Click on the title of the blog post to view the entire entry.
We celebrated Christmas and the birth of a baby that forever changed the world. Baby likes “silent night,” especially when Eric sings it.
Baby got his fair share of presents: diaper bag, carrier, first book! (the little prince), gift card to gap, gift card to another local baby store.
Mommy shared in the spoils, too, most notably receiving a boppy pillow! Eric later called it his favorite present, though it wasn’t even for him… cause he’s been wanting to get me a body pillow ever since my back started hurting and I had trouble sleeping on my side. Yet like a good Chinese wife (hah), I’d been resisting–after all, I was managing fine with extra regular pillows. But now, post-boppy, I believe. It’s much more comfortable. Thank you, Lynnifer!
Also at 23 weeks, I rearranged my closet, packing away all pre-pregnancy clothes (sad) and leaving out only tops were long and wide enough. Pants that are stretchy enough. I can’t fit my wedding ring anymore. We’re starting to see the insides of my belly button, which is a bit gross. I used a heat pad on my back for the first time. And I really enjoy chocolate.
We went on our “babymoon” of a couple nights in Maui. Short and sweet! Eric said we could do ANYTHING I wanted… really, ANYTHING… except 1) drive the road to hana (too winding and no pee stops) 2) drive up haleakala (high elevation, less oxygen) and 3) ziplining (too tight on the baby?). You think he’ll be a protective father or what?? I suggested paragliding but he quickly vetoed that one out too. What is there left to do when you rule out Maui’s main attractions??
Well… staying at a bed & breakfast proved to be one of the best decisions we made for this trip. It was homey and spacious, yet clean and accommodating. Breakfasts were hearty and it was interesting to meet other guests, like a couple from Alaska visiting Maui to thaw for a week before heading home to a 100-degree temperature difference (-20 in Alaska vs. 80 in Hawaii. CRAZY!). The B&B also had snacks, endless hot chocolate, beach towels and coolers to use, etc. The hostess was a sweet motherly lady who looked like she came out of Lilo & Stitch.
As for what we did, we still managed to have fun. =) We “hiked” the Iao Needle, visited the local swap meet, walked around Lahaina, took in the sunset at Big Beach in Wailea, had tea & scones at the Lavendar Farms at Kula, drove by Pa’ia and saw surfers get pounded by waves at Ho’okipa Beach. All in less than 48 hours! It sounds like a lot but the pace was actually very relaxing. Maybe because I kept falling asleep in the car. Humango props to Eric for a wonderful mini-getaway.
Also this week: baby is kicking more, I am eating more, and on an unrelated note, did you know that students give their teachers presents for Christmas? I didn’t… but I am happily stocked with chocolates and home-baked sweets now. Our cards have been mailed. It’s gonna be a busy week… adios and merry christmas!
Pictures to come… once we clear up some space on our hard drive…
I went shopping for clothes… maternity clothes. I can’t wait to buy baby clothes! But the more immediate need is to cover my own ever-changing, ever-expanding body. At times I resent the extra curves and chubby face, but on the positive side Eric has never been so supportive of me buying new clothes! At the same time, knowing that a baby will cost lots and lots of $$ and also that maternity clothes are (hopefully) temporary wardrobe items, I only want to buy necessities. So imagine how genius I felt when I thought, let me check out Goodwill! Surely people donate their maternity clothes after pregnancy. So yesterday, Eric dropped me off at Goodwill while he went off to run an errand. Knowing I had limited time, I headed straight for a worker and asked if they had maternity clothes… she said yes, of course, but it’s scattered throughout with all the regular clothes. And that’s when I felt pretty hopeless because if you’ve been to Goodwill, you know there’s a LOT of clothes. Convinced I wouldn’t be able to find pants without checking them one by one for a stretchy band, I decided I’d have better luck looking for loose-fitting tank tops instead, on the other side of the store. A few minutes into my search, a woman approaches me and offers a pair of maternity jeans she found on the rack. Wow that’s really nice, thank you! I reply, touched by her random act of kindness. I continued in the tank top row and a few minutes later, another stranger approaches me “hey pregnant lady!” with two more pairs of pants. Whoa, what’s going on? How did you know… and she tells me that the worker I first spoke to told everyone to pull everything maternity that they came across as they browsed the pants section. This continued into the fitting room, believe it or not… is this the pregnant lady? I found this top you might like… here’s another pair of pants… no pressure if you don’t like it… ok we’ll stop now! Such random, small acts, but they reminded me that in this season of crowds, lines, and frantic shoppers–more often rude than kind–there is in fact goodness out there, among strangers. I scored at Goodwill yesterday… a pair of pants, a few tops, a good deal, but most of all a sense of gratitude. Eric says there are perks to being pregnant!
Also, our car battery died yesterday and God’s faithfulness shone through again. Eric can tell you about that one.
I have to pee, ALL the time.
Baby is the size of a large mango.
My face is round. Everything is big.
I feel little punches on the inside.
I get winded easily, but somehow managed to jog half a lap at Magic Island.
My belly button is shriveled like a raisin.
My back is starting to ache.
I started sleeping on my left side.
Doctor said this is as good as it gets.
We are looking at cribs, strollers, and gliders.
Students are trying to name him.
French fries and coke are amazing.
We are halfway there. !!
