We saw the doctor two weeks ago and we’ll go again in another two weeks. Seolhee still hasn’t had any morning sickness but hasn’t been gaining much weight either. We survived our two week adventure and the only problem was her back. Seolhee has had back problems in the past so we figure that’ll be an issue throughout the pregnancy. Other than that not much is new. Now her mother think’s we’re going to have a son so we’ll find out soon enough what we’re having. Here’s to hoping everything continues along uneventfully.

So we went to the doctor today and got to hear Seolju’s (the nickname we’ve decided to go with, Seolhee Junior, Seolju) heartbeat. The doctor took a couple measurements and did a handful of scans. Again everything looks good. I’ll pop back with some details but I’m running a bit late today.

Yesterday we went to the doctors again. He did another scan of Seolhee similar to last week’s but this week we got to hear the heartbeat as well. Here’s a video of it:

The doctor said everything looked good and clear and there are no signs of problems. The heartbeat is normal and everything seems to be on track. We have to go back again in two weeks for the next round of checkups. The baby is due November 29th or 30th, right towards the end of my fall semester.

After the doctor’s appointment we went down the hall to try and reserve a place in the after care center. So after Seolhee gives birth she’ll go there for a week or two before coming home.  She’d get her own apartment where we would both stay and the baby would be taken care of by us and a bunch of nurses. There’s a pediatrician on staff and she gets daily massages and there are a bunch of other programs. The timing works out really well because I’ll still be working for a week or two after she gives birth. One weird thing about the center is that only the parents can come in. SO guests and come and look through an exterior window at the nursery where the babies sleep in clear plastic bins, but they can’t come into the center, or hold the babies or anything like that. Apparently this particular center is super popular so we’re a bit late in booking it and got put on the waiting list.  The woman at the center said that in August we’d be told whether we could have a room or not. The woman seems to think that’s enough time to find another one but I think we should try and line one up first rather than have to scramble in August.

There’s this (possibly untrue) story about Russia that when they opened their first McDonalds after the fall of capitalism people didn’t understand how the lines worked and whichever line was longest that’s the one people got into. They thought that the long lines had the best food and the shorter lines were getting different, worse food. Korea is sort of like that with a lot of things. So my guess is that this is the top place in Wonju and everyone wants to go there but there are a ton of almost identical places  that we can get into for sure. That’ll be a mission for next week.

Thursday was the foundation day for my university so I didn’t have any classes, so we decided to go to the doctor’s. Seolhee’s cousins have been shooting out kids like it’s a race so we got a recommendation from them. The one we chose I guess is famous in Wonju but its in this huge building that is impossible to get into because the underground parking is off of this tiny one lane road where people were parked illegally making it maybe a .25 lane road. The only reason I’m complaining is because as far as I understand it this is where she’ll be delivering the baby. I guess in Korea they go to a hospital, but not a hospital hospital. More like there’s a special hospital in the pediatrician’s office. Really I should have Seolhee explain all this. Anyways, so after she gives birth she’ll then move a floor or two up or down to the after care center where she’ll stay for a week or two to recover. She’ll have her own little apartment and nurses will take care of her and the baby 24/7. I’m not sure how it works at this particular one but at some the husband stays there as well.

So at the pediatrician’s office there are three doctors to choose from. We didn’t have an appointment so we just took a random one but we can change to one of the others if we want. The guy we saw was a bit odd in that he didn’t actually acknowledge that I was there, and when he took Seolhee into the examination room she told me I could come in. They did an ultrasound but the baby was too small to see anything. So they kicked me out so she could take off her pants, then the doctor went back into the room and closed the door to do the second scan. I guess at some point he told her that I could come in, but he had closed the door behind him when he went in and telling her isn’t nearly as helpful as telling me. In general doctors in Korea all (should) speak good English since all the world’s major medical journals are in English so I’m not so sure I’m in love with the guy yet. He also spoke crazily fast. Maybe I’ve seen too many movies with comforting baby doctors reassuring first time parents.

Anyways, here are the photos he took from the second scan. You can see the baby (or can you?) I think Seolhee said its about 2mm right now. We have to go back on Monday for another scan or something along those lines. I guess the first big step is that for now the fetus is in the right spot. Seolhee is doing okay but she’s very tired all the time, and pretty cold. I’ve started reading the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy and its been neat to read what’s happening to her and have her confirm it. The other day we had Samgyupsal (basically thin bacon) and later that night she complained that the meat smell made her feel like she was going to throw up. Her mother says this is a sign that she’s having a girl. Who knows. She’s been having other general morning sickness and her body is definitely starting to change.  I should be back Monday with more ramblings and indecipherable pictures.

In a few weeks Seolhee will be taking the government service exam required to work for the federal government and in June she’ll write the one for the municipal government. Therefore our rough baby plan was to try to get pregnant at some point in the summer, after the tests were over. That plan went out the window last week and we’re both so happy and excited that Seolhee is pregnant. She was late and started complaining that she felt like there was some food in her stomach she couldn’t digest. I have Mondays off so our plan on Monday was to go to the doctor and have my knee looked at. It turns out I have a LCL strain, but while we were waiting she kept saying that she was worried she might be pregnant and that she could already feel it. As soon as we finished up with my knee we headed home, took the test, and found out the great news.