Pregnancy 3.0

This time, after finding out I was pregnant (10/2/23), we were super cautious mentally. Felt like we couldn't be happy and couldn't really monitor the pregnancy that closely. It felt like at any moment, I could have a miscarriage, and I didn't want to get attached or my hopes up. Waiting for my OB appointment to see if I can have more hope. But talking to others, it seems like so many things can go wrong with a pregnancy! 

I feel more nausea this time around. Is it because I'm more aware, my age, the foods I'm eating?...I don't know. 

Nausea started around 6-7 weeks. Man..some days it just comes out of nowhere. And I'm so sensitive to bad smells. Alan has to do all the cleanup in the kitchen and all the diaper changes in the evening. 

10/30/23 9 weeks

We finally had our first Dr appointment. And the ultrasound was ok - Thank God! Hearing the heart beat really made it real. 

11/8/23 10.5 weeks

So much nausea. Even though I'm taking B6 and doxylamine, I still vomited yesterday. Doxylamine makes me sleepy too. The fatigue has improved at least. I think I ate too much yesterday for lunch. And maybe again too much for lunch? Maybe need smaller lunch. Ugh....🤢. I'm so worried we are gonna be in Japan surrounded by delicious food and I won't be able to eat anything! 

11/29/23 13.5 weeks. 

Nausea is better. I still get nauseous if I eat too much at night, but not the same urge to vomit as before. 11 weeks was definitely bad, and riding the airplane also makes it bad. I think things were better when we were walking a lot in Japan, so I was still able to eat food in Japan. Exercise prob helps. 

Thank God chromosome testing is normal and found out baby is a boy! Haha, both Alan and I thought maybe a girl this time because symptoms so different, but you never know! We had a fun gender reveal where my brother picked the ornament with correct colored glitter and Alan hit it. 

12/2/23 14 weeks.

Still nauseous this evening. I think I need to exercise. But AB got COVID, so I'm stuck with Baobao full time now. I really should use Baobao's nap time more wisely! 

Good news is 14 week ultrasound is normal! Haha, he was moving quite a bit.

12/3/23 14 weeks. Extra nauseous today. Not sure why... Maybe the food? Alfredo sauce a lunch? Tomato sauce at dinner? Fried chicken church lunch at dinner. Yup...I vomited.  

12/8/23 almost 15 weeks. Man, I thought my nausea was getting better, tried stopping taking the nausea medicine (doxylamine + b6), but it's gotten worse, so restarted meds. Maybe too constipated? Maybe I'm eating too much again? 

Exciting news is Alan's brother is gonna have another baby too, but a girl! How exciting to have cousins around the same age!

12/16 16 weeks

Thought I felt baby moving at around 15 weeks. But maybe it was gas? 

Still some night time nausea, but not as bad. Eating fiber and miralax helps. Otherwise I still feel constipated and digestion is slow.

1/7/24 19w

Definitely feeling baby move more. Thankfully my nausea has gone away for the last few weeks. I can eat normally again! Yay! Sleep has been mostly ok. But still trouble with left back pain - can only mostly sleep on my right side. The pregnancy pillow was making it hard for me to sleep so I just decided to remove it. 

2/6/24 23w

Last few weeks I've been having issues sleeping. I also had woken up several days in a row burping a lot and with squeezing pain of my stomach (epigastric/sternum area)...which I later found out was because I was too hungry. Improved after eating more during the day...but it could have also been because I ate something bad? Anyhow I felt better each time after eating a bowl of cereal. But now I'm better...for now. 

I also feel super big now. I'm pretty sure I was this size at 28 weeks last pregnancy. 

2/16/24 25w

Should have talked to OB earlier, but the night time wakening much better after taking Pepcid/Tums after dinner. No more painful stomach squeezing and burping due to reflux. Sleeping better! Going to get my glucose tolerance test soon, so trying to eat low sugar/carbs.

3/21/24 29w

The 28w ultrasound showed baby went from 46 percentile to 18th percentile. Sonographer and ob didn't seem too concerned, but I didn't think the drop in percentile was very good. They said eating more wouldn't help...but I don't think it would hurt. Although the ob said it could be bad to gain too much weight.  But when was the last time I gained so much weight that it would be bad for pregnancy? When asked if due to marginal cord insertion found on the last ultrasound, they gave me a noncommittal answer that it's associated with poor growth. I was pretty sad and bummed about the ultrasound, and furthermore, AB didn't arrive till the ultrasound was done. Well, the only thing to do is look forward, pray, and eat. So...that's what I've been doing. But eating so much is making me feel stuffed all the time, and reflux is making feel uncomfortable at night. Recently my pubic symphysis dysfunction been hurting me too so much that during some of the appointments, I couldn't walk without supporting myself with my hands on a table. Maybe that day I sat too much on the ground or bad position. Doing some exercises seem to help a bit, and using good positioning. 

4/10/24 32w

Thank God the ultrasound went well! Baby up to 40th percentile weight! I was praying and eating a lot.  So many desserts and the opposite of when I was preparing for the gestational diabetes test. Not sure if the eating helped, but don't think it hurt.  Kp was visiting so she came to my appointment.  It was nice to have a friend there! The sonographer even showed us 3D models of the baby's face and it looked like W. 

Still having a good amount of pubic symphysis pain,  but the exercises help (toe tap, hip raises, rows on all 4, donkey kick,  squats, and abductor squeezes.  My reflux comes and goes, frequently needing pepcid or Tums. Ab had been a great husband,  taking care of W and the housework.  

5/7/24

We will probably decide on the name Jasper. It's been tough lately because of my cold. The coughing causes urinary incontinence and so much pressure. Also makes it hard to sleep. Man, this cough has been dragging on...

Sister in law recently delivered 4-5 weeks early.  Really puts us on high alert and so we packed our bag and put in the car seat. Thankfully baby and mom doing well! 

5/28

Lost mucus plug in the morning and spotting throughout day. Went to triage due to significant bloody show, no change after 1 hour , so got discharged at 3 cm. Didn't know was having contractions.  Didn't sleep much overnight, irregular contractions.  Next day appointment 4cm -1 station, told would deliver this week. Contractions more regular overnight , so went to hospital again may 30 at 1am. Contractions were pretty painful at thus point, so I asked for epidural immediately. Still took about an hour to get it with checking in, labs, etc, but thankfully I got it and it made everything so much more comfortable. I couldn't feel pain, but i could feel pressure and move my legs. We tried to sleep some, but there was constant beeping and people coming in/out. At triage I was 6cm, and when the ob Dr checked me, I was 7cm. He broke my water, and baby didn't like that much and had some decels. I had to adjust my position a bit, but not as bad as with W. At around 430a, I felt some pressure between my legs and turns out baby was already crowning and I was 10cm. I pushed 4 times (2 contractions), and baby came! He swallowed some amniotic fluid on the way out so they suctioned him and gave him a bit of oxygen. What a cutie with a head full of hair! He does look like his older brother, W. 

This time around I was so impressed with the epidural. Last time I couldn't move my legs, but this time it was just right so I could still kind of feel myself pushing. Also only 1 degree tear with 2 stitches, much better than 3A last time! Also pain afterwards a lot better. I was able to walk without assistance and without too much pain. 

J born 5/30/24 430a. 7lb13oz 19.5in