i'm one of those...

ridiculous parent-to-be who actually bought the bugaboo cameleon. i really tried to keep an open mind about other strollers but in the end, my heart was with the bugaboo. i've been eyeing the bugaboo for years but recently decided that i need to explore other brands.

there is a great baby store in the peninsula, lullaby lane, that everyone recommends as a good 1st trip to learn about baby products. they have great knowledgeable sales associates who walk people through various brands and how they are different from one another. i was able to convince s to come along because the store was featured on an episode of "ghost hunters" on the sci-fi channel (and yes, they concluded that there really are ghosts in the store).

it's still very very early for us to go shopping but i saw one color of the cameleon on sale on the website so we wanted to see if it was available in the store. umm...so when we got to the store, the power was out but they were still open!! talk about liability and shrink issues!! the power had been out for a couple of hours and it was the ONLY store without power (umm...the ghosts perhaps hahaa). the lack of power obviously didn't deter pregnant couples because the place was packed (as usual)! s and i spent over an hour just learning about strollers! it was really down to 3 brands, the cameleon, the quinny buzz and orbit. each stroller had different benefits that we liked but also other things that we weren't necessarily fond of. at the end of our tutorial we decided to go with the bugaboo and i know s is quite excited about our purchase as well.

17 weeks and counting...

i've been feeling a little better. however, i did throw up earlier this week so i still get an occasional case of morning sickness and nausea. i'm sleeping okay. i wake up once in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom but fall back asleep right away. no issues with any back pain or sleeplessness YET. no cravings yet either. if anything, there are things that i don't want more than want. chocolate is definitely something i don't really care for.

regardless of whether we have a boy or girl, i've already decided our nursery theme! i've never wanted a pink nursery so if we have a girl, there is no way we are having a 'girlie' pink room. as much as i would love to have a sports theme if we have a boy, i don't think it's the most practical thing especially if we have another child down the road and it's the opposite sex. gap recently launched a nursery assortment. it's in select stores but everything is available online. i love love the baby safari bedding collection. steve likes it too. =)

well, only a week and a half until we find out whether it's a he or she!

i had my 16 week appointment and things are fine - except that i gained 6 pounds! don't know how that happened when i'm still pretty nauseas. i guess i better get a bit more active.

so next month s and i have our ultrasound appointment to find out the sex of the baby. originally, i didn't want to find out the sex while s wants to so he can "plan" for it. however, i'm slowly changing my mind since everyone keeps asking and it's getting me more anxious! we have our theories as to why it's a girl or boy heehee.

why it's a girl:
1 - women with severe nausea are 50% more likely to have a girl
2 - my doctor told us that an old wives' myth is that a fast heart rate is a girl - our was 170 bpm at 12 weeks and 164 bpm at 16 weeks (normal is 140 - 160 bpm)

why it's a boy:
1 - the lau men family lineage is very male dominated. in his dad's generation, he is 1 of 6 siblings and there is only 1 girl. in s' generation, there are 8 cousins and his sister is the only girl
2 - it's still a bit early but i think i'm carrying low - which myth claims is a boy
3 - because the trusty chinese calendar says so ... hahaa

happy mother's day!

s and i went to antioch yesterday to see his parents for mother's day and tonight my siblings and i took my parents to san mateo prime. former chefs at the house of prime rib first opened broadway prime in burlingame and just recently opened san mateo prime in downtown san mateo. the menu is almost identical to the house of prime rib but there are more side options in the 2 peninsula restaurants. as my pseudo-first mother's day, my wonderful nephew "got" me a mother's day card. it was very adorable...

this was actually a nice end to a weekend that started off pretty miserably. on friday, as i was driving home, i threw up in the car AS am driving down s101 in the far left lane!! can you imagine, here i am trying to get to the far right to get off the freeway, still driving 65 mph and barfing into a plastic bag on my lap. even though i had a plastic bag, when you are trying to look straight to drive, it's pretty difficult to vomit downward. so it actually projected straight out and hit my steering wheel and my thighs. it was just the most disgusting thing ever. i had to then stay in the car smelling everything for the next 1o minutes until i finally got home. SO gross.

my arduous first trimester

some might read the title and think "wow, she is dramatic". however, i kid you not, it has definitely not been a walk in the park for me these last 10 weeks. for those that have been pregnant and didn't experience any typical first trimester symptoms, you are SO SO lucky. i have experienced almost every possible symptom these last two and half months. so let's start from the very beginning when i was still "normal" and had control of my body...

Week 5 - The Exciting Discovery!

s and i were actually in memphis when i thought i was pregnant. i'm a very regular gal so when i was a day late, i knew it! of course, since we were with my family, we had to wait a couple of days until we were back home to take a pregnancy test. the 2 pink lines showed up pretty immediately! the weird part is that you don't see the doctor until your eighth week so it's just a waiting game.

so what do people do after finding out your pregnant and the first doctor's appointment? i just started reading everything and anything online...what you should eat or not eat, feel or do. as much as i wanted to share with the world the exciting news, there is just so much risk in the first trimester, s and i didn't tell anyone except my sister. it was nice to have someone to confide in other than s. plus, since my sister was just pregnant last year, it was nice to hear her experiences and have someone that can help me with all my questions.

Week 7 - First Doctor's Appointment

after several weeks of being pregnant and a couple of vomiting incidents, we finally had our 1st doctor's appointment. all I wanted to know was that I was still pregnant. luckily, when we saw the baby on the screen, it was a little overwhelming (even though my doctor called the baby a blob). my official due date is october 27! after the doctor's appt, we told my parents and brother. we still didn't want to say anything to anyone until I was safely through the 1st trimester.

Week 8 - Ugh, Morning and Evening Sickness

the doctor mentioned eating crackers and drinking ginger ale to help alleviate my nausea. ummm...all useless. everyday, i threw up. first it was in the morning but then it also happened in the evenings. not only that but i was so tired. i normally get to work around 7:30am and stay until 6:30 - 7:00p. now, once it hit 5:00p, i got so tired! i did manage to leave a little earlier at 6ish but gosh, it was so hard to maintain my energy in the afternoons.

throwing up and being tired wasn't too surprising as it's discussed a lot as typical symptoms. what was really strange was that i really didn't want to drink water. i used to drink tons of water but oddly enough, i was barely drinking 2 cups of water a day. it was so weird - i just couldn't figure it out.

as i was starting to really feel "pregnant", my lovely husband was also leaving for china for 2 weeks...so I decided to stay with my parents to shorten my commute time and have someone around me. =)

Week 9 - Oh Dear, A Visit To The OB Triage

my morning throw ups aren't unusual, so i always still go to work. however, one day i threw up 2 more times at work in the morning. so really 3 times in 3 hours, was more than i can even handle, so i went home after lunch. i got home and just slept for the rest of the afternoon. by the time dinner came around, i had to eat something since i really hadn't been able to keep anything down all day. then guess what? after dinner, i threw up again. i knew i wasn't going to sleep it off or feel better in the morning so i called my doctor. she suggested i come into the hospital. my parents thought it was weird that i was going to the hospital; they thought i was just "weak".

after the urine sampling confirmed that i was dehydrated, they started me on an IV with glucose water and some anti-nausea medication. after 1 full bag of water, the nurses were surprised that i didn't have to go to the bathroom. that just meant that i was THAT dehydrated. so they started a 2nd bag of glucose water and during the 2nd bag, i swear i went to the bathroom like 5 times in half an hour.

i still wasn't feeling better so they gave me a 3rd bag of water! i mentioned to the nurse that not only was i not really eating but i wasn't drinking water as well. she then educated me that when you are nauseas, the last thing you want is water. it only makes you more nauseas. that was the most shocking thing i've heard --- don't drink water?!?! my mother even asked if she heard the nurse right when she said it! the nurse recommended drinking plenty of juice instead.

so my doctor suggested a couple of things to hopefully ease my nausea:
1) take vitamin b6 with half a tablet of unisom every night
2) eat crackers every morning before i get out of bed
3) wear "seabands"; these accupressure bands around your wrists

yes, did i also mention that i was very constipated (umm... 3 days of no bowel movement!!) and actually had a hemorrhoid as well! so needless to say, i was pretty miserable. however, after the visit to the hospital, i was feeling a bit better. i was still nauseas but at least i wasn't throwing up everyday.

Week 10 - Who Needs Sleep?

ummm...i haven't been drinking a lot of water so why do i have to get up twice every night to go pee!?! totally, don't get it. every night - like clock work i get up twice. the annoying thing is that hubby snores so when i get back into bed, i can't fall asleep right away because all i can focus on is his snoring!!! so frustrating!

but exciting new...i only threw up once this week! i'm still very exhausted; every night i sleep at 9pm. just as i was starting to feel a little better, hubby gets back into town. he has no idea what i've been through the last 2 weeks. he thinks i'm being dramatic and that my parents are enablers. huge argument ensues but we resolve it quickly...

Week 11 - Internal Struggle

one of the hardest parts about being pregnant has been the struggle of my independence (or lack there of). as my husband can attest to, i am fiercely independent and in control. now, i have no control of my body and it's difficult for me to accept that. i'm also very frustrated with how i don't feel like myself and can't focus at work because i'm so exhausted. maybe this is to prepare me in slowly transitioning to working less and finding a better balance but i don't like it.

although i have been quite sick, the only consolation is that the sicker i am, it means the healther the baby is! hormone levels are super high so although my body isn't adjusting to them well, the baby is hopefully developing well.

Week 12 - 170 BPM

i was worried that because i haven't had the healthiest appetite, i was losing weight. it was a relief to hear the doctor say i didn't gain or lose weight! during the 12 week visit, we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. it was a pretty cool experience. 170 bpm sounds fast but the doctor said that the baby's heartbeat does tend to be fast in the early stages; nothing out of the ordinary.

although i haven't gained any weight, i do feel my pants tightening. i have a couple of jeans that were big on me so those are definitely more comfortable to wear. oh dear, might be time to buy some maternity clothes.

on the home front, i do have to say that my hubby is now uber supportive. he basically does all the household chores. all the cooking and cleaning - it's amazing. i do try to do the dishes or tidy up every now and then but seriously, after work, i'm only up for an hour and need to unwind.

happy 4th anniversary...

hubby and i had our 4th anniversary yesterday. 4 years married but we've known each other for 10 years now!! it's crazy - i've been with him for a third of my life. my sweet husband baked me a cake and got some pretty flowers for me. i am still feeling pretty crappy so we just ordered take out. no sense in spending the money at a nice restaurant when my body won't appreciate it!

no spring chicken...

s and i went to slo for the day. i just love to be down there and to reminisce about our carefree days of college. we like going back there to see how things have evolved and changed in the downtown area and especially around campus. i do feel like the city has lost a bit of it's charm with all these mainstream retailers but it does still have such a great personality. but really, we just love to eat there. we, of course, had firestone for lunch. the tri tip sandwich and french fries are just as good as i remembered! i didn't quite have room for uptown yet so we just walked around downtown. there are quite a bit of higher end boutiques. who are their customers? how do students afford to shop there? while i was in the dressing room, i did hear someone say they can put something on lay-away!! wow...

after we were done with downtown, we checked into applefarm's. after a quick rest break, we went to splash cafe for dinner. i had the yummie clam clowder breadbowl =) and a garden salad ... i was starting to feel a bit guilty for my unhealthy diet. after dinner, we went to uptown for a caramello and then to the fremont to catch "21". while in line, i heard the lady behind the booth ask the kids in front of me if they are students. i thought, "sweet, i don't need to show any id for a student discount!" steve walked away because he clearly looks older and i seriously thought i could pass as a student. okay, maybe i didn't look 18 years old and maybe i do have a couple of greys but i totally thought i could still pass as a student. when i said "2 for 21", she didn't even ask me if i was a student!! i was so shocked. i mean, i still get carded a lot at the casinos and whenever anyone sees my id, they are shocked at how old i am. as s said, "what do you expect, you are turning 30 this year". hahaa, i guess that's true.

end of march already...

i can't believe tomorrow is the last of march?! seriously, where does the time go? i've been keeping myself busy with march madness these last 2 weeks. my work bracket is pretty pathetic as i'm in last place but that's not the important one. the crucial one is one that my brother in law puts together - there's about 40 people and the pot is almost $1000! plus, there is a couple's side bet where the loser has to host dinner for the other 2 couples. i'm still in the middle of the pack but i have to carry my hubby's bad bracket!! go memphis tigers!!!

s is in china for 2 weeks so i've been staying with my parents. i feel like i'm 16 years old again. however, it's nice to only have a 10 minute commute, dinner ready when i get home and no house chores! s calls my parents enablers but i just call them caring parents hahaa.

southern hospitality...

is really true. i've never been addressed "hon", "sweetie" or "miss" as many times as when i was in memphis. the funniest is when they call me "miss sue".

other than the frustrating flight getting to memphis, it was nice to take a couple of days off work and spend it with my family. so since we got in a day later than planned, we really only had 2 full days in memphis, monday and tuesday.

so on monday, we spent some time in downtown. we went to see the fed ex forum. it was all star weekend so we didn't get a chance to watch a grizzlies game. we walked around beale street and spent some time at the national civil rights museum.

it's pretty incredible that they built the museum around the actual motel that martin luther king jr was actually assasinated in.

i feel like whenever you see shots of memphis, they always have this sign

baby j and my sister with me in front of fed ex forum

on tuesday, we planned a trip to graceland. umm...who knew they closed on tuesdays for cleaning!! we were still able to walk around the mansion and through the garden.




we actually spent a day in tunica, mississippi doing what my family loves the most --- gambling!! it was nice that my parents got to do something during this trip that was fun for them hahaa. although i told hubby that being with my family just brings out the worse in me. i know it's sad and love my parents but they can so easily push my buttons!! they of course, don't realize it or intend to, but spending 24/7 with my parents for 5 days was just a bit too much for me. =)

yuck...

i hate being sick. i don't know how i caught this cold. it just came out of nowhere monday night and i've been out sick for the last 2 days. not good at all since i'm suppose to be presenting something at work tomorrow!! yikes...
my head is totally congested and i have absolutely no appetite.

wow...i can't believe it's already march! s' birthday is next weekend and march madness is almost here! woohoo!