Another Hospital Visit

Around Friday, I started getting super bad pain in my left side - so much that I could hardly breathe or walk a few days later. So on Tuesday when I couldn't take it any more, I talked to a nurse and she said I needed to come in to get it checked out. I knew that they would tell me I'm just pregnant and send me home but in the unlikely event that it was hurting baby, I knew I should get it checked out. I never would want to hurt Connor just because I was being stubborn. 

They put us in a little curtained off room and hooked me up to the baby monitors. We ended up being at the hospital for 6 hours. Poor Logan only had that stool to sit on the whole time! He was also on night shift that week and didn't get much sleep so he could be there with me. He is a great husband and is going to be an amazing father!

So they thought that I might have Kidney stones but after testing and because my side wasn't sensitive to touch they ruled it out. After lots of questions and tests, it turns out it is just baby kicking my ribs! The little punk!

You may not know this but listening to a baby's heart beat for 3 hours is actually pretty relaxing. It is a sweet little reminder that he is really in there and doing well. Every time they came to check on me they said baby was doing great! I love hearing that! They also monitored me for an hour after that. It isn't as cool and we had them turn the monitor down. 

I think the most useful thing I got out of the trip was that I learned that I was having regular contractions! I knew I had had a few but I couldn't always identify them because the tightening of the uterus from a Braxton Hicks (practice) contraction is pretty close to a baby stretch and is not really painful at all. But as I watched the second monitor I could see what it looked like and figured out what having a contraction felt like. 

Because I had so many they checked my cervix to see if I had dilated at all. I hadn't, but man, did that hurt!! And the Dr said a side effect of that would be that I might feel the contractions more. Yep, I do! When I get up or walk around for too long, I can now feel the tightening and cramping of a contraction. They are all still random and mild but my body is getting ready to have this baby even if I'm not yet. 

The next day when I woke up the pain was almost completely gone and by Thursday I was back to normal. Irony. 

Just as one thing leaves it always seems like it is replaced by another. The day after, I got off the couch and my left foot was all swollen!! It felt really funny to walk around on. Luckily it didn't last long. When I get hot my hands swell a little more then usual but so far no more real swelling yet.

This week I now am getting leg cramps! I wake up with charlie horses in my left calf almost everyday and then when I'm walking around I get super cramps on the interior of my right thigh. I'm pretty sure the right side ones are because Connor's head is resting right above that spot. He is so naughty. 

33 Weeks

Look how big I'm getting!!! Here is the side by side of me at 33 and 23 weeks. Pretty impressive the difference 10 weeks make. 

• Baby has run out of room. Mostly rolling, stretching and hiccups now. Nice because he doesn't wake me up at night but it is getting even harder to breathe. Little elbows and knees can be pretty pointy though when they move across my belly. 
• Bending over. Most likely not going to happen again till baby comes. lol
• He still prefers my right side. I'm sure if/when I get stretch marks it will be there. 
• I couldn't even stand to look at sweets in first two trimesters. Now my sweet tooth has come back with a vengeance! All I want is sugar!! Probably because baby is putting on some serious fat now. 
• Started off great taking Iron again but it slowly started making me more and more sick! Now I know if I take it I will not be doing anything else that day. Something about being pregnant just doesn't let me take pills. Funny because I took prenatals for two years before getting pregnant without any problems at all.  At least I've stopped craving ice and feel like I have a little more energy so it must be helping at least a little. 
• So happy to be cooking again! Still don't love trying to figure out what I want to make but being in the kitchen makes me happy. 
• Starting to see a pattern with baby. He will be very still one or two days and then right after goes through a huge growth spurt! This happens about every other week. When it does my whole tummy will ache even when he is not moving. After that I feel like I double in size and he goes back to normal movement. My baby app says this week baby could grow up to a full inch! 
• Braxton Hicks contractions are real. These are the practice contractions your uterus does to prep for the real ones later. At any time during the day but especially at night my belly will tighten up and get really hard for a minute or two. They don't really hurt yet but you know when they are happening! 

Mushroom Asiago Chicken

I know this recipe doesn't look like much but I promise it is so good! We had company over and they said it tasted like something you could get from a restaurant!

This recipe was adapted from http://www.bakeatmidnite.com/2013/07/mushroom-asiago-chicken.html and her pictures make it look a lot more appetizing.

Mushroom Asiago Chicken 

3 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 cups (or more) mushrooms, cut in half
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 pinches of dried thyme
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup seasoned flour (see below)
2 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup freshly shredded asiago cheese (plus more for topping)
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper (to taste)
seasoned flour:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Pound chicken breast with a meat mallet (or give your husband a rolling pin and let him at it) between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap until meat is uniform thickness; about 1/4-inch. Cut into serving-sized pieces (2 or 3 pieces per breast).

Heat the butter with *1* tbs of olive oil in deep, heavy skillet or saute pan over medium heat (I used my Dutch Oven).

Dredge chicken in seasoned flour.  Add to hot oil/butter in skillet.  Saute until golden on each side, about 5 minutes per side (it is ok if they are not cooked all the way through because you will be cooking them again).  If there is not enough room for all, you can do it in a few batches. Remove chicken from pan and let rest on a plate with paper towel to soak up the extra oil.

Add remaining olive oil to hot skillet.  Saute mushrooms until they begin to brown but not too long or they will get mushy.

Add chicken stock and garlic powder to skillet, scraping up all the browned bits that are at the bottom of the pan. Rub thyme between your fingers and add to mushroom/chicken stock in pan.

Add the chicken back to the pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken from pan.  Add the cream and heat through. Add the asiago cheese (I thought 1/4 cup was a good amount to start with - asiago is a powerful cheese - but you can use up to 1/2 cup. I preferred start with less and to let each person top theirs later to their personal taste).

Cook, stirring constantly over low heat until cheese melts. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced by about 1/2 (but not too thick).  If you wish to skip the reduction step, you may thicken the sauce slightly with about 1 tbs instant flour or 1 tbs cornstarch mixed with 2 tbs water...however, the reduction will taste better.

Pour sauce over chicken in a serving dish.

Optional: Garnish with sprigs of fresh thyme and/or more cheese.  May be served over any pasta but we really liked it with mashed potatoes.

About 4 servings.

**Notes:

• Don't over cook the mushrooms like I did or they will loose too much texture and be mushy at the end (they will still taste good though!). When eating, I wanted more mushrooms so I will be adding more next time. 
• I also over reduced the sauce so it was too thick. Make sure it still is a bit runny. It really didn't take that much time to reduce. 
• I made a bit of a mess taking the chicken in and out but you can probably do it better. Also, the original recipe calls to add the chicken back in one last time at the end to reheat but I didn't think it needed it and would be a little prettier to put in a serving dish and just pour the hot sauce over it.
• At the end, because I had used salted butter, I didn't think it needed any more salt and I never add extra pepper. 

Cafe Green Green and other stuff

Wednesday I had my 32 week checkup. Baby had a great heartbeat, I measured exactly at 32cm, baby is now head down and have gained 2 pounds since my last appointment (here on out, I can expect to gain 3/4-1LB each week!). My Dr said everything was coming along perfectly and baby is growing right on track! I got a new heartburn medication and I hope that helps but other then that, my symptoms are all pretty normal even if not very comfortable. I'm also officially starting to get hot flashes too! It is so weird and for the first time in my life I've been the warm one in the house! I can't even sleep under my blankets! So that has been really different!

Afterwards, I met up with a couple friends at a cute cafe called Cafe Green Green.  The food was just ok but I'll still go back because it was so beautiful and I loved the atmosphere!

On our way walking back to the cars we passed this little store. It was so fun to check out! Plants outside, office stuff, house decorations and lots of kids' toys and books.

When I saw this book there, I just had to get it! I think it is the perfect souvenir and reminder that we had our first baby in Japan. I can't wait for my dad to come out to read it to my baby boy!

Okinawa Outlet Mall

So for Labor day this week, we had a lot of fun going down to Naha with the Danahers to check out the outlet stores!! It was a hot day but we all had a good time. I was pretty impressed at how many "American" stores they had but of course Banana Republic was my favorite!!!

I went into the dressing room to try on a shirt and the lady handed me this thing. I looked at it and then her and said, "I don't know what to do with that." She then informed me that it was to go over my face to keep the sweat/makeup off the clothes. Those Japanese thing of everything!  

When we were in one of the stores Logan went and got us some shaved ice!! He is the best husband! 

Then that night I made tortellini and we taught the Danahers how to play Blokus. After for dessert, We had a pumpkin cheesecake I made. It was a great day!

31 Weeks, 3 Days

Logan helped me take my weekly/biweekly belly update. I'm kinda torn to choose now between my original due date and the one the hospital uses. If its the October 30th based on the fetus age, then I'm 31 weeks, 3 days. If it is October 25, which is what the hospital uses based on my period, then I'm already 32 weeks, 1 day. My last check up they said baby was measuring on time for the 25th but who really knows. It will be interesting to see what she says about him at my appointment this week. 

I can tell you that my favorite food (consistently) while being pregnant are peaches or nectarines! I can't get enough. When I was in the states, my mom spoiled me with having fresh nectarines almost every day! Here, the fresh peaches are so ridiculously expensive ($3.89/lb!) and I've only seen nectarines at the commissary twice, ever (and they go bad really fast). I've turned to canned sometimes and frozen mostly. Not as good but still works. The right pic is a peach Clafouti that I made while Logan was gone and ate the whole thing! I also have been loving making frozen peach yogurt (Frozen peaches, vanilla greek yogurt, and a dash of lemon juice then blended all up). 

My most exciting baby buy this last week was getting my Ergo Performance baby carrier!! It is in almost new condition and this one is supposed to be 1/3 less the weight then the original and has fabric that is more breathable for hot climates - perfect for Okinawa. Can't wait to be a baby wearing momma!

Let me take a Selfie

On his work trip to South Korea, Logan actually got to get out and see some things during the weekends he was there. He took a bus and then a train to get to Busan. A large city on the southeastern coast. Logan told me about eating out, going to the beach to see a temple and the open air market he went to and how he loved the street vender food, especially the chicken on a stick and some kind of waffle.

Logan some pics from the temple he saw called Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. I asked him to tell me a bit about it so I could write this post. This is what he said:

"It is a Buddhist temple on the beach. Unique because most Buddhist temples are in the mountains. The complex was very big- several acres. It was on the cliffs but you could walk down a path to get to the ocean and I stuck my hands in. Beautiful architecture like the bridge and you could throw coins off of it into a natural spring that flowed into the ocean. There was a huge golden Buddha (not pictured) about as tall as our house and street venders outside where we got some waffles. "

Logan said when he was in the market later there were people everywhere walking around with Camera Selfie Sticks so he bought me one for my very own! He said it was an authentic Korean Selfie Stick from Korea and probably made in China! haha!

Let me tell you it is pretty cool! It extends out easily and my phone easily attaches so all I have to do is put the camera timer on and poof, you get a awesome pic! Plus it can also fit in my purse when I don't need it. Sweet! LOL!

We took a test pic and it was pretty cool! Logan's so funny! I'm so happy he is back!

Logan is Home!!

Thursday night I went to bed excited for the next day when Logan was scheduled to be home around 7pm. I don't really remember hearing my phone ring but a few hours later at about 2am, I picked my phone up off the night stand and saw that Logan was calling so I answered still half asleep.

Log: How's it going honey?
Me: Good?
Log: I'm standing at the front door, will you come undo the chain for me?!
Me: What? Ok...see you soon?
Log: Yep! Love you, bye!

My sleepy hands fumbled around to find my glasses and I starting walking down stairs not sure if I had just dreamed that whole thing up or not but I opened the door and there he was!! Logan was home!

Turns out, they changed his flight that day so that he should have been getting in around 10pm. Logan even knew it when he skyped me that night but thought it would be fun to surprise me by coming home just before bed. Unfortunately, because of weather, his flight got delayed and he didn't have a way to tell me. It was still a fun/happy surprise! Although I'm glad Logan had to call me. If he had just walked in the room at 2am it probably would have scared me to death or worse, made me go into labor! haha

Friday, he still went into work but only for a half day and now we get the weekend and Monday and Tuesday off!! Not sure what the plan is yet but I'm so happy that I get some time to just hang out with my husband!

30 Weeks!

Wow! Am I already at 30 weeks?! Just 10 more to go and only 8 until my mommy gets here! Crazy! The pediatrician at the hospital even said that they are happy to see us any time after 36 weeks and at that time most babies at that age don't even have to go to the NICU. That seems a little early to me but even if Connor was born today (knock on wood) he would have over a 95% survival rate! I think that is amazing! According to my phone app, he should already be close to 16 inches long and weigh over 3 pounds. This week he's working on his brain and getting fat.

I know he is getting bigger because they say at this point, they start running out of kicking room and more of what you feel is stretching, feet/elbows and body movement. I can say this is very true! But not any less painful because now he will push out in one direction and linger for a few seconds. I actually got a pretty good vid showing what he has been doing to me all night long now. Watch the right side and you can see what I'm talking about. Ow! - my side and ribs!

Some more new things showing up in my third trimester include skin pigmentations and broken capillaries. The skin pigmentations look like light birth marks and are mostly on my boobs and the top of my baby bump although, the first one I got was on my leg and it is about a half inch long. My dr said they are ok and should eventually go away. What I'm less happy about are the broken capillaries. I've always had them on my hands but now I have several new ones on my chest and I counted 7(!) new ones on my face. The worst thing is that they don't go away - ever. In fact, my dermatologist from a few years ago said that they will just get more noticeable as I get older. Basically, I have what looks like permanent zits for the rest of my life. Sad day. I'm sure it will be worth it though!

Newborn Photo Shoot

I almost forgot to post some of the newborn pics that I took for my friend Annie. Baby J is a sweet little guy! So I don't have to upload them all, you can see the highlights on her blog.

http://annieostler.blogspot.jp/2014/08/one-week-old-deliciousness.html

I can't wait to take them for Connor when he gets here!!

Baby Rolling Over

Just the last week baby and me went through another growth spurt! I feel so full of baby! Happy 30 weeks! My phone app tells me be is almost full length right now and just putting on weight pretty much! He should double in weight in the next 2 1/2 months. 

He really hates it when I rest my arms or hands where his head is (on the right side) or when I lay on my right side. Also if I am leaning over while I sit he likes to kick me and let me know I squishing him. As you can tell he likes to move a lot! I think it is funny when I push my hand on him a bit and he pushes back. The also app says that is a sign of good brain development. My DR says a moving baby is a happy baby! Mostly I think it just hurts, haha but I'm so glad to have a healthy baby!

In the video you can see a little punch around two seconds in (middle to the right a bit) but at about 11 seconds you can see how he pushes up on the right side and rolls over into the middle. When he is getting really crazy he likes to punch on the right side and then kick the left. Of course you can't always see it because it is under my ribs (and my boobs get in the way).

I almost forgot. I thought it was so funny that I WATCHED him have the hiccups the other day. Also once when I was skyping with Logan, he saw my belly jiggle over the feed. Pretty impressive considering the low quality video it has. This is one strong baby!

Extreme Coupon Wannabe

So there is this Facebook group for Okinawa Couponers that I joined and I've been trying to learn how to get better deals. 

Today my total for everything in the pick below was $8.73 and with 10 coupons I saved $14.48 (I would have spent $23.21 without any discounts). That gives me a over all total of 63% off! 

I know the really extreme Couponers would have gotten it all for like $1.23 or something but I'm still learning and proud I did pretty good. (I just used coupons today but I think you have to wait till they go on sale and then use a store and manufacturer coupon to get the ridiculous good deals). To me the best part is that it is all stuff I need/use regularly - not like 10 dog collars. Lol. 

I also bought my first box of baby diapers because it was on a good sale and I know it is good to stock up whenever you see them for sale. Crazy I'm at that point! By the way, diapers are expensive! I got mine at $0.18 each and they say a good price is about $0.16 for size 2 BUT I used another coupon and got a container of baby wipes for free (I saved $2.79 on them and if you take that off the total, the diapers are about $0.16 each) so I think overall it was a good deal!

28 weeks

Monday I had my first doctor appointment at the US Navel Hospital (big military hospital about 25 minutes away) for my 28 week check up. I was all ready and went out to start the car and it was completely dead! Turns out the Brake Light Stopper had broken (a little piece of plastic the size of an eraser top). Without it in place, the brake lights stay on even when the car is off and it killed my battery. The part costs less than 5 bucks but when you have to get to an appointments and don't have it, it really makes it difficult. Long story short, with Logan's help I got there 5 minutes after the cut off time and they made me reschedule.

I was so upset because I'm a crazy pregnant lady I called Logan who was back at work and cried - even though they scheduled me for the next day. Its just that I tried so hard and it is not very close so I had wasted all that time. To help me feel better, Logan took lunch off just to be with me and we tried a new place down by the sea wall. It turned out to be a beautiful day and the food was great but best of all, Logan knew it was just what I needed to feel better.

Tuesday I actually had my appointment and it went really well. The dr said baby is doing great, he had a heart beat of 130 and lots of good movement. With a fundal height of 28 cm, she said he is right on track to be born on October 25th (the earlier of my due dates!). I also knew that baby had changed positions but didn't realize that he has flipped a 180! That little stinker! Instead of head down like he was for a long time, his head and shoulders are tucked up under my right ribs! No wonder it hurts!

One thing that was a little scary was the night before I had my first contractions. Thankfully I was able to talk to my dr about it so I know what to do the next time. They have not happened again since then. She said it was probably because I don't get as much water at night while I am sleeping and I had a full bladder.

By the time my appointment was over the lab was closed (where I have to do the Glucose Tolerance Test and Blood work) so I would have to go back to the hospital again to do that and get my second Rhogam shot.

I then headed back and watched Logan's softball game. He did good in the out field but his team lost.  When we got home, there was a beautiful sunset from our front porch and I took a pick of our snail infested bush because it think it's funny. I also got a text that evening letting me know that my friend Annie was at the hospital having her baby!

Wednesday I went down to the hospital AGAIN but this time for a much better reason - to meet little baby J. Annie is my size and her belly never got very big so we were all surprised she pushed out a 9 pound baby! I sure hope that doesn't happen to me!!!

I should have taken the glucose test while I was there but I hadn't eaten very well that day (sometimes I'm just starving all day!) and Annie's dad offered me some yummy chocolates from Utah that I happily ate, so to get better results I decided to come back the next day with another friend who had to take it too.

The next morning I met Mickelle (we are less than a week apart in our pregnancies) at the lab and we both did the glucose tolerance test together. It was not too bad drinking the stuff but it sure made me sick!!! I was grateful I kept it down and didn't have to do it again. I was originally told that I could get my Rhogam shot the same day but it they said they were too busy and I would have to come back the next day. Annoying! At least Annie was still at the hospital so I went and hung out with her (and ate the labor and delivery pebble ice) until I felt better enough to drive home. The rest of the day was spent just taking it easy and resting.

Friday Logan had a family day off! There also happened to be a typhoon not too far off but so far it hadn't don't anything at all. Very disappointing. We decided to go on a scenic drive down to the southern tip of the island. On our way, we stopped at the hospital for my shot (yes I was at the hospital every single day this week!). Logan watched and said it was the thickest needle he ever saw and he thought it was going to hit my bone when they jabbed it in. It did hurt a lot. I got a nice bruise and had a sore arm the rest of the day.

On our drive we saw a ton of beautiful beaches we wanted to stop at on our way back. We didn't stop yet because we wanted to eat lunch first. We went to this place called Thai in the Sky. The food was ok but it had the most beautiful views! This shot was from the parking lot.

Sometimes you find the most random things here. Like how you had to walk through this little barn to get to the restaurant and it will filled with cool fossils/skeletons and live plants. 

My pad thai was a little different tasting and after a few bits I realized my food was looking back at me! Another Okinawa surprise- there was about a hundred miniature little shrimp things in it staring at me! I just couldn't handle it that day so Logan let me eat some of his curry because it didn't bother him at all.

Rudely, right when we finished eating thats when it decided to start pouring! So we didn't really get any cool pics out the back and didn't get to stop at the beaches. Oh well. We will just have to come back!

I got my lab results back. I don't have gestational diabetes!! Yay! but I am anemic (shocker - jk. I already was pretty sure) so I have to start taking Iron again. I'm super hoping it doesn't make me sick again!!

Happy Third Trimester!

Pictures from this weeks Sunday photo shoot :)

Here is a little bit about my third trimester so far.

• Baby Connor gets hiccups at least 3 times a day. 
• His favorite time to kick is whenever I am trying to sleep - must be something about the position. He is also starting to kick me under my ribs regularly on both sides. 
• My belly button looks funny and stretched out. 
• I have my 28 week appt on Monday. I get to take my Glucose Tolerance Test then. Not looking forward to that but I really hope I don't have any signs of Gestational Diabetes. 
• Definitely feeling pregnant even though most people still ask me if I know the gender yet thinking I'm not that far along (that was almost 2 months ago now!).  
• I've become an ice cruncher and I know what that probably means. I've never liked ice because it is so cold but there is just something about eating it that I've started to crave. I figure it at least helps me to get more water in each day and that at least one good thing. 
• I still get sick on a semi-regular basis. At least most of the time it isn't too bad and I can still eat whenever I want. Of course eating more means that I'm really putting on weight now. I can really tell in my thighs. 
• Starting to get lots of aches and pains. Sleeping hurts and my hips pop every time I roll over or get up to pee. My feet and back are also starting to really bother me. When baby is really active, my belly gets sore after awhile. Unfortunately, I hear it all will probably get worse before it gets any better. 
• I'm getting really excited to see what Connor will look like and to get to know his personality. 
• Because my bump is still pretty high, I fit in most of my jeans and shorts still. On the other hand by tops are all getting too short to even wear with an undershirt. 
• I can already tell my second trimester energy boost is fading. I can hardly go up the stairs or stand long enough to get my makeup and hair done. Last night, I dreamed that I was so tired I got up on a desk at work and took a nap. My boss was nice enough to get me a blanket and pillow even though I was on her desk. When I woke up in my dream, I still felt tired. 
• Interestingly enough baby has moved from being mostly straight up and down so I can bend over a little bit better but now it hurts my back. 

Baby Nursing Chair

So in a perfect world I really really wanted a gliding arm chair just like this for the nursery. Too bad I don't have $1200 to spend on one chair from pottery barn, huh!

When I was in the states, my mom and me found some more reasonably priced ones and sat in them for probably a half hour at Buy Buy Baby because they are so comfy. Unfortunately, they don't ship things that big out here and no one comes close to selling anything like it. Believe me, I've looked. 

I decided to get a glider from the bx after lots of searching. They had a whole "one" to pick from. It did turn out that it is the same brand and wood color as my crib set (that should get here in 2-5 months). I also like that it is a sleigh glider so it has wood on the sides to cover up the spokes. So even if it isn't exactly what I wanted it will look great and is very comfy! 

Last week I saw someone was selling the same one but used for a good price. I was second in line and never heard back so I assumed she sold it. We were going to buy a new one this morning but I got a message saying it was still available! Turns out the girl who was first was having bank issues and couldn't withdraw the money(?). Bad for her but great for me! 

I think it looks great! By the way, what you see in the pic is pretty much everything we have set up in his room so far. I can't wait to get the crib set!