Pregnancy 22 weeks

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Helen10

Thanks for everyone’s well wishes and prayers! I really appreciate it!

Just updating the pregnancy at 22 weeks. So far, my bleeding has stopped. I last spotted sometime at 19 weeks, so I’m completely free of bleeding now which I am taking as a good sign! I know that I still have the hematomas though, so am continuing to take it easy. But from what I have researched, no bleeding is a very good sign! Also, the cramping has eased quite a bit the past couple weeks. I do start cramping if I overdo it, but otherwise my uterus feels less irritated and more calm. I’m feeling good and less stressed over preterm labor – although I still need to keep an eye on things.

I’m not on bedrest, but I’m told to take it easy and no carrying over 10lbs etc. So, I actually went to a birthday event in a wheelchair last week. We were at Fairytale Town, and it would be too much of a walk for me, so I was in a wheelchair so that I could be part of the kid festivities. That was weird being wheeled around everywhere! The day before we went to the mall in the wheelchair and I bought a few girl clothing. Oh my goodness! There is so much of a selection, and sooo cute!! I’m kind of excited about the dressing up part of the baby. hahaah! I mean, it was fun dressing up Will too and I like buying him clothes too, but there is something about dressing up a girl. So many options!! hehe!

Anyway, this already feels like such a long pregnancy! Because I’m so immobile, I’m gaining weight super fast. I can’t imagine growing bigger than I am for another 15 weeks! But I will feel blessed to make it full term since even healthy babies you worry about different things and stress with random mommy worries. I just know with a preemie baby, I’ll be a nervous wreck… so hoping I go full term so I can be less of a nervous mommy. hehe:)

At 22 weeks, L&D will take me in if I were to go into preterm labor and possibly try to stop it. That’s one good thing about hitting this mark. 24 weeks is when they would actually deliver a baby and try to keep the baby alive (so nuts how early they can be born)… 28 weeks they tend to have a better chance… 30-35 weeks even better chances. I make these small mental goals in my head. 22 weeks was my first one, my next goal is 24 weeks, the one after that will be 28 weeks… then 32… then 35… and at 37 weeks I am GOING TO THE MALL AND WALKING FOR HOURS… which will probably put me in labor early. But if I’m going to have another c-section I want to be able to have at least one day where I can be FREE and walk and do what I want!!:) So, right now – end goal is 37 weeks… but if baby makes it to 39 weeks, even better. See? Longest pregnancy ever!!! But, hopefully we will have a healthy baby girl in our arms soon:).

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Subchorionc Hemorrhage – Pregnancy 20 weeks

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Helen10

I’m 20 weeks pregnant. Yay! I’m halfway through! I’m ready for the rest of the pregnancy to fly by and for me to meet this little one!:) I’m praying that I go full term!

So, we found out we are having a little…

GIRL!!

It’s funny how perspectives change once you go through a miscarriage though. Greg and I had tried for a girl late last year and that ended in baby not developing. So this next time, I realized all I wanted was a healthy baby/sibling for William. I just wanted Will to have someone to play with, whether boy or girl… just healthy! But, now that we found out we are having a girl, it is pretty exciting! After 5 grandsons (and no granddaughters) on the Hiroshima side of the family, this will be a new and fun experience:).

So far this pregnancy has been a tough one. 2 weeks ago, I was put on bedrest after I had a huge bleeding episode (soaked 2 pads the first hour, and 1 pad an hour the next 2) before having to go to the ER per doctor’s orders to make sure I wasn’t losing too much blood. Luckily, I had bought a handheld doppler this pregnancy (to listen to baby’s heartbeat), and I pulled that out when I started bleeding and could tell baby was OK because I found her heartbeat. Then when I was in the ER, they did an ultrasound, and everything with the baby looked good and they labeled me a threatened abortion… pretty much had to go on bedrest through the weekend, and “take it easy”… which is still what I’m doing right now. The bleeding was from my subchorionic hemorrhage, after the hematoma I had either burst or I had fresh bleeding.

I had my level II u/s this past week, and the perinatologist saw that I had 2 hematomas now instead of 1. Size wise, it looked narrow at 1cm, but I could see them measuring between 4-6-8 cm for the width, so I think I have 2 pretty sizeable ones. At this point there isn’t anything they can do except wait for it to resolve on its own. Prognosis is good in that most do resolve, but I did read SCH in 2nd trimester is a little more dicey in that it can weaken the water sac, and cause premature break of the water. Or the blood can be an irritant and cause preterm labor (both ob and peri confirmed this). I’m keeping an eye out for those signs. I have been cramping a lot when I stand for more than 5 minutes, so even though I’m not on bedrest, I’m taking it easy and listening to my body. If I’m cramping, I sit down until it subsides. It’s been tough in that I haven’t been going out of the house that much the past couple of weeks. Grocery shopping is too much activity for me since I’m standing for more than 5 minutes… so I actually rode one of those electric carts around Target a few days ago. I was grateful I had that to shop around the store. Will was walking beside me with Greg, and it was a nice day out.

Anyway, just a quick update on me. I’m trying not to go too stir crazy “resting”… but I am trying to look at the big picture. A few months of this and keeping baby nice and baking inside me is so worth a few months of me just sitting on my butt and doing nothing and getting large in the process! It’s actually tough to be so limited, but just praying that I go full term and all will be well:). Will continue to update!

Just a few pics below!

Will and harmuni and harabuji!

Picking a dandelion

and blowing at it!

And finally – the boys on Easter Sunday. They had a great time on the Easter hunt and running around the property. It was a beautiful day!

Thanks for the matching shirts, Bachan! XOXO!

 

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Pregnancy week 17

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Helen10

So, I’m 17 weeks tomorrow based on my last monthly period. Baby was measuring ahead at my NT scan by about 5 days, so they adjusted my due date from September 4th to August 31 (which would put me at 17 and half weeks). I have my OB appointment this week, and will be asking her to keep it on September 4th though since I’m pretty regular with my dates. I think maybe baby just had a growth spurt when we measured? I dunno! But, if I go for a repeat c-section, they’ll probably schedule me in for 39 weeks, and I would rather do 39 weeks with a September 4th due date than the August 31 due date. We shall see.

So, I was considering a VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean) because recovery time is supposed to be better, and I like the idea that I don’t have to wait over 6 weeks in order to carry Will (I can’t do heavy lifting for at least 6 week). But, to be honest… VBAC scares me to death. C-section also scares me because I really don’t like the idea of being cut open again, but I dunno… I’m just torn right now. I’m leaning towards RCS though (Repeat C-section). I told a few people about my VBAC thoughts and a few of them have called me nuts and told me to just go for RCS. hehe! We’ll see:).

For this pregnancy, just to kind of list my symptoms. It’s been different than with Will because I wasn’t hardly sick at all with his pregnancy. This one, I felt wiped out and did not feel well the first trimester. And even at 17 weeks, I still have random moments where I’m just feeling tired and not totally myself. But the morning sickness has definitely waned though.

Also, I got my 1st trimester results back and I’m 1 in 2000 risk for Trisomy 21 (down syndrome) and 1 in 31,000 risk for Trisomy 18. This is very different from the results I got from Will. For him, I got 1 in 89 for down syndrome, and ended up getting an amnio after a few weeks of “what ifs” and needing to know definitively. Everything ended up coming back negative and I was able to relax for the rest of the pregnancy. For this one, the odds came back so well so definitely not going the invasive testing route. It’s definitely a different pregnancy overall:).

We are curious what we are going to have!:) When we find out, thinking we will do something fun to let our family know. Will keep you posted on that.

An u/s picture below of baby 2 :) … can’t wait to meet him/her! I hope baby is as easy as Will! Will prays for baby every night. We pray for all our family and friends who need prayers, and he prays for “baby in mommy tummy” as he calls it… absolutely love being parents right now, and really are looking forward to number 2. We just want a healthy baby, and we are grateful so far things are looking good!

Hi everyone!

 

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hehehe

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Helen10

For anyone that’s ever slept with their kid in bed… “H is for Hell” is so funny! Been there.

Will has been sleeping well for the nanny, and daddy when they put him to sleep. When I’m around or I’m putting him to sleep, it’s automatic “mommy room!!!” and I’ve had to fall asleep with him in bed, and then transfer him. Everyone else can get him to sleep in his bed except me. I think he knows I’m tired and I’m not going to fight it… so he makes the most of it. LOL! There are times when Greg and I have laid down with him in our bed, and we end up falling asleep for the night… therefore totally relate to the above. I know co-sleeping is a no-no for a lot of families these days, but I love it when it happens! I remember some really great moments when sleeping with my parents too. It’s so comforting. We’re not letting Will take over our bed either, just sometimes (especially when sick), we let him sleep with us, and it’s really cozy and nice:).

Anyway, thought the above was funny!

 

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Into the 2nd trimester

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Helen10

This pregnancy has been pretty different from Will’s pregnancy. With Will, I was sick for maybe one day, and was tired for the first few weeks in the first trimester. Felt great otherwise and barely felt even pregnant except for my growing belly. This one, I felt pregnant/motion sickness type feelings most of the first trimester. Luckily, it only happened at night – but man, when it hit, I was on the couch and just horizontal after 6pm every night. I only threw up once though, just felt SO wiped out and just sick at night. Will was my easy baby/kid… this one is giving signs might be my tough one already. I hear everything balances out. If your first is easy, then chances are the second might be a nightmare :/. A little scared… but it’s all good! God will give me what we can handle, right?

Well, because I’ve been feeling so blah I’m just behind on anything online or free time in general (tv shows etc), just because I would crash at around 9pm after dinner and just feeling sick. So, not productive!! But, I’m a few days shy of 15 weeks now and I’m definitely feeling better.

So, I usually like to post stats for Will so I could look back at these posts since I won’t remember, and I don’t scrapbook. This is the nice thing about blogging. I can pretty much record moments, pictures, memories that would get lost if I didn’t document them.

For Will’s 2 year old appointment – here are his stats:

Height: 37 inches (95+%)

Weight: 33 lbs (90%)

Head Circ: 20 inches (95%)

He’s still measuring pretty big right now. Pediatrician says that he’ll be at least Greg’s height, so we’re hoping to groom the next Jeremy Lin… Harvard grad and soon to be millionaire basketball player. Woot! An Asian parent’s dream. LOL… although, I notice as of right now, you can’t force him to do anything he doesn’t want to do. Like, last night we went to a combined birthday party for Carter, Kylie, and Jenna (all turned 1!), and ALL the kids were going crazy for cotton candy. They all got one, so so happy to eat it, and it was SO cute how they were all on the grass and eating the pink crack for kids. I’m seeing this photo op and wanted him to eat cotton candy too!!! Will is happily eating grapes (loves fruit!), and I’m like… “Will, stop eating grapes… cotton candy!!!!!!”… and he looks totally disinterested in the cotton candy. And I’m like, “Will TRY IT!! IT’S SO GOOD!!! CANDY!!!!!!”… and again he just wanted to eat his grapes. He has grapes in his mouth, and I stick cotton candy in his mouth… and HE TAKES IT OUT. What is wrong with this child? Is he mine?! Cotton Candy!!! Best thing EVER! What?! He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on!

So, he starts to cry because I’m trying to force feed him candy. So, I stopped because I realize I’m nuts. I’m lucky he loves fruit over candy, but I wanted him to love candy. HAHAHA! He went to town with the ice cream sundae bar though (LOVES ice cream), so there are signs he is my child. Awesome.

I still have about 5 weeks to find out what we’re having. I’m so curious! I would really be happy with either at this point. I thought I wanted a girl, but I would also really love a boy sibling for Will to play with. I honestly would be happy with either – and I realize this is cliche but as long as the baby is healthy, honestly that is all I want!

Anyway, here’s a picture of me (mid-blink), Will, and Les (Greg’s sister) walking at the property in Placerville earlier today. He’s growing so fast!

Will and Tyler riding the Jeep at the property, and Will hanging on for dear life. ha!:)

xoxo!

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Dragon baby?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Helen10

So, we might be joining the many Chinese/Asians looking to have a lucky black dragon baby this year. Apparently this is the year of the black dragon… which is supposed to be good? So, if you haven’t already guessed in the first 2 sentences I just wrote, Greg and I are expecting #2!

After my miscarriage last year, doctor told me after the D&C that Greg and I could try again after 2 periods. I asked her… “can we just wait one?” – and she said “Yes, that’s fine”. I finally got my first period November 29 (took almost 6 weeks after the D&C so it felt like ages!), and I was out of town majority of December either in LA or in Florida (for work). So, I didn’t think Greg and I had a chance of getting preggers that month. Imagine my surprise when I got a positive pregnancy test! I was nervous though because I just didn’t believe I was pregnant for some reason.

Around 7 weeks, I started to feel blah and was just SO TIRED. I just wanted to sleep all the time. This pregnancy was definitely different from the miscarriage one because I was actually experiencing pregnancy symptoms, so I felt positive but I was nervous at the same time. I went in for my appointment, and she found a heartbeat with a strong 177bpm! Red spot is where the heart was beating:

The doctor was actually surprised to see me back so soon. I almost think she told us we could wait 1 period because she didn’t expect it to happen so soon. But, here we are… and hopefully that won’t be a problem.

Baby was measuring ahead at 8 weeks and 1 day, so since baby was measuring great, things were looking good. But she also mentioned that it looked like I might have a hematoma, and I googled it to find out that could be a threatened miscarriage and I was a little nervous. But, I tried to relax until my next appointment at 11 and half weeks.

That time came a few days ago. I was 11 weeks and 2 days at the perinatologist office, and I had been losing my pregnancy symptoms and just praying things looked ok at the next u/s. Healthy baby with 171 heartbeat showed up on the screen and the baby was moving all over the place. I took this picture of the scan with my cell phone  – I’ll replace with a better scanned picture later (excuse the tired prego:)) – Hi everyone!!

This time baby looked so different! Instead of a little blob, we could see a baby forming. The baby measured great, but I’m still showing a hematoma (1.5cm by 2.5 cm)… so that explains why I’m still spotting even though I’m heading into my 2nd trimester of pregnancy soon. I’m hoping my body absorbs it soon. There’s nothing that can be done to make the hematoma go away, so I just need to have faith all will be well!

So… that’s where we are at now. We are expecting number 2~!!! I’m optimistic, and will continue to post regarding pregnancy number 2. Please pray for us that all will be well!

XOXO!

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Sorry for the hiatus!

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Helen10

So, it’s already February! So nuts. 2012 is already going sooo fast.

So, I haven’t been updating the blog recently because I’ve been so tired and haven’t been able to really go on the internet much in general. I wanted to put up a few of my favorite pictures in the past month and half or so, just so we can update on how we are doing:)

Back on News Years Day in LA… Will and Sahmchoon (uncle in Korean)

Will’s 2nd birthday on 1/7 (Racecar theme)! I actually made a fondant cake and fondant topper cupcakes. I spent HOURS… I mean HOURS making these. It was kind of fun but torturous at the same time. I don’t think I’ll be doing this again. One time experience is good with me. Here’s me happy that I’m done!

Family Pic

 

Birthday boy blowing out his candles

 

Greg and I went to our very first gender reveal/baby shower… Congrats Amy and Steve!!!!

Momma to be is all bump!:) What is she going to have?

Details:)

 

 

Gender reveal cupcakes! (color of inside frosting reveals the gender)

Cheers to finding out!

It’s a….

Congrats Amy and Steve!! Lovely shower, and can’t wait to meet baby R!:)

We have some news of our own in the next post… will write soon!

 

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Christmas gift

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Helen10

We bought ourselves a shiny new blingy Christmas gift! We’ve been drooling over this lens for a while, and finally splurged on it. We bought a Canon 50mm 1.2 L lens. It came this morning, and I used it to take pictures of Will and Kona – and so far I’m in LOVE!

Hi Kona! Let’s test the depth of field on you… 1.2 is pretty craazy..

My fav shots below!

Modeling is hard work!

The lens was pretty dang expensive, but so far so worth it! I’m loving it right now even after having it for 1 day. Greg I’m sure will take some cool pics with this lens. Looking forward to taking more shots with this!

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Merry Christmas!!!!

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Helen10

This December has flown!! So, this is a BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! I’ll post up some pics from Winterfest in Ft Lauderdale sometime this week. It was an amazing experience. Pretty much it was a parade on water, and it was cool being a part of it!

Anyway, we did not get a chance to send out Christmas cards this year:(. Sad! So, wanted to at least post a picture of our family we were going to use:).

Hope everyone had an AMAZING Christmas!!!!

XOXO

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I don’t think Will liked Santa

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Helen10

Exhibit number 1

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Christmas cakes

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Helen10

Sorry for such a long hiatus from blogging. Been traveling a ton the past few weeks, and December is coming to be a super busy month!:/

Made some Christmas cakes yesterday. Covered in chocolate and decorated… thought I would attach some pics!:) Baking is so much fun for me! Pretty much, I made funfetti cake, with half a carton of vanilla frosting – made them into balls and cones, and dipped them in colored chocolate – and voila! Chocolate covered cakes. It’s not professional, but lots of fun – especially for the kids at the Christmas get together:). A couple pics below!

Ornament Balls:

Christmas Tree Cakes

I found the ideas on the bakerella website, and just ran with it:). It took some time, but I just love making it.

We’re doing well here. I need to plan Will’s 2nd birthday soon! It’s coming up super fast. I’ll update more hopefully sometime this week. Wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas in the meantime!!

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How to take a splinter out of a toddler’s finger

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Helen10

This past Sunday, William was playing on the property, and I noticed a splinter stuck in the side of his index finger. So, I took his hand, and tried to grab the end with my fingertips, and of course the splinter broke, and there was wood stuck in his finger. So, when we got home later, I sat him on my lap and used a sterilized needle to try to get the splinter out, and I poked too deep… he frowned and said “OW” and took his hand away and ran away from me. After that, he wouldn’t let me touch his finger.The boy ain’t dumb…

I just needed to peel off the top layer or 2 of skin that was over the splinter, and I knew there was a way to do it without hurting him. So, I practiced on myself. I scraped the sharp needle (keyword is “scrape” not poke) on my skin, and figured out the angle so that it actually rubbed away a layer of skin at a time without hurting.

When Will fell asleep for the night, we put him in our bed, and we put his blanket over his eyes… he was fast asleep. Greg brought over a bright source of light so I could start the process. Will is a fairly heavy sleeper, just need to make sure it’s not bright – so the blanket over his eyes was key. So, we sterilized the needle, and I carefully took his hand and started scraping at the top layer of skin until 1 layer started to break away… then the 2nd layer, until I had exposed the splinter with its entire length. Then I scraped out the splinter, put neosporin on a bandaid just in case, and stuck it on his finger. Voila… splinter out of his finger with no crying or trauma.

Just thought I’d write it out for other momma’s that might have to do this one day!

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