best friends who are now wife & wife

33 weeks!!!

May 16, 2012

Written by Yin!

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How far along? 33 weeks
Weight gain/loss: I’ve gained about 16lbs
Size of baby: Durian (eww don’t those smell bad?!?)
Maternity clothes: Yep, still wearing them but I did find some really comfy stretchy waistband regular shorts!
Stretch marks:  No
Sleep: Still sleeping during the day, spending most nights tossing in turning or running to the restroom
Food Cravings: milkshakes and raisin bran
Pregnancy Symptoms:  Swollen fingers, pelvic pain
Belly Button in or out: Out
Movement: I can feel the baby kicking all the way under my breasts, I think he is much bigger now
What I miss: cocktails and wine
Best moment this week: Celebrating our first Mother’s day
Worst moment this week: Having high blood pressure at my last appointment 138/88. I go for a check tomorrow, hoping is has gone down.
What I am looking forward to: Our maternity session
I hope all you moms, moms to be and hopeful moms had a great Mother’s Day. I’ll leave you all with a few pics from our Mother’s Day date.

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baby files, holidays, mommies in the making, pregnancy

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Feeling crafty -The quilting edition

May 11, 2012

Written by Yin!

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My fabric has arrived and I can now begin my quilting project. I’m so excited I love working on crafting projects, for me there’s something amazing about seeing my ideas come to “life”. I’m making our baby a patchwork number quilt for tummy time. Mistral and I originally planned to have our quilts completed by this weekend but seeing as how neither of us have started yet that’s not going to happen. So our quilting challenge has been extended to the end of the month. During the next few weeks we will both work on our quilts and update each other via photos every few days. At the end of the challenge I will post pics of our completed projects (I can’t wait!) The next challenge we’re doing is learning to knit or crochet (not sure which yet), this should be interesting and fun as neither of us have a clue what we’re doing lol. Hey you gotta start some where!

I ordered my fabrics on ebay and was really pleased when they arrived. Below are the fabrics I will be using in my quilt.

Quilting fabrics

The quilt will consist of 20 patches or squares that are 8x8in each, I will applique coordinating fabric numbers to some of the patches. The backing will be made of this fabric.

Fabric for backing

The entire quilt will be trimmed with this coordinating bright orange fabric.

Fabric for trim

As you may have noticed the back and front will not match, other than the border and the number theme. I purposely selected the fabrics in this way as to create one quilt with two different looks (it gives it a bit of a reversible aspect).
The entire quilt will measure approx 40×32 inches. Below are my drafts of the vision I have for the completed project. In the drafts the numbers are plain colored but I will be using the printed fabrics for each number ie. blue numbers will be made of blue fabric, green of green fabric etc. Also the grey numbers will all be made of the same printed number fabric that is used on the front of the quilt.

Draft for front of quilt

draft for back of quilt

Once I begin making the quilt I will be posting a how-to along with photos of my progress. I can’t wait to see how this turns out and I’m sure our baby will love it.

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crafts, domestic bliss

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Celebrating our baby

May 10, 2012

Written by Yin!

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As we’ve previously mentioned majority of our friends and all of our family are out of state so we decided we aren’t having a baby shower. Well originally Yang’s best friend and her wife were planning to host one for us in Florida the weekend Yang went down for her graduation. This didn’t happen because my dr. restricted me from flying at all during my pregnancy due to the complications I’ve had. Apparently the change in air pressure could cause possible further issues, so I was officially grounded until after I deliver. At first I didn’t care much about not having a shower since we didn’t need the items anyway. As time passed and most of the women who are due around the same time as I am started having theirs, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that I wouldn’t have that type of celebration or even pics from the day.

Of course Yang sensed my disappointment and decided to do a little special something for us as a surprise for me. She claimed to be going grocery shopping which is totally out of the norm for her, she hates grocery shopping!  I thought she may be up to something but couldn’t figure out what. When she returned from the store she called me stating she was on the second floor and needed help bringing in groceries. I went down to meet her and was pleasantly surprised with the sweetest little celebration. It was very intimate,  just the two of us but I couldn’t have been happier if there was a party of 100.

Balloons to celebrate our little one

The setup for our little party

Holding back tears while reading the sweetest card

So happy and surprised!

We both are so excited for our little one to get here, there’s only 4-8 weeks to go!

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baby files, celebrations, good times, happy times, life of wife and wife

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32 weeks

May 9, 2012

Written by Yin!

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This week I’ve changed up the questions just a bit, gotta keep things exciting
How far along? 32 weeks
Weight gain/loss: At last check about 16lbs gained
Size of baby: Squash
Maternity clothes: I wear them whenever we go out, around the house I stick to sweats and tank tops
Stretch marks:  Nope
Sleep: Well I’m always tired, I sleep a lot during the day. Most of the time I’m up most of the night, so glad I don’t have to try to work with my crazy sleeping schedule.
Food Cravings: pineapple, bananas, strawberries, vanilla ice cream, milkshakes, smoothies and raisin bran
Pregnancy Symptoms:  I believe my feet are a bit swollen either that or my ballet flats have shrunk, it still hurts to walk and my pelvic area aches. Morning sickness still likes to pop up here and there.
Belly Button in or out: Out
Movement: The baby isn’t as active as a few weeks ago but I think space in there is starting to be limited
What I miss: Being able to walk without being in pain after 10 minutes
Best moment this week: Finally set up the baby’s dresser and did some of his laundry.
What I am looking forward to: Our first Mother’s day and our maternity session

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baby files, baby talk, pregnancy

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Feeling crafty

May 8, 2012

Written by Yin!

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I’ve always enjoyed crafting but usually am too busy to create anything, since being out of work I’ve finally had the free time to work on a few projects. Over the last couple months I’ve  worked on various projects for our baby. I’ve decoupaged wooden wall letters that spell out the baby’s name, sewn cloth diaper wipes, made a tshirt taggy blanket, dish towel bibs and burp cloths. I’ve also made a few fabric toys including a jingle block. I’m currently working on a foam baby book and am about to start a quilting challenge with my friend and fellow blogger Mistral from single mom eats. Below I’m posting pics of some of my recent projects, stay tuned for future posts for how-tos on each project.

Burp cloth made from dish towel and receiving blanket

Fabric jingle block with appliqued letters made from receiving blankets

taggy blanket made from tshirt

Bib made from dish towel

Foam baby book

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crafts, domestic bliss

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Our baby registry

May 7, 2012

Written by Yin!

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So we’ve gotten a few people asking if we have a baby registry. Since most of our family and friends are out of state and we’ve purchased most of the necessities for baby ourselves we’ve decided to do something different. We set up a charity fund to help get clean drinking water to children and families in developing nations. Shortage of clean water is a huge issue in impoverished nations. Instead of baby gifts, we ask that you donate whatever you can to this cause on behalf of our child. We are hoping to raise money which will help give families in need access to clean water!! Our campaign will last until the end of June and the organization CharityWater is 100% legit, we have donated our own money to kick start the fund :) Check out the link and help us help others! We would really appreciate it.

mycharitywater.org

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goals

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The best wife ever!

Written by Yin!

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Not sure if I’ve mentioned it before but I’m convinced I have the best wife ever! Through out my pregnancy Yang has been very helpful and supportive. She’s been there through everything with me handing me cold wash cloths as I hung over the toilet with morning sickness, running to the store to pick up odd items I craved, by my side at doctor appointments to calm my nerves about imaginary symptoms, telling me I’m sexy when I definitely feel nowhere even close. My pregnancy hasn’t been the experience I imagined and sometimes has been a bit difficult but with Yang by my side it seems 1000 times easier. She has been a great wife and support person for me and I know I can count on her during labor to be the best coach possible. When our child arrives I know she will also be the best parent any child could wish for. She may not be perfect but she’s the perfect person for me and I wouldn’t want to start a family with anyone else.

We started dating 8/26/05 and met for the first time 9/10/05

She asked, I said yes 2/6/06

For our first anniversary 8/26/06 we spent the weekend at a resort and had a limo drive us to dinner.

When we met almost 7 years ago I’m not sure I could’ve imagined we would be where we are now. We’ve had ups and downs through out the years put we’ve both promised never to give up on what we have and to this day we haven’t. We’ve had nights that we couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping next to one another and someone found their way to the couch,  threatened to split our assets and be done, had the distraction of a few crushes  and been through couples therapy. We are in no way the perfect couple just perfect for each other. Through the downs we’ve never lost sight of what is most important and that is the love we share and the life we’ve built together. Sometimes I try to imagine my life without Yang and I’m not quite sure how it would be. I’ve been with her most of my adult life (since I was 20 years old), I’ve lived with her longer than I’ve lived alone. I’ve basically grown into the adult I am today with her by my side. Without her I’m not sure if I would be lost but I surely would not be complete. Through the years we’ve grown and learned so much about ourselves and each other, now that we are embarking on parenthood together we have a whole new aspect of ourselves and our relationship to explore. I’m diving into this headfirst with both anxiety and excitement but with Yang by my side I’m positive I can handle anything that comes my way.

Yang you are the best wife anyone could ask for, with our 4th wedding anniversary just 8 days away I couldn’t be more proud to be your wife and am so thankful that when you asked I said yes!

Our wedding day 5/15/08

Our legal marriage ceremony 8/16/10

Found out we are going to be parents 10/20/11

Through the years we’ve made many great memories and together I can’t wait to make many, many more!

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good times, happy times, life of wife and wife, married life, relationships

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31 weeks

May 2, 2012

Written by Yin!

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Wow where has the time gone ?!?!? Our last weekly update was nearly 6 weeks ago, I’ve been meaning to update but for one reason or another haven’t. At 27 weeks I had the one hour glucose test which I passed so I’m in the clear for gestational diabetes woohooo! We did spend a few hours Sunday in labor and delivery but are very happy that everything is okay. Sunday morning I was experiencing some back pain and cramping as well as the occasional contraction, we weren’t sure if we needed to be concerned so we called the ob after hours. The nurse I spoke to is familiar with my complications and all the details of this pregnancy, she advised us to go to the hospital for a non-stress test just to check things out. During the test a monitor was placed on my stomach to track the baby’s heart rate and to detect how frequently I was contracting. The baby was as active as ever and even got hiccups during the monitoring which were funny to hear. It turns out the cramping was due to me not drinking enough fluids, who would’ve thought?!? I pee like every five minutes but apparently I still need to drink more, so now I’m required to drink at least a glass of fluids per hour. Also while there the doctor did another FFN test which was negative so our little has very little chance of arriving in the next two weeks.

How far along: 31 weeks
Symptoms: Heartburn is something terrible, constantly hungry and tired. Also the baby is putting a lot of weight on my pelvic area, I now waddle lol.
Total Weight Gain: I’ve gained about 16 lbs, this is the most I’ve ever weighed…
Stretchmarks: Nope hoping I’m lucky enough to make it through the next 9 weeks without getting any
Sleep: Its hard to find a comfortable position but with only 9 weeks to go I’m trying not to invest in a pregnancy pillow
Best Moment This Week:  Finding out I wasn’t in labor but instead was being an over cautious pregnant lady
Movement: The baby is so big now that we can see movement through my shirt, sometime it feels like there’s a party going on in there
Labor Signs: No thank goodness! at our last u/s the baby was head down though so the position has been assumed!
Belly Button: Out
What I Miss: Nothing at the moment
What I am Looking Forward to:  Our maternity pics in a few weeks, holding our baby for the first time

Bonus: Here’s a pic from yesterday when I tried on dresses for our maternity session, so far this dress may be the one!

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baby files, baby talk, pregnancy

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Almost 10 Weeks Till 40!

April 22, 2012

Written by The Yang

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Feeling nervous.  Feeling anxious.  Feeling insecure.  To be honest, I’m scared as shit.  Not scared about being a parent or taking care of a baby.  Scared of the labor and delivery process!  The act of giving birth freaks me out, they have a name for it: Tokophobia.  This is the reason why I didn’t want to get pregnant first!  Not only that, but Yin usually handles everything in the household.  But when she’s in labor, I’ll have to be responsible for EVERYTHING.  Helping her through her contractions, timing them, keeping a record, making sure she stays hydrated (at least a cup of carbohydrated liquid every half hour), keeping an eye on the traffic to make sure we get to the hospital on time, what if there isn’t gas in the car?  What if we leave too late and have the baby in the car? (Yikes!)  All of these thoughts are starting to fill my head as we approach the final stretch.  Especially now since I graduated so I don’t have schoolwork or lectures to distract my mind haha.

I just want to be the best labor partner I can be.  I want Yin to be able to look back at her labor with a good memory filled with happiness and joy.  Not like all the horror stories I’ve heard throughout the years.  I’m just scared that in that time, I won’t know what to do and I’ll be more of an irritation than helpful.  We went to a natural childbirth class a couple of weeks ago, and we learned some breathing techniques and they taught the partners some massages that we can try to make the Moms more comfortable during contractions.  I’m also reading this book The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin, it’s really informative.

The birthing class and this book are both making me feel more confident that I’ll be a good labor partner and coach for Yin :)

Next week, the countdown begins!  Our little one could be here in as little as 6 weeks ahhh!!!

-The Yang

Category:

baby talk

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23 and 24 week update

March 15, 2012

Written by Yin!

5 Comments

Well since my last update we are basically back at square one. I returned to work on February 13th, had one ultrasound cervix check  and things were looking good. Then at my last appointment on March 8th it was determined my cervix has once again shortened and started to funnel. I’m back on bed rest and probably will be for the rest of my pregnancy. Since I’m now at 24 weeks (which is considered to be the viability marker) my ob is being more proactive. I’m now receiving steroid shots and about to start progesterone. Both of these have studies that show they can be a great help. The progesterone helps with my cervix and the steroids give the baby’s lung development a boost in case I do deliver early. Also a bit of good news my Fetal Fibronectin test (ffn) came back negative, meaning there is less than a 1% chance I’ll go in labor within the next 2 weeks! This is a big relief. The next test I need to pass is the gestational diabetes glucose screening, this test will be in a few weeks and hopefully all goes well. Tonight is my second dose of the steroid shot YIKES I am not looking forward to it. The needle is huge and the liquid is thick so its slowly injected in the buttocks, this is painful and not at all fun. I woke up several times last night because my booty muscle was soooo sore lol. Now for the typical weekly update:

How far along: 24 weeks 1 day
Symptoms: Pelvic and crotch pain, it’s getting difficult to reach my feet lol Yang has to help me put on shoes/socks. Morning sickness decided to visit yesterday.
Total Weight Gain: I’m down a pound or two but still up over 6 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, Yang is having a fit lol she wants me to gain, gain, gain.
Stretchmarks: No new ones and trying to keep it that way, still slathering on lotion like crazy!
Sleep: I’ve been sleeping a little better but still wake a lot to pee also the crazy dreams are still going strong
Best Moment This Week:  The baby responds to our voices and is a lot more active now. Yang is so excited that we’ve reached viability. Also it was really cute seeing the baby yawn on the ultrasound.
Movement: Baby is always very busy moving, moving, moving, I wonder when this little one ever sleeps. Also the baby has started getting hiccups all the time!
Labor Signs: Nope and hopefully I won’t have any anytime soon.
Belly Button: Out
What I Miss: Nothing at the moment
What I am Looking Forward to: We both can’t wait until July so we can meet our little one!

Our baby in 4d at 23wks 1 day!

Category:

baby files, mommies in the making, pregnancy

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