So how am I feeling now that I’m 9 months in? Well thanks for asking! I’ve started to feel some Braxton Hicks Contractions, and it’s a little confusing because sometimes I’m not sure if it’s just her moving really strongly that made me uncomfortable, or if it’s the contractions. As for my belly button update, it’s nearly flat as a pancake now! I knew it was bound to happen, but it’s better than popping out into an outtie I guess, although I’m still waiting for that to possibly happen. Also, no stretch marks yet (that I know of) woohoo!! I sure feel lucky!! I feel great, but now and then, the contractions creep up and my belly sides feel really tight and uncomfortable. I tend to get a lot of back aches too when I’m working at my desk or driving in the car, so luckily when I’m work, I can just get up and walk around. Today is my last day working at work, then I get to work from home till she’s here! I have lots of trouble sleeping at night. I often have to sleep sitting up so that I don’t get acid reflux, and I wake up in the middle of the night a lot because I have to pee. I forgot what it’s like to sleep through the night, I guess that’s my body’s way of preparing me for what’s to come!! Other than that though, we are just super excited for what’s to come in a few weeks so these little back aches and pains will totally be more than worth it!

Here is my monthly photo taken yesterday when I was 36 weeks and 1 day!  Special shout out to my sister, Jennifer, for capturing me at my best!

After stopping at Vista Point, we continued out drive and finally made it to Ocean Beach thanks to Alvina’s suggestion!  It was nice little beach, pretty crowded, but it’s known for it’s pier.  The pier is the longest pier in the west coast, and is in a shape of a T.  The pier was not nearly as busy as the beach itself, so we enjoyed a nice spacious stroll to ourselves.  After walking on the pier, we went to the side of the beach to explore as well!

For dinner we ate at Phil’s BBQ.  It’s only of my favorite BBQ places and boy was I satisfied!  I think our baby dragon Lily enjoyed it a lot as well =P  The wait there is usually ridiculously long, so we made sure to arrive early around 4:45pm, and the line was already around the corner of the building.  We probably waited a total of 25-30 mins., so we got lucky because usually the wait is double that amount!  It’s totally worth it though =).

After dinner we went to Sunset Cliffs to watch the sunset.  It’s a really nice scenic area with a clear ocean panoramic view!  We arrived with about 30 mins to spare before the sunset, so we explored around the cliffs and got some photos.  We also got lucky that it was a nice clear day with a few clouds so we got to see the sunset perfectly!  Also, there weren’t that many people there either so it was overall a very nice, intimate time that Khoa and I got to share with each other.  Some of the people we did walk by on the cliffs complimented me saying I look great and congratulated us on our pregnancy!!  Little things like that sure makes we feel warm and fuzzy inside! =)

We went to Little Italy in Downtown San Diego afterwards to eat desserts at Extraordinary Desserts!!  I’ve been wanting to eat there for the longest time but never had the chance because we were always so full after dinner!  This time we had about a 1.5-2 hr gap between dinner and dessert, so that allowed us to digest and make room for all the fabulously delicious dessert we were about to experience!  We ordered the tres leches cake, passion fruit napoleon, raspberry and lychee sorbet!  The sorbet was SUPER refreshing and flavorful, the best sorbet I’ve ever had!  I also ordered an appetizer of an avocado and artichoke truffle bruschetta and that was the best bruschetta I’ve ever had as well!  Khoa ordered a macadamia nut iced coffee I got an American Beauty, which was pretty much a rose sparkling water.  Our overall experience there was really great, we’d definitely come back for more!

On Sunday we had lunch at Watson’s Drugs and Soda Fountain.  I had a groupon so we decided to check it out, and it’s cute little diner atmosphere restaurant, that even had a working jukebox!  They are known for the patty melts so I ordered an avocado tomato patty melt and Khoa ordered the chili cheese eggs with home fries.  I got a fancy root beer float and Khoa ordered a mimosa!  The restaurant had store connected to it that sold all sorts of old fashion candies and sodas and other knicks knacks as well that was fun to browse through.  After a really good lunch we took a stroll around the Orange Circle and did some window shopping.  We then pampered ourselves and have a 1.5hr couple’s massage!  After getting massaged for 1.5 hrs, it’s hard to go back to just the normal 1 hour massage haha!  After our pampering, we went to Main Place mall and did some light shopping while sipping on one of my favorite drinks, milk tea!  We then went home and started watching a movie on Netflix, The Sitter.  It is not a family friendly movie, but there were a lot of funny parts in it!  We had to put the movie on pause so we can go to out dinner reservations at Gulliver’s in Irvine!

Gulliver’s is a steakhouse that is based off the theme of Gulliver’s Travel (or so Khoa says).  The facade is very cute with pretty flowers and the inside is really intimate and cozy!  The staff were super friendly and when Khoa told them we were celebrating out babymoon, they were very enthusiastic in congratulating us and making us feel special!  The food portions were humungous!!!  Plus no matter what you order, they come and scoop you a huge helping of cream corn as well!!  Good thing we had a groupon for that place too because it’s quite expensive, but well worth it!  They also have gift certificates on restaurants.com (thanks Jennifer for the info) and so next time we go, we’ll definitely get a gift certificate to save some money!  By the end of the meal, I couldn’t finish half of my meal, so we decided not to order dessert.  However, they boxed us up a complimentary house special dessert anyways, a raspberry sponge cake, for celebrating our babymoon!!  Yay!!  After stuffing our faces, we went home and finished the movie.  We had such a nice and relaxing babymoon, and I couldn’t have spent it with a more wonderful man!  Enjoy our pictures, the full album can be viewed here!

Today, Lily’s heartbeat is 139bpm, I gained 1 pound since my last Dr.’s visit, making it a whopping total of 9 pounds since my start weight, and my belly size is 28.1cm. I don’t know how it got smaller, but the average belly size at this point should be around 32cm since I am at the 32 weeks mark. I did a growth ultrasound last Friday, and it’s amazing with technology these days. They were able to measure how big our dragon is, she’s 1,702 grams (3lbs 12.02oz) as of last Friday! The results from the ultrasound shows that she is in the 26th percentile for growth. At 18 weeks of pregnancy, she was at the 40th percentile, now she dropped to 26. What that percentage means is that she’s bigger than 26% babies, and smaller than 74% babies at this stage in the pregnancy. My doctor wants to schedule one last growth ultrasound in three weeks to make sure she’s still growing ok, and as long as she doesn’t fall below the 10%, then it should be fine. The results also show that she has a lot of fluid (that’s what allows her to have her oxygen flow, etc.) so that is a very good sign. If she stops growing at a healthy rate, the the fluid would decrease in size as well, but since it hasn’t, then it’s a good sign. Also from the ultrasound, they were able to point out that she has a lot of hair growing on her hair! Yay! Also, she’s still in the head down position, looks like she’s ready to come to our side of the world!! Hehe. Here are a few pictures from the ultrasound appointment.
Another update is that lately I’ve been having trouble sleeping at night, because everytime I lay down, my throat would start to burn and I would get the urge to throw up, and a few times I actually did throw up. Turns out, my stomach valve opening thing (sorry I don’t know the medical term) doesn’t close all the way at this point in the pregnancy, so it’s easier to get acid reflux. So one of the things I’ve been doing was sleeping while sitting up, and then in the middle of the night I would finish sleeping laying down. Once I slept on the couch because I thought it would be more comfortable than sleeping sitting up in bed, and Khoa is the sweetest husband ever for sleeping next to me on the couch too so that I won’t be alone! =) I’m one lucky gal! My Dr. today told me that I can try taking pepcid AC or any over the counter acid reflux medication and that should hopefully fix that problem, so we’ll see how it goes! On the belly button update, it’s still there but barely! It’s getting quite flat, and I feel like it’ll pop any minute!! Not bad for lasting this long though, we’ll have to wait and see what it decides to do, stay and innie and be flat, or be adventurous and become and outtie! Also, no stretch marks that I know of yet, woohoo!

Overall, I’m loving this pregnancy! I find myself very happy, like a constant state of euphoria, and I feel so grateful for this experience in life. Lily’s kicks get stronger each day and she’s reaching maybe 2-3 inches about my belly button now! She’s starting to nudge around in there more rather than just kicking and punching. Khoa and I can’t wait to hold her in my arms!! That’s all the update I have for now, enjoy my 8 month baby bump photo!

After the park, we had had lunch at Le Diplomat and got milk tea at Cha for Tea! We met up with Jennifer and she then helped us with photos at the Corona Del Mar Beach in Newport! We chose the beach because one of our favorite vacation spots is Hawaii, and so we wanted to represent that in our photos in hopes to bring our baby dragon Lily to Hawaii with us one day when she’s older! The beach was super cold and windy, and I was really nervous the wind would not look good, but Jennifer assured me that the windy worked just fine! It was sure cold though, but worth it in the end from the shots we got!! Jennifer sure has a great eye, and we are greatly appreciative of her help!

On Sunday, we went to the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden at Cal State University of Long Beach! I chose that place this is the year of the dragon, and the Japanese Garden has that Asian motif that fits our theme perfectly! Also, I just love the pond and the bridge, etc. Also, I wanted to print some of these photos and hang them in the dragon lair (nursery) for Lily to look at, and the garden had so many vibrant colors that I think Lily will really enjoy! Jennifer also helped us with these photos as well and once again, magnificent job! =) At one point during the pictures, I dropped a block into the pond, and luckily Khoa was able to swoop it out of the water before it went under the bridge! What a great save! Haha! Anyways, enough with reading, time for you to enjoy the photos! =) I plan to make some Cinemagraphs (animated photos) soon, so stay tuned for that!

As for updates, there’s not much. I recently got a bad cold and phlemgy cough, and I’m still battling it as we speak. I don’t know if it’s related to my sudden sickness or not, but I lost a couple pounds…so that’s a little worrisome to me since I’m suppose to be gaining weight! I’ve been trying to get a hold of my Dr. but they have been closed, so I will try again tomorrow. Hopefully it’s nothing to worry about! Positive thinking! Also, Khoa came home last night and brought me this beautiful bouquet of flowers to make me feel all cheery! Isn’t he the sweetest??

I am happy to announce that I still have my belly button…but I’m trying my best not to get too attached haha. I do not have stretch mark yet on my belly, and I do emphasize YET because I know it’s inevitable! But I’m laying on the lotions thick anyways cause you never know, it could be helping a little bit! I am sleeping better now and then, but it could be because I’m sick and am exhausted, but at least I got some nights of uninterrupted sleep! I need to enjoy it while it lasts!

Khoa and I took our first baby class last night too! It was Baby Basics so we learned how to soothe the baby when it’s crying, learned how to give the baby a bath, change her clothes, change her diaper, and swaddling! It was a very informative class and I’m glad we went! I was tempted not to go because I’m feeling so sick, but I toughed it out and now I feel that much more prepared! We have an 8 hour long birthing class this coming saturday, and a baby safety class this coming monday! Lots to look forward too!

Here’s a photo of my baby bump at 28 weeks! 7 Months baby! =D

Other updates are that my belly measures 25cm, so I’m 1 cm low since I’m at 26 weeks right now. I have gained a total of 6 pounds, so 5 pounds since my last appointment a month ago! That’s progress! I noticed that my belly gets quite pointy, especially when I start to lay down, it’s a crazy phenomenon where I start to lay down and when I’m at the 45 degrees angle, you see a narrow point go down my belly, like an outline of the baby itself! Maybe I’ll take a video of it sometime…but maybe not because it’s quite strange to see… Overall, I’m as happy as can be and I really do look pregnant now! I love seeing my baby bump in the mirror and as it gets bigger, I get that much more happy. I can’t wait to meet you my little lily pad!!

Anyways, here’s my 6 month photo taken a couple weeks ago when I wad 24 weeks and 4 days! I wore pink since it was the week of Valentine’s day! She will always be my Valentine! I included our 1st child Luna in the photo too, she’s starting to get curious! =D

Here is a video as well that shows our little precious dragon Lily (yes her name will be Lily!) wiggling around and you can see her heart beat pumping away!  What a strong heart!

Also for more updates, I felt the baby kick higher in my belly for the first time on a few days ago on Monday, February 13th!  Normally she kicks and punches really low by the hairline, but now she’s starting to expand and moved up only a couple inches below my belly button now!  It’s very exciting to feel her everyday, and she just keeps getting stronger, and the amount she moves at a time is increasing as well!  I love seeing Khoa’s reaction when he gets to feel how much she moves, it’s such a great feeling!  As for more updates on my weight: I lost a total of 5 pounds as of mid January since my start weight back in October.  Since my last appointment a couple weeks ago, I gained 6 pounds, making me +1 pound since my start weight.  It’s really strange how little weight I’ve gained because my belly clearly is getting larger, but since the anatomy ultrasounds in January showed that the baby is growing and developing just fine, my doctor isn’t too worried yet.  Hopefully, at my next appointment in two weeks, I will continue to gain weight and I won’t have to do weekly growth ultrasounds, but even if I do have to, then at least I get to see our dragon Lily more!! =)

Another exciting news is that I’m over half way done with this pregnancy, I can’t believe how fast time has flown!  Dragon Lily can now hear our voices for a few weeks now, but she can also hear surrounding noises as well, so watch what you say, she can hear you!  We make sure to have belly talk every night so Lily can know our voices =).  Also, she can hear my own heart beat!  How much more connection can a mother and daughter get than that?!  There’s really something sweet about her being able to listen to the rhythm of my heart every day =).  Now I leave you with a photo of me taken around the 5 month mark, due to high demands to see my baby bump!  It’s not impressive yet, but that will surely change rather quickly!

We organized 3 games for everyone to play. The first one was filled up a jar with pink and white Hershey’s kisses and told people to write down the guesses on how many pink candy and how many white candy pieces there were. We couldn’t find any blue candy with the short amount of time we had to plan, so we went with white. The second game was a list of trivia questions about statistics of boy and girl babies, and the 3rd was a list of Old Wives Tales about how to tell the gender of a baby, and whether those tales applied to me or not. We also had a betting poll, where people can place their bets on whether babyDragon was a boy or girl! The games were a lot of fun and we gave away Starbucks gift cards as prizes. We had a special prize for one person, and that was for my dearest dad! Every 12 years, the same zodiac animal appears, and this year, is the year of the dragon. However, there are 5 different elements that associate with the animal, and so the same type of dragon only appears every 60 years. This year, my dad and babyDragon will be the same exact dragon, the Water Dragon, I mean really, how often does this ever happen?? So we wanted to recognize this special moment and bond that our baby will have with my dad!

The games and food were a big hit and so finally, it’s time for the big reveal! We got our parents up front and brought the box to them, and we announced that what comes out of the box will be the grand reveal! So our parents eagerly dug into the box, like little kids on christmas day opening a giant present, waiting to see what’s inside! Then the flaps open and of course, PINK balloons fly out everywhere!! IT’S A GIRL!!! Our families cannot be more ecstatic to finally know that our baby will be a precious princess! We would like to thank all our friends and family for coming to share this moment with us, and of course, to my sister, Jennifer, for capturing all this on video. Check out her video she made for us!!

Oh Boy! Or Girl? from J.N. on Vimeo.

So I lugged the giant box back into my car, and boy was it a tight squeeze. Good thing I couldn’t find a bigger box or it would have be disasterous! So I finally get home, and by this time, Khoa already gotten home from work, and brought home dinner from Chili’s. I wanted to cook, but we were both too excited to find out the answer that we figured this was be easier and faster! I told Khoa to stay inside his office while I brought my box up to dragon’s lair (the nursery), because I wanted to surprise him with my plan, so he has no idea about the box and what’s inside! I must say, carrying a giant 22″x22″x22″ box up 2 flights of stairs is quite a challenge, I kept crashing into the stair rail and wall..but good thing the box is cardboard and not wood or something otherwise we’d have to repair the walls in our house…haha!

So after Khoa and I wolfed down our dinner and talked about our day, and then talked about what we think dragon is. We both think dragon will be a boy. Either way, dragon will be our precious baby and we will love him/her to death!!! Sounds silly, but it’s true. I quickly decorated the box and then called Khoa up for the grand reveal!! I walk him into the dragon’s lair, and right in the middle of the empty room is the giant box. He immediately goes “Wow, you did this yourself??” So still having no clue what’s inside the box, I tell him that once we open it, we will know!! So at this point, I don’t know about him, but I was getting all sorts of jitters and butterflies and a litle nervous too! I cannot believe we’ll find out within seconds!! So we countdown “Ready? 3, 2, 1, OPEN!” and we rip the tape and open the box….PINK balloons come flying out!!!

It’s a GIRL!!!

I was so happy and tears start streaming down my face!! We were jumping up and down and I could not stop saying “It’s a GIRL!! it’s a GIIIIIRL!!! AHHH IT’S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!” we hugged and Khoa held me in his arms and we just stood there staring at the pink and white balloons and we were just overwhelmed with joy! Khoa and I will be having a little baby dragon girl!!

Here is the gender photo we received. I have NO idea what the arrow is pointing to and what it all means, but I am pretty confident the quick cursive writing says “girl” so that’s all that matters to me!