lucky day

My baby boys photos just won't be complete without photoshop elements to give them that finished, professional look. Luckily Grammie Mommie is giving away this very thing http://grammiemommy.blogspot.com/ It is just my lucky day

let there be light

I know it has been a long time since my last post, but hey I have a 3 month old. He is amazing and it is my new favorite activity to photograph him, but sadly those photographs lack a certain element. That is why I am trying to win a brand new box of light.....well photoshop lightroom 2 to be exact. Mckmama is givng this away on her blog here : http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2009/12/power-of-two.html

*crosses her fingers*

37 Weeks Picture

This was taken today at 37 weeks on my way out to my breastfeeding class...

Congratulations! Your baby is full term

Here is the email I recieved this morning from BabyCenter.com


Hello, Heather! Congratulations! Your baby is full-term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.


So excited only 8 more days until the induction

35 weeks + some change

So, there is big news on the home front. Let me start with the standard stuff. We are both doing great! I had my final ultrasound on Wednesday and he is looking wonderful, weighing in at 5 lbs 11 oz, and about 19 inches long. The ultrasound tech told us that she could see some hair on his head and I am very excited about that. He is definitely running out of room very fast because his movements no longer tickle inside, and sometimes they are down right painful. I find myself trying to coax him out of my ribs SEVERAL times a day. I am also a proud new member of the "I am sick of being pregnant" club. There are several joining requirements that include:

-itchy stomach (enough said)

-inability to sleep for longer than 1 hour at a time

-having to pee every 15 minutes

-having to pee every 15 minutes, but only able to pee 1 mil at a time

-inability to put on pants/shorts

- "" "" socks/shoes

-inability to to get off the couch (or the bed) without assistance



As much as I hate all of the above mentioned things, I am above all else grateful that I get to be this miserable for such a great gift at the end.



Now on to the big news (drum roll please..................................) We have an induction date!!!!



On Thursday, September 24th at 6:00 pm we go to the hospital to be induced. They have explained this procedure to me as.....

Step one: Arrive, Get admitted, IV's and blood work and all that

Step two: Get a medication called Cervadil, this is suppose to soften my cervix and get it ready for labor

Step three: 12 hours after Cervadil is placed, they will start Pitocin (this is the one that actually "brings the pain")

Step four : Wait........

Step five : Give birth to a sweet baby boy!



See it is only 5 steps it can't be THAT bad......right :/



My doctor has told me that the 25th will be his birthday, no matter what. If the induction doesn't work, then I will have a C-Section on that day.



So, the countdown is officially on! We will be meeting our little boy in 19 days.

We are so excited!!



As always here is a pic to end the post. This was taken today @ 35 weeks and 3 days

Quick Rolando Update

We had a growth ultrasound today! I am 34 weeks and baby weighed 5 lbs and 9 ounces so he measured a little bit big at about 35 weeks gestation, which is expected because I have diabetes. I am grateful for the extra weight, because I will be induced early so I would rather him be bigger than smaller. He is between 17-18 inches long, and has a perfect, happy heartbeat of 152. My amniotic fluid is measuring completely normal...so we are looking very good. We didn't get any pictures today :( but maybe with the next ultrasound. We are looking forward to meeting our baby boy in a few weeks!

33 1/2 weeks

Here I am facing the final weeks of this pregnancy, and I am so antsy. I want it to be over already. I have had some minor setbacks in the past couple of weeks. First, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which has been ok, I have to prick my fingers several times a day, but I have had no problems, my blood sugar remains well controled with my diet. Then, I encountered another hic-up. My blood pressure was really high at my last Doctor's Appointment. So, as a precaution, I have been put on medication, and been ordered to bed! So, for the next 6 weeks, I can only go to the Dr and to the bathroom. It has been harder than I thought, but I will do whatever they tell me to do.

I have been focusing on the positives and so far they are:

-Because of this I will be induced early, tentativley October 1st. Which is great, because I can't wait to meet him.

-Also, I get to have Non Stress Tests twice a week, which doesn't sound like fun, but I get to hear his little heartbeat for a whole hour....and it sounds like music to my ears

-Ultrasounds, I get to have them once a week to check his weight, which is very exciting.

Ok....baby updates....as of August 5, he was about 17 inches long and weighed 3 lbs 9 oz. That was right on track for 31 weeks. My next ultrasound will be on Wednesday, he should weigh about 5 lbs and be around 18 1/2 inches long.....I will post when I know exactly. His heartrate is very good, between 145-155. At my last NST the nurse was very impressed at how great his heartrate was....ALSO, I got to hear his hic-ups on the monitor....it was very cool.

Luis and I have officially completeled the Childbirth Class offered at the hospital, and we learned a lot, maybe a little bit more, than we originally bargained for going in......(ie the delivery of the placenta was not pleasent to watch) but it was informative and I feel prepared if not ready for the big day. I don't know how anyone can actually be REALLY READY to experience that kind of mind blowing pain, but prepared....yes.

I feel this was a really long post, but well overdue. Here is my latest photo at 33 weeks

Nursery Volume 4.......THE FINISHED PRODUCT

It is done....officially. My mom came up to help and we finished the nursery. The sheets are washed, the clothes are in the closet...just 56 more days (+ or - a few) and there will be a tiny little guy in there......I can't wait. Here are the much awaited pictures

Baby Shower Pictures

My baby shower was last Saturday in Bartow. If you could make it, I am so glad that I got a chance to see and spend time with each of you. If you weren't able to make it, I missed you, but I hope to get to see you soon. Here are the pictures from the shower!!

28 weeks and counting down

It is officially here.....the 3rd trimester and trust me, it has been long awaited. I am getting more excited and more anxious for him to be here already, but I am waiting patiently. Along with it's excitement the 3rd trimester has brought me several new pregnancy gifts...one of which is sore feet! This is a "sore" like I have never experienced before, and I don't even have to do very much for them to hurt excruciatingly bad. Luckily enough, my loving husband rubs them A LOT and that helps so much. I am also getting more frequent backaches...but not in my lower back which ,I guess, is where I sort of expected it to hurt...instead, it is more in the middle of my back, so it kind of makes it hard to breath sometimes. I haven't "cross your fingers" experienced swelling really yet, and I am hoping I get to avoid that common pregnancy ailment.

Onto other happenings, my little pumpkin has apparently grown quite a bit in the last week or so, because I have had various comments from strangers and friends about my protruding belly. I didn't really notice the huge growth spurt, but everyone else sure did. It is pretty great, I kind of enjoy answering questions from strangers about the whole experience.....that being said no one has actually tried to touch my stomach yet. I am not going to be happy about that, I can't exactly say what I will do in the situation, but it probably won't be pretty.

He seems to be doing pretty well inside the oven these days. He has become a lot more active and his movements are so much stronger! Occasionally he wakes me up in the middle of the night with his little dance parties. Luis has been able to feel him move several times which he was super happy about.

I am very excited about the baby shower coming up. I leave for FL next Wednesday the 29th and I can't wait to see everyone. I leave you with my expanded bump picture....enjoy

Nursery Volume 3....and then there was wallpaper

We finished the wallpaper border today, we are pretty pleased because this was our first attempt at wallpaper border and it only took about 3 hours.

Nursery Volume 2

Well, we painted the room! We chose a very light green color for the top 1/2 of the room and a light brown for the bottom 1/2. Our next step will be to put the wallpaper border in the center between the two colors. I am getting very excited about the finished product :)

Just a picture

25 weeks

Rolando's Nursery Volume 1

BEFORE PICTURES

Well, we are starting to prepare to paint and I wanted to post before pictures. As we continue to work on his room I will post more pictures of our progress...

A great pregnancy poem I found

23 weeks and 100 degrees

Well, it's here....summer time and I am officially 100 degrees all the time. In an effort to keep as cool as possible....I have chopped all my hair off. I cut 10 whole inches off, and I am GLAD I did I felt an immediate difference. This is going to be the longest summer of my life. I am searching for a pool to swim in to cool off. We went to Water Country in Williamsburg for Andy's birthday a couple weeks ago and the water was so nice! I could be in the water ALL the time. Apart from the temperature everything is going great. I can't believe we only have roughly 117 days to go to until we get to meet him. I am feeling him a lot more these days. Sometimes he can be felt on the outside, but Luis hasn't been able to catch him yet. I went to the doctor today and everything is great. His heartbeat is 156 and he is right on target. My blood pressure was a little bit high, but the doctor wasn't that concerned about it. I am continuing to prepare for his debut little by little. I've starting knitting him some cute things. I plan on beginning his nursery in the next few weeks and I will post pictures as it comes along. Well, that is all for 23 weeks...

20 weeks and I can't wait!!

Well, this is it, the big half way point. I feel really great right now, I feel a little bit of movement, but it is sporadic and very faint....Luis is dying to feel it, but he can't yet. I had an ultrasound today and the baby is doing very well, his heartbeat is 160 and he is 12 ounces....that is right ladies and gentlemen...he is almost a pound. He was playing with his feet and we got some really good pictures of that. There is still plenty of room in there as he was moving around a lot. As for me, I really have nothing to report. I am growing an impressive bump....and growing a couple of other body parts as well that I will not go into on the "G" rated post. Other than that I am peachy, I know why the 2ND trimester is everyone's favorite, no backaches, and no vomiting....this is the good life. I am a big time planner, so I am trying to plan for this little guy as much as I can. We registered at BabiesRus and I am doing some work on the nursery little by little so I don't get overwhelmed with all this. My mom is throwing me a shower in Florida on August 1st so I will be seeing everyone in FL in a couple months. Today I will leave you with some ultrasound picture....and the ever hilarious belly shot

18 weeks--Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Well that's right ladies and gentlemen......it is a boy!! and we are super excited. Our ultrasound was amazing I can't believe how detailed it was, just remembering it gives me chills. He was a bit uncooperative b/c he was having an afternoon nap, but we got some good shots. For those of you who don't know we will be naming him after Luis, Luis Rolando Gonzalez IV. He'll go by his middle name, b/c we already have a Luis in the house. I immediatly went to Babies R Us to buy some blue stuff to put in his closet I found and bought a little too much, but hey you only have your first baby boy once, right? As for me, I am feeling fine and noticing people stare at me a little bit, trying to decide if I am pregnant are not. So far no one has asked yet, according to my baby book that will soon change as I am expected to grow exponentially in the next few weeks, so by 24 weeks there will be no question that my expanding belly isn't from a few too many cupcakes. I am thinking about nursery ideas now, and will expand on that as I come up with ideas........I am anti-procrastination, so I plan to have the entire nursery done by Sept 1, in case my boy has an early itch to meet me. Well that is going to be it for this post. Here is my favorite pic from the ultrasound. I love his baby lips!

17 weeks...5 days until the big question is answered

It's been a while so I thought I would update for anyone interested. I am 17 weeks now, and I am the proud owner of a little baby bump. The doctor says that my little bump is growing perfectly and it's heartbeat is right on target. I'm feeling a lot better now. My back and hips hurt a little, but I will take that any day over the constant nausea and vomiting. Excitement is filling our house as we wait for the BIG ultrasound. We find out on Wednesday the 6th, and I am pretty sure I have never been this excited in my life. Well that seems to be all for tonight....I will be updating next week with the big news. Enjoy my first pregnant shot........

17 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS

12 weeks update

I went to the doctor and my due date was changed to October 7th which puts me a little further along than I originally thought. I am very eager to end the first trimester so that I can put the nausea behind me, and really begin to enjoy the pregnancy. I had an ultrasound today at my doctors appointment and the baby was moving so much...fliping around and waving arms and legs. The doctor giggled at how much the baby was moving, she pleaded "stay still I have to measure you!" Everything is going well says the doctor. My next appointment is in five weeks. I promise as soon as you can really tell I am pregnant I will post pictures. Until then be satisfied with my adorable little gymnast baby....

From embryo to fetus!

Well, I will be 9 weeks tomorrow and much has happened since my last post. When I was about 71/2 weeks I had a bit of a scare that landed me in the ER, but good news. All is well. I had an ultrasound and everything looked great. The babies heartbeat was 161 and the Dr assured me that that was very good. I was diagnosed with first trimester spotting. I must say I really want the 2nd trimester to get here fast, apart from the obvious reason (the big M/C) I am really tired of throwing up. It has become pretty common place for me to throw up once or twice a day. The doctor told me to enjoy the "morning sickness" b/c it signifys a healthy pregnancy...but geez. My first Dr's appointment is next Friday, and I am excited although I don't think very much will happen this visit. My baby book informs me that as of tomorrow my baby will graduate from an embryo to a Fetus....which basically means it looks like a human now YAY (but a very tiny human about the size of a green olive) I must nap now, but I will try to update after my Dr's appointment.

This is my first post, and I will be 6 weeks pregnant tomorrow. So far nothing interesting yet...apart from the horrible nausea I get when I brush my teeth. I am getting increasingly tired and a little bit dizzy. My first Doctors appointment is March 20 and I am very excited, even though I probably won't get to get an ultrasound or hear the heartbeat until my 2nd appointment. It still feels a little bit surreal, but we are very excited