Baby Apple

So I’m 30 weeks now and my Dr extended my bedrest for another week. I have to go back Friday to see whether or not I’m going out for good or am going back to work. I’m kinda getting used to staying at home even though it gets boring at times I wouldn’t mind extending my leave until Apple gets here. Whatever is best for the baby so we’ll see what the Dr says on Friday.

This past weekend Matt and Patty came over to create some artwork for Apple’s room. It took a couple hours since we had to buy supplies then Matt made some sketches and then drew them on the canvases. Then we started to paint the backgrounds (that’s the only part I helped paint since I’m bad at art and didn’t want to mess it up) and then Matt, Patty, and Gabe painted the pictures of the animals. I wanted to include some different animals that weren’t part of the bedding so that there’s a little bit of variety than just 4 main animals. The animals on the bedding are an elephant, hippo, zebra, and koala. The animals that we added are a monkey, a giraffe, and a lion. Matt was the art teacher so he told us what colors to use on what part of the paintings. It took all day to complete but they came out so cute. I love them and I know Apple will too! Thank you Matt and Patty for coming over and creating some artwork for Apple. Daddy did a great job too! Here’s a couple pictures of the process and the final masterpieces.

Matt's Sketches

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! Happy Sweet November! Don’t forget to vote. I can’t believe the holidays are almost here and Apple too!

Since I’ve been home I’ve been watching a lot of TV. There’s 2 shows I’ve been watching every day. One of them is A Baby Story and the other one is Bringing Home Baby. They are both on TLC – The Learning Channel. I remember before I got married I would watch a Wedding Story all the time and would always cry. The stories were so touching and I’m such a sucker for weddings so I always ended up crying after watching those. Well I’ve been watching A Baby Story and Bringing Home Baby all week since that’s what I’m relating to now and those stories are even more touching and of course I always shed a tear. It’s so touching to see how the couple goes through birth and transitioning into bringing the baby home. A lot of the stories are of couples that have had a hard time getting pregnant or of couples that have had miscarriages so they are totally tear jerkers. They show the challenges that the mom goes through giving birth and how mom, dad, and baby (or babies – lots of twins on the show) adjust after birth. It makes me nervous and anxious about it all but it’s kinda cool to see other couples’ experiences. I have another week to enjoy these cool shows. Have a great weekend everyone!

So I’ve been on modified bed rest for almost a week now and it gets kinda boring at times. I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday and doctor’s appointment today so I was able to get out of the house for a little bit. Gabe and I have been taking little walks in our neighborhood when he gets home from work so that I can get out of the house and get some fresh air.

I was really bored yesterday so I looked at all these old pictures on our photo gallery and it’s really amusing to see what we looked like 7 years ago when we first met and kinda cool to see how far our relationship has come along. It just felt like yesterday when we went on our first date to San Francisco and visited Nat & Tony. It was nice to reminisce and see all the things that we’ve done in the last 6 1/2 years of our relationship. I can’t believe that we’re moving on to the next chapter of our lives, how time flies.

Here’s a picture of Gabe & I on our first date in SF. We were on the trolley headed towards fisherman’s wharf. We look so young.

I guess first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage. I can’t wait until Apple gets here. We’re really looking forward to being parents soon. I know Gabe will be such a great dad.

I am 28 weeks today and I officially start my 3rd trimester. Yay, it’s the home stretch, 12 more weeks to go but it’s not going to be an easy one. I’ve been pretty stressed lately at work and at home. This whole gestational diabetes thing is very frustrating and I am trying my best to keep it under control but i’s hard when there’s all these parties and the holidays are coming up. I had my doctor’s appointment on Friday and she could tell that I was pretty stressed. I think I’m just overwhelmed with a lot of things lately like work has been crazy, and stressed about all the stuff we need to do before Apple comes. My blood pressure has been high lately and with the diabetes stress makes your blood sugar rise too. So my doctor put me on modified bed rest for the next two weeks until my next appointment. I’m grateful that I get to stay home and de-stress so that i can try to get things under control. I think I’ll be better with 2 weeks of bed rest. Please keep me and Apple in your prayers.

We did get an ultrasound at my doctor’s appointment. Everything looks good, she’s growing fast. Women who have gestational diabetes tend to have bigger babies. I hope she doesn’t get too big. I’ll ask how big they predict her to be at my next ultrasound. But with the average baby weight gain of 1/2 a pound a week, if I go full term she, I’m guesstimating, will be between 8 -9 lbs, yikes! Hopefully she won’t be that big. Here’s a couple new pictures of her. The first one is of her smiling and then next one is of her doing martial arts in my belly. She kicked and punched me.

Gabe’s been working hard on Apple’s room and it’s coming along and is very cute. I can’t wait until the finished product. We’ve been getting presents in the mail. So far we got a saucer/walker, a swing, and her crib set. The Wangs from China gave us her crib set. I can’t wait to put it on her crib. The animals are so adorable. I know it will look great in her room. We’re going to ask our cousins Matt and Patty to come over soon to paint some artwork for Apple’s room. Matt did a mural for our neice Katelyn’s room and it was so cute. Here’s a couple pictures of what Matt and Patty painted in Katelyn’s nursery.

Gabe wants actual canvas paintings so that we can keep them. I think I want something similar to what Nat bought her kids in Thailand. Here’s a couple samples of those paintings.

Her room is a work in progress and Gabe has done a great job so far. I’ll post pictures once Apple’s room is finished. Have a great week everyone!

I’ve been working on Apple’s room for the past couple of weeks.  It’s been a slow process with our busy schedule but it’s finally coming along.

The first part of the room actually started during the summer.  John helped me moved my office downstairs and turned it into the Man Room.  Har, har, aarr…  (manly laugh).  Oh, I mean I lost the office and had to build a lounge downstairs.  Sometimes Jenn needs to rest before she walks up the stairs so the lounge is a nice place to relax and watch some TV.

Last week, I prepped the room to be painted.  I removed all the base boards and wall plates.  I’m planning to put in some new ones.  I put plastic sheets everywhere.  I’m a messy painter.  Then I put up the primer coat.  I took longer than I expected.  The walls on our house are like sponges.  They just soak up all the paint you apply.

This week, I finished painting.  The color is a yellow that I color matched with one of the accessory from the furniture set.  At first when I was painting it on, I was thinking it seems a little bright.  I was wondering if Jenn would like it.  If you have been to our house you probably have seen our front hallway.  It is a bright yellow hallway.  It is literally blinding if the front door is open and the sun is coming in.  Anyways, Apple’s room is not as bright.  I like it.  It’s very soothing.  Jenn took a peek and she liked it too.

After painting, I put up the valence.  I went to Target and picked up some curtain rods.  Target is cool.  I was probably dressed more for Home Depot because I had paint all over my hands and clothes but Target has some pretty cool stuff.  I got these butterfly end caps for the curtain rods.  Ahhhh… yes they are cute.

Next week, I’m either going to work on the baseboards or the closet organizer.  The room is starting to look like a baby room.  We’re excited and can’t wait until Apple comes and see her room.

Here are some pictures.

You can see more at http://phan.gbox.org/gallery2/v/20081019_apple_room.

Apple

Gabe and I had our baby care basics class on Saturday. It was from 10:00am – 12:30pm so it wasn’t too bad. We even got out a little early. In this class we learned things like giving baths, changing, diapers, and swaddling. They taught us the 5 S’s on how to sooth a baby. The 5 S’s were: swaddling, side/stomach, shhhing, swinging, and sucking. We watched a great video where this doctor demonstrates how to soothe your babies and when he did these things the babies calmed down instantaneously. It was pretty cool. Hopefully we’ll remember these things and try them on Apple when she gets here. We have one more class in November to take and then we’re done with our baby classes.

On another note, I didn’t pass my glucose tolerance test so I had to take the 3 hour test and I didn’t pass that one either. So now I have to measure my blood sugar four times a day and meet with a nutritionist. Please keep me in your prayers that I can stick it out and last. It’s kinda stressful and frustrating especially trying to do this at work or when I’m out and about but I know it will all be worth it when she gets here. My cousin (who just had her little baby girl Jasmine Rain on 10/01/08) and my sister want Apple to come around the holidays since my cousin’s family will be here from Wisconsin and she said that would be cool if they could meet her while they are here. It is possible if Apple comes a little early so we’ll see.

One more thing, I came home today and there were 3 big boxes on the porch and they were all addressed to me. They are gifts from our baby registry. I haven’t been able to open them up yet since I’m waiting for Gabe to come home and carry them upstairs but I was so excited when I saw them. Thank you to whoever sent them. I’m sure Apple will love whatever it is she got!

Gabe and I had our Prepared Childbirth Super Sunday class this morning at 9:00am. I was a little worried that neither of us would wake up this morning because we had Natalie’s 2nd birthday party in the day until 8pm and then went to Joey’s 30th birthday party and got home at 2:30am. Gabe was playing poker and was at the final table so we were there for a while.

Anyways, we were actually able to get up this morning and drove down to Newport. We had breakfast first at Shirley’s Bagel’s in Costa Mesa (we used to go to Shirley’s a lot when Gabe lived in Costa Mesa) then we headed to Hoag and surprisingly we were actually the first couple to check in. There were 14 couples in our class. I was a little worried that we wouldn’t make it through the whole thing since it was until 4:00pm.

So the class started and so far so good. We were both tired but were attentive since there was so much to cover. The lights were dimmed and we watched slides and video clips and then the mats came out. Oh no, we needed to lie down with the dimmed lights and do some relaxation visualization techniques. I had a feeling Gabe wouldn’t make it through this one since we had to close our eyes. The women had to lay on one side and the men had to lie behind them and we both had to practice these techniques. With the dimmed lights, the soothing music, and calming voice on the recording I knew Gabe wouldn’t make it for too long. All of a sudden I hear heavy breathing and then some snoring. I had to elbow Gabe to wake up since he snores pretty loud when he’s sleeping and I didn’t want him to fall into a deeper sleep. That exercise was only about 10 -15 minutes. Thank goodness it wasn’t longer because Gabe would’ve totally been out.

We broke for lunch and had pizza and salad delivered and I was worried about having food coma and falling asleep after lunch. They pumped up the a/c after lunch so I think that’s what kept me awake. We also had to practice breathing techniques and I kept laughing the whole time. The OB nurse was probably annoyed that I kept laughing but Gabe kept making me laugh. He was so serious and it was funny.  I guess I need to practice at home since all I kept doing during class was giggling.

Besides giggling I was also crying when when we watched those videos. I guess it’s the hormones but I was very emotional and a lot of the videos touched me. Thank goodness the lights were dim and Gabe didn’t see me because he would’ve been making fun of me the whole time. Gabe saw his first vaginal birth on one of the videos so that was cool. Gabe doesn’t do well with blood so I wanted to make sure he knew what to expect.

The class ended a little early and we were both thankful so that we could go home and take a nap. I think Gabe was relieved because by the last hour of class Gabe kept nodding off. I bet the couple in back of us was laughing because he kept doing the head bob. At the end of the class the nurse gave all of the couples a little onesie from the children’s place as a gift.

So overall the class was very informative. I’m still nervous and anxious about the whole thing but I feel a little better kinda seeing what to expect. I head that your labor is usually like your mom and sister’s experiences. My mom’s longest labor was 2 hours (which was with me) that’s including the time she started contractions until she delivered. My brother and sister were delivered within an hour. My sister had Kaylee 30 minutes after she got to the hospital. I give my sister props because she didn’t even have any drugs and they didn’t even have time to give her an iv. I guess Kaylee was ready to come into this world. I just hope and pray that my experience is similar to my mom and sister’s.

We have our baby basics class on Saturday. That’s where Gabe gets to practice changing diapers since he’s never changed a diaper before. Gabe’s also going to start working on Apple’s room soon. So I’ll update and post before and after pictures with the progress. Until next time, have a great week everyone!

So I had to take that blood sugar glucose test today to see if you gestational diabetes. My doctor’s office actually gave me the drink at my last appointment so that I can put it in the fridge and keep it cold and I can drink it before I go to take the test so that I don’t have to wait a whole hour at the lab. I thought that was cool. I almost forgot to take the drink on my way out the door. Must be Mommy brain. I had the Orange flavored one and since I don’t drink soda it was kinda hard to drink it fast but it actually wasn’t as awful as I thought it would be. I just hope I don’t have to take the 3 hour one. Not sure how long it will take to get the results back. I guess I just want and see.

We have our Lamaze class on Sunday so I’m looking forward to that. I’ll write an update on Sunday after our class. It’s ALL day long. Hopefully we’ll be able to last. I hope Gabe doesn’t get grossed out on the videos. So until Sunday… Have a great weekend everyone!!!

We got our Baby Shower invitation today and they are sooo Adorable. Cynthia did a wonderful job making them super cute! It’s an animal print invitation with pink, orange, and yellow as the colors. Those are the same colors that we are using for Apple’s room and her room is girlie baby animals so it matches perfectly. We’re going to frame an invite so that we can put it in her room. Thank you Cynthia for the beautiful invitations and thank you Mon for helping assemble them. We can’t wait for Apple’s shower!!!

Before we headed out to San Diego for our little babymoon, I had my 24 week checkup on Friday and we had another ultrasound. Apple was eating during the ultrasound; it was so cute! She is approximately 1.2 lbs and is almost a foot long! She is developing her taste buds and usually moves around right after I eat. Here is the latest picture of her:

After my checkup we went to the District and had lunch at RA Sushi and did a little shopping before heading out to SD. We got to SD around 5pm and checked into The Westin San Diego in downtown. After settling in, we got ready for dinner at The Oceanaire Seafood Room. Before making reservations, I did some research on Open Table and it was voted as the #1 Seafood restaurant in San Diego. I asked Gabe what he wanted to do in SD and all he said was he wanted to eat good seafood. One of Gabe’s favorite things to eat is raw oysters and this place has a good selection of oysters so I was sold and made the reservations.

We headed to the restaurant and walked straight upstairs to the classy, wood-lined, ocean liner themed dining room. We started off with their famous Chesapeake Bay Crab Cake which was awesome and Gabe of course had a sample of 1/2 a dozen oysters which he said was really good. Their seafood is flown in fresh daily so I had to get some kind of fish. I ended up ordering a Soy/Miso glazed Ling Cod and Gabe ordered surf and turf (lobster tail and fillet mignon) and we shared creamed corn as a side. After stuffing our faces, we still left room for dessert. We had the fruit crisp which was this scrumptious, fresh baked fruit cobbler type dessert filled with peaches, blueberries, and raspberries topped with vanilla ice cream. It was delicious! After our gluttonous dinner, we headed back to the hotel and watched “Made of Honor” which was cute. Can’t go wrong with a Patrick Dempsey film.

On Saturday we were able to sleep in and had the breakfast buffet at the hotel. We didn’t really have plans so we decided to just wing it. After breakfast we headed back to the room to figure out what to do. I read that book that hotels always provide about the city that your in and asked Gabe if we could go to Old Town since I’ve never been there before. Gabe agreed and said he wanted to show me where he first went shopping for my ring.

Before getting engaged in 2003, Gabe did a lot of research on rings and the 4 C’s etc.. Our friends Kathy and Jason lived in San Diego at the time and Gabe took a day off so that they could help him find a ring. So he drove down to SD and Kathy and Jason took him to this jewelry store in SD to look at some rings. Apparently, there was this one store in Old Town where Gabe got the inspiration on what he wanted my ring to look like so I thought it would be fun for him to show me and see if it was still there.

It was nice and sunny when we got to Old Town and there was an Art Festival going on so there was a bunch of booths set up with artists selling their goods. Old Town isn’t that big so we ended up walking around the whole street and found this cute framed picture of an apple with a heart in it. I asked Gabe what he thought and we both agreed that it would look cute in Apple’s nursery. After walking for about an hour or so we built up our appetites again and ended up eating Mexican food at Fred’s Mexican Cafe and we both feasted on steak tacos and shrimp tacos. It was very yummy.

After a day out in the sun, we decided to head back to the hotel to take a little nap before going out again at night. I think I had too much sun that day because we ended up staying in that night and ordering room service and watching “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” which was hilarious. It’s from the same makers as “40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”. Be forewarned though, there is full frontal male nudity a couple times in that film. I couldn’t believe it. It was a romantic comedy and they never show that stuff in romantic comedies. I forgot the name of the actor but Kristen Bell was the main actress and sorry guys but no full frontal on her. It was a pretty funny movie though.

Sunday, we got to sleep in again. It must be that heavenly bed that Westin’s are known for. We got ready, packed, checked out and headed out for brunch. In that San Diego hotel room book, there was this restaurant that was highly recommended for breakfast. They said that there’s always a line but it goes by quickly and is worth the wait. I absolutely love going out for breakfast on the weekend right now so I really wanted to go to this place. It’s called RIchard Walker’s Pancake House and it was just a couple blocks from our hotel.

When we got there, the book was right, there was definitely a line and it looked like a long one. I also hoped that the book was right about the line moving fast and it did. We had to wait about 25 minutes but it wasn’t so bad. It felt like we were in line for a ride at Disneyland because they even had this sign that said “10 minute wait from here”. There’s a guy who passes out menus while your in line so you know what to order when you are actually seated. I think that’s a great idea and that’s part of the reason why the line moved so fast. Once seated I ordered the Dutch Baby which was awesome. If you’ve never had a Dutch Baby you should totally try it. It kinda taste like Yorkshire Pudding but a little thicker and a little sweeter since it’s sprinkled with powdered sugar. They give you a of bowl lemons and more powdered sugar to add to your taste. It was delicious! Gabe ended up ordering Spinach Crepes which also had onions, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese inside served with potato pancakes on the side. We also ordered a side of eggs and bacon. The bacon is some of the best I’ve ever had. Thicker than normal but not fatty and very, very crispy – just the way I like it. We were both very satisfied with our breakfast and plan on going back there every time we’re in SD.

After breakfast we headed back home but made a pit stop at the Carlsbad outlets. We didn’t plan on staying there long but I found a Maternity outlet store and went crazy. They were having this big clearance sale and had this $1 rack. I bought 4 things from there and a bunch of other stuff but everything was on sale. Gabe was great holding stuff for me and waiting for me patiently. I think we were in there for about an hour. I felt bad but he ended up getting some Etnies shoes so at least he didn’t leave empty handed. It was a great way to end our babymoon, well at least for me it was.

So we had a great 3 day weekend sleeping, relaxing, eating, and sleeping, relaxing and eating some more. We love San Diego even though it’s only an hour and a half away. It always feels like we’re somewhere far and the weather is always nice. We want to bring Apple back to San Diego so she can visit Shamu and all the animals at the San Diego zoo and wild animal park. We heart SD!