who in their right mind asks to be kicked?

NOBODY in their right mind would ask to be kicked, but pregnant women are not in the right state of mind to care. I crack up every time I read a pregnant lady write "Baby is kicking me so hard, I LOVE IT" or "When am I going to feel the baby kick? I just can't wait". Might as well just ask someone to kick you in the stomach a few times to make you feel better. Okay, I know that's not the same but still, I think that'd help. I'm 21 weeks pregnant and I finally have felt a few little thumps internally, obviously the child inside of me is more like dad and isn't very active. Not that Eugene isn't active, but he can sit for hours without moving; while I, on the other hand have to toss and turn.

Feeling you kick is a nice feeling, BUT please stop kicking me in the bladder. Or at least know where my bladder is and stop laying on it. I hate laying down, having to go to the bathroom, laying back down and feeling like I still have to go to the bathroom. Seriously, can we please stop playing this game of going to the bathroom and laying down? By the second use of the bathroom, your dad usually says something like, "Geez, you have to go to the bathroom again?" And to quiet him I usually take the blanket off of him and tell him he needs to escort me to the bathroom to see how horrible it feels to get up 5 times in less than 10 minutes. Obviously going to the bathroom is not by choice but just exactly what you want from me.

You have graduated from cantaloupe and are not a banana. Happy 21 weeks.

I'm slowly popping out of my "regular" clothes and easing my way into "maternity" clothes. I had a pretty big break down packing up my closet to make some space for my maternity clothes. I can't believe I won't be wearing my regular shorts and tanks until the summer of 2012 (if I fit into them by then). I packed away my casual summer clothes and probably won't be opening the box until next summer which seems light years away. I even packed away my professional clothes since I won't be needing those for an unknown amount of time. Of course I left my suits and a couple dress pants but that's just in hopes that I somehow need to wear them in the future, but I'm not holding my breath. I then donated a good fourth of my closet so all I have left are "mother" appropriate clothes. sighhh.

On a brighter note, last week I bought an ergobaby from babysteals.com for $65, a complete steal! I finally got it in the mail this week and I'm definitely excited about it. The color isn't my first choice, but its what it is for $65. To experiment with the new baby carrier, I had to use one of my babies.

My baby Walnut obviously loved the whole thing, he enjoyed being carried I'm sure. Okay, he really didn't but we know that the carrier works. Mission Accomplished. 


Wait, now that I think about it we also had some help with our exersaucer.

Enjoy! 

your father is embracing pregnancy so well

Let me just start off by saying that some fathers "think" they are going through pregnancy with their wives to make the wives feel better about themselves. Well that's my take on it. Eugene is doing exactly this -- eating like a maniac and talking like a hormonal pregnant woman.

Eugene is a "scrawny" guy (LOL, Danielle this one is all your doing). He gained maybe 10 pounds after we started living together which means I'm probably doing a pretty good job of feeding him, or he lost control. I think the second of the two. For example, we went to a Bulls game where we won with over 100 points and every Bulls fan knows what that means -- FREE BIG MAC. Well, I don't eat fast food so I gave my voucher to Eugene. I asked him if he was going to have a fries with his two free big macs, and he said probably not and that he'd have a whole tostinos pizza on the side instead. That's TWO big macs and one tostinos pizza - just for the record. How ridiculous is that? Pretty ridiculous and well stupid on his part. Who really wants to eat 1,500+ calories in one sitting anyways? Obviously Eugene does.

The other day I went to my mom's house to eat breakfast. After breakfast, Eugene decided the meal just wasn't enough and stated this exact phrase, "I want some cheeto puffs. Man I want some cheeto puffs. Pregnancy is really getting to me. I can't rid of this pregnant craving". Talk about making a talkative girl speechless. The first thought that ran through me was, OMG you're such a fatty! and then of course number two was, did he really just say this pregnancy craving is killing me? Who does this man think he is? Obviously he was using that great sense of humor of his. But really, does he think he can get away with saying things like that to excuse his fatness and strange cravings?

Your dad is truly embracing pregnancy pretty well. I guess I should say I'm blessed to have a partner to go through the pregnancy with but I'm a bit scared that your dad is going to turn into a pretty big man. And when I say big, I don't mean great or amazing but I mean FAT. A lot of people that knew your dad pre-marriage were surprised to find out that he gained any weight at all. They think its great that he's gaining weight since he looked pretty unhealthy and sickened before, I think its great too; but soon enough this will turn into a problem. Mark my words.

And for the record, I really don't care if your dad gets fat or if he's too skinny. The only reason why I'm writing this is for the humor of it all. He cracks me up each and every day and I thought it would crack you up too, to know that your father has somewhat of a thing called sense of humor.

we waited 12 weeks to see you once again

We are so happy to have finally seen you after waiting 12 weeks. But now, we can finally call you by your name. We are so excited that we finally know that you are healthy, happy, comfortable, and truly the perfect child anyone can ask for. You made both myself and daddy really happy and complete - at least till we finally hold you in our arms. For all those waiting for my baby's debut, here you go:

 Baby Chon's leg, see the baby's calf? Looks like its going to be big like Mommys. 

 Baby Chon holding her/his leg at the knee.

 Baby Chon's foot - perfect 5 toes

 Baby Chon with leg over head - also known as the human pretzel.

 Baby Chon waving or maybe (s)he's tired that we're trying so hard to move her/him to see the gender.

 Baby Chon's frontal view - yes (s)he looks like an alien.

Another picture of Baby Chon with foot waving hello. (S)he is so cute! Doesn't the top of the sac look like there's bubbles that the baby is creating? Kind of like a cartoon with baby saying ZzZz 

Throughout the ultrasound, Baby Chon was content where (s)he was and wouldn't move for the life of us. (S)he wouldn't move around or uncross her/his legs for us to see the gender. It took us a good 15 minutes of probing the belly to finally get a glimpse of baby's private part. Talk about stubborn like me -- OH I'm in for a treat. If the baby is ANYTHING like me, I'm about to have a hell of a ride. 

I know a lot of people are wondering what gender Baby Chon is, but both Eugene and I have decided not to share with our friends until our baby shower. We think it would be special for our guests that attend to be a part of a special reveal, so till then everyone will have to wait.

I am so happy with our beautiful baby and what I'm feeling is so surreal. What makes me even happier is that Eugene is talking like a dad now, like a REAL DAD! I think he was shocked as to how clearly we could see the body parts of our baby and the fact that he saw a real human being on that monitor. Everything is just now.. REAL.

To end off on a great note, here's my belly at 20 weeks - Hello Baby Cantaloupe.

10 things I won't miss about pregnancy

Pregnancy has been great to me and a gift from God to experience, BUT there are always things that you won't miss about it. This list will probably continue as I go through my second half of pregnancy, but as of 20 weeks this is what I will not miss (Yes, some of these are pretty gross but I'm being honest so that I can remember the small things in the future)

10. Waking up in the middle of the night having to pee, about 3 to 4 times a night. But worse, not being able to fall back asleep right away and having to toss and turn and dream about sleeping.

9. Sleeping on my left side or wedging a pillow on my right butt cheek so that I can somewhat sleep on my back but left side as well. I'm a stomach sleeper and darn proud of it, I can't wait to even just have the option of sleeping on my stomach.

8. Peeing every time I sneeze. I've done some kegel exercises but everytime I do them I have to pee. There is no winning this one.

7. Feeling ache/pain and stretching when I do anything too quickly. I'm talking about pains that bring you down to your knees and make you stay still till the pain goes away. I'm sure I get weird stares while walking when I get these random spurts of pain but till you're pregnant and dealing with the pains I'm dealing with, please no judging.

6. Having cravings that you can't control, not being able to think about anything else until it is fulfilled - definitely something I have never experienced before (nerd ropes, chocolate cake, milk, popsicles and juice right before bed)

5. GAS, GAS, GAS - Having the worst gas I've ever had in my life. I'm talking gas bloat, grumbling in the stomach, farting for minutes straight, and worst of all a smell that can put out an army. Do I need to explain why I won't miss this one? Eugene says that this is the main thing he'll remember about my pregnancy.

4. Achy boobs otherwise known as Lightning Boobs - the pain where I want to just grab my boob and somehow ease it but no matter how you hold your boob it won't go away. And obviously its inappropriate grabbing your boob in public.

3. Sleeping body limbs - I can't be in any position for too long or else I get painful tingles in my fingers, toes, and feet, talk about painfully uncomfortable.

2. Consuming non-alcoholic beverages - I haven't been sober this long since.. well probably since the end of high school. Now I'm not talking about wanting to consume alcohol all the time, but I hate the fact that nobody will let me even take a sip of anything just to try. Eugene and our good friend Reginald were drinking these random beers last night, and well I wasn't able to even have a sip. Actually, Eugene held his breathe when I even asked to smell the beer. I JUST WANT SOME ALCOHOL!

1. Not being able to eat what I want to eat - sushi, deli meat on a sandwich without heating it up, portillo's chopped salad with cheese, etc. I'm tired of asking waitresses if the cheese is pasteurized while getting "you're crazy" looks for even asking, having to toast my sandwiches when I never toasted before pregnancy, not eating sushi at all since I can't have any of the sushi that I really like, and especially having people ask me if its okay that I eat what I'm eating. I just want to eat what I want!

goodbye sweet potato, hello mango

Happy 19 weeks to you, you have now moved out of being a sweet potato and moved in to being a mango. This photo is dedicated to you:

You are now 19 weeks and in 1 more week I'll be able to see your beautiful face. I'm trying not to count down the days, but I can't help it. I can't wait to see you, make sure that you are healthy, and call you by your name. I've been holding back name calling till I find out if you're a little boy or girl so that you can hear your name for the first time.

You've been so good to me, you have been so calm and as your grandmother would say, you're just like your daddy. Never causing problems, not giving me sickness, and letting me live peacefully while you're in there. And you're grandmother would also say that I'm the complete opposite and created the worst problems for her and made her sicker than a dog (but don't listen to her). We'll just have to wait and see what truly happens when you get here, I do secretly hope you're more like your father because he's a great man.

Here's you at 19 weeks:

you're turning me into a monster

A monster for cravings. I can't think about anything else except my cravings once my craving button is hit. Eugene and I were watching Food Network "Best Thing I Ever Ate - Guilty Pleasures" and of course there was this delicious looking cake that I wanted oh so bad. And well I became lazy and didn't want to go out and I didn't want Eugene to go out on his own, so we decided to call my brother and ask him to bring some chocolate deliciousness. This is what he brought:

the most delicious cupcakes I have ever eaten. From The Crumb in Chicago, we got Orea, Tiramisu, and Chocolate Cheesecake; the Red Velvet was reserved for Charlotte. What a fabulous brother I have, and uncle that you'll be having.

and they keep coming..

Baby, man the things we do for you! We just got you an exersaucer, cleaned it up really nicely and made sure that everything works so that you can have something really fun to play with when you come. We even got you a really nice crib mattress, changing table mattress, and a bumbo for you to sit up and watch us while you're still unable to sit up on your own. You'll be in love when you see all the stuff we're getting you, I know we are for sure. I'm being smart and buying things gently used because do I really want to buy something full price if I don't have to? or have someone else buy it for full price when they can spend their money on more useful things? I'm glad that we're being smart about this, you'll be too. Especially since now we'll have more money to spoil you.. but well you're not going to be a brat by all means, that definitely won't be happening.

18 weeks and counting...

18 weeks welcomes a sweet potato. In 2 more weeks I get to see if I'm carrying a little girl or boy. I cannot wait! 

all for you, baby

For the past few days I've been searching for gently used items for the baby. As of now, I've found an activity mat for $18, what a great deal. Some parents may say that babies don't use this, but this is still a great one for tummy time. I'm so excited to slowly be getting things for the baby, I've also found a changing mattress, blue bumbo, and einstein exersaucer for $50. Although I wanted a green bumbo, the blue one will do. I also found a crib mattress from colage which is the company i wanted to purchase my mattress from and maybe even a swing. Craigslist is an addiction. Either way, this is all for you baby.