Vacationing while pregnant has its perks and its disadvantages. The obvious disadvantages are the discomforts of travelling by any mode of transportation for any given amount of time; dietary changes that may or may not impact your digestive tract; not being able to sleep in your own bed; and just being out of sync because you're out of your routine.
Some of the perks are pretty sweet, though. Like...being able to eat whatever dessert you want without feeling guilty (although I still did because I knew my doc in Korea would pass out at my weight gain when I got back); no work to think about (!!!!!!); napping in the middle of the day with my big girl...every day; seeing FAMILY; catching up with friends; and I think I have to admit that jet lag on vacation is actually a perk for pregnant women because now we really have an excuse to sleep all day and sleep all night...and so much more.
Moving on...
Another part of being on vacation is that I get lazy. I haven't decided if that's a perk or a disadvantage because part of vacation is supposed to be enjoyable because you get to be lazy...right? Anyhow, when pregnant, you must be vigilant about certain things, like taking your prenatal vitamins, and recording special developments with the little baby growing inside of you as if she were your first. I can't say I've been as dilligent about writing about this pregnancy as I did with Tay, but I think circumstances are a little different right now, too...I'm still working full time at the tail end of this pregnancy, I've got a toddler who's quite interesting to say the least, and some things I guess are just not as novel the second time around.
I was going back and reading through some of my pregnancy experiences with Tay, and noticed that I recorded the very first time I felt her hiccupping inside of me and how excited I was (and how hilarious I found it) to know what it was. Well, I can't equate the experience of my first hiccups with little Riley to Tay's first hiccups, but I did record it and it was memorable. Riley had her first hiccups on July 14th and 4:45am and it woke me up because she was hiccupping right by my bladder. The first thought that actually crossed my mind when I realized she was hiccuping: "Thank goodness, she's now in the head-down position." Is that odd? I guess I was a little more concerned with the possibility of her being breech than I thought I was.
I did get asked if I was carrying twins a couple times, but I decided not to get offended because some people just aren't used to seeing pregnant women...eh. At least while I was in the states, I had more people tell me that I looked small for being so far along instead of the constant "you're so huge" comments I received here in Korea.
Once we got back to Korea, though, the jet lag is kicking my butt since I actually have to be awake during the day because of work, but Tay doesn't want to sleep past 2am...ugh. It's been a rough few days, but she's slowly starting to sleep a little later...like this morning, she woke up at 3:45 instead of 2am and stayed in bed until at least 5:15...
I also had my doctor's appointment after I got back and luckily, the doctor didn't fall out of her chair when she saw my weight (although she did gasp in disgust). Little Riley is quite healthy and developing and growing at a rapid rate. She is still in the head-down position and looks to be stuck there for the time being. According to the measurements, she's looking like she's already over four pounds...let's hope she doesn't double in weight between now and when she wants to come out, but if she does, then I'll just have another healthy big baby girl. :)
I transfer over to Cha hospital now so my next visit will be with Dr. Cha on the 16th of August. Looking forward to getting to that finish line, but am in no rush to get there. We'll just take it one day at a time and enjoy my last couple months with Riley's ever-growing big sister Tay as an only child.
