40 Weeks and still waiting

So here we are at 40 weeks and we are still waiting to meet our sweet baby Lucas. What can I say? Being uncomfortable is now part of my daily life and the fact that everyday I wake up expecting contraction is driving me crazy. I mean, who wakes up or goes to sleep praying for contractions?!?! 

We went to see the doctor yesterday and she asked me what I wanted to do. I am not a fan of keeping the baby in my belly any longer that the established time. Here is the thing; in the last 2 ultrasounds (28 and 35 weeks) Lucas' gestational age has been 2 weeks ahead of his time. Meaning he measured 30 and 37 respectively when he was only 28 and 35 weeks. I don't want him to be "overdone" lol! So, after much thought and consideration we decided on inducing labor on Friday, May 1st. We will be "checking in" at Sacred Heart Hospital at midnight and sometime that morning start having contractions...and hopefully later on have a baby. I know it can be a slow process and I have been trying to get myself ready. 

Tyler and my mom will be with me the whole time and then as soon as things start moving forward we will be making the call to Tyler's family. Once baby arrives then they (Tyler and family) will be calling and texting our long list of people. We are very excited about finally meeting sweet Lucas and about calling you and letting you know.  Please be praying for us.

We are hoping for a natural delivery... don't get me wrong; if medication is needed it will be requested soon; I think what I mean is that I would like to avoid the C-Section. HOWEVER, if that's what God has planned for us and the doctor recommends it then bring it on! Lucas seems to be a big baby but since I am not "narrow" then is hard to tell if he's going to "fit." In fact, we won't know until we try it. We are as ready as we can be - although I don't know if you can ever be completely ready - but I do know that I cannot wait to hold Lucas in my harms.

OK, so that's all I got for now... we will be blogging soon hopefully with baby pictures. Thank you all for your prayers.

Let the fun begin.... 

These are a few of my favorite things...

Since I've been home "nesting" since last week I've had time to think back on my pregnancy experience. Now that I am in the "home stretch" it is hard to imagine a time when I was pregnant and had energy, and these last few days have been very rough on me. However, I really cannot complain about a month or so of pain and discomfort given the fact that I never had any other pregnancy symptoms. I have been thinking about things that I've really enjoyed while being pregnant and decided I'd share with you. Here they are not in a particular order:

1. Feeling my baby move: YES!! I love to feel sweet baby Lucas move and kick. Especially at the beginning when it was very new and exciting every time. Now it is very cool to see my belly take a certain shape and know exactly where my baby is. At times he gets ninja on me and kicks the air out of my lungs, or gets in my ribcage, or punches my bladder; but all in all it has to be one of my favorite feelings. You just stay still and feel that baby move and think wow!!! God really is creating a baby inside me... cool!!!

2. Food: Everything has a much reacher flavor. It's like all of the sudden everything is super yummy (or not good at all). I have been eating very normal as far as no crazy cravings, no 2:00 am run to the store, etc. Actually, there is nothing that I am eating now that I was not eating when I wasn't pregnant or viceversa. However, everything tastes a lot better; I guess I want to say that I enjoy food a little bit more than before... and you can probably tell by the roundness of my face and body... which leads me to point #3.

3. Pregnancy is a great excuse to eat what you want: I've been trying not to go crazy with food. However, everytime I want to eat something people say "enjoy it while you can" or " you are pregnant; you can eat what you want!" and that sort of thing. So I have! hahaha I don't eat mountains of stuff but I eat what I want to eat just not as much as I want to eat. I mean, I have to lose all this weight after the baby so a few more pounds won't kill me! lol!! I just don't feel ashamed of eating  what I want when I want... and that is an awesome feeling!

4. Foot massages: Let me just tell you that my husband has been great about rubbing my feet when I am tired or if I had a long day. This last month of pregnancy has been hard on my feet. I have little narrow feet that have to hold all the extra weight. Also, this last month is when I've noticed my feet swelling more and more often. It is a great excuse to get to feet rubbed and massaged few times a week without having to pay for a pedicure. I love it!! I also love how accommodating everyone is around you; and how my husband is always trying to make sure I am comfy. "Is you back okay? Do you need your wedge pillow? Put you feet up? It's cold in here but are you hot? I'll get it so you don't have to get up" are just a few of the daily questions in our house. I love love love the way Tyler has stepped up to the plate and help me beyond what I expected.  

5. People's reactions: I just love how people react so differently about a big pregnancy belly. Some people can't help it and HAVE to touch it; which does not bother me one bit. Other people talk to the belly and greet the baby. Others touch it with one finger like is going to bite them or something, I even had a baby leaning forward and kissing my belly (ok, that was a bit weird but funny) LIke I've said before, people in Latin America have no problem being touchy anyways (in a good way) we greet by kissing and hugging each other so when you are pregnant this is very common. Here in the US of A people ask you if they can touch your belly to make sure that's okay (and probably avoid a law suit hahaha) I know there are people who don't like it and that is personal preference. I also read a great quote in a magazine that says "when you are pregnant people think you are public property"...and it's true! Everyone comments about your belly, how big or little you are. The oh so common "girl! you are about to pop!" or the usual "anyday now" when you are only 7 months pregnant, and I can go on and on about this issue. Anyways, you gotta love people!... or NOT! hahaha

So, that is a small list of some of my favorite things while pregnant. I could give you a list of my not so favorite things but who wants to read about that, right! So; I would like to know what were/are a few of your favorite things while you were/are pregnant. Come on! I know you want to share!!!!

More Updates!

We are now 37 1/2 weeks and I have a lot to share with you...

First let me back up and tell you about the awesome Baby Shower that Christi, Jen, Jaime, and Tobi hosted for me. We had a great time and I got a bunch of cute presents. We played some games and had some good food. I really enjoyed the time to spend with friends and family.  Here are a few pictures of the shower:

Also, we were very much surprised by the awesome Music MInistry of our church (OBC). We normally go to choir practice on Wednesday nights; however this past Wednesday we were going to skip because I am no longer singing in choir and Tyler is taking a break from it (Yes, even Praise Team). Leo -our music minister- called Tyler and asked him to please show up for choir cause him and his wife had a present for us... or something other. We felt like we could not say no so we showed up. Well, Jenny and Paul had asked us to go to eat with them and we did so we were a little late to choir (all part of the plan I learned later) When we showed up for choir we were very surprised. The choir sang "Happy Bottom Wiping to You" (to the tune of Hapy B-day) and had bags and boxes of diapers... many many many diapers and baby wipes! It was the best present they could have given us. We are so thankful and blessed to have such an awesome choir family at church.

After all that excitement we had our Dr.'s appointment on Friday and got more great news. Our sweet Lucas is doing great and looks wonderful. We had an ultrasound and were able to see him. After many different measurements taking the machine calculated an estimated weight of 7 lbs 15 oz... The Dr.'s exact words were: WOW! You have a big baby inside there." HIs " Gestational Age was 39 wks 1 day... That Friday I was 37 wks 1 day so yes he is big and we are praying that he does NOT wait until April 30th to come out!

On that same note; my mom is flying in from Costa Rica on Monday, April 13th, so I am ready to have this baby anytime after that! LOL! So yes, my mom is coming to town and I cannot wait to see her! She is going to be such a great help to me; and just knowing that she will be here tomorrow makes me feel better already. I have been so tired and uncomfortable... my mom has already helped my sister during her pregnancy so she knows exactly what to do.

On a separate note... we had a little scared on Saturday. We were running errands getting last minute things ready (like blinds in the baby's room, and other shopping) and at about 10:30am I told Tyler that I had not felt Lucas move since I woke up. He normally moves a good bit after I have breakfast; but I thought maybe he was just being a sleepy head and didn't think much of it. Well... we ran errands and I was being very aware of any movement and nothing. We had lunch and I had a coke for the sugar/caffeine intake and still nothing. We came back home so I could lay down and maybe see if we felt the baby. We shook my belly; talk to Lucas, called his name, tap two coins against my belly, put on some loud music and nothing, He would not move. I'd read some on this subject but could not remember it all so I got online and started researching in different websites about it. A found out that a healthy baby has to move at least 10 times in a 2 hour period; if not then the next thing every website tell you to do is "Call your doctor IMMEDIATELY." I called the doctor and got a call back within 2 minutes; she asked me: Have you eaten? I said, Yes. "Try to lay down and talk to the baby, even shake your belly a little" I said, I've been doing that for 30 minutes now. "Drink something with sugar" I said, I had a coke for lunch. Doctor's final words: "I need you to go to the hospital right now to be monitored." I can't lie, I was very scared and worried; I was just praying and in silence... I was not talking (and if you know me that is not normal.) We got to the Triage at the hospital and they asked me the same stuff the doctor did and in 5 minutes had me in a hospital gown hooked to two different monitors. The moment the nurse put the monitor in my belly we were able to hear baby's heartbeat loud and clear... I was finally able to breath at peace and so did the nurse. We stayed there and the baby was monitored for about 40 minutes. TYler was there with me the whole time and he was a great support; he held my hand the whole time and we just sat there listening to Lucas' heartbeat without saying a word for a little while. 

Now I have to do daily "kick counts" and drink plenty of fluids until my next appointment on Friday morning.  I keep thanking God for his mercy and protection over us and our sweet Lucas. We are now very near to the end of this journey and ready to start trying the whole parenting thing hahaha. I want to thank each and everyone of you who have prayed for us and our baby.  We can't wait to meet him and for you to meet him as well!

      

Getting closer... and bigger!

Can I just start by saying that whenever I think I cannot get any more uncomfortable... you guesses it! I get even more uncomfortable. I am now 36 weeks pregnant and I am not even going to tell you how much I weight but it's a lot! I can tell you that my belly is now 49" round and sweet baby Lucas is quickly running out of room. Sometimes I fear that he is going to kick his way out of my belly any day now.

I am still working full time; which is not too bad and at least it keeps my mind busy. I don't think I could stay home just waiting for "something to happen"... it'd drive me insane!!! I am planning on staying home sometime in the middle of April and just nest. My mom will be here on the 13th and I can't wait to spend some quality time with her and just let her take care of me. I sure hope Lucas waits for his Abuela to get here before he does; I've always imagined the birth of my first child with my husband on one side and my mom on the other.  

Lucas' room is now ready and just waiting for him... my only worry (as far as preparations) is that Tyler and I have not decided on a diaper bag. Can you believe it?! He does not want anything "that looks like a purse" and I don't want a "daddy diaper bag"  cause they are not very cute. Maybe something like a tote would work for both but we have not found one that we can both agree on. My mission is to find one by the end of this week so I can get it ready. We are also open to suggestions if you have one.

We went to see the doctor this past Tuesday and she said that everything looks great. She also said that I am 1 centimeter dilated but baby has not dropped enough... however that can happen any day... Or I can be walking around on 1 cm for weeks! We have to go next Friday (04/10) for our next appointment and also an ultrasound. The doctor will be measuring the baby and get an estimated weight. We can hardly wait to see him make sure everything looks good. We are now seeing the doctor every week until the baby is born. 

Symptoms this week: Heartburn after pretty much every meal; sleepless nights - I believe this is God's way to get us ready for what's coming. Also, I have to pee a lot; I believe my bladder has little room so I have to go more often. Tiredness, very tired at the end of the day especially; it takes a lot of energy to get up and down and move around.  I get very hungry at times but I also get full fast; this probably due to the fact that my stomach is crowded in a corner with little or no place to expand. I also get hot very often and at night (maybe from all the tossing and turning) which means our house is a freezer and Tyler walks around in sweat pants and a sweater... he does not complain though; I guess he knows better hahahaha.

Speaking of tired... I am now going to bed to try to sleep. I toss and turn and when I am finally asleep I have to change positions which means that I wake up then I realize that I am hot and throw all the covers at Tyler (who is covered up to his neck)... after that I have to get up and pee and then start all over again; by the time I've done this a few times is 6:30 am and I have to get ready to go to work... ugh!

I'll be blogging again pretty soon - I have to tell you all about my baby shower and post pictures. 'Till then please pray I don't go crazy or in labor before my mamma gets here. LOL!