I did it

I finally did it. I sat in the subway seats designated for the elderly, handicapped, and pregnant.

After class today I decided to go for a walk. So I walked from Gwanghwamun to Jongno 2-ga, grabbed a sub sandwich, then turned towards Insa-dong. I haven't walked through Insa-dong in a long time, and I really like the area, especially during the week. I stay far away on weekends. After making an impulsive purchase that I'm feeling a little guilty about now (that will wear off though), I turned back and walked to Jongno 3-ga, where I got on the subway. I like walking down Jongno... it's really the heart of the city. So busy, so much to see. Unfortunately, tonight it was so hot.

When I finally made it down to the subway I was literally dripping with sweat. I had to wait around 5 minutes for the train to come and there was no air moving down there. When the train pulled up I noticed there were some people sitting in those special seats who really didn't qualify as elderly, handicapped, or pregnant, so I thought...Hey, why not? It felt kind of weird sitting there and I did get some stares. To some people, I am not visibly pregnant, especially when sitting down, but that's not my problem.

Anyway, that's my news for today. I also met with the hypnobirthing instructor, Patricia Cumming, this afternoon, which was very exciting. I'm looking forward to the classes actually.

And I decided to look up this "Graco Pack n Play" that seems to be all the rage these days. I found it on The Bay's website (Canadian dept store) for $200, and just out of curiosity, decided to look it up on gmarket, my favorite site in the whole wide world. Sure enough, here it is. Same price! I was going to get a traditional bassinet, but this Graco thing looks more practical, as after it can't be used as a bassinet, it can be used as a playpen for much longer. And the colours are so nice... not the typical pink and blue with cartoon characters all over. Another thing to the list...

Baby-related shopping in Korea

I wanted to post some links to shopping sites in Korea. Last week I met a new friend, Karen, who has a two-year old son and is expecting her second child. Karen has only been in Korea for five months, but she's enthusiastic about being here and she's really getting out there and finding things out rather than staying in her own little community, which she could do if she wanted. Many people with the army, governments, or embassies hardly know anything about Korea and really don't need to, because they are taken care of. But I think it's great that Karen wants to get see what else is out there. It will make her time here so much more enjoyable and memorable.

Anyway, she has had lots of great advice for me about babies and baby stuff. It's a little overwhelming, all the products there are out there. Karen told me what I wanted to hear, and that's to hold off buying a lot of things until the need arises, and also to do my research. So, I'm only going to buy the things I know I'll need right away, like small-sized diapers, a few newborn sleepers (maybe one special outfit ^^), a baby carrier, and maybe a few other little things. With the convenience of online shopping in Korea, if I really needed something, I could order it and have it delivered within one or two days, so it's no use buying things that I'm not sure about.

But it doesn't hurt to look and see what my resources are, so when the time comes, I'm prepared. I've found the following links after just a bit of searching, so I will probably add to this list later, or make a new post.

First, maternity clothes. This isn't really for baby, but still necessary. Karen made a great post about maternity clothes and what you need/don't need. Here are some Korean links. Even if you don't speak Korean, it's easy enough to click around to get a sense of what they have. Then you can have a Korean friend help you out to order.

Mizmami Maternity Wear
To Be Mom
Maternity underwear
Lora (they have American brand nursing bras that go up to size G!)
Gmarket (search 임부복)

Baby stuff. There are tonnes of baby malls online. These are just a few.

Babyland
Urii baby
Pretty baby
Happy mall
Babywel
KKbaby
and of course, there's gmarket. Here's a link to baby onesies for example. Here's one to the ergo baby carrier, which I'll probably buy!

Diapers. Modern cloth diapers are available in Korea. I haven't checked them out in person yet, but I'm going to.

Babyan - Korean brand that looks promising.
Kissaluvs -American brand that imports to Korea. Thanks to Karl for that link!
diapers on Gmarket

I just thought I'd add this last link although it is not necessarily baby related. This site has IKEA products for good prices. I added it because a lot of foreigners don't know where to get furniture, or have trouble doing so. There are tonnes of places online to order furniture, but I know a lot of people like IKEA, and why not.

One thing that I CAN'T find after much searching is a rocking chair that I like. I would prefer a glider rocker, but can only find one online, and I've never seen any in furniture stores.

Mungyeong

I've already written about my encounter with a couple of different herbs in Mungyeong. All in all, the trip was good and it was nice to see Sejin 's family again. The only downside to the trip was that the weather was so hot, it made it hard to have fun outdoors. We were supposed to spend Saturday afternoon by the stream having a picnic, but instead everyone stayed in the minbak to keep cool. It was disappointing because Mungyeong has some great scenery that I wanted to get some pictures of. I guess it'll have to wait until next time.

I did go out for a bit, but not far. Just down the road was a ceramics museum and a Confucianism Museum. It was interesting enough. I really like looking at traditional Korean handicrafts, so I liked the "boudoir" room in the Confucianism museum. The embroidery was gorgeous.

We finished off the day with some samgyupsal, which is the best way to finish a day. It was really good. Sunday was spent in the air-conditioning. I worked on Doily Coaster, which is actually meant to be worked with a finer thread, so as to get a coaster sized coaster. But I wanted to use some of my green cotton to make something slightly bigger. I like how it looks and it was a one-day project, which I love.

My busy week starts here. Between now and Thursday evening I have tonnes to do. We have train tickets to Yeosu booked for Friday, but we may cancel if it looks like rain. I'm mainly going to hit the beach, and if I can't, I'd rather postpone.

Beware herbs/oriental medicine

Just thought I'd write something on this in hopes of someone perhaps stumbling upon this information while searching for an answer.

Sejin and I had a lovely weekend in the countryside for his grandmother's birthday. Sejin's family, the Jo's, come from Mungyeong, a rural, picturesque part of Korea that not a lot of foreigners venture to. More on Mungyeong later...

After arriving in Mungyeong and meeting his family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) at a restaurant in Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park, we headed to our room upstairs (minbak) where everyone sat around eating snacks and fruit near the air-conditioner. Sejin's grandmother had made "sook," a type of bread/rice cake which is green and really doesn't have much taste. I was really full from lunch, so politely refused about three times, but after some coaxing, had a little piece, because after all, grandma had made it.

I did ask Sejin what was in it, but although his English is quite good, he's no botanist, so he could not tell me exactly what herb was in it. Actually, I found out after an Internet search that "sook" is made from mugwort, a herb that should be avoided by pregnant women. It can cause uterine contractions and preterm labor. Luckily, I had only eaten a very small piece, so I'm sure everything is fine. From what I understand, small amounts of mugwort are used in sook, mainly for colouring, and it's boiled beforehand, which removes much of its toxicity.

Later in the day, I wanted to get out of the minbak where everyone was sprawled out on the floor napping. Sejin and I took a short walk to a nearby building which was selling products made from "omija" (오미자), a local specialty in Mungyeong. From what I understand (I always say this because I just can't understand everything!), omija is the berry from a plant found in Asia. It's a pretty, bright red berry. I've had omija tea before and it's quite good. We were browsing all the products made from omija...tea, bread, wine, etc. Sejin chose a bottle of omija extract. We were paying for it and the lady at the counter informed us that pregnant women should not eat omija. I was impressed with two things: she had noticed that I was pregnant -- a first! yay!; and she actually spoke up to warn us. I was grateful for that.

So, in one day visiting the countryside, I encountered two potentially dangerous herbs used in traditional oriental medicine. And they weren't mixed up in some kind of weird potion that would make me wary of them. Koreans have a long history of using herbs and other plants that we in the west don't often use. They're so used to them being around, that they're not even sure what all of them can do/cause. Every spring, my mother-in-law serves up a traditional spring meal made almost entirely of herbs she went and picked herself. Some of them don't even have English names... Of course, I know Sejin's family, or any Korean, would not give me anything meaning to cause harm, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Up late

So I'm up late typing up some stupid units for my stupid listening books. I've completely lost interest in this project and I can't wait to move on to the next one. These listening books have turned out to be more trouble then they're worth -- literally. I wish I could go back and renegotiate, but I signed the contract and I will complete them by the end of August.

To keep my sanity, I've been doing some small knitting projects. Projects that can be completed quickly are the best kind when you're stressed. So I made some baby booties (they're sitting on a small washcloth I made), and a baby bib. They're all cotton. I have tonnes of yarn to use up, so I've decided not to go to Dongdaemun to buy baby yarn until I've used up some of my stash.

Other than that, things are slow. I've been staying indoors in the air conditioning with Toto by my side. Oh yes, and we had a nice Indian dinner with Hayan and her boyfriend tonight. That got me out once this weekend...

16 week ultrasound

I had my 16 week ultrasound last Wednesday morning and everything looks good. The baby measures about 12 cm (around 5 inches), which is pretty huge considering you can't see much of anything from the outside. The only problem was that the baby was so active, the doctor couldn't get a very good picture of it. It was literally doing something that looked like somersaults or bicycle kicks.

Here is the clearest picture she managed to take. The baby is lying face-down:

Here, the baby is looking at the camera. You can see what looks like a little skull:

So it was nice to know once again that everything is going smoothly. I did find out something surprising, though. I found out that I have an RH negative blood type. I guess this is common enough in the west, but in Asia, hardly anyone has negative blood types. I read that 0.1% of the population in Korea has type A- blood type. So if I ever need a transfusion, I'm going to have a tough time. My doctor told me on the way out to be careful not to get into any accidents. -- no problem!

Although I've been busy, I've been trying to get back into knitting. There's never been a better time, now that I actually have a purpose. I started with this really easy little wrap sweater. I just have to knit down to the waist, and then I'll have to go back and pick up the sleeve stitches and knit some long sleeves. Next I think I'll make some socks and booties. I'd like to make at least one afghan.

My book came in the mail! It's just book 1 of 3 of the I Can Speak English series. I will receive books 2 and 3 as they are printed. I'm surprised at how good they look. They're very colorful and cute, with a workbook and a CD. And the sticker activities are pretty cool too. It all looks quite different from the Word documents I was working on!

Finally, my new painting. I saw this painting of roses in a gallery in Insa-dong and had to have it. I decided to also have them frame it, since I knew that I would get it home and it would sit around for months before I got around to it. I love it.

16 weeks and feeling good

I can't believe my baby's been cooking for 16 weeks. Time is really flying now. I have my 16 week ultrasound on Wednesday, which I'm very excited for. I love hearing how much it's grown since the last visit.

I've been feeling very good lately. Yesterday it rained all day, so Sejin and I did all our spring cleaning we'd been putting off for months. One of the best feelings is relaxing after you've cleaned the house from top to bottom. Now if only Toto would stop shedding...

Looks like I'll be continuing work with Darakwon. I met with an employee last week to discuss another series they need written. Turns out they tried another writer a few months back, thinking that I had enough on my plate already (which was true), and it didn't work out, so they called me. It's a relief to hear they like what I've written, because I'm such a perfectionist and was wondering what they really thought. So the first Happy House book is in bookstores, with the other soon to follow: Book 1. My name is spelled wrong on that site, but it's actually spelled correctly on the book, thank goodness.

Ultrasound Day

It's always a relief to go to the hospital and hear that everything looks good. Today I had a lengthy ultrasound for a nuchal translucency test. I guess that's to make sure the spinal cord is developing properly. According to the doctor, it looks fine. I got to watch the baby for a while, but it was pretty still and quiet. So, the doctor told me to cough and then she poked it a bit, and then it woke up and started squirming around. It was probably a little angry at being disturbed, but I got a kick out of seeing it move around. It measures 6.7 cm, which is surprising, because I can't see anything when I look at my stomach, and I weigh the same as when I went in last time a month ago. I thought for sure all that pizza and ice cream was adding up, but I guess not!


So the appointment was a success. Unfortunately, the doctor said she cannot under any circumstances tell me (when the time comes, around 20 weeks) if it's a boy or a girl. It's illegal in S. Korea, and she could lose her job. She said if I go to a smaller independent clinic somewhere, I'll probably get an answer. But I did get the go ahead to eat sushi, which I'm psyched about. She said as long it's fresh, it's OK. I'm still not going to go crazy, but I think I'll have to indulge once later in the summer. And, they gave me a nifty CD of the ultrasound. I can't figure out how to download it to my computer, so I just took a video of the video. The quality's not that great, but you can see it squirming in there.


Now I must get down to work. Big deadline on Friday - book 5 of 6 is due and I cannot extend this deadline. I can't wait until it's in. Friday evening is going to be me, the TV, and a pizza...and the baby.

Still writing

On the home stretch. It's a lot tougher than I thought it would be. After these books are done, I'm going to make July a pretty low-key month.

Wednesday May 14th was our 3rd wedding anniversary. Originally, we were going to go to Children's Grand Park, where we got married, but the park was recently closed down due to a bird flu outbreak. Sejin said it was actually open on our anniversary, but most people were staying away, naturally. That kind of put a damper on things....

So, we decided to go somewhere we'd never been before, so we went to the 63 Building, the tallest building in Korea. We saw a pretty cool aquarium in the basement and then rode up to the 61st floor to the observation deck which offered some pretty good views of Seoul. Finally, we had lunch at "Walking on the Cloud" restaurant on the 60th floor. Decent food and a great view. It was a nice evening.

Last week I received a package from my Ravelry Pen Pal group swap partner. I was very excited to receive it so soon, all the way from California. biotechgrrl sent me 4 balls of creamy bamboo yarn, and a ball of beautiful purple yarn, of a luxury brand I've never tried before. Also, a journal and note cards which say "Don't count the days. Make the days count." Always something very important to keep in mind! Looking forward to having time to knit up that yarn! Luckily, biotechgrrl received my package, which I was relieved to hear!

I guess the biggest news as of late: We went to the hospital today and had a really good experience. The doctor was very nice AND speaks fluent English. The baby measures where it's supposed to, at 1.2 cm, and the heart was beating very nicely.

It's been a long time

I'm usually more anxious to write something here if I have finished knitting or crocheting something. That may be the reason for not posting for so long. That and I've been very busy writing books. Very, very busy.

Even so, I try to rest on the weekends...well, that's not the entire truth. There's not much resting going on. Seems I have plans every single weekend and people still calling to make more plans. These days I really dislike plans of any type. Anyway, I suppose I've had some good times among all the busy-ness over the past month.

The first weekend in April, Meg and I went to Andong, somewhere I've wanted to go for quite a while. I'm glad that we went. It was very interesting, the weather was great, and there weren't too many people at the tourist sites. Although not everything was green, the blossoms were out, which made for great pictures.

Some places of note that we visited were:

Hahoe Village, traditional Korean village of over 400 buildings where people still live. This was a great place. Very picturesque and not overcrowded. We spent the better part of Saturday there.

Dosan Seowon, early Confucian academy. Much different feel that Hahoe Village, being a place of academia, so the contrast was nice.
Jebiwan, small temple near an 11th century Buddha carved in a cliff. We went here as sort of an afterthought, but I was glad that we did. The temple was in the middle of service, the blossoms were out, and it was just beautiful. The head monk also came out and said hello.Last weekend (the last weekend in April), Meg and I visited our good friend Louise down in Busan on the south east coast. We did some shopping, took in a movie (The Other Bolyen Girl - it was good!), walked through Jagalchi Fish Market, and went to the beach. Very nice weekend.

Jagalchi:

Near Haeundae Beach:
Those weekends were good to break up the monotony of being inside working all day in this nice weather. The weather is getting even better now, so hopefully there will be more little weekend trips like these.

Now, it's back to work.