PK at 35 Weeks

Today we went to see the doctor. From here on in, I'll be seeing him once a week. I hope that next week's appointment isn't like today's where we arrived on-time for our 3:30pm appointment, and ended up seeing him at 4:45pm. I'm just glad that I didn't book my appointment for first thing in the morning - the entire workday might have been a write-off!

In a nutshell, PK is doing just fine - still head-down. Not that I could tell from the ultrasound at this point. PK just looks like a big gray blob on the ultrasound these days, which I guess is to be expected. There's only so much that the little ultrasound probe can show at this point with PK being so big and all. I did ask him for a print-out of the ultrasound, however, and he provided me with one of PK's heart. I'm posting it up here, but I will warn you that you really can't tell that it's a heart on the picture.

I also got swabbed for Group B Strep (GBS). I'd done an initial GBS swab a few weeks back - when I was 25 weeks or so? I really can't remember. At any rate that swab came back positive. I'm not terribly optimistic about this one coming back negative, but if it DOES come back positive, I won't be distraught. These things happen. The good news is that there's treatment for it, so I'm not going to fret over it. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. :)

Week 34

PK has been getting squirmier and squirmier with each passing week. Usually I don't mind that, except when she pounds on my bladder. These days, it feels like I'm peeing every two seconds. It doesn't help that my water intake has significantly increased because I'm always thirsty these days. Nowadays, I plan my walking routes such that I know that I have a washroom along the way should I need one. Salvation! Apart from that, I don't normally get any rib jabs, except when I'm slouching in bed. I've been a bit disappointed with my posture throughout this pregnancy. I really haven't been sitting up straight on my chair or even when I stand up. Fortunately, I seem to have been spared chronic lower-back pain. *knock on wood*

Speaking of ailments, the foot-swelling still continues, though I think it's more or less at bay now. The only weird that that I've noticed is that my feet have been extra-sweaty these days. I normally don't have sweaty hands and feet. In fact, my hands and feet are always COLD, no matter what season! Okay, maybe not so much in the summertime. These days, however, my feet are always warm. To the point where I have trouble wearing shoes with socks for very long because I just feel so damned uncomfortable. Another thing I've noticed is that my hands have tended to swell a bit, especially when the weather is warm. Today we went for a nice long walk to the lake, and by the end of it, my hands were swollen to the point that it felt like I'd just finished a nice long climbing session. There was no way that I'd be able to yank my rings off my fingers without some soapy water. I think it was a combination of the heat and the fact that I was walking, having my hands down by my sides most of the time. I don't normally get swollen hands when I'm at the office, since I'm always typing. I hope that this swelling isn't a sign of pre-eclampsia. I'm guessing it's not, since my urine tests, blood pressure readings, and weight gain haven't been cause for alarm, so it's probably just one of those things. At any rate, I'll ask my doctor at my next visit just in case.

Since PK's arrival is not too far away, we decided this past weekend that we should get our act together and take care of getting some PK-related odds and ends. Given that nobody got us any big-ticket items from our baby registry, we just went ahead and bought those ourselves. Here's a list of our weekend spoils:

• A bathtub - With stand!
• A diaper bag - We decided to go with a backpack, since I find those shoulder bags rather uncomfortable. Besides, I wanted something that the hubby wouldn't be embarrassed about carrying around if he were alone with PK. :D
• A moulded change pad - It's made of a soft foamy-ish material kind of like what those wretched Crocs are made of
• A baby carrier - We got the Baby Trekker, since we've heard pretty good reviews about it and crappy reviews about the Baby Bjorn carrier.
• Bedding - We got this super-cute neutral-colored teddy bear-themed bedding. It cost us a bit too much though, since it was made of organic fibers.
• Burp pads
• A bottle sterilizer - We got the Born Free (BPA-free!) sterilizer to match our lovely set of Born Free glass bottles.
  

When we got home, we decided to wash the bulk of the baby clothes that we'd acquired to date, along with some bedding. We washed mostly onesies, toques, booties, burp pads, blankets, bedding, towels, and facecloths, and we still ended up doing two loads of laundry. I didn't bother with the larger clothes that we have for PK, since she won't be needing them quite so soon (they're for 6-months and onwards).

We also decided to clean up PK's room a bit. Ever since our baby shower, we've had boxes of things sitting off in the corner of the room. It was high time that we actually got around to setting things up. Major items of note: we have most of the bedding in place, and the hubby put together the bunny mobile that my mom had gotten us. It looks soooooooooo cute! :D

My next doctor's visit is next week, and since we're rapidly-approaching L-Day, the hubby and I have to get off our butts and come up with a birthplan...or at least tell our doctor that we want to have the baby au naturel. I really really hopes that he reacts in a supportive manner.

Speaking of L-Day, we finally booked a hospital tour, AND we found a pediatrician for PK. She's not located right downtown, but we can at least get to her by subway in about 15 minutes or so. She was referred to me by someone I met at a wedding who had a cute little four-month-old boy. It's nice to have someone's seal of approval like that. I was actually impressed by the fact that when the hubby called to see if she was taking new patients, she actually wanted to meet with us before PK was born to get to know us. I think that's so nice and so rare to see. We see her in a couple of weeks, so I'll likely write something up about that appointment.

Still on the to-do list is cord blood banking. It's a bit pricey, but better safe than sorry. We've done some reading on it, and it seems to be a worthwhile thing to do. My sister-in-law had it done, and we're most likely going with the same place that she went with her her little one. They charge about $1000 up-front, and then it's something like $100/yr to store the cord blood. Anything for a bit of peace of mind.

BTW, I'm still in denial about that pesky perineal massage. Okay...I'll start it at 35 weeks...I swear!


Bathtub


Crib with bunny mobile

Week 33

I had yet another doctor's appointment this week. Even though they're every 2 weeks now, I swear it feels like I'm there all the time. I don't mind so much, except for the fact that it takes me a friggin' hour to get there. Plus this one was earlier in the day (13:00h), so my entire afternoon of work was a write-off. He wanted to see me earlier in the day this time because he wanted to see me right after lunch, which apparently is a time when babies get squirmy in the womb. PK is squirmy ALL THE TIME, so it probably wouldn't have mattered so much. Anyway, the reason why he wanted PK to be extra-squirmy is because he wanted to check out my placenta. Apparently squirminess and placenta-measuring go hand-in-hand? At any rate, all was well on the placenta front, and PK is still favorably-positioned!

We even made it out of there at a good time! The only sucky thing is that when we left the doctor's office, we were greeted with a nasty thunderstorm (thunder, lightning, and pouring rain), so we had to wait out the storm for an hour or so before we could walk down to the subway station. By the time we got home, it was 4:30pm, and while I was tempted to call it a day, I VPNed into work and got about 3 hours of work done to make up for the lost time in the afternoon. Not that I'm complaining. I enjoy my work enough to WANT to work those 3 hours from home, so no biggie.

In other pregnancy news, my non-sciatica butt pains seem to be at bay now (maybe all that squatting practice and Yoga stuff I'm doing is finally sticking!), but it has been replaced by foot swelling. Most of the time it doesn't bug me, because my shoes aren't all that tight, but sometimes I do feel it. My legs are a bit swollen as well, mostly on my calves. I notice it most when I get up from my desk to walk, as they feel pretty stiff. Fortunately, I've got a box under my desk that I prop my feet on, so I think that it could be worse. One other thing that helps is time spent in the pool - both at aqua-fitness and mooching off of my parents' pool on weekends. :D

I've noticed a bit of hand swelling as well, especially when the weather is warm or when I walk a lot. It's not so bad during the day because my hands are elevated. It has been significantly better now that the weather has cooled off somewhat (i.e. 25C vs. 35C + humidity), though I notice that my left pinky (where my iron ring resides) still seems to suffer a bit.

The breathlessness that I was complaining about last time is still prevalent, though at this point, I've just accepted it. I'm still winded is hell whenever I go up a flight of stairs, though walking isn't so bad. The fatigue is definitely hitting me most during meetings, where, if I'm not actively participating, I just find myself feeling lethargic and wanting to doze off. Unfortunately, I think it'll only get worse before it gets better. Fortunately, since I DO actively participate in most meetings, I never quite fall asleep when the topic shifts away from my area of expertise/interest.

On the kitchen front, we are at a bit of a lull right now. Although our carpenter told us that the counters would be arriving 2 weeks after templating, our project manager said that it would be more like 4 weeks from the time of templating. While the 4 weeks is in line with the estimate that we were originally given, I really really was hoping that the counters would come sooner. That puts our counter ETA at around July 16th, and if all goes well (*knock on wood*), then they have another weeks' worth of work (hopefully less) to do odds and ends like install sinks, the toilet, and appliances. And after that, the hubby and I have the lovely task of cleaning cabinets, moving things back from our basement to the kitchen, and getting the house in order from its current state of chaos. For now, however, we are sitting ducks. Waiting sucks. I just hope that PK doesn't arrive before the kitchen is done.

And now, for the topic that I've been dreading for the last few weeks - the perineal massage. I think I'm at the point where I have to just take the plunge and do it, but I really really don't want to. First off, I hear that it hurts. Secondly, I really really don't want my fingers to be anywhere down there, thank-you very much. At the same time, the prospect of tearing during labor or being given an episiotomy (though the latter doesn't happen as much) do not tickle my fancy, so I guess I need to suck it up and just do it. Bleh.

Week 28

Although I look more pregnant this week, I'm always surprised by how many people look at me and say that I look small for being 6 months pregnant. I guess one of these days I should post an updated photo so you can judge for yourself. I'm still not experiencing any issues with balance that I hear so many pregnant women complain about.

I am, however, starting to experience swollen feet. At least I think they're swollen. I bought a pair of slip-ons about 2 months ago or so, and they were a bit large on me when I first bought them, and now they fit pretty snugly. I'm guessing that it's due to swelling. As long as my feet don't swell so much that I can't fit into my shoes, I'm totally okay with it. Another thing that's new to me is a tightness that I feel on my calves. I actually think that they're swelling too. I find that sometimes after I sit for a while, they feel rather stiff, and I have to shake them out.

Another wonderful side-effect of 3rd trimester is that I find that my arms seem to fall asleep a lot more easily than they did before. I get that pesky pins and needles sensation that requires a bit of shaking to get rid of.

I swear that throughout my entire pregnancy, just when I've adapted to one thing, some new sensation/ailment comes along which takes me by surprise and requires me to adapt once again. I guess that's the way it rolls. As long as the surprise isn't too huge, I can live with it.

Speaking of surprises, I was in for a big one last week, when I went to see my new OB. After the epicly-long appointment with my new OB last week, the hubby and I decided to hit McDonald's for milkshakes. I've pretty much sworn off McDonald's except for ice-cream, and breakfast. We always hit McDonald's for breakfast on ultrasound day because there's one right beside the lab where I get my early-morning ultrasounds done (granted, I feel guilty every time I go there for breakfast). Anyway, I digress. So we'd just gotten our milkshakes from McDonald's and started walking back towards the subway station, when I get a call from the OB's office. Apparently my glucos challenge test results had come in, and I was JUST above the cut-off. The cut-off for that test is 7.8, and my results came in at 8.1. This meant that they wanted to schedule me for the 3-hour glucose tolerance test. Ugh. I don't mind drinking the sugary Orange Fanta drink, but sitting in a lab for 3 hours is not my idea of fun. Ugh.

Other than the glucose test, I went on yet another maternity clothes shopping trip. I've pretty much decided that I won't be buying any more long-sleeve shirts for the rest of the season, in spite of the fact that it has been rather cold in Toronto lately. Summer clothes, however, are still on the table. I'd like to think that the weather will warm up relatively soon, and therefore I would like to have a decent summer wardrobe.

Although I love the stuff at Rhonda Maternity, it IS on the expensive side. So I decided to go to Thyme Maternity. They've got decent selection AND I had a $50 discount card that I got with my last purchase there. Bonus! I ended up buying more items than I'd planned on buying, but I'm betting on the fact that I will get more wear out of these clothes.

The only thing that totally bugs me about Thyme Maternity is when I go to pay for my clothes. First, they try to make me fill out some ballot for free baby stuff. I don't need some crappy package of baby products that I will probably not even use - especially since we're going for the enviro-friendly Seventh-Generation products that we can get at Whole Foods and Grassroots. After passing that hurdle, I am always asked whether or not I want to be put on their list. I politely tell them "No, thank-you." Usually they're not pushy, but one time I was at Thyme Maternity, the cashier told me that I had to give them my address so that they could put me in their system. I knew that this was bullcrap, and I called her on it. She finally left me alone. I really hate it when stores push you to give them your address - ESPECIALLY when I know that they can't force you to provide you with that information.

So two hurdles down. One more to go. Next I was asked if I wanted the anti-stretch-mark cream that they sell. I'd been thinking of getting some of that stuff anyway, so I took the bait. Then I was told that if I bought two bottles of the cream, I'd get the third one for free. The one bottle was already $20 and I had no idea if it was even any good, so why the hell would I spend $40 on TWO bottles just to get the third one free??? Thanks, but no thanks.

Three hurdles later, I was finally able to pay for my merchandise. At least they didn't bug me when I told them that I didn't want a bag and that I didn't want my clothes wrapped in tissue paper. Bleh. I really like the clothes at Thyme Maternity, but their employees really need to work on being less pushy.

The Name Game

People keep asking me if we've come up with any names for the baby. The answer is yes and no. We started looking at names when I was at 12 weeks. The boy names came really easily. I suggested 2 names, and the hubby took to them immediately. No questions asked. My top name was his top name. Easy peasy! The girl names, on the other hand, have been tougher. Our initial brainstorming session did yield an initial short list of girl names; however, none of the names we came up with tickled my fancy the way the boy names did. I didn't worry too much, since I was pretty convinced that PK would be a boy. It turns out, however, that PK is a girl, according to two different medical professionals.

Since I wasn't totally satisfied with our initial list of girl names, it was back to square one. We tried baby name sites. We bought a book. Let me tell you - there are A LOT of weird names out there. I definitely think it's cool to have an original and/or unusual name, but within reason. Parents-to-be need to realize that kids can be evil little brats and they'll pick on other kids over ANYTHING, including a name. So Apple, beware of playground bullies. If you get beat up, blame mommy Gwenyth Paltrow. (What was she thinking?!)

I am also opposed to weird name spellings. If you want to be original, at least pick an exotic name. And by exotic, I mean a person's name that exists from another culture, not some made-up crap name that will get your kid beat up in the schoolyard (see previous paragraph).

I was born in Brazil, and I thought it would be cool to have a Portuguese name. Unfortunately, most Portuguese names, to me, sound dorky, especially when you anglicize them. Compounded with the fact that the hubby is of Scottish and British descent (as WASPy as it gets!), I can't even imagine what it would be like for him to try to pronounce (let alone spell) a Portuguese name. My own name anglicizes nicely, so the hubby has no trouble with spelling and pronounciation. :P

I'd also considered French names, but that puts us in the same pickle as the Portuguese names. I also thought that a Shakespearean name would be neat, but I haven't encountered a Shakespearean girl name that is the "it" name.

I really like the name Ariel, but the hubby says it reminds him of the character in "The Little Mermaid". Too bad. It's one of my favorites. I also like the name Aïda (as in title character in the Verdi opera), but the hubby thinks it's too weird. Too bad. I loooooooooove the umlaut! Pooh on him. :P I would also love a name with an accent. I think the name Padmé is cool because of the accent, but the kid would NEVER live down the "Star Wars" reference. That's up there with Nicholas Cage naming his kid Kal-El. Oy...

We did finally come up with a short list of girl names (around 3 or 5 names), though I think that it has been narrowed to two candidates. They are easy to spell and easy to pronounce. They are Anglo-ish names, which is probably good, given the hubby's super-WASPy last name. :P The problem? We both like both names; however, he really likes one name, and I really like the other.

Now in case you're wondering, I'm not sharing names until showtime. I got the idea from my sister-in-law. She and her husband did that when they were expecting their first child, and I think it worked out well. EVERYONE has an opinion about names, and some people can be quite adamant about it. We definitely don't need that right now. Unfortunately, when we told family that we weren't sharing our baby names, I got some serious lip service from my side of the family. My mom and my sister both said something along the lines of, "But why wouldn't you tell ME?", and my grandmother is completely disturbed by the fact that we don't have a name for the baby, and she doesn't know what to call it. I would've told her about the PK nickname, but try explaining that to a 75-year-old Brazilian lady. Not easy.

I did cave and tell my mom the boy name, but it was after we'd found out that we were having a girl, so no danger. Even so, I got so much criticism for that one name, that I'm really glad that I didn't reveal the girl name. Besides, I think that the hubby would not have been too pleased about that one. I think that part of the reason why we won't quite settle on a girl name is to stave off prying family members. If we don't pick a name, we don't have to tell them that we've picked one but aren't telling. I guess we've picked two but aren't telling, but oh well. :P In the meantime, I get name suggestions from my mom and my grandmother every so often. I smile and nod. I love my mom and my grandmother, but it's our decision, not theirs.

As for the middle name, THAT was easy. Call me weird, but I don't like middle names, which is pretty funny considering that the hubby goes by his middle name (big long story around that one). My aversion to middle names might be an upbringing/cultural thing. In Brazilian culture, the child's middle name is the same as the mother's maiden name. I guess it's more like a surname than a middle name, really. At any rate, I told the hubby that I would like PK's middle name to be my maiden name, and he agreed. (Did he really have a choice? :P) So I guess in the end we get the best of both worlds. I retain a bit of my culture, and PK ends up with a North American name that the hubby can both spell and pronounce.

Baby Sounds

Today we FINALLY made it to Babies R Us for our baby registry (in spite of the fact that the a-holes from the TTC decided to strike with NO NOTICE WHATSOEVER). While we were there, we picked up a device called the Summer Heart-to-Heart Prenatal Listening System. This neat little device straps onto your belly and lets you attach two sets of headphones to listen to your baby's heartbeat and movement. For $30, I figured, what the heck. Worst-case, the thing ends up not working. I figured it was a small price to pay for the ability to hear PK's movements.

When we got home, I anxiously hooked it up, and lo and behold, the darn thing actually works! I even managed to record the sounds directly to my computer. Disclaimer: the recording doesn't really do it justice, but still, a souvenir is a souvenir. I took two recordings. The first one is of PK's heartbeat. It's faint and you'll have to jack up the volume on your computer, but it's there. The second one I managed to take while PK was kicking like mad. You can make out the heartbeat too, but the kicks are the highlight. You'll know that you're listening to the kicks when you hear a staticky thump. Enjoy!

PK Heartbeat
PK Kicking

Belly Games

Last night, PK was kicking like mad. I wanted to share the vigorous kicking with the hubby, so I plopped his hand on my belly and we just sat there on the couch while she kicked. Needless to say, it was entertaining. To add to it, he decided to poke my belly (gently, mind you), and to our surprise - and extreme amusement - PK poked right back! So cute! It was like we were bonding as a family. Awwwwwwwww...

This reminds me of something I saw this past weekend. On Sunday the hubby and I decided to take a nice long walk downtown (it was really really nice outside). We passed the ROM during our walk, and I remember seeing a man, a woman, and their baby, sitting by the steps. The man and woman were sitting side-by-side, and the baby was facing them in a stroller. What amused me was the fact that the man and woman were just staring at their baby, completely mesmerized and completely oblivious to their surroundings. It made me think back to when my niece was born. She was such a novelty, even as a newborn who didn't do much other than wriggle and writhe around. Yet, we could've just sat there for hours, staring at her take in the world. I guess that's what it was like for this young couple.

The Baby Room

This past weekend, we finally decided to tidy up the mess of boxes in PK's room. When we moved into our house, we knew that our spare bedroom would be used for our potential kid (PK :D), so we left it empty until just after my first trimester. That was when we slowly started filling the room with clothes, stuffed animals, and books. In the last few weeks, we've added on a playpen, our beloved Bugaboo Bee stroller, and the car seat, all sitting pretty in their boxes. That is, until yesterday.

It all began on Saturday, when we ventured out to Ikea to look for a mirror and light fixture for our downstairs washroom (which is being re-done as part of our kitchen renovations). Finding the mirror and light fixture was a dud (though we've discovered a lot of tacky crap out there), but we did come out of the store with area rug and a bookcase for PK's room.

We decided to put the bookcase together on Sunday because after spending a couple of hours at Ikea, we were spent. Ikea is always a zoo, especially on weekends, and always sucks the life out of me.

Putting together the bookcase is a one-person job, so I let the hubby take care of that while I worked on the Bugaboo. The only assembly required for the Bugaboo was to pop in the 2 front wheels and that was that. The real tough part was in trying to figure out how to collapse and un-collapse the Bugaboo. It took me a while (and nearly hurling the damned thing out the window), but now I've got it all figured out. PK will be a very mobile city baby. :P

Even though we still don't have our glider and the rest of our furniture in the room (hopefully in the next month or 2), the room is looking more like a baby's room now that the bookcase is up.

A few people have asked me if we're going to go with a themed baby room. The answer is no. Themed rooms don't tickle my fancy. Babies are too young to care either way, so I figure I might as well save Future Me and Future Hubby some time by going with a non-themed white-walled room. Even our furniture was picked under the premise that most of it will stay with PK until she goes off to university. I guess some people dig the themed room and view it as part of being part of the whole experience. Hey, if that tickles their fancy, then so be it. If we were all the same, life would be mighty boring, wouldn't it?

And now, without further ado, here are some pictures of PK's room (a work in progress). More pictures to follow as our furniture comes in. :)


The Hubby hard at work


The Bugaboo Bee!


Pile 'o Stuff


The Finished Product 1


The Finished Product 2

Beatlemania

So it looks like PK is a Beatles fan. She was pounding away at my belly this evening as I caught up on blog posts and listened to the Beatles "Help!" album. Like mother, like daughter. As long as she isn't into Springsteen like her daddy... ;-)

Kickity Kickity

As I mentioned in last week's post, PK has recently started kicking! It has been a really cool experience, so I've decided to dedicate an entire post to this. Ever since the first trimester ickiness went away, I felt like I've been in a bit of a holding pattern, since, apart from the ultrasounds and my growing belly, I haven't really had any other signs of life from my little lodger down there. I found this really disconcerting, because I had to wait at least 3 weeks between ultrasounds to make sure that PK was okay. What if something was wrong? There was no way for me to know. No kicks to count. No nausea or vomiting or fatigue. So how did I know? Then the kicking started. As I'd mentioned before, it was a little difficult at first to differentiate between kicks and gas. I think I've gotten to the point where I can finally make this distinction.

The kicks are a really odd sensation. They almost feel like someone sitting in a balloon and punching it from the inside. At least that's how I'd envision it if I were trapped in a balloon. :P One thing I've discovered is that PK has a bit of a kicking schedule. She usually goes into a kicking frenzy in the morning, usually when I get to work. She also kicks a bit at lunchtime and a bit at dinnertime (I guess she likes it when I eat). Most of the action seems to happen at night though, at 9 or 10pm. Up until recently, PK has been kicking around my lower abdomen, and usually in the same general area. This has been great because the hubby has been able to feel some of the kicks. He really seems to enjoy that. Sometimes we just sit around on the couch with his hand on my tummy when PK is most active, and just enjoy the baby's kicks. It's a really neat experience.

I also enjoy the kicking when I'm at work. It's like I have company while I'm working, so it gets a little less lonely. Sure, I like to MSN when I'm at work, but it's a different sort of company. It's Take Your Kids to Work Day, at a whole new level.

Of course, it wouldn't be me if I didn't say that this kicking thing brings along with it a whole new set of worries. I think I spent most of last Saturday a bit on edge, because I couldn't feel much PK kicking during the day, not even in the morning when she tends to be frisky. That of course freaked me out. It freaked me out even moreso because I had big-time gas, and was annoyed that the gas bubbles bursting in my abdomen were keeping me from detecting the baby kicks, or had me thinking that they were baby kicks. Then I started thinking, "What if PK didn't kick enough times today? I don't have my doctor's after-hours number. I haven't been referred to the downtown hospital yet. Why won't he refer me downtown? Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" I calmed myself down a bit as I felt what seemed to be PK kicks, but couldn't be sure because they weren't repeatable (usually they are).

All of this tension in my mind was somewhat relieved when the gas cleared at night (after an entire day of this nuisance). I also decided to do a nighttime workout (10pm), and PK seemed to enjoy that, because right after I was done, I got a real flurry of kicks. Whew! I know...I just can't enjoy a good thing, right?

Today PK is kicking at my cervix, which feels really odd - kind of like a reverse Kegel. It's neat to take note of how she moves around down there. Of course, for all I know, it's not a kick, and is in actual fact a punch or some combination thereof. Perhaps I have a little boxer on the way? Or maybe they are predominantly kicks, and I've got a future soccer player. It would sure make the motherland proud!

Drum Roll Please - And the Gender Is...

Today I went for my 19-week ultrasound (week 19 started today). As per usual, I was lectured for not drinking enough water. I just mumbled and said that I puked out my water this morning and that's why my bladder wasn't full. It was a partial truth, because, just as we were heading out the door this morning, I did get the urge to puke. Since my stomach was pretty much empty, however, there really wasn't much to hurl out.

At any rate, my lack of water consumption didn't stop the technician from seeing the baby properly, so I don't know what all the fuss is about. Well, okay - the technician DID say that drinking water allows her measure the distance from the cervix to the placenta. This logic still leaves me confused because she did a transvaginal ultrasound, and the whole purpose of doing that one was to make sure that everything was cool in cervix-land. But whatever. I have to come back in 2 weeks because she wasn't able to measure the spine properly. We could actually see it on the monitor, but I guess PK was lying with its front to us, so I'm guessing that it didn't yield the best results for measuring whatever it was she had to measure.

Other than those two little blips, the overall experience was pretty cool. First off, PK is quite bigger now, and it's moving A LOT! It was squirming so much that the technician had a hard time getting good still shots of the limbs. Although I couldn't see it myself, she was able to identify 5 fingers on each hand (not sure if she counted toes, but hopefully she did!) and nostrils! The heart was definitely more visible this time. The little gray blip that I saw in early December has sure come a long way! I think I could actually see chambers! The other cool thing (as I'd mentioned before) was the spine. You could totally make it out properly.

Of course, THE highlight of the whole thing is that the technician was able to tell me the sex of the baby. Mind you, as far as these things go, it's all based on whether or not you can see male bits 'n pieces, so there's always a chance of it being wrong. Still, I wanted to know! If I haven't already told you in person (or via my Facebook or MSN status), maybe the suspense is killing you. :P

Okay, so here goes...PK is a girl! That was a BIG shock to me, because I was CONVINCED that PK was a boy. Either one would've worked for me. Though I have to admit that girl baby clothes and furniture is waaaaaaaaaaay cuter than the boy stuff. That being said, boys have WAY cooler toys than girls do. Not that this gender stigma will prevent me from buying Transformers for PK. Tee hee... Of course, the only snag is that we had the perfect boy name picked out, but were a bit on the fence on the girl names. Time to re-evaluate. Those baby naming sites, while plentiful, sure are a lot to digest. I'll leave that discussion for another place and time.

PK FAQ

I've gotten enough of the same PK questions that it warrants an FAQ. So here I go...

1. Why do you refer to your baby as PK?
When the hubby and I first got married, we were completely adverse to having kids. As the years went on, our aversion faded, especially with the birth of our niece. We began talking about when we'd someday have a kid. It became a bit cumbersome to say, "If we have a kid someday", so we started talking about the Potential Kid, or PK. That made family planning conversations a bit easier, for example, "If PK comes along..." :)

Nowadays, friends and family keep asking us why we still refer to it as PK instead of AK (actual kid). Sorry, we're not changing it. Sure, it makes no logical sense - I'll give them that. We've always referred to it as PK, so it would just be weird to refer to it as anything else. That is, until PK is born. I think our kid will already have a bit of a complex knowing that PK sounds like an insult/swear in Cantonese. I wouldn't want the kid further having a complex because we call it PK after birth. Never fear. we'll be sure to refer to PK by its actual name when the time comes. So no, we're not changing it from PK to AK or KOW (kid on the way) or whatever other witty acronym you can think of. That's not the way it works. :)

2. When are you due?
I'm due early August, though my mom is convinced that PK will pop out on July 31st. She has a 6th sense, so who knows - she may be right on this one.

3. Was it planned?
If you knew me in high school or even university or shortly after getting married, you'd know that I never wanted kids, and neither did the hubby. But it all changed after the hubby's sister had a daughter. The idea of a kid grew on us, and after almost 5 years of marriage, we decided to take the plunge into parenthood. Basically, if you are a close friend and you asked that question, I'd totally get it. I think we shocked many friends when we told them that I was pregnant, and rightfully so.

Now, if you're a perfect stranger and you ask me this question, I find it both weird and rude. What business is it of yours if my pregnancy is planned? And for the record, in case it wasn't clear the first time, it most certainly was planned.

4. Are you going to find out the sex?
I know this is a common question, but it really really annoys me for some reason. Maybe because I've gotten it SO MANY TIMES! To answer the question, yes, we are going to find out the sex. It's really annoying to try to buy baby clothes without knowing the sex. There's only so far that green, yellow, and off-white will go. Besides, most of the really cute stuff has boy or girl prints on it. We will find out the sex on March 13th. Hopefully I'll get a new photo from the ultrasound to post on this site.

5. So you're taking a year off, right?
For more details on that one, check out my maternity leave post. In a nutshell, I'm not taking a full year off, and if I hear one more person with their opinion on why this is a bad idea, I will scream.

6. You drive a Civic. Surely you're buying a new car?
I never understood why having one kid justifies the purchase of a minivan or an SUV. Are you carrying the kid's entire bedroom with you? Sheesh. It's not like you're taking a bloody roadtrip with the kid every time you go out. If we were to take PK on a roadtrip, we would rent a minivan in that case. But for day-to-day city living, I hardly see how we could possibly justify a gas-guzzling monster car. The most we'd do would be to get a Volvo station wagon, as long as a) it didn't look tacky and b) didn't guzzle too much gas. I've had friends try to convince me to buy a crossover SUV. I love how car manufacturers are now prefixing SUV with "crossover" to dupe the gullible masses into thinking that somehow a crossover is better. Total horse pucky. Save the Earth and stop buying bigger cars than you need!

Okay, so I'm just a tad annoyed by a few things. I am pregnant and hormonal after all...I'm allowed. :)

Scarred Child

So I found out recently from one of my Chinese friends that PK - not the letters themselves, but sound made by pronouncing the two letters together in English - actually sounds like a Chinese word or expression (I'm assuming Cantonese since my friend is from HK) that essentially means to fall on one's face. Apparently it's used to tell someone off, like "go take a short walk off a long pier" (or, more appropriately, "go *bleep* yourself).

At any rate, I got a jolly good laugh out of it. It just goes to show that you never know if something that sounds so perfectly innocent in English will turn out to be incredibly insulting (or maybe even humorous!) in another language.

I'm sure when PK is old enough, he or she will get a good laugh out of it. Or perhaps when PK is in his/her teens, he/she will be completely embarrassed by the fact that

a) I kept a blog on the WWW sharing details of my pregnancy with whomever wants to read about it
b) I referred to him/her as PK, which may get him/her made fun of by his/her friends

Wow, I'm getting tired of referring to PK as he/she, him/her. Can I just refer to PK as "it" until I know the sex? Maybe that will add to more embarrassment later in life too...

Or maybe if I'm lucky, PK will inherit my sense of humor, which, in my humble opinion, is by far the world's greatest sense of humor. :)

Snapshot

Today I had yet another ultrasound. I think this was #3. After the trauma of my first ultrasound, whereby I had to pee so badly that I thought I was going to explode right then and there on the examination table, I decided to pace myself with the water-drinking business. Unfortunately, I paced myself too much, and even though I'd started drinking a bit of water 2 hours before my appointment, I didn't start drinking the loads of water that I needed until about 15 minutes before the appointment. Needless to say, my bladder didn't feel all that full. And I couldn't fool the ultrasound technician either! She had enough experience to a) see that my bladder was near empty and b) suspect that I didn't stop drinking water until very close to my appointment. BUSTED!

Alas, there is a happy ending to this story. In spite of my lack of water intake, she was still able to get a snapshot of junior. Thank goodness, because I was not looking forward to chugging a whole whackload of water. The cool thing about this ultrasound is that at this stage, PK had visible arms and legs, and even hands and feet! Not only that, she gave us a picture to take home! So, without further ado, behold PK's Internet début:

Who is PK?

So here's the deal: when the hubby and I first got married, we were completely adverse to having kids. As the years went on, our aversion faded, especially with the birth of our nieces. We began talking about when we'd someday have a kid, and that became the Potential Kid, or PK. :)