18 weeks, 5 days

Everything has stayed about the same since last week. We went to a work dinner last night, and they offered an unlimited salad bar. I had one plate too many, and I was incredibly uncomfortable for about two hours afterwards. But it was worth it, so I'm not mad.

I've actually been able to feel him moving around for a couple of weeks now. At first, the "butterfly" feeling people talk about felt less like a butterfly and more like a freshly-opened can of Coke--the bubbly part of it. Maybe to some people that is the same butterfly feeling, but I guess not to me. In the past several days, I've felt little pokes here and there. It's pretty exciting, and it's feels great to be able to keep track of the movement this early on. I'm sure I'll be feeling a lot more the bigger he gets!

As far as my leg cramps and joint pain, I've been having good days and bad days. There are some days when I'll wake up and be a little sore and it'll go away after a while. Then there are days when I just want to tear my legs off, just to relieve the pain. I will say the same thing I said when I was in the depths of morning sickness, though; this is all worth it to me. I know it'll get worse as far as pains and overall discomfort, and I'm ready for that. The only thing that worries me is my performance at work in the next few months, just because I've been getting tired faster and I'm not even in the home stretch at this point. I'll just take it one day at a time and hope for the best.

Here's a shot I just took before starting this post:

Please disregard the laundry hanging in the background--it's laundry day in the G. household! I do have other pictures of the "gut" as I like to call it, but they are all of my bare belly. And I can only go so far in regards to showing this lovely bod to the world :)

Around the World in One Afternoon

There is a place right here in Bucheon called Aiins World. They have recreated different landmarks from around the world and miniaturized them. Steve and I went a couple of years ago. You just walk around and take pictures--nothing too special about this place, really. It was more interesting than anything.

 The Forbidden City, Beijing, China. This was kind of cool, because we had just come back from there a few months earlier. So it was nice knowing we had actually been there.

                                                                        Stonehenge

                                          This is me assuming Notre Dame?

                                           

                                                                     The Eiffel Tower

                                                             The Palace of Versailles

                                                                Basilica di San Pietro

                                                                   The Coliseum

                                                                 Sagrada Familia Church

                                                                    Mt. Kilimanjaro

                                                                 Sydney Opera House

                                                                  Lincoln Memorial

                                          On the Lincoln Memorial. I got excited about this one!

                                                                     And this one. . .

                                                                And this one :)

                                       The Statue of Liberty, looking over Korean apartment buildings.
                                                                        As it should be.

                                                 Last but not least, Times Square in N.Y.C.

There are a ton more pictures from this place, but it's all the same. Just different landmarks from all over, in teeny-tiny detail.

17 weeks

Just a little list of what's going on in my mind lately...

- I HATE the word "preggo." It just seems stupid to me.

- Still can't eat or smell fried chicken, and it's the only thing that makes me gag or want to gag. I'm just happy I can eat chicken again, and since fried stuff isn't good for you anyway, I suppose it's better than having fried chicken cravings all the time. Other fried foods are a hit-and-miss. Like I'm a bit sick of fried pork cutlets.

- Haven't had any cravings at all. It's funny, because that's one of the main questions I get asked. I feel weird saying I don't and haven't had any cravings, but that's the way it is, and I'm not going to lie.

- I'm finally getting my appetite back. In the past four months, I've only gained 5 pounds. The main reasons for that are 1) I had such bad morning sickness (mostly nausea and dry heaving, with very little vomiting) I couldn't eat very much, and 2) I haven't had much of an appetite. This lack of a weight gain had me worried for a while, but the doctor reassured me that everything was okay. I'm not underweight, and as long as I am able to eat a healthful and balanced diet, I'll be okay. At the same time, even though I have been able to eat normally for about a week or two, I fill up pretty fast. I know this has to do with the change in my digestion from the pregnancy, but it does make me wonder at the pregnant women who do eat a ton. Aren't they uncomfortable after they eat? I get bloated even after a small meal. I know every woman is different, but I wonder.

- Sleep has been a struggle for me. I'm one of those people who sleeps like a rock. I'm a night person, and I am used to going to bed between 1 and 2 am. Now, I'm lucky if I can stay up past 11. I've also always been that person who can sleep from 2 am 'till 2pm. Seriously. But now, I'll wake up at 3 or 4 am, go to the bathroom, fall asleep, and be up for good by 7:30-8am. I've been learning to deal with this sleep deprivation (at least that's what it feels like!), but it makes for a grouchy Cindy.

- One of the reasons for my lack of sleep is having to get up at night to pee. I've stopped drinking water at about 10pm, to allow myself to go before I go to bed. That hasn't helped much, but maybe it needs time to kick in. This didn't start until about two weeks ago, by the way.

- Another reason for my sleep being interrupted is leg pain/leg cramps. My calves have been cramping up really bad, to where the pain will wake me from a deep sleep. It hurts!

- Hip joint pain is another wonderful part of pregnancy. I found out that this hormone called relaxin, which helps to give the ligaments in my pelvic area the flexibility they'll need in the birth process, is what is making my hips hurt so bad in the mornings. The pain started this Monday morning. The worst of it was this morning. It even hurt to walk.

- Another lovely "side effect" of pregnancy is shortness of breath. I feel like I've never exercised in my life! I'll be walking and talking, and need to stop in the middle of a sentence to catch my breath.

- Steve is AMAZING. He is so loving and patient and takes such good care of me! We went shopping for groceries and we took our backpacks so we wouldn't have to buy grocery bags. After we checked out, I put the heaviest stuff in his bag and I put less than eight pounds worth into mine. Quick as lightning, he grabbed both his bag and my bag and put them on and said, "You go put the cart away and grab the umbrellas (It had been raining)." Then he walked away. I got REALLY upset and met up with him at the light. I said, "Just because I'm pregnant doesn't make me disabled." He looked at me and said, "Cindy, why are you so upset?" He went on to say that this was the LEAST he could do. He said he felt so helpless sometimes, seeing me sick with morning sickness and then my latest round of pains and being so tired. He just wanted to take that load of my back and do what he could for me and the baby. Then I felt bad because he was absolutely right, and he was just trying to be a good husband. So yeah, I have an awesome husband and I love him :)

And here it the latest shot of our little boy. This was him at our last appointment: 16 weeks.

It's a

BOY!!!!

We found out yesterday and couldn't be more excited. And maybe I did buy a couple of little onesies? And maybe I did buy a little pair of socks? Can't help it!

Early Riser

Without fail, I've been getting up at about 8 each morning. This wouldn't be bad if everything around here opened at that time. Most places within a 5-minute walk don't open until 10-10:30, and so I feel like I can't get anything done. I'm used to sleeping in, and another downside to waking up this early is that I've been going to bed between 10:30 and 11:30 every night. Again, this wouldn't be bad if I worked normal hours. Because I kind of trained my body to have eight hours of sleep each night, I used to go to bed at about 1 a.m. and wake up at 9, maybe 9:30. I don't even work until 1 p.m., and get off between 9 and 9:25. So it also makes it hard to really relax after work, since I'm ready for bed right when I get home. I know a big part of it is the fact that I have to be on my feet most of the day to teach, and that makes me more tired. But it's just annoying to me. I know it's a little thing to be upset about, but it makes for long work weeks.