Ch-baby will be...

... born on the Chinese Year of the Tiger....

"Tiger babies are cheerful children with a zest and passion for life that ignites their curious nature. They enjoy the competitiveness and athleticism that sports require. From an early age, tiger children cannot pass on a dare or a challenge. Intelligent and friendly, tiger children carry a curiosity about life and their environment. In class, they tend to enjoy and do better at subjects that give them the ability and creative freedom to express themselves. "


... and the month of Taurus...

"Your little Taurus is creative, naturally easygoing, and has great common sense. S/he loves soft fabrics and the touch of your hand. A baby massage soothes and satisfies a little Taurus' need for physical sensation; regular routines provide security; and a love of food and drink gives him a healthy appetite. Endurance and patience are assets that can turn to stubbornness in a test of wills."

S/he will start kindergarten in 2015,
be old enough to drive in 2026,
will graduate High School with the Class of 2028,
will finish college in 2032 (give or take a year).
Can you imagine?!

But by this time next year, ch-baby will be 25 weeks old! =D

It's so windy and cold in Concord! I don't feel well at aLL. Today I'm mostly nauseous, sleepy and tired. I have headache & don't feel like eating anything. Heyy I thought I'm already in my second trimester!? Kok masi begini yo....

I've been reading, maybe this is a mild side effect from the flu shot. Abis gk perna suntik flu sieh. here's from babycenter

The most common side effects are mild, and include soreness, redness, and tenderness or swelling where the shot was given. Some people experience headache, muscle aches, fever, nausea, and fainting. If there are side effects, they usually begin soon after you get the shot and may last as long as a day or two.

Hmmmm.....
or maybe I'm just not over my first trimester yet.
bwehehe ...
either way ... im nappin now ... zzzzz

Doctor Visit

Just came back from OB Visit today!
She said everything looks good. All my test results shows that I'm normal, healthy, and the baby is also healthy. Yay!! (cant believe after what i'm feeling for the last 3 months, we are both still healthy). Hendra and I heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time today. It's 160! Baby super healthy! haha...

She also said the back pain is normal, usually it comes in the beginning of pregnancy, then goes away, then come back near the end. haiz...
She suggested YOGA. walah ... im probably the least flexible woman in the world! cium lutut aja kagak bisaa...

...and the stomach pain I had few weeks ago, was heartburn -_-" (wats this in Indonesian, sakit maag?)
I've never had anything like that before, so now I need to buy Tums.

I had my Flu shot & H1N1 too ... so both my upper arm were shot. heheh ...
I've never had a flu shot before. This is the first time because I'm very worried if I get sick, there's no good medicine I'm allowed to take!! And usually when I get even the slightest cold, it lingers for a long time. So let's hope this flu shot (and a lot of prayers!) will prevent me from it.

Back Pain

Aiyohhh my back hurtsss. .. the lowr back hurts everytime I sit too long, or just woke up. Yesterday when I woke up in the morning I almost fell because I couldnt stand up. My lower back hurts so baaaad.. ..
I know I read this before :

You can probably blame your growing uterus and hormonal changes for your aching back. Your expanding uterus shifts your center of gravity and stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, changing your posture and putting a strain on your back.

The extra weight you're carrying means more work for your muscles and increased stress on your joints, which is why your back may feel worse at the end of the day. Your growing uterus may also cause back pain if it's pressing on a nerve.

In addition, hormonal changes in pregnancy loosen your joints and the ligaments that attach your pelvic bones to your spine. This can make you feel less stable and cause pain when you walk, stand, sit for long periods, roll over in bed, get out of a low chair or the tub, bend, or lift things.

But my tummy is not that big yettt!!! Only 12 weeks loh. ... mo jadi apa ntar kl uda 8 months! walahhhh
Wonder if I should get a firmer bed...

(no pict today, apparently there's no cute back pain picture ==)

Meet my baby!

Here s/he is! Today is my 12th week, so I had an ultrasound appointment. This is the first time I see the baby. Felt weird. Happy weird =) Finally I'm sure he or she is really there. Haha ...
at the first ultrasound they couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. At the second time I couldn't really see it. So I was kinda 50-50 about the existence this baby.
Suddenly today the baby is already 10cm long! I saw it moving, swimming, and kicking. I cud've sworn there was one time the baby looked at the camera and smile. Hahaha ... My baby indeed!

On my 20th week, we'll come back to this place again to find out the gender of the baby. Uuuuuu I cant wait! Is it Bruce, or Bruchetta? haha ...

baby Marcus

Look look!
My cousin Sienny had a photo session for her baby, Marcus.
Its sooo gooooddd ... the pictures came out wonderful, baby Marcus is so cute and adorable!! Go check it out!!
http://joyrevisitedphotoartistry.blogspot.com
(or klik on the picture)

I really love the family pictures. Sienny and Minh always know how to create good pictures. We are sooo gonna do this someday!! haha ...

Tofu

Love love love love Tofu. Cant stop eating tofu.
Steph & I went to Le Asia Supermarket on Sunday.
I bought tofu and mabo-tofu mix.
But forgot the ground beef =.='
Yesterday somehow i really wanted to eat the tofu.
So i just boiled water, beef stock, salt pepper, then put in tofu and meatballs.
I finished half a package of tofu!
It was around 10pm!

Today Tante Yana made Tahu Baso (tofu+beef)
yum yum i ate most of the Tofu
even added more tofu from last night to the soup.
finished another half package!
nyam nyam ...
now I''m TofuLL
=p

Noodle

In Church today, SBC group (Monica, Stefanus, & Winsen) brought their homemade Mie Ayam Jamur (Chicken Mushroom Noodle). So its a chicken n mushroom mix poured on top of steamed noodle + soup. Yumm.

Before the service ended, the whole room already smelling so good. Too bad I cant eat the chicken but I was looking forward to eat the noodle.
Right after service, I got in line, and when it's my turn, Monica shouted "Where's Catherine's food?"
me : "huh?"
Then suddenly Stefanus showed up from behind the counter with a small container containing the chicken+mushroom mix, but without the chicken!!
So all the tasty ingredient was there except the chicken!
Aawwwww that is sooo sweeeetttttt!!
Thank you SBC!!!
Definitely the best mushroom-noodle i've ever had. haha =D

tummy ache

Right after Dinner, suddenly my upper abdomen hurt so so so baaad... I couldn't move. Just a little movement made it worse. I couldn't even inhale too much, I had to breath slowly. It's like a cramp, but I never had it there. It's in the middle top of my tummy, right below the rib cage. Wiiiihhh saket bangett... I had no idea what happened. It's a lot of pressure there too.

Hm. Gara2 makan kecepetan kali ya? (eat too fast?)
I had steamed rice, bbq shortribs, miso soup, some veggies, and CA rolls --> Deep fried CA Roll. Yum.
But I couldnt finish. huaaa :'(

No Hotdog

My cousin Sienny read my blog and told me to avoid Hotdog during pregnancy.
Oh Noooooooooooo.....
I checked babycenter.com.... even worse!!
No deli meat, no cured meat, no smoked meat....
Hadoehhhh bagimana ini?!?!?!
This means no hotdog, ham, sausage, bacon, pepperoni, salami, etc etc...
No roti sosis!
No pizza!
the list goes on...... x(
Huuwaaaaaaa.....!!!!

(I just had a bagel with toasted german bologna + scramb egg this morning. hix)

No Salmon

I received a message from my good friend, Rina. She read my blog and warned me that I should avoid Salmon during pregnancy. I was totally surprised! I thought Salmon is like the healthiest fish out there! haha ..

Here's what I got from babycenter.com :

Although it's low in mercury (and high in brain-boosting omega-3s), some research has found that, compared to wild salmon, farmed salmon has high levels of PCBs, dioxins, and other contaminants. And since there's no reliable way to tell for sure where the salmon at your local supermarket comes from, you'll probably want to take it off your prenatal menu for now.

Ow dear....
I know I'm not allowed to eat raw fish. (or anything raw except fruit n veggies)
But Salmon?? Grilled Salmon? No? huwaaa ...

but here's the good news :

If you enjoy seafood and tend to eat a lot of it, you can do so without much worry by choosing varieties that are relatively pollutant-free: Shrimp, scallops, flounder, sole, clams, tilapia, oyster, catfish, whitefish, sardines, crayfish, king crab, and croaker.

Horeeeee ... masi bole makan udang, skelop, and clams!! *jump jump

No Coffee

Yes. You heard me. I cant drink coffee anymore. Not because I'm not allowed due to this pregnancy. I just CANNOT! My body rejects it!
Pingin aja ndak. Maybe because I'm nauseous all the time.

Yesterday at church, I was so sleepy but I had to play the keyboard so I thought I just made my favorite instant coffee, Kopi Pas.
One sip ... omigosh... my tummy hurts, my head hurts, my body aches, its so weird!! It was the most uncomfortable feeling I've ever had after drinking coffee. huwaaaaa...

On a happy note, Tante Titin made Lontong Sayur and Pepes Ikan. I had them for dinner last night, uuuuu soo goooooddd... I ate so much Lontong I think my tummy moved forward a little bit. hahaha ... thanks Tante Titin!!

zleep ... zzz

I sleep a LOT lately. Ive heard of a pregnant fatigue but this is ridiculous. I have more than 8 hours of sleep at night,
wake up, prepare & have breakfast,
go to work, work for a couple of hours, then I'm so tired already.

It feels like working all day nonstop. So after I work a little, I go upstairs in our warehouse, and take a nap. Hendra prep an airbed, pillow and blanket up there. Then I would sleep for a couple of hours and wait til Hendra finish working. Then go home.

This is very frustrating because I have a lot of work to do! Now I work a lot slower and a lot less effective. =( When will this nausea-fatigue thing be over?!!?

doehhh dingin banget sehhhh
pengen pisang goreng sama singkong rebus bikinan nyokapppp!!
sama teh manis yg anget2!
huwaaaa

wow the weekend is suddenly over.
(unless u celebrate the Colombus Day, tomoro still weekend)
It was a fun weekend.
Had a great time at Ryan's Party on Friday.
Tante Hannah prepared a LOT of food.
One of the main dish was SATE AYAM (chicken satay)
(huwahhh I still cant eat chicken, the Satay looks so good!!)
But there were some salad, shrimp, noodle, meatballs and chocolate pudding! And fruits.
So I ate a lot! =D (mostly salad & fruit)

Today in church Tante Yana made Semur Ayam (chicken ... soup?)
fortunately she also put huge tofu in the soup so I had tofu instead.
Gotta love Tofu!!
In the evening, @San Ramon they're having beef tacos & lumpia.
I could eat the tacos but couldnt stop adding the chopped tomatoes!
Before preggy I like tomatoes, but now I kept going back and forth just for the tomatoes. Tante Yana even cut a whole fresh tomato just for me!
and I finished the whole thing.
I wonder if the baby is vegetarian. haha.

No Chicken

Thats rite.
I cant stand the smell of chicken now.
Had garden salad with grilled chicken for lunch.
I enjoyed the salad (wit ranch dressing, yumm)
but the chicken, iiiiyyyy.
It's grilled loh!
I love anything grilled.
But today, no love for the chicken.
Gave the whole packet to Hendra instead. hehe

nauseous all day.
no news there.
cant wait til tomorrow so I can refill my nausea meds.
Somehow I lost the whole package from my first refill,
and I couldnt get replacement because insurance will only cover til the next refill. I have to pay $230 if I want to get it before Oct 9.
ck.ck.ck...
Gak sampe segitu hebatnya deh tu pill ...
masi neg juga abis minum. It only helps a little bit.
(it's nothing compared to the great Excedrin!!)

Petra brought home some food tonight.
I told her I've been craving that noodle from LA (Janty Noodle)
Its the closest noodle to my favorite restaurant in Jakarta.
Her friend came from LA and brought some for me!!
Thanks Petra! Thank's Petra's friend (RC) !!
It was soo good.... I ate a lot!
I finished the whole thing except ... the chicken.
Even when the chicken was put on top of a wonderful meal,
I couldnt eat it. It smells.
huwaaaa ....
so ... chicken made its way to Hendra's plate. =p

pingin roti sosis goreng.
Dimana bisa dapet roti sosis goreng?!?!!?!?!?

Nauseous! Nauseous! Nauseous!
I felt nauseous the whole day!
Since morning shower to nite bedtime.
arrghhh ...

I bought Duck Wonton Noodle Soup for lunch,
had about 3 slurps...my tummy hurts.
Its like saying, "no no ... if u keep eating it'll come out again!"
so i stopped.
drank mango juice and soy milk instead.
huk huk....

All day i couldnt eat. only drink.
I gave the noodle another try in the evening,
same thing ... three slurps!
haiyaaaa.... it looks so good! X(


just when i thought my nauseous days are gone.
yesterday i did so wellll

this is really frustrating ...
My tummy hurts, bloated and nauseous all day, my body so weak & fatigue, my head hurts, etc etc. .. but I'm normal! Everywhere I read the 'symptoms' are the same. If not worse.
Usually when I feel ill, I find meds, sleep or drink a lot, and voila! Happy as a clown.
Now .. there's nothing wrong wit me! There's no meds! Some people even told me, the sicker you feel, the stronger the baby. Owalaahh ... >.<

Feeling better today!
Still nauseous but not too bad.
I woke up and suddenly wanted to eat salmon.
Thanks to Monica's simple recipe,
I baked the salmon and also pan fried half of it.
(gk sabar seh panggang lama. haha)
Also oseng2 caisim. Simple recipe from my mom =)

Usually (since pregnant) when I cook something, I end up not eating it because it's too long.
This is odd, when I think about food too long, I get nauseous.
(like dim sum yesterday)
But today was different, I could eat the salmon, not much, but more than usual.
Salmon with rice and caisim.
*weird combination but its all good
and no throw up today!
Yay!

Before going to work, we stopped by the bank at Todos Santos Plaza.
Today is Tuesday so there's Farmer's Market going on nearby.
I suddenly smelled a very good tomato sauce *weird
So we checked out the Frm Market, there's this booth that sells pizza.
Wooden fired pizza, I guess the smell came from there.
No other booth sells tomato sauce. haha
Suddenly I'm hungry again and bought half pie of pizza.
It's a 4 cheese pizza with prosciutto + mushroom.
It's so DELICIOUS!!!! nyam nyam I think I'm going back this Thursday.
better not think bout it too much tho. Bisa neg ntar. Bwehehe.

now I'm hungry again.
=S

This morning I woke up feeling okay.
Not too nauseous, not too tired.
Well, I slept for 12 hours due to the major headache last night!!
*Hix. I miss Excedrin.
Usually when I took Excedrin, slept for half an hour, headache gone.
I took the headache meds from my OB,
slept for 2 hours. Still headache!! >.<

Had cereal for breakfast.
Hendra also had his cereal, then rice and grilled chicken from Mi Pueblo.
Sounds delicious rite?
I had no appetite watsoever.
But when he was eating, looked so good, I stole the wings from his plate. haha.

Took a shower, brush my teeth.
Lately I've been feeling nauseous everytime I brush my teeth.
and today was no different.
Sikat gigi aanndddd muntah deee....
there goes my Mi Pueblo Grilled Chicken Wings =(

Went to warehouse, stopped by at Ranch 99 again. hihi
Gara2 perut kosong tau2 pingin makan dim sum.
specifically, the ketan. (Lo mai kai?)
Sampe sana, beli ketan, bli potsticker, somai, udang, ... ngantri panjaaaang
klamaan cium bau dim sum jadi neg deh!!
akirnya pas uda cek out, liat ada roti sosis sama milk tea wit pearl.
Ya sudah, lunch jadinya roti sosis aja deh!
hahaha ... dim sum kasi Hendra.