virtualberta

Preggo Tip #1: Stuff that helped me through pregnancy

2009-09-14T14:59:00.005+08:00

So this is a long overdue post. Since I've found a lot of helpful tips from mommy blogs and online forums, and I know a number of ladies expecting this year, I have long wanted to do a series of posts on stuff I've learned along the way. Here's my must-have list of items to make pregnancy easier, with a focus on money-saving tips since I'm a bargain shopper who loves a good deal:Belly bands - a

36/37 weeks: trapezoidal tummy

2009-09-12T12:29:00.005+08:00

For about the past two weeks, the little guy has taken a liking to morning stretches, usually commencing at 7 a.m. However, this is not so fun for mommy because her tummy ends up being (painfully) stretched into a trapezoid, often a parallelogram.Note that I'm taking the photo straight down. I have a big bump above my left hip and below my belly button, and usually a smaller bump above the belly

35 weeks: top of Taipei 101

2009-08-29T14:45:00.004+08:00

Even though Taipei 101 was completed in 2004, I've yet to go to the observatory at the top. Well, on Tuesday, I went up to the top.Thankfully, the wind damper is much larger than the bump. Last Saturday, we went to the pool and the beach (I got plenty of Vitamin D for the little guy) and on Sunday, Jen organized a baby shower for us.We had a great time catching up with friends - thanks for

33/34 weeks: busy busy bee

2009-08-21T13:34:00.003+08:00

Been busy running about town, taking care of errands, and catching up with old friends. Last week I finally set up my iSight (it was really very easy; I don't know why I took so long to get around to it) and caught up with friends far and wide - some remotely via Skype, some over the phone, and the old-fashioned way: in person. Angela was visiting from Singapore, so there was dinner with her

32 weeks: Typhoon Morakot brings cooler weather

2009-08-09T15:38:00.005+08:00

Typhoon Morakot has come and gone, leaving behind cooler weather. Thank goodness! The time before a typhoon comes is always hot and muggy, and there's nothing like swampy steamy weather to make one feel particularly pregnant. Thankfully we suffered no damage, although I saw on the TV news today that a hotel (mostly due to shoddy construction) in the Jhihben (知本) Hot Springs area of Taitung County

Blog recommendation: Rural Doctoring

2009-08-07T23:07:00.003+08:00

It's a typhoon day today, and for the past couple of days I've been utterly hooked into reading Rural Doctoring, a great blog about a family physician working in rural Northern California. She is a great writer, and although I was initially drawn in by her birth stories series, her other stories about practicing medicine are equally thoughtful and thought-provoking about the decision-making

31 weeks: simple acts of kindness

2009-08-03T21:14:00.004+08:00

Friday was my last day of work—one of my co-workers at the parent company waited for me to finish packing up my stuff and kindly helped me carry it to my car. Now we've exchanged pleasantries by the water cooler, but I don't know her well so I was really touched by her kindness. It's acts of kindness like this that makes up for others' passive-aggressive immaturity (I know, almost every workplace

30 weeks: simple summer salads

2009-07-29T22:21:00.008+08:00

Actually a few days late, as I'm not at 31 weeks, but this photo was taken at 30 weeks.The bump has definitely gotten bigger. These past couple of weeks we've been making lots of summer salads. Two weekends ago we went to Camp Taiwan, courtesy of our friend Jenn, who is a counselor there. While there, the hubs and I made a broccoli slaw that was really well-received: lightly steamed broccoli and

28 weeks: swelling

2009-07-13T01:01:00.003+08:00

The biggest change this week was swelling. I first noticed my swollen feet last Saturday night but chalked it up to sitting and eating for several hours at my cousin's wedding dinner. After we went back to our hotel room, I put my feet up and the hubs rubbed my feet and it was a lot better. The swelling came back a little the next day, but I attributed that to flying back to Taipei.The, Monday

Cultural differences

2009-07-07T00:39:00.003+08:00

I bumped into my saleslady tonight at the gym. She congratulated me in my obviously pregnant state and reminded me to make an appointment with her soon to put my membership on hold since I wouldn't want to be working out late in my pregnancy.Actually, I told her, in my current swollen state and facing an already sweltering Taiwan summer with my own personal heater residing in my bump, the thought

27 weeks: fun & sun on the Great Barrier Reef

2009-06-30T20:37:00.003+08:00

Sunday we left Melbourne for Hamilton Island, part of the Whitsunday Islands near the Great Barrier Reef. Hamilton Island is probably best known as the islands featured in Tourism Queensland's Best Job in the World campaign.(on Catseye Beach on Hamilton Island)Alas, we're not being paid $110,000 to explore the islands, swim, and snorkel. Nevertheless, we did manage to enjoy our trip to Whitehaven

26 weeks: bump on a log, bump on me

2009-06-26T22:27:00.002+08:00

We're in Oz now for a wedding. Thursday we went on the Great Ocean Road for some sightseeing and what sights did we see! We saw koalas (furry grey balls), parrots, cockatoos, and magpies. We also did some short walks around the Erskine Falls and Aireys Inlet Lighthouse.

25 weeks: discoveries

2009-06-22T23:44:00.005+08:00

Recent discoveries:my innie is now best described as a shallow indentation.it's getting harder to bend over, especially while sittingmy bump gets in the way while on the recumbent bikeit's really hard to be on my feet for extended periods of time, including while washing the dishesin the past couple of weeks, my abdominal muscles feel like they're stretching - this is even when I'm not moving at

product review: Dansko Mirabelle sandals

2009-06-21T10:56:00.004+08:00

I love my Dansko Mirabelle sandals! Since I got them in late March, I've worn them every day. Danskos are known for their ergonomic molded foot beds and their "rocker bottom" soles - basically it's easy to walk in them. I even wore these sandals on my trip to Taroko Gorge, when we hiked over 5km, and my feet were fine.I think Danskos are great for travel and maternity, because they are so

Lamborghini caravan

2009-06-19T00:50:00.002+08:00

Today during my morning commute there was a caravan of about nine to ten Lamborghinis that drove by. I know this because they too were stuck going 10kph in traffic and so I had plenty of time to read the labels...and even get out a camera to take a photo or two. Honestly, why would you ever want to drive a sports car in Taiwan? It's not Germany. It's stop-and-go traffic, scooters & buses weaving

conversation with myself

2009-06-18T01:23:00.004+08:00

bump: grumbleme: you hungry?bump: rumbleme: already? we've already eaten our afternoon snack of mango and banana!bump: growlme: oh man! I don't really want to go out and get a snack...wait! I brought in last night's leftovers: a quarter of a chicken burrito and roasted tomatoes - we'll have that.bump: purrrme: I'm so smart!(I have to hide my snacks in my little lunchbox out of sight...otherwise I

Thoughts on labor and delivery

2009-06-18T01:23:00.000+08:00

A common comment here in Taiwan (usually from those who have never given birth) is that having a caesarean section is "easier" because you're knocked out under anesthesia and when you wake up the baby is there.Um...the thought of a c-section has always scared me because you're cutting through and making a hole where there wasn't one before. First you have the uterus, which is at least an inch

23 weeks: company trip to Hualien & Taroko Gorge

2009-06-12T00:55:00.006+08:00

This past weekend we went on my company trip to Hualien and Taroko Gorge. I was afraid it might be one of those Taiwanese-sit-on-the-bus-hop-out-for-photo-ops affairs, but it was actually quite fun and active. We got up at an ungodly (for us) hour to catch a 7am train to Hualien. Then we got on a tour bus and went to Rui Sui Farm 瑞穗牧場 (which was pretty but rather small and boring - you can buy

22 weeks: baby's first visit to the beach

2009-06-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

Over the long Dragonboat Festival holiday weekend, baby made his first (in utero) visit to the beach.That mound in the forefront is my baby; that's Turtle Island in the background.The weather was great - sunny but not too hot. I made sure to get some Vitamin D (apparently many moms and newborns are deficient) so that baby will have good bones and teeth (responsibly, of course - I slathered on the

if only more parents were like this dad

2009-05-28T13:59:00.003+08:00

This is a great example of good parenting on the Not Martha blog. Yesterday Neil and I went to file our Taiwan taxes. The room was packed and we had to wait awhile for our turn - there were two young boys running around and shrieking. Their mom would occasionally shout crossly at them to pipe down. Come on - filing taxes if tiresome for adults, what else do you expect from young kids? This is the

Cool stuff with Google Earth

2009-05-26T14:07:00.002+08:00

Map the Fallen - honor the more than 5,700 American and Coalition servicemen and women that have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. A map for Google Earth that connects their stories.I Love Mountains - End Mountaintop Removal Action & Resource Center. Enter your zip code and see your (power company's) connection to mountain top removal, a radical form of coal mining in which entire

Proud mama

2009-05-20T19:48:00.002+08:00

While I am perfectly cognizant that the latest photo of my baby could very well be taken a Rorschach test, nebula in outer space, deep sea current, etc., I am a proud mama and to me he's just the cutest thing. I keep looking at the photo and thinking thoughts like, "look at his cute thighs!" and "look at his button nose!" I'm a very proud mama.

20 weeks: he kicks!

2009-05-17T23:59:00.003+08:00

This week, I finally felt our son kick. Late Tuesday night, I was reading in bed (a book on pregnancy and childbirth, no less) when I unconsciously rolled onto my tummy. All of a sudden I felt a sharp pulse in my lower right abdomen. Was that the baby? Was I squishing him? Excited, I rolled onto my side but didn't feel anything more. The next day at work, I felt him again - he's alive!Then he

Because I'm a nerd...

2009-05-11T12:13:00.001+08:00

...I love this headline:Horray! The Second Derivative of the Unemployment Rate Improved!

19 weeks: nesting

2009-05-10T23:49:00.005+08:00

Did a lot - Saturday: picked up 2 huge bags of maternity and baby stuff (thanks Andrea!), checked out a baby store in Taipei, had lunch with Jen, went to a MIT Alumni event, and then attended the TAS Benefit with the hubs and met some of his old classmates. Sunday stayed home all day and cleaned along with our housekeeper and her friend. Sparkling! Went to Costco and bought a HUGE watermelon - it