35 Weeker

Yup. 35 weeks, and Adrian decided that enough was enough. He wanted out of my uterus! Secretly, I was thankful that he took pity on me and the discomfort that I was in, but then again, whos to say that he wasn't as uncomfortable or more than I? It just took us all by surprise. I guess he didn't like the birthdate that we chose for him... Cesarean was scheduled for Tuesday March 4th, 2014. Instead, he preferred Tuesday February 18th, 2014. Nice. A boy that knows what he wants, and goes for it.

Ive been keeping a journal for Adrian, since before I was even pregnant. In there I wrote my labor story, and honestly I don't have it in me to write/type all of that up again. Just know that we're all okay. After all that is what matters.

He is now 1 month old and I cannot deal. I am definitely going to be one of those mothers that cries on birthdays. They'll be tears of both joy and sadness. The joy that I feel today is because he's ours. He's healthy, he's a blessing, and he's growing. The sadness is that time flies by quickly! When you have a little one you are more aware of time. Also, the fact that you realize that he won't be a baby forever. What else is there to do but to soak up as much as you can. I catch myself staring at him, taking pictures, and recording him and his features, and how he sucks on his bottom lip when I take the nipple out of his bottle out of his mouth in order to burp him. He's like me in that aspect. Do not mess with our food!

There you have him, our bundle of joy : )

Twenty-Four

According to a baby app on my phone, AJ is the size of a grapefruit. He moves a lot whenever he is awake. My parents got to feel his kicks. He doesn't let Joe feel him lol. As soon as I place Joe's hand on my belly, he decides to remain still. It's funny. He does kick Rocky our dog, Rocky kind of reacts to it, like he moves away a little, but of course he doesn't know whats the heck is kicking him. I can't wait to see the dog and boy relationship lol.

Yesterday my brother, sister in law, mom, Joe and I went to drop off the contract at the banquet hall we decided to go with for the babyshower. It was also a great oppurtunity for everyone involved in the planning to see the place and get an idea of where the things will be and such. I cannot say it enough, how thankful I am for my family and their help. My brother and his wife are the ones throwing it for us. Joe and I are helping to buy things, but if it were just us doing this, it wouldn't be as special? I don't know if it makes sense, but as a Hispanic, the entire family is involved in raising the children in the family. Growing up I was aware that if I broke the rules, or treated my parents like trash, I'd have to deal with the backlash of my actions from my aunts, grandparents, and etc. 

I made up my mind of how I want my cake, I know 1 tier will be red velvet, and the second tier will be pineapple filling. Dominicans love their fruit fillings in their cakes lol. I declined a Dominican cake. We eat it at every family event, and it gets tiring. Luckily Joe's co worker is a baker, and his cakes are just perfect. Not too sweet. His prices are also very reasonable. I hear that his cupcakes are excellent. He makes batches with a variety of flavors. Mmmm, really looking forward to it. My family will be cooking, and depending on what everyone makes, we will get additional platters to add more of a variety. All that I have to do right now, is start buying the mason jars, and the acrylic paint. I decided that the most economical way to go with flowers is baby's breaths. It makes sense too lol. Get it? My friend Valeria will help me with the messy part (painting.) The invitations are all of their way to their homes. The shower is less than a month away, eek! So, bare with me and my shower related posts.

PREGNANCY: Like I mentioned above, I know when he is sleeping. He always wakes up after I have a meal, and moments after I am hungry again lol. He makes sure to take his share haha. My energy levels vary. My 5th month I was seemingly normal. Now in my 6th month, I find myself craving naps, and sleeping in later than I did in my 5th month. But, that is normal. One of the scars from my laparoscopic surgery attempt tends to hurt. Like, really bad. I can tolerate high levels of pain so to me its painful but not to the point of crying, but it is annoying, and uncomfortable. I try to move around hoping that he changes position. That usually helps. I will mention it to my Gyn during my next visit. My appetite varies. One thing that hasn't changed is that I NEED breakfast. If not, I feel like I will collapse. I eat at 7am, and then have to eat again at 11 or 1130. I also try to snack in between meals. Water is always nearby. My juice  of choice right now, is natural lemonaide. And junk food of choice? Mc Donalds. During this month, it seems like I can no longer drink Coke. It gives me palpitations "/ Ive never been a huge soda drinker, but I need caffeine here and there, it helps prevent headaches. So, chocolate will have to do hehe. 

Jars, Flowers, and Thangs

The next couple of weeks (for me) will continue to be all about mason jars, and the many different types of ways that I can (with the help of some of my girlies ofcourse) jazz them up to make beautiful non diy looking centerpieces for my babyshower this upcoming January. God willing. Here are some of the inspirations:

credit: emmalinebride.com

credit: glitterweddings.com

credit: itallstartedwithpaint.com

I want flowers. But, I don't want to break the bank. I have been looking into wholesale stores like Cosco, and Sams Club for good deals. In order to keep the spending low, I want to use more than just flowers. I started working on a jar, just to get an idea. I plan on buying more, and visiting my local goodwill stores in order to find vases in different shapes and sizes. I volunteered myself to making my own centerpieces. Idk, I guess I wanted control of something pertaining to the babyshower. I also do not want to get overwhelmed, which is why I left it in the hands of my sister in law.

The baby and I are fine. His kicks are getting stronger with each passing day. My belly button is starting to pop out lol. It really all depends on how he is curled up in there. He likes to hang low. My appetite fluctuates. A lot of the time, I am hungry and have NO idea what it is that I want. Joe is the one person that gets to me emotionally. Sometimes I am extra sensitive, and cry for the smallest things (another symptom that I noticed before the fatigue kicked in, before finding out I was pregnant.) I am starting to buy diapers. Preparing ourselves for the time that I will be out of work. That is the only thing that I am allowing myself to buy before the shower. After, we will see what we still need and go for it. Anyway, this is it for now. Hope you're well!

19 Weeks

When you read books, or did it for a living (counseling pregnant women) you think that you pretty much are well prepared for the day that its your turn to be pregnant. Oh, how naive I was.

Before I found out that I was with child, I knew that something was different because never in my life (not even with my lifelong struggles with anemia) had I felt such fatigue. Oh, it'll end after the second trimester, is what they told me. Wrong. Don't get me wrong, it does ease up, but every day is a guessing game. One day I feel energized, and then I get a wave of "I just want to go to bed, pleeeeease!" There are some days when that is what I look forward to. Bed time.

The hunger that I experienced during my first trimester was record breaking. In my book atleast. Even Joe would catch himself saying "Wow." I didn't take offense to it, because I myself would be shocked. It felt as if I'd eat, take a break and wait around 20 minutes for the baby to get its fill, and then it would be my turn to get mine because the "I am starving like Marvin" moment would return. That has lessened. During the first couple of weeks, I craved seafood. All that I could think about was having a big plate of paella (that sadly never came because when it was offered, I no longer cared for it.) Now, the only thing that I ever really crave is beans. Dominican style beans, with white rice. I don't know what it is, but mmmm. Other than that, I dont care for much of anything. Only fruits. Note to self: Ask OB if I should be worried about my loss of appetite.

The fun part is that last week I began to feel the baby move. Its random. I feel it when I least expect it. It took getting used to. It feels like a little frog is jumping around in there lol. Now, I just smile whenever I feel it.

On 1O/23 I had my 18 week ultrasound. So far, one of my favorite moments ever! My mami, papi, friend Valeria, and Joe were there with me. The ultrasound tech, Martie was awesome. Such a sweetheart. I loved that eventhough she has seen/scanned thousands of baby ultrasounds she made me feel as if mine was her very first and favorite. Our baby was lying on its head. The position it was in was like a C. It cracked me up. After all of the important scans, and measurements, which I thank God were all normal, we got to find out the gender. Our baby was not shy. It showed us several times that it is what it is... A boy! We are having a boy! I wish I had a camera on me to capture everyone's reactions. We were all shocked. Many of my family members guessed that it would be a girl because of dreams, and such. Joe? He had the biggest smile, and was laughing. His face was the one that I focused on. Me? I was the first one to say... It's a boy? And covered my mouth lol. I couldn't believe it. You might be thinking, why is it such a surprise, when theres only a 50/50 chance of what it could be?--Just wait until you or someone close to you is expecting. It feels like there are a million possibilities of what it could be lol.

So, yeah, Adrian J. Batine is who has been causing all of these body changes lol. Its okay, he's worth it.  If sometimes it sounds as if I am shedding a negative light on pregnancy, excuse me. It is not my intention. Its just me sharing my experience and my wake up call that it isn't all roses and rainbows. Yet, its something that you wouldnt trade for the world because you know that in the end of it, you're getting someone awesome. Something awesome.

Baby, its you!

I know. Don't even say it. I suck.

The last couple of entries I mentioned how I was feeling off, and just dealing with some health issues. Turns out that they weren't really health issues, but the signs/symptoms of early pregnancy. Yep. That's right. God willing come March 2014 Joe and I will welcome our first child. It was a shock. But it wasnt unexpected.

I will try, I mean really try to document and share the entire pregnancy with you. It will also be nice to read back once post partum amnescia has kicked in.

I am 15 weeks. The baby is the size of an apple lol. I have a small baby bump, have yet to feel actual movements. I think Ive felt flutters, especially when I try to lay on my belly. So long belly sleeping days, until we meet again! My family is to the moon with joy. This will be my parent's first grandchild. We caught their reactions to the news on video lol. I will have to get that up here for you to see. Its priceless lol. I always thought that I would wait to share with anyone other than Joe, whenever I got pregnant. I always said that I would want to wait until the 12 week mark, but the moment that I took the second positive test 4 days after two others came back with faint lines, it all went out the window. I got ready and we drove to their house lol. They were the first to know. Then came my brothers. At 12 weeks is when I announced it to the rest of the people in our lives. Now, its your turn! I didnt plan to wait this long to share the news with you, it just worked out that way.

Like I said, I will try to update on here as much as possible. I will warn you. I will keep it 100% real, and it'll be raw. I already have a few post ideas in my cabeza.  Here we gooooooooooo!