Week 2X?

Clock is ticking!  I have lost track of what week we're on.  I think it is 27, or is it 28?  Due date is about 3 months out.  Will I get more nervous as the due date comes closer?  I've asked several moms and they mostly said no.  Still, I worry of what may be, as childbirth is a very traumatic experience to the body and baby!

It has been crazy busy at work for the last two weeks, lots of meetings.  Including the meeting in which we made a plan to transition me out of projects so I can go on maternity leave.  Makes me nervous as I am somewhat of a control freak when it comes to projects and how they move forward.  Anyway, my maternity leave will officially start on July 25.  Eeeshk!  And the plan is to expect me to be gone through January 2, 2013.  Oh boy...  will I really stay away that long?  Seems like a long time now, but many have said once I become a Mom I will not want to leave baby.  We will see when the time comes.

This past weekend I flew down to Pasadena to visit Oli!  He was very curious about my belly (and other body parts that are a little more prominent now...).  It was very cool that Oli even got to feel baby move, I placed his hand on my belly and he waited patiently until there was a twitch.  Oli kept asking what my belly was doing.  He seems pretty excited about having a new cousin soon.

Tia Bens, que hace tu barriga?

The flight was short, so back pain was not as prominent.  Thank goodness.  While in Pasadena, we ate and ate and ate.  And napped too.  Got to have dinner at Din Tai Fun and have their awesome yummy dumplings.  Oli liked, big thumbs up!  Next day we had dim sum for lunch...  I over ordered, oops.  The servers were commenting in Cantonese at how much food we had ordered.  But we were glad to have the leftovers for breakfast the next day!

Oli excited over pork cheon fan?

Oli having chuk leftovers for breakfast with Mini-Maja and Coco.

Unfortunately, during this trip I did develop a pain in my pelvic bone...  yeah, down there.  It is more prominent when I stand up and walk after having been seated for a longish period of time (an hour +/-).  Now that I think of it, it hasn't been too bad today.  I have been more conscious of not sitting for too long and walking/standing around more.  

Back to the trip, we also went to the Botanical Gardens at The Huntington Library.  We saw the recently re-opened Japanese Garden, I love bamboo.  And Oli got to splash around in the Children's garden.  And I bellied up to a funny looking tree.  Reminded me of Baobabs from The Little Prince.

Back in my hood, I had the dreaded glucose test on Monday morning.  Glucose test is to check for possible gestational diabetes.  The toughest part for me was the fasting, since I usually wake up HUNGRY, but could not eat.  Once I got to the lab, they had me wait for an hour as they were running late due to their system being down, adding to the hunger torture.  Once I was finally called, they took a blood sample and then had me chug the orange sugary drink.  I was so thirsty and hungry at that point I just gulped it down.  And then I was out waiting for an hour for the next blood sample, and another hour for the final blood sample.  By the time it was over I was feeling a little weak from hunger, so I sped walked to the cafe and ordered a chocolate croissant (originally for P, but I ended up eating half of it) and a chicken/mushroom crepe.  Gobble gobble.  Glad to report I passed the test and all is good.

This past Tuesday we had our first birthing class (6 week series, once a week).  Instructor has been to over one thousand births...  geez.  She talked about pregnancy overall, changes to the body, what happens in the delivery room.  Asked who flosses their teeth every day, ME ME ME!  Who takes walks every day?  Um... not me.  Recommended 1 hour a day.   Prenatal yoga anybody??  Haven't been very good at that.  Relaxation and meditation???  What?  Yikes.  Made me realize I have definitely not been taking care of myself .  So I turned to Philipp and said: I need to work less!  I wake up tired.  I get home tired from work.  Who has the energy to exercise?  So once we got home, we had dinner (thank you WG for prepping everything), and then Philipp filled the bath for me to go relax.  He also set up reminder for me to take Maja on 30 minute walks around the office neighborhood on work days: 8:30am and 4:30pm.  I admit I have skipped a few of those this week, but working on it.  I also have reminders at night to relax and meditate.  Haven't paid much attention to those unfortunately, crazy work schedule has pushed out dinner till late.

During class we also watched a birth.  The more surprising part was the placenta popping out.  Instructor also gave us advise such as reducing the number of people present during birth or visiting afterwards (we are planning on only P at birth, and a very short list of visitors at the hospital after the birth), also planning every meal for the first 3 weeks so we have one less thing to think about (my parents will be in town cooking for us...  although I'm not sure Philipp can handle eating home-cooked Chinese food for so long).  Class ended with a much needed meditation session.  Inner peace...

My allergies have kicked in, about a month after last year...  sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes.  Symptoms come and go as the day progresses.  Last year allergies lasted from April through the end of July (trip to Brazil cured them).  Since this year they started a little later, we will see how long they last.  And I have no trips to allergy free places to help clear them out.  My brain is feeling extra sluggish today, maybe from the lack of oxygen caused by a stuffy nose?  Also, the heat during the day hasn't helped in the lethargy department.

Us at Nick's Cove with a fancy car.