The Four-Zero Project! Week 18!

Better late than never?  This is my Week 18 shot, which I postponed a little until I knew the gender of the baby.  Then tack on more time to get my sister to actually post-process the photo after she takes it, and well - you get today as the day that the picture finally gets published.

So you already know it's a life with little boy-barians for me starting now.  It's good to know the sex, and good to know that I already have a ton of boy stuff.  Now I can focus on shopping and "refining" my "boy" stock by buying the things that I wanted to get for Diego but never got the chance to.

Boy... Oh.... Boy!!!

2nd Integrated Screening Results

So now that you know what my baby's gender is, and while we're waiting for my procrastinating little sister to finish editing my Project Four-Zero photo (I asked her to help me with this week's Project Four-Zero picture and she's a photographer with a tendency to get into the finer details of post processing a photo), I thought I'd take some time to walk you through my 2nd Integrated Screening Day, which included the gender ultrasound.

Just as in my first pregnancy, my mother, father, and husband came to the ultrasound out of pure nosiness (OK maybe there was a little bit of love and support mixed in there as well). But this time there was one more member in the nosy crowd - little Diego. He had no idea what was going on but liked that the lights were low and he kept pointing to the screen and babbling. The woman conducting the ultrasound gave her own guess of "boy" before she started the ultrasound. She began taking pictures and at some point while all the nosy people in the room became noisy people chatting with each other, they missed her say, "I was right!"

Once I snapped the chatty kids' attention back to the intent of this get-together, my husband blurted out, "It's a boy?!!!! Are you sure? 100%?!"

And she responded with, "Well it's either a boy, or a girl with a penis." And we all laughed.  Below is proof that he's a male as the lady so graciously provided a pointer finger pointing to the "goods".  I think that's the picture looking up from his bottom, as if he were sitting on the toilet and we were the toilet.  Eww.



I must admit I was a little let down that there will be no pink bows in my future, but I'm happy that Diego will have a brother that he can wrestle and do boy stuff with. I'm walking in the footsteps of my Aunt/Godmother. She raised two boys but still kept up the femininity, and that's what I have to do now. It's all up to me to boost the estrogen in the house. Maybe I should get another dog... a girl dog. LOL! Nah!

All of the results from the ultrasound came out great. I was worried because it was around this point in Diego's pregnancy where they found the Isolated Mild Ventriculomegaly. Luckily for me, they did not see any warning signs from this ultrasound, to my relief. Unfortunately when the counselor came in to discuss my blood test results, she noted all the good results and one small not-so-good item. They found a moderately high level of a chemical (immun-something) which basically meant that my placenta was not being a high performer. She suggested more ultrasounds during the third trimester to keep an eye on the baby. She said that they've seen babies born earlier or smaller when this issue is present. She must have seen the concerned look on my face because she said, "All the placenta really needs is a C+ to pass. This just means you'll get to see the baby on the ultrashound some more."

When I told my sister about my new placenta problem, she laughed and I joined in with her. First - I am diagnosed with gestational diabetes in which babies tend to be born bigger, so now - because I'm a Libra and need balance apparently - I am diagnosed with an under-performing placenta in which babies are born smaller. If I'm doing the math correctly this means my baby should be born - normal. And as of the ultrasound, they are estimating that my new baby boy is currently 10 oz which is right on target.

And as my sister so eloquently put it, "10 oz? I could drink that!" and she followed up with, "Your baby is definitely going to be born early just like Diego; your body can't handle pregnancy."  She's right.  If this were survival of the fittest, I'd of been out of the game years ago...

Let's Play a Gender Game!

I finally know the answer to the gender riddle! But - do you?! Let's put your gut feelings to the test one more time by playing a little game. Who's down? Who's going to get it right?????

Gender Prediction!

I'm filled with anticipation on finding out the gender of my baby in the next few days. I thought I'd put all those old wives tales to the test. What's your gut feelings? Girl???? Boy????? Well according to 10 old wives tales gender predictors 6 said Girl and 3 said Boy...

What? Oh you say that 6+3 only equals 9? Well 10 was the Drano test and it was inconclusive. First of all, the Drano I bought wasn't even blue. That could have been the main reason for the result.

Click Here to take the tests yourselves if you're prego.

Words Cannot Express (18-Month update)

I hang on every word that you don't say. And you don't say a lot. You get on your imaginary cell phone and each time that the first syllable comes out of your pint-sized lips, I hope to the heavens that it will be strung along with other syllables that form an actual word, and yet to this day all I've heard are "A-da, A-da", "B-da, B-da, B-da" or "Cawwwwww".

You seem to understand basic commands like "Give Grandpa a Kiss" or "Gimme 5!" and my favorite "Please throw this away in the garbage". Yet you don't show any volition to repeat any of these words. So far, the only thing you're interested in repeating is the beastly "RAWR!" that comes from a dinosaur or tiger. I'm at a loss and the pediatrician is too. So she utters actual words that I hang on to even more than your non-existent ones: "Speech therapy" Oh my!

I never would have thought that my son would need speech therapy, just as I never in my life thought I could be a candidate for gestational diabetes. At that moment, I mentally break down for a few minutes while outwardly keeping my composure (I'm good at doing that). My "mommy-moment" brain now consists of tiring thoughts of juggling my prenatal appointments, gestational diabetes appointments, Diego's pediatric appointments, and now his speech therapy appointments while working a 9-5 job, picking up Diego from daycare, putting a hot home-cooked meal on the table every night, and keeping the house clean. I'm about to lose it, and then I snap back to reality when I get an imaginary call from my son's imaginary phone and he places it to my ear...

"Hello? Yes, I'm here."

Project Four-Zero: 17 Weeks!

Bubble guts or fetal movements?  That is the hot-ticket question this week.  I'm leaning towards the latter because they would be very strange, on-going bubble-guts if so.  Of course, the movements are extremely light.  So much that I wouldn't go as far as to call them fetal movements, but more rather:  fetal flutters.

I'm getting antsy this week to find out if I am having a girl or a boy.  I don't know why, but this week I'm getting the girl vibe whereas before I was totally getting the boy vibe.  Oh who am I kidding?  I know why.... It's called wishful thinking.  Also, knowing that I could know in exactly 2 days instead of 1 week is kind of getting me irritated right now.  Oh work schedule - why must you get in my way?!

This was hospital week for me as I went to get my blood drawn as well as went to my prenatal checkup.   2 vials of blood, 2 urine samples, and an hour long wait in the waiting room really didn't yield me any new, spreadable news.  My doctor just gave me the old "Hang in there!" speech after letting me hear BabyDos's heartbeat.  So that's what I'm doing... until Gender Day!

Mommy Me-Time

Yesterday I was pretty much done with the week and it was only Tuesday. I wanted to renounce my domestic diva duties for the rest of the week. Unfortunately we were out of kitchen staples such as rice, water, and toilet paper. This meant a dreaded trip to Costco, but I needed my hubby to come help me carry the huge bulk bag of rice. Unfortunately, these past couple of weeks, I've lost my hubby to a very big construction project and the Copa America Soccer games. So, it's been hard finding a time to go to Costco together.

I had no choice but to do the Costco thing on my own yesterday. When I got home I left all the crap groceries in the car and waited for my hubby to get home. As soon as he got home, he was greeted by me with a delicious home-baked Costco-baked pizza. After he ate, I told him that I was going to take a bath and that I expected him and my stepson to take all the groceries out of the car. I was very clear when I said that I expected everything to be put away and not just brought in the house (Yes - they need that kind of clarification on rudimentary chores).

I proceeded to draw my bath and saw my 1 1/2 year old's bubble bath solution on the counter. Hey, it's no luxury bubble bath solution, but bubbles are bubbles, and I poured some solution into the tub.

The bubbles were just what I needed as my body turned into jello and I drifted off into oblivion. All I could hear was the crackling of little bubbles in my ear. Subconsciously, I did not bother to listen to the sounds of my husband and stepson putting all the crap groceries away, or the sound of Diego crying because his dad started making a smoothie on the Magic Bullet and he wanted a sip before it was even made. I didn't hear anything except the sound of my own calm breathing.

I exited the bathroom and did not see many remnants of a Costco haul so I was very proud of the boys. I decided it was still "Me-Time" and tried out a new hair curling method that I saw on a blog to curl your hair without heat just by using an elastic headband.

I woke up this morning refreshed, revived, and with super curly hair. And then I was greeted with a pile of unwashed dishes..... It's a new day in domestic land, but the dishes didn't get the memo.

Vloggin' Vednesday: 7/13 Coffee or Tea?

The answer is tea for me! Although I do love a caramel macchiato now and then!




Vednesday, July 6th "4th of July Weekend" - What did you do?


Vednesday, July 13th "Coffee or Tea?" - We really need to end this debate once and for all


Vednesday, July 20th "Blog Design" - Tell us about some blogs that you thing have an awesome design. Explain some changes you would like to make to your own (unless it's perfect, of course)


Vednesday, July 27th "Back to the future" - If you could move you and everyone you love to a different time and place, where and when would it be? and why?

Project Four-Zero: 16 Weeks!

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then this week my soul was irritated. I woke up in the middle of the week after drifting in and out of sleep due to my tearing left eye. I paid it no attention until I looked in the mirror getting ready for work. The eye was small and swollen and pink! Thank goodness it cleared up in time for my Week 16 photo session!

This week I've had one notable symptom: Let down. No, I'm not feeling like everyone around me is letting me down! Hahaha! Let down, as in nursing? You know.... leakage from breast feeding? Yes, it's really weird, but that's the feeling I've had this week. And it's just a feeling; not actual let down. There's nothing there when I look. It's the weirdest thing.

My belly has really started to grow, and although I still feel that I carry it quite well under clothing, my pants won't let me lie anymore. They've become increasingly uncomfortable to button/zip up, so much this week that I made my husband go through our storage and find me my old reliable belly band. I wore my belly band for a couple of days and then took a peek at the other clothing that I had in the storage bag. Maternity pants! Ewww. I hate them. But I wore a pair anyway, and that only confirmed how much I hate them. They were loose, kept falling, looked baggy and sloppy. But I new that I couldn't wear my belly band forever, so I went to Motherhood Maternity and bought only what I needed and made sure it was my size. I bought one pair of skinny jeans, one pair of straight leg jeans, one pair of long black leggings, and one pair of black legging capris. That's it! Just the basics because like I said, I hate maternity clothes shopping.

So other than feeling like an increasingly sloppy blob, the only other news this week is on my gestational diabetes. Not-so-good news if you ask me. I have continued to experience unprovoked high levels of glucose especially during my morning fast. I have an appointment to follow up in a few days. I'm really nervous on what they are going to suggest for the new plan to tackle this issue. Cross your fingers for me everyone!  Please!

SYMPTOMS: Fake Let Down

CRAVINGS: Anything really. I'm just hungry all the time!

Project Four-Zero: 15 Weeks!

"Diabetus" - that is my new nickname according to my joker sister.  Not DiabEETEEZ.... but DiabEETUS.  I have to admit, I stop in an unsuppressed chuckle to myself when she uses it.  "Diabetus - can you pass me the salt?"; "That purse belongs to Diabetus";  or after I put my drink down at my dad's retirement party:  "Hey, that's Diabetus' cup!"

I know it's no laughing matter, and any type of diabetes is serious.  But when I hear the word "Diabetus" said in country terms, I automatically see Bret Michaels in my head, and I can't stop laughing.

I continue to experience high fasting levels, and I have an appointment this week to see what's going on.  I'm afraid that the next steps may include going back to 4 prickings a day or some type of medication which I DO NOT want to do while pregnant.  Maybe they will just be more strict about my diet.  In a previous post, I had a freakout moment when my meter reader was giving me completely different results on 3 prickings within a minute of each other.  The doctor said it was normal and that those meters are not 100% accurate.  She said to just jot down the first number you get, otherwise you'd be over-pricking yourself and driving yourself crazy.  She said that they don't really look at the daily numbers, they look for the trend.  If the trend is high, then we have a problem.  But if the trend is low, then we're OK.  I feel a high fasting trend unfortunately and I'm not sure what this will mean for me.

More of my worrisome nature came back at me this week when Diego pushed a little too hard on my stomach while crawling on me the other day.  I felt myself starting to freak out like I did at the beginning of the pregnancy when I thought I might miscarry again.  Did he hurt the baby?  Is the baby still alive?  How and when will I know?  The familiar unwanted feeling was too much deja vu for me, so I pushed the thoughts aside and tried to forget them.

I've tried to stay positive this week.  I bought myself a fancy new lunch bag to inspire me to pack healthy food for my lunch and snacks at work.  I also had to schedule a few more appointments here and there and one of them included the "Gender" ultrasound appointment.  I'll know by July 25th, which is definitely something to be excited about!   I was a little bummed because I could know earlier than that according to science, but not according to my work schedule.  Grrrr.  I hate meetings, especially those that conflict with Gender Day!


PS. Week 15's photo has made me into a hypocrite.  I always poked fun at Mariah Carey for her signature pose.  Is that the only pose she knows how to do?  And then what do I do?  I go ahead and use it for my Week 15 shot.  Of course I would... Maybe she likes it because it's a good pose to show off a belly; or in her case the lack-there-of.

Vloggin' Vednesdays (07/06/2011): 4th of July!

It's been awhile since I vlogged on a Vednesday. If you keep up with my blog, you probably know I've been a little preoccupied with party planning and a new pregnancy. Now that there's a break in the madness, I thought I'd take a little time to get back into Vloggin' Vednedays. Thanks to Sarbear's Journey for reminding me!

Vednesday, July 6th "4th of July Weekend" - What did you do?

Vednesday, July 13th "Coffee or Tea?" - We really need to end this debate once and for all


Vednesday, July 20th "Blog Design" - Tell us about some blogs that you thing have an awesome design. Explain some changes you would like to make to your own (unless it's perfect, of course) 

Vednesday, July 27th "Back to the future" - If you could move you and everyone you love to a different time and place, where and when would it be? and why?

The Retirement Party: (Image Heavy!)

 Last week, we kicked off my father's retirement with a surprise, airplane-themed retirement party.  We got him good too!  Check out the video to see highlights of the party and the look on my dad's face when he got his surprise which was years in the making.  I think the party went very well with the decorations, food, and fun!  I'm also super glad it's over.  Now I can focus on reading Breaking Dawn, and with my hyperactive son, that probably means one chapter a week.  But I'll get there!!!!