Benefits of Pregnancy

One of the major bodily enhancements brought by pregnancy is ever-increasing cup size. It is quite surreal because you are trying all your life with help of underwires, miracle bras or sponge pads (or even tissue paper) to augment your assets without much success and all of sudden, your assets just grow at the amazing speed without much external efforts ( like it's puberty again!). The only thing is, you know they are not here to stay. And pretty soon your tummy will outgrow your bosom so no one will even notice your enlarged, super-sized top. The only consolation prize you have is that your baby will likely be better fed (and perhaps he can sleep through the night)...

The second benefit is that you get to eat, eat, eat. Although most of the pregnancy books do not recommend eating without much discipline but you soon become slave to your stomach and you have zero control over what your mouth wants to eat. And of course, your loved ones around you are too scared to say no to you because they want the baby to grow. So I now have soft-baked chocolate cookies on our nightstand and chocolate milk in our refrigerator.

Third benefit is that you get to shop until you drop. Nothing fits anymore. By now, I have outgrown my pants, my tops, and even my shoes... I am planning to have a shopping spree when I get to LA this weekend. You spend the whole day thinking you have become less sexy and attractive so it is necessary to invest on something that makes you feel better. Somehow at 15 weeks, people at work are still quite insensitive to my widening mid-section. Perhaps I need to start wearing more bright colors and in-your-face preggy outfits to attract their attention...

The Moment of Truth

Today is the day we go see little Chamu again.
It has been two and half weeks since the last doctor visit and I have tried to eat well (and Jaime has tried every way he can to feed me) in the last two weeks but I still have limited appetite.
After waiting anxiously for 45 minutes, we finally got inside the room. First the scale. Despite the supposedly "bad appetite", I managed to gain 2.5 kgs in the last two weeks!!! That is more weight than I am allowed to gain in the entire first trimester. The nurse asked if I've had better than usual appetite and was shocked to learned that actually I am suffering from morning sickness. She warned me to watch my weight because I will likely have enormous appetite later on. Oops, must be all the chocolate soybean milk that I have been gulping...
Then we started the ultrasound session. First, the measurement of Chmu's Nuchal Tube. The first reading was on the high side so the doctor took four more readings and told us Chamu looks like a very healthy baby to her. Then she asked if we were hoping for a boy or a girl. I said that I'd like to have my first-born being a boy (since I think older brothers tend to be more responsible and stronger and my little girl should be adored and spoiled by her older brother). Then there it is... the mystery is solved (and we didn't need to wait until May next year).

See if you can identify Chamu's gender yourself!!!! 1:27 into the video then you should see the big revelation!

12 and 1/2 Weeks

Okay, boys and girls, forget the suspense. I finally told my boss about little Chamu and the news will hopefully spread from there without me having to go around and acknowledge to each person that I am actually pregnant and have them look at me like I have caught some disease when saying congratulations (I know, I may just be overly paranoid like all pregnant women - or women PERIOD). So far no one has noticed my growing bump underneath my over-sized suit jacket... Given that 25-year-olds are considered "over-aged mothers" at my company, I am sure people will look at me and think I am a freak when my belly can no longer be disguised... :)

Tomorrow little Nicholas will be coming to stay with us and his brother is also on the way... good time for us to try out parenting a little bit.

Little Chamu will be having his third ultrasound session today and we should be able to count his fingers and toes.. so excited! stay tuned...

我也不想再抱怨啦

对不起啦
这几个星期的部落格总是抱怨我的胃口不好 今天还是要再抱怨一次
昨天小Chamu已正式进入第十三周咯
这周四去看医生 可以再看看是否他长的又更高更壮了
我还是对食物感冒 妈妈说要吃味道重点的食物
我试了下 吃的时候的确好下咽些 但吃完了 肚子还是不好受
上礼拜又是一样
周六晚更变本加厉 开始吐了起来
我坐在床上哭 Jaime在地上擦

有些时侯实在是太辛苦了
我会不小心迁怒于小Chamu
搞得Jaime还得要安抚他 (对不起 妈咪真的不是故意生气的)
都已经第十三周了 书上都说应该会比较有胃口了
但我还是挑嘴挑得厉害 所有的料理都吃了一轮啦
仍然搞得胃口尽失 面临着随时无饭可吃的问题
对不起 我也不想再抱怨啦
但愿这周过后就只有吃太多的问题而没有吃不下的问题
P.S. 我很快就要原形毕露啦 还是没告诉我老板

Joys and Excitements

We finally broke the news to our family yesterday. Everyone is so excited about us expecting a new life in our family.
My dad is already committed to losing weight, quitting smoking (it's a forty-year-old habit), and doing more exercise! My mom is planning when she should come out to be our "cook" again. Jaime's family is equally excited, commenting on how fidgety little Chamu is. We read yesterday in the antenatal care book that actually babies move a lot early stage in the womb. Because now they are still quite small and there is a lot of room for them to "exercise". It's amazing that even though it has only been 8 weeks since conception, the embryo has already grown more than 30,000 times larger to form the fetus!
Our close friends are also very excited about this news! For some reason, perhaps it's the joys and excitements, I do not feel as nauseous today. But then it triggers my worry on Chamu. I started to wonder whether he is growing fine and, if yes, how come I don't feel as bad today? I guess I'm already thinking like a mother and from this moment on, I will only have endless worries (like our parents who never stop worrying for us) whether they are valid or not.
My last worry is somewhat related to Chamu but not quite: I wonder when and how I should break the news to my bosses. Perhaps I will take the advice of my girlfriends and just let my belly grow until the bosses can no longer ignore...*sigh* despite years of fighting for equal treatment at work, somethings will never be equal...

10 Weeks and Sneak Preview

Today we get to see little Chamu for the second time. Even though it has only been two weeks, it felt like a long time to me. At the Doctor's, the nurse helped me weigh myself. 58.6KG! 1.5KG less than two weeks ago. The Doctor came in and asked if I have had difficulty in eating. Of course I did. She told me that I have to just eat whatever I can to maintain my weight (even if it means chocolate milk shake). I nodded but was thinking that it is a tall order since nothing seems to interests me when it comes to food.

Then the ultrasound session begin. Little Chamu has almost doubled his size since two weeks ago. Now measured at 3.2 cm long, he is 10 weeks and 1 day old. He is starting to looking like a baby with definite shape of head, body, arms, legs and even some early formation of fingers and toes. You can also see his spine. It is such an amazing sight. This baby is strong and healthy and that's why his mother is nauseous everyday...

The doctor tells me only two more weeks of this "all-day sickness" and in two weeks, we would come back again and should be able to see a even bigger baby with fingers and toes. I simply cannot wait.

We shared this wonderful news with some of our closest friends already because we just couldn't hold it any longer. Even though technically we should wait until the first trimester is over. Jaime spent the whole night trying to upload the ultrasound session to YouTube so we can announce this news to our family! But he couldn't get it to work somehow. I guess the news will need to be kept for one more day because we do want our love ones to meet Chamu too. He is truly a cutie!

See it for yourself

Double Click to go to YouTube, where you can blow it up to full screen!

Busted

Got busted last week by KitKat. She asked me why I have been wearing glasses recently and I told her that I left my contact lenses in Taipei. She was very quick and asked me how I went diving in Sipadan. Well, I did not go diving in Sipadan because little Chamu is inside me. I fumbled a bit and tried to make up something but was quickly busted. I finally told her that I was sleeping the whole time because I was too tired. Sorry sorry, I know I have told the same lie to many of my friends. But we did go to Sipadan (since we were too cheap to cancel) and I just did not dive. Instead, little Chamu was making me sleepy so I slept for 12 hours a day. The rest of time I was struggling with what to eat because everything seems to not right to little Chamu.

Jaime is amazingly patient since he is the only person that I can complain to. He is also the only person who is a victim of my weird appetite. I am hoping by the end of October, this difficulty will be over...

Wufr is planning her big day. Originally I had suggested to her that May 2008 would be a great time but the other day I had to retract given that I will not be able to go anywhere from April to July now... I certainly want to be there on her big day (so she gets to be a godzilla bride to me as I was to her on my wedding) but it now seems quite a remote possibility unless she significantly delays her plan or she somehow pulls it off by March. Auntie Wufr, little Chamu will have to make it up to you somehow loh...