Hair pulling

Lauren did something very funny yesterday. Tim was playing with her when all of the sudden, I heard her screaming / crying. I rushed over to see what happened.. she was pulling her own hair! She was in pain but wouldn't let go of her little fist. I guess she had her hand near her head when she had a reflex and closed her fist.. she did that again about an hour later. Poor baby.. but so funny!

One month old!

Lauren is one month old today! I still cant believe I am a mother! I can't believe I haven't blog or do anything not baby related for a long time too. :) I thought I knew how busy I'd get but I had no idea!

Tim went back to work yesterday. It was not too bad. Since the doctor's visit yesterday, I no longer have to pump 6 times a day and wash all those bottles. That really helped things. I can now have a free hand to hold Lauren after she's been fed. I am also really lucky because my parents are helping a lot. Mom has been coming everyday since I had Lauren. After she makes the meal at her house, she comes over to cook for us. Dad drives her over and do some gardening for us. Now Tim is back to work, I am going to Mom and Dad's more often. It's great because mom doesn't have to cook twice.. but my house is a mess still.. ha ha...

I'll try to post about my birth story and the breast feeding struggle later..

Introducing - Lauren Wong!

Our little baby girl is here! She's born on July 6, 2008 at 11:44pm. She was 3305 g (that's about 7.3 lb) which surprised us. I only gained 20 lb the entire pregnancy so we always thought she'd be 5 or 6 lb only. The birth went well, I will have to spend more time describing the whole thing later. Here is the short version: 12 hours from beginning to end, no pain med, a small tear, and Tim and I both watched the birth!

We will be updating more pictures soon. All the pictures can be viewed from the links on the right sidebar of this blog.

:) We are in cloud 9 !

could be very soon - 39 weeks

This morning I discovered something while I was in the bathroom.. (let's just leave it like that) I think it was about 8:30am. I haven't felt any surges yet since then so I am still planning on some shopping and going to friend's birthday party tonight. Let's hope things are progressing already just without the discomfort. I am excited!

4th Anniversary - July 03

these pictures were taken at 38 weeks and 5 days! It was our 4th anniversary. We had dinner at Herons and stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront hotel. It was very romantic. :) Of course it was my idea to stay in the hotel, but Tim actually liked it. He even said we should do this once every 6 months after we have the baby. I hope he's not just saying it because it was our anniversary. :)

Feeling frustrated - 38 weeks

Wow... only less than 2 weeks to the estimate due date. I would like the baby to come a little bit earlier so I don't get the pressure of "hurry things alone" once we get to the due date. I figure since I was so relax she will probably come out sooner.. like maybe a week earlier.. around July 5 or 6. However, I am not sure if I am ready anymore. I just got a cold, AGAIN! The last few colds I had while pregnant each last about 2-3 weeks. Now I can't sleep at all because I have swollen hands and feet, itchy skin, and stuffy nose! Not to mention I am more useless then I was before. Tim is doing everything around the house and try to comfort me when I feel depressed.

But... I am trying to get better right now.. I was here to vent but I am going to think positive.. I will get rid of the sinus congestion and breath through the surges! :)

Baby's buddies

These are baby's buddies! The bunny was a gift from Nathanuel. I gave him the same lamb when he was a baby and he sleeps with it everyday. I know it's very comfy so I got one for Bonsai and now it's for the new baby. :)


I have all these cloth diapers sitting in the crib.. so I "practiced" on the buddies.. aren't they cute??!

itchy... itchy... 37 weeks

It's 1:50am in the morning.. Tim is out with the team and should be home in an hour or so.. I am not waiting for him to go to sleep. I just couldn't sleep! I've been having trouble with sleep for a few weeks. It started with waking up at night with a stuffy nose, and then some mild cramps, and then sometimes my back hurts. Lately, it's been my skin. For some weird reason, I get itchy when I go to sleep.. it just won't go away. I can't stop scratching it.. even try to use the relaxation techniques.. nothing helps.

I am officially 37 weeks pregnant now. She's full term! It's good news because I am not sure how much patience I have with this skin problem.. errrrr....

one up and one down this week - 36 Weeks

Hmm.. what's going well this week: Starting this week, I don't have to go to work anymore! Yeah!! I am taking some family related and vacations before the mat leave. It's really great because I am getting tired so easy and waking up 3 or 4 times at night isn't helping either.

What's not going so well though.. I intend to breastfeed exclusively if possible for at least 6 months. Being the person that likes to plan everything out, I asked my doctor to refer me to breastfeeding clinic for a few concerns I have. Well, you know how people would say BF could be difficult, you just don't know until you do it?! They told me it would be difficult right there and then! @#$%^ I felt so disappointed! The good news is, I went to the clinic before the baby is here. Now I am prepared and I have the help I need to make it work - let's hope it'll work out.

I enjoy being pregnant

I enjoyed being pregnant. It hasn't been easy. I had a rough first 3 months and I also had a lot of fear and sad memories coming from the past pregnancy. But I totally enjoyed the miracle. Every symptoms I had was a milestone. Every day that passed was a blessing. Every move my baby made was a new bonding experience. I know I want some time to enjoy being with her before I try for another one, but I also can't wait.. I enjoyed being pregnant!

Busy but exciting week

Wow! this week is almost over! Time went by fast when you are busy.

On Tuesday, I received a special baby shower/goodbye party from work. So many people came or sent their best wishes. These are people I've worked with for the past 6 years. I am very lucky to work with all of them who had been nothing but supportive especially for the last year.
I am going to miss the people.. hey.. and the work. I love my job!

On Wednesday, I spent most of my time packing up because this is my last week at work. Some time were spent with people who came to say good-bye. Then I had my massage appointment which was something I desperately needed. My hip has been killing me when I walk.. I walk like an old lady these days and when I see steps to get to my front door, I stop and have to build up courage to walk up!

Today was another short day for me. I spent most of my time writing thank you emails to co-workers who attended the shower and brought me baby gifts. Then I was off to my weekly doctor's appointment. I found out that I gained another 2 pounds in the past 2 weeks. Now I am 131 pounds... I am pretty proud of myself. (Tim is gaining too but I don't think he should be too proud about that.. haha.. )

So.. tomorrow is my last day at work.. I am excited but I will miss everyone there.

It's getting close - 35 weeks

It's June already! This is my last week of work. I've been having swollen feet and hands that makes sitting, walking, and sleeping difficult. I am glad that I have some time off before the baby arrives.

We went to Bellingham for some shopping on the weekend. I spent most of my time looking for a bench to sit. I bought some more underwear because I am getting bigger again and bought a blender to make smoothie! We also spent some money on a new water dispenser. This is not really baby related but we are feeling very bad using all those water bottles for so many years.

The crib is finally assembled. It looks surprisingly big in the baby room. I think I can put 5 babies in there! We just can't wait till we get the mattress and pick up a bedding set so it would look even more welcoming. Tim is picking up the Amby motion bed this morning. The little one is going to sleep with us for the first while. Her Amby bed is like a hammock! She's getting spoiled already. :)

The cloth diapers we ordered just arrived!! I just have to find out what kind of soap to use then we are all set with that too! With cloth diapering and breastfeeding, I am feeling a little less guilty of buying her the Amby bed. :)

Sorry I haven't posted for a while.. I kept forgetting to take pictures of my belly too. I will try to update more frequent from now. :)

Baby Shower - 33 weeks!

Here I am 33 weeks pregnant! Next to me is Thuy, who's 37 weeks pregnant. This is taken on May 25 - my baby shower! I had a great time. We had a small group of close friends. Alice organized the shower and had it at her house. I can't thank her enough! She's such a dear friend to me and she's like a sister to me. The shower was everything I wanted. We had great food, fun games (Bingo!), great company, and everyone's so generous! Our baby girl is already getting spoiled!

what I've been going through this week - 32 weeks

A few days ago, I discovered that I can no longer wash dishes. The belly is in the way, and my back aches. I started to walk a lot slower too. Tim & Mom always reminded me to get up slowly and walk slowly.. well, no need to remind me! I can't go faster than a turtle anyways! I am pretty big compare to my pre-pregnancy size and I know I still have a lot of growing to do :D

We have a few warm days this week. I was excited to wear dresses and sandals - at least I thought so until I found... My feet got bigger! They were actually swollen! I guess I can't complain too much, it's not too bad.. I just need new shoes :-)

I also got carpal tunnel syndrome. This is very annoying. I woke up at night one day feeling pain on my hand, and it hasn't gone away since!

Otherwise, I am feeling great! At the last doctor's appointment, the doctor said her head is down now. I hope she stays this way but then.. she's so active I wouldn't be surprised to find her in a different position next week.

31 Weeks

Wow.. I look pretty big in this picture! I think it might be the angle the picture was taken... but I am getting bigger! (btw, she's totally moving around right now. I can feel her little fingers and bum... it's so weird.)

I am getting a bit tired these days. I sleep very light... I think she moved a lot which kind of kept me up. I get up tired and I start feeling sleepy around 3pm. I also noticed that I started to waddle when I walk. I am still feeling great otherwise. Last week, I had a dream that I felt her moving her body around and moved head down. It was probably because she was moving around so much. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I guess we'll find out if she had indeed moved.

Sensitive but "invisible" belly - 30 Weeks

Wow! I am now 30 weeks pregnant! Only 10 more weeks to go! I am so excited!
I actually don't look very pregnant.. well, according to most people and not including my husband. I look at my baby bump and hope my baby better grow fast!

That being said, I tends to FORGET that I am bigger. When I try to squish in between a chair and a wall, I always thought "that's plenty of room, I can get through it". WELL! I got through alright, but my belly suffers! It's much more sensitive than I would imagine. >_<

Oh my hip!

I did some laundry this morning. When I picked up the half full basket on the floor, I instantly felt this sharp pain in my hip. I couldn't even get up for a minute! This was the third time this month that I got the hip pain. It's definitely a signal that I need to take things really slow and easy. I ended up using a heating pad on my hip all day. It's actually quiet funny.. I brought the heating pad with me to the restaurant and asked the waiter to heat it up for me. He was confused at first. He looked at us for 3 seconds, looked at the pad, and then looked at us again.. and then when he came back, he put it on a plate!

Time to get busy! - 28 Weeks

I am really looking forward to this coming week. I am combining a personal day, a flex day, weekend, and two vacation days to rest... well, not really resting, but I will be off work from Friday until next Thursday. Tim and I are going to Seattle for three days. It's our "babymoon"! After we get back on Sunday, I am off to take some out of town relatives around. Tim was going to take time off for them, but he needs to save all his vacation for our baby's arrival. I also have two docotor's appointments next week. Wave good-bye to Vancouver doctor and say hello to North Vancouver doctor. Oh! And we will start our Hypnobirthing class next Tuesday as well.

Hot Mama?! - 27 Weeks!

I love my new haircut! Tim is complaining that I spent too much on this haircut, but hey, he spends less but has more frequent visits! I am very happy for the change. It's been a while since I have short hair. I always thought I would like long hair even when I have a baby, but I do like my new look.

I am in the 3rd trimester now. I still feel pretty good. Now that I know the sex, I am more in the mood to shop. I registered at Baby R Us despite Tim's objection (he's not a fan of registry), and went to the store to set it up (what a nightmare!). The store was going through renovation. All the baby products were all over the place, A/C was not working well, and no staff were around to help. After an hour and half, I was exhausted, thirsty, and losing my patience. Tim was napping comfortably in a glider chair!

I also got my first "pregnancy treatment" from a stranger yesterday. We were waiting for seats at the Keg in Burnaby. I was wearing this black dress (see above) with a raincoat on top of it. A lady came over to me and offer me her seat in the waiting area. I am looking forward to these special treatments from strangers. :) Only for pregnancy though.. I know it would be a different feeling when people start giving me seat for being old... :P

Preview of baby Wong.. and it's a....

Warning: you will find out the sex of the baby :)
(try not to tell: Coach, Annabel, and Ms. Sangra)

So.. finally it's the day to do the 3D/4D ultrasound! Baby was moving like crazy all morning. I was hoping that the baby would stay calm until the show time. I wanted to see what's going on there when I feel all those movements. But of course.. by the time I am on that chair, the baby was sleeping! The baby had the legs up above the head... doing some yoga move I guess...

We are very happy to find out that we're having a girl!!! hmmm.. Grandma, ma, and Laurie... you are all wrong!

Busy week - 25 weeks

I've been busy..

- bought an SLR camera with my points
- started going to prenatal yoga
- started reading: The attachment parenting book & Digital Photography
- knitting baby hats
- booked our "babymoon"/shopping trip
- signed up for hypnobirthing classes

I signed up for the Hypnobirthing class! I am skipping the regular prenatal classes because 1. Hypnobirthing classes cost more money 2. I researched so much on pregnancy and birthing I don't think I will learn much more from the prenatal classes. The hypnobirthing's idea is to help you to have a gentle, nature birth.. without pain medications. I think it's worth a try. :)

We are also booked for our two nights stay in Seattle. I am starting to do some research on the baby products I want to buy down there. We are going to stay at the W hotel for one night, and Westin for another. It's free because I am using my points and we get to experience two different hotels. I might even get a spa treatment! :D

Bring the baby to work - 24 weeks

Lately, this pregnancy has become more real than ever! The little one is moving a lot.. in fact, sometimes I doubt that he/she ever sleeps! It's such a wonderful and weird feeling. I can feel all kind of movement.. strong and infrequent kicks, or light but quick and frequent push.. almost like the little fingers are tapping from the inside. I get so much joy from feeling these movements.. today's all day meeting was not boring at all! I felt like it was just me and the baby in the boardroom! haha...

I have been thinking about what it was like with Bonsai at around this time. I remember I only started to feel her and it wasn't as frequent. But I felt so connected with her and it was so wonderful. When that week came.. I noticed she stopped moving much, so I was really worried. My gf who's due around the same time was feeling her baby moves all the time. I was so jealous and concerned. I remember just hearing her talking about it made me feel like a knife just went into my chest. Now looking back and knowing I am at the same pregnancy stage, I really appreciate feeling the little one moves all the time. I finally know how my gf felt at that time, and I am more optimistic about this pregnancy because of it. :)

Baby Bump at 23 weeks

I gained another 2 or 3 lbs! It's funny that I am actually excited about gaining weight. Well, for now anyways. Maybe I will start to complaining soon. Hmmm.. maybe I should start a guessing game.. guess how much weight I will gain throughout this pregnancy?!

It's only two weeks to the 3d ultrasound appointment! I can't wait to find out if we are having a boy or a girl.

sick again

First of all, I have to say that regardless of all my discomfort, I am happy that the baby is growing healthy in my belly. We had the 18 weeks ultrasound a while ago, and the doctor said everything is perfect! I feel the little guy(or girl) moves all the time. Sometimes I think he/she is doing moonwalking on my belly! I just love those movements!

Yesterday I had my first pregnancy leg cramp. I woke up in the middle of the night, crying in pain. I forgot the trick on how to lessen the pain so I just kept still. Tried to relax but geez.. how do you relax when you have a leg cramp?! *in case you get one, just straighen your leg, and flex your ankle and toes towards your nose. It really helps!

Did I mention I am sick again?! Just a couple days ago, after my stomach flu, I felt the same funny feeling in my throat three weeks ago. I thought.. oh no, no way! but yeah... I think this cold decided to come around and hit me again!

Sep/07: a cold with slight fever and no sleep for 4 days
1st trimester: feeling bloated, no appetite, morning sickness, etc
Dec/07: second cold that last 3 weeks
2nd trimester: feeling good for a few weeks and then acid relex all the time
Feb/08: 3rd cold that kept me home for almost two weeks.
Mar/08: stomach flu
Mar/08: 4th cold...

nice eh? :D

baby bump at 21 weeks

I think I gained 2 lbs this month, but after the cold and the stomach flu.. I need to eat some more ice cream! :D

Speaking of ice cream, I am really getting my appetite back! I've been thinking about eating steak, hotpot, T&T sandwiches, Nando's chicken, and most importantly -- Cafe Michael's mushroom caps! yum! I HAVE to make a trip east to eat eat eat! yahoo!

Stomach Flu - 21 weeks

My cough has not even go away yet, I got a stomach flu yesterday afternoon.

a bad cold - 20 weeks

I've been sick for more than a week. It's just a cold, but my cough is so bad that no one wants me in the office. Ha.ha.. the day I got "sent home", I was feeling a bit guilty, but I appreciate the time off very quickly. The problem about being pregnant and being sick at the same time... is that I can't take drugs, I am weaker, and I can not control my bladder! er... yup.. I am a preggie, not a lady writing about pregnancy, so I will talk about the not-so-lady like stuff. I have to run to the bathroom every time I start coughing... being at home is way easier than being at work at this point. It's like I was on my first trimester again.. running to the toilet every couple of hours.. or every 5 minutes actually..

I was pretty concerned about how baby is doing when I cough. My cough is so bad my stomach would hurt. I also noticed less movements right after my cough. The doctor reassure me that it is very safe, but of course, it still brings me tears when I cough too much. I am so glad we have the Doppler. And... the baby is so awesome... he/she had been moving a lot last few days. Like he/she was doing tap dance or something. It definitely made me feel a lot better.

Mommy Brain - 19 weeks

Okay, so I am going to share my most blonde moment so far from this pregnancy. It happened this morning when I was going to work. I saw the bus coming, and I recall a conversation with Tim. He had told me last night that he bought some bus tickets for me, and reminded me that my bus pass had expired so make sure I take some tickets with me. I completely forgot! I thought, I better grab my wallet to see if I have enough change. Nope! I didn't have enough money. In my wallet, I did see my February bus pass.

So I got on the bus, and I said

"Oh I am so sorry, I didn't realized it is March already! I forgot to buy the new pass".

The bus driver looked at me like I was crazy. He started laughing and said

"Lady, you have 9 more days! It's only February 20".

I was so confused and embarrassed. I said

"Oh! I don't know why my husband told me to get new tickets!"

and then I just want to dig a hole and hide!

It took me another good minute to figure it out - I dreamt about that conversation with Tim. It did not really happened!

Baby Bump at 18 Weeks

There is no hiding anymore! This picture was taken a few days ago, and I feel like my belly is growing each minute! I am looking forward to share the good news with our close friends who we haven't told.

The baby is getting stronger and stronger. I feel the movement more frequent now. This morning, baby was making my belly his/her punching bag! We also have the doppler which is awesome! It's so nice to spend time with Tim listening to the baby's heartbeat.

Early present for Valentine's Day

It feels like Christmas or Valentine's Day today! I have my 18 weeks ultrasound appointment. All day yesterday I was thinking about how am I going to hold my bladder.. First time I read the instruction from the doctor, I read it in Chinese. It says drink 32oz of water, or half if you are close to the due date. I was thinking... great! I can't drink 32 oz of water and hold it for even 30 min but 2 hours?! no way! Then I read the English instruction.. it says -- drink half (16 oz) if you are 18 weeks or further alone! Yippee!! I am so glad I read English!

So Tim picked me up this afternoon to go for the ultrasound. I was feeling okay since I drank only 16oz of water. The clinic was filled with unhappy people - people with full bladder! It's not a happy place.. until your name is called...

Our baby was camera shy today. The technician kept trying to make the baby move over, but he/she just stayed face down. We didn't get a good picture like we did with Bonsai. However, the technician said everything was good so we are happy about that.

After the ultrasound, Tim took me for a long drive to Tsawwassen. We were there to pick up my Valentine's present. It was the baby's heart rate monitor! It worked really well, I finally recorded the heartbeat. We will post a video recording the heartbeat in the next blog.

Happy Valentine's Day, T & baby Wong

First O/B appointment - 17 weeks

We had our first appointment with Dr. R today. He ensured that I can go to him if I ever worry about the baby and need to hear the heartbeat. That put me at ease. Now.. we are pretty sure we'll be delivering at BC Women's in July.

I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, but didn't record it this time. :P I really want to have it on the blog.. we'll wait for the next appt..

I heard so many good news in the last two days. A friend is expecting to have her baby in June, a friend just got married, and another one had a beautiful baby boy (he is so cute!)... and now just waiting for T to have her baby. It's a good year! I know it!

I gotta stop worrying so much!

The last couple of days I worried a lot. I wasn't feeling a lot of movement from the baby and I was having a headache. It all seemed to be happening again.. the headache, the lack of movements, suspicious of an urine infection, seeing the same group of friends just before I went to the hospital.. I know! I was thinking too much! I forgot that baby is only 16 weeks and the movement is not that strong to be felt all the time. I have to stop worrying so much! I ended up laying in bed waiting to feel the movement. I need to start cleaning up the house and do exercise instead of wasting my time in bed! :)

anyway.. I am feeling better and more positive now..

16 weeks

A few weeks ago, we heard the baby's heart beat. It was at that moment, I realized how worried I was. As soon as I heard the heart beat, I felt such a relief. It felt like only yesterday when I was in the hospital and the doctor showed me the ultrasound and say "here is your baby's heart.. and I am sorry but it's not moving".

We did record the sound, but I lost it when I switched a new cell phone. I will record it again next time and post it on the blog. I will be going to my get my ultrasound soon too. So we'll post those pictures as well.

Since I was 14 weeks, I started to feel the baby moving! I was very excited and every chance I have to relax, I would try to feel it. It's so good to feel the baby so early, but at the same time I do get nervous when I don't feel him/her for a while. When I was in Toronto last weekend, I had a lot of the fresh fruit tea.. the baby would go nuts that night! It was not the most comfortable feeling but I loved it! I am going to make those tea at home more often.

I am showing a little bit now. I kept forgetting to take pictures of myself. :) I have a few cute outfits so I gotta start wearing them before I grow out of them.