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Baby boy, AG, was born on Saturday, November 15th at 4:12PM, 7lbs 3oz, 20 inches at Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco, CA.

Labor was indescribable painful (med free) but relatively short compared to other first timer moms' stories.  He even pushed half of his head out by himself:-)  Next time around, I think I will take advantage of the epidural hehehehe....

some snaps of the birth day:

So far it's pretty uneventful.  Last Wednesday's check confirmed that everything is on track, baby's position is perfect and heading down.  I'm officially on mommy leave starting this week, a little challenging to have not doing or planning anything for someone who gets paid to organize and coordinate things :-)  I consider this pre-baby hiatus period as baby and mommy's weight gain maximizing time (LOL).

The braxton hicks are getting more frequent, accompanied by on and off menstrual cramps. My dear baby boy, enjoy your last few weeks of belly warmth....you are now free to come out whenever you're ready :-)

MIL is arriving next Saturday.  It should be nice to have her around.  Unfortunately my own mom is not physically sound to travel so far, I'm a little bummed.  But that's okay, I'll get to see her later...with the baby too.

Anyway, let the waiting game begins....I'll keep you all posted!

ciao!

I think my belly can do the justice....and it feels good to flaunt it!

whoa 36 weeks??  crib...check, carseat and stroller...check, nappies...check, clothes for first 3 months...abundant, lamaze class? check, baby shower? check, birth plan? check, hospital bag? packing,mentally ready? working on it :-)

I think I'm starting the 'nesting' mode too.

Snaps of the belly in week 32....getting bigger by the day!

Yes, it's true what people say that pregnancy makes you lazy.  Well mine does, and even more lately.  Fast forward since last post, I'm already in week 31.  9 more weeks ago...and it certainly gives me goosebumps when I think about it.  I think both MG and I are starting on the engine now, it feels more real.  We finished gearing up the apartment to make room for the baby.  We have nothing but a crib for now but pretty soon we'll crossing out the shopping list.

Nothing major or concern going on.  Baby and I decided to catch up our weights nicely after being screamed at by the doctor on last check up.  My tummy is getting big by the day and he's cutting down the activity as he has less space to move around in the tummy.  I'm told to count his movement:kicks, jabs, etc and find out how long he takes to make 10 moves.  We've been doing this for 3 weeks and on average he could do 10 moves in under 10 mins, some days are surprisingly under 5 mins.  We have fun doing it, good time for us to communicate with him as well.

I said no major concern, but I see my ankles/feet swelling up at times.  The best remedy for me is to walk it off (this may comes from my running regimen).  And I've also been cutting down my salt intake.  There's funny occurrence I seem to notice when I'm walking, my balance is off and I tend to drift...couldn't help it, just happened

No recent belly pictures, I apologize.  It takes more effort to get the camera from the top of bookshelf and I keep forgetting to ask MG to get it. 

We will have next appt this Wednesday.  I wish they will do ultrasound but they don't do that here in the US.  Ultrasound is a separate appointment even though the OB/GYN dept owns the equipment on the floor.  I can't wait to see my little boy and how big he is.  Maybe I can beg for a quick ultrasound check on Wednesday :-)

Until next time...

I haven't blogged for a while.  Work has been busy and we are gearing up the apartment to prepare for baby arrival.  We decided to stay in the apt, we still can't find anything we like in SF and yes, they are still quite pricey, especially in this economy.  Prices have gone down, not so much in SF.  Owning a home feels more like a liability instead of asset.

So we're making major adjustments in the apt.  During this process, we realized that we actually have more spaces that we have ever thought and more than we ever needed in an appox. 800sq ft 2-bedroom apt.  We can't do drastic changes due to rental agreement but we managed to get the management to replace the old carpet at no cost (which hopefully will take place asap).  We consolidated our clothes into one closet, and many more consolidation.  Well, we like living in the city and would like to maintain the city lifestyle.  We have been fortunate to inherited this apt from my ex roommate Dorothy (inheritance = rent control), why not stick with it.  Everywhere else in the world downtown area, 800sq ft apt is probably a luxury.  We've been living in the city with suburbia furniture, that doesn't work well...so minimize...minimize...minimize....

We haven't started shopping for the baby yet, wanting to get the apt ready first.  We've done researches and found what would work for us.  Having tight spaces mean we have to find alternative products.  Most baby stuff out there fits for a bigger house or designated nursery area.  We don't have a nursery room, and we don't plan to have it anyway.  Baby will sleep in our room (in his own bed of course) and this actually adds more bonding time between us and the baby.

We have more projects to do...pregnancy is entering 7 months (time flies.....).  I feel great, minor discomfort here and there but overall I'm feeling good.  This little one is an active one, we think he's started the Kungfu moves...oh and meditation when he's quiet :-)

Picture of the belly:

That was the introduction we each had to make at our yoga class today.  No one cares about name and how far along we are but at the end of the introduction we're supposed to come up with one POSITIVE word (yes, one) that will represent your wish on you birth-giving process.  I thought it was quite interesting.  So the list goes:
I would like my birth to be:
- CALM
- PEACEFUL
- LOVING
- CONFIDENT
- OPTIMISTIC
- SMOOTH (not complication-free, the word "complication" has negative remark)
- TRUST
- UNITY
- and many more strong, positive, and powerful words!

I must say all the women in the class, regardless how small or big their tummy are, look great.  Heck one of them is due this Saturday and she looked like she could carry that belly for few more weeks :-)

I really enjoyed the class today.

And today morning, hubbie got a excitement shot for being able to feel the baby's movement for the first time.  His face was priceless.  Well, he's off to India for a week, a family thing.  I'm a little scared being pregnant alone but I will be okay.

cheers!

I was reading the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy last night, straight to week 17-20 chapter...I couldn't believe that I'm on 5th month of pregnancy.  The pregnancy community always speaks of WEEKS, which still a strange thing for me.

I asked hubbie to take belly pictures, to share with family and friends who are eagerly waiting for updates.

My belly looks much bigger and rounder with frontal view than side.  I do wonder why I don't look as big as other pregnant women in their 5th months of pregnancy, and if I haven't gained weight as the doc suggested.  I'm confident that I'm alright and the baby is growing and developing as he should be.

Being pregnant you're surrounded by gazillion suggestions and opinions, which make you confused at times.  I decided to engage myself with the baby more than spending time worry about what people say.  I do appreciate them sharing stories with me; their stories are theirs and I'm creating my own journey.  I could take in what's valuable for me and leave the rest out.  Every pregnancy is different, the doc said. 

I'm looking for a good story book so I can start reading it to him.  They say he can hear me quite clearly at this stage so I don't want to miss the fun.  I started talking to him, hubbie too....3 languages: English, Bahasa Indonesia, and Hindi/Marathi. 

(Blogging from work...pssst!)