Weeks 25 and 26

I am now 26 weeks (almost 27 since I am WAY late in posting this). Although I am ready for it to be May (actually June), the time is flying. Overall, I feel really good. My ankles are swollen almost all the time and I have to move my body a little different lately, but I feel good and have a decent amount of energy. I am still walking around 2 miles four times a week, but would like to do more. It is becoming a challenge to put on socks since I am just not use to a big belly in my way! Sleeping comfortably is getting a little difficult. Baby girl uses my bladder as a trampoline, so I pee a lot and I seem to require more food lately. She is still a mover and daddy finally got to feel her! He was getting a little frustrated that he couldn’t, but last night he could feel her kicking or punching and was VERY happy! It is such an amazing feeling.

My belly and boobs have continued to expand quite a bit. This past week I got a lot of comments that I now looking really pregnant. As I was talking to Travis last night, I just felt huge! I still can’t see my belly when I look down because there are two other giant mountains blocking my view, but when I see a side view it’s a little shocking now!

Here is what has happened over the past two weeks.

I had my glucose test on February 7 and I was really nervous about it. Mornings are not easy for me still and the thought of not eating, getting in a car and getting my blood drawn four times before noon, scared me a bit. Luckily, the night before we had a girl’s movie night where we ate CPK and watched a chick flick. I ate a ton of food to prepare for the next day. 

The morning of, I felt good when I woke up. I was not hungry or nauseated. However, we got on the road and right away there was an accident. I don’t deal well with accidents. I usually freak out or cry. This was a bad one, so I freaked out AND cried. It looked a little dusty or smoky ahead of us as we got on the first main road and we couldn’t see very well. In front of us was a giant dump truck. Apparently he couldn’t see well either. We all tried to pass through the dust. The dump truck did not succeed. He tried to avoid a truck that was stopped in the road (unseen by all) and swerved to avoid hitting it at the last minute. He failed. Not only did he hit the other truck, his truck flipped over to the left side and dumped his gravel all over the road. As the dust cleared, you could see the truck that was hit was pouring fuel onto the road. The other truck was turned on its side and I thought for sure that the driver would be seriously injured or dead. I panicked immediately. I felt like we were trapped on the road and fuel was everywhere. I was convinced that there would be an explosion. Travis calmed me down and was able to drive around the mess. As we passed it all, we saw the driver out, limping around. He was alright after all. It was very scary and really shook me up.

We drove on and got to the doctor’s quite quickly. Travis dropped me off since I was going to be there for three hours. I went in, got my blood taken and then drank the orange drink, which was not bad at all. After that, I went out into the waiting room and read for an hour, until they needed to take my blood again. At the end of three hours, my blood was drawn four times and my fear of needles was nearly overcome. Travis picked me up and took me home so I could eat. I didn’t feel sick and hungry until we got in the car. I was shocked. There must be a LOT of sugar in that drink! Overall, it went really well and I was happy it was over.

Here are my 25 and 26 week photos.

A highlight of the last couple weeks was ordering Indian food with a group of friends. We had all been craving some delicious Indian food. We got it delivered to the compound and had a FEAST! We had so much food. Check it out!

Then on Friday I had a ladies brunch at my house. We all brought some kind of food to share. It was amazing! It was so nice to start the weekend with friends and food. I can’t wait until the next one.

On Valentine’s Day Travis and I went back to the doctor’s office. We found out that I do not have gestational diabetes and I can continue to eat my pasta and ice cream! I was so relieved. The doctor did another ultrasound and took some measurements. He said everything was perfect, which is always nice to hear! He also told me that baby is very active. This is not news to me. There is a party every day in my belly. Anyways, the appointment went well and we ended the day with a homemade fancy steak dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Then I had another Book Club meeting. This time it was at a restaurant that I have not been to, Lusin, which is Armenian food. It was a nice night with some new interesting food.

The next night we made dinner for our friends Amy and Rob who just welcomed their baby boy into the world! She went to the same doctor I go to and had a wonderful experience. It was great to hear a little bit about what to expect when our day comes.

Finally, I was a judge for the high school talent show on Wednesday night. It was so much fun to watch all the talent of the high schoolers and to see their friends cheer them on as they took the stage. The winner was a rap singer! I was really impressed with his abilities. The second place winner was a dub stepper that was quite entertaining!

As you can see, we have been really busy! The next month should be the same. We have Week Without Walls this coming week which is a week of non-curricular activities with the students. I am sure I will be worn out at the end of each day. The we have report cards coming up after that and spring break starts March 18! I am so ready for a nice break.

On a side note, I am totally jealous of all my Shanghai friends that were vacationing at a beach for CNY. I miss the beaches of SE Asia SO MUCH!!! I hope you are all enjoying your vacations. That’s all for this post.

Mama, Daddy and Baby this week:

• Mama is feeling good and can feel baby girl a lot!
•  Mama has swollen ankles.
• Mama craves pasta and ice cream more than anything right now!
• Daddy felt baby girl move for the first time!
• Baby is 850grams (almost 2 pounds!)
• Baby is the size of a butternut squash.
• Baby’s eyes are starting to open.
• Baby is over 14 inches!

My birthday, book club, craft sale and another doctor visit

I just finished cooking a gourmet meal for dinner. It was grilled cheese with tomato soup. You should be jealous. It was amazing! The soup even had macaroni noodles. That’s very fancy of me, I know. You are probably drooling as you imagine dipping that sandwich dripping with cheese into the creamy soup. Yep, it was creamy. I made it with milk, not water.

Speaking of food…I LOVE food lately. Well, most of the day. Breakfast continues to be a nightmare. My staple foods are one fried egg done to perfection thanks to Chef Travis and a bowl of instant oatmeal. I seemed to be able to stomach that the best. It may take me 20 + minutes to eat, but I do it. Shortly after I get to school I am hungry again. I can’t seem to eat enough lately. My morning snacks keep getting larger and larger, as do my lunches! So for the time being, food is my friend most of the day and that is how I want it to stay! Um, also, I think I am addicted to ice cream, even more than I use to be.

Here I am at 24 weeks. My belly is growing out more and has surpassed my boobs! Although they are working hard to catch up…

And here I am on my 34^th birthday.

My birthday was fantastic this year. Over the past few years I have dreaded birthdays because I just get older. But then the day comes and I feel so special and loved! All the messages on Facebook made me smile. At work the whole staff got an email about birthdays, so everyone said Happy Birthday. It was a great start to the day. My team also celebrates each of our birthdays. At the end of the day we all gathered in Krystle’s room and ate cupcakes, donuts, lots of fruit and chips. It was delicious!

That night we went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. I had gone once before with a large group of women. The food was amazing and it was so nice to order lots of different foods and then share them. I wanted to do the same for my birthday. There were 10 of us and we had a great time. Everyone came to our house first for a little gathering and some tea. Then we took a bus to the restaurant so we didn’t have to worry about driving in the traffic and parking. We ate tons of food and had wonderful night.

Here are a few pictures from the night.

Allison, Krystle, Liz, me and Tracy

Here we are outside the family entrance section of the restaurant. That’s my gorgeous Abaya. Single men have their own entrance and section of the restaurant. Don’t go in the wrong door, they will stare you down and make you feel awkward, so I hear.

Oh, I almost forgot…last year for my birthday we had a PJ Pub Crawl on Yongkang Lu. We dressed up in some great jammies. Krystle, Zach and I got to wear ours again this year on my birthday because it was pajama day at school!

This year Tristan joined the outside world! He was the cutest batman!

The next day was our book club meeting at Marcelle's house. We had a delicious meal and I had a special seat. The group gave me a balloon, a card and I got to blow out candles. Here are a few pictures.

That weekend there was a craft show at another compound. I went with Tracy, Josiane, Josiane’s mom and another friend Jessica. While there, I got the first piece to baby girl’s nursery. I LOVE elephants and I wanted the room to be pink, gray and turquoise. I found a woman there who custom makes art. She had an adorable elephant that I had to have. She is making me a pink and gray one. I can’t wait to see it and get going on decorating the room!

It ended up being really hot that day and I was feeling quite ill by the end of our shopping trip. I sure hope that it was just because I didn’t eat and drink enough and that it is not a sign of the future. It doesn’t seem to be cooling down, just getting warmer. I hope my pregnant body can handle the heat that is coming, because baby girl is not making an appearance for quite some time still.

And finally we had another doctor visit. This one was pretty pointless. We went in, the nurse weighed me and checked my blood pressure and then talked to us about the glucose test and sent us home. Seemed kind of silly to go all the way there, just for that. Anyway, I learned that I have to go in next week for the three hour test. This is to see if I have gestational diabetes. I have to fast for 10 hours before and that is going to make me feel really sick. Then I will go, drink the stuff three times and get my blood taken four times. I can’t wait! Ugh. He said I have to do the three-hour test instead of the one-hour test because my dad had diabetes. So, I guess I will deal with it. I have a good meal planned for before the fast and after the tests! We will learn the results and have another ultrasound on Valentine’s Day.

That’s the scoop over here. I hope everyone else is well and that all you Michiganders enjoyed your snow days! I sure am jealous of all that white fluffy stuff.

In case you were wondering, after I post this I will be getting a nice big bowl of ice cream...

Mama and Baby this week:

• Mama gets swollen ankles and feet after a long day of standing and walking.
• Mama has very vivid and strange dreams.
• Mama craves tomatoes with salt, cucumbers in Wishbone Italian Dressing, ice cream, fruit and sour candies.
• Mama’s belly button is getting closer and closer to an outie.
•  Baby is the size of a foot long sub!
• Baby weighs a pound and a half.
• Baby’s lungs are getting better at breathing
• Baby’s face is almost fully formed, with eyelashes, eyebrows and hair, which is all white since there is no pigment yet.
• Baby likes to dance around in mama’s belly, especially after long walks.