This week:Week 30 ♥

Can you still see a belly button? ; )

Me and Ry in beautiful Xitou, Nantou County

27 Weeks and Growing

Hi there! 

Here are some photos to share at 27 weeks! 

I'm doing well and so is the baby. : )

Although I am not sure if baby at this early stage knows how to throw a tantrum, I felt something like that last night as I was falling asleep in bed.

I felt the little hands and legs throwing around in my tummy for about 20 seconds nonstop..... 

Not sure she was happy or upset about something... Ha!

If you miss me...

Dear friendz,

If you are thinking of me, and have missed hanging out with me.... Truth is, I happen to be doing the same thing: thinking of you and missing the times when we drink up and dance and all that silly stuff together.

I'm writing to say my little apology to all you that have me in your mind from time to time and you that often think: "Gee...I wonder how is Iris and the little one!"  besides the thought that she has been a super lazy lame friend lately.

Yup! I am. And I am awfully apologetic about this. As you have noticed, I have taken my life being pregnant super slowly and carefully. I have slowed down my pace of living from before, and taken great care of myself and the baby especially. (Sorry, Ryan!) Part of the reason I am being so cautious is that I am very new to the whole idea of pregnancy and having a baby, surprised and more often "scared" all the time. And the other part of the reason is that I am noticing the change in me day by day as my belly swells, my roller coaster hormones change and my physique fatigues.... and with all these changes in me, I realize I am becoming more of a  responsible person. Because of that, I just can't afford to make mistakes, and I don't want anything bad to happen to my baby. 

Ok ok...enough for my preggie rant. I guess all I want to say here is that, I know you miss me, and I know that I am not around a lot, but I am still here, still your friend except that I'm getting bigger! Ha!

And, when I feel ok, and the time is right, I hope to organize a dinner (or lunch), which is not too exhausting for me and the baby, when I can see everyone and give my proper hugs to YOU!

And, that's all. It's time for me to nap again!

I love you and think of you all the time!

irisxox

24 Weeks & The Sickly Sweetness

As my tummy gets bigger, I can feel stronger kicks and movements in there each day.

Sometimes, it feels pretty surreal knowing there's a life living in me. There's a strange communication between my baby and I whenever she kicks: 

"Hey!! I'm here! Don't forget that, huh? : P"

And there are times I feel "earthquakes" (no, really!) in my tummy and wish they would stop so that I can fall back to sleep...

Anyways, I had another check up last week when I had to literally drink 10 little bags of sugar (you know, those coffee sugar packets) in 300 CCs of water...on an empty stomach. 

I did this soo that they could check my blood sugar level and see if I had prenatal diabetes. Arrrgggggghhhhhhhhh....................

Trust me, no matter how much of a sweet tooth you are, you WON'T like it....
Not...a...bit. 

I was restless, my heartbeat was racing and I felt like hell for the entire morning. 

Well...I'm glad it is all done, and all went well. ; )))



Ps. Sweets haven't tasted the same to me since that sugar rush. : /

Hi ya!! ; )

Hello!!! 

Baby says hi at 23 weeks! : ))

21 Weeks of Me Plus One

Me at 21 weeks! 

I know, I know... I (might) look small compared to most of moms-to-be at the half way point. My mom told me she was the same when she was pregnant, and she only started to show when it was close to the due date...so that makes me feel better.

Didn't everyone hear that pregnant women have great appetite and can eat a horse at some point in their pregnancy??? Well, it doesn't happen to me (....yet). The heat of July here does not help at all. I feel hot at all times, my hands and my feet are always burning hot. And I just don't have a great appetite! The only thing that I crave is...ICE CREAM. But again, I've also lost my sweet tooth, so even ice cream, I can only stomach a little! Yikes! : / 

So, hopefully, my love of fruits will help! : )

Anyway, at least I know that baby is vey active, kicking all the time. She kicks whenever I lay down for sleeping or a nap, she kicks when she hears loud music and strong beats and she kicks whenever she wants to...

even though I don't really crave lots of food. 

20 out of 40! Yay!

20 weeks marks the half way of my pregnancy!

Baby is now kicking all the time!! ; )

Here is the belly picture of 20 weeks.

Baby: "Doc told mom that I have a tall nose (well, look at my dad) and a very strong heart beat. He said my heart is getting stronger. Everything looks great!" 

"Although, I was not cooperating this evening, I was not in a 'proper' laying position for the doc to take a good picture of me... I was in my 'usual' 'happy' upside down position! Hehehe..."

"I guess this is the best picture they can take of me at week 19! : P" 

It's a GIRL ; )

So many weeks passed by, I have been through a serious cold with a fever and sent to the emergency, I have done another blood test for down syndrome. I have lost 2 to 3 kg and then gained about 1.5 kg (because of this the baby was a bit slower than the normal growth.)

And here we go, this week, week 16,  marks the fourth month of my pregnancy. Not only I am in the easier second trimester, we have also found out that the baby (still working on the name) is growing at a normal rate now, and most importantly we found out that it's a baby GIRL!!! : P Also, the blood test has turned out to be normal with a very low chance of baby having down syndrome. YAY!!!

Me, at fourth moth pregnant!

Phew!!!! The couple weeks that passed, Ryan and I have really been through what parents have gone through in terns of having a child. The worries, thinking, decision-making and check-ups that parents have to do to make sure their child is healthy really made me realize that it ain't an easy task for someone to just yell: "Hey, guess what, I'm gonna be a mom/dad!"

Baby at 16 weeks, too bad she wasn't showing her face... : /

As I was told and reminded a million times: "Oh, don't you worry, THIS is just the beginning!" I really hope that Ry and I  are prepared or at least slowly getting ready for this life to come, becoming part of the family and rocking our world. 

Well, for me, she has already been in our life anyways... ; )

Just me and my new hair...oh and Clumsy! : P

I Drew a Map

Finally, my map that has kept me busy (and company) is done!

How did I come to draw this Taiwan Baseball Museum Map? 

Well, it's kind of long story... Long story, short was that I got a phone call from a lady

who is in charge of one of Taiwan's most important museums in Taipei. She told me she was impressed with the hand-drawn Highway 11 map (which I used to do every six months back when we still did the magazine). She wanted to know if I could do something like that, except drawing some places and themes that I was not familiar with at all. Impulsively, I said: "Yes!" Then two weeks later I found out I was pregnant! Hurray! I was then working on this map with pictures they sent me and meeting on-line and trying to meet the deadline...

I guess I can't really mke a long story short....anyhow.

Turned out I finished it just in time (kinda), and they all like my map very much! So, just like that I got myself into drawing maps, and Aven (lady who hired me) said "There are more to come in the future!"

And just like that, my first trimester is over. All the late night drawing, erasing and barfy feelings are gone, too! 

Thank you map, thank you Aven, I wonder what is next for me. : )

My Horror-mone

I have heard that hormone changes in a pregnant woman can do funny and wicked things. Little did I know what it would really do to me until I became a mom-to-be. 

Let's talk about bright side first:
*I can light up a bright smile just seeing a baby passing by me, people holding doors for others...
*I think my husband is the best in the world when he runs, teaches and holds my hand while falling asleep...
*I think Ginger is world's best girl dog when she goes to her own room to bed every night....
*And my husband loves my enormous breasts.
*I started listening to and appreciating natural sounds, such as ocean waves, rain falling with thunder and birds chirping!

Dark side:
*I cry like a baby every 15 minutes. I cry when I see a sad commercial on TV, I cry when a soft song comes on the radio, I cry when I listen to podcast interviews...
*I get so frustrated so freakin' easily, and the feeling of annoyance makes me wanna yell and break things... then I cry.
*I become short-tempered with everyone who says wrong things, and they are just being themselves...
*I become a horrible person when I lost my patience with things, I start saying really mean stuff to people.
*I hate punk music even more than ever!
* I hate FOOD, mostly meat!
*OK, my mood swings...to be exact though... I'm only in a bad mood most of time anyways (according to Ryan)
* YOU NAME IT...

So...I heard this song on the way home today and started bawling....... Bare with me please.

Baby socks

I was at Poya (Taiwanese Shopper's Drug Mart, just a bit neater) today, and I saw these...

Well...
I couldn't help, even though there are still months away before the baby arrives.  : P

Week 13

So today we went for our second checkup. Everything looked great and our baby was kicking up a storm. This little one would rather jump than sit, or sit than lay down and sleep...It's so much fun seeing this little one moving. I can never get tired of watching it move! : )

Anyways, here is the video. Say "hi!"

                                                                                 

This was me+1 at week 4 day 3 : )

And...


This is me +1 today at week 11d 7, tomorrow I will be 12 weeks pregnant! ; P

Worry is the Work of Pregnancy

OK, I admit. I worry a lot.

Since becoming pregnant, my worries have piled up and stuffed in my brain. There are just so many checkups a mom-to-be has to do and many challenges to pass, one by one, alone the way. To me, it feels like a slow bowling game, with an extremely slow bowling ball going down the lane to knock down the pins, one followed by another.

One of my dear friends sent me a book about pregnancy, and inside I found this chapter called "Worry is the Work of Pregnancy." Ha! Ain't that the truth? ; ) Believe me, if you are trying to get pregnant, try to drink more wine now and chill cuz you won't have that luxury later...

Anyways, as I was doing my research about my countless worries, I found this lovely video to calm my nerves and make me feel peaceful.

This is a video of a dad giving a bath to his newborn baby...

It's Official! Our Party of THREE!

I'm not a good writer. But I think I owe it to the baby in me, and all the friends, family and love ones a blog update of my pregnancy!

Here I am, I'm gonna try my best to keep this blog complete 

(Ok, I have never done that...).

And here is the story. 

On March 8th, I did a pregnancy test which revealed  2 red lines, with a very slight pink one ... which meant: I am (could be) pregnant. Both Ryan and I were shocked and quiet and excited for about 5 minutes without knowing what to say. 

On March 15th, my gyno showed us a little bubble in my belly and confirmed and congratulated us on being pregnant for 4 weeks. Well, I couldn't remember exactly when my last period came, so I guessed a rough date... Oh well, I'm sticking with it. SO according to the doc, my due date is November 15th, 2012. 

I early April, out of curiosity and with loads of questions, I decided to go back and visit my gyno again. He was very patient and told me all the stuff I needed to know about. Well, that was the first time I felt that my gyno was actually a nice and warm person, first time he had spoken so much to me (and Ryan). Then he asked to do another ultrasound, and there... my baby looks like a "teddy bear" at week 8. SO cute! By the way, my baby has a steady heartbeat around 180 already! Wow.

On April 11th, I had my first urine test and blood test. I was then given a "Mom's Handbook" and I am supposed to carry it with me every time I visit the doctor. It has all the test records.

Well, the second I lay on the bed and the ultrasound started, I saw my baby at week 11, jumping up and down, kicking and swinging his/her fists. Wow!!! Ry and I were amazed to see the show the baby put on for us! And I was again, completely astonished by the whole wonderful life creation process...

Well, this is so far the progress of the baby and me. Oh, me, speaking of. I haven't mentioned the hormone changes over the past three months. I have felt fatigue, emotional, very very very emotional with touchy feelings that trigger crying (or yelling... mostly at Ryan, that, I'm gonna skip...haha!). And I needed naps and fresh everything (air, veggies, fruit...you name it, supermarkets, malls shopping were not gonna happen), I also felt a whole lot of change in my taste buds. Not only have I lost my of appetite, the stuff that I used to think delicious has become the worst nightmare to me (Chinese delicacies). And stuff I never thought to be wonderful to eat are now my regular meals. Guess what kind of food/restaurant I crave now? Pasta!!! Pasta?! Yup, this boring food now seems to have layers of deliciousness to me and the baby! I dunno... : P

Anyways, this is the report so far. I am learning and being frightened and comforted as the baby and I "grow" along the way. 40 weeks isn't that long, but it's long enough for a pregnant woman to handle. I'm glad that I am now about 12 weeks pregnant and there are only 28 weeks to go! Hurray! Screw the hot/cold flashes I feel from time to time, screw the barfy, disgusted feeling I get along the way. I am going to embrace the whole process of this pregnancy, for I have family and dear friends who love me, and the fact that THIS could be my one and only opportunity to experience what my mom, my sister, Ryan's mom, Ryan's sister and all the woman who gave birth in the history have been through. 

There! I'm not loving it, but I'm truly "lovin' it"...... Ha! 

The pregnant rant!