Today was the 11/12 week doctor's appointment for the little one growing in my belly. It was actually quite an exciting visit because I got there about 30 minutes earlier than my scheduled appointment time by accident, so the technician decided to see me a little earlier so she could let me see the little one via sonogram/ultrasound a bit longer.
First, she did the official measurments like the Crown-rum length, which was 5.9 cm (which means the baby is approximately at 12/13 weeks gestation) and the Nuchal translucency, which was 1.0mm (a good sign because normal is less than 3mm). Then, she just showed me around in there...like, the little one's face, arms and legs, some movement (I don't think it liked being pushed around in such a small space) and the spine. It was sitting with its head resting on its hand like the thinker, and it was sitting in a cross-legged position. :) Very cute...
And then...I got another special treat...she turned on the 3D ultrasound and showed me some amazing shots of the baby in 3D! Incredible that they could do that so early on in the pregnancy, but she didn't charge me any extra to see it! I felt so lucky...she even recorded some of the movement for me on a video clip and gave it to me on a disc, so when I figure out how to access it, I'll be sure to share...I know you all want to see. :) It's truly amazing, the capability these days. The little one's heart rate stayed pretty high at 158 beats per minute during this visit.
I keep wanting to call this little one a "she," and I think it's because I feel like it's a little girl in there, I guess we'll find out in a few more weeks, hopefully.
The doc says the baby's growing well and looking healthy, so my next visit will be another month from now. I hope between now and then, I lose the nausea and start gaining some energy back...man, this cold and exhaustion is really...tiring! :)
It was very refreshing to see that the little one's growing so well in there, though...it already looks pretty cramped, though, so maybe I should start wearing stretchier pants to give it more room...
I'm looking forward to the first fetal movement...:) yay...
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sudden Popos...
My Tay suddenly woke up just a few minutes ago and called for me so I ran in, and she still had her eyes closed. I lay down next to her and told her I was there, and she turned toward me and said what I thought was poo-poo, but when I asked her if she needed to go potty, she said no, and repeated "po-po!" Then she grabbed my cheeks with both hands and kissed me three times on the lips and then turned over and went back to sleep. All this with her eyes still closed...
Must have been an interesting dream...:) Sweet girl...
Must have been an interesting dream...:) Sweet girl...
A Rough Couple of Days...
Well, I guess as the end of my first trimester is going to end with some bang because I caught a little cold and the last few days have been...let's just say...not pretty.
I remember having a cold when I was pregnant with Tay, but this cold was out of the ordinary in that for a whole day, I couldn't eat ANYTHING without it coming back out only minutes or hours later. It must have been a combination of the bug I had and morning sickness because Tay didn't have any of the "refusal of food" like I did...thank goodness for that. I mean, I couldn't eat anything - not crackers, not dried toast, not fruit, not ANYTHING. My stomach wasn't going to take it. My mom says it also might be due to some underlying stressing I'm feeling...and she may be right. Being pregnant, sick, and having a husband gone away on business is pretty stressful...I guess. At least Tay was as sweet as can be and tried her best not to stress me out...:)
Dear new little Angel,
I hope you aren't too hurt by all my sickness these past couple days...I did lose a few pounds, which my doctor might be happy about, but I can't seem to hold down any prenatal vitamins either, so I really need to eat better to ensure I'm getting you the vitamins and minerals you need! I want you to be as healthy as your big sister, you know. I look forward to seeing you in there on Thursday at our next appointment. Hope you are well...
Love,
Umma
I remember having a cold when I was pregnant with Tay, but this cold was out of the ordinary in that for a whole day, I couldn't eat ANYTHING without it coming back out only minutes or hours later. It must have been a combination of the bug I had and morning sickness because Tay didn't have any of the "refusal of food" like I did...thank goodness for that. I mean, I couldn't eat anything - not crackers, not dried toast, not fruit, not ANYTHING. My stomach wasn't going to take it. My mom says it also might be due to some underlying stressing I'm feeling...and she may be right. Being pregnant, sick, and having a husband gone away on business is pretty stressful...I guess. At least Tay was as sweet as can be and tried her best not to stress me out...:)
Dear new little Angel,
I hope you aren't too hurt by all my sickness these past couple days...I did lose a few pounds, which my doctor might be happy about, but I can't seem to hold down any prenatal vitamins either, so I really need to eat better to ensure I'm getting you the vitamins and minerals you need! I want you to be as healthy as your big sister, you know. I look forward to seeing you in there on Thursday at our next appointment. Hope you are well...
Love,
Umma
A cold, an ice museum, and two years...
Last week, my sweet Tay started coughing a bit...a small cough a couple times during the day, but I didn't think much of it. Then, it progressed to a full-blown cold with a horrible-sounding cough and a stuffy/runny nose, but luckily, no fever or other symptoms (other than a bit of crankiness) so I wasn't too worried. Lucky me, I decided to catch whatever bug she got, though, so I followed suit with the bit of coughing and then runny nose, but I had a bit more severe symptoms, probably due to the fact that I'm pregnant and still in my first trimester.
Anyhow, before our symptoms got really bad, we had scheduled a trip with some friends to the local Ice Gallery near Insadong. We were all really excited about the outing, especially since we had the Armed Forces Network coming to film the place on the same day. What we didn't know was that they'd be mic-ing us up through the entire visit and shooting us, and then interviewing us there about our "experience" about the "art" there...eep. The clip is supposed to be made public sometime in April, so when it does come out, I'll be sure to let everyone know about it or share the link to it (as long as I don't look totally ridiculous). :)
The ice gallery was really cool, though...we got to see a lot of very interesting structures all built out of ice. Tay's favorite part was probably the ice slide...she went down that thing multiple times! You'd think her little tush would have frozen to the slide... My favorite part was probably seeing the Eiffle Tower and the Statue of Liberty built out of ice. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was pretty cool, too. They even had an ice bathroom made up complete with a bathtub, sink, and toilet! Tay was none too fond of that, though...I wish I could have gotten a picture of that! I also laid her down momentarily on the ice bed, but she didn't like that too much either.
After we wandered through the ice gallery and froze our little noses off and we came out to thaw out, they had a large hunk of ice sitting out in the middle of the room. The ice sculpter then went up to the piece of ice with a chain saw and started chopping at the ice...soon we saw some letters carved up with a star just like the AFN logo! He did it all in a matter of minutes! It was truly amazing! I couldn't take the video because my hands were tied holding Tay, but I think Beth got the whole thing!
After that, they also gave us a cup-making demonstration! We also got to try our hand at making our own ice cups...let's just say it was not a pretty sight, but we all had a great time doing it, and at the end of the day, we each got to drink a little Fanta out of our ice cups! Again, I didn't get any pictures of that with my camera, but I'm sure someone did, so when I get my hands on those pics, I'll be sure to post them. :) The AFN crew also filmed a bit of the "hacking" of our cups, so we might see some footage of that later as well. Tay's favorite part of the cup-making was sucking on the huge chunks of ice (like the handle I chopped off my cup).
Tomorrow, my little baby girl turns TWO years old! I know we've already had her little birthday party and everything, but tomorrow is the day that she actually turns TWO! I still can't believe that two years ago today, she was still squirming around in my belly, and that two years ago tomorrow was the first day I ever set eyes on the most beautiful sight in the whole world...my Shingil Taylor Ryals. She has changed our whole lives so much for the better...I just can't fathom my life without her! She has become the center of our world, and we often wonder how much this new little being growing in my belly will impact and grow our family. I know she will make a wonderful big sister, but I wonder how I can keep nurturing her and loving her enough so that she continues to become the wonderful human being that she is already becoming.
As of late, she has really fallen in love with reading, and perhaps it's because I've been so sick lately, but whenever we come home after I pick her up from Beth's, we play a bit in her room and then she picks out a book and sits beside me or on my lap and we read and read and read. When we finish with one book, she goes and picks out another one. Then another. Then another. I probably read about 20 books every evening to her before our bedtime routine starts! What I love about that is that she really pays attention and the parts that she knows, she'll read right along with me! Some of her favorites lately have been "One Apple Up On top," "One Fish, Two Fish," "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," a couple Elmo books, quite a few Korean books, "Daddy Hugs," a few song books, and many more. I also love that our bedtime routine is really set. We take a bath, brush our teeth, dry off and lotion up, get in PJ's, get a sip of milk and/or water, cuddle up in bed to read three books (her picks lately have been Max & Ruby books), lights out, pray together, and then she kisses me good night and rolls over to fall asleep. It's amazing how quickly she falls asleep now without me patting her or singing to her or anything. I thought the days of rocking her to sleep would never go away, but gone they are...I guess it's a good thing. I can't be rocking her to sleep with a giant belly...
It's like my baby girl is transitioning into a young lady all on her own...sometimes I wish it would all slow down and she could be that little baby I held in my arms two years ago. I love the little lady she is becoming, though...and I especially love that I can communicate with her, too...and I can understand her and she can understand me...most of the time. :) She is definitely an amazing girl and I look forward to the day that I can tell her so and have her fully comprehend what I mean when I say that she is truly AMAZING.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Morning Tears...
This was the first morning in a long time that there were tears when I dropped off Tay at Beth's. She didn't want me to leave...she wanted me to stay and play with her. From the moment we left our house, she wanted me to stay with her. When I buckled her into her car seat, she grabbed my finger and kept pulling me back into the car after I kissed her for another kiss...and then another. Until I told her I had to drive so we could go to Tita's. Her big brown eyes welled up with tears and she yelled, "Nooo, Umma...stay..." so I took her hand again and she pulled me in for another kiss...::sigh:: After a few more times of that, I eventually made my way to the driver's seat to get on our way...leaving a little tear trail down my baby girl's cheek...::sigh::
She and I chatted on our drive to Beth's and she seemed to be doing much better...
When we made it to Beth's and we went up the elevator to her house, she wanted me to hold her the whole way...so I carried her to the door and we knocked. When Beth opened the door and reached for Tay, she pulled away and said, "No, Umma." She just wanted to stay with me today. After some persuading, I asked her if she would walk me to the elevator. She said, "Neh," and took my hand and Beth's hand and we walked to the elevator...
When the elevator door opened, she slowly let go of my hand, but when I walked into the elevator, she started crying, "No, no, no, Umma, no, Umma..." and as the elevator doors closed, all I could see were tears streaming down my little girl's face and hear her yelling for me...
I know all of that stopped in a matter of minutes after I was gone, but a morning like today just breaks my heart and really makes me question my decision to keep working...
She and I chatted on our drive to Beth's and she seemed to be doing much better...
When we made it to Beth's and we went up the elevator to her house, she wanted me to hold her the whole way...so I carried her to the door and we knocked. When Beth opened the door and reached for Tay, she pulled away and said, "No, Umma." She just wanted to stay with me today. After some persuading, I asked her if she would walk me to the elevator. She said, "Neh," and took my hand and Beth's hand and we walked to the elevator...
When the elevator door opened, she slowly let go of my hand, but when I walked into the elevator, she started crying, "No, no, no, Umma, no, Umma..." and as the elevator doors closed, all I could see were tears streaming down my little girl's face and hear her yelling for me...
I know all of that stopped in a matter of minutes after I was gone, but a morning like today just breaks my heart and really makes me question my decision to keep working...
A turn for the better...
I think I've made a turn toward the good trimester this week concerning the nausea. Luckily, my constant nauseousness is passing and I'm feeling pretty good throughout the day. The fatigue is still sticking around, though, so I'm sleeping crazy hours at night it seems, but I am also waking every couple hours to make trips to the bathroom, so that's not helping the "rest" as a whole, I think.
I am now at 10 weeks and one day, according to the pregnancy calendar, and in less than two weeks, I'll have my next doctor's appointment. Perhaps by then, my little one will be moving around in there...
These next few weeks feel like they'll be very long with Jeff being gone to Daegu, but Tay is being sweet for the most part so it's still going smoothly. My belly already looks like I did when I was about five months pregnant with Tay, so I'm a little upset about that, but I guess that's expected of a second baby...or so they tell me. So far, I've put on 5 pounds, and according to Korean standards, that's WAY too much (over obese, apparently), but by American standards, I'm doing okay with a 3-5 pound gain in the first trimester.
So...when does my first trimester actually end, anyway? Some books and websites say at 10 weeks, and other say at 12 weeks...so which is it?
I am now at 10 weeks and one day, according to the pregnancy calendar, and in less than two weeks, I'll have my next doctor's appointment. Perhaps by then, my little one will be moving around in there...
These next few weeks feel like they'll be very long with Jeff being gone to Daegu, but Tay is being sweet for the most part so it's still going smoothly. My belly already looks like I did when I was about five months pregnant with Tay, so I'm a little upset about that, but I guess that's expected of a second baby...or so they tell me. So far, I've put on 5 pounds, and according to Korean standards, that's WAY too much (over obese, apparently), but by American standards, I'm doing okay with a 3-5 pound gain in the first trimester.
So...when does my first trimester actually end, anyway? Some books and websites say at 10 weeks, and other say at 12 weeks...so which is it?
Monday, March 1, 2010
One Hour Late...
This morning, I was an hour late to work...
Why? Because my little girl needed some Umma-time.
I woke up around 7:30 this morning, so I jumped outta bed and got ready, but as I was getting ready, Tay sat up in bed and watched me quietly until I noticed her sitting up in bed, and so I acted really surprised when I saw her. She thought that was just silly, so she giggled and collapsed back on her pillow. I told her good morning and asked her how she slept as I finished up getting ready, and she sat back up and said, "Good. No Tita. Stay Umma me," and then collapsed back into a little heap on her pillow.
Lump.
At that moment, I leapt into bed and curled up next to her and she turned to kiss me on the nose and cuddle with me. We just lay there cuddled up for a few minutes chatting and giggling until eventually we made our way to her room to change out of her pjs. From there she told me she had to go potty, so we did that successfully and got her dressed for the day. Again, she stopped as we put her socks on and looked right in my eyes and said, "No Tita now. Stay Umma me."
Lump.
I guess she can sense my hurried-ness in the mornings that I'm running late, so she is trying to slow me down and spend some quality time with her. I needed that check this morning because we had had a really great day together yesterday, even though we had to say good bye to Appa for a few weeks while he went away for exercise. We drove down to Pyeongtaek to visit my brother and our friends the Lees, and we had a great visit and even had fun through the three hours of traffic. Even the drive back was sweet and funny and she fell asleep in the car. I guess she wanted a little more of that quality time before we started another harried week of work and scheduled activities...
I just hugged her tight and told her I had to go get her raincoat since it was raining outside today. As I walked out, she called to me and said, "Umma, come here. Play me." I grabbed her coat and came back into her room where she had taken out one of her puzzles. She asked me to sit down "right here" on her bed and watch her as she put the puzzle pieces back in their places. I just sat and watched her and praised her for her successes...smiling and not worrying about the time. Just enjoying my sweet little girl...
After playing a while, we were both getting a grumbling stomach, so I wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a couple bagels. I asked Tay if she wanted one, and she said, "Neh." I knew this was going to be the opportunity to get out the door (why can't I just stay in the moment and enjoy spending time with my little girl???) so I asked her to put on her coat and shoes and we'd have our bagels in the car. She said, "Neh" and did as I asked. I got our stuff, put on my own coat and shoes and I handed her a bagel. She politely said, "ant-tu" (thank you), and held my hand as we made our way down the elevator to the car. We got all buckled in and off we went to Tita's.
As we drove into Hannam backgate, she was quietly eating her bagel. As we made our turn at the stop sign to Tita's apartment complex, Tay said, "Umma, no Tita now. Me stay Umma. Umma me."
Lump...my eyes became blurry... ... ...
At that point, I should have just turned around and driven home, called in sick, and stayed home to play with my baby girl...
Instead, I told her I would come get her really soon and we could play after she played with Tita for a while. She just sat quietly the rest of the way and ate her bagel. The lump in my throat never went away...
When we got to the door, I got out of the car to carry her up to Beth's and when I opened the door to her side to get her out, the wind was blowing so badly, her blanket came flying out of the car! She grabbed a hold of me as I held her and chased the blanket down, and we hurried inside so as not to get blown away by the wind and rain/snow mix! When we got inside, I set her down and we walked up the ramp to the elevator, and she was chanting, "Tita, Tita, Tita," so I felt a little better.
I know she has a great time at Beth's while she's there, so I am not worried at all that she'll miss me during the day, but on mornings like this one where she just wants to spend a little more time with me, it makes me question my decision to work instead of being the best stay-at-home mom I could be...
Have I made the right choice?
Why? Because my little girl needed some Umma-time.
I woke up around 7:30 this morning, so I jumped outta bed and got ready, but as I was getting ready, Tay sat up in bed and watched me quietly until I noticed her sitting up in bed, and so I acted really surprised when I saw her. She thought that was just silly, so she giggled and collapsed back on her pillow. I told her good morning and asked her how she slept as I finished up getting ready, and she sat back up and said, "Good. No Tita. Stay Umma me," and then collapsed back into a little heap on her pillow.
Lump.
At that moment, I leapt into bed and curled up next to her and she turned to kiss me on the nose and cuddle with me. We just lay there cuddled up for a few minutes chatting and giggling until eventually we made our way to her room to change out of her pjs. From there she told me she had to go potty, so we did that successfully and got her dressed for the day. Again, she stopped as we put her socks on and looked right in my eyes and said, "No Tita now. Stay Umma me."
Lump.
I guess she can sense my hurried-ness in the mornings that I'm running late, so she is trying to slow me down and spend some quality time with her. I needed that check this morning because we had had a really great day together yesterday, even though we had to say good bye to Appa for a few weeks while he went away for exercise. We drove down to Pyeongtaek to visit my brother and our friends the Lees, and we had a great visit and even had fun through the three hours of traffic. Even the drive back was sweet and funny and she fell asleep in the car. I guess she wanted a little more of that quality time before we started another harried week of work and scheduled activities...
I just hugged her tight and told her I had to go get her raincoat since it was raining outside today. As I walked out, she called to me and said, "Umma, come here. Play me." I grabbed her coat and came back into her room where she had taken out one of her puzzles. She asked me to sit down "right here" on her bed and watch her as she put the puzzle pieces back in their places. I just sat and watched her and praised her for her successes...smiling and not worrying about the time. Just enjoying my sweet little girl...
After playing a while, we were both getting a grumbling stomach, so I wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a couple bagels. I asked Tay if she wanted one, and she said, "Neh." I knew this was going to be the opportunity to get out the door (why can't I just stay in the moment and enjoy spending time with my little girl???) so I asked her to put on her coat and shoes and we'd have our bagels in the car. She said, "Neh" and did as I asked. I got our stuff, put on my own coat and shoes and I handed her a bagel. She politely said, "ant-tu" (thank you), and held my hand as we made our way down the elevator to the car. We got all buckled in and off we went to Tita's.
As we drove into Hannam backgate, she was quietly eating her bagel. As we made our turn at the stop sign to Tita's apartment complex, Tay said, "Umma, no Tita now. Me stay Umma. Umma me."
Lump...my eyes became blurry... ... ...
At that point, I should have just turned around and driven home, called in sick, and stayed home to play with my baby girl...
Instead, I told her I would come get her really soon and we could play after she played with Tita for a while. She just sat quietly the rest of the way and ate her bagel. The lump in my throat never went away...
When we got to the door, I got out of the car to carry her up to Beth's and when I opened the door to her side to get her out, the wind was blowing so badly, her blanket came flying out of the car! She grabbed a hold of me as I held her and chased the blanket down, and we hurried inside so as not to get blown away by the wind and rain/snow mix! When we got inside, I set her down and we walked up the ramp to the elevator, and she was chanting, "Tita, Tita, Tita," so I felt a little better.
I know she has a great time at Beth's while she's there, so I am not worried at all that she'll miss me during the day, but on mornings like this one where she just wants to spend a little more time with me, it makes me question my decision to work instead of being the best stay-at-home mom I could be...
Have I made the right choice?
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