Our first doctor appointment...

We had our first doctor appointment yesterday. We first met with the lactation consultant to assess his intake and weight. He's doing excellent!! He not only has maintained his birth weight but has eaten his way up to 7 lbs, 9 oz. He is taking in over 2 oz per feeding which is great. Doctor Jenny was very enthusiastic about how well he is doing and unless we are feeling anxious or questions or concerns arise, we'll see her again in 3 weeks.

I had my first Ty blessing on Monday, and a close call yesterday... it's been 21 years since a baby boy peed on me. Oh, just like his cousin Alec! It was pretty funny- I wasn't expecting it at all and I think I reached for a wipe when the next thing I knew, he made a perfect shot right down the front of my tank top. I should've known; he got very quiet and peaceful right before it happened each time.

Our first night home was pretty tough. The longest stretch of sleep either Christian or I got was 30 minutes, although most sleeping periods were only about 10-15 minutes long. By the following night, he woke up 3 times to eat and was a little fussy between each feed. The last two nights, however, he woke up every 3-4 hours to eat, but otherwise slept right through the night. Last night was like clock work. He woke up every 3 hours on the button to eat! So, needless to say, we are very happy with his current sleeping pattern!

We were able to go for a walk yesterday too. It was so nice outside! We love our new stroller and can't wait to go out and explore the neighborhood again sometime soon.

It's a boy...

Ty Christian has arrived!! He was born on Thursday February 5th at 12:53 in the afternoon and shares a birthday with his Lolo. He weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz and is 21 inches long. He is absolutely amazing and has forever changed his Mommy and Daddy! We are so in love with every cell of him, he is truly our little miracle.
On Wednesday morning at 4:30 am I had my first sign of impending labor... or at least I had hoped so. I went to work and quizzed all the moms about their experiences and found myself in a big grey zone. Some women went into labor within hours, some within days and others within weeks of losing the "plug". So I just continued to tell myself if would be another three weeks before my little bundle of joy would arrive.




After having a brief talk with my Grandmas in heaven asking them and God to "Please help me have a baby tonight", Christian and I went to bed at 10:00 and I woke up at 10:30 to learn my water had broken. "Okay", I thought, "this has to be it...". We packed up and left for the hospital. My contractions were quite intense to say the least and are accompanied by some pretty funny stories that Christian tells best! I began pushing at 10:30 am on Thursday and Ty was born two and a half hours later.






Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers, they were successful! Ty is a healthy baby boy and Christian and I are doing very well. We certainly could not be any happier. We love staring at him in amazement and are absolutely in love with our new family! We have some rest to catch up on, that's for sure... Ty has stuck to his pregnancy plan and sleeps well during the day and stays up and active at night.





He had his first bath at home yesterday; I think he'll be happier when we can sit him in the water to help keep him warm unlike yesterday since we needed to keep his umbilical cord dry. He was a trooper though. His favorite parts were getting water poured over his back and cuddling in the froggie towel his Daddy bought him many months ago. So darn adorable!

Big Fish

We had our 38 week appointment yesterday. I am 95% effaced and 1cm dilated. We're getting there. I had no luck (obviously) with the spicy mexican food and did go to Jewel for the raspberry tea, but found only raspberry flavored tea, even in the organic isle. I am still on the lookout. However, I have made a promise to myself that I will consider myself 4 weeks away from baby being born and anything sooner will be a "surprise". A very pleasant one at that.

Why 4 weeks?? Because when I reviewed Baby's potential 40 week birth weight with Dr. Heimburger yesterday and asked his opinion on induction, he gave me a very lengthy response as to why he doesn't believe in induction. In summary, I quote "your fish will only get as big as your aquarium". He believes my "fish" won't grow "that much more" between 40 and 42 weeks due to the size of my "aquarium". Therefore, there is no sense in disturbing mother nature until I am nearing the 42 week point. I can see where he's coming from, but COME ON!! My aquarium??!! Really??!! I wonder if he'd like to carry around a fish in his aquarium for an extra 2 weeks.


You see, at 35 weeks, the maternal-fetal specialist measured Baby T to be 6 lbs, 3 oz. If Baby were to grow the normal 1/2 lb per week, that would give me a 9 lb baby come Valentines Day. Keep in mind that the weight they told us has a one pound varience and this little one has been measuring big since it's conception. So, my math tells me that really leaves the potential of a 10 lb baby on Valentines Day... Can you understand my concern here?


Ahhh.. just FOUR more weeks...


One last thought: My friend Caitlin's response via text after seeing my last posted picture,"OMG!! U could possibly be having a toddler!"

Spicy Mexican and Raspberry Tea!

Tonight, we are going out for spicy Mexican dinner with Ron, Jenessa, and Gerry. Then we'll come home and watch the UFC fight on pay-per-view. Hopefully that'll stir up some excitement. I got a message from a friend today whose husband, a physician, has suggested I drink real raspberry tea; he specified that it not be raspberry flavored, but rather the kind found in the organic isle. If I don't make it there tonight, I'll be in the organic isle in the morning!! I'll let him remain nameless unless we see some results, in which case I want half of the money he earns from me making him FAMOUS!! ;-)

How do I feel? Well, like a stuffed sausage. And although I would love to deliver tonight, I have really enjoyed the way Baby has been moving this week. Evening is still the most active time, but I love feeling Baby's little heels sticking out of the right side of my belly. It's head is down, as it has been, but it is laying sideways with it's back and butt on the left side of my stomach and the arms, knees and heels all the way over on my right side. I'm really going to miss these feelings. What's making me uncomfortable is my back, and in the evening, or after walking or standing my stomach actually hurts. It's so tight and heavy!

Looks like it's gonna be Valentino Tolentino after all... I was hoping for a Baby Barack today.

Just got home from the doctor... NO CHANGE!!! I will go back to work on Thursday as long as I'm approved to do so by my employee health department tomorrow. I'll also need to go pick up some new scrubs since my last sets weren't fitting so well when I left work 4 weeks ago. It's bitter-sweet. I'm glad to be able to go back to work because I'd rather be there and busy than at home watching the clock. However, I would much prefer to be HAVING MY BABY! I know, Baby will come when God is ready for Baby to come. But can't I have a say in it too?! A girl at work was told my her mother that when you feel like you just can't take it anymore, you have FOUR weeks to go! I guess that means I have 3.5 weeks left, which would accurately take us to Valentines Day...
Next appointment is next Monday.

OK, I'm ready...

Sometimes it's better to let the picture do the talking... what do they say about girls stealing your beauty? If this belly wasn't hanging so LOW, I'd think it was a girl.

We've reached our 36 week goal!!!

We had three beautiful baby showers... they were amazing. So much hard work was put into them and we are so thankful to everyone!
Overall Baby has been behaving. We had an appointment on Tuesday morning and I wasn't yet dilated. However, when we had our weekly non stress test, doc wasn't seeing what he wanted. So he sent us back to the hospital for a few hours of monitoring. We were there for about 4 hours and by the time we left we were in good shape. They like to see a 15 beat acceleration of baby's heart that lasts for 15 seconds with baby movement. The expectation is to see 3 of these in 10 minutes of monitoring, but they weren't seeing that at the doc's office. I had eaten breakfast and drank some water, but they gave me OJ to see if that would help, they used the loud buzzer on my belly and that didn't work either. So that's when they sent me over to CDH. I think baby was asleep because at that time of morning I don't usually feel baby being really active, so I wasn't extremely concerned. Sure enough, within a few hours, we were getting the expected outcomes from Baby. And as usual, as the day went on we had increased activity!
Today will be my last dosages of medication. I'm 36 weeks tomorrow, so they feel comfortable that if I'm having contractions and go into labor, we are in a safe zone and it would be okay for me to deliver. The last few days I've been having a lot of contractions breaking right through the medications, but that doesn't really mean anything either... So only time will tell! I've washed Baby's clothes and started to put the nursery together. We don't want to get too much together because we are having carpet installed in just over a week to our upper level. So we're kind of in a holding pattern with a living room and dining room filled with baby items. We'll start bringing some of the items that won't be needed till Baby is a little older down to the basement to save room in the mean time.
My next scheduled appointment is on Tuesday evening and we'll have a better idea of our plan then. I may go back to work if I'm still not dilated... doc said he normally wouldn't allow that but as long as I don't do any lifting, he feels the safest place for me is probably at work since if I do go into labor I'm already at the hospital! I'd like to go back. I kind of miss being there. I know that feeling won't last once I have my baby, so why not go in and make some money?! Regardless of my feelings, I'll see what Dr. Heimburger has to say on Tuesday and leave the final decision up to him. Oh, and as for what led to all this in the first place: we saw the maternal fetal specialist last Friday who is quite sure it's due to placental abruption. And I should mention that we saw an ultrasound of Baby T that day, and this baby looks just like Daddy!! We're getting closer and are SO EXCITED!!!

No progression is good progression.

We went for our non stress test and weekly appointment last evening. Baby is doing well according to the non stress test. Baby is moving plenty and the heart rate and rhythm look good. I was having frequent contractions yesterday but the great news is that I am still 70% effaced and not dilated! As Dr. Seigel said, contractions are just contractions unless they are changing my progress. And during the last week, I've not progressed. (He also mentioned my "butler" Christian must be doing an excellent job and to keep doing what we're doing because it's working well).
I'm on strict bedrest through the end of the week and then I can start to do a little bit more. I anticipate I'll do well out of the house this Saturday at the Tolentino baby shower and hope I can then attend my scheduled classes during the following weeks. We have an infant care class on Monday the 5th and a breastfeeding class on Tuesday the 13th. We were originally signed up for Lamaze as well, but I heard mixed opinions from friends and ended up cancelling. Now I'm thinking I'd like to sign up, especially since I have a good chance of a normal delivery without c-section, but it's 3 hrs long on 3 different nights. That seems like a bit much. One of the nurses mentioned I might be able to have someone come to the house and do an overview of the class since I'm on bedrest, so I need to call the hospital and find out if that really is an option.
Today's been nice. I slept so well last night; I went to bed early last night and was able to fall asleep after each dose of medicine I took during the night and didn't wake up till 8am. Since I'm up I've gotten a few more pages of my scrap book done, made some doctor appointments and watched some TV. I really want to get the ultrasound picture of Baby T posted, but I can't get the scanner to cooperate. Christian will check it out for me.
Tonight is gonna be wild! New Years Eve '08...
Happy New Year everyone!!

What an excellent Christmas!

It's hard to believe Christmas has come and gone. However, I think it was the best Christmas yet. My nephew Alec turned 21 on Christmas and we just had such a great time... we laughed and laughed and laughed. Vince and Sandy and the boys and Mom and Dad came early to help Christian with last minute preparations. When Mark and Marla and their family came, they were dressed as a nerdy Christmas family who came in singing Christmas Carols. Dinner was really good- we had a traditional Polpino Christmas (combination of Polish and Filipino food in the spirit of our little Polpino on the way).

We started the gift opening with Alec's birthday gifts- Marla asked us all to donate one of our shot glasses to start his collection. Christian and I also gave him a bottle of Patron Tequilla. Well, it wouldn't be right if everyone didn't do a shot with him to celebrate. So that's when the party really got started! Later, we exchanged our adult grab bag gifts, followed by the kids opening their gifts, and then our white elephant gifts. Oh my gosh! The white elephant gifts were ridiculous. I'll just say that Marla submitted a Hawaiian two piece outfit which ended up with Alec by way of default. And we weren't going to let it just sit in the box. So, we had to twist his arm, but not too hard... and on it went. It was so tight, the poor kid could barely breathe. We laughed so hard we were crying. At the end of the night, we played a few rounds of Password. Vince's family spent the night as did Alec. SOOO much fun!!

Chelsea and Ronnie and the kids are coming over today, they drove in from Virginia yesterday. Chelsea loves Portillo's, so that's what we're having for lunch (I don't mind Portillo's so much myself). We're going to be watching the Bears game. She'll be here for the Tolentino Baby Shower; we're excited to see them!

Christian, Baby, and me with Lola and Lolo...

Grandpa and Grandma with all the grandchildren; that's Baby T. Grandma has her hand on... they covered my face and body with place mats so that only grandchildren would be in the picture.

Here's the nerdy Barthel Christmas Caroling Crew...

The Queens... we decided my crown looked best over my big forehead. Not so sure about that decision now.

Vince singing karaoke in Tagalog the day after Christmas... another great laugh.

Alec's 21st!!! Grandma made him his beer stine cake. I couldn't take him seriously in his nerdy outfit the whole night.

Home Sweet Home!

I'm HOME!! I came home last night; we left the hospital around 7:30 last night. The ride home was a bit nerve-racking due to the snow storm, but we got home safely. Christian gave me a great welcome home gift... comfy pj's, some comfy sweats, and a boppy wedge pillow to stick under my belly- it's great. My night was uneventful- good preparation for baby's arrival. I had my alarm set to take my meds every 4 hours. Each time, I'm supposed to drink up and have a snack too. Well, that leads to me having to wake up 2 hrs later to pee. Despite that, I was glad I was still able to fall asleep between alarms and bathroom breaks.

Marla came over and saved me today! Christian went out to work and do some last minute running around. She brought me a "project". I was anticipating what this project was- I got an album and paper and other scrapbooking supplies. She helped me to download all my pregnancy pics to Walgreens website to get them printed and in the mean time she helped around the house by wrapping some gifts, making food for tomorrow, and getting the place tidied up. What a great help!

I didn't mention that Baby's estimated weight was 4.6 lbs at our appointment last Thursday. I'm reading that the average weight at 32 weeks is 3.75 lbs, so that was good news. As of Tuesday morning, I was 70% effaced, but not dilated. That's a big change from my first check a few hours after admission into the hospital when I wasn't effaced or dilated. However, if I can keep the contractions under control, I'm told I might be able to stay this way for a few weeks... I have my next visit to the doctor on Tuesday, so we'll see if things are changing at that time. (Hope not).

Christian went to Mass tonight with his parents and will be home after that. It doesn't feel like Christmas Eve to me, but I look forward to tomorrow, spending the evening with our families. I'm just glad to be home and with a baby in my belly! Merry Christmas Everyone!

Short Term Goal: 34 weeks

WOW! I just returned from one of the top showers ever! It ranks close to the first shower at home after camping. I'm still here at the hospital. My maternal-fetal specialist saw me early this morning and felt I may be able to go home today. Then I saw Dr. Heimburger who asked that I stay another day. He was so pleased to learn that I had not delivered over the weekend; he really suspected that when he returned to the hospital today, he'd find me with a baby in the NICU. His partners took good care of me in his absence. He gave the okay for me to transfer up to the mother-baby unit where I'm under less intense monitoring, yet can be observed under conditions that more realistically mimic what I'll be doing at home... bed, bathroom, and a trip to the chair now and then. (The picture above really could be me. Christian has set me up with Play Station, magazines, books, games, snacks, toiletries, everything I could ask for. I thought I'd need a moving crew to get me up to my new room).

Dr. has set a short term goal to get me through 2 more weeks. Ideally, making it to 36 weeks, but making it to 34 weeks would be greatly beneficial to Baby T's long term health. With that being said, I am on strict bed rest for at least two weeks followed by a possible increase in activity if my assessments are looking good at that point. As my nurse has stated, this is the first of many situations as a parent where we cannot predict or control the future or the outcome. I will be monitored weekly at his office once I am discharged from the hospital and will continue to monitor myself for bleeding and contractions while at home.

My contractions have really slowed down, I'm having about 1-4 an hour at most while in bed. They do increase when I'm out of bed but there's been no more active bleeding. Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls and messages. I'll keep updating as things progress. Baby seems happy in its current home and is moving around a lot. Other than this head cold, a backache from laying in bed and occasional headache from my meds, I feel good. Really, knowing how some of these medications can effect the mother as I'm told by Marla and Sandy, I feel very fortunate to be on Nifedipine with side effects I can tolerate well. Christian has been so wonderful and supportive. He really is my strength and best friend and I am forever grateful to have him as my husband. Our families have shown extraordinary strength and support as well, and together we will get through this too. Thank you, thank you, thank you all!

And finally, as it is customary for me to share my entries with Christian before posting them, Christian has requested I add one other comment... GO BEARS!!

Update...

Well, well...
Thursday was our 32 week appointment with Dr. Heimburger. We had an ultrasound prior to seeing him and had our moms with us. It was wonderful! First of all, I learned at my 20 week appointment that I had placenta previa, but Christian and I kept it to ourselves since we didn't want to cause unnecessary worry for anyone. Doc said that in 90% of women, the placenta moves up as the belly grows to clear the birth canal. We shared the news with our moms prior to the ultrasound so they would be prepared for either outcome.
So, when we went in, our ultrasound tech let us know that it appeared the placenta had moved up and away from the birth canal. We got to see Baby T, who was asleep at the time. My mom was saying, "Charlie, (that's the name Baby T inherited in the very beginning rather than calling it, an IT) wake up..." Baby wasn't listening but Grandma didn't give up. She continued to ask baby to wake up and then, sure enough Baby began to move. But the most beautiful thing happened next... she was saying "Charlie, wave to us. Come on, Baby". I responded lightheartedly, "Come on, mom", letting her know she was being unrealistic. Not but two seconds later, Baby picked up its right hand and gave the most pronounced wave you could ever imagine- and directly at us! We ALL began to cry, even the ultrasound tech had a tear in her eye! We got a bunch of pictures which I will post as soon as possible. Baby has the cutest little pudgy lips I've ever seen.
Next, Christian and I went in to see Dr. Heimburger and he was pleased to report things were looking very good for us. I let him know Christian and I had been feeling under the weather, especially me at that time- coming down with a head cold and body aches. He let me know what regimen to follow and so I went home to rest. I stayed home from work on Friday and slept all day alternating tea with liquids trying to flush the bug out of my system and getting lots of sleep. My evening was pretty routine, nothing out of the ordinary, other than my cold.
At 1:30 in the morning I woke up to find myself and the bed wet, and went to the bathroom to find myself bleeding. I was pretty horrified at the amount of blood on my pants, and I was still actively bleeding. I went to wake up Christian to tell him to come in the bathroom, and that I needed to go to the hospital. I continued to bleed, paged my doctor and he directed me to come in to the ER where they would take me to the labor and delivery unit and they would be waiting for me there.
The next 10 minutes are a blur. I got cleaned up and changed, packed a few belongings, we let the dogs out, got the car started, and were on our way. I was white as a ghost, and trying to stay calm. I was talking to myself and praying to God that Baby was okay. Christian poured me a glass of orange juice in hopes we could get some movement from the baby, since we hadn't yet.
The car ride was a nightmare. Baby would not move. Christian and a were falsely reassuring each other, trying to not fall apart on each other, but clearly we were both a mess. At first I was thinking we'd be okay, but when baby wasn't moving I had the worst thoughts possible racing through my head. I found myself with my mouth wide open and hand over my mouth just holding everything in, shaking my head back and forth.
At last, I felt movement! I wasn't relieved until I had felt a few movements; but from that moment until we had gotten to the hospital 15 minutes, later I had felt 11 movements and 8 contractions. These weren't my normal Braxton Hicks contractions. They wheeled me up to the L&D department, hooked us up to monitoring, and within a short time my Doctor was at the hospital to see us.
After reviewing the details, labs, and ultrasound he decided it would be in our best interest to get some steroids on board to mature Baby's lungs as quickly as possible to prepare for baby to be taken by c-section the next morning. He explained in order for this to be effective, we needed to keep baby in me for at least 48 hrs, allowing the 2 doses of steroid injections to be effective. He was concerned for two possibilities- 1. the bleeding was caused by contractions combined with a low lying placenta (still near the birth canal) or 2. placental abruption. The second would be least desirable. My contractions at this time were 4-10 minutes apart. Baby was now asleep, and Doc was not completely satisfied with the results of his exam. I assured him Baby was moving in the car and since we had arrived, but he needed to see that for himself. Baby did have a tight fist which proved muscle tone, so that was reassuring to the doctor. Regardless, it was tense in the room. We were seen by a maternal-fetal specialist a few hours later who started me on a medication to slow my contractions since they were now coming steadily every four minutes. Luckily, I was not dilated. He was able to see good movement from Baby when he came to the room to do another ultrasound and assured us Baby was looking healthy and doing well. Our goal now was to make sure bleeding would stop and to slow down the contractions.
I'll continue to take the meds while I'm here and once I go home too. Contractions did slow by last evening, about every 8-12 minutes, until later when they really became rare. Then my nurse woke me at 3 am to let me know they were steadily 2 minutes apart again and had been for some time. I had recently taken my Nifedipine to slow contractions, and after about another hour and half combined with some extra fluids and a snack, they slowed again. When Doc came in this morning, he said we'd be increasing the frequency of the med I'm on; I'm on the highest dose possible, so if this doesn't do the trick, they may need to change my meds. For now, I'm here at the hospital. Baby and I are doing well. I'm a bit antsy and restless; but I know I'm in the best place possible for us. The reality is that even when I go home I'm going to be on bed rest for a minimum of 2 weeks. I may be able to return to work after that, but for now we're looking at one day at a time, and praying for the healthiest outcome for all of us.
We'll keep the blog updated... please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I hope to be home in a few days if we get these contractions under control. So far, we seem to be moving in the right direction. I'm not sleeping much, so I rest whenever I can, even if it just means closing my eyes here and there.

Just 9 more weeks!!

These next weeks are going to fly by! I can't believe we are down to 9 weeks until our due date! I remember looking at Amanda's blog months ago and thinking how amazing it must feel seeing that baby ticker on the second to last month... and here we are. It seems like just yesterday we got the voicemail that we were pregnant, and now we are weeks away from meeting Baby T! This has been so amazing- and now I anticipate the next series of events.

I think a lot about the delivery and how fortunate we are to have so many friends who have shared their stories with us about delivery and what to expect, as well as what they didn't expect at all. The men have shared some pretty awesome stories too- I love hearing our friends explain to Christian what was the most amazing time of their life- the delivery of their first child. What's interesting is to hear how many of them recall the most terrifying moment being the car ride home. Getting baby in the car, knowing you're on your own now, and then shaking at the steering wheel bearing the responsibility of this life in the back seat.

Just a short time ago it seemed like we had forever to plan and prepare for Baby's arrival. Now Christmas is here and we are preparing for the holiday while trying to squeeze in dates to work on the nursery as well as take our classes in preparation for the baby to join us. We are so busy, and I am getting SO tired.

Last week we got together with friends to watch Mexico's Oscar De La Hoya fight Philippine's Manny Pacquiao. Here's a picture of our very own Mexican and Filipino in traditional wear just after Manny was announced the winner since Oscar couldn't take the punches anymore and quit! (We love you Leo). We had so much fun. The atmosphere was complete with Mexican and Filipino flags and decorations as well as a Mexican and Filipino feast!

We went to the Bull's Game last night and Lola got to feel Baby kick! Baby officially has an outfit for each of Daddy's favorite sports... ooh, except golf. We'll have to work on that. We had a nice time- I had the standard taffy apple for dessert... well, half of it. And Baby wanted to try Daddy's fruit tart too. So I ate half of that as well. You'd never tell though by looking at me- HAAAAH! I love when people are so polite and say, "Oh, Joelle, it is all baby!! You look great." Really? 'Cause if this baby weighs 43 pounds and I still have 9 weeks to go, I have a big problem on my hands.

We are really excited for Thursday, it's the day of our ultrasound! We haven't seen Baby for 12 weeks, and Grandma and Lola will be there with us to get a sneak peak at their next grandchild. We can't wait!

Order your "Puppy Slings" here...

Pacey loves to be rocked... so Christian thought we should make our own puppy sling like they sell for babies. She is currently being carried around our house in her new sling while Christian drinks his coffee and watches the snow falling through the windows. And she actually appears to be falling asleep. (Let's keep this our little secret, okay?!).

Mommy went shopping the other day for some gender specific outfits for Baby T. The return policy has no time limit, so I got a few things for Baby Girl T. and a few things for Baby Boy T. Christian had his first Baby dream on Friday night... and it was a... GIRL. He woke up and said, "I know I've been saying all along that it's a boy, but I think it could be a girl now". Then he was asking baby to respond if her name was ______ or to respond if his name was______. No definitive response though.

I'm starting to get a bit more tired now than I was during the previous weeks. Actually, more than anything I'm just feeling a little uncomfortable. Not terribly, but getting in and out of chairs and bed has become increasingly difficult. I'm noticing the first signs of swelling in my lower legs. My rings are a bit tighter too. I take them on and off every day though so I'm not worried one day I'm gonna wake up and not be able to take them off. But on Thanksgiving, I lowered my socks because they were getting itchy and my legs were indented from the top of the socks. And unfortunately, that's been the case every day since. Other than those things and my increasingly wide structure, I'm great!

Thanksgiving was great, the food was excellent. We were at Marla and Mark's house for dinner after going over to Mom and Dad Tolentino's to have breakfast together. We made them my favorite... cinnamon raisin french toast, eggs and sausage. Yummy. The pork and turkey as well as everything served for dinner by Marla was particularly excellent this year; we also celebrated Andrew's birthday. We did our annual gift list exchange to prepare for Christmas too.

In a few hours we will begin the process of getting estimates for our upstairs- carpet, hardwood or both? We'll see... but we know we want to welcome Baby with a fresh new living space. And Daddy would be very happy with new hardwood floors too. We haven't gotten our Christmas tree yet, but hope to begin decorating for Christmas this week!

"Oh my goodness!"

On Tuesday we had our 28 week appointment. Baby's heart rate was in the 140's- normal. I gained 4.5 lbs in 4 weeks, much better than the previous month when I gained 9. Christian asked Dr. Heimburger if we could have our moms join us in the room to see the ultrasound; he said that would be fine. We were very excited to ask them, and they both said yes. So, on December 18th, they'll be able to see their grandchild for the first time! No peeking, though. We all have to look away when they look down by the legs!

We've been looking all week for fabric for Baby's bedding. What a chore! Unfortunately, nothing really caught our eye... we'd think we found something and then on second thought we didn't like it anymore. It's really hard to plan something neutral that would seem to be just right for a boy or a girl. In fact, it was really easy to plan for a boys room, but as soon as we imagined a girl in there, it just didn't seem feminine enough. So after hours and hours of searching on line and at quilt shops and fabric shops from Sycamore to Schaumburg with the help of my mom, I think we decided to wait to see if Baby is a boy or a girl, and then take another look at baby bedding. So, no sewing project for me- I'm disappointed, but at the same time, I hate to put all that work into something that isn't exactly what we want.

Christian had a great experience the other night; we fell asleep and he found me to be asleep on my back a few hours later. He woke me up and asked that I roll onto my side (not supposed to sleep on my back) and slipped his hand under the side of my belly when I rolled over. I fell right back asleep but I kept hearing him say "Oh my goodness!! J-do you feel that?! Oh my gosh!! J- are you feeling this?!" (This went on and on; he said I would sort of respond every now and then but he knew I was sound asleep). Apparently, Baby was really moving "crazy style" as we like to refer to it. He said it was such an awesome experience, especially since it was really time for just him and Baby, since I was asleep for the whole thing. He couldn't get over how Baby was poking at Christian's hand for about 15 minutes straight. Last night, we were cracking up because when I lay on my side at night, these movements are just unbelievable- it felt like a mini earthquake in my belly; it kind of tickled too.

My dad and father-in-law saw me today and both were a bit suprised at my size! While at my parents house my dad said, "What the heck happened?! Did you swallow something really big, or what?!" and then at my father-in-laws, he said "My back hurts just looking at you, you're so big". And I still have plenty of time to grow...

A Baby Story

Time is starting to tick and the pressures of being a parent are becoming more and more of a reality. There's so much to think about and of course we just hope we can be as good of parents as ours were to us. We started to work out our child care plans. We've got a ways to go, but we feel very fortunate to have the involvement of our parents. Christian and I both had strong involvement with our grandparents growing up; they helped to raise us, and the bond that experience created for each of us is quite meaningful.

I found a beautiful crib bedding set yesterday- it was on sale! Only $520 for the bumper pad, crib sheet, bed skirt and blanket. HAAA! That reassured me; I'll be making my own. $520???? Not necessary. Especially considering the short time it will be used and that my king bed which I'm guessing is 5-6 times bigger doesn't cost near that much. But it did give me some ideas... I think we're going to pick the material on Thursday. Yeah!

I finished The Lucky One yesterday; it was a good story. I have started The Kite Runner- recommended by Ashley. It was between that and My Sisters Keeper. After reading the back cover, it seemed like The Kite Runner was the better of the two for someone who needs no help in the crying department. I've been pretty emotional this week- probably the most emotional I've been since the very early stages. Like my mom said, I have more time on my hands now and that leaves more time for thinking, and thinking too much tends to get the best of me. The best is when I was home alone on Friday watching The Baby Story on TLC. This woman is in labor- her wacky tobacky husband is wearing a search light on his forehead. He actually had it on, and blinking while she is SCREAMING in labor, trying to push this baby out. I mean, SCREAMING, and GRUNTING and MOANING. I'm sitting on the couch, crying because I'm imagining what this moment is going to be like. At this same time, I'm saying out loud, "Oh, I'd kill him. No he is not wearing that light on his head". All the while laughing out loud because it really is very funny that he has the nerve to wear this blinking light on national television while his wife is in labor. If I had video footage of what I looked like on the couch, someone might admit me to a psychiatric unit for unstable behavior. I recorded it for Christian to see, and was happy to see it had somewhat of an affect on him as well. I'm telling you, you'd think she was delivering a small farm animal. He said, "no... you won't be making those noises, will you?". I'm not excluding ANY possibilities.

As for Baby's developments... it now has eyelashes, opens and closes it's eyes, can hear us both, has a defined sleep and wake cycle, has taste buds, and will probably start to get the hiccups in response to mommy's food choices. So I guess that means I need to take it easy on the spicy foods. Baby definitely knows daddy's touch now. It seems like as soon as Christian puts his hand on my belly, Baby kicks him back. We played this game yesterday- Baby's feet are on my right side and if we pushed in on my belly right by the feet, we got an immediate response with a kick back. It's unreal. I knew we were bonding with this baby, but I never imagined we could be this in love with someone we've not been able to lay our eyes on yet. We could not be any happier. Period.

14 inches

We finally decided on our bottles! We've chosen Dr. Browns BPA free plastic, not glass, bottles. After reading the reviews from moms as well as consumer reports, we came to our conclusion. Baby's kicks are getting stronger every week. The newest routine is kicking mommy in the bladder. I can't believe we are down to double digits... just 97 days to go! Sometimes that still seems so far off while other times I think, "are we ready for this?!" I think once Baby's room starts to come together it will seem like more of a reality. We're so excited, but nervous at the same time. Sometimes I lay in bed wondering where I'll be when my water breaks or what labor is going to be like. That's also where I was when I decided since none of the baby bedding we've seen is really jumping out at us that I should make it myself. We were going to go to Tammy Tadds quilt shop in Sycamore today to pick out fabric, but they're closed on Sunday. She has the cutest fabrics there- perfect for a baby's room. I can't wait to get started... with some help from my mom, of course.

I started to read my new book; so far so good. I've been on the Baby's R Us website a lot since I finished my test. I think I'll be able to take a break from that now too and get back to reading. We just renewed our gym memberships. I'd like to get in the pool, but... would it be offensive to see a pregnant girl in a two piece bathing suit? I won't fit in my Olympic suit anymore, but I have a nice Nike racer back top and bottom that I could throw shorts over. I think that's what I'm gonna have to do- I can't see buying a maternity bathing suit to use a few times, not to mention I don't know where I'd find one this time of year. I'll find out soon enough. It might work to my benefit- maybe I'll clear out the pool and have it all to myself. (Really, there's never that many people in there anyway).

Baby is 14 inches now and weighs two pounds. Baby will start to gain about a half pound per week now. It's eyelids are beginning to open, so baby can see now. Although, I guess there's not much to see in there... The guesses are flying in as to it's sex. Due to the shape of my belly I get a lot of "girl" guesses, but others guess "boy" because I'm carrying pretty low. The string and pencil say boy-boy-girl as does the ring on a necklace say boy-boy-girl... but the Chinese calendar says it's a girl. We picked out a few items of clothing; they are all very neutral. Really just a few layettes and pj's as well as some caps and socks to get us through the first few months.

SO EXCITING!! I can't wait to set my eyes on this baby for the first time. I can't imagine what it will feel like when that moment finally arrives!

Happy Tears

Have I mentioned how much I love being pregnant?! I fell asleep on the couch last night around 8:30 and woke up to go to bed at 11:30. I watched TV till about 1:00am with my arm wrapped around my belly just enjoying every movement this baby makes... at one point, I thought Christian was poking his finger into the side of my stomach. It hurt; I said, "What are you doing?". When I looked down, he was asleep with his hand on my stomach. He hadn't done anything at all. The baby was poking me in the side of my belly! When I pressed back with my finger in the same spot, I felt what must have been a tiny little foot pressing back at me! Happy tears just rolled down my face. It was amazing!

The Lucky One

I've been studying a lot for my exam next week and have had just about enough of the brain and spinal cord, diseases, drugs, and diagnoses. I took the day off yesterday to study and felt really accomplished. At night we caught a few minutes of "What Not to Wear" and I decided to call for a haircut appointment. Renee didn't have any openings so I told them to call me if she had a cancellation. Christian was with me when I called.

Today, Christian went out to run some errands while I studied some more (although I was feeling very overwhelmed and tired of it all). I got a call from the salon that Renee had a 12:00 cancellation. I told her I would be there at noon. I jumped in the shower and then sent Christian a text that I got in for a 12:00 haircut. He texted back, "Nice work. Get outta house for a bit. See u later poopie head. Luv u."

When I got to the salon and told the receptionist "I'm here for a 12:oo haircut with Renee", she responded... "Uhhh, Renee really didn't have a cancellation. I'm sorry." I looked at her like she was nuts and wasted my time by having me come in, but before I could say anything, she added, "Your husband called in and told me to tell you that, but really he has booked you for a manicure and pedicure. So come on in back and we'll get you started."

So, that's how I spent my afternoon. It was so relaxing. And now I'm back to studying (and blogging). Thank you Christian!

Here's a picture of my latest craving... taffy apples! This one's from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. It's huge! I couldn't finish it, but almost. What a great weekend... taffy apples and pedicures. Almost makes me forget about that exam!

Baby's good. It gave us a little scare earlier in the week. But I went in to see the doctor and everything is ok. I've been doing well ever since. I am having some braxton hicks contractions, but nothing unusual. I will schedule my blood glucose screening for gestational diabetes some time next week, probably not until after November 12th. I'll have some other usual screenings done at the same time. For now, just making sure I drink plenty of fluids and get enough rest. In 5 days, my life will be back to normal and I can't wait to pick up a book to read for pleasure! Christian bought me the book "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks; that'll be the first one I read.

Our newest additions...

Thank you Lola for my new clothes. We especially love the little duckies on the feet!

Thank you Grandma for my first piggy bank. Mommy and Daddy are working to fill it up!

Thank you Angie for my first Bears outfits. Can't wait to let everyone know which one I'll be wearing!

Thank you Gerry for the silver elephants. They go perfect with my bedroom!

And Sweet Pea, too...

We had our 24 week visit to Dr. Heimburger yesterday. We both like him a lot. He's patient with us and answers all our questions without ever making us feel uncomfortable, stupid, or like we're wasting his time. He has a nice sense of humor and has been very supportive of us and our needs. We've seen him for most of our visits and keep our fingers crossed that he'll be able to deliver Baby T.

Baby continues to grow as expected, and then some. My belly should measure about 1cm for every week of pregnancy. I'm 26 cm and just 24 weeks pregnant. Doctor says we're normal though- it's just an estimate. I'd rather be a little big than too small. Baby's heart rate was 158 and moving lots as usual. We've started a new movement pattern this week. Baby wakes up with me when my alarm goes off and moves around until I decide to get out of bed. I usually have more movement after breakfast while I'm on my way to work, then again after lunch. Baby sleeps until around 9pm, when it's pretty active for about an hour. Baby settles down again when I go to bed, and then... WAKES ME UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! I found that I was waking up in the middle of the night for no reason this week- it was weird; I didn't need to use the bathroom, but I found myself awake and with Baby kicking. At first I thought it was a coincidence, but then I realized Baby is waking me up with it's kicks. That's fine with me though; that's a great thing to wake up to!

Our next appointment is in four weeks and then they increase frequency to every two weeks after that. We'll start to have weekly appointments at about week 35 until Baby is born!

We had our annual Halloween party at Vince's today. It was great, as always. He started a haunted house last year and decided to have an even bigger one this year. He actually builds it next to his house and it is amazing. I thought I weaseled my way out of it this year (I get really scared), but at the end of the night he brought me in with the lights on and after the hired help had gone home. It really deserves recognition, it's excellent.

Mom was a witch, Dad ended up a "college student", Mark was a gynecologist, Marla was Baby Valentino the Filipino Tolentino, Vince was Chuckie, Sandy was the bride of Chuckie, Shane and Branden were scary dudes, and Andrew was... a banana or a yellow blob or... well he really wasn't sure either; but he was big and yellow. We celebrated Shane's birthday too, so he had a bunch of friends over and family was there as well.

Just "eatin' me spinach!"

So, are you excited??

Hi there everyone!

Today is Monday, October 20, 2008 and we are officially into our 23rd week of this journey. I wake up each morning feeling so happy! And I am so thankful to God for blessing me with good health, a good job, the most wonderful family, best friends, two great and crazy dogs, the most beautiful wife, and of course, the little baby that is growing inside of her. We are quickly approaching the end of the 2nd trimester and I have to keep reminding myself to embrace this experience. It is going by way too fast. But then again, the quicker it does go, the sooner Baby will be here!

Baby started to move and kick several weeks ago. But it wasn’t necessarily that easy for me to be part of it. It seemed like every time Baby started to move, Baby knew I was coming and would start the little game of cat and mouse. By the time I was able to place my hand on her belly, the baby would say, ‘haha! Made you get off your butt!’ I would wait for a while and then grow increasingly impatient within a few minutes, only the have Joelle say, “Christian, you have to wait. You can’t just expect to have the baby start kicking as soon as you come over.” Well, um, okay. But isn’t that why you summoned me over in the first place? I get it though!

During those times that I have felt Baby kick, it makes my eyes get really big and makes my heart beat a little bit faster. It is so ridiculously amazing to know that there is a little person that Joelle is carrying around in her belly. We went to see Dirty Dancing for our 3rd Wedding Anniversary and the Baby was dancing to the music. Hopefully we get out to a Bears football game to see if it shows the same (hopefully more) enthusiasm as it did for the play. You can almost bet that each night, at around 9:00pm, Baby will know it is close to bed time for Joelle and find that comfortable spot for the rest of the evening. I can’t wait to hold the Baby for the first time.

The second, most popular question that I get is “do you think it is going to be a boy or a girl?” I do not typically give the standard, “I don’t know. All I hope for is a healthy baby,” answer. Obviously, that goes without saying, but in all honesty, I can say that I have felt from the beginning that it will be a boy. Don’t ask me why, who my resource is, or where I get my information from because I do not know. The overwhelming majority of family and friends continue to support the ‘It’s going to be a girl campaign.’ Which again, is fine by me. And in case you were wondering what the post popular question I get is, please see the title of this Entry!

In conclusion and the spirit (no pun intended) of Halloween, I thought it would be fun to share some Halloween pictures with you. It is definitely one of our favorite days of the year! The first time I met her family was Halloween! I was invited to the house in Itasca and was told that I would not be allowed in without a costume. Can you imagine a Filipino cowboy walking into the house with a 10 gallon hat? It was definitely a day that I will never forget. It was on that day, my father-in-law (F.I.L), being the bright and intuitive person he is, was Right On when he started planning our wedding date. This is Halloween '03 (just meeting the family).

Take good care everyone! Thanks for sharing in our experience. Thank you Mom, Dad, Mama G, and F.I.L. for all of your love, support, and prayers. We love you!

-Christian

Halloween '02 (just friends)

Halloween '05 (just married)

Halloween '06 (just flying)

Halloween '07 (just catching ghosts)

Halloween '08... JUST HAVE TO WAIT 'TILL NEXT WEEK!

The Story of the Three Bears

For the record, I should mention that although this looks like I am wearing a strapless bra on the outside of my shirt, it is nothing more than an optical illusion! (The tank top I have under the shirt I am wearing is folded over my top for the picture...)
It's our last week of month five! I am still feeling well and full of energy! Baby continues to move more than ever. Its weight is one pound now and is developing senses of touch, sight, hearing, and taste. They say if I shine a flashlight to my belly, baby will move away from the light. I'm just not sure I'm willing to try this, it seems cruel.
Knowing baby can hear now, Christian read us The Story of the Three Bears this morning. We pulled it out of one of the story books I have saved since I was probably six years old. It was good practice for him to manipulate his voice into the characters of the story... in this particular story, Papa Bear had the voice of Chris Rock. We'll continue to work on that.
We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary this week by going to see Dirty Dancing at the Cadillac Palace, downtown. It was a really good time; that's my favorite movie!
We made our way back to Geneva today for breakfast and walked through a few shops again. It's a good thing we don't know the sex of our baby- we'd be broke! The clothes they sell are beautiful and so unique. So, we left without making a dent in our pocketbooks, but certainly anticipating the reveal of the sex of Baby T!

Some new pictures...

Riley and Pacey... (Pacey looks like she wishes she could be on the couch instead of this hard floor, right?!)

Dad and Christian displaying their strong arms and fabulous teamwork!

Mom and Christian getting the crib to just the right height.


Our latest addition... the changing table and dresser.

I can't wait to start decorating and pulling the pieces together to turn this all into a beautiful nursery!