Ruvin the Second

I told Juliana, "We have something exciting to tell you!" She looked appropriately excited and asked, "Is it a present?!"  It will be like a present, arriving awfully close to her birthday and all, but we'll have to wait and see how excited she actually is.  Come September (Juliana's third birthday give or take a few days) Juliana is going to become a big sister.

We had our first appointment in Thailand where we got to see the baby for the first time.  When we went into the hospital Kevin told Juliana, "We are going to find out about your baby brother or sister."  Juliana said, "We're going to find a baby brother or sister!"  Then spotting a young girl she cried out, "There's a sister!"  We have reason to believe she doesn't really understand how this works.

Ultrasound from my 13 week appointment

 We are excited, particularly in the moments when I've not been violently ill.  Pregnancy has not been super kind to me thus far.  I was sick with Juliana, but I have been much sicker this time.  I have figured out why they call it morning sickness - one morning you wake up feeling really sick...and then it never goes away.  This week I have seen a little improvement though.  I've started to make it through some days without thowing up - a wonderful feeling.  I've even been able to do some things like take a shower and do some laundry without feeling sick!  I have also been managing to go to class every day, though I can't say a lot for the study outside of class.  It's funny, but studying Chinese doesn't seem to help the nausea.

I am also hesitantly venturing beyond my 4 safe foods: eggs, bread, cheese, and milk.  Today I actually made and ate spaghetti!  Unfortunately this pregnancy, I can't handle Chinese food at all.  Even the smell is completely sickening.  This is really a problem when you live in China.  Kevin is having a hard time with food too, mainly because I haven't been cooking anything.  Fortunately there is a lot of take-out available.  Unfortunately it is all Chinese.  I hide in the bedroom while he eats and then burns candles and fans out the room.  I don't know if you've noticed, but Chinese food SMELLS.

I'm really looking forward to feeling like a mostly normal person again because these past couple of months have been pretty miserable.  I think I'm starting to turn a corner though.  After losing 6+ pounds, this is the first week I have actually gained back weight!  It's not often in life you get to be really happy about that.

We have planned to stay in America this fall, deliver the baby in Georgia, spend some time with our families on both sides of the country, and return to China after the winter holiday next year.  This means the baby will be almost 5 months old before his first international travel!  Pretty strange if you think about it.  It will be nice to not rush home from the hospital to apply for a passport, and it will also be nice for our family to have more time around the new baby - and for us to have lots of help. :)

And in case you were wondering, yes, we will buy Juliana a real birthday present as well.