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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fav pic of each boy

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Helen10

Taken by Greg yesterday:)

 

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group pic of the boys

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Helen10

Here’s a group pic we took of the cousins yesterday. Also, sorry for those that have this blog on the RSS that read yesterday’s post… please erase from your brains. <squiggly sounds>… you did not read that post… you did not read that post… I have edited the comment, and you can see the edits on the actual site:). Unfortunately, I can’t edit on the RSS. Anyway, pls forgive me!

Group pic of the boys:)

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There are not a lot of things that bother me…

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Helen10

Greg and I had a little tiff a few nights ago. He was looking at his phone (again – iPhones rule our lives, it is kind of sad) – and I said, “what are you reading?”… and he said “I’m reading email!!!” in a frustrated sort of way because I might have kept asking him every time he looked at his phone. And I got mad because I thought he was being rude, and I said “I was just asking, <insert bad word here>“… :) I actually wrote it out, but someone that I will not name (wasn’t Greg) said I should perhaps censor it… so those with  me on their RSS feeds, you got the unedited version. Sorry in advance!

It kind of came out… it’s like not very nice… And we have this rule that we don’t ever say things like this to each other. I was being facetious, but at the same time it’s still not nice. And then Greg left the room after I said that. He made me apologize, and he also apologized, and we made up. So, we go to bed… and we talk about it again. He says “It really bothers me when you cus at me. There are not a whole lot of things that bother me, but you bother me.”

There was 2 seconds of silence, and then I busted up laughing. I’m like REALLY? I BOTHER YOU? That’s because I’m your wife, and I guess that’s just how it is. For some reason, that line was hilarious to me, that a few days later I bring it up and still laugh about it:).

Then he said it came out wrong – he just meant that cussing bothered him. Which I admit – I can have a potty mouth when I am frustrated… but I have learned to curb that. It is a work in progress.

Like, when I stub my toe and practically break it off and William is there, I have learned to just go “ARGH!!!”…  although in my head it’s really “!@#%#E$%$#%”… So, now when I say “ARGH!!” – Will imitates me and says “arrggh” in his little toddler voice.

Last week, I dropped something while driving and my filter was a second too late and I said “sh*”… and I hear in the backseat “Thit!!”… and I’m like “ehehe…eek.. um… William, sorry let’s sing twinkle twinkle right now” – trying to erase that moment out of his brain. :/ Luckily, that is the ONLY time he has repeated something like that. Hopefully, the last as I am consciously trying to eradicate cus words out of my brain. I never cus in front of him, but of course the one time I do, he repeats me.

So, that’s where we’re at. I have a little toddler parrot that repeats everything, and he is a total sponge. So, trying to be super careful!!

 

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So… the country…

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Helen10

My brother helped me fix and update my settings here. Thank you Danny!!! This updated wordpress has changed my life. LOL. It’s so much easier to work with and navigate.

Anyway, so I’m 8 days post D&C and I finally stopped spotting today I think. Or I’m close to it. I have a follow up appointment on Friday.You know what’s so annoying though? So, I’m not one of those women who loses weight in the first trimester because I’m sick with nausea. But rather, I am one of those women that can eat, and I gain weight throughout the pregnancy. So, I gained weight in the first 8 weeks I was pregnant… and then I got my D&C and I guess my hormones are all out of whack (there was 1 day I felt sensitive after my D&C, and I knew it was my whacky hormones)… and for some reason, I am gaining even MORE WEIGHT? Talk about double whammy suckeroo.

Anyway, I read that after my hormones level after my first period, I should be losing weight again. Right now my body is still holding on because it still thinks I am pregnant. I read that if I took a pregnancy test right now, I would probably still get a positive because of the hCG hormones still in my body. So, that’s why I might be holding onto fat… fantastic.

So, we spent Sunday at Placerville and took some family pics… One word – COUNTRY! And then our children morph. LOL!! It was fun, I must admit!

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d&c update

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Helen10

I got my D&C done on Friday, and I’m relieved that part is over. At least I can move on and start healing now. Since my body had lost the baby 4 weeks prior and was not giving any signs of letting go on its own anytime soon, I’m really glad that I went with this procedure. Plus, I hear miscarriages are painful and traumatic, and I don’t think I could have gone through the waiting plus the pain of going through a natural miscarriage.

So, just to document my experience for my own sake as well as for anyone that might want to know… I’ll kind of start off with some interesting statistics. Miscarriages are pretty common in 15-20% pregnancies end in miscarriage. So, when we found that the baby’s heart was not beating at my 8 week appointment, although we were disappointed, I was not totally surprised. I just know so many people that have gone through it, so I just never really ruled it out for myself. Also, I have always felt that I would rather lose a pregnancy early rather than later – so I really hope this is it and no more!

On Friday, I went to the surgery center at 730am having not eaten or had anything to drink since 11pm the night prior. I was a little anxious because I had never been put under before. But I sat in my bed, separated by other patients with a curtain. There wasn’t much privacy. So, I could pretty much hear what other people were there for. There was a young child (I didn’t see them since there was a curtain) that had to be put under to have 4 crowns put in, and a possible crown on the front tooth. Made me think of William, and how I need to make sure he’s diligent in brushing his teeth. There was another child getting his tonsils taken out. And here was me – getting my uterus scraped. ANYHOO… so I finally got wheeled into the OR, and they asked me questions about what I was going to dress up for Halloween, and then they injected my IV with this cold stuff I knew was going to put me to sleep. It hurt and I got nervous… and I asked… “Is this supposed to hurt?” – only because I’m traumatized by anesthesia ever since my bad epidural reactions. So, they said to dream about my son and his costume, and I said in a slightly delirious panicky voice…”I can’t”… because I started getting scared. Next thing I know, I’m bundled up and the procedure is over. Wow, being knocked out is GREAT! I didn’t feel a thing. It made the whole thing less traumatic.

But recovery was ok the first day and I didn’t take any pain killers. I felt good. But the 2nd day, I bled quite a bit, and I started cramping quite a bit. I was prescribed both ibuprofen and norco (hydrocodone + tylenol)… and I ended up taking the norco and it made me feel funny in the head. I felt loopy, and I’m guessing this is what actors or prescription drug addicts like? It was weird! After that, I just took ibuprofen and today I think I’m on the road to recovery. So, that’s pretty much the gist of it.

Anyway, thought I would write a quick update on the D&C for those that might be wondering. Doing well so far. I’ll end with a pic of Greg and Will below taken yesterday just for fun:

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