January 21, 2009

• Leavin' On a Jet Plane ...

  ... but I do know when I'll be back again.  Jack and I leave for Taiwan tonight. Our flight is at 11 p.m., which is wonderful, because (hopefully) Jack will sleep for much of the flight. A few of you have asked whether I am flying alone with Jack, and the answer is yes. My mom is already in Taiwan, June has classes, and Johnny has work, so it's quality time for me and Jack for 14 hours. On the way back to Los Angeles, though, my mom's flying with us -- yay! For a pregnant woman flying with a toddler, I have it made: My aunt works for China Airlines, so she's blocked off a whole row of four seats for us, the flight tonight is not crowded, and my aunt told me just to show up at the airport a mere hour before the flight, look for her at the counter, and she'll personally escort me through security, VIP-style. Yee-haw!

  I'm really looking forward to the trip ... all except saying goodbye to Johnny.  Except for one summer in college, we've never been apart this long. During the seven months when he lived in New York, and I was still in Chicago, we ended up flying to see each other nearly every weekend (we had started out saying that one of us would fly each month, so that we could see each other twice a month, but in the end, one of us flew every other weekend). We'll talk and email every day, and hopefully we can figure out a way to use web cams so that Jack can see his beloved Daddy once in a while. Yesterday, I whipped up about two weeks' worth of dinners and froze them for Johnny. The fridge is also stocked with lots of sandwich-making ingredients -- I even got fresh sub rolls and split them in half, then froze them, and besides the homemade dinners, I also have frozen dumplings, Totino's Pizza Rolls (per Johnny's request), ice cream and chicken nuggets (OK, so those are usually for Jack) in the freezer. Don't get me wrong, my husband is perfectly competent enough to get food for himself (I think), but somehow it's nice to know that I've done something for him that he can enjoy in my absence.

  There are lots of things for me to do today, like stock my diaper bag, finish last-minute packing, and get our household finances in order (I'm the one who manages our bills and stuff, so I have to make sure the checkbook is balanced and that I leave Johnny a rent check for February). Of course, I am procrastinating ... and what better way than to post some new pictures on Xanga?

  First, the long-awaited ultrasound pictures from Saturday, of Baby Boy Surprise!

  OK, so this is a bit creepy, but here's a 4D image of the side of the baby's body, at 15 weeks. Kinda cute, though, huh? Amazing to know that there's a miniature baby inside me!

  

  This one's even higher on the creep-o-meter, but it's a good shot of his face and arms!

  

  And, of course, the money shot. We're looking up at his butt (on the left), and the arrow is pointing to his wee-wee. Those of you who have looked at many ultrasounds will know that this baby is unmistakably a boy! Apparently we're good at makin' those, haha

  

  Yes, I suppose he might be embarrassed one day to realize that his mom posted a picture of his penis online, but hey, we did the same for Jack! Fair's fair. If we do end up having a daughter one day (or, a third boy???), I'm sure we'll post her, uh, parts online too. While we're on the topic of the new baby, yesterday I had my 15-week checkup (since I'll be in Taiwan when I'm 16 weeks, we went ahead and did this one a week early). The midwife said my fundus (that's a great word; I love it!) is right where it should be, a couple of inches below my belly button. We also heard the baby's heartbeat, galloping away around 155 beats per minute. That's always a great sound to hear. As of yesterday, I'd gained just shy of five pounds, bringing me up to 121. Let's see how much I weigh after returning from Taiwan ... I'm going to wager a lot more! I also got the results of my first-trimester screening back. When I had the first-trimester ultrasound, the technician said that the measurements were normal, but they also took my blood, and those were the results I got yesterday. Apparently, the "acceptable" (meaning not elevated) level of risk for Down's Syndrome and Trisomy 18 are 1 in 314, and Baby Boy Surprise's chances, according to my blood sample, are less than 1 in 10,000 for both. It's not a guarantee that everything will be dandy, of course, but that's always good to hear! I wasn't too worried in the first place, but it's a nice reassurance. Yesterday I also got my blood drawn for the AFP test; we'll find out those results in a couple of weeks. They won't test for Down's and Trisomy 18 again, but they'll test for other genetic abnormalities. I have to say, all these tests are the worst part of being pregnant for me ... I hate getting my blood drawn!

  Oh, and thank you guys for your congratulations in my last post. I'm getting excited about my new son. Just think, I'll be the queen bee of the household, calling all the shots.  Jack and his little brother will be close enough in age where they'll be able to share some interests, I hope, and it will be fascinating to see how they are alike and similar. It's been so amazing to see Jack's big personality unfold, and now we'll get to do the same with our new son.

  Now, on to some fun pictures of Jack.

  He loves to hug Elmo and whisper secrets to him! (I should add that moments after this was taken, Jack threw Elmo to the ground rather violently)

  

  A hilarious illustration of Jack's bedhead

  

  Pre-bathtime ticklefest

  

  Wait, Mommy, I need a moment to drink milk before the ticklefest continues

  

  Seriously, when did Jack get this big?

  

  

  That's all for now, folks! I'll check in from Taiwan. I'm bringing my laptop and will be working as usual, so you'll get semi-regular Xanga updates from me. Wish me luck on the flight tonight!

  • 2:59 pm
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