13 December 2004 (Monday)
26 Weeks & 6 Days Pregnant

I had my shower/going-away party this weekend. Erica & Jaynie did a great job getting everything together and I think everyone had a good time (and great food!). I got a ton of cute baby clothes, toys, and even some things off of my registries (that I'll get when I am in Colorado for the holidays).

Today was my last doctor's appointment in Korea and I had my glucose tolerance test (I passed!). During today's ultrasound I was able to see Baby opening her mouth and moving around. It was really cool and although Craig wasn't able to come to the appointment, I do have the video that hopefully I'll be able to post after we get our camcorder. Dr. Lee said everything looked good and that I should come back on Tuesday to get a copy of my records for my US doctor and a note saying it is safe to fly on Wednesday.

Baby has been consistently more active since I wrote about it at the beginning of this month. I haven't noticed a pattern or specific time of day when she is most active, but it is fun every time I feel her moving around in there! I'm glad Craig has been able to feel her moving around like crazy the past few weeks, too, since he won't be able to do that in January & February.

Tomorrow I move on to the third trimester!

7 December 2004 (Tuesday)
26 Weeks Pregnant

This is my last full week in Korea and also my last week in the 2nd trimester (I was surprised to see the ticker on the home page said I have 98 days until my due date, less than 100 days makes it sound so close)! The movers come to get my computer on Thursday this week, so I may not have another entry until I after I get back and settled in Texas. I will have my last Korean doctor's appointment on Monday, December 13 (I'll take the glucose tolerance test that day as well) and then my first US doctor's appointment on Monday, December 20--I'm looking forward to meeting my US doctor! My shower/going-away party is on Saturday, December 11.

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says Baby Girl is about 9.2 inches (23cm) crown-to-rump and weighs about 2 pounds (910g) this week.

6 December 2004 (Monday)
25 Weeks & 6 Days Pregnant

Baby has been much more active the past few days--on Saturday it seemed like she never took a break! The kicks and wiggling have been feeling a little different, too, although I can't describe the change very eloquently, I guess it feels more like my stomach is having spasms than before. All I can think is that she's doing somersaults or something along those lines and focusing on less on jabs and kicks. The movement is not as concentrated in one area as it was before, like she's using both her hands and feet at the same time instead of just feet.

This week I noticed that my belly (especially around my belly button) is much more itchy than it was. I put lotion on it each morning and night, but still find myself absentmindedly scratching (which only makes it worse!). Hopefully I'll be able to buy something to alleviate the itchiness when I get back to Texas next week.

I don't know if it is our rock-hard Korean bed or my approaching the third trimester, but sleeping at night has gotten more and more uncomfortable. I think it's actually bothering my sciatic nerve. I find I am in real pain at night when I need to change sides--the side that I had been sleeping on feels really horrible. We'll see how it feels when I am back in a softer bed next week although I suspect there isn't much that I could do about it anyway!

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says Baby Girl is about 8.8 inches (22cm) crown-to-rump and weighs about 1.5 pounds (700g) this week.

28 November 2004 (Sunday)
24 Weeks & 5 Days Pregnant

Dr. Lee said everything looked good at our doctor's appointment on 11/22. There are three more sets of sonograms on the photos page as well as my new profile shot from today. This past week, everyone has been commenting that I am finally starting to show--that's good news that I am out of the "is she fat or pregnant?" stage now! I will go back to the doctor on December 13 to take my glucose tolerance test, get an exam before I fly back to the US, and get a note from Dr. Lee saying it's safe for me to travel in case I have any trouble with the airlines!

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says Baby Girl is about 8.4 inches (21cm) crown-to-rump and weighs about 1.2 pounds (540g) this week.

19 November 2004 (Friday)
23 Weeks & 3 Days Pregnant

I just signed up for a Breastfeeding Basics class and a three-day Prepared Childbirth class at the hospital in February. My mom said she'll go with me to the Prepared Childbirth classes so I won't have to go alone since Craig won't be back in time to go with me. (I have given him a copy of The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin so hopefully he takes the time to read it before March!)

Craig has been able to feel the baby moving a lot more this past week which has been really good since he will miss out on that in January and February. Also, I think I am showing a lot more now, I will have Craig take another profile shot hopefully this weekend to post to the photos page to document it. I did wear a maternity shirt yesterday but it is still way too long, so today I'm back in a regular shirt.

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says Baby Girl is about 8 inches (20cm) crown-to-rump and weighs about 1 pound (455g) this week. I have gained 9.5 pounds so far (have gained 1.5 pounds each week for the past three!).

13 November 2004 (Saturday)
22 Weeks & 4 Days Pregnant

Last night as I was reading in bed, the baby started kicking a lot harder than she has before. I'm hoping she'll do it again tonight when Craig is back from his trip to Holland. The kicks were higher than they've been, too, so it felt like a totally new experience.

Last week I started registries at Pottery Barn Kids, Target, and Babies R Us! There are some items that I can't add to the Target and Babies R Us registries until I get back to the States because either I haven't seen the products to make a decision or the online stores don't carry everything that they have in the store.

Starting the registries is sort of making this whole thing seem more real, as is my impending trip home to Texas. I think that since I've been in Korea, I've known that at least I have to get home before it will be close to time to having the baby. Now that it's almost time to go home (about four weeks from now), I'm realizing that December through February are going to fly by and Baby Girl will be here before we know it!

We still haven't gotten anywhere on a name yet, it seems like my preference changes each week! This week I'm leaning toward Ana or Ava although Craig's not going for Ava at all.

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says Baby Girl is about 7.6 inches (19cm) crown-to-rump and weighs about 12.25 ounces (350g) this week.

8 November 2004 (Monday)
21 Weeks & 6 Days Pregnant

I've been feeling Baby's movements more distinctly now and Craig has even been able to feel a couple of the stronger kicks (the first time for him was in Beijing). I've been feeling really good the past few weeks and I am enjoying it because I'm not too uncomfortable (except for sleeping on my sides all night has grown tiresome, I can't wait to lie on my back and stomach again!).

I am getting closer to wearing maternity shirts these days and although I am still not totally ready to make the move, I think probably in the next week or so I might start wearing a few. Some of the shirts are still too big, but some look OK while most of my regular shirts are getting to be too short to hide the belly panel on the maternity pants.

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says Baby Girl is about 7.2 inches (18cm) crown-to-rump and weighs about 10.5 ounces (300g) this week.

31 October 2004 (Sunday)
20 Weeks & 5 Days Pregnant

We had a great trip to Beijing last week and I didn't get as tired during the long days of touring as I thought I would (I did get really tired, but it wasn't the extreme exhaustion I had expected). I also did OK walking up the Great Wall--I went a little slower than I would have normally, but I'm glad to say I did it (it's times like that that I appreciate this is the easiest time I'll have for a long time having my baby with me everywhere I go!). Our tour guide was genuinely shocked when I told him that we knew we are having a girl. In China, they can only have one child and doctors are not allowed to tell people what they are having.

My doctor's appointment before our trip went well, Dr. Lee said everything looked good and we got to see her moving around a lot this time (mostly because I ate two Hershey's miniatures right before I went to the appointment, maybe next time I'll just eat one!). Dr. Lee seemed slightly annoyed at how active she was (I didn't confess anything though!) when he was trying to count fingers on each hand and she kept waving her hands around!

My friends Erica & Jaynie are planning a shower for me on December 11, before I head back to the US. They are bugging me to register online, but I really would like to wait until I get home so I can actually see some of the stuff in person! I haven't done any baby shopping in real life (just looking online) to know what all of my options are.

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says Baby Girl is 5.6 to 6.4 inches (14 to 16cm) crown-to-rump and weighs about 9 ounces (260g) this week.

12 October 2004 (Tuesday)
18 Weeks Pregnant

Yesterday I walked into town to meet my TKD friends for coffee at Davinci's and then walked back up the hill after lunch with Minsue, Erica, and Kim. It was a pretty good workout for me! It took me 25 minutes each way (a little more coming back since it is uphill) and when I got home, I was exhausted!

This morning I went to water aerobics. Vicki from TKD teaches the class (she used to teach it for her job back in Texas) and again, when I got home, I was exhausted. Even though while I was doing the class, I didn't feel out of breath or anything. I guess that's a good thing though, these exercises (walking and water aerobics) are just my pace. Next, I have to try the prenatal yoga DVD. Hopefully getting back into my exercise routine this week will help me when we're in Beijing next week and we're touring non-stop.

Craig is in San Diego until the end of the week (he left 10/4), so I'm getting a taste of what it will be like in January and February when we're apart. At least when I'm in Texas, I'll be able to call Colorado all day if I want to instead of waiting until everyone there wakes up or hurrying before they go to bed! Craig and I will use video cameras to do video phone on the internet while I'm there. We had hit-or-miss connections this past week with that, but hopefully it will work out for us.

I gained two pounds between last week and this which was a bit excessive. I have gained four pounds since the week I found out I was pregnant--I've decided to just go with that weight instead of the heavier weight I was at the week of my last period since I was trying to lose weight between those weeks anyway.

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says Baby Girl is 5 to 5.6 inches (12.5 to 14cm) crown-to-rump and weighs about 5.25 ounces (150g) this week.

4 October 2004 (Thursday)
17 Weeks & 2 Days Pregnant

Today I am wearing my Gap Maternity jeans--these were too big on me when we went up to Costco last month (9/13). They are still loose, but they are not sliding off of me like they were then. Now, let's just hope that they fit through December so I have a pair of jeans to wear for the next ten weeks until I get home to buy bigger pants if I need to!

I will start going to aqua aerobics on Tuesday. I have not exercised at all since I stopped TKD on 9/21--oops! I hope to go to aqua aerobics one day, follow my prenatal yoga DVD one day, and walk on the treadmill or ride the stationery bike and lift weights at least two or three days per week. We'll see how that plan goes--it was so much easier to stay motivated when I had TKD because I didn't really feel like I had a choice to go!

I still think I'm feeling her move around in there--it hasn't gotten any more pronounced, but since I've never experienced that sensation (it feels like light little taps) before in my life, I have to believe it's her moving around inside!

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says Baby Girl is 4.4 to 4.8 inches (11 to 12cm) crown-to-rump and weighs about 3.5 ounces (100g) this week.

4 October 2004 (Monday)
16 Weeks & 6 Days Pregnant

Dr. Lee called me this afternoon with my triple screen results--he said they came back "normal" or "negative." I realize that that doesn't mean there is a guarantee that there is nothing wrong, but I am really glad I'm not now being pressured into getting an amnio. I'm happy with the triple screen results and constant "everything looks normal" during the monthly sonograms.

I posted pictures of my profile on the photos page. I wish I had had the energy/will power to take a profile picture earlier in my pregnancy, but as I mentioned to Rachel on the phone the other day, I'm not going to be this "small" again for a while so there is no time like the present to start taking profile photos! I gained one pound from last week which brings my total weight gain to -2.5 (since the first day of my last monthly period). Anyway, things seem to be on an upward trend which is at least the right direction!

We are really getting into making a name decision now that we know she's a girl... our top choices are: Ana, Anna, Anne, Ava, Celia, Elena, or Elise. Craig is a bit pickier than I am, but I really like all of the name choices and I think we will be happy with whatever we choose. Of course we have until she arrives to make a final decision! If she turns out to be a surprise boy in March, we'll probably name him Henry. Of course we do get to reconfirm at our next appointment, so I don't anticipate any surprises in the delivery room.

30 September 2004 (Thursday)
16 Weeks & 2 Days Pregnant

First things first, we went to our 16 week appointment today (waited for over 45 minutes to see the doctor because it the first day he was open this week due to the Korean "thanksgiving" holiday (Chuseok)) and during the ultrasound, I asked him if he could tell if the baby is a girl or a boy... he said he is positive it is a girl! Such exciting news to hear, now we can really start thinking about names (I was starting to stress myself out this last week not knowing if I should spend my time focusing on girl names or boy names...). I asked Dr. Lee how certain he was that is a girl, certain enough that I could tell our mothers and he said he is very positive but of course he can confirm again at our next appointment on October 20 (before we go to Beijing).

Craig and I had been going back and forth on whether or not to take the triple screen test. I ultimately don't want to have an amnio so was leaning toward not getting the test. Craig really wanted to get the test done. I guess in my excitement about finding out that we're having a daughter, we decided to just go ahead with the test. I'm not positive I'd still even get the amnio should we get any "positive" results on the test, but I've got another week to make that decision before I hear back from the doctor about the results.

Finally, I think I may be starting to feel Baby move but I'm not totally 100% sure. Just yesterday and today I've thought I've possibly felt a little movement, so I'm sure if that's what I'm feeling, it will become more defined in the next few weeks. Our little girl might be practicing her TKD moves already!

Your Pregnancy Week by Week says our little girl is (crown to rump) 4.3 to 4.6 inches (106 to 116m) and weighs about 2.8 ounces (80g) this week. I can't for the life of me remember what Dr. Lee said she was measuring though!

21 September 2004 (Tuesday)
15 Weeks Pregnant

I've finally decided that I won't go to TKD anymore, yesterday was my last class. It's really just too much for me right now and it's only going to get worse as I get bigger. I was really hoping to make it through October, but it looks like I'll have to start walking on the treadmill/riding the stationary bike/using my prenatal yoga DVD/attending aqua aerobics instead.

I wore maternity pants Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday--they're still a little loose, but I'd rather they were loose than constricting! Yesterday and today I wore my "big" pants--the pants I wore a year ago when I weighed 18 pounds more than I do today! I did not gain any weight this week--I stayed the same as last--but my clothes sure do feel even tighter!

We found out that Craig's Oma died over the weekend which was really sad news to hear. It is hard being so far away when we'd really rather just be at home with the family right now.

Baby is 4.1 to 4.5 inches (93 to 103mm) from crown-to-rump and weighs about 1.75 ounces (50g) this week. Your Pregnancy Week by Week says s/he is close to the size of a softball.

17 September 2004 (Friday)
14 Weeks & 3 Days Pregnant

I noticed some signs of possible infection this week, so I decided to skip TKD today and stop in to see the doctor just in case. He said everything looked fine and no signs of infection, so I was glad I went in if only to ease my mind some. Anyway, you'll see another picture of Baby on the photos page, it's a pretty good little profile.

14 September 2004 (Tuesday)
14 Weeks Pregnant

I broke down and took two Tylenol yesterday evening to relieve some of my cold symptoms--I'm so glad I did! I feel better this morning, too, although I will probably still take Wednesday off from TKD. I just don't see a need to push it.

Baby is 3.2 to 4.1 inches (80 to 93mm) from crown to rump and weights almost 1 ounce (25g) this week.