Pregnancy Thoughts...

Now that I am well into my third trimester of pregnancy, I'm reflecting on the path that have taken me here. I've been very lucky to have a pretty healthy and normal pregnancy. I've not had any morning sickness. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes but it's mild. I am just monitoring my glucose levels after each meal daily but have been able to control my glucose levels through diet. Thankfully, I've not needed to get insulin injections. I've gained weight normally. I've not experienced any heartburn nor constipation. It's only recently, at 35 weeks that I've started to experience a little bit of swelling in my feet and hands. My blood pressure has been normal. The only complaint I've had is that I have been experiencing hip pain for several months during my second trimester. The hip pain would wake me up each morning at about 5am. I guess my body needed to make some adjustments to prepare for childbirth and my narrow hips needed adjustment! Despite all the blessings, I must admit that I do not fully enjoy being pregnant. Throughout my pregnancy, I've had random women come up to me and congratulate me and tell me how much they loved being pregnant. I smile and nod but all the while thinking, you can have this pregnancy thing! I love my baby but must admit that I wish my husband can be pregnant. I can't wait until I'm thin again, I can't wait until I can sleep on my stomach again, I can't wait til I can wash my feet normally again. Plus, I can't wait to be able to enjoy a huge cup of coffee again.

Oh BOY!!

With 7 pregnant friends in 2009, you'd think that the distribution of boy babies and girl babies would be pretty even. However, as time passes more and more of our friends are finding out that they are all having boys! We are the last couple to find out the sex of our baby. After 7 baby boys, we were certain that our baby is going to be a girl. I even had a dream about us having a baby girl. I was craving sweets like there's no tomorrow! So it was a complete shock when our 18-week ultrasound revealed a little body part! I was so surprised that I asked the Lab Tech if it could be an arm. She kindly highlighted the part for us with an arrow. :-)

So could it be possible that there are more baby boys born in the world than baby girls each year? Turns out that it is indeed true, that there are more boys born than girls. However, according to world census, there are in general more women than men. One popular theory is that although there are more male babies being born, they tend to die off sooner due to war, natural causes, and other factors that society will still end up with more women than men. So to compensate, nature produces more male babies than female babies.

Side Snap Onsies

I've been on the hunt...for the elusive side-snap onsie! Why is it that it is so hard to find?? Onesies are everywhere, they come in packs, like underwear. But they are all pullovers. I've heard that many parents of newborns have difficulties pulling a small onesie over their floppy newborn heads. It would appear that the side-snap or "kimono-style" onesies are a perfect solution for newborn attire. You can lay it open on a table, place the baby on top of it and wrap the baby up. Easy, simple, and eveyone's happy. But why has it been so hard for me to find these onesies?? When I do find one, they cost a ridiculous amount of money! Why are they not more popular and in demand?? The only place I found a 3-pack affordable set are here at Albee, they carry the Gerber side snap onesies. But they are out of stock!!! Please restock them!! I was planning on purchasing 6 0-6 month sizes for my baby's staple wardrobe.

Mother Nature Calls...

The joys of new parenthood no doubt is consumed with some not so sweet smell of pee and poop. There are so many brands of diapers out there that when my husband and I went to Babies R Us, we were thoroughly confused. But one thing I do know is that none of the typical name brand diapers are biodegradable. I'm not the most nature-conscious person in the world, but I do sometimes wonder about those hundreds of diapers each baby will soil per year, multiply that by millions. They are just sitting in our landfills...kinda of a stinky thought. So when I saw gdiapers...hm...I wonder. They come with a cloth cover (super cute!) and a liner and an insert which you can throw out, flush, or compose. In reading tons of online reviews by moms, I've decided that it's worth a try. Seems like some of the common complaints are leaking at night, time consuming to flush, and hard to put on. But those are also complaints of regular disposable diapers. Plus, one can just throw the liner away as opposed to flushing since they decompose in less than two months. The other common complaint is the slightly higher cost. Except for the initially purchase of the cute little pants, the inserts are not much more expensive than name brand disposable diapers. Plus, it looks like places like Babies R Us and Whole Foods sell them so you won't have to always order them online. So all in all, I think I will purchase a starter case, have regular disposable diapers on hand for backup, and give it a genuine try when our little one arrives.

Baby Beanies!!

This is one of the cutest things I've seen thus far on my journey down baby product lane. I've been terribly restrained when it comes to baby-related products, knowing that it is one of those emotion-driven industries (pet products is another one). I swore to myself, years before I even plan on having a baby, that I would not be a victim of the baby industry and buy tons of adorable products only to have the baby outgrow them in a month or so. Due to being dubbed "high risk" I've also been a bit cautious about my pregnancy, being extra cautious to not "count my baby until it's hatched," in a sense. So at 17 weeks, I've only made a few must-have purchases, like a baby tub.
However, I came upon Beanie Designs on the internet and this may be my first downfall! They hand make adorable baby beanies for all sizes, newborn to toddlers. You must check out the fruits and vegetables section! They also make beanies with ears, ear flaps, braids, and pompoms. But of all their beanies, this blue pom-pom is my favorite!! Plus, this one is made with organic yarn for super softness. I love this for boys or girls, who says girls can't wear blue??

Girl Bonding

I've always been one of those women with more guy friends than girl friends. I do have a few close girl friends but they live far away so communications tend to be more sparse, especially once everyone gets married. But when you are pregnant, you need your girl friends the most! What's a girl to do? Get The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy, of course! Luckily for me, a relative loaned me this book, but I certainly would have been willing to shell out some money to buy this book. Vicki Iovine is surely one of the funniest women in print! She's like one of those no-non-sense ladies who gives it to you straight, with a humorous twist that comes from being brutally honest. As I am reading the book, I can imagine her (her picture is included in the back jacket) sitting in my living room having a chat about her personal experiences with pregnancy (she's had 4) over a glass of mimosa. There'd be tons of "Really??" from me and then tons of laughter in between. I was reading parts of the book at work in my office and started to laugh! I had to stop myself in case someone hears me and think I was going crazy. I highly recommend this book to any woman who got a positive on their pregnancy test. It's refreshing, funny, and comforting to read.

What Does High Risk Really Mean?

What does having a high risk pregnancy really mean? Well any number of medical conditions can put you into the high risk category such as being diabetic, having multiple fetus, and being over 35.

The other medical conditions are clear cut, but what does being over 35 really mean during pregnancy? Turns out the only difference is the chance of chromosome defects. As eggs grow older, there's more chance of the egg having a defect. Downs Syndrome is one of the most common chromosome birth defects and it has a direct link to the age of the mother. Here's the risk breakdown based on age.

So what's a woman to do if she's older than 35 and is pregnant? There's the clear-cut diagnostic tests like CV and amniocentesis. But both are invasive and carry risks of miscarriage. We personally decided to participate in the most definitive screening tests currently available, the Integrated Prenatal Screening Test. This involves taking a blood test in the first trimester, a high resolution nuchal translucency measurement, and another blood test in the second trimester. The two blood tests are to measure certain proteins in the mother. Babies with Downs Syndrome will cause certain protein levels to be elevated or depressed in the mother's blood. The high resolution ultrasound will measure the fluid accumulation in the back of the fetus' neck at between 11-14 weeks. Babies with Downs Syndrome will accumulate more fluid during those weeks than normal babies. The results of all three screening tests will be used to assess a baby's risk of having Downs Syndrome, along with a few other less common birth defects. The Integrated Prenatal Screening Test can be up to 95% accurate in detecting Downs Syndrome, when performed properly by highly trained doctors. But the test requires the mother to be diligent about going in for her blood tests and ultrasound at the right time during her pregnancy. But for a tremendous piece of mind, why wouldn't you take the screening tests? If your screening tests comes back showing high risk, then you will still be able to take the amniocentesis diagnostic test performed at 15-18 weeks.

We had our nuchal translucency ultrasound last week, as shown in the picture above. Thankfully, our baby measures in at ~1.4mm which translates to excellent! Any neck measurement below 2-3mm is extremely good at 14 weeks gestational age. This is in deed wonderful news. I still have one more blood test to take but we're well on our way to having a healthy baby. Now we can focus on the joys of expecting.

Big Fat Positive

We're pregnant! After three months of trying, we succeeded on the third month. This, after charting my BBT for the first time. Our due date is January 7, 2010. This is our very first baby so we're super excited. What you're seeing in the ultrasound is my 8-week dating ultrasound. The baby is the peanut. The head is to the right. You can't see it in this image but we saw the large heart in the image and it literally took my breath away. We were told that once we can hear and see a heart beat, the chances of a miscarriage is dramatically decreased. I'm already at 14 weeks and have thus far not experienced any morning sickness. The only thing that's making me nauseous are the prenatal vitamines, so I take them before bed. The only discomfort I've been consistently experiencing is bad bloating. Gas has been literally a pain in my stomach! There are days where I look 6 months pregnant. So I'm starting to wear very loose pants, drawstrings or maternity. Unfortunately, unlike morning sickness, bloating will not go away in the second trimester! But in the end, gas is such a small price to pay for a beautiful baby.

Basal Body Temperature (BBT)

After two months of just casually ttc (ttc - trying to conceive), I decided to take a more deliberate approach. I went to the local Walgreen's and bought a digital thermometer for $5. I made sure that the thermometer has accuracy of one tenths of a degree. But you don't really need a fancy "ovulation thermometer" that cost twice or three times as much.

Throughout a woman's monthly cycle, her body temperature changes according to her hormonal variation. At the beginning of the cycle, during menstruation and prior to ovulation, a woman's body temperature is low. At the moment of ovulation, her body temperature takes a dive. Immediately after ovulation and throughout the rest of her cycle, the body temperature jumps by about 0.5 degrees F. This is the bi-phasic pattern of a woman's body temperature in one cycle. At the end of the cycle, her body temperature drops drastically again, signifying the onset of her next period. Therefore, charting this body temperature will allow a woman to tell if she's actually ovulating. So intercourse should take place prior to ovulation so that the sperm will be waiting for the finicky egg the second it is released (ovulation).

In order to properly track your basal body temperature (basal - lowest) you have to take your temperature first thing you open your eyes in the morning, before you get out of bed. So I kept my thermometer on my nightstand. There are a lot of software you can buy to help track your basal temperature, but since I know how to use Excel, I simply plot my BBT. I also keep track of when we had intercourse. I didn't bother with tracking my vaginal discharge but many women do so on the same chart. This chart is actually my April BBT chart. The circle is the day I think I ovulated (based on my BBT and other ovulation symptoms). The red triangles are our "love days". The pink region of the plot represents my period. The tan region represents when my next period should start. I have a regular cycle of 27-18 days. Based on the temperatures, I was able to determine a cover line (red line that separates pre- and post-ovulation).

During my charting period, I browsed hundreds of other womens' BBT charts, some ended up with a BFP (BFP - big fat positive) and some ended up with a BFN (BFN - big fat negative). I must admit to being a little obssessed with how my chart was comparing to other women's. Check out tons of other BBT charts here. So what happened to the right of my chart? I'll share the results in another post.

Ga-ga Over Babies

Well, the dreaded two-week wait in March turned out to be a bust. I was going by my symptoms to determine when I was ovulating. Since being off the pill at the end of January, I have experienced very strong ovulation symptoms, namely breast tenderness. However I realize, after the March cycle became a bust, that by the time I felt my ovulation symptoms, I have already ovulated a few days prior. Therefore, we had already missed the fertile period. The egg can only live for 12-24 hours after ovulation. The egg needs to have sperm already waiting in the fellopian tube in order to become fertilized. Talk about a pampered egg!

In doing all the research on how to get pregnant, I came upon my favorite pregnancy website called Baby-ga-ga. They have a week-by-week play calling of what's happening to the growing baby and what the mother experiences. They also have tons of adorable applications such as pregnancy tickers, cartoons, and a due date calculator. The site also has tons of information regarding babies and children. The web is such a fertile place for information. Now if only I'm as fertile...

The Dreaded Two-Week-Wait...

Whether you are trying to conceive or trying to avoid a pregnancy, the two weeks prior to your next period is the most stressful time of your cycle. I stopped my contraception in the middle of January. I got my first regular period on February 13. I don't believe that I ovulated in January. Then I experienced ovulation spotting on February 25, 13 days after the start of my new cycle. Unfortunately, we didn't have intercourse within a day before or after ovulation. I got my next period on March 11. I believe that I ovulated on the 13th day after March 11. This time, we put in effort to meet this small fertile period of a few days and had intercourse four days in a row, around the ovulation schedule. So now what?? The big "TWO-WEEK-WAIT." During this time, if the egg is fertilized, it will make a slow journey (6-12 days!) from the fallopian tube down to the uterus. If I am lucky, the egg will then embed itself into the uterus within the next two weeks. But if the egg was not fertilized, then I have the pleasure of getting my period at the end of that two weeks. But what is a woman to do during those two agonizing weeks of waiting?? Last month, I read every bit of information I could find on the internet about early pregnancy symptoms and at one point actually convinced myself that I was experiencing those symptoms. So when I got my period, I was extremely disappointed. So now I'm just going to keep myself busy and not stress over what happens at the end of the two weeks. Here are some of the tips I am following to cope with the wait, maybe they'll help you too.

Stylish Baby Changer

I love this instant baby changer! It's from folks at the Wishing Fish. No matter where you go, this little pouch can convert from a compact diaper carrier into a changer. The padded mat will keep baby away from the dirty public counters and can be unzipped from the rest of the bag to be cleaned off. It's very stylish and comes in different colors.

I think this product may even work for home. Convert any surface into a baby changing station without having a separate piece of furniture for a changing table. This is a good solution for families with limited spaces at home. In any case, it's so stylish, any parent will become instantly cool.

Bo for Baby

I love European designs that focuses on both form and function. In particular, take a close look at Bo Design by Bo Ekstrom. This baby changing station is perfect for mom's with small spaces! And with a flip of the cover, all messes are hidden away. How about having these things in public restrooms at airports? Bo Ekstrom also has other products designed to make babies and their mothers' lives more comfortable and beautiful. I can't wait to see more products from this company. How about a baby carriage?

Multiples?!

These days, fertility treatments are more and more common for couples. The percentage of couples seeking fertility treatments are higher since more people are delaying having children until they are in their 30's. Many couples are putting off having kids until they are financially stable and have a good career where as women 30 years ago were putting off careers to have children. Apparently, Mother Nature is old fashion since women are most furtile in their twenties. By reversing career and child birth, couples are left to seek fertility treatments to get pregnant. The increase of fertility treatment such as In vitro fertilization or fertility drugs to induce ovulation have increased multiple births in the US. However, studies have shown that women over 35 are more likely to have multiples such as twins than younger women. Scientists currently do not know why that is the case but suspect that it could be related to higher levels of follicle-stimulating hormone known as FSH in older women. Having one baby is life-altering, having two at a time is life-consuming, having 8 at a time when you already have 6 others is...well just plain irresponsible.

Bug the Rat

This is Bug, the girl rat. She is the most adorable rat on the internet, thanks to her loving mom Jessica Florence. What does Bug have to do with babies? Nothing except that she's adorable and loves to sleep with teddy bears. So I had to feature her on my baby blog. I think Jessica should make a children's book filled with adorable Bug pictures that she takes. She's an excellent photographer and also happens to take amazing baby pictures too. Check out her pictures here. It's incredible how cute pictures can make a horrible day melt away. So next time you're having a bad day, take a look at Bug doing something cute. She'll put an instant smile on your face.

Caffeine Addict?

Because I can't go cold turkey, I've been slowly weaning myself off of caffeine for the past 6 months. I was quite an addict for many years. When I was in my twenties I used to drink a can of coke before bed each night. I loved my Starbucks coffee, a hot macchiato or a mocha blend was my choice of beverage each day at around 3pm. But there's been much speculations about the effects of caffeine on fertility and pregnancy. But the effects are not widely known and I've only learned about it when a friend of mine became pregnant and told me that she was cutting out caffeine entirely during her pregnancy. I'll miss the coffee and the tiramisu during my pregnancy. Although I'm doing well on cutting out caffeinated soda and coffee, I'm still having my green tea daily. I drink a large cup of green tea at work each morning. There's a lot of benefit to drinking green tea and the amount of caffeine is small, within the recommended caffeine limit for a pregnant woman. I'm not sure if I'll give up my daily tea when I become pregnant. I'll probably consult my doctor. Here's a good chart on the quantity of caffeine in various drinks if you are curious about how much caffeine you are having each day.

Autism Epidemic?

Do we have an Autism epidemic in this country? This is up to debate. However, I personally know two boys diagnosed with Autism. There are also five other boys I know suffering from Autistic symptoms but it's still too early to say for sure since their age is still too young. Most of the boys I know that fall under this category are showing signs such as lack of speech/words, not responding to noise, and/or exhibiting obsessive behavior towards one activity. As a strange coincidence, most of the couples we know that have recently given birth (within the past several years) have all had boys.

There has been a lot of debates over whether immunization shots have triggered Autism. However, there's strong data showing that Autism has a genetic component to it. Namely, if one sibling from a set of identical twins have Autism, the probability that the other twin also has Autism is high. That probability drops to much lower values for non-twin siblings. This is strong evidence that Autism has a genetic component. Since Autism affects boys 4 times as often as girls, this points to some defect with the X chromosome. Since the father's sperm determines the sex of the baby, does that mean that perhaps the health of the sperm has something to do with Autism? Recent studies have focused on the age of fathers as a possible cause of Autism. So does this mean that men now have a "high risk" age to reproduction too? Research points to a mutation of older sperms as a possible cause of Autism in children with parents who have no history of Autism.

The scary part of this is that scientists still don't know the cause of Autism. It is unknown whether it is just a genetic component, environmental effects, or both contributing to the rise of Autistic boys in recent years. As I am looking at having a baby soon, these are scary times.

Baby Cliparts

Aren't these African animals adorable? I found these clip arts on the web. I would like to give credit to the artist but the site I found it on did not have a reference. But when I saw these cute guys, my mind went racing. I'm picturing these guys as iron-ons on baby onesies, on wallpapers, on bedding, baby socks, etc!! As you can see, I used them on my blog header.

I've been looking at our spare bedroom these days with an eye on baby theme. I want to do something gender neutral so that we wouldn't have to change it if we have two kids with different gender. Animals are always good, these guys would be adorable. My husband likes Classic Pooh. We have a dog so I may even decide to use pictures of our dog as a theme.

High Risk

I've always been aware of the term High Risk as it relates to pregnancy. But didn't think it would be me. But the reality is, women are delaying marriage these days and the magic 35 will hit sooner than we know it. How did we go from being an adult at 18 to not acting like adults until 30? I blame it on my insatiable desire to learn. I spent all of my twenties in school. I gain an enormous amount of knowledge, but none can reverse the aging of my reproductive system. I have officially ended my pregnancy prevention method. Now it's up to statistics. According to a medical site, 30% of women get pregnant within 6 months of stopping oral contraceptives. That number jumps to 90% within one year. So my chances are good. Fingers crossed!