"Nesting" and the awesome weekends in Seoul

As some (most) of you may know,  I have been 'nesting' in Seoul at Yongsan Army Garrison since I hit 38 weeks.  The reason for this is because our AF base at Osan, though it has a hospital, does not have a labor and delivery ward.  Yongsan is right in the heart of Seoul, and is only about an hour from Osan when there is no traffic.  The problem is that traffic here is ridiculous, and, as Brian can attest to, it's VERY easy for the 1 hour commute to be 2-3 hours at least.  Because of this, the medical group thinks it makes sense to have you stay on base at Yongsan, close to the hospital, as it gets close to your delivery date.  I suppose this avoids costly ambulance rides and babies born in cars! 

At first, I scoffed this idea and called it "pregnancy purgatory," not wanting to leave our comfy apartment to sit and wait in an unfamiliar place for the baby to be born.  Now that I'm here (and even though baby boy is overdue) I'm glad to be here.  There are 3 "nest" buildings on base, each one has 3-6 rooms and each room has a private bathroom.  The buildings each have a shared, large communal kitchen area.  It's somewhere in between a dorm room and a hotel room... no frills (i.e. no internet or tv), but completely free of charge and less than a block from the hospital.  Spouses and kids can stay with you (Brian comes up every weekend) and there are a multitude of restaurants and shops on base to stave off boredom/hunger.  Plus, as I mentioned, it's right in Seoul, which is an incredible city!!! If all of the nest buildings are full, you get to stay at the Dragon Hill, which is the very nice, resort-type hotel here on base.  Sadly, I wasn't so lucky.  That being said, my 'nest' building was recently completely revamped, only has 3 rooms (mine has a ginormous walk-in shower with phenomenal water pressure), and in the 2 weeks I've been here, I have only seen one of the other rooms taken for a few days.  Moral of the story: It's not like the crazy preggo reality show I had originally envisioned.  Good for my sanity, bad for the novel I saw myself writing when this is all over!  :)


Here's my little nest from the outside:  

And here's my cozy little room:

 It's certainly not the Ritz, but it's very peaceful and relaxing and only a short walk to doctors appointments and the metro station.  The weather has been very hot and humid, so I havent gone exploring in the city as much as I'd like to  during the week.  That being said, the weekends have been awesome.  Brian and I have been all over the city and have found some great new favorite spots!


Awesome Weekends in Seoul:



Brian at the Korean National Museum:  This place is mere steps from the Yongsan gate and was a good place to kill an hour or two... it's not nearly as interesting as the War Memorial Museum, but it was still fun to walk around, plus, admission was free... and it's air conditioned!

Me (and 39 week bump) at the Bosingak bellfry in Jongno:

 

 Jongno Tower in Seoul-- such unique architecture:

The bathroom at the top of Jongno tower--  amazing view of the city!

Brian and the awesome self-serve wine pouring at Mi Casa:

Someone was super-excited to find (after much searching) a Shabu-Shabu restaurant !

 

Brian, enjoying delicious shabu-shabu for the first time in 3+ years!  It was well worth the search to find this place!!!!

Suffice it to say that weekends have been the highlight of my time here "nesting."
 

Due Date +2 days

How the Pregnancy is going so far:

How far along: Due date + 2 days

How big is baby: Watermelon sized.  I’m guessing around 9 lbs.  

Pregnancy weight gain:   37 lbs total.  More than I expected, but supposedly not ridiculous.

Sleep:  Getting up 3-4 times per night to use the bathroom and stretch my hips.  Even though they say sleeping on the left side is the best, I have to alternate because whichever side I’m on will result in a very painful hip after a couple of hours of sleep. 
Maternity Clothes:  Starting to get small!  Anything with a waist band (shorts, jeans, etc) dig into me and are less than comfy when sitting down, so sundresses have been my staple.

Best moment of the week: 

Brian here in Seoul for the weekend: Out to delicious brunches, exploring the Korean National Museum, finding an incredible Spanish restaurant for dinner, and renting a movie.  Fantastic weekend!

Funny moment of the week:  Going to the pool this week and having 3 little girls come up and want to touch my belly and feel the baby kick.  It was pretty cute!

Stressors this week: Wondering when baby will want to show up!  Hoping to avoid getting induced, so lots of walking and spicy food for me!

Food cravings: Milkshakes, salads, pasta and fish

Food aversions: Fried food… with all the restaurants here on base at Yongsan, there is a good variety of food, but a distinct lack of veggies and non-fried stuff.

Favorite Recipes/Meals this week: Since I’ve had to eat out every meal for the last 2 weeks, I’ve had some pretty fantastic meals for sure—especially when I’ve been off-base.  The best dinner was easily last night, when Brian and I went to Mi Casa in Itaewan.  We shared Salmorejo (cold tomato based soup with egg and prosciutto), calamari, ensaladilla rusa (potato salad with tuna, shrimp, boiled veggies and mayo) and mixed paella.  VERY impressed with their paella.  SO yummy and well presented too… Should have taken pictures!

 Symptoms:  Heartburn is constant.  I ended up getting a prescription about a month ago from the MD here, because TUMS were not cutting it, and it was causing me to cut back on drinking water.  Since then, as long as I take the medicine, I can pretty much eat and drink like a normal person again!

Movement: He’s still a “shark” around bedtime or after meals, but I think he’s run out of room to squirm as much as the past weeks.

Gender: 3 ultrasounds in a row say ‘boy’ so we’re going with that.

What I’m looking forward to: Meeting this baby!  Any day now would be ideal. 

What I miss from pre-pregnancy: Looking forward to a cold Guinness and sleeping on my back.

Next appt: Tomorrow afternoon… no idea what the doctor will say, but since I’m over my due date, I think he’ll probably have some sort of evacuation plan for the gummy bear for the following week. 

40 Things I've learned in 40 weeks

 So yes- I haven't blogged in... well... months!  In June, we've moved to Korea, and have had an incredible start to our adventure here.  Suddenly, the end of this pregnancy has snuck up on me... today is my due date!!!  As it doesn't seem like the little guy (or big little guy, as I think he's pretty sizable!) will be coming out to play at the moment, I thought I'd take a few minutes to look back on stuff I've learned through this crazy baby-growing process!

 Things I’ve learned in 40 weeks of growing my son:

1.              If I never see another ‘TUMS’ again, it’ll be too soon.

2.              I can have the grandest intentions for making super-healthy meals every day, however, if the motivation to go out and buy/cook said meals isn’t there, I no longer feel guilty about occasionally ordering take-out.

3.              German doctors are much more calm and relaxed than American Army ones. 

4.              German doctors are not great at predicting the sex of the baby at 16 weeks.

5.              3-D ultrasounds are totally weird and creepy… until it’s your kid.  Then they are amazingly awesome.

6.              Belly kicks, flips and pokes are a totally indescribable feeling.

7.              Rib kicks, and bladder jabs are describable; they are not comfortable.

8.              Compression socks are a lifesaver on overseas airplane journeys.

9.              Uncomfyness/soreness during the last few weeks of being pregnant is nowhere near as bad as the pain and discomfort of my 1^st eight weeks of pregnancy.

10.           I am thankful every day to the preggo gods for sparing me from both morning sickness and stretch marks.

11.           Watching the numbers on the scale go up each monthly appointment was surprisingly more reassuring than scary.

12.           That being said, I never want to see the current scale number again… unless I am pregnant again.

13.           I’ll always remember where I was when Brian got to feel the baby kick for the 1^st time.  :)

14.           Any fears about childbirth seem to pale in comparison to fears about parenting.

15.           I feel less self-conscious in a 2-piece bathing suit now, than I did 37 pounds ago.

16.           I am thankful every day that Brian will be here (not deployed or TDY) when the baby is born.

17.           For as much as I gripe about technology, the fact that the grandparents will get to experience their 1^st grandchild’s first few months via Skype is an incredible thing.

18.           Some mornings I wake up and forget that I’m pregnant…. Then I try and roll over.

19.           Being severely pregnant in the heat of the summer isn’t really bad —I’d much prefer wearing these sundresses than heavy pants and layers.

20.           Having friends in the same stages of pregnancy with you is fantastically reassuring.

21.           Splurging on more and more books to read to your baby is never a bad investment.

22.           If people were as kind and considerate to everyone as they are to visibly pregnant people, the world would be a much happier place.

23.           I always liked the idea of having twins…. Now that I’m pregnant with just one, I cannot even begin to fathom having multiples.

24.           I cannot wait to see Brian as a daddy. 

25.           I could waste hours reading message boards on The Bump… it’s nice to see other people with the same questions and concerns… and the totally psycho ones make me feel much more normal.

26.           I’ve forgotten what it’s like to sleep through the night without getting up to use the bathroom or stretch my sore hips… I really can’t imagine falling asleep and not waking up again until the morning.

27.           Sometimes the heartburn is worth it to satisfy the spicy food fix; most often it’s not.

28.           Being pregnant certainly isn’t awful, but I don’t think I’d say that it’s particularly enjoyable either.

29.           When discomfort becomes routine, you tend to forget about it rather than harp on it.

30.           Maternity clothes come in two categories: Frumpy and boring or incredibly cute and ridiculously expensive.

31.           Long, non-maternity shirts and tanks can be worn pretty much the whole pregnancy.  At 40 weeks I still have two H&M short sleeve shirts that fit over the huge bump just fine.

32.           I do not miss scooping the cat litter.

33.           Through the kindness and generosity of our AF friends, friends from home, and family, I am convinced our little guy is already the most spoiled (and will be the best-dressed) baby on the planet.

34.           Coming up with the ‘perfect’ name is not easy! 

35.           I love playing “guess which baby part that is” with Brian when the baby decides to be a shark and swim everywhere at bedtime.

36.           The pregnancy ‘glow’ doesn’t happen for some people… I just got the pregnancy badly broken out skin instead.

37.           The closer I get to going into labor, (and the larger I hear the baby is measuring) the less inclined I am to having a med-free childbirth… and I’m okay with that.

38.           That being said, I REALLY hope this baby comes out on his own terms and I don’t have to be induced.

39.           My daydreams used to take me to exotic locales and 5 star restaurants… now I picture little league games and trips to the beach (perhaps still at exotic locales).

40.           It’s pretty amazing to have so much love and concern for someone you’ve never met. 

Belly Comparison... beginning to end

Here it is.... the crazy belly comparison from the time I found out I was expecting until just a few days before my due date.  Here's hoping I can get some semblance of that pre-baby shape back once the little guy is here!

36 Week Bump

Here's the ever-growing belly at 36 weeks!  Baby Morrissey seems to like Korea so far... especially the abundance of delicious Thai food and multitude of places to go for walks!

Baby boy in 3D

Here's the 3D ultrasound shot around 31 weeks; just before we left Germany.... baby boy Morrissey actually almost looks like a real baby! 

29 Week photo

Here's the bump at 29 weeks... not long before we left Germany: