Not the typical pregnancy

From the beginning of this blog I have been mentioning that I have an easy pregnancy, yet when I share it to people, they always tell me "oh just you wait..it will come"...IT referring to all the discomforts of pregnancy. Yet now at Week 35, I am still standing strong on my blessing from God, being able to proclaim having an easy pregnancy...below is a list of common experiences that most mothers-to-be go through. The ones highlighted are the ones I had a taste of:

Heart burn

Gas

Bleeding Gums

Varicose veins

Leg Cramps

Hemorrhoids

Fatigue

Constipation

Backache

Weight Gain

Sore Breasts

Sleeping Problems

Vaginitis

Water Retention

Sharp Pain in Groin

Moodiness

Headaches

Braxton-hicks Contractions

Morning Sickness

That puts me at 4/19 = about 20% -praise God for a smooth pregnancy!

Baby Shower

It is difficult to abandon my Chinese roots when it comes to adapting to a different culture. For example, ang pow is how people typically provide blessings to others (Chinese New Year, Birthdays, Weddings, etc) and having a new born in the family is no exception - money is accepted universally regardless what culture. The challenge then is to put aside this expectation when it comes to the Western culture since it is not the norm. Instead, typically, a baby shower is thrown by a close relative or a friend/co-worker to help the new mother-to-be with the overwhelming cost of baby items...I think most everyone know that anything for sale that has the word "baby" on it is already marked up 10times what it should really sell for. Example, a normal wash rag could cost you $0.50 each, but because its a baby wash rag suddenly its $10 for two. The problem with a shower is that most people tend to get you whatever they like (cute baby outfits, etc) as oppose to the unattractive practical items (diapers!) Regardless, I am thankful for Holly for going through the effort of throwing me a wonderful shower.

The wonderful hosts

A lot of effort went into the "pretend" nursery (which we will be borrowing for a while!!)

Winter helped with opening presents

Hand made gifts

Some cute outfits for Violet

Family came to support

Seems like a storm, rather than a shower!

Birthing Coach in our New Apartment

Caleb and I are finally reunited! It feels good to be sleeping in the same bed again, having our daily meals together, and working towards unity in our baby goals. Due to limited time, we didn't waste much time as soon as we moved back in together that we started getting busy...put the home together (out of boxes) and attended our first birthing class; the Bradley Birth. 

It was great to have family help us get settled in by moving all our junk, and then we took the next few weeks to slowly organize the home. Getting a 3bedroom apartment, even though costing more than a 2bedroom, was a great decision because I feel the freedom to roam in a spacious environment while I am working from home. Right now, the baby room is storing all our undealt-with-boxes but the rest of the home is functional (kitchen, living room, office and master bedroom) We bought me a computer desk from Craigslist so I have a workstation that is spacious and comfy. I am really liking the setup and enjoying the freedom of working from home. During work breaks, I can thaw/marinade meats for dinner-preparation, I can do some chores (laundry, dishes, etc) and personal care (facials!!) I wonder how my "schedule" will change when the baby comes. The best thing about working from home is the flexibility, yet currently I am working about 7am-4pm

The living room (waiting the arrival for our tv mount)..Caleb did a splendid job arranging the picture frames!

The Dining Room and Kitchen (the bar stools is too low for the breakfast bar :-/ )

Pantry (spacey!!) and Kitchen

Cozy master bedroom

Master bathroom (not attached to the master bedroom)

Laundry room, with space for kitchen appliances

Office/Guest room

We enrolled in a birthing class rather late in our pregnancy because it was hard to find weekend classes that would work for us while we were 5hours apart. Regardless, by God's grace, we landed with a very good birth class that is 12session long, supports natural birth, is physically located within 15min of our apartment, and we got a $200 discount!! (Classes typically range from $175-$300). We are learning lots and the best part is, the instructor is aware that we will have to miss the 2nd half of the lessons since Violet is due mid October, thus she is scheduling make-up private sessions...God is so good! The biggest thing I plan on getting out of the birthing class is preparing Caleb to be my birth coach (instead of hiring a doula, since the cost is not covered by insurance) Caleb has been wonderful - being supportive, very involved, catching up on reading (we bought the Husband-Coached Childbirth book) and encouraging me on my relaxation techniques, exercises and nutrition.