Labor & Delivery

Friday October 7th - Due Date: This morning while I was sleeping I felt my first painful contraction, it felt much like a menstrual cramp, very sharp and low. Prior to this I had been feeling contractions but they had not hurt like this one. I also noticed very light brown discharge which was definitely a new symptom. I had a massage today which was nice, Suzanne worked on my ankles and my lower back since that was starting to hurt more since I was cramping. We saw Sachiko for our last prenatal check, I told her I was having discharge and painful contractions but that they were about 45 mins to an hour apart and only mildly painful, she thought maybe I'd be back at the hospital that night. After our appointment we had lunch with Ba Me, Anh Tuyen, Chi Kim, Jacob and Addison at Blazing Onion Burger at Alderwood Mall and then walked around for awhile. That night I was feeling very tired and starting to feel more uncomfortable, I took a warm bath and then went to bed. 

Saturday October 8th: Contractions were definitely starting to come closer together this morning, we went to breakfast at McDonalds with Anh Tuyen and Chi Kim before they headed to Bellingham for the day. Afterwards, Hunnie really wanted me to walk and keep things going so we went to Barnes & Noble and he had me walk all the way up to Best Buy. We bought some pants for baby at Old Navy. I started timing the contractions and they were now about 10-15 minutes apart. I was getting so uncomfortable but definitely wanted things to start progressing more. We debated going to the mall and walking more but I was really getting tired so we went home instead. By that evening the contractions were definitely stronger, so much so that the most comfortable position for me was on my hands and knees during the contractions. Anh Tuyen and Chi Kim were going to Anh Dang's house to visit that night and wondered if we wanted to go as well, I had wanted to go but now I was so uncomfortable that I thought I should stay home, especially since I was having to get into different positions to stay comfortable as possible. Took another bath this night and went to bed, the contractions were still roughly 10 minutes apart the entire night, I did nap in between the contractions because I was so exhausted, rough night...

Sunday October 9th: I was so exhausted from not sleeping the night before, the contractions were every 10 minutes the entire night and starting to become quite painful, I was in the fetal position for most the night, very uncomfortable. Could not imagine having to go through another night like that! The contractions were now about 7-10 minutes apart. Hunnie was busy watching football because it was Sunday. I was so uncomfortable and the contractions were so frequent and painful that I did not want to leave the house. I was bracing myself on the counters, our dresser, over the bed. They hurt so badly I was moaning and yelling/crying (not full force and not tearful crying but crying out in pain). I was doing hip circles and walking to try and help the pain but also because I wanted things to continue to progress. By late afternoon (maybe 5pm?) the contractions were 5 minutes apart and still very painful, Hunnie wanted to call the midwife but I thought we should wait. He said he would call just to check and see if this was what we were supposed to be doing. Sharon was on-call, she was one of the midwives we had only seen twice during the entire pregnancy. She asked how I was doing, at this point I was still able to talk and explain everything pretty calmly. She suggested I try the bath again, she said it wouldn't slow things down, which was what I had been afraid of. I listened to her advice and got into the bath, it helped a lot with the pain, I still felt the contractions but they were less severe and I could somewhat relax and rest a bit, I thought maybe I can make it until the next morning. I got out of the bath and was still having contractions, now they were closer together, about 4 minutes apart. About 8pm we called Sharon again, this time on the phone it was much more obvious that I was not comfortable. She asked me what my birth plans were and I said I had wanted to go natural but now I was not sure. She advised that I try the bath again. This time it did not help as much but I tried to stay in as long as I could. I had the window in the bathroom cracked and was scared the neighbors might here me moaning in pain. It was now 11pm, contractions were 3 minutes apart, I knew I could not last through the night, I was scared I would not be able to make it out of the house...that Hunnie would have to carry me or we would have to call 911. I called Sharon and she said she would meet us at the hospital. We grabbed our bags and last minute stuff like pillows and blankets. I remember opening the car door and before I could sit down I had a contraction and was on the floor of the garage. Thankfully the car ride to Evergreen was only about 10 or so minutes, I had about 3-4 contractions before we got to the hospital, I told Hunnie that if I was not at least half way I was not sure if I could do it anymore and I might just get the epidural. 

At the hospital: We got to the maternity ward at 11:30pm and started checking in, Sharon got there not too shortly afterwards. The nurse wanted her to check me in the triage area before they would put me in a room even though Sharon already knew I was far along enough to be admitted. We went to triage and when she checked I was 8 cm! We were so happy, I wanted to cry. Sharon asked if we wanted to continue with our natural birth plan and since we were so close I wanted to try. We got to my room and they worked on admitting me (asking lots of questions, hooking up monitors). They helped massage me while I was having contractions. My mom arrived and let me squeeze her hands during my contractions. They raised the bed up high so I could lean over and do hip circles. Then they wanted me to get into the bed, it hurt so much to lay on my back, I flipped over to my stomach and held onto the head of the bed. Sharon wanted to check me again and see about breaking my water. They found I had thin meconium so she called for NICU nurses to be present for delivery. Baby's heart rate dropped so they placed an IV in case I needed to be taken to OR for emergent C-section. At times the heart rate would increase as well, they place an internal scalp monitor so they could more accurately monitor the heart rate. We finally found that being on my left side (which was the side baby laid on and the side I had been most comfortable sleeping on for most of the third trimester) kept baby's heart rate happy. At 2am I started pushing, it was hard, it was amazing how much adrenaline was pumping through my body, especially after having been up for pretty much over 24 hours without real sleep/rest. Hunnie was so great, he held my head to my chin for me while I pushed. Everyone kept saying they saw a lot of black hair! I wasn't convince, I had doubts I was doing it right and that things were actually progressing but everyone was very encouraging. All the nurses came in and Sharon got prepared for the delivery. They told me that if baby did not cry right away they would not be able to put him on my chest. Baby was born at 3:28am, he did cry right away so Sharon cut the cord and he was immediately taken by the nurses to the warmer for suctioning. Couldn't believe how big baby was! The contractions stopped immediately and the pain was gone, Sharon stitched me up and I was pretty much still numb but just so distracted by this beautiful baby that was now here. My mom and Hunnie got to hold him first while Sharon finished up with me. Baby was already suckling and hungry and looking for food! I finally got to hold him and it was love at first sight! 
 

Week 40 - Happy Due Date Meepers!

How far along: 40 Weeks
Weight gain: Roughly 30-35 lbs for this pregnancy
How big is baby:  Pumpkin
Maternity clothes: Thinking about how this will probably be the last week where I'm proudly displaying my beautiful belly (versus hiding it post-delivery...). I've really loved how comfy all my maternity clothes have been!
This week: Feeling very tired, enormous, slow, waddling like a giant penguin, I'm thinking it's getting close because I'm feeling super uncomfortable which I consider a good sign since I had been feeling so great up until very recently...like too well to be going into labor anytime soon. Hunnie has been making me walk like crazy, we went to the mall and he purposefully parked at one end when the store we were going to was on the opposite end. We've been walking around there and at Costco and Fred Meyer and he makes me walk fast LOL I've been doing a lot of hip circles, lunges, squats, child's pose that I learned at prenatal yoga class. When I do want to sit down Hunnie makes me sit and bounce on the exercise ball. It's pretty cute, he has been googling ways to induce labor. In addition to the walking, bouncing, and yoga he has been massaging my ankles/hands, we went to eat spicy thai food (4 and 5 stars, haven't had anything that hot since before I got pregnant, man did it make us feel horrible after we finished eating), drank a ton of milk (to mimic the effect of castor oil, everyone was telling me to try this but I heard it tastes horrible). We also tested out the breast pump which was hilarious, we laughed so hard!
Movement: It seems to have slowed down a bit, probably because there is hardly any room left in there to move around
Food Cravings: Being so uncomfortable actually has decreased my appetite...
Belly button in or out: Innie
Pregnancy symptoms: Feeling twinges down below, things are definitely shifting around and preparing for baby's arrival YAY!
What I miss: I know I'm going to miss being pregnant and having baby in my belly so I'm just trying to cherish and enjoy this last week... (and if I knew what I know now that Caleb is almost 5 weeks old is that I would miss sleep and devoting time to the doggies...)
What I'm looking forward to: Finally meeting our baby boy!

Week 39

How far along: 39 weeks, home stretch baby!!
Weight gain: Holding steady since last week...
How big is baby:  Mini watermelon
Maternity clothes: Busting out of my maternity clothes now LOL
This week: Recovering from my cold last week, have been feeling really tired and achy especially at work, hoping this is a good sign though!
Movement: Still moving around, I can tell it's getting tight on space in there!
Food Cravings: I'm post-journaling (Caleb is actually 5 weeks right now) so honestly I can't remember what I craved this week LOL...yes, that's how crazy the past 7 weeks have been!
Belly button in or out: Innie
What I miss:  I'm already thinking about how I will miss having baby in belly, taking him everywhere with me, feeling his kicks/punches
What I'm looking forward to: So excited to meet baby! Can't believe it's only a week or so away!

Week 38

How far along: 38 Weeks (can't believe it's been 38 weeks and we're only a couple weeks until our lives are changed forever!)
Weight gain: Back down to total of 30lbs or so weight gain, shed most of the water weight from last week, probably because I've been battling a cold/cough.
How big is baby:  Small pumpkin (how appropriate since he'll be an October baby!)
Maternity clothes: Thinking about having to go back to regular clothes is not pleasant, I've actually quite enjoyed the maternity wear LOL and I know I'll probably since be utilizing it for awhile even after baby is born. Went to the Tulalip outlets yesterday and not even in a shopping mood but am looking forward to Autumn and cooler weather which means bundling up in warm wraps and whatnot. 
Best moment this week: It's been a rough week, I caught a cold and without my usual regimen of Nyquil and Emergen-C, it's been quite miserable. Fortunately my mama has been so wonderful at taking care of me during this time, she made me soup and a mini-steam sauna under a blanket with boiled water and herbs and also coined me which all seemed to help. I took a couple days off work to rest, was back to work on Friday for half day since we had our 38-week check that afternoon. Still congested and tired but feeling much better than earlier in the week. Even though being sick was horrible, it did give me a lot of quality time together with my mama which was very wonderful. On one of the days I was home sick she came over and cooked a bunch of dishes and we just hung out and chatted all day.
Movement: Yupp still lots of movement, getting ready for the outside world!
Food Cravings: French fries and pizza and these awesome hybrid choc chip/brownie bars that Dr. Nguyen made, need to get the recipe for that, figure I should indulge before I have to go on post-pregnancy diet, which sounds so horrible right now LOL
Belly button in or out: Innie
What I miss:  Having energy (have been waiting for that supposed burst of energy/nesting that some women get close to the due date, the house really needs to get cleaned), feeling well (need to kick this cold!), sleeping comfortably
What I'm looking forward to: Baby arriving, so suspenseful! We wonder if he'll be like his papabear (early) or like his mamabear (right on time or slightly late) LOL!

Week 37

How far along: 37 Weeks
Weight gain: I gained 5lbs since last week but they are attributing it to water weight, especially since I swelled up like a water balloon while in Spokane last weekend
How big is baby:  Mini-watermelon (feels very accurate!)
Maternity clothes: Weather is getting somewhat cooler so going back to my jeans which is more comfortable now because it's very hard to be lady-like in a dress anymore which my large belly taking up so much room in between things LOL
Best moment this week: Mama threw me a family baby shower on Sunday which was so nice, lots of good food and Meepers got some great stuff, lots of gift cards and $ which will definitely come in handy. Was nice to spend some time with my aunts/uncles, mama, mama's friends and my bro and his gf. Saturday was great too, hung out at Anh Hai & Chi Holly's house for the boxing match and got to talk a whole lot of pregnancy talk which was so much fun!
Movement: Still going strong! He's been on a great schedule, seems like when I'm awake, he's awake, and when I'm sleeping he goes to sleep too. It's so cute! In the morning I notice that it will be about 20-30 minutes after I wake up that I feel him start to move around and wake up too, hoping he stays on this schedule after he comes out too!
Food Cravings: Nothing in particular that I can remember (I'm post-journaling again, it's been a long couple of weeks since Spokane so I've fallen behind!)
Belly button in or out: Innie
What I miss:  Having energy, especially when I'm at work. It makes the day go by so much slower when I'm exhausted.
What I'm looking forward to: Having baby here!

Week 36

How far along: 36 Weeks
Weight gain: Total gain throughout pregnancy is about 30lbs, haven't put on much in the past few weeks but definitely feel like Meepers is getting bigger!
How big is baby: Leek (they must be referring to lengthwise because I'm sure he's bigger than an actual leek LOL)
Maternity clothes: Chi Kim was so kind to give me some of her maternity clothes which included a pair of capris and shorts that came in so handy this past weekend since it was in the 90's this past weekend in Spokane. My belly is outgrowing most of my maternity dresses making them very short and not appropriate LOL
Best moment this week: Hanging out with family in Spokane and being there for baby Addison's baptism which was very important to Hunnie and me since we are her Godparents, such a blessing! It was definitely challenging traveling but very worth it. We left Seattle at noon on Friday and the sun was ruthlessly roasting my side of the car. I hung a pillow case up in the window which meant my window had to be closed and we had our small house fan plugged in but it was just blowing hot air. We stopped and hosed down the dogs to keep them cool, by the time we reached Moses Lake I couldn't take it anymore and broke down crying. Hunnie told me to pour water on myself from our water bottles and we took our an icepack from the cooler and laid it on my belly which helped. We got to Spokane around 4pm and went over to see baby Addison for a little bit, she was sleeping but I got to hold her and she is such a doll! For dinner we went out to the Couer de Lane Casino for their seafood buffet, the wait was 2 hours long! This is pretty bad but at that point we had not eaten anything since 11am when we left Seattle and we didn't get start eating at the buffet until 9pm, I definitely should have packed some snacks and frankly I'm surprised I did not pass out, sorry Meepers. The food was good, or maybe I was just really hungry. It was a long drive back to Cheney from there and by then I was just exhausted, tired and ready for bed. The next day we met up with friends at the Elk - Ben, Stephanie & Whitley, Kris & Ann, Chip & Dahdia, and Jeremiah (and I don't remember his wife's name). It was so much fun, good times and good company. We had Addison's baptism that afternoon which was very beautiful, then dinner and celebrating and Chi Kim's parents house, so much good food especially the oysters on the barbie! and hot vit lon (duck egg) yum! Sunday we celebrated Kayla & Huy's birthday at Ba Me's house so we got in some more quality family time. Waited until later in the evening to head out so that the temperature would be more bearable since we were unable to get the AC cool even after spending almost an hour at Jiffy Lube. All in all, great family time but seriously exhausting weekend, so happy to have Monday off to recuperate.   
Movement: Still lots of movement, definitely knees or feet pushing out on my left side and he loves to have his butt pushed up into my right ribs LOL
Food Cravings: Really wanted to get some Victoria's - panini and ice chai tea latte but with our busy schedule in Spokane didn't make it there but hopefully next time!
Belly button in or out: Stretched out innie
What I miss:  Sleeping through the long drive to and from Spokane, that was the first time I've ever stayed awake for both trips to and fro.
What I'm looking forward to: Resting, I'm exhausted!

Week 35

How far along: 35 Weeks
Weight gain:
How big is baby: Honeydew Melon (that sounds yummy)
Maternity clothes: O jeez, well my "spandex" pants will no longer stay up on my belly and neither will my maternity jeans...which means they keep slipping and I'm constantly feeling like my pants are going to fall down. I feel like I'm so close to the end that I don't want to buy anything new...but a pair of maternity shorts would be great because summer finally decided to show up around here and it's be so hot and sometimes I just don't feel like wearing a dress...especially since my legs are like two giant sausages. 
Best moment this week: LONG WEEKEND of pretty much doing nothing but relaxing since I worked about 5 hours of OT this past week which I haven't done in quite awhile...figured I might as well since it was the last real full week of working for me because from now until Meeps arrives we will have appointments every week. Crazy to think we're this close! Had pre-natal yoga on Saturday which was good but I definitely was tired because I fell completely asleep during the Shavasana (rest period at the end). It's been great spending the weekend with my Hunnie and our pups, even after almost 7 years of being together...it's still so much fun and he makes me laugh every single day and I just love being with him no matter what we're doing.  
Movement: Meeps has been still moving a lot, he likes to push out on my left side...feels like he's stretching his legs out or something but sometimes it's so forceful and sudden that it feels like he's seriously going to poke right out of my stomach. Hunnie's seeing more of the movement and the giant shakes and jerks of my belly when Meeps is rolling around in there. 
Food Cravings: Changes everyday really, but really craving home made Vietnamese banh beo which I haven't had since I was in Vietnam. I was going to attempt to make some but I'm way to lazy for that right now LOL 
Belly button in or out: Still an innie, doubt it will ever become an outtie
What I miss:  Cold cuts, running out of lunch ideas...
What I'm looking forward to: Our 36-week check this Friday, going to have an U/S and can't wait to see Meeps! It's been 16 weeks since we last saw him. And right after our appointment we'll be making the trek east to Spokane for the weekend and Baby Addison's baptism, very excited! Hoping it will be a comfortable ride...as comfortable as possible at least. 

Nursery is filling up, just got two big boxes of cousin Jacob's clothes and Meepers is pretty much set for his first year!

Hunnie helped me re-purpose an old corkboard to use as a keepsake board for Meeps

 

Week 34

How far along: 34 Weeks
Weight gain: Surprisingly no weight gain in the past 3 weeks...midwife says my overall gain is in the healthy range and baby is measuring on track so nothing to worry about, good news!
How big is baby: Average Cantaloupe (according to BabyBump app)
Maternity clothes: Yupp, although the dress pictured above that I wore for my baby shower is a dress I bought in Thailand about 3 years ago, here is a picture of me wearing it on our honeymoon in Cabo a year ago, such a great dress!
Best moment this week: Such a busy but fabulous weekend. Me and hunnie had Friday of work and thank goodness for that. My day started off early with prenatal massage which I was long overdue for, then we had our 34-week check with our midwife, baby is doing great and still head down, she said it would be very unlikely that he would turn at this point since he's been head down for awhile. She said if he did turn it would be a very obvious movement and quite uncomfortable, good job Meeps! Everything else checked out good too! After that we scooped up the pups and headed out to Marymoor Park for some fetch and swimming, didn't get to swim as much as we wanted because they have most of the river fenced off due to the endangered salmon. Got home, gave the dogs baths in the backyard, then Hunnie came back with our neighbor Justin and 2 yards of bark. We weeded and re-barked the front yard and it looks great, should have done this earlier in the summer! After that I did a major cleaning inside the house in prep for guest coming over on Saturday for the shower. By the time we went out to dinner with family that night, I could barely keep my eyes open. Saturday was wonderful, good food and company, we are very blessed by amazing family & friends. My lovely hostesses Kathy and Lily threw a beautiful shower and Meeps got lots of cute stuff too! Finally relaxing and hanging out today which is what I love about Sundays.
Movement: Lots of strong kicking, mostly on the left side. I had my belly pushed up against Hunnie's side in a bed one morning and he was finally able to feel Meep's strong kicks, it was so cool! 
Food Cravings: Pineapple, strawberries, cheeseburgers, fries, roast duck...wow what a mix 
Belly button in or out: Still holding innie status LOL
What I miss:  All of our friends and family who weren't able to make it to the shower, but hope to see yalls soon!
What I'm looking forward to: Looking forward to next weekend which will be Labor Day weekend, no big plans but just looking forward to another long weekend. Love hanging out with my hunnie, our pups, and just wondering how life will be once Meeps comes ☺

Diaper Cake by mama Kathy

Beautiful banners made by mama Kathy

Banners up in the nursery

 

32 Weeks

How far along: 33 Weeks
Weight gain: If I remember, I'll weigh myself at work tomorrow and update...
How big is baby: Pineapple
Maternity clothes: Oh yeahhh
Best moment this week: Had a great weekend, Saturday we ran errands like added to our Target baby registry and bought a few gifts for friends down in U Village. We also got a super nice table from our friends Lily & Aaron who didn't have room in their new place for it, the table is from Cost Plus World Imports and it goes so nicely with the decor in our home. So happy to get rid of that unsightly oak table from the 80's! Way nicer than anything we would be able to get anytime soon so we're super thankful for such generous friends. We took them out for sushi dinner that nice which was delish! On Sunday we made a big Costco run and picked up stuff for this coming weekend's festivities. And then in the afternoon/evening we hung out at Anh Hai and Chi Holly's housewarming which is just a 5-10 minute drive down to Canyon Park. There house is huge and very pretty and it was great to see Chi Holly who is 27 weeks pregnant with baby girl! We had a fun time eating and chatting with family, it was wonderful!
Movement: Yupp still lots of movement and turning and stretching, I'm always curious what position Meeps is in, wish I had x-ray vision! Today he insist on wedging a foot or something into my right rib cage LOL
Food Cravings: It was especially warm this week, been craving sushi and finally got a semi-fix, had to stick to tempura and unagi mostly but it was still very good. Also having very strong cravings for iced caramel machiattos with extra caramel, YUM. Had one today (just a tall-size) and it definitely made meeps energetic.
Belly button in or out: Still an innie but it's super stretched out LOL
What I miss:  not feeling so tired...
What I'm looking forward to: This Friday is another check with the midwives, it will be a short one but I still get excited to hear Meeps heartbeat and have them check to see how he's growing and what position he's laying in. We're also planning to take the pups to the dog park to hopefully tire them out for the baby shower which is Saturday, excited to see family and friends! And then will be nice to relax on Sunday. So happy it's a short week for us this week!

1-Year Anniversary

Wedding Party @ Heritage Park in Kirkland

Happy 1-year Anniversary to my wonderful and amazing husband! Can't believe it's been a year, has gone by so fast but so much has happened too! We are truly blessed and I'm so excited for this next adventure into parenthood with you. I love that you make me laugh every single day, that I can always be myself and you love me, weirdness quirks and all! I have the funnest time with you, even when we're doing nothing at all. I'm so proud of the man God has grown you to be and is continuing to shape you to become. Can't imagine my life without you! Love you so much!

Nursery

Crib with blue and chocolate bedding and awesome doggie print blanket that is super soft and cuddly!

Couple of Meep's first outfits

Nursery decor, keeping it simple with pics of the pups

Week 32

How far along: 32 Weeks
Weight gain:  Approx 27 lbs or so, midwife assured me I'm doing okay and that it was not too much weight gain haha I'm thinking I still have 8 or so weeks left and apparently these weeks are when you really start packing on pounds and getting huge...scared!
How big is baby: Large jicama
Maternity clothes: If I'm not at work wearing scrubs, I'm wearing pajamas at home. If I have to go out in public, I'm wearing my stretchy black pants which Hunnie hates LOL
Best moment this week: Getting the nursery more put together, we put up shelves and some frames, also go bedding for the crib and I found this awesome doggie-print soft blankie for Meeps, it rocks! We also got some other decor for around the house, the fireplace mantle is finally finished.
Movement: Lots!! He's pushing and rolling around quite a bit, sometimes it hurts because it feels like he's stretching and going to poke right out of my belly. My neice Cam got to feel him kick yesterday, she thought it was pretty cool. Me and Hunnie have seen some crazy movements of my belly and I'm sure it's going to get even more pronounced. 
Food Cravings: Pho, we're making a big pot of it today for the week, yum!
Belly button in or out: Still in but now very shallow
What I miss: Sleeping on my back
What I'm looking forward to: Having meepers here! Even though I feel nervous as the same time too LOL

Swapped the first bag I bought for this one instead, love love the print and colors