Second Trimester Pregnancy
Jan 17
My first appointment with an obstetrician. We heard the baby’s heartbeat. Mine was 77, and the baby’s (BB) was 152! So fast!! Some people say if it’s more than 150, it’s a girl.
Tea also contains caffeine, so don’t drink too much. But green tea is OK, the doctor said. Are you sure? I thought green tea also has caffeine. I still drink it sometimes though.
And I was told not to eat sashimi too much as it sometimes contains radiation. He speaks so fast that we didn’t have a chance to ask why. We will ask next time.
Jan 21
First time to join a prenatal yoga
Jan 28
2nd class and it continues…
Jan 28 – 30
The temperature dropped to -25 c. The humidity at home was only 35% and I got a sore throat. My small attempts to make the air wet cannot defeat the dryness.
Even though I have to continue eating when I feel nauseous, I shouldn’t stuff myself at each meal time, I just noticed now (too late). I get full, but then I get nauseous. Not to vomit, I have to keep eating. That’s very hard.
On top of it, coughing, burping and tooth brushing make me feel like gagging as well.
Even a very small burp makes me gag after drinking some liquid. Normally, I don’t even notice small burps even when I’m healthy! But now each time I feel nauseous and realize how many times I’m burping a day. Am I burping a lot because I’m pregnant?
Tooth brushing time is a hell time of the day. When I wrote about it on FB, kind friends gave me some advice. Very nice!
“For a time being, take a rest from brushing, and use an interdental brush, dental floss and mouthwash for anti-bacteria.”
Another friend sent me a link of a doctor saying “brush before the meal”.
Thank you very much.
Feb 1
Blood and urine test, 3rd time
Feb 4
3nd class of prenatal yoga
Feb 10
I’m still gagging but haven’t vomited for the last 2 weeks.
Feb 11
4nd class of prenatal yoga
At the end of Jan, I got a sore throat from the dryness. I try to be super cautious. I remembered about the medical masks that my parents sent me last year and started using them at night to moisten my throat while sleeping.
18th week
On average, it is said the peak of morning sickness is behind me. But it depends on the person and I’m not that average person. Damn!
Feb 12
I got a cold finally. I started coughing hard. We were planning a short trip from the 15th!! Damn!
Feb 14
Seeing my obstetrician for the 2nd time.
I had an appointment, but waiting time today was 3 hours! What do you think?
I know it can’t be helped. The doctor can be very busy with emergency cases. I was told in advance that we patients sometimes have to wait for a long time for that reason. But…. we are pregnant ladies… And in my case, I’m coughing so hard. I should be sipping some rooibos tea at home comfortably… And it’s a Valentines Day… I can only kill time by reading a book or snooze with a strange posture and get a possible neck pain. It’s a bit sad…
The appointment was for 13:15. I was going to have lunch after this, so I went to see the doctor without eating lunch. My hubby came to me at the waiting room saying Happy Valentines Day! and gave me the half of the 12 inch Subway sandwich. Thank you! I was going to eat the last stuff in the fridge as we were leaving for a trip from the next day, but as he bought me that, I ate it. Phew! That was good, as I wasn’t expecting I would see the doc after 4 o’clock. When I got home, it was 5!
My hubby had classes and meetings, so he couldn’t wait around with me because it’s so difficult to know the exact time at this clinic. It can’t be helped.
But the doctor apologized, and after hearing the BB’s heartbeat, my negative emotions disappeared.
Doctor was in a hurry, as I thought. His talking is so fast. As expected.
I asked a question that we couldn’t ask the last time. He told me not to eat much sashimi. And why? That was the question. We had never heard that sashimi contains radiation before. The answer was to kill the bacteria/parasitic insect. I thought they get killed by freezing at some certain temperature, but I guess it depends on the fish or the preserving conditions or the regulations of that country, some radiation would be used… But it’s very difficult to find out which fish, which restaurants, and so on, he says, just don’t eat it too often or too much. By the way, he likes to go to Mikado Japanese restaurant, which we haven’t tried! We gotta try it! ^^
I search on that subject and I found that it’s been reported quite widely in North America that pregnant women shouldn’t eat much sashimi. I didn’t know that! Not only the radiation is worrisome but also pregnant women are more vulnerable to some bacteria called Listeria, which is in sashimi sometimes.
And one more question. I have a good chance that my coughing will become very bad. If I want to have cough syrup, is any bland OK to take? And the answer was NO. Oh, good I asked. “Robitussin” is OK to take, he said.
My weight was now 2 kg more compared to 1 month ago. Because I have to continue eating when I feel nauseous, I thought I gained too much too fast. But 2 kg was normal, he said. Oh, really? Good! Wow, I’ve been eating so much, but it was OK? I guess I really am able to eat for 2, eh?
Feb 15 – 21
Taking a short trip to Calgary and Lake Louise
The day time in Calgary was 12 c degree! So warm!! But at night it was cold with some wind. I forgot and left my medical masks (to moisten my throat while sleeping), and I lacked the ability to prevent dryness to my throat. Then I got a cold. I couldn’t sleep because of my frequent coughing and neither could my hubby. In Lake Louise, my nose started to get runny. Luckily I didn’t get any fever, we still enjoyed activities like snow mountain hiking and cross-country skiing. Somehow during these activities, my cough stopped. Mysterious… It was a great feeling and nice to get some sore muscles from good exercise.
The day before we left Lake Louise, we went to a Japanese restaurant in Banff and I ate a lot of Gari (Japanese sweet ginger pickles). I don’t know if it was why, but from that time, my sickness got dramatically better. I was able to sleep without much coughing. Wow! Ginger power!
The next day, I felt much better and then noticed my morning sickness was also almost gone! Excellent!! Still, coughing makes me gag, but the after-meal sickness got much lighter.
Feb 22
2nd time for the ultra sound. No abnormality. Looks like it’s a girl!?
The BB flipped 180 degree when I went to the washroom and came back! Amazing!
The BB’s weight is 270g right now.
And it’s 20 weeks.
First Trimester Pregnancy
From my memos of my morning sickness:
Nov 22
Am I pregnant?
Saw a general doctor at a clinic. Started feeling some change in taste.
Nov 23
Getting morning sickness (all day sickness).
Nov 24
My breath started getting rough at night. Need naps in the afternoons.
Checking and studying about morning sickness on line.
Nov 27
Not feeling well and don’t want to go out.
So when I have to, do everything at one time… Yoga and the gym on the same day. My spirit and power feel like 50% down. Not energetic.
Nov 28
First examination of my urine/blood
Even though I had 10 hour sleep at night, one more nap in the afternoon was needed.
When I sleep, I can escape from feeling sick.
My morning sickness is troublesome. When I’m eating, I’m fine. But once stop eating, I start feeling sick. So I have to keep eating!
And I can not drink water anymore. Water is the worst drink for me. It make me vomit.
I started eating congee almost everyday. So delicious!
Paul Mccartney’s concert was so nice that I forgot about my sickness!
Nov 29
My breath has been rough. Where does all the oxygen I’m taking go!?
I can forget my sickness when I’m eating, so I keep eating until I get really too full and sick. I think I’m eating too much obviously, but I don’t feel too fat somehow. The energy has been consumed somehow, I’m imagining…
I used to sweat a lot and can see the sweat on my T-shirt, but now I can not do that anymore. I used to burn 450 cal but now it’s 350. Outside is so cold.
Dec 4
Strawberries are so refreshing and delicious.
Prince Catherine is also pregnant and hospitalized for the morning sickness.
Dec 5
I want to take pickled plums, black olives, potato chips and sour candies with me for a trip to Jamaica.
Dec 11
Just like my last pregnancy last year, my lips got really rough. Is it because of the season or because I’m pregnant? I’m using chap stick so often though.
I read somewhere that a pregnant woman should drink 8 cups of water a day. It’s so impossible for me. I would vomit if I drink water. So I would lose water from my body! So I drink tea (I was drinking regular tea. So it’s not good as it contains caffeine). But I could drink only 2 – 3 cups of tea. So I’m dehydrated. I tried to have congee, fruits and veggies to compensate it. These days, I prefer salty food too. That’s also bad. But this time, I found that I could drink water when a lot of ice is in it.
Dec 12
The last general doctor I saw wasn’t there, so I met another doctor. She saw my result of my examination (urine/blood) but couldn’t find the data of my hormones. She guessed that the last doctor was checking only the least data from my urine for my pregnancy, and didn’t get hormone data. but we need it as a record, so I was told to go again to get blood checked…..
Dec 15
Leaving for Jamaica.
Last time I vomited on the plain. So I got worried about the flight. I took 4 pills and got a side effect which is a terrible headache. Transferring in NY should have been fun, but it was a very hard day.
Dec 16
Maybe it’s because Jamaica was very warm, I didn’t get sick at night on the day we arrived! My rough lips also got healed.
But still, for the rest of the stay, I usually got sick at night. I took the pills in the afternoon for the night. It seems it worked and sometimes it didn’t… still I don’t know if it’s really effective or not.
Jan 7
The first ultra sound test at the bigger hospital. I was wondering when we have an examination to check the possibility of down syndrome, and it was on this day. It was done at the same time. It sounds like the possibility is low as 15%.
It’s so nice to see the baby. We were pushing the baby around to take good pictures for the examination. maybe she/he didn’t like it? The hands were on its head and she/he looked like screaming “Stop!”. Gestures were cute!
The book we are reading:
This is a book my hubby bought it for me when I got pregnant last time. Later my doctor was also recommending this book, so it’s a good book. A lot of info.
I also go on line and search for everything in Japanese also. Recently my parents and sister-in-law sent me an informative booklet. It was nice.
Cha Island
I went out for a tea with R, my Iranian friend. I was wondering if I should put it off or not, because I was coughing a bit from the indoor dryness. But it wasn’t too bad in the afternoon and if I keep drinking tea, the cough should be kept calm. When I met her, she was also in a similar situation, coughing a bit. Good (!?).
The cafe that is specialized in tea, Cha Island. I didn’t know about this cafe, so I was looiking forward to it.
Teas are all based on 3 kinds: Green Tea, Black Tea and Rooibos Tea. Other flavours are added onto them. You can try and smell the aroma of the tea by opening the jars. They smell really nice and delicious.
The one we chose today was East Coast Rooibos Tea, which contains some blueberries. Great satisfaction on the flavour and the aroma.
Small is $3.5。This is a large pot for 2 – 4 people, $6.5。
We also had a waffle. The coconut flavoured one is called Tropical something… sorry forgot the name. Very popular one, I heard. Adding one scoop of icecream=$1.
The atmosphere is just like a tropical island. Surf board, Bob Marley, wave paintings, and coconut trees are on the walls… And the owner’s hair style was dreads. Sounds like his wife is Vietnamese and they’ve got Vietnamese Coffee too. Nice.
There are out-door seating for summer. It’s spacious and the time can pass slowly here. It’s a perfect place for chatting with friends in the afternoon!
Do you know about Rooibos Tea? I didn’t know until yesterday. It’s a perfect tea for pregnant women and also for breast-feeding mums. It contains no caffeine! And also it’s low on tannin. Tannin is in coffee and other teas and it prevents iron and other nutrition from getting absorbed to the body. We need iron badly. We don’t want to let it happen. So it’s a great tea! I don’t see Rooibos Tea at regular supermarkets, do you? I wonder we can get it only somewhere like this cafe. Sounds like we can buy tea here by bulk. Good to know.
Thank you, R, for taking me here! It was a nice afternoon.
Cha Island Tea Co. (780) 757-2482 10332 81 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB
Feast at Our Iranian Friends’ Home
It was my first time to meet them. They are my hubby’s friends from the U of A. We were invited to their place for dinner!
Jan 26th (Sat).
Wow, what a feast! It’s going to be a hard job to return the favour!
They are from Iran and have lived in Edmonton for almost 5 years. They are really a nice couple. There were beautiful religious motifs decorated at their place, but they are not religious, just like us. They are conscious of food and exercise, just like us! And love talking, just like us! So of course, we enjoyed the evening chatting so much.
They are Iranians, so it’s easy to guess that they often eat meat. But we don’t… We were a bit afraid that she had a hard time preparing meal. We are sorry. But she did a great job! Thank you!!
Persian dishes are so good. We know that. We remember delicious dishes when we traveled Iran. But we weren’t expecting that we could have great home-made Persian food here in Edmonton!
The big whole fish dish is a special dish for Persian New Year, Norouz, we were told. And she cooked it for us even though it’s not new year. Some herbs and berries were stuffed inside the belly of the fish. It was so flavourful!
She also served rice cooked with saffron and herbs, baked salmon, some Persian egg plant dish, Persian salad, nice garlic pickles and egg plant pickles and so and so… I guess Persian dishes use a lot of egg plants. I love egg plants, so it’s great for me!
On top of it, her husband’s home-made wine was astonishing! It was so good!
In Iran, having alcohol, drinking alcohol and making alcohol are all prohibited by law. So you would get it at black markets or make some for yourself secretly at home. But to make it at home, you need to be quite knowledgeable about alcohol, I think, even more than a regular drinker in other countries. And yes, he is knowledgeable. Is it OK to write about it here?? Yes, sure, it’s Canada here, eh? He was saying it’s not too difficult as there are kits here in Canada, but it sounds like it’s important to keep the temperature right to make it perfect.
As I’m pregnant, I had to prevent myself from having more than a few sips, but it was really really good! Why am I pregnant today!? I thought.
A funny thing was that I thought they are from HOT Teheran, so they must feel sooo cold here, but actually he thought it was perfect (or at least it was comfortable) here! As you can see in the picture, we were wearing sweaters and he (she as well) is wearing T-shirt! I thought, aren’t you cold? But it was comfortable for him. So that’s good for him in Edmonton!
Another interesting thing was that they liked “Oshin“. Oshin is a TV drama that ran in 80’s in Japan. It was a big hit in Iran as well, they told us. Surprising! When I checked Oshin on Wiki, it was a hit in many countries and it’s one of the most famous Japanese TV dramas. I knew it was a hit in China and South East Asia, but I didn’t know it was also in Iran. They say that not only we learn how hard to live in Japan at that time and endure the hardship but also Japanese culture and the way of thinking. If you say so, I think it’s true. I feel like I want to watch it again (I think I watched it when I was in kindergarten). When I wrote that on FB, one of my Japanese friend told me that she started watching it on YouTube, being up until 3 in the monring! This Iranian friend also told me that she started watching it on YouTube, but some after some episodes, the English subtitles disappeared and couldn’t continue watching… that’s too bad…
We were talking like this, and then few days later, I heard news from Japan that Oshin is now turning into a movie! Oh! How timely! They just started making it, so we can not watch it for a while yet, but it’s so nice.
There are many interesting episodes about Oshin when I checked on Wiki (Japanese). The funniest ones were:
In Cairo, Egypt, When Oshin was on the air, a black out happened. The viewers got really angry and dveloped into a riot. They threw stones and fire against the electric company and the TV station. The government promised to run it again, and the riot calmed down.
and
In Afghanistan and Iran, the drama was dubbed into Persian, and got the highest-rate 90% on record. The word, Oshin, became a euphemism for Japan. In Islamic countries, some scenes with some physical contact between men and women were cut, and that made them think that there were some obscene scenes in the drama, which is not true!
and
In Jamaica, when the Oshin boom has arrived, people started naming their children (didn’t matter girl or boy) Oshin.
Oh, we were just in Jamaica! If we knew that, we would look for the someone whose name is Oshin!
We were at their place from 6 to 11 !! We didn’t know the time has passed that much! We had a great time. Thank you so much. OMG, we were so stuffed!!
We Love Duchess
I’m currently working on about 4 projects and must be chaotically busy, right?
But because of the Chinese Lunar New Year, everything is slow (as all my clients are in Hong Kong). So now I have time for blogging!
Happy Lunar New Year!
It’s a good time as I have so much things to write about. For some stories, I have to go back the time and write about around Aug or Sep last year. A half a year has already passed, so some memories are gone, but it’s OK. Better than nothing.
Aug 28, 2012:
It was the next day we came back from the NY trip with our car, with the 13,000km drive!
I was going to start tackling my mountain of work! Then I heard the ding-dong upstairs (our landlord live upstairs) and then banging the door. Our landlord and his wife were all out. There were 2 firemen there when I came out of the house, telling me that we have to evacuate for 4 – 5 hours due to the gas leak around here.
What! This timing!? I’m so busy!!
Well, OK, we have to leave as soon as possible.
We went out for a grocery shopping that we had to do anyway soon or later.
There were quite a few fire engines out there, a few police cars and also media people. Sounded like some construction worker at the site got a gas pipe by mistake.
4-hour waiting is a long time! We went to Duchess (Cakes and bakery cafe).
I was taking a rest with nice tea and cake gracefully, even though I haven’t even started working… ^^
Lavender Meringues & Banana Cream Pie
Raspberry Tart
Lavender Meringues
Gochiso-sama (Thankful for the food)!
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