Browse Tag: preggo

Maternity Leave

It’s official.  After consulting with my doctor today, I decided to make my last day of work TOMORROW!!  Yep, I’m taking off a week early and my short time of being a “Lady of Leisure” begins on Wednesday.  Not sure what I’m going to spend my time doing before Kumquat arrives but I’m so relieved that I won’t have to stress about getting to work on time on very little sleep and having to keep my energy up all day at the hospital.  It’s a tough job already and it was even harder with a small watermelon in my tummy this past month.

36 weeks!

Yikes.  The time has come.  I’m at 36 weeks and if Kumquat arrives today, she’d be in pretty good shape.  I can’t believe I’ve got less than a month left!  I suppose I should start preparing.  Some start way in advance but I’m JUST getting the sense of urgency to get ready.  Just the other day, Patti texted me to remind me that her first girl arrived at 36 weeks and 5 days.  If that were to happen, that would occur this Friday!  Wow! On top of that, my cousin’s baby girl arrived today 2 weeks early!

Last week at work was rough.  With Kumquat hanging out so low, I swear she uses my bladder as a pillow and I make a stop at the bathroom almost every hour.  Getting up off the floor while carrying a 2-year-old is also becoming a greater challenge.  In fact, by Friday around lunch time, I was looking and feeling a little ragged.  I was sweating for no reason, I felt a bit light-headed while waiting in line at the cafeteria, and I had to work harder to breathe.  The great thing about working in a hospital is that everyone seems to know what to do when stuff like this happens.  Our nurse practitioner checked my temp (normal) and blood pressure (normal but higher than my usual 100/60) and made me lie down in one of the clinic rooms for the rest of lunch.  Then, I was pretty much nudged out the door to go home for the day.  I stayed another 2 hours to finish up on paperwork but it was a relief that I wouldn’t have to see anymore patients that afternoon. I may need to rethink the start of my maternity leave.  Not sure I can hang until March 27th.

I’m going to have some routine 36-week testing done this Wednesday and then seeing my doctor on Thursday so I should have a better idea of what’s to come.  Thankfully I’m still feeling fine…just maybe a little less mobile.

On that note, this weekend has been a little less comfortable doing my usual activities:

  1. Washing dishes bothers my back now because I have to stand so far away from the spout and reach in such an awkward position.  Thank goodness for a husband and dishwasher.
  2. Doing the laundry is getting harder too…especially when I have to move the stuff from the washer to the dryer.  We have a stacked washer/dryer so there’s a lot of bending down and getting up.
  3. Just getting up off the couch and getting out of a car are also becoming quite a comical act.  I think it was a blessing that I don’t have an office job because any time I’ve been sitting for longer than 15-20 minutes, getting back up is kinda painful and wobbly.  At night before I go to bed, Jes has to actually help me up off the couch sometimes.

So here’s the plan so far:

  • Jes won’t be sailing on the weekends anymore starting this week.  If I were to go into labor while he’s on a boat in the middle of the bay, it would be kinda hard for me to get a hold of him AND for him to get me to the hospital .
  • If something happens at work, I have plenty of people to drive me home or even to the hospital but let’s just hope that it doesn’t come down to that.
  • I packed our hospital bag and it’s going to hang out in the trunk of the car until it’s time.

  • I’m guessing it might be time to install the car seat too so that’s what Jes did today.

  • I also have to pack some of Kumquat’s things for her arrival and trip home, which means I need to wash all her clothes.  I went through some of the stuff I received and it’s crazy how small newborn clothes are!  And they’re just SO CUTE too.

All this nesting is getting kinda fun.  I’ve avoided it for quite a while but I think it’s safe to say that now is probably a good time to start.

Kung Fu Practice

Kumquat has been pretty active throughout this pregnancy.  Jesse calls it Kung Fu practice and it certainly feels like it sometimes.  Yesterday morning, I was hanging out on the couch and she was really going at it.  I had my phone handy so I took a short clip.  Crazy, isn’t it? I’m at about 35 weeks now and the doctor says she’s dropped already. I can certainly feel it. I think I stop at the bathroom every 1-2 hours now…even at night. It’s like I’m being trained for what’s to come in 5 weeks.

I’ve also decided on my last day of work: Tuesday, March 27th.  So, I’ve got about 2 1/2 weeks of work to go before my maternity leave!  Yippee!  I’ll be at Week 37 so it should give me 3 weeks before my later due date of April 17th and sufficient time to get things in order in case she decides to arrive early.

Our Last Hurrah

On Saturday morning, Michelle arranged for us to get some pedicures and then a pizza lunch afterward.  It was fun to be pampered and the company was nice too.  Thanks for planning such a fun morning, Michelle!

Later that night, we had what we considered our “Last Hurrah”.  We won’t have many opportunities left to eat and drink freely with friends at our house until whenever we want so we invited our friends over for dinner.  Jes barbequed and there was Scotch and beer for everyone to enjoy.  Dayantha, Krissy, and Huy even came up from Southern CA to hang out with us!

Michelle brought the kids and Jack got a quick lesson on how to fight and defend himself.  That seems to be Victor’s specialty when he hangs out with kids lately.  First Cole and Brandon and now Jack.  *sigh*  Maybe Jack will have some extra courage the next time he comes over and has to encounter the scary statue in our elevator lobby.

It was fun to catch up with everyone and we had a really nice time.

Only 6 more weeks of this kind of freedom!!  What else should we do before Kumquat takes over our lives??

Here are the rest of the photos from the evening.

Books for Kumquat

Yesterday, my co-workers threw me a shower in Walnut Creek.  Look at the cute diaper cakes they made!

We usually throw a pretty kickin’ potluck and this was no different.

They made a lot of my favorite dishes and we also had a chocolate fountain!  Yum.

I asked for no games so they had an activity instead.  Everyone decorated onesies for me.  This is the one that Teresa made for me.  She said that Kumquat will be Team Tiger Member #3.  🙂

Everyone gave some words of wisdom on the leftover cards that I had from our shower in Southern CA and they also gave me a scrapbook kit to keep and display them.

I received a bunch of gifts, including a really nice collection of books.  Everyone brought their favorite baby book and now Kumquat has a whole library to entertain and enrich her little brain.  Some of my favorites include: “Everyone Poops” and “Click Clack Moo”.  They also got Jes a copy of “Go the F* to Sleep”.

It was so nice to see everyone there all dressed in regular street clothes and it was certainly a girly gathering.

Elaine, my good friend from my PTN days, also came all the way up from San Jose to join us.  That was such a treat!

I was sent home with a trunk filled with gifts and diapers along with an entire fruit tart and a beautiful bouquet of tulips and daisies.

I had a wonderful time and this is one of those occasions that remind me how much my work buddies love me.  Thank you, Kumquat Committee!!!

Here are the rest of the photos from the shower.

32 weeks

We had a pretty eventful afternoon today.  At 2pm, I had my 32-week ultrasound to check her growth.  The technician checked all the pockets of amniotic fluid around Kumquat and I’ve got enough so far.  The head, stomach, humerus, femur, heart, kidneys, and abdomen were all measured and then calculated to give us an estimated weight and size.

Here are the stats:
Estimated weight: 4 lbs., 7 oz.
Size: 57th percentile (normal)
Position: Head Down (yay!)
Gender: Still a girl!!

As we were looking for a shot of her face, we got to witness Kumquat sucking in amniotic fluid and swallowing.  She had her hands to her face again, which made it a little tough to get a good print out image.  The tech was nice (and patient) enough to try again and again until we got a decent shot.  Can you see her chubby right cheek, nose, upper lip, right arm, and hands?  If not, here’s your answer key.

Afterward, we had our usual Panda Express meal.

I hadn’t eaten much all day so I went all-in with a 2-item combo.  Yum.  With another 2 hours to kill, we went to the nearby Stonestown Mall to take a walk.

At 5:30pm, we had a tour of UCSF Labor and Delivery.  I had to take some notes for Jes just in case he forgets on the big day.  The Center for Mothers and Newborns is on the 15th floor of the main hospital and we got to see one of the labor and delivery rooms.

It had a gorgeous view of the sun setting and you can see from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge.  This was the only photo I got on our tour, which doesn’t do it any justice.  There’s a pull-out couch for Jes to nap on and a really big flatscreen tv.  We also got to see the nursery and peeked into one of the postpartum rooms.  All looked pretty standard and the nurses seemed nice.  Only 8 more weeks to go!