Down to the Double Digits

A few months ago, my dearest friend, Michelle, recommended putting a pregnancy ticker (see left) on the blog so people would know how much longer I had to go. When I first put it up, I was at 180-some days to go. It seemed like forever. But the little baby has been steadily moving to the right and I fear will soon fall off the ticker. We're down to the double digits now! Sunday marked our 27th week, which didn't seem so scary until we looked at it this way....only 13 more weeks till our due date!

Our baby preparation has kicked into high gear. We got the last of the baby furniture, her dresser, a couple days ago and Mike has kindly put it together already. Her nursery is coming together and I just have a couple more finishing touches before it's complete.


I'm also working my way through the library of baby books we have to prepare us for life with a baby. Hopefully whatever these books don't cover, my mom and girlfriends with babies will be able to help me out.

In just a few days, I'll officially be in my 3rd trimester. I feel like I say this every time I do a baby update, but I can't believe how quickly it's all going by. I want to relish this time of being pregnant and all the excitement that comes along with it because I'll only get to experience it a few precious times, God willing, and I want to enjoy every single moment.

Picnics at the Park

We finally had a rain-free weekend so we took advantage by exploring some Japanese parks. On Saturday we drove to Kurihama Flower World to look at the fields of fall flowers. Then on Sunday we took a 2 hour train ride to Showa Park in Tokyo. I'm one tired pregnant woman after all the walking, biking, and exploring, but it sure was a fun weekend.

Who knew we'd find Godzilla and a giant Big Mac at Flower World???


Sunday picnic lunch at Showa park: edamame, tempura, egg salad sandwiches, Japanese fried chicken, glazed sweet potato sticks, and of course, rice.


I always thought it'd be romantic to be rowed in a rowboat, so my sweet husband happily obliged.


When's the last time you saw grown men playing jump rope?? What's hard to see in the picture is that there were bubbles blowing in the air too....


6 and a half month pregnant woman riding a bike.


And finally, a shot of us under the gingko trees that were described as a "tunnel of yellowing trees". I guess we got here a little early in the season- they hadn't quite turned colors yet, but it was still a pretty sight.

Barefoot and Pregnant!

So I came home from work today, and the moment I walk in the door, I see my beautiful wife just finishing up my dinner - but I couldn't resist the opportunity to take the picture illustrating the old adage 'barefoot and pregnant'!

I do also want to point out that during Cicely's Bible study class today, they discussed my favorite passage, Ephesians 6:22-24. "Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church...so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything."

Gender roles aside, this marriage is a resounding success!

I'm anticipating numerous comments on this particular blog entry - bring 'em on!

The Things that Ail Me at 25 Weeks

Before I was pregnant, I had these notions that pregnancy was going to be a breeze and all those common pregnancy complaints wouldn't be a concern for me...I wouldn't succumb to any morning sickness, I would only gain the recommended amount of baby weight- and only in my belly, and as cute as the pregnancy 'waddle walk' is on other women, I wasn't going to end up walking like that.

Oh, how very wrong I was. At 25 weeks, I still have bouts of morning sickness, though rarer than before. I surpassed my weight gain limit a week and a half ago and last night when my dear husband carried me to bed because I fell asleep on the sofa, we almost got stuck in the doorway of the bedroom because my enlarging butt got caught in the door frame. And I'm definitely starting the waddle walk- ALREADY! I didn't even think you started the waddle walk until the very end of your pregnancy, but here I am at 6 months along and walking around like a little duckling.

And that's not even all of it...I was told by my doctor that the hip pain I've been feeling is due to loosening ligaments that should go away by 28 weeks, but could last as long as the entire pregnancy. I now have a numb and tingling right hand which makes doing even the simplest things like eating, writing, and brushing your teeth a challenge. My wedding rings are starting to get uncomfortably tight, but I still shove them on my finger anyway. Even my sexy shoes are now hard to get into! I heard that pregnancy can make you go up a shoe size, but I was really, really hoping that wouldn't happen to me as my feet are already gargantuan for my 5'2" height. To go up from what I already am would be reaching clown-like proportions.

But lest you think this is a litany of complaints, it's really not. Despite all of these annoyances, I STILL think it's all worth it. I STILL love being pregnant. And I STILL think this baby is a wonderful blessing. I'm just amused at how utterly naive I once was about pregnancy, that's all.

On a different note, here are a few shots from a baby shower I hosted for my friend, Lyn, this weekend. Our due dates are 3 weeks apart, but unfortunately she's moving to Boston in a few days so we won't actually be together when our babies are born. It's been so much fun experiencing pregnancy with another first time mama.

What's in a Name?

I know of many parents who have a hard time coming up with a name for their baby, but for us, it was a really easy process. Around the time Mike and I were talking about starting a family, my beloved grandmother, passed away. I knew then that if we had a baby girl, I would name her after my grandmother. Little did I know that when I attended her funeral, I was already pregnant. So that's how our baby got her name, Virginia Grace- Virginia after my grandma and Grace because it's a beautiful name that means God's blessing.


My mom said that it was love at first sight between my grandmother and me. So much so that my grandmother was my constant companion the first 8 years of my life. She was my roommate. I remember when I was really little, even if it was in the middle of the night and she would only leave the bed to go to the bathroom, I followed her. I would sit on the bathroom scale and wait for my grandma (kinda weird, but true). I remember my friends not liking my grandmother very much because if they were over at my house and it ran into nap time, she would tell them it was time to go home. This happened until I was 8 years old. I also wouldn't spend a night at friends' houses because I felt bad that my grandma wouldn't have her roommate. I remember she would make me the most amazing breakfasts, my favorite being champorado (chocolate rice porridge). I remember going to daily 7:00am mass with her in Korea, sometimes trudging through the snow to get to church. I have so many more memories of her that it would be a very long blog entry indeed if I tried to list them all. These are just a few of my favorites. Oh, and smiles! She was always smiling! The only time we were separated was when my family moved to Virginia Beach and she didn't want to be so far away from the Philippines.

Thankfully, Mike readily agreed to the name when I suggested it. Although he did offer another name to use in place of Grace. I have a cousin who we lovingly call 'Tek', and he said we should think about using her name. But he had ulterior motives because what would we get if we combined Virginia and Tek??? I wasn't about to name my baby Virginia Tek no matter how crazy her daddy is about a particular school.

After we decided on her name, we found a Parents magazine article on baby names and what type of future a particular name holds. Apparently, we picked a name that is sophisticated and classy enough to be considered a 'Country Clubber' type of name. Way to set our baby up for success!

23 Weeks and Butterflies in My Belly

Sometimes I feel like the end of this pregnancy is so far away, but other times, I'm amazed at how quickly it's all going by. Here's a belly picture update for you all. Some days I feel huge and other days I'm worried that I'm not big enough, but with all these 'butterflies in my belly', I'm reassured that things are going well and baby girl is doing fine.

I just realized today that I haven't yet talked about one of the most amazing things I've experienced so far with being pregnant- feeling the baby move! The baby books describe the feeling as 'butterflies in your belly', but I think it feels more like gas bubbles. But butterflies in the belly is a much more poetic description so we'll go with that. The feeling certainly started out that way when I first felt them at around 17 weeks, but since then, she's gotten bigger and so have her movements. Sometimes Mike and I will be sitting around and I'll gasp in surprise because she's kicked me so hard. He's even been lucky enough to feel her move from the outside a few times. Her favorite kicking spot on me is right in the bladder.

As for how I'm feeling...wonderful now that the weather is cooling down. Mike and I have started taking walks around the neighborhood after dinner. It's weird how quickly I get winded even though we're going at what seems like a snails' pace, but I'm trying to keep at it. I don't know if this is a pregnancy related symptom or not, but recently my hip joints have been hurting like crazy. If I sit for a while, getting back up and walking around at first is really painful. And when I first get out of bed in the morning. Maybe I'm just getting arthritis. Who knows?

Pregnancy during this stage is pretty good. People are starting to notice that I'm pregnant, so I guess I've passed the 'maybe she's just put on some weight' look. And I know some women feel weird about strangers touching their pregnant bellies, but I don't mind at all. I've always thought that pregnancy was such an miraculous time and now that I'm getting to experience it firsthand, I'm thrilled beyond belief!