So Close…Yet So Far Away…Part 2

Weeks 3, 4, and 5 of 10:

Vacation had gracefully come to an end and it was time for us to go back to work..plus some.  Twice a year our language institute holds an intensives program, three weeks in the summer and four weeks in the winter.  The students are on summer vacation from school, so they are invited to work in some extra study time by taking three morning classes – to squeeze a sixteen-week course into three or four weeks.  So “weeks 3, 4, and 5″ are clumped together here because they were largely spent at work and not much else.

Two things during “week 4″ that were non-intensives related were a baby shower and a visit to the doctor.  On Wednesday, at 34 weeks pregnant, we went in for another check-up and found out that our little girl stubbornly rejected my attempts to inspire her change of position.  She was still breech.  The doctor said that if she does not turn, we will have to do a C-section.  This is not my preference, so onward I go with the exercises, hoping for success.

Unfortunately, we did not get any exciting sonogram pictures, so you must view her in the form of my round belly.  Sorry.

The other exciting thing that happened during “week 4″ was a baby shower.  Not only have I been pregnant with my older sister, but also with another one of the teachers at the hakwan.  That Friday, I hosted a baby shower for her.  The ladies at work very generously showered me with gifts as well.   We have been very blessed with the love and support of our friends here.

On to the majority of these three weeks….Intensives:

Michael taught a test-prep class, a phonics class, and a speech contest class.  I taught a drama class for two periods and did preparations for the final performance during the third period every day.  Each time we have intensives, I teach drama and host a performance on the last day of classes so that parents can watch their student in action.  This year was the first that we planned for other classes to join in on the performance day.  Michael’s speech class would recite their speeches, a hip-hop class would dance, two drama classes would perform plays, and a magazine class would present the magazines and newspapers they made.

There was a lot of work to do to make the big extravaganza a success.  Not only was I hand-sewing costumes and making props for my drama class, I was organizing for the entire event.   It is always inevitable that I have to stay up late most nights the week of the performance, and this summer’s final week of intensives was no exception.  On Wednesday, I worked from 10am until midnight, 7 until midnight was spent at home working on costumes.  On Thursday, I worked from 10am until 2am without even taking my 5 minute breaks between classes…it was a LONG day!  Sadly, after finally falling asleep sometime after 2:30 (and waking up for my usual water closet calls), I was wide awake at 5am.

I have never been one to get hot during the night, but pregnancy has made me very sensitive to heat while sleeping.  At 5am I found it hard to sleep because of the humidity in the room.  I got out of bed to find that our air conditioner had gone out.  We have two air units in our apartment, one in the living room area and one in our bedroom.  The living room unit had been out for almost a month and we finally got the maintenance man to fix it (so we thought) the day before.  This night left both of our units flashing red and our apartment very humid and stuffy.  A sad day for a pregnant lady.

Well, with 3 hours of sleep, I started the big day!  My students eagerly greeted me at the performance hall and we worked to get them into their costumes and ready to do a little sound check and final rehearsal.  My class performed The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and they did GREAT!  I was very impressed with Michael’s students as well…at a very young age they each wrote, memorized, and recited their own 3 minute speech in a second language and did an amazing job!  All of the students did an excellent job and it was a sigh of relief to have it successfully completed.

*(Insert photos here)  i.e. Michael and I were also emcees for the extravaganza, so we could not take pictures…I will try to get some from others to post.*

The performance was the end of our intensives.  We all wearily went on to teach our regular evening classes and then I celebrated the end by collapsing onto my bed!

The rest of the weekend was spent searching for cool places to spend our time outside of our hot and muggy apartment.  I must say, heat and humidity plus 9 months of pregnancy equals a VERY painfully swollen lady.  Michael truly loves me for bearing the burden with me, putting up with my sighs of despair…I admit, the suffocating feeling makes me a little irrational.  I am blessed with, and love my patient husband.

Getting big?  Just take a look at Part 3  (“week 6″) of these posts!

So Close…Yet So Far Away…Part 3

Week 6 of 10:

Now, I will bring you to the most recent update.  This week is starting with a DAY OFF!  It is Korea’s Liberation Day and we are spending the day work-free.  This is a gift from God, as this week is our final week of a month of very long work days.

(This picture was taken around midnight after spending a great evening with Sarah and Josh Broward. As you can see by the torpedo-shaped belly,  at the end of a long day, our little girl likes to protrude as far as possible, signaling she is ready to be done for the day!  If only she knew how painful that is.)

This week we are participating in a Vacation Bible School (VBS).  Michael will be co-leading in the sports station and I will be co-leading in the craft and mission station.  In addition to our station-specific preparation, there are songs and dances to be learned.  Michael put in many sweaty afternoons of dance practice, but I have opted out of the dancing this year.  A pregnant belly is not the most convenient to dance with.

So, this week, we will start our days around 8am for VBS, and then go on with our regularly scheduled jobs in the afternoons, finishing 11 to 13 hours later, depending on the day.  As I mentioned, this week is the final week of our very full month.

This week, Wednesday, we will take a break in the afternoon to visit our doctor for another check up.  We hope to have some new information and possibly sonogram photos to share next week.

A preview of weeks 7 through 10ish:

Following this, for “weeks 7 and 8” of our 10 week count-down…or.. up?… I will have two more weeks of my regular work schedule.  Then, “week 9” of the 10, we will welcome Mike and Mary Palmer and Carol Messamer to Korea!!!  (Jerry Messamer will arrive about 3 weeks later).  Our parents will be with us in Korea for one month, and we are so excited!  Following that, “week 10” of 10, we pray we will be welcoming our sweet little girl, not only into Korea, but into our family.

Just one month to go.  In some ways it will go very quickly…in other ways (i.e.  sleepless nights, WAITING, swelling, seemingly impossible continued growth of my belly, and… did I mention?… waiting for our little girl to arrive) it feels like the longest time I can fathom (okay, I exaggerate a bit).  Pray she does not delay.

A final note and request for prayer…

We sincerely want to have a natural childbirth experience for optimal health of our little girl, but in order for that to happen she needs to turn her little body around and out of breech position.  Please pray that she will turn around safely and that I will patiently wait for her to do so.  We have surrendered her life into God’s hands since the moment we found out we could expect her, and we will continue to do so.  He has blessed us with a healthy baby so far, and we will trust in His will and timing.

Thank you for reading, praying, and journeying with us.

-E.

Three Cheers for Week 30!

This week we reached 30 weeks…that is 3/4 of the way through this pregnancy and just a little over 2 months before we meet our sweet little baby!

To celebrate, we got to go to the hospital for a little photo shoot…sonogram photos that is.  We have been waiting all month for this event because we knew we were scheduled for a 4-D sonogram session.  It felt like we were going to meet her, in some ways, because we would get to see her filled-out, 17 inch long, 3.5 pound body live, in-action.

As we have mentioned before, our little girl is in constant motion; but wouldn’t you guess that at the time of the sonogram she was finally sleeping.  It was nice to see that she truly does sleep, yet, in her peaceful state, she enjoys having her hands right next to her face.  Our sonogram technician was determined to wake her in order to get her to move her hands away from her face for a better photo op.  The technician would try to jolt her little body into motion by abruptly and repeatedly thumping the wand on my belly.  While this was neither painful nor pleasant, it was rather humorous.  The greatest amusement was the look on her chubby little face.   The screen to my right pictured our little girl’s face with a sudden furrowing of her brow and curl of her lip…she was NOT happy about her comfortable estate being disturbed.  As this fervent gesture continued several more times before the technician ended in defeat, Michael and I concluded that we must bring some Ella Fitzgerald music with us next time to guarantee a more action-packed date with the camera.

Here is a little preview of what we saw….

A sleepy little girl.

Difficult to decipher, but the elongated white spot by her lower lip is her foot!

A close-up of her hand …holding her foot right next to her face!  (Do you see her eye in the corner of the photo?) Under her pinky finger is her little toe and the length of her foot!  When the technician moved the wand to show us her other foot, she went in the complete opposite direction!  Little Girl is now practicing gymnastics!  (Such an act of graceful flexibility deserves all of my exclamation points.)

Not only is she flexible, she is stubborn.  Here is a little bit of her grimace as she attempts to remain sleeping.

With a little peek out of one eye, she makes a compromise with the demanding, photo-seeking wand.

With these photos to tease us and keep us anticipating her birth day even more, our countdown grows shorter and shorter by the day.  At our last appointment our estimated due date was September 13, our current estimated due date is 3 days earlier on September 10.  According to all of the measurements taken, she is right in the middle (sometimes lower) of the average range for her “age.”   She certainly is growing quickly and my torpedo-shaped belly is here to prove it.

In true Korean fashion, a special pose for a very special baby on a special day.  (30 weeks on the 3rd of July…we even had fireworks!)

A Few Fun Facts

Fun Facts:

*As of last week, we are in the third trimester!!

*As of week 24 (according to babycenter.com) my uterus reached the size of a soccer ball!

*As of week 29, our baby is over 15 inches long and about 2.5 pounds.  (It is hard for me to believe she is that long considering how much she still moves!)

Other Random Tidbits:

*Baby girl seems to be exploring future career options in tap dancing and water aerobics!

*As of late, I am becoming a pro at going to, in, and from the rest room in the middle of the night without turning on a single light…and sometimes not even opening an eye!

*Feeling like every ounce of food and every moment of sleep goes directly to our little baby has been leaving me very tired!

*Reading up on natural childbirth has me wondering if previous Dr.’s comments of our baby having a small abdomen, small feet, and a normal size head give me any hope of a natural birthing plan.  (I should mention that I weighed nothing short of 10 lbs when I was born and Michael is currently 6’4″…these facts make the possible size of our baby a little daunting!)

*Next week we have a 4-D sonogram scheduled and we can’t wait!  Wishing we had our own baby photos here to look at and dream even more of what our little girl will look like.

*My new favorite students are those who now tell me, “Your baby is growing!” rather than, “You are getting fat!”

*Hakwan story of the week:

At our academy, students arrive in the classroom before the teacher as we transition from one class to the next.  In the time they are in the room alone, they like to draw pictures or write sentences on the board for whichever teacher they will soon welcome.   One of my young, yet fairly skilled, classes welcomed me in such a way this week.  Usually this class draws pictures of Michael and I standing next to each other….he stands VERY tall, and I stand half-his-height next to him (they are ceaselessly amazed at his 195cm stature).  This week, though, there were three characters on the board; one very tall one with a tiny head, one average-sized one with a very large head and a comment bubble stating, “WOW!” and a third very small character with a HUGE head.  They informed me that the tall one, of course, was Michael and the little one was our baby.  The one exclaiming, “WOW!” was me.    If only they knew how terrified I am of that scenario and how much more dramatic the wow-factor would be!!  Here is to praying that our previous stats of a normal-sized head will continue to be the case.

Maybe it is my growing belly…and cheeks….that inspired them to think our baby will have such a big head. ??

Here are weeks 27, 28, 29, and growing.  Enjoy.

A Growing Belly. A Growing List of Lessons Learned.

This is the last week of our sixth month!!  Now, at 26 weeks, the constant pattern of change continues.  While some things get easier, others become more challenging.

Sleep is probably the number one change and challenge.  As I mentioned last week, our baby’s constant movement contributed to some of my lack of sleep.  Thankfully she and I have both been able to get a few extra moments of sleep as she chose to heed our first parental advising and REST.   Though she is allowing for more rest, my body has now formed a terrible habit of only sleeping 4 hours.  (If only more beneficial habits formed so naturally and without intentional effort!)

Another change is decreased frequency of nausea… and that is wonderful!  The pain of a rapidly growing belly, however, has increased.  I do not recommend such speedy delivery of inches to the waist, I ensure you, it is NOT comfortable!

So, the ease of bending over, the fit of my clothes, and sleeping are just a few of the changes to which I am currently adjusting.

As mentioned in my last post, reflecting on pregnancy and all of the changes it brings elicited many thoughts of lessons I have learned/am learning.  Some of them have deep impact and meaning, while others are more comical and practical for my current condition.

Speaking of current condition, did I mention by belly is getting BIG?

From week 23 to 26!  Big growth!

Okay, that was the growing belly, now back to the lessons learned.

RANDOM LESSONS OF A PREGNANT WOMAN

*An active lifestyle seems to be hereditary.

*A shirt that fits today means wear it TODAY!

*A growing belly is painful.

*My husband is amazing!

*Do not compare!! (And don’t look at pre-prego pics)

*Thinking of the baby first is priority, even when it makes me feel/look silly.

*Michael is already an amazing father!

*I cannot be “Super Woman” and do as much as I used to (a day of overworking = a day of bed rest!)

* The word “urgent” has a whole new meaning (as in, not-as-many-things-as-I-thought-actually-deserve-this-title).

*No matter how much of it, humidity makes me swell like a balloon!

*Going to the bathroom before walking out the door does NOT guarantee I can walk 5 minutes without bursting to go again!

*Verbalizing my insecurities will not be allowed with an easily influenced little girl around.

*Don’t take for granted the power of words!

*I love my husband!!

*Sleep is essential, but not necessarily a given.

*If my shirt is fitted in the belly, everyone will stare! (Be prepared for their rather frank comments to follow)

*The dishes can wait.  Letting my husband help with the dishes is okay too.

*Allowing my husband and others to help me  is a sign of growth and strength, not of weakness or failure.

*The ability to work is a gift and I cannot take for granted the amazing job, boss, and co-workers I have.

*Living worry free is the way to go…God answers prayers!

*I have the most lovingly supportive, understanding, compassionate, grace-filled husband and I eagerly anticipate the joy of sharing parenthood with him!!

-E.

“I Feel the Need, The Need for Speed!”

The first movie Michael and I ever watched together was Top Gun.  Tonight, I was reminded of the popular quote, “I feel the need, the need for speed.”

For the past three days, I don’t think our baby has stopped moving for more than five minutes! Does she ever sleep? She is moving when I wake up; she is moving when I am up and moving (particularly when I am teaching or when I am in church or Bible study); and she is ESPECIALLY moving when I lay down to go to sleep….which makes it very hard to sleep, I must add!  She is even moving when I get up  in the middle of the night…in fact, that may just be the reason I have to visit the ladies room so often…my bladder must be her dancing platform. ??

Well, tonight I was thinking of random things I have learned during pregnancy and one of the first I thought of was, an active lifestyle must be a little nurture, a little nature.  The lack of sleep I now experience is nothing new to me.  In addition to some health reasons that interfere with sleep, I am rather accustomed to staying active and that often means doing just one more thing before bed…which leads to one more, and one more, and….that leads to a little less sleep.

Thus my recollection of the movie quote.  My need for speed{action} seems to have already passed on to this little girl I carry.

Goal:  Teach her the value of hard work…

and equally the value of rest and relaxation.

Bring on the pink, ruffles, and pearls…..we’re having a girl!

It is official!  The doctor in radiology who did my sonogram tests Monday said he thinks we are having a GIRL.

The doctor (not our usual OB) was sitting at his desk as the nurse directed me to the table for the sonograms.  After I got situated with my shirt up and my belly sticking out, the doctor turned around and gasped, “Oh.”  He commented on me being a foreigner, made small talk in Korean, and then said he would explain all of the tests in English despite not being very good at speaking in English.  As the sonogram proceeded he was so sweet and his English skills were, of course, better than he understated them to be.  I couldn’t help but feel bad, though, because he kept wiping his brow.  Though I could be wrong, as I am usually colder than most people, I do not think the room was so warm to cause a sweat…I think he was just nervous about, and maybe exhausted by,  speaking so much English.* 

The doctor studied the brain, head, face, heart, kidneys, hands, feet, arms, legs, spine, umbilical cord, placenta…and later a certain other region.   He took measurements and tests and to everything he said either, “Very, very healthy,” or “Very, very normal.”  He even told me the good new that our babies head is not too big nor too small.  We both smiled together as my plan for natural delivery seemed much more bearable (a few months ago a different doctor said our baby had a big head). 

When the doctor was positioning the sonogram to show the babies face, he chuckled and said that she was very shy because she was putting her head down so that he could not see it.  Then when he moved on to view her hands, which were curled up by her face. He grinned and awed as if they were the first hands he had ever seen…I got teary at this point.  Babies are so miraculous that even a man who views sonograms several times a day had an aw-struck moment.  Amazing.

Next, he moved on to measure the arms and this was the first measurement that he said was longer than average for 22 weeks.  I mentioned that my husband is 195 cm tall and he quickly understood.   Then he moved on to the legs and feet for measurement and to count the toes (so sweet) and he commented on how active she is.  I told him she is that active almost all of the time…I feel major movement rather constantly.  It was then that my misty-eyes state continued because for the first time I could SEE what I was feeling!  The sensation of her little kicks and jolts alone is such a gift, but to see and feel our baby simultaneously was incredible. 

After a few other tests, the doctor was able to move back to the face and view  the details he was looking for.  Her little mouth was wide open and he told me he thinks she likes to sing.   I informed him that when music is playing she is VERY active.  We smiled together yet again.

Finally, he moved back down to the legs and angled the sonogram just so in order to decipher the gender.  He viewed a few different angles (once again being shy, she had her legs closed tightly together) and at each one said, “There is nothing there. What do you think?”  We agreed she, indeed, appears to be a girl.

On to dress shopping!…….

 

*(My very first trip to the hospital resulted in all of the receptionists literally running away from their desks upon spotting me walking towards them…they were so nervous to speak to me that they did not even try!  It was very comical for one man waiting near-by; I, on-the-other-hand, just felt bad for them and ashamed at my lack of Korean language ability.)