Sleeping

Trip and I recently moved in with the Sanders, which has been so much fun!  The only downside is that they have this ridiculously comfortable bed, which makes it really hard to get up in the morning.  They have one of those memory foam tops on the bed and we have loved it so far!  The pro's of the memory foam top is it has completely changed the way I sleep!  I used to wake up with a stiff back on a regular basis, but no more.  Ever since we started sleeping on this memory foam, my back has been pain free, and will stay that way most of the day.  I love it! (seriously, I want one)

The con's of the memory foam is that it steals all my motivation to wake up in the morning.  Also, because I sink into it so much, I literally have to roll myself out of bed.  Kind of like a beached whale :)  Another reason that it is just easier to lay in bed all day.  Unfortunately, just because I am not working for someone doesn't mean that there isn't work to be done.


Oh well, I will gladly take these con's over a sore back and sleepless nights any day!  Next pregnancy, we are totally investing in some memory foam :)

More pregnancy fun

I haven't really had many "cravings", until the third tri-mester that is.  Now, it seems like I am constantly craving Starbucks hot chocolate (I almost cried the other day when we passed a Starbucks and I didn't get one), fresh basil with mozzarella cheese, and grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.  Those are the constants.  Every now and then I will think that something random and unexpected sounds good too.  For instance, on Sunday, I couldn't stop thinking about McDonald's french fries.  I also have been daydreaming about cheese on a stick from Hot Dog on a Stick...what is wrong with me?!  Most of these cravings aren't really that bad, so luckily I have not had a hard time telling myself no.


I have also noticed that I am constantly hot.  Poor Trip actually gets cold at night and I am still uncomfortably warm!  My biggest relief for this is the pool.  Malaysians don't heat their pools and I have been loving it!  I can get right in these days without feeling cold, and last night I went at 8pm and it still felt wonderful.  I will miss the year round pool weather when we go back to the US.  The other benefit to the pool is the relief that my lower back gets.  It seems like I am constantly sore these days thanks to Baby Bean's increasing size and the added strain it puts on my back.  Sadly, the cartoon really isn't that far off!

Where were you a year ago?

Me at dad's place, July 2011

Me in Penang, June 2010

 

I was going through pictures recently and came across some pictures that we took when my family came out to visit a year ago.  It is kind of crazy to think of how much has happened and changed in a year.  A year ago, Trip and I weren't ready to start having children yet.  A year ago, we were seriously thinking of extending our international experience for a couple of years.  Now, we feel like moving back to the States is the right thing for us, for now anyway :)  And we are definitely having children...ready or not!  Just funny to think of how much can happen in so little time.

31 Weeks

I am currently at 32 weeks, but my pictures are from week 31.  We are now entering 8 months and things are looking good!  I got my RhoGAM shot yesterday, which basically prevents my RH negative blood from producing antibodies that will attack my baby's blood, if she is RH positive.  Good times :)  


The doctor says everything is looking good and when we did the ultrasound, she was still in a great birthing position...this girl is just ready and waiting!  They estimate that she weighs about 4 pounds now, so she still has some weight to gain, but she shouldn't be too big either (thank goodness!).  I am now going to be getting a checkup every 2 weeks or so, which is kind of crazy.  I can't believe we are almost at the end of this pregnancy journey!  I am nervous and excited all at the same time.

Independence Day

Celebrating the 4th of July is always fun, but when you are not living in America, it doesn't always happen (for obvious reasons).  That doesn't mean we don't remember it, it's just not easy to make a big deal about a holiday that the country you are residing in doesn't recognize.  Well, this year we ended up celebrating more than we thought we would and we had a great time thanks to Carl and Paula Curtis!  They hosted a dessert potluck on Monday and invited a bunch of us over.  That afternoon, Trip and I went over to help Scott Sanders make his famous Peanut Butter Chocolate cookies and I made Strawberry Banana cupcakes (recipe to follow soon).


At the Curtis' house, we read part of the Declaration of Independence and played a trivia game.  And, of course, we ate.  Here are a few pictures that I managed to take.

Group shot

I love the look on Trip's face here

As things were winding down...so a lot of the food is gone

It was nice to get together with friends and celebrate the freedoms that we were lucky enough to be raised with.

Petronas Towers

While mom and Steven were visiting, we decided to do the typical Kuala Lumpur tourist thing and visit the towers...you know, the ones that put Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the map :)  The visitor's center and tour itself weren't really that impressive, but the views from the towers were beautiful.  Here are a few of the pictures we took.

Trip and I on the sky bridge at the 43 floor

Trip on the 86 floor with one tower and KL Tower in the background

View from the 43 floor (similar to the one from our apartment, but much higher)

Same view but from the 86 floor.  Pretty amazing!

Malaysia Baby Shower

My dear friend Hilary (who is also pregnant and due just a few weeks before me) was kind enough to throw a shower for me a few weeks ago.  It was beautiful, simple, and so nice to spend some time visiting with friends that I haven't seen for awhile.  Here are some of the pictures that she managed to take while we were visiting and opening presents.

The food was so yummy and the decorations were so nice!

These cake pops are something that I really want to learn how to make

I really like this picture

This wasn't the whole group, but it's one of the few pictures with Hilary in it (one the end next to me)

Thank you, Hilary for a wonderful baby shower!

Das Chops

I really should be catching up on Mom and Steve's visit out here as well as what we have been up to lately, but Trip (amongst others) has been patiently waiting for me to post about his long anticipated chops.  So, here they are in all their glory :)

The before shot

The after shot

A good side shot

Steve showing off his pimpin' suit and Trip showing off his fluffier chops (and general Irish awesomeness)

Jack wanted to be a part of the picture and just came and sat there on his own

Got chops?

Bad Parenting

Waiting to see the vet and not too sure how she feels about it

Quick Update:  Tigger's x-rays showed no foreign objects in her intestine, so the worst case scenario did not happen, thank goodness!  Looks like it was a false alarm and she is doing just fine.


To some people, pets are just pets.  Similar to other household items, they are just one more thing to take care of and should it become inconvenient to keep a pet, they find some way to get rid of them.  To other people, pets are family.  They stick with you and you plan around their needs just like any other family member.  These people would do anything to save their pets.  Of course, these are 2 extremes and most people fall somewhere in between.


Trip and I both treat our pets like family.  I believe that even though they are not "people", they are still living and breathing creatures with distinct personalities and they deserve to be treated as such.  I recognize that pets are not the same thing as children, but part of the reason we brought Jack and Tigger to Malaysia (and we will take them back to the US with us) is because we took on a responsibility when we adopted them and we take that seriously.  Unfortunately, just like caring for children, caring for pets is not always easy.  We started out by being very conscientious caregivers; the kind who would never let a regular vet visit slip by and who would notice the second something seemed amiss.  However, living in Malaysia has made the regular vet visit difficult (they don't do preventative medicine here), and lately I feel like I keep missing things that I shouldn't be missing.  


Poor Jack had an allergic reaction to the flea spray that the vet used when we put him up for boarding one weekend, and it took his hair falling out for us to notice (how did we miss his itchiness?!).  Sweet Tigger hasn't gone to the bathroom in a couple of days and it took that long for me to even notice!  As soon as I did, I took her to the vet, but I'm afraid that my negligence means that the situation is not going to be good and she will suffer for this.  I hate knowing that it all could have been prevented too.


I brought some balloons home after my baby shower (post about this to come soon), which was mistake number one.  I should have remembered that our vet had told us not to have anything with strings around because Tigger would eat the strings and that could cause some major problems.  Mistake number two was when I caught Tigger eating said balloon strings and still didn't remember what the vet said.  We did get rid of the balloons, but the damage had already been done.  On Saturday, Tigger threw up 3 times, but then started acting relatively normal.  We watched her on Sunday, but she seemed to be doing fine, so we promptly forgot about it.  That was mistake number three.  Yesterday, I noticed that she hadn't used her litter box, and we decided that if she still hadn't by the time we got up this morning, we would have to take her to the vet, which is where I just got back from.


The vet was very nice and I know that Tigger is in good hands, but I could tell that he was worried about her condition.  She is running a temperature and might have an infection, but the worst part is that he thinks her intestines are blocked.  If this is the case, then we will have to do surgery to fix it, otherwise they will go necrotic and she will die.  I had to leave her at the Animal Hospital so that they can do x-rays and watch her overnight and it is killing me!  This is all my fault and if I had not been so caught up in what was going on with myself, I would have noticed this sooner and things wouldn't be so bad.  How could I have become such a neglectful pet parent so quickly?  Am I going to be like this with my own children?  I feel like such a bad mom right now.

Welcome home

Captain Jack and Tigger were certainly glad to have us back from our little adventures for awhile.  Both of them welcomed us home in their own sweet way.

"Dad cuddles, my favorite"

I'm so happy, I look high...

I'm just gonna lay on your pillow and not move for a long, long time

Tigger was rubbing against Trip's leg for at least 5 minutes straight.  Of course, she stopped when we started videoing. 

28 weeks

28 weeks and looking big :)

We had our monthly doctor's appointment yesterday, and it was pretty good.  I am now at 28 weeks, which marks the beginning of the third trimester.  Everything is looking good and both the baby and I are doing fine.  In Malaysia, it is standard to do an ultrasound with every appointment so that the doctor can see that the baby is growing well.  I really like this practice and am going to miss it when we are no longer here!  It is so fun to hear her little heart beat every month and to see how big she is.  Baby Bean apparently likes to be in a good "ready" position for birth because at the last 2 ultrasounds she has been positioned with her head down.


We really like Dr. Paul as well.  He is laid back and not a worrier, which fits both Trip and I very well.  I haven't had to do the glucose test yet because he only does it if you have sugar in your urine at least twice.  So far I haven't had any until this last visit, so he'll wait and see what the results are at my next visit and go from there.  I appreciate not doing tests that are really not necessary  :)  


Because I am Rh negative (O- blood type) and Trip is Rh positive (O+ blood type) I will have to get a shot at my next appointment.  This isn't a big deal and is standard procedure for all of us negative blood type moms.  My sister, Angie is in the same boat as me and has already had hers.  I guess if the baby has positive blood, then my blood might attack hers if it gets into my blood stream.  This would only be an issue during birth though, so no need to worry! The shots clean up my blood and prevent this from happening.  Dr. Paul is on top of it and has explained this in great detail to Trip and I, and we are not concerned.


The highlight of this visit was during the ultrasound.  While Dr. Paul was looking at her head, Baby Bean was positioned so that we could actually see her face pretty clearly!  She looks like she will be a beautiful little girl (I'm not biased at all).  She has nice full lips, like Trip, and Dr. Paul said her mouth looks like Angelina Jolie...not my favorite comparison, but oh well.  While we were looking at this she actually opened and closed her mouth...so cool to see!  She was sleeping through all of this so there wasn't much movement on her part except for that.  Baby Bean also weighs about 1.6 kg which is about 3.5 pounds.  Dr. Paul said that is a good weight, not small and not big.  Things are going well and we are getting more and more excited to meet her!

Go...Enjoy it!

As many women who have experienced pregnancy know, when there is a baby near your bladder you tend to have to go more often than you ever thought you would.  This means that you end up using bathrooms that you would normally not use unless it was a real emergency.  Parents know what I'm talking about too.


I recently used an airport bathroom that I normally would have avoided thanks to baby bean jumping on my bladder, and that's where I found this little nugget.

I especially love the "stop light directions" on how to properly use a western style toilet.

Malaysia, truly Asia...with truly awesome sign-age!

A few weeks ago we went to lunch with our friends Ben and Michelle.  We really haven't spent enough time with our friends lately thanks to me and pregnancy, so it was fun to see them.  Hopefully, we get together again soon!

Trip enjoying his man-sized sandwich

"Can I help you with that?"

Since I have been feeling so much better lately, Trip and I have been getting some last minute traveling in.  Jack and Tigger have not been as fond of these trips as we have since they don't get to come along.  While we are packing and unpacking, they like to stay close to remind us that they are still here  :)  Tigger decided to help me unpack this suitcase, while Jack decided that it was better to let me know how "uninterested" he was in the whole process.

I just can't get over how cute these two are!

Gold Class

One of the things we have discovered here in Malaysia that we will miss when we go back to the States, is Gold Class movies.  We first heard about these from my dad, and after our first experience we were hooked!  Gold Class movies are movies done right  :)


For only 40 ringgit (a little over $10) you can watch a movie in a leather recliner with your own blanket and a call button should you need someone to bring you refreshments during the movie.  You can also hang out in the private lounge and use a bathroom that is not all gross like the rest of the mall can be.  Pretty fancy, huh?


Unfortunately not every movie is offered in Gold Class, so we have only been to a few movies there, but we have loved it every time!  I totally recommend this to anyone who comes to Malaysia...it's an experience worth having.

Waiting in the lounge

The refreshment bar

Behold the awesomeness!

Snug as a bug in a rug

Chillin' like villians, or something like that

Reach out and touch someone

It seems that since I am pregnant, I am now public property and it is socially acceptable to be touched at anytime by anyone.  Any reaction other than being overjoyed at this new development has been met with surprise.  After all, don't I know that my pregnancy is something that random strangers should be able to enjoy too?!  (I hope you note the sarcasm with which I write here)


I know that some women don't mind when people touch their bellies, but I didn't like it before I was pregnant and I don't like it now.  It's different with people I know who actually ask first, but getting unexpectedly assaulted is unpleasant and uncomfortable to me.


Perhaps my feelings about this have been tainted by the first "belly groper" that I encountered.  It was just after church, and rather than try to touch my baby bump the conventional way (from the front), they ambushed me from behind.  And missed.
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I wonder if this is how lucky buddha statues feel?

Babymoon part 1: Kota Kinabalu (Borneo)

We are back!  We had a great time in Borneo this past weekend.  We got nice long massages on Friday and then had a delicious steak dinner.  There was a market that we found that had some beautiful shells and coral, something that we haven't seen at any other markets since we've been here.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera with me, so no pictures to display.  We also got some amazing mangoes at the market that we enjoyed all weekend.


Saturday was devoted to snorkeling at a little island called Gaya Island.  It was a gorgeous day and we saw some amazing fish.  We saw barracuda, banner fish, puffer fish, clown fish, and a bunch of other tropical fish that we don't know the names of.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!

The marina

23 weeks

View from the island where we were snorkeling

What's an island without puppies?