Category: Baby stuff

So we got our fourth ultrasound today… doctor’s orders. Seeing that Grace’s Asian belly was smaller than the average Caucasian bellies, the doctor ordered the fourth ultrasound scan PLUS a fetus stress test. But the ultrasound result concluded that we have a developmentally healthy baby, weighing at 7 lbs with two more weeks to go. The ultrasound technician thinks the baby will probably weigh 8 to 9 lbs by the time Grace delivers. Yikes… that’s one giant baby. Since ultrasound turned out fine, we skipped the fetal stress test. Michael’s son only weighed 7 lbs at birth Maybe Kongfu Death Grip won’t be necessary for my son to beat his if they ever get into a fight.

More pictures to follow when I get my hands on a scanner sometime this week. We have a picture of his face from the ultrasound! I would post the videos too, but to your untrained eyes, the clips just look like a moving slob of unprocessed meat.

Update: Alien faces…

Brian had mentioned the other day that babies (including fetuses) are basically parasites. Come to think of it… yeah, they are! Fortunately this parasite is crucial to pass on our precious chromosomes.

Our baby should be a fully matured fetus now that’s it’s his 37th week in the womb. And Grace’s belly is really “popping” big. Sometimes it is mind boggling to try to comprehend how a single fertilized cell can be developed into a full grown human only to slowly self-destruct. And through all this, humans still manage to f*ck every other species over.

Another odd observation I made: Grace’s late pregnancy stage symptoms are manifesting themselves on to me as well — swollen fingers (and feet) and heartburns. Is that even normal?

And once again, Google proved to be a handy resource. Do dads-to-be experience hormonal changes? pretty much answered my question. It’s been documented that father-to-bes can also go through hormonal changes and share some of the experiences as the expecting mother.

Recently researchers at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada have demonstrated that fathers-to-be undergo hormonal changes as the birth of their child approaches.

And we thought we had it easy… Damn it! Stupid hormonal changes.

Over the weekend, I also strapped in the infant car seat, put up the “Baby Onboard” sign and installed the rear windshield shade. We also did some last minute baby shopping for the remaining items on our baby registry.

Materially, we should be ready. But mentally, something tells me we I can never be ready.

Yesterday Grace came to my desk and put my hand on her tummy. At first I didn’t feel anything. But after a few seconds, I felt a few sudden movements. Grace said the fetus is having hiccups (or that’s what the book says).

Another related story: The other day we went to the mall to get the mattress for the baby. We stopped by at the food court to get a bite. Sometimes the fetus moves when Grace’s eating. The book says eating is a pleasant experience for the fetus. Moments later, Grace tried some of my spicy chicken. I guess the baby somehow “tasted” but was surprised. So he gave Grace a strong kick. Oops~ sorry.

Grace has been noticing some biological and physical changes to her body. This can only mean one thing: The rascal is almost ready to meet see the world! The human body is really a miracle machine. In most cases, when the fetus is ready in its development, somehow (scientists still don’t know how) the body secrets a hormone to make the necessary changes to a woman’s body to prepare her for the birthing ritual.

Grace said that the last time she spoke to Annie, her friend in Australia who was also pregnant at the time, brought up the almost the same symptoms as ones Grace’s experiencing now; and a couple of days later, she gave birth to a healthy girl.

So now we are kicking into the “standby” gear. So Grace washed all the baby cloths and blankets while I helped organized the baby’s crib (mattress, bed sheet, bumps, toys… etc). I might put the infant car seat in the car as well today.

Ah~ the fun is about to begin.

Last time I mentioned Grace’d be going in for a third ultrasound scan. The hospital just wanted to make sure that the development of the fetus is on par.

This time we got the same ultrasound operator as when Grace got her first scan (the last one was weird). The guy has an awesome office with a tiny forest garden (literally; not one of those sandy Zen ones) going on his desk right next to the machine.

The operator confirmed that everything looked normal and on target (size, weight, amniotic fluid.. etc). He commented that sometimes pediatricians get paranoid when some petite Asian women are compared to 180lbs Caucasian ones. Though most fetuses are similar in size, sometimes the appearance of the belly can vary drastically. Apparently Grace is on the petite part of the spectrum (for now).

Michael said that some women experience a phenomenon called “popping” towards the end of the pregnancy (last couple of weeks, even) where the belly suddenly grows enormous. Maybe that’ll happen to Grace.

Less than a month to go. Preciously few days are left for good night sleeps. 🙁