Baby Kicks

Friends and family have asked me what has been the most enjoyable part of the pregnancy thus far. Here is what I would say, to this day, is the most exciting experience so far:

The other night I was trying to feel our baby girl kicking in Miko's belly. I always put my ear on her belly to see if i can hear anything---besides the swishing of the fluid---well this time I got a solid kick in the ear. The girl has got some strength already...perhaps an indication of her athleticism.

We just came home from our exam with Dr. Raffo. Today, Miko had to drink a bottle of orange liquid, which she said tasted like really flat orange soda, mixed with pedialyte. It is a test for blood sugar, to see if she is showing any signs of diabetes in pregnancy.

We are so thankful for the Lord's blessing thus far in our pregnancy. What a miracle this truly is!

29 weeks

Well, baby is continuing to do well, and is growing larger by the day. Mom is too. As I look back on some of the baby bump pictures Landon has taken for me, it’s amazing to see how much the tummy has changed. I put 2 pictures up here: 1 is from week 14 and the other is week 28. It looks like a basketball belly, Landon says. He's right, she is very low, and has stayed there, which is good for me, I guess, since I've avoided the heartburn and shortness of breath that often comes as the uterus grows. I can sense my center of gravity has changed dramatically and I catch myself waddling and/or leaning back more, which seems to be more comfortable. I am trying to keep up with my prenatal yoga to save my back, and so far it’s helping. I have to say also, I’m tremendously thankful for all the triathlon training I had the opportunity to participate in because we focused intensely on the core, and then the back, so much of the weight training I did strengthened those areas. I sure hope it comes in handy as it seems the main area growing now is that basketball belly.

We went to Seattle of the 4th of July weekend to celebrate a friend’s wedding. Michelle and I met in 7th grade and have kept in touch all these years, even from opposite ends of the country. She and her hubby live in Seattle now, after spending some years in Philadelphia, where they went to school. It was a blessing that she also invited my parents, so I got to spend a nice holiday weekend with them. Somehow we lucked out: no rain! And sun! It was beautiful there. So gorgeously green. I don’t think I could ever live somewhere like Seattle where it rains so many months out of the year, but I do think it’s a lovely place to visit. We sampled some great Seattle food, hit up the local tourist spots, and went on a duck tour of the area. If you haven’t heard of those, it’s the one where you go in an amphibious vehicle, on land and on the water. They have them in all the major cities. Our tour guide was a blast. We saw so much of the city through that tour. We even got to ride on the water past the house from Sleepless in Seattle. A highlight of my mom’s for sure. Michelle’s wedding was beautiful!

I’m so glad we were able to attend, but it did make it very apparent that travel during this pregnancy is over for me. Our baby girl is hanging out in my belly so low that it’s hard to sit down for long periods of time, especially on a plane. Plus, I am finding as this 3rd trimester has started, I am more and more tired. I was really tired in the beginning of the pregnancy, then was OK during the 2nd trimester, and now the fatigue is back. Yesterday the 4 of us, Landon, myself, baby, and Nalu, all napped for about 3 hours…SO thankful that I can do that on weekends. The workweek can get really busy, so it’s good to have weekends to unwind. If it only wasn’t so hot!

Our first baby shower is coming up, to be held in Fremont on my parent’s place on 7/26. My sisters and friends are also throwing one down here in So Cal on Sept 6. I’m very excited to see people and to hear what kinds of stories/advice other mommies have. =0)

Stay tuned…baby will be here before we know it!
-miko