Being Pregnant

I have been pregnant for 9 months. Baby girl, please come out and play!
I feel great right now. My feet are looking and feeling normal, and my back does not feel like it'd be better if I broke it in half.
In all honesty, it hadn't been that bad for months! I was just, well, bigger, and trying to keep up with all the supplements, the ounces of water I am supposed to drink (but can never quite finish), and the big no-no rules. But lately it's been uncomfortable and painful-- so I take my good moments and relish them.
Thankfully I've had many good moments. Q and I have been spending a lot of time together. It's really been great, doing so much cooking, shopping, and working on baby projects together. We've also been going out a lot. Even if we just go out to Mass Street to walk around (trying to keep fit) and have some coffee and dessert (okay, maybe not that fit). Being out and about together is just... wonderful. We walk, we talk, we hold hands. We say stupid stuff and laugh like no one's ever thought of this or that pun. We discuss "serious" things, wondering what it'll be like to be parents, trying to figure out problems we don't yet have... lol. We enjoy the weather, the view, the fun and different people walking by us (it was zombies last time we were on Mass St, complete with makeup, calls for "brains," and that weird walk). We clean and disinfect (and yet I wonder if our place is clean enough every day!). We read and read to baby.
Being pregnant has been pretty awesome. I know in twenty years I will think back to these times in my life and wish I could go back. Yes, everything is up in the air. And yes, our finances could be better. But things are so simple and wonderful right now. We are in love, we are happy, we are learning, and experiencing, and growing.
Baby girl, I pray that you will be as lucky as your mom has been. At church during communion the other day, I was asking God to please take care of you, especially when I am no longer there to do it -when you are older and on your own and I have to let you live your life the way you choose. Today I ask Him to give you happiness like mine. I hope you will find someone like your Dad is to me, someone who loves you and takes care of you, and makes life seem like every single little thing in the world is full of beauty and wonder.

Baby Shower Invitation. Idea #3

okay no se porque sale tan enorme, pero esta es mi idea favorita. I think it's self explanatory. Basicamente es punching, cutting and gluing. Es mas trabajo, claro. Pero no estan hermosos?
Tambien hay un video de una sen~ora k les puso googley eyes y se ven bien chulos!!
Aki: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUjrnwZ88vk&feature=related
(no lo veas todo pork todo lo k hace es ensen~ar los owls ya terminados)

Si kieres ver "how they put them together" Aki hay otro video k dice paso por paso como los hacen. Esta largo pero si necesitas instrucciones pues esta muuuy bien explicado:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4sPaMSZjZ0&feature=related



Para este proyecto tienes k comprar el puncher especial. Cuesta cas 20 dolares. El asunto es k si tienes tiempo de esperarme a k llegue el mio, yo definitivamente voy a comprarlo. Si tienes tiempo de k lo compre, yo puedo hacer punch todas las partes y mandartelas por correo (pero se va a tardar como 3 semanas en llegar a partir de cuando me digas k si). Puedes hacer click en la siguiente foto para ir al website donde lo venden:

Baby Shower Invitation. Idea #2

La idea de esta tarjeta me llego cuando vi el cuadro de little owls (cuadro en el extremo superiosr izquierdo). De hecho son dos ideas.
La primera idea es seguir las instrucciones originales, k basicamente es punching owl shaped owls out of other cute invitations (if you, like me have lots of saved up cards and stuff) or craft paper with pretty patterns. Luego pegas los owls en hileras. Se ven bonitos. Haz click en la siguiente foto para ver las instrucciones:


Claro k este proyecto usa mariposas, pero pues compras un hole puncher con shape de owl y listo :)

Aki hay uno en $9:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=owl+punch&biw=1252&bih=561&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=7078029795928561852&sa=X&ei=ljTyTdzjHcK_gQe3zr3ACw&ved=0CEAQ8gIwAA



La segunda idea con el puncher, es comprar tarjetas en blanco (sin dibujos ni nada de eso) pero de color, y hacerles punch (en el frente de la tarjeta) para k kede solo el hoyo en forma de owl (como en la foto de arriba). Luego le puedes poner el owl adentro, pero de otro color o en papel con pattern bonito, justo en el lugar como para ke se vea cuando la tarjeta esta cerrada (me explico?). La mayoria de las tarjetas son "imprimibles" osea, puedes meterlas a la impresora e imprimirles la informacion ("Come celebrate with us" por ej. y la fecha y el lugar y todo eso) para k no tengas k escribir una por una.

Baby Shower Invitation. Idea #1

Idea #1

verdad k esta bonita? simple and chic. and easy to make!

Esta invitacion es basicamente una targeta estampada. El owl stamp lo vende Hobby Lobby:

Y lo unico k tienes k hacer es comprar tarjetas en blanco (las vende tambien hobby lobby en paketes de diferentes taman~os y colores, como en $10 por un set de 50 creo) el stamp, y un ink pad. Luego le pides a Misael k pinte el tallo y las hojitas. I think you can also punch two holes on the top and thread some liston and tie it into a bow (like I did with my wedding ceremony cards, do u remember?)

First medical visit

I'm eating and blogging. Gotta love this.
Yesterday Q and I went to our very first prenatal care visit. I was all nervous because I knew that I would have to get a blood exam (I hate needles). But it was alright. Q was with me the whole time, and I even got a yummy low-fat strawberry smoothie out of it :) The people at LMH are very friendly and professional. Eager to help. They did a pap smear, checked my pressure & weight, and took a urine sample. We chose a main doctor for our prenatal care and delivery. Though "choosing" is a loose term because I had no information on any of them. All I wanted was for it to be a woman. lol. Anybody know where/how I can stalk my doctor? They also showed us a little video about prenatal testing. Way to make a newbie mother feel safe :(
Next Wednesday we go to LMH again, to meet our doctor and get our first sonogram. YAAY!!

After that we went to Target and did a little baby furniture window shopping. SO MANY THINGS!! OooOooh I was in heaven. Q is going to go crazy. Pobrecito. We're gonna start buying the basics soon, so that the bulk of the shopping doesn't creep up on us at the end of our pregnancy... I'm very excited ^.^ !!

Speaking of which. I am thinking of getting cloth diapers for our baby. Mom did it for us, as did my grandmother for her kids. I think it's good for the baby, for the environment, and apparently even for our pocket :) Wonder where in Juarez they sell them and if they sell that kind with the snaps or the Velcro. Maybe they're less expensive over there...





Cravings of the week: Avocado (still no good ones in sight though). Cheesy fries (Q made them for me in the oven. YUM) Smoothie (which I got yesterday during lunch before we went to the hospital) I'm so glad I'm eating again :)

We are having a baby.

I still can't believe it.
We found out on Thursday, Feb 17, 2011.

I had been feeling weird for a while. Weird, but not bad. Just a little upset after meals, which is no news really, since I've always had a picky stomach. Well, on Wednesday I called Q while he was at school and asked him if he'd be uncomfortable buying a home pregnancy test. He actually bought it, and brought it home ready to find out that very day, but I wasn't so sure about the whole thing to begin with, and I wanted to do it in the morning, since I'd heard that it was better to do it like that. So Thursday morning (at a ridiculously early time in the morning, if I may say so) I feel a hand pocking my side, and I peek out of the covers to see Q standing above me with an expectant, inquisitive look in his face. "Do you need to pee?"

HOW is he awake SO EARLY?!?

So I peed. LoL.

The test wasn't conclusive.. or maybe I should say we didn't quite know how to read it (WHY didn't we buy a fool-proof one like the funny one on the pic!?LOL), so we went to the local family clinic to get tested again, and the doctor confirmed it. Thursday morning, afternoon and evening was all calls and waiting for people to be available for calls (alas, unlike us, the rest of the world did go to work that day).

The week after that has been busy and stressful. We're trying to decide on everything, but most importantly where to have the baby (apparently it's best to have your prenatal care done by the same people who deliver, so we have to decide now). That's how on Friday, Q "took" the very first maternity picture of me:


Why the exclamation points? He drew it on our kitchen blackboard, right by all the numbers and computations we had been scribbling. Having a baby is expensive, even with the possibility of paying a large percentage through insurance. Yeah, that's me alright.

I've also been getting sicker and sicker. I started out so great, I don't know what happened. Foods that I used to love are a HUGE no-no. And I don't mean it as in "I'm not supposed to have sushi." I mean the very thought of them makes me sick. Especially those with strong smells, which basically covers all my favorite foods (Mexican, Indian, and some Italian). I can't stand the smell of garlic or red meat. I can't stand the smell of raw chicken. I can't drink coffee or tea (well, sometimes tea is okay). I hate it. I really do. I've been left with unsavory, starchy meals. SMALL, unsavory, starchy meals. And lots of water and veggies. Veggies don't make me sick. I worry that my baby isn't eating as well as she should be. I did always have a healthy diet -I don't drink coke/sodas, I don't consume any bad salts or sugars, I measure my bread/grain intake and we only eat whole grain foods-I hope that helps, because this week, Panera has been my best friend. I've had their soups for lunch like three times this week (we've been visiting hospitals and taking birth center tours).

Here is Q, making me chicken soup. I actually had a good dinner last night. YAY. He also made me "appetizers" out of Ritz crackers, cream cheese, and cucumber. They were delicious! I haven't had any cravings yet (quite the opposite!), but when I do, I'm sure these will be on the list :)





What also seems to help is sleeping. I've never been a napper, and I even resented a friend's totally friendly comment that I'd end up on the couch for weeks (my inner voice went like: Just because YOU were tired doesn't mean I will be too!) But sadly, I have been longing for the couch, though we've had little time to rest with all our reconnaissance missions. I do, however, take a nap when I start feeling nauseous, and I just "skip" the discomfort. I'm good at fooling myself. Hahahaha.

Not all has been stress and nausea, though, even with all the decisions to be made. My friend Cara took pics of me on Saturday. Neither of us knew when we scheduled the shoot that it'd be both our first maternity photo shoot. The pics came out very cute, I thought. I've been trying to post them but it's not working very well. They are on my facebook anyway, so I think they'll be accessible to most of you :)