Pregnancy Week 22: Is using nail polish during pregnancy safe?

Hey Everyone,

How am I feeling these days?:
No dramatic changes from last week. Although Topher has been kicking a lot more. They're getting much stronger. I also started seeing little bumps whenever he kicks me. It's pretty interesting. Chris and I were talking about how weird but cool that was. It's almost alien like. As a women the only great part about being pregnant is being able to feel the baby in my tummy. Chris's sister in law and I were talking about that a few weeks ago. The morning sickness, body changes, and mood swings won't be missed but  feeling the baby inside my body is priceless. All in all it's still a blessing.

Today on Babybump (iphone app) it talked about manicures for mom to be. We've all heard that we should limit our exposure to potential toxic fumes and chemicals. So does that include nail polish? I love painting my nails, especially my toe nails. My husband always carefully asks, "is that safe for Topher?". According to Babybump the question is debatable. If the polish contains the chemicals phthalate or Bisphenol A (BPA), you shouldn't use it. Found in many plastics and beauty products, these chemicals can be harmful for you and your baby. If your nail polish doesn't have these, you may paint away. If you still feel uneasy about the fumes, you can wear a mask.

I found some website that listed nail polishes that are safe for mothers to use who would still like to pamper them with pedicures and manicures like me.

http://www.piggypaint.com/index.html (I haven't tried these but looking forward to pursing some to try)
http://naturemoms.com/blog/2008/05/05/ditch-the-nail-polish-nasties/
http://www.alllacqueredup.com/2007/05/big-3-chemicals-that-is.html (You can read more about why these chemicals are bad and what it does to our health)

I was so happy to read that OPI (australian collection & newer), Sally Hansen, and Revlon were free of nasties.

Hope this was helpful!
Have a fun and blessed week everyone!

Love,
Sandy Choi

Summer of Love Part II - It's hard for me to trust someone when it hurts

Yesterday was an amazing Sunday. We had a great time at church. Being around great people always lifts my spirit. Then in the afternoon my sister, brother in law, and nephews came over to swim.  It was so much fun! My nephews are getting so big.

The sermon our pastor spoke of was much needed in my current life. As we’re going through this series of what “love” is it’s been a challenge for me personally because of certain events in my life.

I shared in a earlier post (What's been going on in my life) that we were learning about love and breaking apart the passage 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 . This past Sunday our Pastor John Park preached about “Love always trusts.”

First, I would like to share what I learned about the word “love.”

So, what is love?

In the bible it says that God is love. (GOD=LOVE)

In Greek, “love” is the word agaphe.  It’s divine and selfless. So, it’s something that’s not human. It’s so special and beautiful.

When our pastor shared an example of what “Love always trusts” looks like I started asking myself when I was more selfless then selfish.

Selfish: Can I trust them? (This focus on me)

Selfless: Am I trustworthy? (This focus on God and our fellow bother)

My struggle:

The whole time as I was hearing this sermon I was really struggling in my heart.  I recently got into a really big turmoil with a family member and some hurtful words were said. Every time I heard the word trust I also heard the word forgive. In order for me to trust them I knew I had to truly forgive them. It’s like a battle in my mind. One side of my mind is sayings, “Sandy, were you being trustworthy to them? You did wrong too. Let’s forgive and trust them.” Another park of me is saying, “Yea, but it still hurts and they shouldn’t have said that. They had no right.” It sounds like my selfish and selfless side battling against each other.

One important thing that our pastor shared that gave me a lot of hope and peace was that we didn’t have to rush into trusting and forgiving someone. Although that doesn’t mean we should ignore the issue. He mentioned that we should confront them with love once we have truly forgiven them in our hearts.  He shared a personal testimony about his struggle with forgiving someone. He really disliked this person who has hurt him. Then, he finally reached out to that person after 2 years when he felt he was finally ready to talk with them.  Although they didn’t respond in kindness, he knew he had fully healed because he didn’t feel anger when they didn’t respond in kindness. He felt more sorrow.  I’m not quite there yet, but now I know that I don’t need to rush into making the situation better. I really want this situation to make my relationship with them much stronger and better. In order for that to happen I know I have to ask God to work with my heart first.

Are you guys struggling with something similar?

If you guys are I hope this helped give you some sort of direction and peace as it did for me.

Pregnancy week 21: We're having a BOY!



20 weeks

 Hey Everyone,

Last week I shared that we were going to find out the sex of our baby and we found out that it's a boy. Chris and I had the names of our baby all planned out. If it was a boy his name was going to be Topher. So, everyone say hello to our son Topher.
I wanted to name our son Topher because it's unique and it fulfills Chris's name. Most people think Chris's name is Christopher but it's actually just Chris. So, I thought it would be nice for our son to fulfill his name; Chris-Topher. It has the meaning of our son fulfilling Chris. Also, Topher means bearer of Christ. Chris and I both want our son to grow up in the name of God and do what He has planned for his life.
The process of the ultrasound is quite boring for the mother. The dad gets to see everything but I'm lying down so I can't see anything until the nurse turns the screen. The most exciting part was finding out that we're having a baby boy. The snapshot of his little genitals was so funny and cute.
Chris was extremely happy but he wanted to make sure I was okay with us having a son because I expressed to him a few times that having a baby girl would be amazing. I knew that choice was out of our hands so I tried to set all my feelings aside and I believe it helped. When I found out we were having a boy I was genuinely happy. I just want our baby to be happy and healthy. 
It made me even more happy to see Chris so excited to make great memories with our future son. He's always wanted to teach his son how to play ball, ride a bike, swim, and all the boy stuff. I'm really glad that he'll be able to do that with our son.
It hasn't hit me yet completely that my life is about to change completely. I'm sure I won't until our son comes into this world but each day I'm anticipating for motherhood even more. There's a part of me that's scared and wondering if I'm ready. The more I feel that way it leads me to God.  All I can do is pray that God will lead me to be a great mom and a great wife. It's something we all go into not really knowing how to be a great parent. So, I know I'll need God to guide me through our new journey. I remember my sister once saying that my nephew wasn't her child. She said he was God's child and she was just taking care of him until the day Jesus came back for his children.  So, she had to be a great shepard for my nephew. Those words stuck with me. That's how I see our son. Topher isn't our child. He is God's child and we're here to take care of him until God comes for all of us. Until then I will try to enjoy every step of the way. Even through the sleepless nights.


Love,
Sandy