The Final Stretch of The Third Trimester

As of Friday, we have officially entered our baby’s birth month! And with each passing day, we get closer and closer to meeting our little one – the question on everyone’s mind, including my own, is will we be welcoming a “he” or a “she” into the world. Can you believe we’ve made it this long without giving in to the curiosity?!

Honestly, I am SO happy this pregnancy is almost over! Our official due date isn’t until September 28th, but my doctor is still hoping we make it to the 15th. Fingers are crossed, but delivery can’t come soon enough; 6 weeks of bed rest and constantly feeling like a beached whale anytime I need to roll over, sit up, stand up, or just simply move is getting really old, really fast. This enormous baby bump is still weeks away from full size and yet its continued growth is a constant reminder that this baby is spending its final weeks packing on the pounds.

The Final Chapter

The first day of the third trimester brought excruciating sciatic nerve pain on my right side. When I first woke up in the morning, I had some slight discomfort… like my hip needed to pop, but as the day went on, any weight on the right leg almost brought me to tears. Turning. Twisting. Standing. Sitting. Moving my right leg in any way. It was all horrible. Quite the way to enter the final chapter of this awesome stage of my life (could you actually hear my eyes roll in my head as you read that last sentence?). Luckily, sleeping with a pillow between my legs to realign my hips helped, and very quickly became a required night-time ritual.

At my 30 week ultrasound with my OBGYN, we discovered that my cervix had shortened from 3.5 cm to 2.9 cm in only 2 weeks. It had also started to “funnel” or open from the uterine side, and coupled with the occasional contractions I was experiencing, it was not good news. As my doctor put it, if my “janky cervix” was going to start acting up, this is when we would expect it. In an effort to prevent hospitalization and pre-term delivery, I was put on bedrest and started on two separate prescription medications to stop my contractions. Although a totally viable pregnancy at this point, we still needed this baby to keep cooking.

By week 32 my pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel had reached new heights. Sore, swollen, stiff wrists and fingers made me happy that I had already stopped working; practicing dentistry would have been a little difficult, especially in combination with the ever-growing belly. My bed rest restrictions were also upped during week 32. Despite all of our counter-measures, my cervix continued to shorten (a tell-tale sign my body is ready to serve its eviction notice), and my daily activity was limited to “bathroom privileges only.” Luckily, I only had to spend a little over a week in the dark ages without cable and internet after our move. Re-entering the civilized era meant I no longer had to spend my days staring at the bedroom ceiling.

The Breakdown

I know a lot of women feel that pregnancy and motherhood is some sort of calling in life. That creating a precious, tiny human being with your own body fulfills life’s purpose and completes them in some way. I am not one of those women. That being said, I always wanted to have children. I think fetal development is really cool and it’s really impressive when the female body can do. I also think that kids are pretty cute and pretty funny, but this pregnancy has been hard – both physically and emotionally. So at week 34, I reached my breaking point. Honestly, I’m impressed it took that long before I reached my limit… now, what exactly happened to tip the scales? A little bit of everything. I found out my insurance company doesn’t cover my progesterone injections. I found out that my short term disability insurance (which I only signed up for specifically for this pregnancy) would only pay me for 2 weeks of missed work. My face was starting to be noticeably rounder and there was the inevitable double chin. There was the worsening of my pre-existing thigh cellulite and the return of the middle-of-the-night leg cramps. There was the umpteenth butt injection, the continued bed rest, the daily medications, the mild-to-moderate contractions, and the continued cervical shortening which all made me feel like I’d lost control of both my life and my body. It was as if all the work put into preparing for this baby and all the preventative measures to avoid weeks in the NICU were doing absolutely nothing. So I sat in the shower and sobbed. I was done, and simply put, I didn’t want to be pregnant anymore.

The Waiting Game

Once I got a good cry out of my system, things went back to normal. I still forget I’m pregnant sometimes; if it’s not causing any problems, I don’t pay any attention to the giant belly I’ve been growing for the entire year. I’m continuing to take bedrest a day or week at a time, and after a short weekend visit by K’s parents, I feel like the house is ready for this baby’s imminent arrival. It is hard to say just how grateful we were to have them and my mom help around the new house; certainly takes a load of my shoulders!

As I am writing this post, I am 36 and a half weeks pregnant which puts us in the home stretch. I’m still going to the doctor every week for an ultrasound and office visit. And I’ve been having some frequent contractions in the last few weeks, but they never get any worse and they tend to fizzle out after 30-90 min; at this point, they just feel like mild to moderate menstrual cramps. Hard to believe I’d almost forgotten what those were like. We did have some unexpected news last week at my 35 week appointment though – good news, albeit. Apparently, despite being shorter than it should be (shocking!), my cervical length seems to have stopped changing. Plus, the baby is still head down. That doesn’t seem like much, since it’s supposed to be head down, but one of the complications with a uterine septum is a breached baby. The significance of this news? Well, it means that when the time comes, I am very likely to have a vaginal birth. The unexpected part of this news? Well, until last week, we had spent the entirety of the pregnancy preparing for a C-section. It has taken some time to get used to the idea, and since we didn’t take any birthing classes, I guess we’ll just wing it in the delivery room (assuming I don’t go into labor before having my cerclage removed). But, I guess everyone pretty much just wings parenthood, right? We’ll just start that approach a little early…

Until then, though, I am scheduled to have my cerclage removed next week to allow my body to labor normally; the procedure is in-office and supposedly about as uncomfortable as a pap smear. Then after that, it’ll just be a waiting game until we get to meet our “little LaRosa.”

The (Not So) Skinny on The Second Trimester

As of yesterday, I am officially in the home stretch of this pregnancy – the third trimester has begun! While there’s still technically 3 months left, it’s likely to be only around 10 weeks before we introduce the Little LaRosa to the world. Honestly, it can’t come soon enough; I feel like I’ve had some exponential tummy growth these last 2 weeks, and I can’t even being to imagine how much more of a nuisance this belly is going to be when it reaches full size! But, this post isn’t about looking forward, it’s about looking back at the last 14 weeks and how things changed during the second trimester.

The Cerclage

As week 14 came around, K and I found ourselves checking into the surgical floor at Texas Presbyterian Hospital. After settling into a bed in pre-op, I was visited by several nurses, the anesthesiologist, my OBGYN, and other members of the surgical team before being wheeled away into the super cold operating room. Once in the OR, I slid onto a much appreciated heated table where I was hooked up to an automated BP cuff, oxygen meter, and EKG leads before an oxygen mask was placed over my nose & mouth, and the sleepy drugs had me out in mere seconds.

I regained consciousness about 30-45 minutes later as a nurse removed a tube from my throat and pulled EKG leads off my chest. It was another 2 hours before I was awake enough to actually leave the hospital. I spent the next 48 hours at home, feeling as if someone had kicked me in the crotch and punched me just above my pubic bone. It was uncomfortable to sit normally and I had to sleep with a pillow between my thighs so the weight of my leg wouldn’t cause more discomfort to my bruised and tender lady bits. There was spot bleeding, a sore throat & raspy voice, and occasionally I’d cough up mucous that found its way into my lungs during surgery. It took several days before the whole-body effects of the general anesthesia wore off and I felt like my body was in working order again.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Several weeks after the cerclage, my post-op visit with Dr. Walsh went well. The baby looked great and my cervix length was good, however, around week 18 I had to start administering progesterone injections to help prevent pre-term “delivery.” And let me tell you something – it HURTS. After the appointment where K learned how to administer the injections, I stood in the parking lot holding back tears while a burning fire radiated from my gluteal muscles (aka, the injection site) all the way into my lower back. And the best part of it all? The fear of having your husband with ZERO MEDICAL TRAINING come at you with a needle and stab you in the butt every week. I believe terrifying is a good descriptor for that scenario. To top it all off, I developed an allergy to the injections about a month into the regimen. After a week of itchy, golf ball sized welts at the injection sites I was switched to something new; 2 months later and everything seems to be going alright, and it appears K’s needle phobia has waned (although my fear of seeing him holding a needle certainly hasn’t).

It may have been stress related, but early in the second trimester, my acne came back with a vengeance. We are talking full-fledged, red, and painful cystic outbreaks. I kept waiting for that “pregnancy glow” and beautiful skin, but it seemed that being pregnant caused a full relapse to the 7th grade version of myself… the pregnant 7th grade version, of course. After trying some over the counter face washes and topical lotions, I gave in and went to the dermatologist for some baby safe, anti-acne prescriptions, but it wasn’t until the second trimester was winding down that the results started to show

One of the best things that happened in the last 14 weeks was when the nausea started to go down; by week 16 it was like a light switch had been flipped and it was totally gone. I mean, brushing my teeth in the morning no longer made me gag and regularly vomit (no one warns you that standard oral hygiene becomes a chore since your gag reflexes go on over drive). It was wonderfully glorious! As were the first (and currently only) pair of maternity shorts that I bought; why aren’t all clothes that comfortable?!

Over the course of the last three months or so, I alternated between my OBGYN and the maternal-fetal specialist for ultrasounds and office visits to ensure that everything was as it should be. So far so good. Week 20, K got to feel the baby kick. Week 24 the little one had hair on its head. Week 26 I could start to see my belly move as the baby was turning and stretching. And by week 28, it was head down, 2.5 lbs, and (per my OBGYN) out of the danger zone – one of the complications with a uterine septum is a breach delivery, but seeing as how our little one was head down going into the third trimester, it is likely to stay that way. Plus, now that we’ve hit the home stretch, there is a 90% survival rate if something does happen and we have a pre-term delivery. We are really rocking this pregnancy, despite the possible complications discovered at the beginning of the journey.

OK, let’s get real for a second. Prepare for some real life, heart-to-heart honesty about some not-so-pleasant aspects of pregnancy… I mean it’s pretty common knowledge that being pregnant makes you throw up. It makes your back and pelvis hurt. It makes you waddle. It makes your hips widen and your hands & feet swell. It makes you frequently empty your bladder, and it makes it hard to breath. But, there are things no one tells you about; for example, the aforementioned struggle of brushing your teeth. There’s the stuffy nose and occasional nose bleeds. There’s also the constipation and crazy-stupid amount of gas your body will make. There’s joint pain and carpal tunnel (which is a big concern for this working dentist, by the way). And, for me at least, there was? is? was body dysmorphia and feelings of failure.

Let’s talk about that for a second… to start with, there were times over the last 14 weeks when my uterine/cervical short comings (pun not intended) made me feel like a failure; after the diagnoses and surgery and injections, I found myself feeling like I was sucking at this whole motherhood thing… and it hasn’t really even started yet. Also, I know that everyone’s pregnancy is different, and everyone’s body handles being pregnant differently, but there were the inevitable times when I'd compare my pregnant body to 1.) My own pre-baby body, and 2.) Other pregnant mom bodies. Especially since I know around 6 other women who are due within a couple weeks of me. The point is, being pregnant is not joyous all the time. And that’s OK.

A Little LaRosa & The First Trimester

DISCLAIMER: This particular blog post will be an honest account of what it was like for me and K as we made the decision to expand our family and the first twelve weeks of the pregnancy. Just a fair warning, things may get gross, funny, and just plain real. I hope you enjoy the journey!

Adding a LaRosa

Leading up to my annual checkup with my OBGYN in October, K and I had been seriously discussing starting a family. At that point we had been together for over 8 years, we both had been working steadily, we were moving towards construction on a new house, and we were both getting older… more importantly, I was getting older; truthfully, the “becoming parents” phase of life always seemed like it was far in the distance, and I felt like it sort of creeped up on us.

At my appointment, my doctor was really excited to hear that as the new year rolled around, we were going to start trying to have a baby (a little self-serving in my opinion, given her career choice), and after all my lab work came back, we got the official “thumbs up” and some instructions: Step 1.) Have two complete monthly cycles without oral contraceptives before trying to conceive – this will allow the uterine lining to be more welcoming to a fertilized egg; Step 2.) Track those two cycles to determine when I am the most fertile – ovulation occurs anywhere from day 10 to day 18; Step 3.) Have intercourse every other day from day 10 to day 18. As per my OBGYN, following these three steps would allow us to conceive in 3 to 6 months.

Following some quick math and some good old fashion cycle tracking, K and I determined that we would start our efforts to conceive on January 1^st; we really hit the nail on the head when we said we would starting trying to get pregnant “in the new year,” don’t you think? Trusting my doctor’s instructions, we were content with a potential due date between December 2017 and March 2018, especially since the estimated completion of our new home was between August 2017 and October 2017 – weather permitting. Little did we know…

The Beginning

The first week of 2017 I discontinued the use of anything that could be harmful to a new baby, and sadly this included all my acne medication. Apparently the joys of becoming a mother include full force adult acne in addition to going through life feeling like you peed yourself all day while trying to conceive. One of the other joys was some feelings of doubt… at least on my end of things. Beyond the typical male excitement of going through the motions of making a child, K was legitimately looking forward to becoming a father. “I’m going to be so good at it!” he’d tell me when I asked if he was ready to become a dad. I, on the other hand, was more on the side of reluctant acceptance; it’s not that I didn’t or don’t want to become a mother, but it’s a very permanent decision. It’s scary.

By January 10th, I started to feel… off. My lower back was starting to hurt at work. I was crying in the car when Selena’s “Dreaming of You” played on the radio. I was waking up in the middle of the night sweating. I started to feel bloated. I was taking naps in the operatories at work when we didn’t have any patients in the office. K was uncertain all these perceived changes were not just in my head, and the dog was no help when I’d push my belly in her face and ask her to use her doggy senses to tell me if I was pregnant. On January 18th, two days before I was supposed to start my period, I took a pregnancy test in the morning before work, AND THE DANG THING WAS POSITIVE! K wasn't so confident. The second line that denotes a positive test was a fainter pink and he wasn’t convinced that the window on the test had nothing showing before I used it. Looking back, he claims he was trying to not get his or my hopes up, but I think he just didn’t believe that we could be that fertile.

January 22nd I took a second pregnancy test and confirmed the results from four days prior. This time though, there were no questions. I showed the just opened test to K and then almost immediately after I peed on it, those two equally dark lines showed up. We were officially pregnant! I called my OBGYN’s office and got scheduled for my first appointment, but it wouldn’t be until February 22nd when I was in the 8th week. It felt like FOREVER to wait!

The Evil First Trimester

By the fourth week of pregnancy, my lower abdomen was definitely bloated and firm. I started to feel hungrier than normal, but nothing ever sounded appetizing. My acne calmed down some, just in time for the heart burn and severe abdominal and lower back cramping to start; apparently both totally normal symptoms of pregnancy as the uterine muscles and ligaments start stretching to accommodate a growing baby and your GI tract slows down.

At work and at my 28th birthday dinner with family and friends, it was hard to not share the news, but somehow K and I managed not to. It got even more difficult, though, when week six was accompanied by the start of food aversions and morning sickness, a.k.a. all day sickness. It only took me two consecutive days of feeling like I was going to spew my brains out before I called my doctor and requested some anti-nausea medication. At first I thought, “It’s just morning sickness. Everyone has it, it’ll be fine,” but it wasn’t. Going through life at a 9 on the nausea scale was pretty miserable, and I took that first dose of Zofran in the parking lot of the pharmacy. Over the next several weeks, taking Zofran every 4 hours helped; instead being at the high end of the nausea scale, I felt like I was at a 4. There were days when I felt better but certainly not good, and there were days where even the Zofran didn’t help and I could still be found hugging the toilet.

A couple days into week 11, it seemed the worst was over; I only needed the Zofran once or twice a day (typically in the evening when my “morning sickness” was at its worst), the moodiness/crankiness had subsided (I was definitely feeling more like myself again), and the Zofran induced constipation was waning since I didn’t need it as often. There was, of course, still the 3 or 4 trips to empty my bladder in the middle of the night, but I don’t expect that to be going away anytime soon.

By week twelve I was certainly starting to show. My mom is convinced that the reason my belly has been so obvious this early is because I’m so short, and there’s nowhere for a growing uterus to go except for out. That being said, I have yet to buy new pants but I did have to buy a few loose-fitting shirts to wear at work. And as someone who has lived their whole life shopping for bras in the children’s section, I’ve become very aware of my breasts feeling heavy, and I’m down to one comfortable bra. Not a problem I’ve ever had to face before.

Telling the Parents

Totally by chance, K’s parents came out for a visit the weekend of February 10th, and we figured it would be a good time to share the big news with all the parents. That Friday we took them around town and to see the site of our future home; all the while, hiding my bloated belly under my zipped jacket and secretly popping that magical Zofran every 4 hours. We had dinner at a local restaurant followed by dessert at my dad’s house where we brought out a wrapped gift for each parent to break the news: an Abuelo’s Little Monkey bib, a Keep Calm and Let Nonnie Handle It coffee mug, and other clearly grandparent related gifts tailored to each future grandma/grandpa. My dad was the first to make the connection. “Are you serious?!” he asked holding his stuffed monkey with tears in his eyes. There was joy and excitement had by all, and we were so happy to no longer have to hide the news… I was especially excited to no longer have to hide how crappy I’d been feeling all day!

After the dust settled with the parents, we texted our siblings to let them know they were soon-to-be aunts/uncles and reminded everyone to keep it all hush-hush. It was still too early to be sharing our “Little LaRosa” with everyone.

Ultrasounds

February 22nd finally rolled around and with it our first sneak-peek at the little embryo rapidly growing inside of me. Since it was still on the early side of the pregnancy, I had a rather uncomfortable trans-vaginal ultrasound with lots of poking and prodding to see the little one. Only 8 weeks and 5 days along, we were able to see tiny little limb buds, the umbilical cord, and the flickering of a tiny heartbeat.

Following the ultrasound I had some blood drawn and a quick exam with the OBGYN, and we received some unexpected news; during the ultrasound it was discovered that I have a heart shaped uterus with a broad uterine septum. The significance of this finding is that it could lead to some potential complications… the first being that if the placenta is attached to the septum, it causes still birth (luckily, my doctor and the ultrasound technician did not think this was the case), second the added downward pressure of the uterine roof on the cervix can lead to cervical incompetence resulting in spontaneous dilation and preterm “delivery” of the baby at 20-24 weeks, and finally it could cause a breached baby due to the shortage of uterine space at the time of labor. So what did this mean for us? It meant regular visits with a maternal-fetal OBGYN specialist, a cerclage to suture my cervix closed at about 14 weeks of pregnancy, and surgical resection of the uterine septum following delivery of the baby. It also meant that despite my September 28th due date, it was more than likely that our baby would be delivered via C-section around September 15th. It was a lot of information to receive all at once, and it was a bit emotionally daunting. Although a very manageable issue, it rattled me. Luckily though, K was there and asked a lot of good questions and reassured me that everything was going to be fine.

On March 8th I had my first appointment with the specialist; just two weeks since my last ultrasound it was incredible to see the outline of a little nose and to actually hear the little one’s heartbeat despite only being about an inch long. The specialist confirmed that a cerclage would be the best course of action, and I was scheduled for surgery on March 29th.

Since it was spring break for PISD, my mom accompanied us to the appointment and was so excited to see her grand baby. As we were leaving the doctor’s office, she immediately started brainstorming baby shower ideas!

Weekends in Review

The general consensus for 2016 was that it was a crap year, but K and I didn’t really feel that way when we were reminiscing. Over the last 12 months we shared some amazing experiences. Looking back, it is no surprise that K and I, jokingly, refer to 2016 as The Year of Travel; before fall even arrived, we had visited South America, Europe, & Asia! K also managed to fit in a solo business trip to Israel while I was stuck at work during the busy season. With thousands of airline miles under our respective belts, the nomadic lifestyle continued while we were home and several weekend getaways took us beyond the four walls of our apartment while home state-side.

January-March

The first few months of 2016 were fairly laid back. With the new year, I celebrated my 27th birthday and officially entered the late twenties surrounded by family. As February rolled in, we were on our first international vacation to Colombia before enjoying a laid-back month of March.

Visiting the Vera Familia with the LaRosa Clan.

April-June

At the beginning of April I departed for Orlando, Florida for a short girls’ weekend with my best friend. We did extensive research and read numerous recommendations before our visit to Universal Studios and I even managed a quick day trip to Jacksonville to see some family while out in the Sunshine State. I finished April with a flight out to Germany where I met up with K for a week in Bavaria, and celebrated his 26th birthday strolling the shores of the Salzach River in Austria following a work conference.

The last half of May we had back-to-back weekend getaways. The first was a journey up to Oklahoma where we got to see my “adopted” brother graduate from college. It was a short 24-hour trip but it was a nice occasion, despite the surprise cold front that rolled in the night before the ceremony. It's not everyday you are thankful for indoor graduations due to the cold!

The following week, K and I journeyed down to Fredericksburg, Texas in honor of our second wedding anniversary. Since it also happened to be Memorial Day weekend, we splurged a little and stayed in a secluded cabin just outside of town. The mornings were quiet for lazy walks through the streets, the afternoons sunny for wine tasting, the evenings were warm for hikes up Enchanted Rock, and the nights dark enough for stargazing (one of my secret hobbies). Food Highlights: gluten free lunch at Woerner’s Warehouse, sampling some of the 35 different ice cream flavors at Clear River Pecan Bakery, dinner off the rotating menu at Otto’s German Bistro, and wine tasting at Becker Vineyards.

Our cabin in Fredericksburg & the view on top Enchanted Rock.

In case we weren’t satisfied with the summer heat and humidity in Dallas, in June we ventured down to Houston -- where the weather is notoriously hotter and more humid -- to watch the Colombian national soccer team in the Copa America Centenario. Before the game, we relaxed on the beach in Galveston before treating my dad to his first ever live viewing of the Colombian National Team. Although the end result was not what we had hoped for, Colombia advanced to the next round and it was certainly an experience worth the drive down to the Gulf Coast.

July-Sept

As the Texas summer continued, K and I traveled to the other side of the world for a trip to China and Thailand, where I struggled to adjust to the 12 hour time difference. Luckily, I’d had the foresight when requesting time off, that I had several days to adjust back to Texas time before returning to work. In August, we had some much needed downtime, and it allowed me the chance to adjust to working in a new office and undertaking a new role as lead dentist. Weekends were full of relaxation!

In September we had another set of back-to-back weekend getaways. The first was to San Antonio where we were joined by some of K’s college roommates to cheer on our Alma Mater as they played UT San Antonio at the Alamodome. The following weekend, we escaped to Oakland for the wedding of one my closest college friends and my orther former roommates. We even managed to have a LaRosa family reunion while we were in town!

Then: 2007 ASU Football Fans & Now: 2016 Wedding Dates

Oct-December

October was full of Dallas activities. My mom and I shared a mother-daughter day at the Texas State Fair, K and I let out our inner child at the adults-only night at the Perot Museum during our monthly double date night with the Drews, I joined forces with two other lovely ladies to host a dinosaur themed baby shower for my BFF, and K & I ended the month celebrating Halloween (the BEST holiday of the year) as honorary Belchers from Bob’s Burgers.

November we found ourselves back up at 32,000 feet and headed out to Phoenix for another wedding. Back in our old college stomping grounds, we learned the hard way that we cannot party like we did in college. Upon our arrival at DFW airport from Phoenix, K headed directly to the international terminal for his flight to Israel; just two days after his return we were gathered around the table, giving thanks among family.

By December we were done traveling, but we did get to watch my "adopted" brother marry the love of his life and we hit our own milestones when we put money down for the construction of our future home & decided that we were ready to start a family. Feeling a bit too much like adults, it was only fair that we had some fun the rest of the month. So, we ended 2016 with our first ever visit to ICE! at the Gaylord Texas and rang in the new year with The Halls at the Back Door Comedy Club. We have big dreams for 2017 and we can hardly wait for what the next year has in store for us!

The Land of Temples & Elephants

China & Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong Sunday night via a direct flight from Dallas. Exhausted (16 hours on a plane and a 13 hour time difference will do that to you) we were pleasantly surprised how fast and easy customs was; we waited longer for our bag than in line with the immigration officer! With our luggage in tow, K's colleague -- who spoke Chinese -- led us to our waiting taxi. Half way through the drive to Shenzhen, China we stopped at the border and went through customs a second time (even though Hong Kong's sovereignty is under the People's Republic of China, the city has enough autonomy to retain its border crossing). Again, it was quick and easy! Once at the hotel, we ordered dinner via room service; hungry and even more tired, we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

The next two days, while K met with customers, I struggled with the time change; Monday I only left the hotel room to eat. The second day, I was feeling a little braver and headed out to "Window of the World," a theme park with rides and replicas of some of the world's most iconic structures (thus our view of the Eiffel tower from our hotel balcony; the replica of Columbus’s Santa Maria, however, was courtesy of our Spanish themed hotel). Unfortunately, the park only accepted cash, and I did not have enough. So, after a mile of walking and standing in line at the ticket counter, I turned around and went back to the hotel. There I wandered the garden and koi pond before showering and indulging in more Netflix, reading The Girl on the Train, and napping.

Wednesday, I was more awake and more confident to explore on my own. After our daily breakfast buffet at the hotel, K went to his conference to give his presentation and I journeyed to the Metro station across the street to begin the 2.5 hour trek to Hong Kong. The metro stations on either side of Shenzhen & Hong Kong also serve as customs & immigration, but unlike the airport and the drive across the border, walking between the two cities was slow and confusing; the lines were long & hectic, and the fluorescent bulbs & scuffed tile floors did not make the experience any better.
Once in Hong Kong, I took the metro to Lantau Island and took a cable car to Ngong Ping village. There, I wandered around the Po Lin Monastery and up the 268 steps to Tian Tan Buddha, aka Big Buddha. From Lantau Island, I ventured across Victoria Harbor to Hong Kong Island where I roamed the business center of the city. The Northern part of the island is filled with tall high rise buildings that look as if they've been squeezed together and the sidewalks are barely wide enough for a single person. With the hilly terrain, the city streets are steep and narrow -- enough so that the Central and Western districts are linked by the Central–Mid-Level escalator system to ease the commute of pedestrians. Located down an unmarked street (Hong Kong has a habit of forgetting to post street signs), I stopped for lunch at Ding Dim 1968 for dim sum. My FIRST time having dim sum was a meal to remember; I feasted on BBQ pork bun (my favorite!), pork & vegetables in tofu, & Chinese yams in rice paper with a mango-papaya juice to drink. Stuffed, I walked to Man Mo Temple where I roamed under the cloud of burning incense before starting the 2.5 hours commute back to the hotel.

Thailand
Chiang Mai
Thursday morning we left early for the airport to fly to Thailand. In Chiang Mai we checked in at our AirBnB apartment, but not without a bit of confusion. Unfortunately, the building sign is hidden from the main road and difficult to spot, but luckily K has international data & calling and we were able to be retrieved by the owner. After cooling off a bit, we explored the neighborhood where we stopped at an authentic Thai restaurant (an open air garage set up with picnic tables and kitchen stove for the chef) for a late lunch: stir fry noodles and chicken over rice with two Cokes, all for a whopping 84 baht -- or $2.40 USD! From there, we walked around the block and snacked on fresh watermelon and Thai ice cream (sticky rice topped with vanilla ice cream and sweetened condensed milk) before heading back to the apartment for the night.

Friday we woke up early -- thanks to the 14 hours of sleep the night before, I was finally feeling adjusted to the time zone-- and explored the streets for food vendors that would sell us breakfast. K opted for meat on a stick and rice. I ended up at a coffee house where I shared a Thai fried rice with sausage (basically a hot dog) with K before we went back to the apartment to be picked up for our elephant day! Getting picked up ended up being quite the ordeal; we ultimately had the building security guard give the van driver directions in Thai. It seems our airport taxi driver wasn't the only one who has trouble finding the building! We were grateful, nonetheless, for the van's third and final attempt to retrieve us and arrived at the Elephant Nature Preserve where we started the day feeding the elephants chopped watermelon and pineapple. Next, we walked around the park, where our guide told us the name of each elephant, where they were rescued from, and how long they'd been residents at ENP while we posed for photos and pet the elephants trusting enough of people. Back at the main building, we had a buffet style lunch before heading down to the river to bathe the elephants. Really, we waded into the river and threw buckets of water over them, but they were loving it! After a snack, we returned to the city where K and I had a much needed shower before grabbing dinner and falling into bed.
We started our last day in Chiang Mai by heading to the "old city" (the former capital of the Lan Na kingdom) to explore it's Buddhist Temples. On our walk we stopped for lunch -- another tasty Thai meal! To say we visited SO MANY TEMPLES would be an understatement; our pre-decided list of "must see" temples barely scratched the surfaces of the those that dotted the city streets. Periodically, we would step into a temple not on our list, only to pass 3 or 4 more on the way to the next. We finished exploring the city at its East side, where we exited the Thapae Gate before taking a songthaew (a red pick-up truck converted into a shared taxi) back to the apartment. After showering, resting, and cooling down from our Temple trek, we were picked up for a cooking class; and for once, there were no issues finding the apartment building!
At the Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School, we walked through the local market and the school's garden before starting our first dish: stir fry. K opted to make Pad See Ew and I chose Pad Thai. To be honest, I was really impressed with our final product! Next, we made spring rolls (K was one of two volunteers who made the filling in front of the rest of the class; he was so brave and composed at the wok!) and curry paste from scratch; we then used our curry paste to make a curry of choice -- K and I both chose the Panang Curry, aka baby curry, since it was the least spicy. We finished our meal with a dessert; bananas in coconut milk for me and mango & sticky rice for K. Such a delicious way to end our time in Northern Thailand!
Phuket
We arrived in Phuket (get your head out of the gutter, it's pronounced "poo-ket"... ok, maybe that's not 100% better) Sunday afternoon and drove down the island coast to our AirBnB. The room we rented turned out to be part of the Mustsea hotel, but somehow was privately owned by the manager of the neighboring Fin Hostel. The only non-apartment AirBnB that we've chosen since using the website during last year's Euro-trip, it was also the worst to date. That being said, it wasn't bad and having the owner located just downstairs was convenient. After settling in, we grabbed a late lunch/early dinner (it had become our vacation routine) at a restaurant down the block before taking a short walk to the beach where we splashed around in the Andaman Sea.

Monday morning we woke to the sound of our alarm clock encouraging us out of bed before the sun had come up. As the sun was rising, we headed to the Royal Marina on the East side of the island where we would start our island boat tour. The first stop on our excursion was Koh Phanak, where we explored a small cave before eating breakfast on our ride to Koh Hong for sea canoeing. Our next stop was Koh Phing Kan & Koh Tapu, aka James Bond Island (named for to its appearance in The Man with the Golden Gun), which has become the most famous spot in Phang Nga Bay. Just a few minutes from James Bond Island, our boat brought us to a hidden cove, where we swam, floated, and snacked before heading to Koh Yao Noi for lunch. We arrived at the dock of the Koh Yao Noi where two trucks were waiting to take us to lunch at Hook, a small open-air restaurant right on the beach. To the sound of the waves and rustling leaves, we dined on spring rolls, chicken coconut curry, chicken & vegetables, and Thai iced tea. With fully bellies, we rode back to the dock, past the rubber tree plantations, where we headed out for our last stop. The remainder of our afternoon was spent on a secluded island beach; K and I alternated our time between wading into the crystal water, snacking on tropical fruits, and laying in the shade of the seashore. After our return to Phuket, we spent the night at a local flea market, where we browsed various stalls for clothes, souvenirs, and dinner -- BBQ, Stir fry noodles, Somosas, Fruit, Kebabs, & rice.
Our last day in Phuket also happened to be the only day of rain during our vacation. In the morning, it was light and sporadic, so we opted for a visit to Tiger Kingdom. There, we spent 20 minutes with small (this is a misnomer, those small tigers were the size of a large dog) and big tigers. The small tigers were still young and playful; they seemed less interested in us -- unless we were rubbing their bellies -- and more interested in stalking and rolling around with each other. Our experience with the big tigers was less exciting, though; much like domestic house cats, the adults seemed bored with people. Overall, the experience at Tiger Kingdom was questionably ethical for both me and K. Although it was truly the experience of a lifetime, big cat tourism is based on breeding programs that are focused on producing cute baby tigers for tourists to spend time with. The big tigers, as shown in one of our encounters, are sometimes fearful of handlers (an obvious sign of some mistreatment) and are in less demand. So, it begs the question, what happens to these majestic cats when they grow from adorable kittens to giant predators? K and I left Tiger Kingdom feeling uneasy about our experience... even though spending time with tigers is something you don't get to do every day, it was not something we would do again, and not something we would ever recommend.
As we left Tiger Kingdom, the light rain became a downpour, and our first Thai monsoon experience flooded the streets during our drive back to the AirBnB. As a result of the weather, we spent our last afternoon holed-up inside watching movies. That night, we had dinner at a local restaurant before heading to the airport for the first leg on the journey home; our trip back to the States had two separate layovers -- the first in Bangkok and the second in Tokyo. We arrived in Bangkok at 11:30PM where we spent the night at Boxtel, a pop-up hotel hidden in the lower level of the airport. Surprisingly, it was the most comfortable bed of our entire trip! With only 5 hours of sleep, we checked out and headed to the gate for our 6:30AM flight to Tokyo. From Japan, we began our final haul to Dallas -- another 12 hours before finally returning home.