Browse Month: April 2012

The Chair

Hello.  Still here!  No baby yet.  Today is our earliest due date 4/15 and nothing’s happened yet.  There was some confusion for our due date based on our first ultrasound and date of conception so we have two.  The second due date is 4/17 and that’s been the one that my doctor is currently going by.  I guess it’s fine since I’m still sitting here in my livingroom on 4/15 watching TV without even a hint of going into labor.  *sigh*  Oh well, I guess it just extends my “Return to Work” date.  Heh heh.  Don’t forget to put in your due date guess here.  🙂

Today Ryan also dropped off their awesome glider chair.  We are the 3rd family to receive it and it’s greatly appreciated.  Dog’s reaction to Mr. Chair was a little odd.  He sniffed and inspected and stared at the chair for a good half-hour.  He probably smelled a combination of Jack, Reese, and Cat-Cat.  He kept staring at it and looking back at me like something was supposed to happen or appear.  He also poked the seat with his nose and made it glide back and forth, which sort of worried him.  What a funny dog.

Make a Guess!

Just wanted to report that there’s nothing new to report here.  No baby yet.

In the meantime, let’s make guesses for when you think Kumquat will actually arrive.  At this point it feels like she’s never going to come out.

Here are the stats so far:

Due Date: 4/17
Baby has dropped and she’s head-down.
I lost another 1/2 lb this morning.
Having Braxton-Hicks contractions about once an hour and they’re pretty strong.

So, if you want to play, click on “Comments” and make your best guess for:

Day of Birth:
Time of Birth:
Weight: (Average is between 6-9 lbs.)
Length: (Average is between 18-20 inches)

Kumquat Watch 2012

For the past couple of days, I’ve had some good company and good food.  My mom arrived on Tuesday afternoon and it’s been nice to have her here.  With less than a week left of my pregnancy, I’ve been getting in some tasty treats and lots of long walks through the city. With my mom with me, Jesse can also feel a little better about me waddling around the city all day.

On Tuesday, as soon as I picked her up from the airport, we went straight to 99 Ranch and we bought a bunch of groceries including some ingredients that we’d need for dinner this week.  We also ran a few more errands.  It’s so much easier running errands when you have someone sitting in passenger seat waiting while I run out to get whatever I need with the parked illegally and the car still running.  We picked up dry cleaning and then a bag of clothes that Ranee had left for me since Little Sophie had outgrown some of her stuff over the past 3 weeks here in SF.  Thanks, Ranee!  That evening, my mom whipped up an old childhood favorite of mine.  It’s call Kao Moo Dang and basically consists of eating rice with BBQ pork, hard-boiled egg, and cucumber with a savory red sauce and a sweet soy sauce.  It had been YEARS since I had it and I was so happy.

The next morning, we walked Koa together and then hopped on N-Judah and took it to UCSF for my weekly antenatal testing.

This time my mom came along and Jes went to work.  She got to see the ultrasound of Kumquat and the nurse said that she’s growing lots of hair on her head.  Yay!  Everything checked out fine and she still has plenty of fluid for Week 39.  Can you believe I only have a week left?!

After the appt., we took the light rail back to downtown and did some more shopping in Chinatown.  There was a certain ingredient, preserved cabbage, that we couldn’t find at 99 Ranch Market and I luckily found it in some random store on a bottom shelf.  Perfect!  It was just what we needed for dinner!

Then for a late breakfast/early lunch, we stopped at our favorite place for porridge and fried dough.  Aaahh…  With full stomachs, we took the bus home and I ended up taking a monster nap.  For dinner, my mom made a dry noodle dish called Bahmee Hang made with egg noodles, the leftover BBQ pork, cilantro, green veggies, and a bunch of other stuff that you add to it for flavor.  Boy, I’m spoiled.

This morning, I weighed myself and I had lost a pound!  Seriously?!  With all this eating, how is that possible?!  My mom and I took the bus to my weekly prenatal appointment and it was uneventful as usual and the doc says that she doesn’t think Kumquat will be a big baby.   Phew.  I hope she’s right.  She also said that my weight has also stabilized as she had expected.  That means labor is close!  Ah…so I wasn’t going crazy this morning.For breakfast, we walked down to Embarcadero and caught the F-line to Fisherman’s Wharf for my mom’s favorite mini donuts.  They were so scrumptious and perfect with coffee.

Then it was back on the F-line to the Ferry Building for some browsing of the Farmers’ Market and then another favorite – the porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti.

I opted for Kimchi Fried Rice from Namu instead and we both walked home full and happy.  Once again, about 30 minutes after getting home, I passed out and took another monster nap. To make the day even better, I woke up to the smell of peanut sauce cooking.

Oh man, Koa and I are going to be so spoiled this coming month.  I get good home-cooking and he gets timely walks and little pieces of bread and crackers that my mom snacks on during the day.  Now if only Kumquat would hurry up and make her appearance…then again, maybe I can wait another couple days.  🙂

OK. I’m ready.

After 3 weeks of maternity leave and a really lazy weekend, I can say that I’m ready to have this baby.  In fact, on Friday night, Jes and I stayed up to watch a 4-hour 2-disc DVD that his co-worker lent to us.  We hadn’t gone to any classes and this had everything we needed to know about childbirth and what to expect afterward.  She also went over the pros and cons of all the different drug options and it looks like I may not be a good candidate for an epidural.  It left me thinking that I need to be mentally prepared to go through with this naturally.  It’s like I had signed up for a marathon that I didn’t train for.  I guess we’ll have to see what happens.

On Saturday, we walked to the Ferry Plaza for lunch and had a feast at Hog Island Oyster Co.  It’s one of my favorite places to eat and I was so happy.  Jes had some raw oysters and we also each started with a salad.

Mine was the Little Gem Salad that had mandarin oranges, apples, and almonds.  The shaved cheese on top was a little weird at first sight but made a lot of sense when I tasted it.

Next was our clam chowder.  It’s never disappointing and went so perfectly with the roasted crab that came next.  When we were done with the crab, it looked like a massacre on the table.  It could have been the perfect meal but it was missing one thing: a nice glass of white wine.  🙂  Heh heh.  I only have to wait a couple more weeks!!!  Yippee!!

Sunny Days

I’m so lucky to be on maternity leave in the Spring.  We’ve had some pretty nice weather lately and the days are getting longer.  Good to know that I’m getting plenty of Vitamin D!On my way home from the doctor’s office on Thursday, I walked to the Ferry Plaza for lunch and then decided it was sunny and warm enough to walk home.

So with some coconut and passionfruit sorbet in hand, I waddled my butt home along the waterfront.  I think I walked a good 2 miles that afternoon and was exhausted by the time I reached the couch.

On Friday morning, I met up with Michelle and Reese for a little morning stroll.  Reese is quite the walker now so it was fun to watch her roam freely on her own power.

Jes also had Friday off and we were SUPER LAZY the rest of the day.  We went to Little Skillet for lunch (fried chicken, baby!) and then ended up napping for most of the afternoon.  When we both got up, the dog was ready for his afternoon walk and there was plenty of daylight left.
Here’s a photo of me, Dog, and Kumquat at 38 weeks and 3 days.  It was a triple-win that afternoon – Koa got a long walk, I got some sunshine, and Jes got to watch the boats in the harbor.

Cleaning and Catching Up

This week has been all about cleaning up the house (like dusting the bookshelves in the corner that never get any attention) and catching up with friends.  Now that I’m 12 days away from my due date I’m not supposed to travel too far from home.

On Tuesday morning, I met up with Elaine.  She was brave enough to meet me in the city by driving to Millbrae BART Station (from Sunnyvale) and then taking BART to Powell Station where I found her.  We had a snack and some coffee while we chatted before I had to go to my doctor’s appointment.  It’s so nice to have an old friend around.  We’ve known each other since 2002 and we both got married the same year.  Wow, that was 10 years ago!  Happy 10th Friendship Anniversary, Elaine!!  🙂  Thanks for coming all the way up to see me!!!

On Wednesday, I drove across the bridge to Oakland.  I stopped at Target to buy some cleaning supplies and then Babies R Us to return some duplicate gifts that I received.  Then it was off to Genova Deli where I met up with Teresa and Steph for lunch.  It was like our usual Thursday lunch except it was a Wednesday and Nicole and Patty were too sick to come out that day.  Although we only hung out for about 40 minutes it was nice to just hang out with friends again.  I miss them.

I also stopped at the local children’s store next to the deli.  Turns out they have used clothes for sale in the back.  I bought Kumquat a little 3-month outfit: a cute Old Navy white knitted sweater for $8 and a pair of Old Navy jeans for $6.  They also buy your used clothes for 50% of what they think they can sell your items for in the store.  Good to know for later when it’s time to purge again.

Later that afternoon, I got a manicure and pedicure at the place down the street from home.  Let’s just say it was time to clean up my fingers and toes too.  I had always wanted to take advantage of mid-day/mid-week specials and I totally did because I finally could!

Last night, Patty texted me and we also got caught up on things.  I love iMessage!  Free text messaging is always a good thing.

This morning I also got a photo from Steph.  It was a photo of her Greasy Food Friday breakfast.  For as long as I can remember, the two of us have been going to the cafeteria on Fridays to get a tasty breakfast like a pancake and sausage patty or an egg sandwich with bacon.  Yum.  She sent me a photo last Friday and was right on time this morning too!  I think I’m going to have to keep Friday mornings sacred for her.  I ended up making an egg sandwich with ham today.

OK. This was a random post.  Just thought I’d keep you all updated on my day-to-day activities while Kumquat is still cookin’.  Jesse has the day off today so I’ve have some company today. Yay! Have a nice Friday!