Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends and families!

For thanksgiving, Paul, baby girl and I traveled to Philadelphia to visit Paul's family. All of his brothers congregated from Korea as well. It was so fun to see everyone and hang out for a few days with uninterrupted face-time! It was especially nice to see Judy (1st brother, Dave's wife) and share our pregnancy stories since she's only 2 weeks ahead of us on the pregnancy journey. Below is a picture of the Hwang family at church:

We had a nice family + friends thanksgiving dinner at home and spent the rest of the night watching the beloved Eagles game. We cooked so much turkey, we had turkey for dinner and again for lunch the next day.... AND there was a lot left for the littlest brother to take to college. I think we cooked 2- 14lb turkeys. crazzzzy.

I think I gained like 5 pounds on this trip! By the way, our baby girl kicked and punched the entire ride home in the plane.... Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!

It's a GIRL!!!!

Oh, that husband of mine!!! Being married to him is one surprise after another... He kept everyone believing, including me, that we're not finding out the sex of the baby.. My poor mom asked him again last night and he told her no. I begged him this morning on our way to the Dr. if we can find out and he said no.

We were sitting on the examining chair with Dr. Bochner. Dr. asked us "so am I telling you the sex of the baby today?" I immediately said "I'd like to know but my husband doesn't so I guess not" to which Paul replied "yes, please tell us." WHAT?!

The Dr. first looked at the size of the baby and he said the baby's size was perfect for a 20/21 week baby. Awesome! Then he looked at the heart (we saw 4 chambers), kidneys (there were 2), lips for cleft (nope) and the brain for a hole (nope). Everything seemed to check out perfectly and the moment of truth came... He went to the between the legs area and there was nothing! It's a girl!!!!!

Our initial reaction was "are you sure?" I've been so sure that it was a boy. I've had 3 dreams that it was a boy and numerous people told me that my belly looked like it was a boy. It was just shocking at first to hear that it was a girl because it was so unexpected. It took a car ride to work and lunch for the "it's a girl" news to sink in. We're having a baby girl!!!! How exciting! There are so many cute clothes for girls and I can raise her like a little princess! I think Paul is scared of raising a girl... Which is understandable since he's 1 of 5 boys. I'm sure he'll be very protective and worried all the time. It'll be nice to have Paul be the worrisome one for a change!

Happy Anniversary!

Wow, a year goes by so quickly... I feel like I blinked and Paul and I've already been married a year! I guess when you're blissfully happy, time flies at lightning speed...

Monday was our 1-year wedding anniversary. Since I had a work dinner, we celebrated on Sunday instead, and because I can't eat half of the things on the menu at my favorite restaurants (rare steaks, raw fish, etc.), we decided to make dinner at home and enjoy each other's company with our baby in my tummy. I was cooking dinner and being the surprise-addict that Paul is, he surprised me with a gift and a card with most sweet words... My husband is such a romantic when he wants to be! Since I've been complaining that I feel fat and not so pretty, he bought me a beautiful fancy necklace that I can accessorize my not-so-pretty maternity clothes with. Such a sweetheart! It was a perfect first anniversary celebration!

On Wednesday, we had our 5-month check-up with Dr. Bohn. Since we're doing an ultrasound next week with Dr. Bochner (to NOT find out the sex of the baby), we just did the doppler heartbeat monitoring and basic check-up. My biggest worry so far in this pregnancy has been that I was not gaining any weight.. WELL! No worries there anymore! It turns out, I gained 7 pounds in 1 month! Ouch... So that's 8 pounds total so far. If I gain 1 pound per week, I'll be at my target weight gain of 28 pounds. I was so happy to hear that I've gained some weight. But may be I should slow down the eating a bit now...? Our baby's heart rate was 140 beats per minute and the beats were so strong and loud! Yay!!! Good boy/girl! We also got the results to the blood test that tested for down syndrome, other birth defects and 10 other things I couldn't understand and the results came back all negative! Paul says now that I've got the weight thing under control, I'll have to find something else to worry about since I seem to worry about something all the time... Do I really worry that much? I guess I do!

Last night, we took another picture of my belly... This is our week 20 (almost) picture:

19 Weeks & Baking Nicely!

Today, we're 19 weeks and 3 days pregnant. According to Babycenter.com, the baby is 8.5 ounces and approximately 6 inches long, a size of an heirloom tomato! This is a crucial week for sensory development. To the right is what our baby looks like in my belly.. Gosh, it looks really cramped, poor thing...

I've been feeling our baby move around for about a week now. It feels like there is a little gold fish swimming around in there at times. I was driving to Church yesterday and I felt a little squirming feeling in my lower stomach. So amazing! I wish Paul can feel these crazy movements too. Hopefully soon, he'll be able to feel our baby kicking....

To close my baby thought for today, I want to share a picture of our favorite baby... Our niece, Minji!!! She's the cutest thing in the whole world and I hope we have a baby as cute as her!

YUM----O!

After months of no appetite, I'm on an eating kick! These days, I daydream about what to eat for dinner. Last night, Paul and I went to dinner at Shabu Shabu on La Brea with Johnny and Bonnie. Since Shabu Shabu is one of my favorite foods, I looked forward to eating it all day!

Paul and I both ate Beef shabu shabu and yum yum!!! LOVED IT! I finished everything and had an extra bowl of rice! I think I can eat that for dinner everyday AND it was healthy!

After dinner, we went to Yogurtland for some dessert. It was our first time there and I liked it more than Pink Berry because they had self-serve buffet of like 10 different yogurt flavors and tons of toppings that you can put on yourself. Paul and I shared 1/2 cookies and cream yogurt and 1/2 cheesecake yogurt topped with graham crackers and granola. It was delicious!

What shall I eat next......???

Stop Asking!

Next week is our 5 month checkup with Dr. Bohn. Typically, this would be the appointment where we'd find out whether we're having a little dude or a dudette. BUT! We are not finding out until the baby is born..... Many of you have been asking if we've changed our minds about finding out because you're curious, as am I! You can press my husband, Paul, on this issue not me... I am curious too just as all of you are! My mom has been asking on a weekly basis whether we're finding out and I think she's getting impatient. And I think Paul is enjoying every minute of the torture he's putting everyone through!

Frankly, the thought of not finding out never even crossed my mind. But after 4-5 months of thinking that we won't find out, I'm embracing the idea and excited about the surprise at the end of our long journey! I figure since I get to experience all the little baby kicks and growing belly that comes with pregnancy, I can at least let Paul experience the surprise that he so wants.

So, if we change our minds we'll send out a mass email with the sex of the baby but in the meantime, stop asking and think yellows and greens!

Come on Second Trimester!

First trimester was absolutely no fun at all!!! Other than the excitement of finding out that we're having a baby and occassional ultrasounds, it was full of morning sickness, vomitting, sleepiness and loss of appetite. I did not want to eat ANYTHING.. But I was constantly hungry! I would force myself to eat and then an hour later, I'd have to force myself again! I did find two things I can stomach.... Turkey sandwich from Ralphs deli counter which Paul diligently supplied everyday for a whole week and BBQ chicken salad from CPK which I ate everyday for almost 2 weeks for lunch.

I heard from many people that second trimester is the most pleasant time during the pregnancy and that morning sickness and sleepiness suddenly disappear. Wow, that is so true! Once I hit week 12, I was feeling better than before I got pregnant! I still couldn't eat much and I had to eat slowly but there was no nausea or vomitting or sleepiness! I also noticed my belly starting to protrude a little bit. I had Andrea checking my stomach every day at work for progress...

The beginning of second trimester was marked by my birthday! Turned 33.. Ouch! I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than to see a picture of our baby on the ultrasound! We had an appointment with Dr. Bochner for our baby's first down syndrome test. It really is a nervous and scary time but once we saw our little baby kicking around on the ultrasound, I was no longer nervous and was so sure that he/she was just fine. At one point, our baby waved at us as if he/she knew that we were looking at him! I'm happy to report that the down syndrome test came back with a very very very low probability! Praise the Lord!

Below is our first belly picture from 14.5 weeks... Sorry for lifting the shirt but I had to for full effect...

Funny thing about my second trimester experience was that I enjoyed and craved potatos! I hated potatos pre-pregnancy. I hated food that had potato in them or french fries. But in my second trimester, I couldn't get enough of fries! I also craved burgers once in a while. Thank God for Astro Burgers! Yum yum!

By week 18, I couldn't wear any more of my old pants with bella band. Bella band was the best thing that was ever invented for pregnant women but by week 18, I had to move on to maternity pants. Getting dressed in the morning was such a drag.... But the growing belly made it all worth it. Paul bought me a a few pairs of maternity pants for my birthday and those pants which were falling off my body in September were now actually fitting!

Below is a pic from week 17...

We're having a baby!!!

I admit, this journal is long overdue since we're already approaching 19 weeks in couple days.... BUT!! Better late than never! (which seems to be my motto for everything these days).

The first time the First Response pregnancy test turned up 2 lines was on August 2, 2008 while on a trip to Lake Tahoe with our friends, Brad, Shawna, Dan, Caitlin, Monica and David. It was the first day of my missed period but my boobs were hurting for a few days prior to that. It wasn't one of those PMS pain, it was like I couldn't walk without holding my boobs kind of pain. So around 7:00am that morning, I took a pregnancy test. Don't ask me why I was carrying around a pregnancy test in my purse on a trip to Lake Tahoe but good thing I was! The test turned up positive to my surprise and I immediately woke up Paul to tell him the good news. I can't remember if Paul was excited or shocked or went back to sleep.. It's all a big blur.. I'm sure he was excited???

Below is a picture we took in Lake Tahoe (with Monica).. Notice my flat belly!

We kept the pregnancy news to ourselves as long as I can hold out. We decided not to tell anyone, not even our families, until it was confirmed by our doctor. The first appointment was set for August 12. I took 3 more tests between our Lake Tahoe trip and the dr. appointment. They were of course all positive, hew! I broke down and told my family a few days before the appointment.. Paul gave me a lot of crap for it! Then he told his family. What can I say, I can't keep a secret!!! At our appointment, Dr. Bohn did an ultrasound and blood test to make sure that I was pregnant.. Unfortunately, it was still too early so we only saw the yolk sac and couldn't see anything else.. It was disappointing and scary at the same time. What if it was a false alarm??

On August 21, we had our second appointment where Dr. Bohn confirmed that I was indeed pregnant and according to the blood test, approximately 7 weeks pregnant! The due date was then estimated to be April 11, 2009, 4 days before Paul's birthday! Another April baby! Definitely a Hwang baby! At this appointment, the ultrasound showed a little bean-like embryo stuck on the side of the yolk sac. How strange.. That little bean is our baby?? The amazing thing was, even at this stage, we were able to see the baby's heartbeat! There was this little spot on the bean that was flickering which the dr. told us was the baby's heart beating.. I thought I was going to burst into tears. How amazing is that?! Our baby is only 7 weeks old, abot 1mm long and it has a heartbeat!

At our appointment, I made the mistake of complaining to the dr. that I was not getting any morning sickness and that something was wrong.. Oh, I should have never made that comment!! 2 days later, morning sickness coupled with severe vomitting attacked with a vengeance! Morning sickness lasted for 3 more weeks after that. That was the most hardest 3 weeks of this pregnancy so far!

On September 4, we had our third ultrasound. The baby at this stage is what the dr. called a "gummy bear" since it looked like a gummy bear! He/she clearly had 2 arms and 2 legs!!