17 Week Doctor's Appointment

This week I noticed I'm starting to gain a little bit of weight consistently, which is good since I hadn't really gained any weight. At my doctor's appointment this week, he said I've gained about 4 pounds. Anything up to 10 pounds by this time is normal. Apparently at 5 months I should expect to gain a pound a week... yikes!!

We were supposed to be able to find out the sex of the baby at this appointment, but unfortunately the umbilical cord was in the way... BUT the doctor was leaning towards............

A GIRL!!!!


I swear I could tell it was a girl before the doctor said anything! It's amazing how much we could see in the ultrasound - we could see her little hands and fingers, legs, spine... it was awesome! She loves to sit with her legs STRAIGHT out, and kick me constantly - which is why I can feel her all the time! She even waived a little bit to us... and I think I could see her sucking her thumb! There was a point where she looked like she was blowing little kisses.... and I think she has Gerald's lips!

Although we'd be happy either way, I have to admit I was hoping for a girl. I know Gerald's parents were excited when our first doctor told us it was probably a boy since there are very few boys in the Wong family... hopefully this won't disappoint them too much. My dad was hoping for a girl, so if this turns out to be true I know he'll be ecstatic!

I almost finished our baby registry, except for the clothes and bedding... I want to wait until we get firm confirmation of the baby being a girl. :) Our friend, Sean, is an ultrasound tech and he's going to try to take a look next Friday to see if he can give us confirmation.

We went to Shiro's for dinner this week, and our friend (who manages the restaurant) said she could tell my face has changed a little bit - and therefore she thinks the baby is a girl!

My belly is a little more prominent, but I think people would still have trouble figuring out if I'm just over-carbed or pregnant. I have noticed that I get tired very easily.

I also found out that my boss and his wife are pregnant with their second baby! It will be kind of cool for our kids to be so close in age (she's due September 11th).

I talked to my boss this week, too, about whether he thought he would need me to move into a real office anytime soon. He told me that it will totally be my call, and if I want to continue working from home (even if our company grows and I have a staff to manage) then that's completely fine. I was so excited to hear this since it means that I won't have to worry about childcare (well, at least not in the very near future). :) So my boss had me install a company phone line in my home office to make it easier. We also moved our old printer and heavy-duty fax machine into my home office so I could be more productive!

Nicole & Gina's Store Opening!

Today our friends Nicole & Gina had the grand opening of their bridal boutique in South Pasadena! It really seems like 2008 is going to be an exciting year for everyone!

A lot of people showed up to celebrate. Nicole, Gina and their husbands Ryun and Sean really did an amazing job getting the store set up and decorated! It was so beautiful - and the gowns were exquisite!

They had some nice hors d'oeuvres set up - I felt so guilty because the baby was making me very hungry!! I tried not to clean them out of food... ;) But I was camped by the food for a while!

They really did a wonderful job with their store, and I can't wait to see how it does! They've already been very successful at booking appointments with brides who are interested in purchasing gowns!

To visit their store, please see http://www.theivorysuite.com/.

Check out my Slide Show!

New Year's Eve

Our friend Walter put together a New Year's Eve party that was thrown at our house... we had a wine tasting and video game night... it was a lot of fun! Obviously I didn't try any of the wines, but I had a lot of sparkling cider! :) We had two game systems set up, so of course most of the guys were glued to that for most of the night, while the rest of us sat around the dining room table and talked. It was great having people over to the house... I actually feel like the house is finally "done" being decorated, save for the baby's room. I'm glad we were able to get that done before the baby comes.

Yato, Walter, Traci and Gerald enjoying some wine!

Yuki, Wedge, Yato and Leiton getting the skinny on the next wine up for tasting.

Gerald's Tuna Tartare dish


Nicole and Ryun cuddling up for the camera.

Everyone toasting in the New Year!


That's "W" for "Wong"!!!

Steffanie and Nicole


One of the game rooms...

Gerald rocking out to Guitar Hero III.

Christmas!!!

We went to Vegas to visit my parents and Grandparents for Christmas. We were there for almost an entire week. It's always nice to go home and get my mom's cooking.... but I gained so much weight from the food! It sure was good though.... :)

We had Grandma and Grandpa over a couple of times... and played poker one night. I hardly ever beat them at poker, but this time I was lucky! I was the only one to win anything... and ended up doubling my money! I still have a ways to go though to make up for the money I've lost to them over the years... ;) It's all for fun though. It's nice to be able to spend that time with them.

Gerald and I brought our doppler machine so that everyone could hear the baby's heartbeat - I think my parents really liked that! My grandparents couldn't hear it (they were sitting a little farther away) but my mom could. We showed my dad the next day, and I think it made him feel closer to the baby. :)

We also gave my parents and grandparents our wedding photo albums.... only three years late, but better late than never!! :) My mom also bought me some maternity clothes from A Pea in the Pod - I was so excited! I've really wanted to buy clothes from there, but haven't been able to yet. They fit perfectly and were exactly what I needed!

New Doctor... 13 weeks, 1 day

Dr. Wang only treats patients up through their first trimester, so our ultrasound on 12/5 was the last appointment with Dr. Wang. I was referred to her by my physical therapist, and since I really loved Dr. Wang, I decided to also go with another referral my physical therapist gave me for the OB doctor.

Today was our first appointment with Dr. Matsuda... I really like him. He's very patient and thorough, and you don't feel like his attention is diverted or that he's trying to rush off to the next patient. He spent a great deal of time with us, first meeting with us to discuss our health histories and our views on the birth we wanted, as well as allowing us to ask him any questions we had. (I also like the fact that he's Japanese!!) :)

From this point on, Dr. Matsuda said that I will only need abdominal ultrasounds since the baby is now big enough to be seen abdominally. Once again, the baby was wiggling around like crazy and his/her heartbeat was about 160 bpm. I asked Dr. Matsuda if he could tell the sex yet, and he said it was too early - but maybe at the next ultrasound. I'm dying to know for sure if it's a boy or a girl... this waiting game is hard!

Stomach Flu... 11 weeks, 1 day

Well, I had to call Dr. Wang's office today. Gerald and I have had a terrible bout with the stomach flu (which at first we thought was food poisoning, but it lasted for a few days...). I got extremely sick and lost about 8 pounds in three days. I haven't been able to eat much, so I wanted to make sure the baby was okay (as did Dr. Wang) so she told me to come in first thing this morning.

The baby looked absolutely fine! He/she is looking more and more like a baby each time we get to see him/her! The baby was kicking and wiggling and moving all around! We were even able to see the baby's profile!

After the doctor's appointment, we went to Costco to get some groceries and food... and Gerald wanted to buy me some diamond and sapphire earrings since today was our three year wedding anniversary. :) We got to the jewelry section - and I nearly fainted. I had to have Gerald walk me back to the car (and I had to stop and rest a couple of times) as I knew if I stayed in the store I would pass out. So I waited in the car while Gerald did the shopping.

For the rest of the day, we just took it easy... trying to get over this flu!! It's never fun being sick, but it's even worse when you're sick and pregnant!