2 Months ...

Our sweetie pie is now cooing, gurgling and just making a lot of happy noises ... except when she's wet, hungry, cold and lonely, of course. She weighs 10lbs 8 ozs and is 22 inches long at 2 months old.

Our Little Priscilla

Our little sweetie pie was born August 29, 2006

at 11:55 AM weighing 7 lbs. 5 ounces.

4 1/2 Weeks To Go ...

• Halfway done with my 'Summer To-Do List' ... had to nudge hubby pooh every so often regarding the list which is taped to our bathroom mirror ...
• Went and bought baby's crib, baby's infant car seat and stroller at Toy's R' Us last week.
• Bought this really sweet 6 pc bedding set from Baby Center online ... it's called "Sweet As A Daisy" ... received package 1 week later and it's wonderful! The colors compliment 'Priscilla's' bedroom color which is 'Imperial Lilac'.
• Co-workers, friends and sister in-laws have given me cute little onesies, baby blanket galore and super sweet outfits.
• I'm hoping to finish off the 'list' before baby comes ... once she's here, we won't have much time to tinker around the house.
• I suppose I'm getting a bit frustrated waiting for her but I know time will go faster when I'm focused on something else ... like finishing the 'list'.
• Breastfeeding or bottlefeeding ... still don't know ... breastfeeding has so many plusses but I'm going back to work 1 1/2 month after she's born ... I don't have a private office I can pump milk ... and if I decide to breastfeed, I'll have to do it in one of the bathrooms and utilize one of those electric pumps that's probably going to make a big racket ...
• Do I miss work? I suppose I miss the 'routine' of working Mon to Friday... and of course I miss certain co-workers/friends company. I do feel guilty at times for not feeling bad that I'm on maternity leave ... some would probably call me 'strange' for even thinking that way.
• I currently weigh more than I think I'd weigh at 8 months ... I hope I'll be able to shed most of it and then some ... I'll give myself 5-6 months to lose what I gained (and hopefully more).
• The kids bathroom has been bugging me lately ... it needs to be painted badly. I suspect that the bathroom fan has played a big role in ruining the paint ... it's probably malfunctioning. I have picked the paint I want to use on the bathroom ... hubby pooh thinks we should stick to the same color paint ... which is a very sexy "white". I'm sure we'll have to use a 'primer' before painting it ... I'll probably have to wait till the baby is here before I can get my hands all over that bathroom ... or I might just go shtupid crazy and do it myself sometime in the next 2 weeks ... ugh!
• My son's room is done, thank goodness! Daughter's room is halfway there ... and of course the baby's room has been painted but just needs organizing.
• All these thought swirling in my brain ... things that need doing .... ugh! If I could clone myself 5 times, I'd probably do it all myself and be done already.
• Going back to baby ... she's weighing 4 lbs and 8 ounces as of last week. I wonder how many more pounds she'll gain in 4 1/2 weeks.

Update

My blood pressure hasn't been giving me problems so far.... thank BBU! On the other hand, my diabetes has been going all over the place even when eating the right kind of food with the correct portions. My doc decided to pull me off work as of next week ... I kinda was thinking of working till my delivery date but she kindly reminded me that I'm on "Special OB" because of my health issues and that I should think of the baby and my health. I tried to wheedle off at least 1 week telling her that my blood sugars maybe better by then but to no avail ... so now I'll be off work and will be home ... which is good I think. I guess I'm just so used to working 5 days a week ... I feel bad that I'll have less time with the baby being taken off work this early ... I'm gonna try to be off at least 4 1/2 to 5 months. Our budget will be a little challenging for a little while but hey, when is it ever not? I'll also have to go to the doc to have the baby monitored twice a week, Tuesday and Thursdays from now on. I'm sure the time will go by really fast ... baby Priscilla will be here before you know it!

Priscilla's New Pictures!

Priscilla currently weighs 2 lbs and 3 oz ... 10-12 weeks more to go!

Recent Happenings ...

Memorial Day came and went ... I was right about the incessant and sometimes almost annoying questions regarding my preggers state ... some were even bold enough to ask how it happened ... I mean really people!

People at work seem to be fascinated with the size of my tummy ... I really don't mind except for certain comments that borders on stupidity ... comments like "are you sure you're not 14 months along?". Two good buddies have already given me baby shower gifts ahead of time ... they think Priscilla will come earlier than expected.

My next checkup is Wednesday. I hope that my dietitian and doc don't nag me too much. I'm not looking forward to getting on their scale ... I've gained enough already! I've been using my stationary bike every night for at least 30-40 minutes. I also have to register at the main hospital next week so that they can request copies of my med files from Kaiser.

Mom is coming over September ... yay! Probably sometime middle of September which gives us some time to settle in with the baby and clean up.

Bad news for my sister in-law ... she was about 1 month along when she had a miscarriage. Good news is she and her husband are going to try again. I have promised to give her my maternity clothes; my sister have decided to completely retire her uterus... he-he-he.

6 Months 1 week

• I'm 6 months and 1 week along ...
• Priscilla has been making her presence known more each day ... her movements are more pronounced ... I use to think it was gas .. ha-ha
• My special ob doc adjusted my insulin aGaIn ... he scolded me about my sugars being all over the place ... agh!!!
• I've noticed that my feet get swollen at the end of the day ... I'm trying to keep away from salt and now have 2 pillows for my feet for when I sleep.
• I have to take my time walking ... it seems that I don't have as much of a balance when I'm walking fast ... so no speedwalking for the meantime!
• Gots to control my appetite ... I've gained more than I expected which is a giant NO-NO.
• Naps are good so I sneak one in every opportunity I get which isn't much!
• My summer to-do list is now posted on our bathroom mirror for husband to ponder and hopefully do during the summer ... course I'll be helping too, along with the kids.
• I've picked what color I want to paint the baby's room ... it's 'Quartz Pink' from Behr Paints ... I'm hoping that my son's room gets painted too ... not in the same color, something blue maybe.
• Have to sign up my daughter for volunteer work this summer, which will be good on college applications and for her character development.
• Giant family get together this Memorial Day weekend ... not looking forward to seeing many people ... too many prying and nosey questions and unwanted advice but there will be FOOD, yay! Which reminds me to watch what I eat ... so hard with so much food around ... agh!
• Kids will be on their summer vacations soon ... thinking of signing up the kids for swimming lessons and other stuff ... will see how much my budget will allow.
• And final thought ... Priscilla will be here soon .... September 2006!!!!

Going on 24 Weeks ....

Almost 6 months ... or 24 weeks ... I've gained 17 lbs so far ... I was hoping that I'd gain about 15-20 lbs through the whole pregnancy but I guess that's not going to happen. Little "Priscilla" is very active ... she's my little dancer ... even the doc and ultrasound technicians have a hard time taking certain pictures because she's always moving about. Here's hoping the rest of the pregnancy goes smoothly.

I've been thinking of painting her room , (former guest room) lilac or a very very soft mossy green. Husband says to wait till she's almost here ... it's an asian superstitious belief I guess ... suppose to wait till the last minute before buying baby stuff. We sort of did the same thing with our two other kids ... with our son, we waited really last minute ... he was off buying stuff while I was at home with the baby (the only thing we purchased was the car seat, some pampers and a few clothes that were baby shower gifts).

the unborn child is covered with a fine, downy hair called lanugo. Its tender skin is protected by a waxy substance called vernix. Some of this substance may still be on the child's skin at birth at which time it will be quickly absorbed. The child practices breathing by inhaling amnionic fluid into developing lungs.

Currently ...

• Love James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"
• Had to increase my insulin due to baby growing and my hormones. BP is excellent per my ob/gy doc
• Expecting brother and his family and older brother to visit tomorrow.
• Tummy is getting bigger along with zig zagging stretch marks... hmmm, how much bigger will I be come September?
• Methinks that our dentist and the endodontist are in cahoots ... hubby has been to both the last two days ... we're screwed!
• Lazy co-worker is on vacation next week ... more work for meeeeeeeeee, yey!
• Being in vanpool, not so hot! Driving myself to work, extremely desirable (IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE FUEL ISSUE).
• Daughter and son are both looking forward to their little sister's September appearance.
• Sister turns 36 TODAY!!! Too bad she's far away ... was thinking of giving her a phallus shaped cake.
• Been watching the Food Network ... my favorites are the fancy cake shows - Yummy!
• 4400 is coming back June - 'bout time too!
• The kitchen and bathroom floors need cleaning - dust balls have begun congregating in corners.
  

April 5th and 6th

April 5th and 6th were two agonizing days. The Genetic counselor called me on April 5th with a partial amnio result which almost drove me to pulling hair. Apparently, my AFP value is a little high and there's a question about the spina bifida ... they had to send it to UCLA for a retest. I didn't sleep much that night and was literally climbing the walls by April 6th. By April 6th around 2 PM, I got tired waiting and called the G.C. who was suppose to call me first. To make a long story short, the AFP value came back "Normal", the spina bifida test was "Negative" and she said everything across the board came back "Normal". One more big 'thank you' to 'Big Boss' upstairs.

I first thought that I was going to have a girl then later boy because of how my tummy is shaping up ... well, first instinct apparently is always right. We're all happy that our little sweetie will be alright, now I just have to eat right, exercise, etc.

I've been 'outed' at work ... finally let the cat out of the bag. Everyone was very happy of course except for those who'll have to 'really work their arse off' when I go on maternity leave.

My nephews wedding was this weekend ... and yes, everybody was very very surprised about our little bundle of joy. Most asked if we've had our amnio ... what would they have said if I hadn't? I'm quite sure that my pregnancy would have been a 'fodder' for certain people gossip mill... some things never change I guess.

Off to more happier things ... I'm naming our little girl, Priscilla. Either my husband comes up with a middle name or I'm doing it ... I was sort of playing with 'Bea' and 'Bailey'.

Overall, I'm immensely 'thankful' for everything and 'Big Boss Upstairs' knows that.

Waiting...Waiting...Waiting...

It's Friday and it's Day 10! Do they mean 10 Working Days or just plain 10 Days? A friend told me that he and his wife got their amnio call after 8-10 "Plain" Days.

This waiting is making me real antsy! C'mon phone, RING! But then again, do I really want them to rush the procedure? ARRGGGHHHH!!!!

I just have to be more patient, for now....

2nd Ultrasound

This is our baby's 2nd ultrasound taken on March 21st. The amnio took a bit longer than normal ... little booger was wide awake and was 'swiping' at the needle which is apparently normal per my ob doc. Doc had to wait a few times to extract amnio because little baby was very nosey and wanted to know what the commotion was about. Got scared quite a bit - started having contractions during the procedure - the contractions were a bit intense. My hubby watched the whole process and was cringing ... he too got scared especially when the doc became quiet at one point.

Contractions went away shortly after the amnio but had to take it easy for a few days. My genetic counselor said that there's a 1 in 200 chance of miscarriage after an amnio ... now we just had to wait 10 days for the result - here's hoping it's a 'healthy result'.

Well ...

It's been snowing on and off all morning and afternoon. We finally got more snow around 6 - 7 at night and the kids had fun outside making snowman and throwing snowballs at each other (initiated by my husband of course).

Just heard news from the "family grapevine" ... she said that one of my nephews (husband's side) is getting married and that the bride is two months along. For a mere second, I felt OLD, because of my nephew's impending fatherhood. And then I thought how nice it was that there's going to be two babies coming into this world ... I no longer worried about my age ... it is just a state of mind after all!

I can't wait to have my amnio ... and to have the results which will be good hopefully. I think I'd sleep better once the amnio (with a good healthy result) is behind us.

2nd Prenatal

Today was my 2nd prenatal appointment and I decided to bring both my husband and daughter along. It was so much fun to hear the baby's heartbeat together along with a couple of 'feisty kicks' per my daughter's opinion.

The dietitian was not very happy with me because of my sugars ... she and the doc made a few changes with my insulin and quite a few suggestions with my diet ... oh and I have to keep a diary of sorts of what I eat (and the amounts) everyday that they can check every appointment ... ugh!!!!

Oh Boy?

According to the "Chinese Lunar Calendar", we're having a boy. I know it's suppose to be 'For Entertainment Purposes' only but it's kinda weird how accurate it is, at least for my first 2 kids ... (backtracked, ran my age, conception, etc. for both my kids). I guess we'll find out how good it really is after March 21st ( my amnio appt)- if it is also right about this pregnancy.

Here's the link : http://www.pregnancyweekly.com/pregnancy_information/chinese_calendar.htm

Our Little Peanut ....

This is our baby's first ultrasound ... doesn't he/she look cute? Okay ... baby looks more like a peanut but give him/her a few more weeks and there will be quite a few improvements. My ob/gyn doc turned out to be a very nice guy... kinda young though ... which can only mean I'm getting old! Moving on ... my next appt is on March 8 and my amnio is March 7. No one at work except for a couple people know that I'm pregnant ... I want to keep it that way for a while. Course no one on my hubby's side of the family know about the baby either. I'll probably tell them much later after all the 'tests' has been done. I have 3 vital reasons to be a 'worry wart', first 2 are my diabetes and hbp, and third being my advanced age of 36. But then again there was that lady who had a baby at 62!!!!!

My doc said that my due date is September 9 but that he would induce me on September 2nd (if all things go well and according to plan).

Relief ...

I called in sick 2 days in a row, Thursday, Friday and of course I have the weekend off ... I finally got meds (amoxicillin - which is safe for the baby) for my 'bronchitis'. Doc also gave me 5day note - I can take some of the days off or all of it ... yep, doc was pretty nice and understanding. Unfortunately, doc couldn't give me anything for the coughing because of the baby and my health issues. I've been feeling a little down lately ... don't know why... guess, it's the hormones and stuff. I hope that I'll be well enough Monday ... one can only hope. My tummy has gotten a little poofy although I can still wear one of my favorite jeans ... I try to do at least 30-40 minutes of my stationary bike everyday. I really don't want to get too big ... I am already overweight ... I can only gain 15-20 pounds. I've been reading up on 'amniocentesis' and also 'Chorionic Villus sampling test ' . The latter is done between 13-15 weeks and makes me very nervous because of the 1-100 chance of having a miscarriage after CVS ... the positive being that the test is 99% accurate in finding out many birth defects including 'down syndrome'. Amniocentesis is given between 15-18 weeks ( If I remember correctly ...) and the results are given 2 weeks earlier. My next ob/gyn appt is Feb 21 ... I hope he's an excellent doc with a good bedside manner as I was told by my other doctor.

Weekend Blues ...

I've been sick (congested and coughing constantly) for a week now ... it has caused my blood sugar to go up ... even after spending 30 minutes on my stationary bike which would normally lower it. My appointment can't come soon enough.

I'm hoping and praying that things will be fine for me and the little one. No more 'giving in' to certain food cravings. I really have to take myself to task for being bad ... means more time on my bike.

8 Weeks ...

The tiny person is protected by the amnionic sac, filled with fluid. Inside, the child swims and moves gracefully. The arms and legs have lengthened, and fingers can be seen. The toes will develop in the next few days. Brain waves can be measured.

Here we go .... Week 8 .... boobies are still sore and achy ... some morning sickness ...peeing more often ... been having a hard time dealing with constipation ... and feeling REALLY REALLY TIRED all the time. I can't wait for next week ... I should get my prenatal vitamins then which should help some. I'm having the most problem with fatigue and constipation ... so TIRED and GASSY all the time. The latter becoming a problem especially when I fall asleep on the way home riding the vanpool... BLECK!

Still coughing and congested ... which might have contributed to being more tired than normal. Can't wait till I shake this cough and congestion ... someone in the vanpool was sick a week ago and I think that's where the germies came from. Will have to check with my doctor next week if there's anything I can take that'll be safe for the baby and ok for my D and HBP.

Draggy ...

Called in sick this morning ... been coughing a bit and was feeling draggy ... decided to stay home and recuperate. I always feel bad when I call in sick ... I think about all the work I could be doing and things piling up.

A friend reminded me that I should be more careful with my health considering there's a little one on the way. I'm looking forward to my prenatal visit on February 1st ... I'm sure they will assign me to a doctor that especializes in high risk pregnancies ... I only hope that he/she have a good bedside manner.

I've got another issue nagging me ... my 15 year old daughter and her habit of lying. She can't seem to break out of the habit. My husband and I are making the best of things and hopefully things will start looking up.

7 Weeks ...

Pregnancy Week 7

The Baby:

By the end of this week, baby will be between .44 and .52 inch long!! This is about the size of a kernel of corn or a green pea. You can now see where the arm buds are separating into hands as well. The heart has divided into right and left chambers and the primary airways have developed in the lungs.

Wonderful Poem ...

Surprise

As I Write This I Am Aware

Of Feelings Deep

Of How Much I Care
You Grow Inside Me

Little Heart Beating Strong

Though I Had My Doubts

I Now Know It's Not Wrong
You Weren't Planned

But Now I Know

How Much You Are Wanted

As Each Day You Grow
You Aren't An Accident

You're Not A Mistake

You're The Best Of Surprises

Two People Could Make!

by Mitzi J. Confer

This poem touched me and was very much close to home...

Sunshine

Our little "sunshine" is to arrive sometime September. My first prenatal is not till February 1st. I'm not sure if the online baby pregnancy calculator is reliable. This will be our 3rd baby and both his/her siblings and my husband are happy about his/her September arrival.