Week 13 news

This week is the last week of the 1st trimester and all I can say is thank God!

Second trimester is supposedly the "honeymoon" phase of the pregnancy, where you feel good, you'll eat better, and many of the discomforts will slowly dissipate. (having my fingers crossed) And most importantly, the chance of miscarriage significantly drops, which is the main concern for me and my dear husband. Losing the first baby to miscarriage last year took a toll on me physically and emotionally, and finally I can breathe a sigh of relief. One more week! 

This week I have noticed a completely new set of discomforts. Main one being my teeth. They feel like they're going to fall off. Literally. They feel they're weakened at the gums and whenever I brush my teeth, they feel as if they've been rattled to the point of falling off. WEIRD. Also, cramps, oh my cramps. I get cramps that are a combination of muscle spasms and period like cramps. They come and go, but mostly come and stay. I try to calm myself by reminding myself that it's just the uterus expanding, and the baby is fine. However, it does unnerve me quite a bit whenever I wake up with a clenching feeling down in my lower abdomen. So I did a bit of research, and this is what came up. 

Currently I am in week 13, which according to the research, is when I'm going to feel the most change in my uterus since it has completely come out of the pelvic cavity, and is going up higher into my abdomen. Around week 20, or according to the growth of my baby, I will have a full baby bump that sticks out at my belly button. As of now, I just feel really heavy down there, like when I'm pmsing, about to get my period, but this is a different kind of heaviness, and all I can hope for is that everything is going ok down there. 

And that's another thing too. I hate not knowing how my little fufu is doing inside me. I hate being in the dark and I even told my husband we should get a ultrasound machine at home. That is how frustrated I am not knowing. At least if I knew or saw some kind of a picture, it'll put me at ease. I don't know how women way back then did it. They didn't even have ultrasound back then, they just had to wait 10  months. Kudos and props to women back in the days. 

I have been VERY MOODY and CRANKY lately and the poor husband is getting the worst of it. It's so weird how I look at him and I hate him to his very core. I start yelling and screaming and biting his head off and I sometimes physically punch him or bite him. I am usually sensitive when I get my period, but this pregnancy has put me on a hormonal roller coaster and my husband gets abused. I warn him when I wake up, usually with a bitter remark, "I am cranky today so don't even start" -but the thing is he didn't even do anything, I just get cranky for no reason. Sorry, husband- hopefully it'll get better second trimester. 

Boobs have been hurting NONSTOP. Especially the nipples. Sometimes I will get this excruciating jolt from my armpit to the nipple, and it'll be like morse code but painful. Then it'll stop. One night, I woke up from my sleep because my boobs hurt so much. 

Maybe my body is on full mode bad symptoms for this last week of the first trimester before I enter my second trimester and start feeling better. For the peace of this family, and especially for my husband, I hope my hormones calm down a bit and I start feeling better in the second trimester. 

Keep us in your prayers and more news later!

week11 news

Our little fufu is now a size of a fig. How cute! :]
Since the last ultrasound, we were a bit shaken up with the thought of having issues with the NT, but the husband and I decided it is best to leave everything up to God and just not worry about it. 
Symptoms are pretty much the same, except the vomiting has increased to 3-4 times a day. It's really hard to gain weight with all the throwing up, but it's harder to keep it in when the puke is already in your mouth. Bleh. 
Husband thinks it's the baby's last hurrah before the morning sickness subsides and the appetite kicks back in. I'm not so sure; according to most medical websites, morning sickness should be subsiding starting week 11-12, and mostly gone by week 14 but... at this rate, I don't know.
Mom is a little discouraged to see me throw up despite her wonderful awesome cooking. She probably thought the morning sickness would go away if I get some home cooked meals. I love her cooking, but some ingredients make me throw up regardless of how good it is. Biggest culprits: green onions, garlic, cayenne pepper (고추가루) they make me puke no matter what. This is a big problem, since most korean foods require them as ingredients.... 

The coming doctor's appointment is this thursday. That's when we do our formal NT screening tests for the little fufu. We pray and trust in God that everything will turn out just the way it should be: perfect.

On a more disgusting note: if you have a weak stomach, do NOT proceed to read. 


Yesterday during breakfast, I was having my usual breakfast, fruits and nuts... when I switched my sitting position, and SPLAT! Something felt really wet and not right. I started gasping and exclaiming, oh oh oh! and I just had this ghastly look on my face. Mom thought I was having a miscarriage, but I knew. I kid you not, I shit my pants. 
This is by far the most horrific experience I had since being pregnant, and I still can't get over the trauma. Of course I cleaned myself up immediately after, thank God I was home, but I felt so nasty and humiliated. Mom was so relieved little fufu was fine, but I was mortified. I heard stories of pregnant women who couldn't control their bowels, so they ended up wetting or shitting themselves, but I had never in a million years thought I would shit my pants.... I guess I have to welcome myself to the club. YUCK. 
But, like my mom said, it's better to let it out then hold it in. I agree. I just have to be near a toilet. :]

Belly photos to come soon! Keep us in your prayers!

to poop or not to poop; that is the question

The title pretty much sums up my dilemma
The pregnancy hormones are definitely messing with my bowel movements and at times it gets to be very confusing.
Here is a little scenario to explain the situation.
I get up in the morning and my stomach is in excruciating pain. Then all these thoughts flash through my head... is there something wrong with the baby? Am I having a miscarriage? Is this part of morning sickness? What is happening? Then all of a sudden, 'pshhhhh' release of gas and I am relieved of the pain. Then I get up and start brushing my teeth when I get a second wave of pain. I try to fart, to no avail. I sit on the toilet, and believe me, I don't even try to squeeze anything out for the fear of passing the fetus...I know it has no scientific backing whatsoever, but when I had my miscarriage, I was pooping and squeezing for the life of me...THEN finally I feel my brown friends making their trip SLOWLY down the tunnel and PLOP they go into the bowl...
Then there are mornings when I have to run to the toilet because I almost miss it- yup diarrhea attacks... AND TWO TO THREE TIMES A DAY too! Dear Lord, I don't know what's worse, being constipated or having diarrhea... either way, every morning is a gamble for me, I don't know what surprises will await me each day regarding my trips to the bathroom.
I'm still having major morning sickness, and still have all the other symptoms, and all the research I do just point to one major factor; progesterone. Apparently the rise in the pregnancy hormone can mess up with your whole body, and boy does it mess with my body. Not only that, I get mood swings too, and it just doesn't really help with the situation. Oh and I've noticed I'm getting sunspots on my face! Again, research points to unbalanced hormone levels..
Sometimes I hate progesterone, but I have to love it, because it's the hormone that continues the pregnancy... so this love-hate relationship will probably go on until at least second trimester when I feel half decent and half human.
On a brighter note! We will be visiting the doctor for our second prenatal visit in a week, and we will get to see the little fufu again through ultrasound, and also get to hear his heartbeat for the first time through the doppler machine! Plus, mommy dearest is visiting to be the extra pair of helping hands, bless her soul. We can't wait for all the upcoming events, and the husband and I are always so thankful we have family supporting us. Can't wait!

Week 9 news

Today marks the beginning of week 9 for our little fufu

Every week something new happens, and here are couple of things that have happened so far

Onset of new symptoms: major backache.

Since I have been very cautious with this pregnancy, mostly I have stayed home, and laying down on the bed. Seemed to be working fine until my back started hurting really badly. Dear husband says: "Babe you are not young anymore; if you lay down for a long time, your back is going to hurt." I guess he was right, because yesterday, I tried to sit up as long as I could with a good posture, and we took Guinness (our dog) out for a walk for about 15 minutes. And voila, back didn't hurt when I woke up this morning!

Major headache/migraine

I blame this on the allergies I have. Since the days are cooler and it's turning into fall weather, my ever so sensitive sinuses have seriously kicked into full allergic mode. I have congestion up the wazoo and I can't breathe in the morning when I wake up. Which, in my opinion, cuts off oxygen to my head, and causing me to have these severe headaches, borderline migraines. Not only that, my eyes itch, I have sneeze attacks, and well, I'm already a mess from all the morning sickness, but then this just takes my state of being messy to a whole new level. Since I don't want to take any medication this pregnancy, I have resolved to home remedies: ice packs and tea. I drink peppermint tea, it clears up my sinuses and the ice pack just alleviates the headache.

Dizziness/lightheadedness

This only happens when I've been sitting down or laying down for a while and I get up. I try not to get up too abruptly, and I've had this head-rush before I was pregnant, but this dizziness is every single time when I get up. So my solution is, give myself a few seconds before fully standing, and standing up slowly. That seems to do the trick. Oh and when I take the first few steps, I don't rush into it, because that also makes me lightheaded.

gas....

I've always been a gassy person, even before pregnancy, but being pregnant takes it up a notch. So I've been a farting, burping, noise making machine. well, all I can say is, you gotta let it out.

cravings! (my favorite)

The cravings have started! This doesn't mean I can eat without throwing up or feeling nauseous; it just means I start thinking about certain foods that I'd never eat pre-pregnancy. For example. I hated fudgesicles- you know the popsicle that's chocolate? But I was craving it the other day and asked Dear husband to go get it for me and oh boy did it taste GOOD!

So here are the things that have been happening to us starting week 9. Belly photos will commence as soon as I look decent and have dear husband take them for me!

*update*

Belly photos week 9. Shirt over belly, and belly exposed...

I really think something of a pooch is coming out... no matter how hard I try, I can't suck that in!