26 weeks! and Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody!
This used to be my favorite holiday and still probably is.
I love decorating for it and seeing all the kids dressed up having a blast (getting free candy) it makes me excited for when D is big enough for Daniel and I to dress him up and take him out. Daniel has actually already been talking about it. He says that next October (D will be 8 almost 9 months old) he wants to dress him up as Yoda and he will dress up as Luke Skywalker (from The Empire Strikes Back) and carry him around in the Ergo carrier on his back.
Super cute idea, I totally love it, but I'm thinking that 8 months old is a little to young for his first time trick-or-treating, maybe the following year when he is a year and a half old though!

Today consisted of helping Daniel with his school geography project, decorating the house, and throwing together very last minute Halloween costumes.

26 week baby bump!

And Halloween costumes!
Daniel and my brother are both Jedi. Daniel has had his costume for a while but I made my brothers throughout this month. Not to bad for spending no money on it.Then my sister and her friend. She just grabbed some cat ears and a tail then drew on the whiskers (and I talked her into letting me throw glitter on her) her friend we had wear Daniels suit and had him go as a 50's gangster.She kept saying that she wish she had something better to wear but I told her the costume doesn't matter that much so long as she has fun!

Hope you all stay safe and have a Happy Halloween!

100!

Well D based off of our February due date we have hit the 100 days to go mark! Which means tomorrow we will be in the double digits count down! Dad and I were talking last night and I was like "you realize that there's just about 14 weeks (give or take) till he's here right?" It's going to go by so quickly! the month of October has flown by, Thanksgiving will be here in no time, then Christmas and in a blink the new year will be upon us! Which means February is that much closer though you could decide to show in January or February.

I should be having appointments every 3 weeks now but wont be because my Dr is out of town for a majority of next month. At our appointment this past Thursday we just did a weight check, measured fundal height and took a listen to your heartbeat on the doppler. The stinker you are you decided to make it difficult for the Dr to find your heartbeat. You kept moving around out of the way and when she did finally track it down you started pushing and kick back at the doppler. You didn't seem to like her pushing that on you.

25 weeks!

According to my pregnancy ticker D is still about the size of a cauliflower and weighs about 1.5-2 pounds but as said in my previous post D is measuring big at 2 weeks ahead and weighing nearly 2.5 pounds! Also as said in my previous post my due date looks to be changing, I've decided that I'm just going to keep updating as normal with the one that I had been given. D will come when he is good and ready having this date or that date isn't going to change that! But it will make me happier to keep updating in a sequential weekly order so there's that.

If you look at my 24 week post and the picture I have up and then back at this one you can see a pretty big difference, and mind you that was in just a week ago! I'm still feeling good, my hips and back hurt by the end of the day but I attribute that to the fact that he is still apparently sitting pretty low and towards my back. Which is probably why I also still look small for how big he is measuring, though I feel like I had another "pop" over the weekend and am looking a little rounder. But people are still commenting on how i hardly look like I'm pregnant.
Pregnancy insomnia isn't to bad either. I'm finding that I am now having a difficult time falling asleep despite being very tired and seem to have a strict wake up potty time of 4:30 AM, each day on the dot, and then have a difficult time falling back to sleep after.

I think that D is going to be a pretty cool kid. I had The Doors on yesterday and the whole time he just kept kicking and moving around, and when the music stopped so would he. What a character he is.

More pictures

Because I can't get over how cute he already is, I just have to post a few more pictures to show him off. With having these pictures posted now, it seems like everybody is saying that he looks like Daniel...which is fine because Daniel is a good looking guy but really people he's got nothing from me, only Daniel? Eh oh well we will find out when he is born in either January or February!

More of that sweet face.Arm in front of his face and holding onto the cord.His little ear.Yawning.

New due date!

We had a 3/4D ultrasound today and D is measuring BIG at 27 weeks and 2 days (vs the 24 weeks and 6 days I thought we were at). He weighs almost 2.5 pounds! So the new not yet official "due date" is January 20, 2012. Of course he can and will come when he pleases but right now the end of January seems to be more of the end goal. When our tech was measuring him for us she asked me (again) what they had as my due date and if I was sure because he was measuring far ahead.
He is absolutely adorable our tech kept commenting on how cute his nose was. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing the whole time. Little stinker that he is, he had his legs up by his face the whole time! Quite the contortionist...at one point he was doing a toe lock and sucking on his knee. I'm so much more in love with our little man, he's just so stinking cute but he should be he has some pretty good genes ;)

So since it looks like the due date will be changing, it looks like we are just a few short days away from being in the third trimester! My Dr will go over it with me at this weeks appointment. Geez it seems like we had just hit the 24 week of viability (ha!). Time really is flying by now, keep on growing little man!

Love you!

"You're so tiny"

Daniel and I went to the mall today, I have been needing to get a couple new cami tops (I needed a black one and the white one I had is this ugly dingy-gray-white color) and I wanted to try and find a regular pair of jean that I could use when I go get my maternity pictures taken.
At each store we stopped at the clerk said pretty much the same thing "Wow, you're 6 months pregnant? I never would have guessed, you can hardly even tell that you are." One girl was like "I would have guessed maybe 3 months but not 6" Which I think that I look a little big for 3 months but then I remember that people have this weird view on what a pregnant woman should look like and that each woman's body responds so differently to pregnancy it is impossible to say what ones bump in a specific month should look like.
I got some smiles and laughs out of the comments, but it made me think/hope that by the time December 3rd roles around I have a bump that is obvious enough because right now it's still only noticeable when looking at me from the side, don't get me wrong I'm really starting to love it now and get really used to it so I'm not as self-conscious as I was just a few weeks ago.

Anyways the last couple days D has been crazy active. Friday I don't think that more than a hour went by without feeling some sort of crazy "Jedi training". I kid you not from the time I woke up around 8 that morning till whenever I fell asleep he was just nonstop groovin'. Man I love this kid so much already!

Pumpkin Patch

Daniel and I took the dog and went to a pumpkin patch today. It was sunny which was a bummer as I was hoping that it would be cloudy and fall looking, but it wasn't too warm so that was something to be glad about! We just walked around for a couple hours and let the dog get some socialization with strangers and different dogs, but she was ready to go when we got back to the car. We'll probably go again before Halloween, I know my sister wants to go and it would be nice to get the whole family out there.

It was a good Thursday!
Oh and trying to see when my dad is planning on hitting the road again and when he plans to be back so I can work out my surprise for them...so far I'm not really getting any answers.

24 weeks!

Dear D,

Happy viability day/week! Survival chances outside of the womb from this point on just go up and up. But you better keep on cooking till at least mid January!
So we've hit two big milestones today. 24 weeks pregnant this week or 6 months! 16 weeks (give or take) to go! And 3 more weeks till we are in the third trimester! Eeek it's going to go by so fast.
Today I had an appointment with WIC and they had me take a "benefits of breastfeeding class". While I am all for breastfeeding and plan to do it for as long as possible, it was really boring and I felt as thought some of their information was not fully factual and really biased. You must have thought it was really boring as well because you were just kicking and wiggling away the whole time!

This week D is about 14 inches long and close to 2 pounds! That's about the size of a head of cauliflower. Oh since D is a boy that means that this week his testicles will be making their 3-4 day trip from his tummy to the scrotum. Growth will be slow and stead from here on out with most of his weight being put on during the third trimester...Guess that means mine will as well, hopefully not to much though.

Pregnancy & Infant Loss Memorial Day

October 15th is pregnancy infant loss memorial day.

While the month of October is "designated" as a month of awareness recognizing the pain that comes with the loss of a pregnancy/child it's always overshadowed by the several other awareness causes that also take place during this month.
Those of us who have been through the horrible nightmare of loosing a child understand that people are extremely uncomfortable with talking about or even hearing about pregnancy/child loss. We understand that even though much awareness has been brought to this lonely cause it is still very taboo to speak of.

But today we ask that on this one day you stand with us and remember our much wanted, much loved babies that were taken too soon. At 7pm wherever you are that you light a candle for 1 hour and show your support for the grieving families. If you participate in this event and want to take a picture of your lit candle and send it to me that would be awesome (and I would then share it with the several other angel moms that I know).

On a final note, unless you have been through this you truly can not understand just how heartbroken and lonely the feelings you have are. Having a support system from friends, family and even strangers just letting you know that it's not your fault that it happened and that your baby existed and is acknowledged by somebody other than you makes all the difference in the world.

It starts with a D

So as I have said before Daniel and I are not planning on telling D's name till he is born, amazingly so far I haven't slipped! Since I am now looking more obviously pregnant we've been getting more questions. "Oh when are you due?" "Do you know what it is?" "Oh have you thought of names?"
The answer to the last question is typically "Yes, but we do not plan to tell anybody till he arrives" unless one of us is feeling frisky and then the answer is "well we haven't thought of a first name but the middle name will definitely be Danger!" typically we save that response for friends as they get that it's a joke! And amazingly most people don't press any more after we tell them that we aren't telling. (I hear from a lot of people that even when they say they are not telling they get constantly hounded to tell.)

But Daniel and I work with Jr High students at the church we attend so there are a lot of Jr High girls who are dying to know his name. When I told them that it started with a D the guessing game began.

Here are a few names (off the top of my head that people have taken as a guess) that are not D's name:
-Daniel (Jr)
-Damian
-Donavon
-Dexter
-Dallas
-David
-Dakota
-Darius
-Damon
-Dalton
-Dathan
-Dorian
-Duncan
-Dante
-Daryl
-Decker
-Demarcus
-Devon
-Dwite
-Diego
-Doc
-Donald
-Doug
-Drew
...etc

Most of these guesses came from the Jr High girls...and some of them I just have to give them the strangest look for. Seriously, Demarcus lol!

23 weeks!

Dear D,

23 weeks (or there about) today and 119 days to go or 17 weeks! One more week till "viability", which is super exciting! And we're inching closer and close to hitting the 100 day miles stone, and soon we will be in double digit days!
Not much new is going on. You continues to grow and grow and are still putting down those first layers of baby fat. Your ears are fully functioning thought sounds are still very muffled, but you can/will respond to loud crashes and the such...usually with a big jump or strong kick.
You are is about the size of a banana squash...whatever that is.
But you know it's hard of me to imagine that there's a little boy over a foot long (head to toe) in there and that he's till growing. I feel like there's not enough room so I don't know where you are hiding!

Belly picture!

I wasn't going to post one till next week at 6 months but I figured what the heck. It took a while to get this picture by the way, I had Daniel take several of me earlier when we were out but for some reason my camera has been acting up and they were all crazy grainy. So after I messed with all the setting on it for a while I went and took this one and it looks much better!

Anyways here is 23 weeks! Little man is getting BIG and he still love to just chill low in my pelvis!

Dad and I have been talking a lot this past week about what to do with the nursery (or well your portion of the room since you will be rooming with us). Paint has proven to be the biggest obstacle. I found one shade of blue that I loved but then changed my mind and looked for something lighter, then decided that it was too light and looked for something else. I think that I have settled on one though.
It's kind of in between both shades of the darker and lighter blue and not to powdery. Of course your dad doesn't really care so long as we get the Star Wars stuff up. But hopefully we will get started with painting sometime next month...and hopefully once the paint is up I will be happy with it!

Just feeling fat

That's how I feel right now, or well have for a past week or so.

I think that I've just come to that point where I'm hitting that "my body isn't what it used to look like and I'm scared that it wont ever be remotely the same again and that I'm going to gain too much weight" wall. I know that I'm not fat but man I feel it.

I know that I am supposed to gain weight while pregnant, that it's healthy but at almost 23 weeks now I've gained almost 20 pounds which is pretty much 1 pound a week. I'm scared that I'll keep that pattern up and gain 40 or more pounds by the time 40 weeks roles around. That seems like way too much to me.
I do need to get better at eating healthier again because I have just been giving into whatever craving I've had and working out since I gave up what I had been doing when I found out I was pregnant and on pelvic rest.

Daniel keeps telling me that I don't look fat I just look pregnant that other than the belly (and well increased breast size) pretty much nothing has changed. Mostly true, but I have seen some weight gain in my face. I think that I just feel so bad because my belly to me just looks bigger than what it should for this point in the pregnancy and for being a first time mom.
For some reason I have this image in my mind that the way I look right now is how I should look at 7 months pregnant. The other women that I have seen who are the same belly size as me are on their second child (or more). It just makes me feel huge.

I'm annoyed with myself about this feeling though, I don't doubt that it's normal and that many others feel or have felt this way but I just feel like I should be like "oh it's just baby no big deal, I look cute anyways." Hopefully I'll get over this feeling and be at that one soon. Actually now that I am sitting here alone thinking about it I realize that there are further reasons for my feeling well basically insecure about my current body image but I'm not going to get into those publicly.

-So long as D keep growing healthy and strong I will be happy, it's all worth it for him-

Spoiled already

Dear D,

My oh my just look at all the clothes that have already been bought for you. And there will be a lot more waiting for you soon enough! You're shaping up to be one spoiled little boy.







By the way you have been super active today. I woke up at 4 this morning having to go to the bathroom and after that I was up for a hour unable to fall back to sleep. You were just kicking and punching and rolling around that whole hour. When I woke up again around 8:30 you were up and ready to go again. I woke dad up a little before 9 and had him feel you moving all over the place. He loves feeling you move around and always comments on how strong you already are. He is one proud dad!

3 years ago

Three years ago on October 4, 2008 I had butterflies in my stomach as I got ready to walk down the aisle to be married.
Lucky for me I married the man who is truly my soul mate and the best friend that I have ever had. And I didn't think that it was possible but I love him more now than I did then.
He still sweeps me off my feet, knows how to make me laugh and feel better, and is just so amazing.
I'm truly blessed to have such an amazing husband who I have no doubt in saying that he will be an amazing father as well. Our little man is definitely lucky.

We have been through a lot in those three years and made it through all of it and become stronger because of it and I know that we will have many many many many more anniversaries to come.

Then.


Now.

22 weeks!

At my last appointment we went over my genetic screening test results. Everything came back normal and at the lowest percentage for there to be a defect. Which is good to hear not that we were worried about it.
We listened to his heartbeat and it was still pumping away at 150 beats per minute just as it has during the last three appointments now. Guess that old wives tale about boys heart rates being 140 or under is just that.

We also got my appointments set up for pretty much the remainder of the pregnancy! Not only does now saying there is 18 weeks left in the count down make it seem crazy close but having my appointments all planned out does too!
I have one appointment just a little over three weeks apart from in Oct, Nov, and Dec. One appointment two weeks after my Dec appointment (first week of Jan) and then the rest of Jan I have an appointment each week.
Wow!

Anyways when the receptionist gave me the print out with all my appointments I read over it and saw that the spot where they have my due date posted had changed. I've just been going by growth which put the due date as Feb 8th and they had it in their paper work as the 11th. Now they have changed it, but again doesn't matter because he will come when he is ready to and my family is still convinced that he will be born the 10th. But now it looks like we're down for around the 6th of Feb. So now I just look at it as from the 6th-14th.
I don't care so long as he makes it to at least 37 weeks, which is considered full term, and is healthy! I don't want to have him in the NICU at all, I'm going to be selfish and keep him with me.
Again the "official due date" doesn't so much matter to me it's more of just a count down.

So this week of pregnancy (whenever we actually hit it...I'm thinking of just keeping my 8th due date as I had been) D's inner ear is now fully formed and developing a sense of balance. He is about 1 foot in length and weighs around 1 pound. He has established his own sleep pattern by now and is sleeping around 12-14 hours a day. Apparently he also has dreams, I don't know what there would be for him to dream about but that's very cool! Food comparison wise he is about the size of a papaya.

Keep on growing baby boy!

Happy October!

Welcome October! You're my favorite month out of the rest and the start to the holiday season! Can't wait for cool weather to come in and baking sweet treats to start. I love when it gets cold and gray outside and I can wear a nice long sleeve shirt or a sweater. I love having days of just baking, watching movies and sipping hot drinks.
Daniel and I are starting our October by heading up to Disneyland for a few hours later this evening. Can't wait to see all the fun Halloween themed decorations that they have up. Just a few more days till our 3 year anniversary!