Letter from Daddy

Dear ____________, 

Not too long ago Mommy and I decided to bring a baby into our lives. We wanted to share our love with you as you grow and grow. 

I was so excited to see your first sonogram pictures! They were so lovie; you were so tiny and precious; and you were definitely doing your first over-head kick. That was my favorite!

My excitement to have you finally come into our lives grows everyday, just like you in Mommy's tummy. I can't wait to meet you! I hope you have Mommy's pretty eyes; my dimples; Mommy's smarts; and your Daddy's mellow temperament. 

I can't wait to see you take your first steps, hear you say "DADDY!", and eat spaghetti noodles with your chunka fingers! I want to take you fishing, bike riding, and to play in the sand at the beach. I can't wait to teach you to love and treat others the way you want others to love and treat you. I want you to be happy and confident in everything that you do and to dream BIG! 

I love you soooo much already! 

Love, 

Daddy 

Letter from Mommy

Our precious peanut, 

It seems only yesterday Daddy and I decided we were ready to bring a baby into our lives. Now we have reached a point when you could be here any day. I won't lie, I am completely terrified. Nights are spent wondering if I will be good enough. My days are spent counting your kicks and wondering if you know how much we love you. It's the most incredible feeling to feel your feet pressed into my sides or your knees suddenly swoosh across my tummy! We often lay in bed at night and giggle at your active movements. Daddy says it means that you are just very happy and excited already; I think he is right!

There is so much in this life that I want to show you, so much that I want to share. I keep thinking of the lessons that I have learned and what will be the best way to teach them to you. I want you to feel like you have it all, even if I can't give you all of the material things you may want. 

The things that I wish for you seem endless. I wish for you to be the best that you can be; I wish for you to trust your instincts, to grow independent and confident; I want you to be self-reliant so that nobody can control your happiness, so that you can look inward for reinforcement and replenishment. I wish for you to follow your dreams. I will not criticize your aspirations. Instead, I will support, encourage, and where possible, help to actively work towards your attainment of them. I wish for you to be assertive without aggression, and always with respect and a high regard for others; to not be manipulated; to not be victimized; to not 'give up' under pressure. I want you to live in the moment, not wait for things to happen to you, not fret because they didn't, but to make them happen for you one day at a time. Lastly, and most important to me, I want you to be HAPPY! I want you to find fulfillment and satisfaction in the smallest task as well as in your greatest achievements.

I may not always be the best mother. Someday I won't even come close. There are hundreds of things that I could do wrong. I just want you to know that even when I'm drowning in all of the things I'm not doing right, I'll still be trying. I will spend the rest of my life trying to ensure that yours is the best that it can be. 

I love you...to the moon and back!!

Love,

Your mommy

Baby's Nursrey...ALMOST complete!

Happy 30 weeks bebe!! Mommy, Daddy, Sister and Brother love you to the moon and back!!

Baby's Pediatrician

I almost forgot to mention that our interviewing process for pediatricians has come to a halt! Not that it lasted terribly long anyways. But we did find our pediatrician; one more thing checked off the list! Surprisingly, my childhood ped, Dr. Joel Snyder, is still in practice and I was very eager to meet with him and perhaps even have him be our son's ped. But I decided against it. So after thumbing through pages and pages of potential doctors, reading bios, and talking to a dozen peds, we chose Dr. Rachel Gianfortune. She agreed to meet with us for an interview last week, after hours. She actually shares a practice with Dr. Snyder, so it's likely that we will run into him and perhaps even be seen by him on occasion. Depending on who is on call at the time I deliver--Snyder or Gianfortune--the baby will have his first check-up in the hospital, by one of the two, the morning after I give birth. 

So, we're glad to have the ped decided on. We love her as much as we do Dr. Lafferty--our OBGYN. Our experience with her has been both professional and personal and I feel both are extremely important. During our interview with her, she answered so many questions that I didn't even realize I had...most things pretty critical to give consideration to before the baby arrives. For instance, in our birth plan, we indicated that we wanted to have the baby circumcised in the hospital, by the OBGYN or ped, after delivery and before we go home. Well. We learned that they no longer do this. Initially, I hated the idea of our baby being circumcised 20 days after delivery, at his doctor's office, by his pediatrician. I was reluctant to even consider it at that point. Matt on the other hand was very impressed by the explanation and seemed to be happy about the "new way." Naturally it took a few conversations between the two of us and he had to break it down in a few different scenarios. But I did finally come to grips with it and having the circumcision done a couple of weeks after we bring the baby home does make the most sense. YAY! Glad we finally reached that verdict! And so thrilled that we have chosen such an incredible pediatrician for our tiny peanut! 

30 weeks!!

30 weeks down, 10 to go! Although, I still think this little guy is planning an early debut! Our Dr. tells us that's called "wishful thinking" and that most first-time-moms have it! 

I can't believe how quickly time has passed! It's incredible to think back 20 weeks ago, when I wondered on a minute-by-minute basis if I could live through the next 20 weeks! I guess it was just a matter of getting through the adjustments and the 24-hours-a-day sickness (I renamed morning sickness once I learned that it lasted closer to 18 hours a day for me, and not just 'the morning'!). With only 10 weeks to go, I often wish we could go back about 10 weeks and keep enjoying the feeling of this tiny peanut's every move in my belly! Not to mention, I know time will really begin flying once he finally does make it into our world.

We had our routine OB appointment last week. All went well. In fact, it went just as well as all of the other appointments have gone, that I finally asked our doctor, "Why isn't it more exciting on some visits?" Like, I want to know something new! I want to see some pictures of our lil peanut! It's always just a quick weight, blood pressure, and pee check; they measure my belly; and they send me away, saying "you're both great and healthy, see you in four weeks!" BORING! Our doctor just laughed at me and convinced me that it's a good thing, really. He suggested that I could be "one of those" new mom's who has tons of issues and an awful pregnancy...then things would switch up a bit and we'd have some 'action.' But I guess I'd rather not be "one of those" (he was so matter-of-fact and in fact sounded as though "one-of-those" was the kind they gossip about after they leave the office!). 

As of our appointment last week, I've gained 12 lbs, which, since I have to gain it I suppose that's a good amount. Early on, Dr. Lafferty said between 15 and 25 would be ideal. So I guess I'm on a good track. My blood pressure still stands at 60 over 110 so that's great! I finally, for the third time, was able to take the glucose test for gestational diabetes. Third time was a charm and I successfully kept that nasty "orange" flavored syrup down long enough for them to draw my blood. The results came back quite low. Average is between 65 and 75; mine was 62. But Dr. Lafferty was still very pleased and said he had no reason to worry. So that's great! If it had been high, I'd have to go in 2 days a week, 3 hours a day, for the rest of the pregnancy, to be monitored and drink more of that god-awful drink! 

My back and pelvic pain has subsided substantially! I was quite upset after the last appointment, when I was in so much pain, and Dr. Lafferty told me it was "normal" and I could expect the pain to decrease greatly soon. I thought he was full of crap and just didn't want to deal with me! At the time, I couldn't imagine that kind of pain "decreasing" even a slight amount! Guess I shouldn't have gotten so worked up and, instead, should have been patient and taken his word for it. I do absolutely adore him and he is always right when he gives us certain advice or recommendations. So, with the exception of 6-8 pee "breaks" every night, I have been sleeping better than I have in the last 30 weeks. There have been a few sleepless nights (literally) but Dr. Lafferty suggested I resort to Tylenol PM, which do the trick!  

The baby seems to have his own schedule now, too! 9:30-10:00 every night, I am pretty sure  he starts his gymnastics class in the belly! That is the time of "day" that we have THE MOST movement! We get kicks and flips and somersaults...probably even a few handstands! So this is the time we start our "homework." Dr. Lafferty gave us homework to do each night until the end of the pregnancy. During this time we count baby's movements, timing how long it takes for us to feel ten distinct movements — kicks, twitches, and whole body movements. If you don't feel ten movements in two hours, there could be a serious problem and we're advised to call the doctor. But no worries here! We easily get 10 very distinct movements in 10 minutes! He also seems to be awake and kickin' every day at 2am for about 30 minutes; 5:30-6am; and 8:00. Not to mention any time that I eat or drink anything! Dr. Lafferty said that this is a good indication that we not only have a very active baby, but a very happy one, too!! That's gotta be the best compliment, yet! 

Baby's room is now complete, with the exception of his furniture, which we plan to put together in the next week or so. Most have seen the pictures posted on Facebook, but I will be sure to get some up on the blog shortly as well!

10 weeks to go!! We'll continue to keep you updated on all of the excitement happening in the tummy and in the family! 

Love, 

Mommy and Baby

A note from Sissy

As the sister I am so very excited to see our, tiny, cute, lovey, baby brother. All thow it is really fun seeing him grow and feeling him kick in Erin's belly! I feel so bad for Erin because she has to carry him around for nine mounths strate still working and her back hurts her so much. CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT BABY AND FINALLLLY HAVE HIM IN OUR HOUSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sissy loves you baby brother!!

                                                             Love,
                                                            Jessica 
                                                                               
                                                                                     

25 weeks down, 15 to go! (Technically speaking! However, Mama doesn't see how it's physically possible to go more than 12 more!)

25 weeks!!

So we had our routine, monthly check up this week. The appointment was originally for the glucose tolerance test and scheduled with our nurse practitioner, Janet, for next week. However, since I have been having such unbearable back and pelvic pain, Dr. Lafferty (our OB) wanted to see me for an exam immediately. They scheduled an exam right away and moved the glucose test up by a week.

I was instructed to arrive at the hospital's lab 40 minutes before my Dr. visit was scheduled. No problem. I left work and headed straight there to find my wonderful husband waiting patiently for us. We checked in at the lab, where we were handed a 16oz bottle of an "orange" flavored drink. The lab tech said "you need to finish this in less than 5 minutes. Do not eat or drink anything for at least 1 hour following your first drink. Please return the empty bottle to me after you finish drinking the fluid. Please return to the lab for your blood work exactly 1 hour after you have completely finished all 16oz."

Okie dokie! Didn't sound all that bad. And the "drink" smelled like Orange Sunkist soda that I remember getting in my Happy Meals when I was a kid. So it couldn't be that bad. Ha! Little did I know, prior to the first sip, that it would have the same consistency of cold maple syrup! So my goal quickly became to drink this stuff in less than 5 minutes and the only way to do it was to 1) think about that PB & chocolate froyo that I was craving so badly! And 2) to plug my nose. With a few gags, I finally got it down and then proudly returned the empty bottle....

We then headed to the 4th floor where our Dr's off ice is, for our appointment. We were just in time. A few moments before we were called a clenched onto Matt's arm and said "I reeeally don't feel well!" I began sweating, my heart racing. He asked if I was okay and if I needed some water or something. I didn't need water, I needed a toilet, and FAST! I quickly ran through the waiting room, to the end of the hallway, where there was a women's bathroom. Go figure! Women's bathroom of an OBGYN office was occupied. So I quickly darted into the men's. As I sit there on the toilet, I tried to convince myself I was not going to be sick and to take deep breaths--merely because I knew darn well that if I got sick, I would have to come back and drink that yucky orange drink again and that was the very last thing that I ever wanted to have to do! I didn't stand a chance, though, up it came...all of it!  Beat red, sweating, dizzy, and out of breath, I walked back to Matt who obviously knew that the orange drink didn't stay down. Needless to say, the glucose test has been rescheduled. Dr. Lafferty said that if I can't keep it down next time, they will prescribe an anti-vommiting medication for me to take prior to the test.

The appointment with Dr. Lafferty  went relatively well. I've still only gained a total of 7lbs. and my blood pressure hasn't changed since the last appointment: 110/70. Dr. Lafferty did a quick exam and measured the baby as well. Final verdict: "All looks great!" I said, "Well that's obviously great to hear, but what about this pain!? I can't walk. Can't sleep but an hour or 2 at a time. Can't get in and out of bed alone. Can't roll over alone. Can't get my leg over the tub to get in and out of the shower alone....What do I do?" He said, "Give him about 4 months, it's too early to have him now! And take tylenol in the meantime. This is a good indication that your body is naturally preparing for baby's arival." It's good to know that everything is normal and "good." But holy moly the pain is often so bad, I cannot even get up again after I've sat down. It's amazing how much we take for granted how frequently we use and need all of the muscles in our body! I am still standing behind my belief that there is just no way this baby is holding out for 40 weeks! I think he will arrive sometime in mid-end of October. If that's the case, I hope before Halloween because I've already found a DARLING Halloween costume! =)

I've done quite a bit of research as to what I can do to help the symptoms. So far I have found the obvious: Get lots of rest, avoid lifting and pushing, keep back supported, avoid standing on your feet long periods, apply heat to painful areas, and sleep with a pillow between your legs. I have found that it helps the most when I get lots of sleep...so that is now my goal each night. I've been trying the pillow but somehow I find it on the floor every morning so I am not so sure it's helping at all. "Lifting" is #3 on my job description, so I am currently re-evalutaing that situation because unfortunately I do not think that it will change. And I am on my feet 110% of the day, which is unavoidable. Oh! And it seems to help A LOT when I stand in the deep end of a pool--deep enough that my whole body is emersed, but shallow enough that I can reach and keep my head above water. The zero-gravity effect, I suppose. So with the summer heat finally here, I know we will likely spend any free time in the pool!

Our tiny pea is very, very active now, too!! So much movement and fluttering and kicking!! It's really neat. Matt likes to sleep with his arm around me and hand resting on my tummy--this way he can feel baby if he kicks in the middle of the night. If I am sleeping, I rarely feel him. But he wakes up Daddy all of the time. The other night I woke up to Matt saying, "Whoa! That was a big one!" So we layed there for a bit and just felt baby having what felt like a kick ball party in Mommy's belly! =)  

The summer heat is definietly takin' its toll on me! Although I find myself still being so thankful that it hit us late this year. This week was the first time all summer that I'd have many people agree with me that it's been TOO HOT! It was about 102 at our house on Wednesday, 102-103 on Thursday, and 105 on Friday. Naturally, the AC goes on as soon as we get home from work and has been staying on until we go to bed and can sleep comfortably. Having this big "thing" now semi-permanately attached to my tummy along with the unpleasurable experience of being out of breath even when I am simply resting on the couch, really makes tolerating such heat IMPOSSIBLE! I took a bath last night full of ice cubes!

That's about it for this week. I must go somewhere far away from this heat....Daddy has a soccer tournament at the beach today so I may head there for that. But I also need to find a gift for my cousin who is also having a little baby boy, 1 week after us! We are having a joint shower next weekend in Vegas. HA! Let's see how we two do together in that heat! I'd rather not think about it until I get there!

Happy weekend to all!

Love,
Mommy & Baby

Happy Father's Day! =)

Latest baby updates!

It's been quite a long time since I have found the time to blog for all of you! Seems that last time I was pretty sick, which is interesting because this time I am as well....just as I began to finally recover from my THIRD sinus infection in 4 months (I have never in my life suffered from these until I became pregnant!), I was hit HARD last Wednesday with the stomach flu.

The day was just as any other. I even got off work on time (for a great change!). I had an appointment with my new chiropractor (whom I love and adore for finally providing me with lots of relief!) at 7pm. So to kill time, I headed to Mission Valley where I stopped for a non-fat, skinny, iced, latte and then made a very long anticipated trip to Nordstrom Rack. Baby and I manged to find the tiny boys section (imagine that!) and bought him some very cute, yet very cool, stuff! His first 6mos Quicksilver T and matching cargo shorts, for one! And of course a few sleep-and-play suits.

After that, I made the short drive to my chiropractor, got my 15 minute adjustment, and headed  home. I wasn't home for more than an hour before I started feeling....let's just say not so good. I ran to the bathroom several times in the hour for a visitor who definitely wasn't knocking at the "front door." The visitor soon started knocking at both doors and I found myself in the bathroom, with both the trash can and the toilet, every 20 minutes for 12 hours. No joke. After many failed attempts to reach both my Dr. and OBGYN, Matt drove me to ER, who immediately transported me to Grossmont Hospital's Women's Center. They admitted me immediately and within 10 minutes had me hooked to an IV for fluids because I was severely dehydrated (which could have potentially caused me to go into labor). After 3 IV bags and a medicine through IV to help prevent vomiting, I was discharged about 6 hours later and free to go home. I went straight to bed and slept nearly 15 hours. Matt says I remained in the same position for virtually the whole night, so you know I was exhausted! The Dr. has me on bed rest until further notice. I anticipate a release by early next week....that way I can go back to work and attract some other nasty illness from one of my walking viruses, right!?

Other than all of that unexciting news, baby is doing wonderful! Since the first trimester has passed, I am reeeally enjoying every moment of the pregnancy. During about the 8-10th week, while I was experiencing what I thought was deadly morning sickness 24 hours a day, I promised myself (and made many threats to Matt, too!) that this would be my last pregnancy! Now however, 21 weeks down, with 19 to go, I am feeling so great that I can't wait to do it all again (and maybe again after that!).

As you all know by now, we are expecting a little boy! His sweet name has been chosen, however we've decided to keep it a surprise until he arrives in early November (or late October, for that matter!)! For now, the kids call him "Jimmy Lee." Don't ask me how or why they came up with the nickname, but every night Sis rubs my belly and says "G'night Jimmy Lee, sleep tight!"

Matt and I scheduled the 4D sonogram for Saturday June 12th and of course invited all of our families to join us for that....very fun and exciting! The day before though, Daddy wanted to schedule our regular, monthly, sonogram appt. with our OBGYN and also find out the baby's sex. I was concerned with finding out the sex before the 12th because this was the day the rest of the family was finding out. But Matt was excited to do it this way, so I too got excited! Although, I wasn't thrilled about being in a sterile office: me, Daddy, and the sonogram tech, to find out our baby's sex. Seemed somewhat unexciting to me. So Matt had another terrific idea (so great actually that I was kinda jealous that it wasn't my idea for our little baby!). He said "Let's have the sonogram tech write 'boy' or 'girl' down on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. Then we will take that to Baby's R Us. We will pick out one baby boy outfit and one baby girl outfit. When we take it to the register, we will give the cashier the envelope and tell her to open it, wrapping the outfit that matches the paper inside the envelope!" I was so sold. But instead, my counter offer was to pick out the outfits before the sonogram and have the sonogram tech wrap which ever outfit fit our baby's sex. Daddy was now sold and off we went to pick out the outfits!

The day of the sonogram was sooo exciting! Matt and I both worked a half day and then met at home to head down for our 2pm appt. Naturally, we were running late so, naturally, mama was slightly stressed out! We finally made it and got all situated and signed it. The sonogram tech was totally pumped about our idea, thankfully, because you know they don't have all the time in the world to be wrapping a baby gift for some crazy-in-love-with-their baby couple that she's never met in her life, nor will she ever see again (not to mention I needed her to wrap up the "reject" outfit, too, so we couldn't see it either!). The appt. should have lasted about 20-30 minutes. But due to the fact that our silly monkey was moving, jumping, kicking, and flipping ALL OVER THE PLACE! the tech was not immediately able to get any good shots of him for us, nor was she able to do all the measurements, etc. that take place at the appointment, so it took about an hour and ten! Before we learned of his active movement that day, the tech asked me, "Did you just eat lunch?" I didn't know what to say because, truthfully, I hadn't had lunch yet and for some silly reason I thought she was able to tell that and would get upset at me! But I said "no," like a puppy with my tail between my legs. "She said, "Really?? Did you recently have a soda or candy or maybe an extra large energy drink of some kind?!" I said, "No! Why?" And she said, "So you two just have a very unusually active kid!?" And it was then that she turned the monitor for us to see. We both started laughing hysterically! He was alllll over the place. Every time the tech tried to get a shot of his "package", the little butt would flip over and hide his ENTIRE front side! So then she'd move the wand to get a shot of him on his other side, and over he'd go! I must have changed positions 8 or 10 times for her to get him on camera and he was just being a little tease! 

After the extra long appt., the tech sent us out to the waiting room until she had finished wrapping each of our gifts. Soon after, she came out holding one present, beautifully wrapped in the baby bag and tissue paper that I brought along, and the other closed up in a plain-jane Trader Joe's bag. Off we went, headed to our favorite sushi restaurant in the Gaslamp, with "our gift" in hand. We could hardly stand the anticipation of opening our gift that we didn't even wait! We decided that I'd open the little envelope that the tech had included with a "?" drawn on the outside and Matt would open our gift. Of course, I finished opening the envelope, which contained a (VERY CLEAR) sonogram picture of baby's "goods", before he finished SLOWLY opening and pulling things from the gift bag. So what does he do!? Drops the gift bag, without seeing either outfit, and takes the picture right out of my little hands! I've never seen this man smile so big in my entire life. It was sweet and something very peaceful, yet proud, about it. That night in the restaurant was like our wedding day on the beach: we were THE spotlight; no other single person mattered in that busy, boisterous sushi bar--no other people except for Mommy, Daddy, and their soon-to-be baby BOY!!

The waitress then came to take our order. She clearly noticed us looking at all of our new pictures and "awwwing" over the baby boy clothes we had purchased--they suddenly meant so much more to us! She joined in our conversation and excitement, peeked at our pictures, and said, "WOW, guys! Your little guy is 'packin' already!" Dad liked that, of course!

The last couple of weeks have been so exciting! We thought life couldn't have been better on March 6th, when we learned we were pregnant. But adding "boy" to the conversation of baby just adds soooo much more meaning and excitement! Immediately following the 4D sonogram, Grandpa Patrick took the 5 of us to lunch to celebrate...thank goodness my appetite was back because that was some of the best Mexican food I've had (of course, I paid for it later when I didn't have my tums within arms reach!). After lunch, Matt and I and the kids went straight for Baby's R Us. Again, we awwwed over just about all of the little boy stuff that we came across! Each of the kids picked out a little something for their little brother. Jacob got him a bib that says "My Big Brother Rocks!" and a fun bath toy. Jess got him a bib that says "I'm the Little Brother!" and some little toys that will velcro onto his car seat. Mommy of course bought some more Eric Carle and Todd Parr baby board books (because they are 1, her favorite children's authors, and 2, she is determined to teach Jimmy Lee to read while he is still in the womb! Not really...but she certainly intends for early language development and no time is a better time than now!)

Last week, we saw the OBGYN for our regular, monthly check. This time, since the appointment was late in the day, the kids were able to join us. So that was exciting for us all to be together and see and hear baby! As of last week, I have lost 2lbs since our last appointment in May and I have gained a total of 6lbs. The Dr. didn't say anything about it, but I know it's good because I gained more than I should have in the 1st trimester...must have been all those comforting carbs that helped cure my 24 hour morning sickness!! My blood pressure was (and seems to always remain at) 110/70. And Dr. Lafferty said everything else was perfect and I'm just a "normal, healthy pregnant lady!" He suggested I take advantage of access to swimming pools this summer, as it will obviously help me to be more comfortable in the unforgiving heat I am sure we will have very soon. But he also made the suggestion because it will help to eliminate the swelling in my legs and ankles that will likely begin happening in a few short months (GREEEAT!) Near the end of the appointment, he asked if either of us had any questions. Matt said, "yes, I do! What can we do about sleeping....or lack thereof.....for me?!" Lafferty responded: "You're S.O.L. Dad! Let the good times roll! If Mom is up, so are you!" I love this guy already!

Last weekend, Matt and I started our baby registries. After I spent endless hours researching 1)what we need and 2) the best quality of all of those items according to US Consumer Products Safety Commissions as well as reviews in Parenting Magazine, we headed for Target first. My husband, as most of you know, is NOT a shopper. The man would be perfectly content having the same 2 or 3 items in the closet and if something went wrong with those 2 or 3 items, mark my words, he would find a way to fix it or manage to do without, as opposed to going out to replace it (opposites DO attract, apparently!)! This day in Target though was something no single person has ever witnessed! As soon as we made it through the entrance, he let go of my hand, making a mad dash for the wedding and baby registry kiosk! He quickly typed in all of the information and then darted to the customer service rep to obtain our registry scanning gun. And off he went, literally! This man was a scanning machine! Scanning everything and anything that he simply thought was cute! I had to finally take it away from him and begin DELETING things that we did not need! Or we'd see something that I hadn't put onto our list of "needs." And I'd say, "This looks neat...helpful...useful...what do you think?" SCAN! Before I could thoroughly read the box or user manual...SCAN! He was quite funny! It all began to get very overwhelming actually. Of course, maybe we weren't necessarily supposed to nearly finish it in one day. Originally I told Matt to be prepared for a 2-3 hour event; he told me to make it 1. It turned out to be 4.5! After that, we decided to do the Baby's R Us registry on-line. I anticipate having to make a brief trip into the store for the very few items that we could not find on-line at some point...yet, it's not like we aren't there on a weekly basis anyways!

I think that's about it for now. I'm feeling very tired so I am going to take advantage of this "bed rest" and crash until my body decides to wake up. I plan to try my best to keep the blog updated more frequently. So check back soon!

With love,
Mommy and "Jimmy"

This and that!

As many of you know, last week I came down with all kinds of yucky "things!" We left Palm Springs last Sunday, where we had been enjoying a simple getaway weekend in the sun accompanied by lots of cocktails (virgin for mommy, of course!) several hours than we'd originally planned. Both Matt and I weren't feeling so hot, but at that point Matt was in a much worse state than I. Once back in San Diego, we both crashed for the rest of the day. By that evening, Matt was still a little queazy but tons better. I on the other hand had spiked a 101.5 temperature and was just miserable. Long story short, I couldn't break the temp, felt much worse the next morning, and missed work Monday. After going to the doctor, my primary care sent me home with the flu, said rest a lot, drink plenty of fluids, and no work until Wednesday. She advised me to jet straight to ER if my temp was not down by 4pm that afternoon. Fortunately, we never did have to go to ER. Come time to return to work Wednesday, I knew I wasn't ready, but naturally I went in. Now, I am not one to go to a supervisor and say "I'm sick, I need to leave!" But I did this time. I barely made it through 3 hours of the morning before I knew I just needed to be home, in bed, because clearly something was not right. Before heading home, though, I decided to stop by my doctor's office once again, in hopes that I looked miserable enough for them to see me ASAP. Indeed, I must have looked horrible (I know that I did!), not to mention I began balling when I was explaining my symptoms and that I simply DID NOT FEEL GOOD AT ALL. They brought me back immediately. It took all of 10 minutes to culture me for strep throat: positive. And take a look at my sinuses for an infection: double positive. In 40 minutes, I saw the doctor, was told "yes you are very sick, here is an Rx for antibiotics," and was home in bed again AT LAST! By Thursday morning after nearly 18 hours of sleep, antibiotics, and lots of fluids, I felt better than I had in several weeks. So, I have a hunch that this bug was lingering for quite some time and it just finally decided to explode!

In terms of baby news, there isn't much. Well, yes there is! We felt baby move since my last blog! I was in bed when it happened. I yelled for Daddy, who came running because he was positive that my shrieks were an indicator that I had slipped or something! He only got to feel it very briefly, but it was still the sweetest moment together: all 3 of us! Funny thing, baby moved this first and only time (so far) when I was lying on my back. I am confident that heshe was telling me that I can't do that anymore because lying on my back, once a very comfortable, relaxing position, is absolutely the most uncomfortable position now (next to my tummy, which is just totally and completely in the way now!)

We just booked THE 20 week sonogram appt.!! This is the "big" appointment as our doctor called it and they will be able to measure and weigh baby, as well as tell us the sex!!! Which of course, we are anxiously, impatiently waiting to hear! That appt. is June 11th. at 1pm.  June 12th, though, we plan to have a 4D sonogram done of baby. We have invited all of our family to be with us at this appt. and this will be the time that we find out if we will have a baby boy or baby girl! Names have been chosen by mommy and daddy, folks, but that piece will remain a surprise to all until heshe makes a grand enterance into the world! =) (We think we have them picked out, however we do often talk about other possibilities. Then again, we ALWAYS come back to the two originals!) Jessica is very, very excited to find out if she is having a baby sister or baby brother. She told Grandpa that the day we find out, everyone has to start shopping to begin filling up baby's closet! I think our pre-Madonna/DIVA just wants to shop with a reasonable excuse! =)

I think I will get going. Daddy is out for the night with his buddies and I promised myself that I would absolutely relish this time to myself! Although, we do look forward to having him home soon for "belly time!"

Happy Mother's Day to all!

With love,
Mommy and baby

Feeling good!

Today, that is!
After a very long, eventful weekend, which by the way included the MOST romantic proposal by my amazing FIANCE (I just love rolling that off my tongue!), I woke up with an excruciating headache Monday that had turned to a migraine by Monday afternoon. After work, I was in bed by 5pm and asleep for a very short time by 6. I say short time because not 3 hours later I woke up with the worst pain in my head that I have had in a very long time. I had been taking extra strength tylenol, but that clearly wasn't working. We tried a cold compress; a warm compress; a warm bath; massage oil to my temples; everything. Finally I fell asleep, this time until about 3am. When I woke up this time in as much pain as I was in, I just knew I was doomed. I took another tylenol and prayed for the best. Not a chance. I never did go back to sleep and I had a miserable morning at work. By noon my headache had improved some but still lingered, even after another dose of tylenol. Matt called our OBGYN who indicated that he would be calling in VICODIN (yeah, that's what I thought, too!) to the pharmacy and suggested that we go to the ER if the headache persisted. Let me just say that I did not pick up that perscription, nor do I plan to, unless I am absolutely desperate next time! Dr. did say though that it was the safest thing for me (and baby) to take, next to the tylenol, surprisingly enough. As you can see, it's approaching 10pm and I am wide awake! Quite the opposite of my schedule for the last 12 weeks! My headache is gone, too, and I am one happy camper about that!

Back pain has not improved at all. It's been awful trying to sleep; any time I move I get the most intense pain in my lower back (right side) and butt that puts me in a locked position, almost as though something is saying "Oh no you don't lady, you're not moving!" And, literally, I can't!

I guesss we better go. It's getting late to take a bath, which has been one of the only things that helps me relax for bed at the end of the day. Such a relief on my back! Daddy is about to come home, too, from the first (of, I am sure, many) 7-11 run.....I am off (at least for this moment!) the pickle juice kick and I am on an extreme sour candy kick! Mmmmm....those sour watermelons by the sour patch kids company! I crave sour candy allll day long! I will have to stop at Target tomorrow to see if they have sugar free sour candies. If so, look out folks!!

G'nite....

Love,
Mommy (and baby!)

From the BIG sister!!

I am so excited to be a big sister! I am so  desprit to find out what it is. I feel bad for Erin because she's sick sometimes and her back hurts her so much. I hope we don't have to go to school on the due date because the due date is on a Wednesday. I hope it waits until Friday to come so we can see it a lot on the weekend.  It is going to be so fun with a baby around! A mini Matt or Erin! If it is a girl it coould have a sleepover with me in my room when it sleeps through the night! Sometimes Erin and I read stories to the baby at night before I go to bed. We have been buying books for the baby from Babys R us. My favorite book to read to the baby is Guess How Much I Love You. It is bedtime story about a mommy and baby nutbrown hare who keep arguing over which one loves the other the most.

I am really excited to be a big sister. I can't wait to see if it is a boy or girl. I have to go now because my bedtime is in ten minutes!

Goodnight baby! Sissy loves you to the moon andback.

Love,
Jessica R.

So exhausted!

So, since the fabulous news has been broken to everyone, I have been absolutely inundated with sweet congratulatory notes from everyone. Problem is, I simply don't have time to write every person back. I am terribly sorry for that. I have been on email since I got home from work at 4:30; it's already nearly 7! My family is calling me for dinner and my bed looks very inviting! I do appreciate everyone's kind words and unconditional love and support.

Wanted to just quickly touch base with everyone. Baby is putting Mommy in tremendous back pain the last several weeks. I did talk to the doctor about it and she indicated that it was sciatica and that I could expect it to go away in the next few weeks (only to return in the 7th-8th month). Until then, I suppose I will have to cope with the sleepless nights and therefore the long, exhausting days. Tylenol helps only seldomly. I have actually found that a warm bath helps at night which is nice because at least that way I can fall asleep.

I have also found that "morning sickness" is a lie. Doctors should rename this awful "thing" 'all day-24/7-i'm-going-to-die-if-I-eat' sickness! Although, some days are much, much better than others. We have found that if I get plenty of rest at night, I have plenty of energy to get me through the day (and then some), plus I don't have that awful sickness. "Plenty" of rest is usually 9-10 hours of sleep. Since I have to be at work at 7, that means I am in bed, lights out, by 8! People laugh at me, but you know, I will do what I have to!

At this point, I have lost interest in almost all food (except Rocky Road ice cream, of course!) and the smell of most food leaves me jetting, literally, for the bathroom! Matt took me on a date last week and we were on our way to a lovely dinner....I couldn't wait to order everything I had been craving. Ugh! About as quickly as I ordered (a little of everything, mind you!), we had to take it all to go and get outta there QUICK!

I will say, too, that I have had some pretty far out cravings in the last 2.5 weeks. I recently polished off a jar of pickle juice, leaving all but one of the pickles left in the jar! Jacob says I'm disgusting; my favorite girl, Jess, on the other hand usually shares a very small glass with me! Mmmmm...sounds sooo delish as we speak!

I think that's all for now! It's cold and rainy and baby and I just wanna cuddle up and go to bed! Sis (Jessica) asked me if she can write her own note to the baby and or the family tonight, in baby's blog. So sweet of her! I told her I'd let her get on here a little before bed, so standby for that note shortly!

G'nite! We will talk to you soon!

Love,
Mommy and Baby

Baby on Board!

Goodmorning!

So I'd thought it would be fun for you (and us!) if I created, and frequently update, a blog so you can all see the exciting happenings that are occurring almost daily in our family!

For starters, I will say that this new journey began for all of us on March 6, 2010. Although, I think it began for me about a week and a half before that. Without any pregnancy symptoms, my own intuition told me that there was a little tiny pea in the pod! After nearly a week having passed since missing my VERY regular menstrual cycle, we decided to finally take a home pregnancy test. NOTE TO SELF: never use First Response! The test directions indicated that a positive result would reflect two solid, dark, pink lines; a negative result would reflect one solid, dark, pink line. 5 minutes after I took the test, however, we had one dark pink line and one very faint (almost clearish-grey), nearly colorless line. Talk about disappointment, not to mention total confusion!

We decided we would buy and take another home test, but give it 24 hours since my HCG levels may be too low to detect pregnancy (even though my period was already 5 days late!). Off to Target we went. This time I purchased the most expensive, digital, home pregnancy test that I could find in that feminine care and family planning aisle! The Clear Blue test results seemed far more simple: "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant."

Matt and I agreeed that we would take the test again the following morning. Now, I am THE MOST impatient person you will ever know, and I didn't think that was so bad. But! Then I went to bed, waking up nearly 10 times between 9pm and 12am! I couldn't stand the anticipation every single time I woke up. So, I finally quietly tip-toed to the bathroom, not so quietly unrapped the cellophane wrap from the Clear Blue box, and not so quietly ripped open the purple wrapper that held the digital test. I have never been so excited to "pee on a stick" before! Even though it instructed me to "cap the test and lay it face down for 2 minutes", I waited 3 extra minutes in hopes that it would surely detect accurate levels of HCG in that extra dose of time! 

There was no mistaking this bad boy: PREGNANT! I was suddenly having a party all by myself (well, and with baby of course, too!) in the bathroom. The solo party didn't last long though.....As I ran (literally) out of the bathroom, I was grinning from ear to ear. At that moment, Daddy knew exactly what Miss Impatient had been up to. He, too, went into the bathroom, where I had left the test on the counter, and he, too, came out grinning from ear to ear. 

March 6th was truly one of the greatest days of my life and since that day, each day has only been better.....

After many, many weeks of seeking and researching OBGYNs, we finally decided on Dr. Christopher Lafferty of SHARP. It was critical to me that whomever we chose had been in the practice for many years, he/she had an office close to our home/work for routine visits, and he/she would be available to deliver baby at SHARP Mary Birch when the time comes. Check. Check. And check!

So, yesterday was our first OB appointment at SHARP Grossmont. We learned that we will only see Dr. Lafferty every other visit and a nurse practitioner for all visits in between. Since Dr. Lafferty was on-call, we saw our nurse practitioner yesterday (who I absolutely adore!). After the routine physical exam, etc., we FINALLY got to see our tiny baby...a very much anxiously anticipated moment! It all still seemed to surreal to me, until she turned the heart monitor on. Baby's heartbeat was the most precious sound to my ears and had the most calming effect over my entire body. That's our baby! Our baby!

As we watched our baby on the monitor, it was clear that he/she was sleeping soundly and likley did not want mommy, daddy, and Janet to "mess" with him/her anymore. But we tried a couple more times. The last sonogram picture depicts baby had finally placed his/her tiny arms up over the face, as though to say "I am a sleepy bear, please go away for now!" and scruntched up his/her tiny legs. That's our baby!

Our next appointment is May 21st. I will be blogging many times before then and I will get sonogram pictures posted as quickly as possible.

Cheers to baby boy or baby girl Robertson, who is due to arrive into this beautiful family on November 3, 2010!!!