Helpless JoJomami

Finally, we are counting down to Year 2008. Last six weeks have been extremely busy for JoJomami. She started to recover from her "all-day sickness" and ceased worrying about people finding out that she is pregnant (her belly can no longer be sucked in). She has been working really hard. Yearend budgeting, closing, 2008 strategy, personnel issues, etc. She quite enjoys being kept busy at work and being able to really do work again. When she comes home though, she becomes one helpless little girl.
The hands so swiftly and accurately type emails and handle documents all day long suddenly become paralyzed whenever kitchen knifes, pots and pans become involved. She is one housework disaster. Yesterday she tried to do laundry since she has to pack for the trip going to Hawaii today. She so proudly pushed all the right buttons and poured detergent (instead of faric softener) into the right slot but only to be shocked to see the white clothes turned ever more gray after the wash (she had forgotten to separate whites from colors). She was panicking when it comes to packing despite the fact she is such a well travelled globetrotter who used to travel 5 days a week in her previous life on Wall Street (Her solution previously was never to unpack).
The mind that makes important decisions throughout her working day just cannot help but only focuses on and worries about the fact she hasn't felt fetal movements yet even though she is already in her 19th week of pregnancy. She feels defeated at times (a feeling she rarely experiences at work) because she is not sure if she will ever be fit to be a good mother (after realizing the fact she will never be a good housewife -- well, at least not the traditional kind of housewife one expects). She can only try to improve one thing at a time. The other day, under generous trust and close supervision of her good friend Christy, she was able to overcome her fears of newborns and held Nathan in her arms (she has not done that since she last held her brother 26 years ago). At least that's some progress...

Chamu the Little X-Men

Chamu is now 16 weeks and 4 days. We had another check up last Monday and were extremely excited to find out how big he has become (especially after all these junk food in California). Chamu looks more like a real baby now with a round head and a round belly. He still wiggles around a lot (a hyper-active boy just like his Dadu) so the doctor couldn't quite capture him under 4D. Measurement wise he is totally on track: thigh length is just right, belly is a higher in percentile terms (thanks to his inclination to have junkfood only) and his head is at the 95th percentile (does that mean he will be smarter?). It seems like everything is just going great as expected.
Doctor was still trying to capture his face on 4D but he wouldn't cooperate much. So we gave up and started searching for his fingers and toes... He had his fingers clinched to the embellical core so we couldn't quite count his fingers. We were quite excited when we saw his feet right in front of us and started counting his toes "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.." I got a bit nervous and counted again thinking the image may be distorted from my angle and doctor and Jaime should be able to see better. Doctor paused a bit and said "hmm, it looks like there are too many of these on his feet but everything seems normal." Later on, we caught a glimpse of his little "bird" and she even cracked a joke and said "at least there is only one of this".
Of course, there is nothing we can be certain of until little Chamu is born and we count each of his fingers and toes to make sure but looking at the ultrasound, it seems like Chamu may be ahead in the evolution chain and that he may be born with a little mutation on his feet. Perhaps he is getting prepared for disasters caused by global warming and the eventual survival of the mankind (even though I can't figure out how an extra little toe will help but it's probably because I am not gifted nor the chosen one). His father was a little mutant with an extra thumb at birth (which I *just* found out after 6 years) so I guess that makes Chamu's little X-Men toe explanable. Afterall, without genetic "accidents" or "mutations", human beings would not have become who we are today...
Watch the ultrasound to see if you agree that Chamu has 6 toes:

Chamu's First Trip to LA

Chamu just got back from one wonderful week in LA. It was his 16th week and Mami is certainly feeling better even with the 30-hour total air travel time and the long immigration and security wait. I ate almost non-stop during the trip since it has been a while that I get to eat Mom's homecooking food and food is available always at home. Chamu had his first Inn-n-out burger and he loved it (yum yum). He also loved Taiwanese Mayou Chicken and Minced Pork...
Granny is not quite ready to accept her elevated status (because it makes her feel old) but she was constantly feeding her daughter and made sure that I would not go hungry even for one minute (man, my doctor will lecture me again when she sees my weight gain).
We did a lot of shopping: maternity clothes and baby goods. It is amazing how many products have been invented to scam the parents-to-be. It is like planning for a wedding again where there is no limit when it comes to spending budget (except this time you feel guilty when you opt out something). Everything seems to be an item of necessity, yet most of them were not even available to babies born 15 years ago. Anyways, we filled up two big suitcases but only managed to get not even one quarter of things on the to-buy list.
Chamu also met aunties and uncles from the Cham side for the first time. They so patiently accompanied JoJomami to shop for maternity clothes (so she can regain her self-confidence again). Chamu also met aunties from Berkeley. We have not seen each other for a long long time and it was so great to have 10 of us there along with their significant others. Chamu would certainly love to have more playmates from the Bears circle so pick up your baby-making pace Bears!
JoJomami was constantly hungry (like every two hours) but she was so happy to have regained her energy and have caught up with her friends and family... I still have two more trips planned for the US in the next two months... After February, it will be a long time before Jaime and I can travel again...

15 Weeks and going to LA

Thank you everyone for putting up with my incessant whining about my all-day sickness. It is estimated that less than 10% of pregnant women will continue to experience "morning sickness" even after the first trimester. Some will continue to "suffer" until delivery. So far, based on the signs of my improving condition, I can almost declare that I do not belong to the 10% population.
I feel more energetic and am able to concentrate on work more. Call me crazy but I find it soothing that I can concentrate on work again. Not being able to be more productive at work previously was driving me crazy. I am having a better appetite even though still picky with food. I am really excited of our planned trip to LA starting this Friday. I'm able to spend some time with family and friends and introduce Chamu to them for the first time. I've got a very busy second trimester travel schedule. Luckily, compared to what I would've been required to do if I were still at Goldman, I am alreadying having a very relaxing schedule.
Everyday, Jaime and I talk about worries and expectations but I guess we will never have the answers until we go through them one by one. Having little Chamu is really drawing two of us closer. Jaime prepares my breakfast everyday and cooks dinner when we are not eating out. He is always very patient with me whining nonstop and I feel even more convinced than before that I have picked the right lifelong soulmate (and the right partner to be my children's father). Together we will try the best we can to be good parents (even if deep down inside, we both still want to be kids sometimes).

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...