q&a: pregnancy

happy December!

this week, I will have finally reached full term (praise God!) so now that I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy-- there are a few things that I hope to remember. I've actually loved being pregnant- with the discomforts and all. I think because it took so long for us to finally conceive and because there is no knowing if it's in God's will for us to conceive again, I've made a deliberate effort to try to embrace and enjoy every part of my pregnancy. I'm so glad I did, because I really have enjoyed it and it's been an amazing experience growing a human being inside of me-- still blows my mind!  there's truly nothing like it in the world, and I feel so humbled and grateful for God's grace in allowing us to have this child.

I wanted to compile of list of things so that I can remember the little details forever. Sorry in advance for the TMI (as usual) so... to answer the often-asked question:

How was pregnancy?

1st trimester.

• major fatigue and malaise, all day err' day. these were the symptoms that actually prompted me to do a pregnancy test -- so random! but I felt like I had the flu for 2 months!
• I was taking progesterone supplements because my levels were low, which caused me to have major congestion and I couldn't breathe/sleep at night -- had to buy nasal spray for the first time (!!!)
• the progesterone hormone that your body normally produces more of during pregnancy naturally causes constipation - but because I was taking additional supplements twice a day, my constipation was...torturous. 
• I was so happy to hear that I could take colace (in moderation). but still, I had (at one point) not had a successful one in over 10 days. like I said, torturous 
• eugene was so strict with me about not drinking any caffeine but thankfully, no caffeine withdrawal headaches! thanks to doing whole30 and not drinking coffee for almost a month!
• nausea and queasiness triggered more by hunger and thoughts (not smells) of certain foods
• food aversions included: baked chicken breast or fish (so random)
• I ate so many bags of hot cheetos during this trimester. like a whole bag for dinner. 
• my worst vomit episode was in my car while I was stuck in traffic. I was so hungry on my way to meet someone for dinner - I drank a trenta-sized iced tea in the car and ate ALL the ice because I was so hungry and I threw up what seemed to be a gallon of liquid on myself and all over my carseat. didn't even have time to roll the windows down.
• brown line (linea nigra) appeared and even though I didn't have a baby bump, it started to feel more real! omg I'm really pregnant!
• felt and looked pretty miserable - it's almost embarassing how many times people asked me "what's wrong with you?" at work. too bad I couldn't tell them it wasn't that I was in a bad mood but that I was just feeling miserable because I was pregnant! 
• we waited til I was about 14 weeks to announce publicly - so to all those who thought I was mad at them or had to endure through my last-minute cancellations, I apologize!

2nd trimester.

• finally felt like myself again! the 2nd trimester burst of energy is real life and it was awesome!
• I finally started to show around 22 weeks. I remember I always made Eugene feel my belly (starting at 14 weeks) because I swore there was a baby bump in there, but no - 22 weeks is when he finally made his debut!
• we hosted our gender reveal party and found out we were having a son! Eugene was so happy :)
• I occasionally felt these strange "gas bubbles" which I later found out was the baby moving around! 
• speaking of gas, I had such bad gas during this trimester. not the kind that comes out and gives you relief. the kind that stays inside of your belly and makes you feel like a crazy person. I almost wanted to poke a needle through my belly because I was convinced I could expel air out that way.
• not only did we have gas but I experienced real-life, GERD-style heartburn. oh my goodness. I had to sleep sitting up a few nights. I stopped eating hot and spicy foods for a few weeks, which helped somewhat. I also took tums for the first time. what is life?
• it was so fun seeing baby grow and we finally saw little bits of his face. 
• at our 2nd trimester ultrasound, we found out that our baby might have trisomy 18. we were scheduled another ultrasound for 3rd trimester to rule it out.
• started doing my daily kick counts and realized how much baby actually moves around. sometimes I would have to stand up and eat ice cream or drink water to wake him up - and eugene would give him little pep talks before.  :) 
• insomnia began and it would take me 2-3 hours to fall asleep. going to work the next day was not the most fun thing after nights like that...but we made it!
• blood pressure was always so low for some reason -- 88/58 on one of my doctors visits. dang vasodilation!

3rd trimester.

• it was harder to be at work (scrubs don't fit, standing for 12 hours, minimal pee/water breaks) so I had to lay down a lot at work and I couldn't do as much which was humbling and a little sad! but I was so thankful for my sweet co-workers who often picked up my slack and helped me so much!
• I started to get charlie-horse leg cramps in the middle of the night (worse on nights after work...!!!) I would wake up in tears almost 2-3 times a night. growing pains all over again!
• baby was sitting really high and all up on my diaphragm. I was huffing and puffing after walking up stairs or even if I said too long of a sentence (generally 10+ words) it's pretty embarrassing when you have shortness of breath while sitting down, just because you said a long sentence. lol :')
• indigestion again! baby taking up all the room. I had really bad regurg and would throw up in my mouth at least 3 times a day after every meal. 
• my regurg led to a lack of appetite and a general disinterest in food (so weird for me!) I would really only eat 1 meal a day and force myself to eat high-protein snacks because I had to!
• no swelling yet, hooray! 
• baby is moving A LOT and it tickled so much and I could actually see/feel him with my hands from the outside. My heart bursts! 
• our 3rd trimester ultrasound revealed that everything looked good-  no trisomy 18! 
• had to change my OB because my doctor hurt her elbow and couldn't do any more deliveries for a few months -- and my OB was changed to a male doctor (!!!!) but I actually really like him so far!
• we got burglarized while eugene was gone for rotation (!!) and I was staying at my mom's place. it was pretty traumatizing and I had really really bad insomnia for almost 3 days after and had to call out for work. so thankful for all my friends + family who offered to sleepover, wait for me to get to my door before driving away and hung out with me until late at night.
• baby dropped at 34 weeks and Doctor started my maternity leave 1.5 weeks early. 
• we got to do our 4d ultrasound with our family and saw baby move and yawn and smile! our hearts were a completely melted and we couldn't wait to meet him! 

Appetite changes/preferences

• pho / one of my favorite foods but I couldn't stomach it for almost 2 trimesters. especially pho with any kind of meat. it made me so grossed out! chicken pho was okay though, as long as I had lots of lime and chili sauce! 
• spicy foods / I always loved spicy but my cravings for spicy things were on another level. (육개장, hot cheetos, things bathed in sriracha and the famous 불닭볶음면!) The hype is real....we ate those spicy noodles almost once a week for a month!
• beef hot pot from boiling point / I used to always get the japanese miso one but I always craved the tangy beef hot pot. I filled up so many of those stamp cards during my pregnancy! 
• bread / I used to say I could live without it --  but one of my favorite things was white toast with butter. and a strange new liking to pastries. 
• ice cream / nothing out of the ordinary for me, but definitely craved it more than usual. my absolute fave was the korean pear ice slush "Tank Boy". so refreshing during the hot summer days! 
• jasmine green milk tea / i actually preferred to drink this over all of my usual faves (i.e. lattes, etc.) 
• black iced coffee / the good kinds and not the danky ones from starbucks. I never ever drank my coffee black but I really enjoyed it black and iced while pregnant - probably because Eugene only let me take 2-3 sips a day. 

Things I miss:

• sushi
• medium-rare steaks (how do people eat it well done? yack!)
• riding rollercoasters (lol!) I almost went on a trip to knott's before I realized I would waste my money going there..
• being able to paint my toes without feeling like I'm gonna pass out
• running around at work and being able to do heavy-lifting things without getting yelled at by my coworkers....hehe xoxo

Bucket-list before baby comes!

• go out as much as possible (per the recommendations of all my mommy friends!)
• go to target and cafes just because
• take a trip to SD with my sisters! 
• read as much as possible! (i'm currently reading 3 books and hope to finish before baby arrives!)
• memorize + meditate on more scripture (need to archive that for those tough late-night shifts!)
• date nights every day once eugene comes back from his rotation! 
• host a lot of get togethers at our place (game nights, dinners, dumpling-making party, etc!)

only about a month left but we can't wait to meet you, little one! xoxo