "Middle Wife" by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday."

"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!" (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe'. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there."

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat.

I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another "Middle Wife" comes along.

Now you have two choices...laugh and close this page or pass this along to someone else to spread the laughs.

Live every day as if it is your LAST chance to make someone happy.

A day in April

I woke up this morning to a April whiteout. Two inches of snow accumulation. Pretty, but weird. It feels like a white Christmas in December.

I got compliment of my new hair look in the office today. That's really sweet. Thanks to my funky hairdresser.

"You are the smallest pregnant woman I have ever seen", my coworker struck me with her opinion of my pregnant belly. I already feel bulky to move around with my size of bump. I can hardly imagine packing a couple of extra pounds to my bump.

During lunchtime, we experienced a blackout in the office. It could be the snowy weather that caused the power outage. After one and half hour of waiting for the power to be restored, we were finally sent home and called it a day. Whoray!

36 week: Hair cut day

My hairdresser is a lady with short black hair and dark pinky red highlights, a strip of spiky hair in the middle - Mohawk style. Though, do not fool by her wild look. It's a disguise. She is the most sensible and patient hairdresser I have ever met. She tamed my long thick hair gently into a shoulder-length layered hair, thinning out the excess thickness and creating layering of hairs to add texture and curves. My new hair cut does not turn out to be as funky as my hairdresser's. It's a relief.

Crave

Last night, sugar raised and chocolate cake donuts were dancing in my mind. I had this specific craving for Sweetwater's donuts, not KrispyKream, or donuts from any gas stations or grocery stores.

Donut is BAD, that's my midwife's advice for pregnancy nutrient at my first OB visit. Well, I gave into the devil on my left shoulder and got myself a dozen. Oh boy, it felt soooo good after chowing down one of each with 1/4 cup of coffee. I know... caffeine is BAD too.

She makes babies

My sister emailed me these little cutie pies. Aren't they adorable? They are mini sculptures created by artist Camille Allen.

Stork Parking

We saw this sweet sign of "A stork carrying baby" when shopping at Babies 'R' Us. Designated parking spots reserved for new and expectant mom, how thoughtful and sweet. I was a little hesitate to enjoy this privilege when I was not showing at all. I was afraid to be seen as a whiny lazy person who wants special parking even when not pregnant.

But heck, I think I earn it. I'm entitled to this little special treatment.