Four-Zero Project: Week 9

This was a tough week.  Morning sickness made an appearance a few days ago and decided that it liked the digs and stayed lingering around for an entire 2 days!  Of course leave it to fate for me to feel sick on my mother's birthday AND on the weekend!  When the morning sickness reached its pinnacle, I started to become consumed with depression.  My mind doesn't respond well to long bouts of bodily discomfort.  This week really made me consider the possibility of post-partum depression with this next child.  I had neither morning sickness, nor depression with Diego.  I'm not saying Diego's an angel though; nor am I already choosing my favorite child.  Actually, I think that because of my little Diego demon (I say it in the most loving way) and his antics, I am physically exhausted to respond well to this next pregnancy.  During the first pregnancy I could take a nap whenever I wanted (as long as I wasn't working or driving...LOL), and I didn't have as many responsibilities.  Nowadays, things are so different.

So this weekend, there were times that I just needed to sit down and fester in my own cruddy mood.  I couldn't let this mood affect me, so I went on with my plans.  We went to my mom's birthday dinner.  We had to wait over an hour to be seated.  Over an hour!  I had to pretend like everything was OK until then.  Luckily the restaurant was outside of a mall, so my sister suggested that we do some shopping while we waited.

That's where I picked up my splurge item of the week.  An owl necklace for $18.  I've always wanted one, and ever since I started following the Adored Austin blog, I NEEDED one.  I love that blog because its a fashion/mommy blog, and we have mostly the same taste when it comes to accessories.  I mean, we even have the same diaper bag!

I did end up telling the big news to my family at the birthday dinner, and as I expected my mom didn't get it at first; she needed a little bit of explanation and coaxing.  As soon as she uncovered the second picture, she instantly thought it was a picture of Diego's first ultrasound...

"Actually, Mother, read the picture," I said.  And as her brain processed the wording, her face lit up and she said,

"Are you pregnant again!!!?"

"Yes, mother.  Now you can stop saying I'm getting fat!"

And she laughed.  Now she owns a frame with a picture of her two grandchildren.  She got lost in wonder for a minute as she tried to envision what her future grandchild would look like.  Whose face will eventually replace that photo?  We hope to find out by the end of this year!

SYMPTOMS

All day morning sickness and depression.  Starting to notice a belly pouch.

CRAVINGS

N/A ; I must've been too depressed to feel I deserved good food.... NO!  Wait!  Now I remember!  Before the sickness and depression started I was craving a Little Lucca's Sandwich!  OMG it was deeeeeeelicious.  It was EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED AT THAT MOMENT.  It's been awhile since I've been satisfied like that with food in awhile.  Yup, I think I'll sit back now, and remember what it felt like to eat that sandwich - Ultimate Club... If you must know...

Milestones Day!

There's a lot going on today, and it's unfortunate that today has been one of my physically worst days of my new pregnancy to date.  I really don't know what's going on.  I guess I'm in the middle of experiencing an ALL DAY morning sickness.  I guess we should rename it to All Day-sickness.  I never had morning sickness with Diego!  Speaking of which, today he turns 16 months!

Lucky for me, it's Friday so I'll have a little time to recuperate over the weekend.  Unlucky for me, I'm at work right now and I have a 2-hr meeting that's scheduled to run at least until 4:30 pm, so there'll be no sneaking out early for me (**sad face).  Even worse is that today is my mother's birthday and the family decided to go out to dinner tonight at the last minute.  I thought I had more time, because we were planning to celebrate over the weekend.

So during my lunch break today in addition to feeling a great urge to vomit, I had to jump in my car and go shopping for my mother's birthday present.   Today is also the day that I plan to tell my parents the big news!  It's the best way that I can surprise them and catch them off-guard.

Here's my plan:

1. Buy two frames.
2. Put a picture of my mom and Diego in one, and a picture of the new ultrasound in the other.
3. Photoshop the Diego picture to read:  "Greatest Grandma"
4. Photoshop the utlrasound picture to read:  "Greatest Grandma: Round 2"
5. Wrap the frames as a birthday present to my mother
6. Hand it to her and tell her it's her present from Diego  (just like I did for Mother's Day)
7. Make her open the Diego picture first, then the ultrasound picture
8. Sit back, and see if they get it (**fingers crossed)

It might be a little early at 9 weeks, 2 days (or 9 1/2 weeks according to my latest ultrasound), but everything on the two ultrasounds that I've had so far have been positive.  And I really want to catch them with the element of surprise... and I figured I either surprise them this way, or puke in their laps.

Man!  I really need to feel better before tonight!  Wish me luck!

Long-Awaited Reveal

07/15/2009

I am now 9 weeks pregnant, and I know I said that a lot of things happened last week, but even more happened this week!
Fourth of July came and went, and my family went the the Marin County fair to make a day of the holiday and watch the special fireworks show at the end of the day. My sister has been dying to tell my mother and father that I am pregnant, but we all needed to stick to the plan. I had been feverishly working on the reveal video for a week because we were planning to reveal the secret to my parents prior to my sister going on her trip to Australia.
While at the county fair, my father and Javier went to go buy some beer while my mother and I sat and ate at a table. A man walked by with a stroller that had two babies in it. The grandfather was playing with his grandchildren. Then my mother commented, "I wonder what kind of grandfather your father will be. I think he will be loving just like he is with the dogs." I just grit my teeth trying not to let out the secret.
A couple of days passed and it was FINALLY time to go to my first prenatal appointment. Javier has been putting in so much work now that we're pregnant, that my sister came with me instead of him. My doctor was very succinct with our conversation (I imagine she says the same thing every day). They gave me a bunch of prenatal vitamins, and papers for future appointments and sent us off to have my ultrasound. Did you know that you have to have a very full bladder to have an ultrasound? My GOD that was uncomfortable, as the girl pressed my stomach to get the image. But it was worth it when we saw the image on the screen. A little baby about 1 1/2-in big, with a big head like its father :) and a small bottom like me, and only nubs for arms and legs. Steph and I were mesmerized by the heart beat, which we couldn't hear but could definitely see on the screen. The lady told us the heartbeat was 180 beats/min, which is normal. The lady said that this is the time when they begin to be more active, so she held the ultrasound for a few seconds over my bladder without moving, and the baby waved with its entire body. I think that's when Steph and I got emotional though we only showed happiness (she later admitted to getting teary-eyed).

Steph had filmed a part of the ultrasound appointment as planned for the reveal video. We were given a picture copy of the baby and given a clean bill of health so far. My fears were resolved, but I'll still feel much better after the 1st trimester is over.
So the end of the week finally came, and Stephanie had elaborately lied to my parents about getting together at their house for a pre-Australia dinner. My parents were clueless about what was going to happen. I even went to the Outback Steakhouse and brought home Aussie Cheese Fries as a tribute to the trip. We were waiting for my father to come home from work before I played the reveal video.
When he finally came home, I announced that I had made a small video about our trip to Asia, but I needed their undivided attention for two minutes. My father looked puzzled when I explained that he couldn't talk or ask questions while watching the video because it was funny and he might miss the point. I played the video, meanwhile Stephanie, Javier, and I were all filming my parent's reaction as they watched the video. I think my father was stunned to silence as the only words that left his mouth were "You're pregnant!?", and then he just sat there with a smile on his face taking it all in. My mother on the otherhand, let out a whole-hearted laugh of happiness as soon as the revelation was made, which was quickly followed up with maternal tears. She had been waiting for this for a looooong time. My father finally regained his composure and congratulated us, and in his true fashion he finished it off with a fun, comedic question: "Made in China? or Made in Japan?"