Sunday, October 24, 2010

Doing well in week twenty-three. Baby Boy is kicking but it hasn't become uncomfortable yet. People want to know if we've considered names, but I've yet to reach that point. Even with the first one, it wasn't really something we thought about until fairly late into the pregnancy. My parents didn't even discuss her Korean name until I was doubled over in pain at the hospital. And to be honest, we've still got a lot of work to do in the house to even think about names. He'll just be "the baby" until we get closer to February.

Dad is also doing well. He had his penultimate treatment last week. They changed the treatment so he doesn't feel so terrible after it. He has one more in November, with a follow-up with his oncologist a couple weeks after that. If all goes well, my parents may plan on returning to the states for a few months before returning to Korea for the three-month follow-up in February. Mom is worried she will miss Baby Boy's birth, but it's probably more important that she be with Dad than me. Granted, I could use my mom's help in the two weeks immediately following the birth, but I think I can manage to take care of myself and the baby (and Baby Girl and Husband). Everything is still conditional, so we'll see what happens.

This weekend we tackled the yard and got a lot done. We picked the last of the peppers; pulled up the rest of the plants; raked and bagged leaves; and mowed the lawn. I got a lot of laundry finished, and we started sorting and organizing Baby's toys and books. Next weekend's project will be to find a nice shelving system to put in the living room to hold the toys and books. That way, we can also unpack the rest of Baby's toy/book boxes.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

It's been a productive weekend--probably the most productive since we moved in. (Hey, I had morning sickness. I was in bed for about two months.) We got our new washer and dryer yesterday, got everything hooked up today, and  I'm now on the third load of laundry. There's something quite satisfying about breaking in new appliances... :) I cleaned out as much as I could from the laundry room; there's still quite a bit of random stuff that I'd like to be rid of, but I'll leave for my mom to sift through. Last night, Husband and I spent an hour sorting about 500 golf balls. It could have been more, I didn't bother to keep count. I know my parents like playing golf, but that was ridiculous. I also cleaned out most of the pantry and sorted things so there was some sort of logical organization. After all that, all I could think about were the people on the show "Hoarders"; my mom isn't as bad as any of those crazies by any means, but I found five bags of napkins in five different places in the pantry; five boxes of golf balls in five different places in the laundry room; empty photo envelopes from the 80s; receipts from the 80s before we moved to this house... you get the idea. I can't imagine how much trash we've thrown out since we moved here, and there is probably just as much still left to sort through and throw away. Phew.

On the bright side, we spent yesterday morning at Cox Farms doing fall and Halloween things. Baby had a lot of fun seeing and petting the animals, eating kettle corn, and going down the enormous (and fast) slides. We had to cut our visit short because our washer and dryer were being delivered, but we'll definitely go back next year. Maybe we can even get in another trip before they close in November.

And the New Baby is kicking away!

Friday, July 09, 2010

Life just got really complicated. On top of having sold our condo, we need to find a new home quickly, I am pregnant, and I got news today that dad has been diagnosed with diffuse large b-cell lymphoma. I did some quick research and found it's the most common non-Hodgkins lymphoma in men, and it's treatable. This just means my parents will be out of the country for quite some time until they know if and how much it has spread, and how the doctors will treat it. It is definitely a lot of added stress I don't need right now. I'll do the best I can, but I don't know how this will affect me once school starts in August. A logistical nightmare is all I can foresee. Sigh.

Saturday, April 03, 2010

More pictures I took today:









Again, I have to say these turned out very well using just a simple digital camera.

Friday, April 02, 2010

Spring is definitely here, and what a beautiful day to boot! We went out this morning for a walk and got a few really good shots of the blooming flowers.


I'm proud to say I took that with a regular digital camera. I played with the color a little, and I like the way it turned out. I'd like to take some photography classes and get a better camera--I think that's something I'll look into for the summer.

Thursday, April 01, 2010

I don't understand the inability to disconnect for just an hour. At the park today, I noticed more than a few mothers who were so busy texting or whatever it was they were doing on their phones that they lost sight of their children and went frantically screaming after them. If it's that important, find a different way to "spend time" with your child. If it's not important, put down the phone and interact. It's amazing that we are so willing to entrust the safety of our children to a brightly colored playground full of people from all over northern Virginia. And for what? The latest "he said, she said" texts from people we find annoying but keep in the contact list so we can keep abreast of "news"?

People also need to teach their kids some manners. I can't remember the number of times kids pushed Baby out of the way so they could climb/run/slide/swing first. Being shy, Baby always steps aside and watches as they push past her. How about reviewing the posted rules about acceptable behavior? Stop running, you dumbass, or the next time you bump me I'll knock you the fuck out. And if your child is, say, TEN FUCKING YEARS OLD, he probably shouldn't be playing at this playground for LITTLE KIDS.

And you know it's McLean when every other adult there is a nanny who only speaks Spanish.

Despite the complaints, Baby and I enjoyed a nice warm day at the park. :)

Saturday, February 13, 2010

This is what Wubbzy looks like:


My attempt at creating a cake that looks like Wubbzy:

He ended up with an extra finger on each hand, but... pretty good, I guess. It's hard to ice a cake. I wish I had fondant. Well, happy birthday to my Baby tomorrow!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Some images of the aftermath of Snowmaggedon 2010:








































Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Minimal cramping and minimal bleeding, so I'm well on my way to... "recovery." The nurse called to follow up, and she sounded pleased with my report. All I need to do is call my OB and schedule an appointment in the next couple weeks to make sure everything is okay. :)

I really do feel good, I'm not just saying that. And now that I have only two days of relaxation left, I'm not really looking forward to going back in to work. It won't really be work, though... I have tests and reading planned for Friday, and then we have Monday off for MLK. That means I can watch all of the Globes! :D See, I told you I was feeling good.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Going in for the D&C this afternoon. Even though I'm prepared for it, I still have my fingers crossed--the spotting stopped on Saturday. As I've never experienced this before, I don't know if that's good or bad. It would be nice, and quite surprising, if it were good. :) I'm not getting my hopes up, for obvious reasons. I have grown to like the idea of being out of work most of this week. The worst part of this day is fasting. I am not allowed to eat or drink anything until after the procedure. I am starving and thirsty. Anyway, I'll have plenty of time to update later.

Update [5:00pm]: Everything went as well as possible. I was out as soon as they said I would feel tired; I don't remember anything after looking up at the ceiling in the OR. I woke up about 20 minutes later, but the nurse told me to sleep it off. I woke up around 2 and the nurse gave me something to drink. (Mind you, I had been fasting since midnight.) Other than some minor cramping, I felt fine. While she was discharging me, the nurse wagged her finger at me and said, "And no sex for two weeks." Haha, I don't know if it's even possible with the blood getting in the way. ;) Anyway, I look foward to week of relaxation with my Baby... and my brother's ugly little rat dog.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

The news is not good. The second hCG beta test did not show the expected doubling, so my doctor scheduled me for a D&C on Monday afternoon. He plans to do one more ultrasound just in case, but he is pretty sure I've miscarried. I'm actually fine with all of this--the only part that bothers me is how much work I've missed this week, and will miss next week. I'll be out Monday for the procedure, possibly Tuesday if I'm not feeling up to going, and Wednesday and Thursday because my parents will be out of town and I have no one to watch the Baby. I am also a bit bummed that my plan to have a two-year difference in Babies 1 and 2 didn't quite work out, so now they will probably be three years apart. (Not ideal.) But what can ya do? Just let nature take its course.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

The ultrasound went as well as I could have hoped, although I didn't walk away completely reassured. The gestational sac is clearly visible (as well as the dermoid on the left ovary), but the doctor couldn't see a heartbeat. Her best guess was I wasn't far enough along for it to be visible yet. My OB and the radiologist said I was seven weeks, but I know I'm at most five. I don't understand why the pregnancy is calculated from the LMP, since I couldn't have possibly gotten pregnant on that day... or the five subsequent days. Anyway, the radiologist didn't see any hemorrhaging or other abnormalities that could explain the spotting, so I suppose it's just a waiting game now. My second blood draw tomorrow should confirm whether or not this is going to be a full-term pregnancy or miscarriage.

Honestly, I'm not upset at the idea of miscarrying because I know I haven't done anything to cause it. Everyone I've had communication with seems worried on my behalf and tries to reassure me that these things happen sometimes and I shouldn't worry. Well, thank you, but I'm not worried. If I miscarry, I miscarry. Then we get back to trying again. I'm sure I'd feel differently had this happened much further along, at a point where I recognized the being inside as my child. Right now, it's a sac.

Update tomorrow.

Monday, January 04, 2010

My OB was able to squeeze me in this afternoon. She couldn't see or feel anything out of the ordinary (other than the blood, obviously). She talked me through all the reasons this could be happening, like "threatened spontaneous abortion." She said the words as if I should feel reassured somehow that it wasn't a miscarriage in progress. I am scheduled to get an ultrasound tomorrow morning, which means I'll have to miss most of the day at work tomorrow (one of many days this month, sigh). Depending on the results, I'll either talk to her via phone from the radiology office with an "all clear, let's wait it out," or I'll be in her office Wednesday for a D&C if things aren't very good. I have my fingers crossed. I'm hoping that this is just normal spotting--she did tell me that most women who experience this type of spotting at this stage of the pregnancy go on to carry full term.

The good thing is I don't feel any pain or nausea, likely signs this is something I shouldn't be concerned about. I broke the news to Mom today; she too did not seem overly worried. She said it's fairly normal to experience bleeding early. She has experienced a few more pregnancies than I have, so I'll take her word for it.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

The test said I'm preggers, which I had believed for the last two weeks. However, I've been spotting for the last four days. Initially, I was worried as I didn't experience any spotting with the first baby; however, I chose (or rather, didn't have any choice but) not to call my doctor as the office was closed. The bleeding, while it has been very light and only noticeable when I use the bathroom, got a bit redder and heavier today. Still not even as much as the last day of a period, but nevertheless a cause for concern. I will definitely call the doctor tomorrow to schedule something as soon as possible. Most of what I've read suggests I have nothing to worry about, but still other sites say miscarriage could result. Knock on wood.