Sweet Relief/I Love My Doctor

I lost 3 kilograms (6.6 lbs) in the last 2+ weeks.

Dr. Liu patiently listened while I told my sob stories about how I hadn't been able to keep food down and how I was in a constant state of hunger (okay, I may have dramatized it a bit for effect). He reviewed all the results from blood and urine tests up to this point, and listened to the baby's heart beat. He also measured the height of my uterus.

By the way, did you know that the height of your uterus corresponds to the length of your pregnancy? For instance, I'm 31 weeks pregnant so the height of my uterus is 31 centimeters exactly. Isn't that amazing?

Everything looked fine. He told us that he'd prescribe Topaal, a chewable stomach medicine, and we'll see how it goes. Apparently, it's a kind of medicine that is not covered by the National Health Care, so Dr. Liu asked if we'd want to purchase it before he wrote the prescription. "Well, how much is it?" I asked. "NT$64 (US $2)." Did I hear him right?! NT$64? The starting rate of a cab in Taipei is more than that. "For how many?" Bill needed clarification. "For 15 tablets... 5 days worth of medicine." Dr. Liu answered. Bill and I both chuckled at first but eventually managed to answer with all seriousness, "Okay, we'll pay."

Then we sat and chatted about when I should come to the hospital. Dr. Liu first listed the 3 early birth signs (vaginal leakage, bloody show, and frequent and/or constant contractions). Then he concluded, "... basically when you feel like you want to come to the hospital, just come. The worst thing that can happen is that we'll send you home. Dont' wait until it's too late... like you may give birth in a cab or something." Bill got all excited, "That'd be kind of cool." "No, it won't!" I interrupted, "We'll have to pay for the cleaning... and plus, it's not like Peanut will be able to ride that cab for free for the rest of his life. It'd be cool if it were an airplane...." The three of us were having so much fun that we totally ignored the fact that there were still some 20 odd people waiting to see Dr. Liu.

Before we left his office, I asked Dr. Liu about the administrative side of the birth. For instance, will we have to have a Chinese name for Peanut to put on his name tag (we do have one for him)? Apparently not. For the first few days, Peanut will only be known as "the son of (my Chinese name)". From the way Dr. Liu said them, "the son of (my Chinese name)", I knew those words also meant a lot to him. He looked so proud and happy when he said them, and he even repeated them a couple of times. I got a bit misty eyed thinking about how far the three of us have come to reach this point. I didn't want to get all emotional, so I turned to Bill and said, "He'll be mine... all mine! Mine mine mine mine mine!!!"

It's getting close to D-day! I've crossed the 30-week point, so my appointments are going to be 2 weeks apart from now on and then a week apart toward the last leg of the race. I'm excited about finally meeting the Little Peanut, but I'm also wondering what I'm going to do with him? What does one do with a baby 24 hours a day every day?

Oh, I took the medicine and was able to have a real dinner painlessly (and kept it down) last night.