Glucose Test Result

Both Dr. A and Gail are on vacation this week. However, the doctor's office still got back to me with my test result. I'm normal in every way. My blood sugar level looks fine, no symptoms of diabetes. Even my iron level is normal. It's a miracle that someone like me can look good in any aspect.

Biajee said it was still a mystery that I always feel cold. Normally it's caused by low blood sugar and low iron. Obviously it's not the case with me. I must have some micro-circulation problems.

He is fast asleep now, leaving me wandering alone in the house restless. The hormones are having funny effects on me. I always think I should just surf some porn websites like him, but those things don't intrigue me that much. I can only focus on them for 5 minutes maximum. Maybe some internet novels then...

We have to go to the gym tomorrow.

Cooking Injury

A word of wisdom is never have your 7 month pregnant wife cook dinner for you. I accidentally cut my finger and finger nail last night while chopping squash. It was bleeding and huring so badly that we almost went to the emergency room.

Biajee applied some vaseline for me to stop the bleeding. Later, I put some Aloe Gel on to ease the pain. I'm seeing the doctor today because I don't want to lose my finger. I guess pregnant women are clumsier than usual, or more absent-minded. It's really hard for me to focus on anything with the hump. The wound was deep and filthy, about 1.2 cms long on the finger nail, which makes typing a challenge as well.

I started to tell Biajee about the pain killing power of Aspen tree trunk last night. Deer, Elks and moose lick on Aspen trees after they give birth to heal faster. "Do you need some of those?" He was ready to chop or skin some Aspen for me.

"No, no, thanks. That's not the point." I replied. I'd rather have a good night's sleep...

Baby's Name

Since both our last names start with Y and Z, we decide that the baby's name should start with an A. In case someone sort names ascendingly by first name, his name will still have a chance to pop up on the top of the page.

We've ordered a book called 50,001 names for a Baby. Biajee has been through quite a part of it when he was sitting in the restroom. He finally decided that the boy should be named ARNOLD. I couldn't disagree because I don't know any jerks whose name is Arnold. The problem with us agreeing on names is that I know too many people: every time Biajee came up with a name, I told him that a gay or a bastard was named after that.

I think Arnold is cool. Arnold Schwarzennegger is my favorite actor. I just have to be mentally prepared that I'd be calling out this name 500 times a day in 3 months. We were also told not to let friends know our choices, for they'd try to give us advice and opinion we don't need. I think it might be all right to just blog it...

Lory State Park

We went to Biajee's company for lunch on Saturday and had the dealer change the timing belt on our Civic. It was too beautiful a day for all these errands.

I did some research on the 40 state parks and found a few that's close to our house with nice hiking trails. One thing I would not be able to do is be at a place with more than an hour's drive in the last month before the due date. So I woke Biajee up by 9 am yesterday morning, but we didn't head out of the garage until 10:00.

Lory State Park, located west of Ft. Collins is only 50 minutes drive from where we live. It was quite windy and chilly. The gusts ran between 20 to 30 miles per hour, not a typical good day for an outing. The park includes the huge Horsetooth Reservoir with jade colored water and was surrounded by mountains.

We chose to do a 3.4 mile round trip hike up to the summit of Arthur's Rock (6,810 feet), level is moderate to difficult. It was quite slippery since the trail was snowy and icy. The view was spectacular though. We decided this was the place we should come more often on weekends. It's closer and not as crowded as Rocky Mountain National Park.

We even tried to fly our kite before and after the hike. Biajee got really excited because Saturday was the first day in his life he ever got a kite flying up in the air - we did that on the roadside of Boulder Turnpike on Saturday afternoon and he was joyful as a little boy. The key about flying a kite is that you should not go when the windy is above 15 miles/hour or the kite may be damaged.

We dined at Johnny Carino in Ft. Collins afterwards. It's a nice Italian chain restaurant and they serve different flavors of cream soda - a soft drink we both love. It is the favorite of Jewish people and Italian people. There used to be tons of them in NYC and Florida while we were living in those places.

We bought a pair of kid's rainpants for me only to find it was too small after we got home last night. I guess we need to exchange it next time we go to REI - we only spent $1.22 on it with all the dividend coupons we got in hands. A good way of shopping...

The weekend is always too short.

TGIF

I am enjoying a relaxing Friday.

Biajee took me to a Laser Cutting company during lunch where his company placed some orders on the logo. It's a home business located in a garage in Boulder. The owner was still working in his bathrobes by the time we pressed the door bell. He had to change and greet us. It only cost $45 for this project. I started to dream of a home business like this.

Then we went to Costco and did our weekend grocery shopping before he headed back to work.

I spent some time searching online for the 40 Colorado State Parks and tried to decide where we're going tomorrow. The weather will be nice and I think I'm having Spring Fever - need to get out and hike the nature.

Panel II Test

It's a blood test for diabetes. My regular diet includes no sugar at all. However, I was told to empty my stomache for 2 hours this morning before seeing the doctor so that I could drink a whole bottle of lactose before they drew four tubes or blood out of me.

I sat there alone reading the Parenting magazine while all the sugar sank in my system. No drinks or food were allowed during that hourly waiting. I finally decided to subscribe to the magazine right before I almost passed out.

8 appointments were scheduled with Dr. A all through my due date. I'm supposed to see him every 2 weeks from now on and then every week during my last month. Baby's heart rate is still 140/minute. Dr. A thinks he is lying sideways in me, but we have plenty of time before the due date for him to turn to the right position.

I don't have strength to think about any of issues with the fetus at the moment. I have my own dragon to slay. Life can be a bitch and we can be bothered by assholes who yell at us in a parking lot and who follow us into a Subway restaurant.

Baby Registry

We registered for our baby shower in BabiesRus. In America, baby shower is a complete girlish thing. Usually the best friend of the would-be-mom will host a party at her house and invite the expecting lady's female friends over a month before the due date. Each guest is supposed to bring a gift for the baby. I attended some of these ceremonies before and was not impressed at all. It looks like an excuse to ask for presents from all of your friends, which to me, a deep-rooted Chinese lady, is quite disgraceful.

However, everyone else seems to be much more excited about the fetus in my belly than I am. People kept asking me when the baby shower will be and whether they may come to it. I feel embarrassed not to let Jeanne throw the party. Finally there is a list of 13 familes/friends made up and we have to rush to BabiesRus for registry. Not like we're expecting people to give us all these goodies, but we need to make a list ourselves on what we need to have before the big change in our life takes place.

I started to get all the baby stuff from my friends since before I got pregnant. We have 2 infant car seats, 3 baby strollers, a crib, an electric swing, a bassinet, a music mobile, a play den, a walker and tons of baby clothes in the house already. I can't believe most of the expensive things are already taken care of. I keep telling all my dear friends please don't feel obiged to come to the shower and please don't feel obliged to bring a gift if they come because I'm not an American. I take the baby shower as a good chance to get together with friends again before Junior is legal entity.

However, they keep spoiling me and this baby.

"Pei, we still have more things to give you. Next time you're over our house, please take as much as you can. And don't forget to tell us where and when the baby shower is."

"Oh please, you can just bring that baby bouncer to the baby shower. Don't buy anything for me..."

"No, no, no. The bouncer is used. We're supposed to get new things for you at the Baby Shower."

And so on.

Biajee is more keen than I am to go shopping in BabiesRus because he doesn't have to carry the baby around. I still think we have plenty of opportunity to spend money on this little guy after he at least learns how to appreciate it.

Meanwhile, we keep debating about names while going through the famous book of 50,001 Baby Names. It's the best thing to do when there is heavy snow outdoors and temperature is only 28 F.

Cherry Creek Mall

I usually wake Biajee up on a weekend morning and then we'll decide what we do for the day.

A great aspect of Biajee, which makes him better than most husbands is: He likes shopping. He loves to go to the mall even more often than I would suggest. Cherry Creek Mall is the best mall in Denver area. It's even classified as one of the points of interests here. It's my first time there, but of course, my dear husband has already been there twice by himself. He had a decent reason of sending our iPods in for repair, but he really enjoyed getting out of there and touring around all the different shops. People visiting Cherry Creek Mall had really Ritzy outfit and it just appears to be a high-class environment.

Our favorite places are Victoria's Secret and Old Navy, where I can get all the girlish stuff and pregnancy clothes. I suddenly got interested in mascara yesterday and Biajee got them for me instantly. It's a sweet feeling to be spoiled and pampered. So for the first time this year, I'm wearing makeup to work today. It lightened up my day, although I used to wear makeup every day when I worked for the airline in Hong Kong.

I must have blinked my eyes a zillion times today - it's fun to have longer eyelashes...

Birthdate guessing game

My boss is in Atlanta for a business trip this week, so that I have time to build some fun stuff.

http://www.baobaobebe.com

In China, the birth time of a person dominates the fortune of the whole life of the person. Therefore, our first game is to guess the birthdate for the baby. By submit the answer, you agree to donate at least 1 US Dollar to us. So that, we can use this money buy the best guesser a lovely gift. So, please write down a real mailing address, so that you can get the real gift if you win. And we promise to keep your email and mailing addresses as a secret.

Alright, have fun.

Oh, one more thing, you can change your choice anytime you want. However, please make modification of the vote by the end of May. ;)

Moody Blues

I was warned that all the extra oestrogen pumping around me would make my mood swing violently from Mother Teresa to Count Dracular and back again.

Pregnancy actually turned me from being a hard-nosed, tough-talking, razor-tongued vixen into a soppy, sentimental old fool, who'd start sobbing during King Kong or episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond. Obscure children's books, pictures of fetuses and even Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tales would reduce me to tears, as would Biajee's comments that I really need to start pumping bubbles out of my mouth if I keep thinking I'm a whale.

At least, because he felt guilty drinking when I couldn't, those Coors in the fridge would stay untouched for months on end. And we've given away all our wine collections to friends when attending parties. In our case this led to a rather useful windfall at the end of every month, and a shocking realisation about how much money we'd blown over the months...

Body Matters

Sex was a big problem for the first few months of pregnancy — most of the time, with the morning sickness pounding around, my sexual appetite was not as voracious as before and it was not always enjoyable when I tried to suppress my vomitting tendency. At the back of our mind was our constant (misplaced) concern that sex would put pressure on the womb, harm the baby and cause a miscarriage — a worry which would sometimes kick in at the most inopportune moment.

In the middle months, it became more difficult to cuddle in the same way. Biajee even had to clip my toenails for me.

As my breasts became larger, different problems ensued:

"Are my boobs looking alright?"
"Yes, they look great."
"So you didn't like them before?"
"No, yours always look great."
"But are they better when they're big?"
"Err, Yes. No. Whatever."

It's also worth pointing out that, however great they're looking, antenatal breasts must be handled with extreme care. They do become incredibly sensitive.

I was actually more sensitive about my changing body shape than Biajee was. Because he was seeing me every day and because it happened so gradually, he was somewhat immune to even the most extreme changes.

Even when I'd wail that I had the belly of a darts champion, he tried to assure me that I looked great and sexy and was still gorgeous all the time. I also made him say that I am the most beautiful woman in the whole world once in a while. Why, I'd say, you only have to explore the more extreme titles on any newsagent's top shelf to discover how pregnant women trigger off the strangest carnal impulses in many men...

Tora Tora Tora

If we think there is too much germs or parasites in raw fish, we shouldn't ever eat: beef - madcow disease, pork - foot and mouth disease and chicken - bird flu. Nothing is safe in this world any more. Besides that, what do Japanese people eat when they're pregnant?

I finally called Gail, Dr. A's nurse, to inquire the possibility of soothing my taste buds with some uncooked seafood.

"Pei, Dr. Austin said you could have sushi only if you bring some sushi for us." She said cheerfully over the phone, "But please only do moderate amount."

That's all we need to get going. We were at the best sushi restaurant in Boulder right after work. It's called Tora (虎），which reminds me of the Pearl Harbor attack during the 2nd world war. We'd only been there once before. We ordered seaweed salad, caterpillar rolls, squid rolls, a full-size sashimi platter with white fish, yellow tail, tuna, octopus and salmon. When all these were fitted into our stomache, I stared at Biajee and said woefully, "I'm hungry. I'm more hungry than when we got here."

He waved the waitress for the menu and I put in another caterpillar roll, spicy tuna roll and Tora House Roll for us. Biajee asked for the hotpot as well. I became perky and evil again when I was digging into these nice dishes, "I think I'm feeling much better."

I miss Japan so much. Having lived there for 2 months and then paid weekly visits to different cities in Japan certainly indulged me in their food culture. Raw fish is the healthiest food I can think of in this world. Japanes people have the longest life span on the globe. The key is: they have to be fresh. All the seafood in Tora was aired from Japan every day. The flavor is top-notch, the price is sky-rocketing as well.

However, it's still nothing comparable to what you get in Japan. I used to have it all day long when I lived with different Japanese families. They always took me to the best local restaurants and poured the plates with sashimi, sushi and sumo-hotpot (special for the Japanese wrestlers). I drank whisky, sake and beer with them every night. I need to train the baby's rawfish tongue starting from the very beginning so that he wouldn't be surrounded by burgers and pizzas all his life...