We made it to Taiwan!

We officially traveled to the other side of the world successfully. The flight went surprisingly well. It was a 16 hour flight and you guys managed to sleep about 5-6 hours. The rest of the time was spent playing, watching the on board shows and walking around the airplane, trying to spot all the hello kitties. (We got to ride Eva air's Hello Kitty flight). 

It took you guys about 3 days to get over the jet lag. For the first week, we didn't venture too far beyond the nearby parks and visiting family. 

Once everyone has settled in we started to go on more adventures. For example, we checked out a cafe that has an indoor playground with supervision! Parents just drop the kids off in the gated area, and they can eat in peace while the kids go crazy. 

 The food was a bit pricey, but I think that comes with the novelty of the amazing play area. It ended up raining while we were there, so we lucked out with finding a good spot to spend the afternoon.

I apologize for the lack of chronology here, but bear with me as we document our first 2 weeks here.

At a park nearby, there's an amazing greenhouse garden. We sometimes take the time to walk around and admire the flowers there.

 There's even a little pond inside.
 Today, before going to that amazing cafe, we went to the Cheng Kai Shek memorial to go feed the fish in the Koi ponds. 

We've also had our fill of bubble teas. I love how you can customize the sweetness level of each drink. I find that I can lower the sweetness level down to about 30% and you guys will still drink it. 

 We also visited the zoo. Didn't get to see all the animals, but we hit all the favorites. Hannah was particularly interested in the chimpanzees. We could've watched them all afternoon. The parents had 3 baby chimps who were so playful and affectionate. Hannah is in that stage where she gets concerned when something can't find his/her mommy.

 And we also braved a night market sans stroller. Big mistake. Basically had to bribe the kids with food on a stick (which is always so healthy) and sweets to keep them going.

 But in the end, Hannah got a chance to try lots of different foods and liked most of them. Nathan stuck to his safe favorite: Chinese sausage. At the end of the walk, the kids were rewarded with a game of catch the fish. Hannah had so much fun, giggling the whole time.

The next few days will be rainy, so it'll be a challenge for me to find things for us to do. For the most part, you guys are pretty good travelers, as long as you are well rested. Hannah is loving the food, seeing new things, and even enjoys walking through the market. Nathan is sticking to the familiar, but is extremely flexible when it comes to changing environments, which we seem to always be doing. He is speaking a lot of Mandarin and people are always commenting on how well he can speak both languages. I've been surprised myself. Anyways, Daddy comes in a few days, and so things will be a bit more fun and easier on me. Treking through the city with 2 in tow is not an easy feat. 

But nonetheless, I'm loving the memories that we are making. Until next week, 

Love, 

Mommy 

Baby 3.4 Coming September 2017

After Hannah we had thought that we were finished with making any more babies. But once Hannah started to be able to talk, I started thinking about making one more addition to our family. Steve, on the other hand was "70% sure of keeping things how it was." Truthfully, I thought it was more like 99% but hey, I thought to myself, I can work with 30%! 

Then we decided to let God decide whether or not to have another kid. The first time we thought we were pregnant, but when we didn't we decided that it wasn't in the cards for us and I convinced myself that 2 kids was enough of a blessing. 

One day, I was cleaning the house and mentioned to Steve that I was going to get rid of all the baby stuff tomorrow and his response surprised me. He told me that after the "false alarm" last time, the idea of having another baby sounds pretty amazing. 

Wait a second...is this some sort of brain game? Reverse psychology? 

So then I spent the next few weeks trying to convince myself that having a 3rd kid would be a great idea. 

1. The giggles of 3 kids is way more contagious than just 2. I've been watching a friend's kid 2 afternoons a day. I love the moments where all three are just giggling and laughing, sharing memories. 

2. Adding another kid adds 2 more dimensions of relationships. Right now it is just Nathan <-> Hannah. After baby it will be Baby <-> Nathan, Baby <-> Hannah, and Nathan <-> Hannah. I value the relationship that I have with my sister and I can see how close my mom is with her siblings. I want our kids to have each other after we are gone. 

3. So, 2 days ago (1/15) the pee stick tested positive. I've been tired in the afternoons, nauseous in the morning and craving tart things like grapefruit. So far this pregnancy is closer to the one I had with Nathan, so I'm guessing that it is a boy.  

I don't think we are going to find out the sex with this one. We have everything we need and I think it'll be a fun surprise to find out. Steve wants to find out because he doesn't want to come up with 2 names, but he has agreed that if we can find 2 good names, we can be surprised in 8 months.

So, the news is out. I'm going to try to do a better job of documenting the pregnancy because I have completely forgotten everything and basically count on Steve's recollection of how things were. I blame mommy brain...which I'm not looking forward to because I finally (after 4 years) have started to feel like a semi-intelligent human being with ideas and the ability to convey those ideas to another adult human being. Now we start from square one.

I'm also a bit sad about having to sit out of roller derby due to the infamous 9 month injury. It'll be ok, derby will always be there. I love it so much and it'll definitely be a part of my life next year.

Well, I'll keep separate posts (which I won't publish until after the 1st trimester) and then everything (pregnancy and kid updates) will be combined into one post.

5 Week Progress

Apparently baby 3 is now the size of a peppercorn and is starting to develop specialized cells. I'm feeling pretty good, except for the exhaustion that hits around Hannah's nap time. Nausea isn't really bad yet. But I'm still craving sour things and protein. Not so much sweets at all. In fact, the thought of a milkshake makes me feel queasy...who is this?

I made an appointment for the Austin Area Birthing Center once again. After my experience with a hospital birth with Hannah, I have vowed not to give birth to another human at a hospital if I can help it.

6 Week Progress.
 Baby 3 is now the size of a chocolate chip. I am pretty much feeling horrible. Constant nausea, feeling cold all the time, and I even threw up a few times. Considering that I will be flying with the kids to the other side of the world in a week, I asked the midwife to prescribe me some medicine to help with the "morning sickness." So far it has helped, but I've been feeling extremely tired and lethargic. My back is also sore, possibly from sleeping too much. Everyday, I can only do the basics to survive. It crosses my mind several days, "What did I get myself into?" TV has been my saving grace. I can get some time to rest while they watch their favorite shows. I'm not proud of it, but I am just exhausted. They say pregnancy symptoms get worse with each child and they were right. Just looking forward to this first trimester to be over. Why isn't it the other way around, in that the pregnancy symptoms become more mild as you have more kids? On top of feeling horrible, you also have to care for your other children.

7 Week Progress.
Baby 3 is now the size of a playing die. We had a brief scare with some bleeding and cramping, but after an ultrasound, it has been confirmed that the baby is in the right spot and even has a strong heartbeat at this point. So far I'm still nauseous (better with the diclegis that I've been prescribed to take), tired, although not as bad as last week, and on top of everything, I have diarrhea again. I remember having this early on in the pregnancy with Hannah, and thought it was due to something I ate, but no, hormones. So with all this, we will  be boarding a plane in Houston about 12 hours from now to fly another 16 hours to Taiwan. I'm saying a little prayer right now for a burst of energy, relief from feeling sick, just until we touch dry land again. I'm beginning to understand why these pregnancy symptoms get worse with each pregnancy, if everyone felt this bad at kid 1, we would all have no siblings...and also the reason why most of us don't have a dozen children. This week sounds so depressing, can I think of one good thing that has happened out of being pregnant? (Well, besides the fact that we are growing a baby inside of me) No. First trimester is no bueno.

8-9 Week Progress
Well, I'm writing this in Taiwan. With the diclegis and lots of divine intervention, I survived the 16 hour flight from Houston to Taipei with the 2 kids. But after we arrived I pretty much hit a wall and was throwing up 6-7 times a day and because I wasn't keeping any food down, I was lethargic and tired. During this time, the kids watched a lot of TV and my Dad's girlfriend took the kids to the park a few times. I was pretty much bed bound for 2 whole days and on day 3, I forced myself to get outside and take the kids to the park. I had forgotten my medicine in Texas, so Steve FedExed the medicine to Taipei. Turns out the day it was supposed to arrive, we get a phone call, telling us that it's stuck in customs and we have to go to the FDA, fill out a form, get it approved and then submit it to customs to clear the medication. At this point, it was just easier to make an appointment at a local OBGYN's office, so I did and for the equivalent of less than $20, I saw a doctor, got an ultrasound picture of the baby and received Vitamin B6. By that point, I was not throwing up as much and so he didn't feel the need to prescribe me any drugs. From then things just started to turn out for the better. At week 9.5, I'm at 70% energy and I'm able to keep most foods down as long as they are not pork, contain garlic, ginger, or onion.

Week 10 -12 Progress
For the most part I'm at 80% energy levels all the time. We are able to go out on daily adventures, but I do have to sit down occasionally to rest, which works out because Nathan and Hannah need some time to rest as well. Pork and citrus still make me want to hurl, but I've never actually lost my meal due to the smells. I gag when I enter public bathrooms or if I need to wipe Nathan or Hannah after going #2. Things are going pretty well. Steve has joined us in Taiwan, so I'm not sure if it is the extra help, or if my hormones are eventually evening out.

Week 13
We flew back to the states and for 3 days, I was pretty much in bed once again, unable to keep much food down and feeling nauseous. This time around it wasn't as bad as when I arrived in Taiwan. When I feel tired, I get nauseous, so when you are trying to adjust to a 13 hour time difference, you are going to feel tired during your waking hours, and in my case, nauseous, so I just stayed in bed most of the day. Thankfully my mother in law was there to help out. As I started to stomach more food, I find that sweet things make me feel terrible and if I don't eat every 2 hours, my blood sugar becomes low, making me feel horrible. I am feeling like I am diabetic, like i was with Hannah. I get extremely queasy after large meals, so I need to take it easy on what I eat and eat like a diabetic: complex carbs and lots of protein.

I had my first prenatal appointment and we discussed having a VBAC. My chances of having a successful vaginal birth after a cesarean, are pretty high; in fact, close to 90%! We are definitely going with the birthing center this time around (as long as baby lets us) and after the first appointment, I definitely just feel right about it this time around. After peeing in a cup, everything looked normal, except I was spilling a lot of ketones. This happens when your body is breaking down protein and fats instead of carbohydrates. Considering that I've lost 7 pounds already, this pretty much explains it. I've also read that ketones in the urine can also indicate diabetes, which is what I suspected earlier. The midwife went ahead and ordered more tests to be done through blood work and so we'll have a better idea of what is going on with my body this time around.

Week 14 Progress
For the first time in forever, I actually woke up feeling pretty good. I'm starting to think that my body was acting crazy because it was simply mal-nourished. Not being able to keep food down is simply no bueno, and don't even get me started on all the delicious food that I missed while I was in Taiwan. Perhaps this isn't diabetes after all!

The baby is now the size of a troll doll and I am the same weight as I was in high school. It is extremely scary to think how I lost 7 pounds in a month. I need to work on gaining that back, in addition to the extra baby weight that I should be holding on to.

I am starting to show that I'm pregnant this week. It is nice to finally be past the awkward bloated muffin top stage and officially have a mini bump.

This ends my first trimester of posts. I'm going public with this one now and I believe I will make weekly updates with my usual posts about the kids.

Yay, we are going to be a party of 5!

Chinese New Year Celebration and Circus at School

Dear Nathan and Hannah, 

As we continue to enjoy spring-like weather, we've spent a lot of time outside. We planted a few of the plants that we purchased from the wildflower center in the fall. I'm not sure whether or not they will survive, but we can only hope for the best. 

 When we water the plants, you guys tend to like to get in the way of the sprinklers, possibly accidentally, possibly on purpose. It's warm, but not that warm, being wet in 60 degree weather can still get quite chilly.

 We celebrated Chinese New Year this week by inviting some neighbors and friends over to our house for a potluck. You guys got you first taste of the infamous red envelopes.

 We also celebrated Chinese New year at Chinese school. We had stations set up for the kids, including a snack station. I'd say, it was a pretty good spread: braised egg, sticky rice cake, fried shrimp chips, potstickers, and peach shaped buns for long life.

 At school, we had the circus last week. There were several stations with games and activities. For example, the plate spinning station,

 Ring toss...

 And at the end, everyone received a goody bag!

 There was even a silly photo booth where the kids had access to lots of props.

 And of course, a strong man station.

 Hannah also got a change to participate too.

I apologize for the delayed post. Getting things ready before we leave for a long trip takes lots of time and on top of that, I have not been feeling too great lately. Next Wednesday, we leave for Taiwan for a month. Hopefully I'll be able to get in a post. If not, the next post will be from Taipei, Taiwan!