You must be kidding me!

okay, so I have heard a lot about "pregnancy brain." So for those that have no idea what I am talking about, it's basically when you do or say something (pregnant of course) and you wonder what the hell am I doing or saying...I have said Sorry to so many people. Mid conversation I will stare and say, "crap, where was I again" Like you are no longer using your entire brain but only half of it, like you are sharing a brain with the baby.

Okay, so you have the idea. So yesterday I was laying low and had been in bed for awhile. I got up to go to the bathroom (number 1, so you can keep reading...). I was already in pj's (a pregnant girls best friend may I add). So I pulled of my pj bottoms sat on the toilet and went pee. Simple right? Well, as I sat there I had this weird feeling like my butt was numb!~ Well, whatever, I must have laid on it too much or something.....WRONG! Well what I found out was that I forgot to pull down my underwear too! OMG! you have to be kidding. When I realized what was going I laughed my ass off for 1 hour. Just thought I would share. I should probably be really embarrassed and I kinda was, but come on...that is funny!

So we weren't models!

Oh no! hopefully Turtle won't follow in our footsteps! 2 screaming babies...

(oh, check out the black hair!, my mom said it was so wild it would poke right through my beanies!)

Flashback!

I started using my scanner and was able to upload some funny pictures of Christian and I as babies! My mom is on the hunt for some pictures to show you guys that my hair was actually 3 different color from the time I was born to the time I was 3. You can kinda tell the color change happening below, but these pictures do it no justice.

A birth my hair was DARK brown (almost black, and I had a whole head of it), then it all feel out and grew back RED! You can kind see the color turning reddish brown in the last picture of me, then it turned light light brown! So what color will Turtle's hair be?....

Aren't I cute? lol

Christian...Love at first sight! He loved dogs even back then...and he adds yet another shade of blonde! Almost a toe head! So, we will Turtle be blonde, a brunette, a redhead?? ummm

Last Weeks Ultrasound

Here are some updated ultrasound pictures. Christian and I had a great visit and were able to see Turtle suck her thumb, kick, squirm, and most of all sleep! (these pictures were at last Sat)

The technician had me move a lot, pushed at my belly, and Turtle would stretch her arms and legs then put her thumb in her mouth and go out again! it was crazy to see. Hopefully we have a sleeper on our hands! My appointment was at 9 and she was out, so that could mean a few things right...she is probably going to be up at night and sleep during the day~ Can you believe in 5 months we'll know??? wow
We actually just connected the new 4-1 printer/scanner thingy and I must say looking back at my 4 week ultrasound to now, you really do understand the miracle of creation! I am posting the first ultrasound picture of Turtle and the latest ones of her! it is nuts to see her grow.

First Photo of Turtle!

OMG! look how she has grown!

Profile................. Trying to wake up

Opening her mouth.....Mom, enough! I'm sleeping!

Necklace game

okay, I think I have created a monster! We now have done the necklace trick on almost everyone we know. I even did on it Christian and you guessed it girl...boy...nothing!

No more necklace for me, I am convinced that this is too weird. Christian says there is no truth to it and that it is just like a Weegie Board and it is just the involantary suggestion of the person holding the necklace. Either way, weird!

Cheap baby hangers!

FYI to all new moms, grandmas, and whomever

I went on a search for baby hangers. I looked online and found a lot of hangers but mainly found high end hangers like wooden and cedar hangers. These hangers were like 100 bucks for 90 plus shipping etc and they were priced the same at like 10 sites. I wasn't really interested in pimping out her closet, I don't even have all wooden hangers! I don't believe in wire hangers either though so that leads us to my miracle find.
Most of the clothes that you get a baby come with hangers, so are pretty flimsy and just not that cute. (cheap plastic and opaque ones)..I must admit, although I don't do wooden hangers, I do have all matching white plastic hangers. So I figured if they made those hangers for adults they had to make them for infants. I went to Target and found a pack of 10 hangers there for about 2.50. I didn't get them there because they only had pink and I wanted to reuse the hangers when we had the second baby. So yesterday when I was at Walmart I looked to see if they sold them and they do! They are in the infant section of Walmart by the monitors and stuff. They have them in 4 colors and they are 97 cents for a pack of ten. (they have blue, pink, yellow, and green). I got green (its kinda like a sea form green) that way if the necklace is right, we can use them for little Spauldo!

I know, pretty stupid post, but I was excited :) I'm getting cheap these days!

My creative side!

Today I went to Walmart because I need some household items. I passed by the baby section and saw these plain cute newborn beanies. They sold the beanies in packs of 3 for like 4 bucks. I have been looking for these beanies because I wanted to make baby turtle these little hats that I have seen in baby boutiques and on some of my friends daughters. I have always thought they were so cute, but I had trouble justifying buying these beanies that would fit her for a month at best because they were pretty pricey. So, basically I threw some stuff on them and viola! baby beanies made by your truly.
I also found her bow box. See, I had seen a friend make some bows that would snap on to a band for her newborn. I looked at them and thought it was a great idea. I started working on this one as I was working on a bow box for a friend. Not knowing whether turtle would be a girl or boy, or geez whether turtle would come at all, I shelved the bow box until today.

Here are some pictures of her beautiful accessories!

Bow box


Just crafts....

Baby hats! (I have to still trim the bows)

Trippy!

Today I went to breakfast with two girlfriends at one of our local hot spots. We chatted, ate, and played with Kai (Cheryl's beautiful baby boy). Cheryl had been telling me of this thing that a friend of hers had done on her that would determine how many kids you would have and the gender of each child. You use a necklace and if it moves in circles it is a girl, back and forth its a boy and if there is no movement, no more kids. (Its kind hard to explain but that is the gist of it). Here is where my skin began to call.

When her friend did it on her it predicted that her first born would be a boy (correct, it was), her second child would also be a boy, and then it stopped moving! Basically, the necklace detected she would only have 2 kids. They then did it on her husband, and you guessed it, 2 boys!

So she had mentioned it to me last week sometime and when she arrived at breakfast she wanted to try it out on me. If course I was game.

So she started the trick, first child...GIRL! second child boy, and then it stopped moving! CRAZY. See for those of you that I have talked about how many children Christian and I want, I have always said, if I have 2 healthy child of the opposite sex, we are done having or own biological children (maybe adopt, maybe just keep it the 4 of us), but if I had 2 girls that we would try for a 3rd. I guess there is no need.

Then we did it on our other friend. She, Jessica (the other breakfast partner) has had a dream that all of us girls would have boys (so far 2 have and I was the one that messed things up...lol). Well, when Cheryl did the necklace thing, boom boy, and then girl, and then nothing! Exactly like she has always said! A lot like me she wanted 2 kids of the opposite sex and she would be done!

Skin crawling yet? it gets better. So after eating, I went over to my friend Nicole's. There I told her about what happened at breakfast, so we decided to try it on her. We did.
First born...BOY (and it is true, she has a 9month old son), second girl, and third boy!. And yes, you guessed it, Nicole thought about having 3 kids! Crazy.

The next one to test this on is Elishia! You are next girl! if it guess 3 girls in a row (although twins I guess show up a little differently...for ex. it would move in circles, stop and then start again!) I will lose it!

So for those that wanna know, call me! I'm still a little weirded out.

What are the chances that the necklace would guess the gender of all 3 of our first borns! (or soon to be born).

4 months pregnant!

Well, I can't believe it has been 4 months already! I would love to say time flies and I am no longer nervous, but I still can't shake the thought that something may still go wrong. I really think this is practice for her arrival. I have a feeling I will never stop worrying about her safety and her protection. It's weird how your instincts kick in this before you can even touch her.
I told myself once I got to 4 months I would start going to the gym again. Dr. Werlin said why do anything just take it easy and my new doctor wants me to watch my weight and blood pressure so she condones moderate exercise. So today, I went to the gym~ first time for everything...lol. I must admit it was a little strange. Strange for several reasons really. First, I looked like I needed some serious dieting tips and my belly protruded out of my pants and pushed out my T shirt. You see, lucky me in clothes I am in the pudgy stage. No one would dare ask if I was pregnant, although I am hoping they assume its baby and not me letting myself go. Secondly, once I got on the treadmill and started walking all I really wanted to do is run! I never WANT to run?? so what gives? I just walked and thought to myself, "I only want to run because I know I can't do it?" I actually watched the girls next to me on both sides dash into mad sprint and I was almost jealous, the one girl was running at a 6.2 and the other at a 6.6~ Um, yeah I'm crazy, I actually looked at their screens and thought to myself "I could so do that". Can anyone say hormones? WOW. Anyway, after walking for about an hour and not breaking a sweat I decided it was time to go home. :) I guess some things don't change.

Below is the most recent picture of my belly! (this used to be my favorite part of reading other peoples blogs, so Ill shup up for now)

Some old pictures

I found some old pictures of the dogs and thought it was weird how different they looked as puppies. The colors and everything are the same but there are definitely some major differences. They are both 9 weeks old in these pictures.

Another day another issue!

Good news is that I am feeling better from my cold. Most of all my symptoms have gone away, except a small cough here and there. I would say I am about 95%. That's the good news.

Last night I was in the shower and had a small cough attack. I think while I was coughing I did something weird with my neck and that was it! I got out of the shower and really struggled to get my hair dried etc. So I decided to just lay down and go to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night and was frozen! I couldn't move! Not at all. My neck was so tight I couldn't turn, lift, move really. And well this morning it was worse. I am now stuck on this chair that allows me to lay "kinda" and ice and heat my neck. I had no option but to miss work AGAIN today. Driving was so far from an option it wasn't funny. Every time I have to go to the bathroom, blow my nose, get some water, whatever...I have to call Christian to help me get out of my chair. Without his help that pain that shoots down my neck is crippling.

I called the doctor this morning and she said that the hormones you create when you are pregnant loosen the ligaments and can heighten the probability of back and neck pain. The bad thing is, you can't take anything for the back pain. In pregnancy, the one thing the doctors tell you to stay away from are muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory medications. These are big no no's. I don 't really know why but I would venture a guess and say it must have something to do with loosen the muscles in your cervix?? but I really don't know. So basically I am not able to take anything to loosen the muscle.

For the last 6 hours I have been icing, heating, rubbing, repeat. The good thing is, that I was able to get out of my chair (very slowly) recently by myself a little bit ago.

Lets see what tomorrow brings...

Question to all readers!

Okay, so I am home sick today and I have been watching Take Home Chef. This show has set off an old craving of mine for Beef Wellington! I need it! I have been talking about wanting Beef Wellington for months (originally set off by Hell's Kitchen lol), but to be honest I have forgotten about it all together. But now, well now it is on the brian!

Where can a girl get a good beef wellington in Orange County? Help~ :)

Feeling blessed!

I just finished watching this show on 4 couples struggling with infertility. The show followed these couples for 1 year and documented their struggles of that year to have a child. All of the 4 couples were IVF (invitro fertilization) patients. It was so heart wrenching to see these couples so badly wanting to have a child but for one reason or another they were not blessed with such a chance. Out of the 4 couples, 2 went on to have healthy children and the other 2 weren't so lucky.

After watching this show, I felt so blessed that Christian and I were lucky enough to not have to do IVF and to have only had to do the IUI (insemination) only once. This little angel has really blessed us and I can't be any more thankful.

Thank all of you for all your prayers, we were one of the lucky ones.

Day 13

OMG! I am still sick! this is getting out of control. I started getting sick on Dec 29th and am still sick. Not sick, like I feel 75% but can still function, like 5% and I just want to sleep.

I have made it to work all week, I mean really I just took off 2 weeks. Every day at work I sit there and blow my nose, cough, and whine! I even convinced myself with the help of good ole Dr. Google, that I had Pneumonia. I blow my nose so much, that now below my nose near my bottom lip just looks freshly waxed. Pathetic

I have tried everything to not over medicate but it is so hard. I went to the doctors the other day and she gave me a z pack to zap the bacteria but my oh my is this torture. I have gone through 4 boxes of Kleenex and countless packs of Halls. I finally threw in the towel and am staying in bed today. Let's see if sleep works.

It weird what we would have done "non pregnant" to rid ourselves of this cold weeks ago. For ex. down an entire bottle of NyQuil but little Turtle is too important and risking her little body is obviously never going to happen. Note to all pregnant women: DON'T GET SICK! supposedly, colds and flu last 3 times longer in pregnant women than non pregnant women. WTH!

Off to bed. Night night.

Another baby!

Well another beautiful baby was born the other day! To good friends just introduced a healthy baby girl into their family~ Congrats to Jeremy and Kara. Kaylee is beautiful!

Dr. appointment

Well today I went to see our new OB GYN. We are now on monthly visits with her and to be honest I am still feeling like once a month can't be enough! lol

So the appointment itself was pretty standard. I went in, got weighed (so far no weight gain, I actually lost 3 pounds from the last weigh in only because I have been really sick for the last week), got some test results back and heard her little heartbeat again! It is so weird how reassuring it is to know that she is happy and healthy in there! I can't wait until I start feeling her move, so for nothing, just growing pains that come and go.

Oh, I totally forgot to mention, NO more injections! I stopped the progesterone injections last Thursday. Actually, I tried to get Christian to give me another shot on Friday, but he refused :( I got the levels back today and they are still good! Looks like the doctors were right after all. lol It was nice to know that my placenta is able to make the progesterone on its own.

My next doctors appointment is not for another month. So far we have scheduled a few different appointments. At 16 weeks I go in for some blood work to determine something or other then I go in for another high tech ultrasound at 20 weeks! Yes! Cant wait.

I will post another belly picture at 16 weeks which is only like in 10 days! where did the time go! nuts.

Some great times in Peru

Some random pictures of Peru and the good times we had!

Slums of Peru :(

The boys and their caddies! Of course Christian golfed! LOL

Below are pictures of this new park that just opened in Peru. There are
22 fountains. All the fountains do different things, here are a few pics...

Crazy Peruvians! It was like 60 degrees! and 9pm!
Who does that?

Christian, my mom and me.

ME!

This fountain was inspired by Christmas! all the lights

were green, red, white, etc!

Me having a real fat day! :( I was swollen from the trip! :)

and my sinus infection!

Downtown Peru!

Christian and I in my parents place.

Belly Pic! It's huge already!

Here we are at 14 weeks! OMG! I can't believe its so big already! Keep in mind this is in the morning after breakfast. For whatever reason I grow to expansive degrees by the end of the day! lol

I must say, the boob factor (growing!) is not as much fun as people think!!

14 weeks

Turtles first mini shower!

In Peru, my wonderful aunts set up a little function at my grandma's sisters house. It was really nice. All my family (my mom's side) came and we were able to enjoy great stores and of course great food!

These ladies are outright amazing. My Tia Sarita and Tia Rosemary were both telling me there birth stories, and to be honest, they were nice to hear! My Tia Sarita has 5 kids, all which were born with no epidural and 3 of which were actually birthed at home, or in one case basically in the car! Her labors only lasted 1 hour and sometimes less! If only I could be so lucky! heck, if only we could ALL be so lucky.

I swear, something must have been different in the water back then, I couldn't even imagine giving birth on pure breathing techniques etc. Okay, I have to stop talking about this, by body is starting to tense up! lol

Anyway, the other thing that the do/have done is nit/crotchet. I mean stuff that would make your head spin! All I can say is baby Turtle is in good hands! She already has some amazing baby clothes and blankets purchased and made by all her lovely Tias'! Thanks again ladies!
Here are some pictures of the amazing blankets and clothes I got in Peru. (I only purchased stuff that I couldn't find in Cali) I purchased almost 20 outfits! she is going to get me in trouble~

(Oh, and we got some Wawas too (that is what they call baby sling carriers) for only like $20! of course I bought 4!lol

A little sweater made for turtle by Tia Betty

Little bibs made for turtle by Tia Betty

Baby blanket made for turtle by Tia Betty

Handmade dress and matching shoes, thanks to Grandma V!

This one a very special gift that Turtle received from her

Tia Rosemary! It is a silver medallion with the Virgin Mary

The 2 strings tie around her crib to watch her while she sleeps!

Find a pretty flower and dress it up with curls, fill its petals with a love for life, and you’ve got a little girl

Can it be possible...can we have another little girl on our hands?

Yup! Its confirmed, turtle is a GIRL!~

I really couldn't believe it at first, I mean, really what are the odds. I mean, out of the 12 friends that were pregnant last year all had girls but 3! that's nuts! But maybe turtle like her mother likes to have lots of friends and decided now would be a perfect time to make her appearance! lol

How we found out: On Christmas Eve, I went to this early ultrasound place so I could surprise Christian that night. I went in by myself, and the technician said she was fairly certain that turtle was a little girl, but of course she would not say for sure (I actually never think they do). Anyway, I did surprise Christian that night and it was perfect.

We had a "scare" the night we left for Peru though. We were about 3 hours into a very long flight when all of a sudden, I fainted! Yup, on the plane. Christian slept through all of it, but thankfully I had my parents there and all seemed fine after about 10 minutes. (Oh my, she is going to say that one day about us, crazy). When I landed in Peru I felt okay and everything seemed to be okay. About 2 days in to our trip, I got really really sick~ one of the worst sinus infections ever! Oh, let me make a suggestion or recommendation if you will, to ALL pregnant travelers..BRING MEDICATION YOU CAN TAKE! JUST IN CASE! When you are pregnant you can only take a handful of meds and for those that care, none of those medications are sold in PERU! Crap!

I spent the first week of my trip trying to recover with Halls, honey, and lemon~ all I really wanted was NyQuil. So back to the point of my story, because all this was going on, I got nervous and my parents suggested I go to the doctors. We actually got a very thorough ultrasound (4d) and they were able to detect female genitala. It was nuts to see her kick around like crazy!

I have the ultrasound on a CD, I will try to upload it, but to be honest, I need to make a phone call to figure that out...lol

Pictures of Peru and me of course coming shortly~