Going the Distance

Here we are at 40 weeks! Its crazy to believe that Caleb was already 2 weeks old by now, thanks to induction. However, the other 3 were still 3 days-1 week away from making their appearance. Officially, this is my first of 2 due dates, so there’s a chance that I could still deliver before the 27th, my second due date. Crossing our fingers!

Aside from taking care of the rest of the family and coaching volleyball, I’ve been passing the time with baby sewing projects. I haven’t been able to use my machine, as the power cord mysteriously disappeared while we were in the US. I ordered another off of Amazon, so my parents brought it to me.

This is the same print as Caleb’s baby blanket, (only with different colors),  which is now faded and loved to death. When I showed it to him, his face lit up. But when I asked him which blanket he liked better, he still chose his owned beloved blankey.

This is Caleb’s.

I don’t know which blanket will become THE blanket, but I wanted to make one with ricrac in the edges. This one was fun to make and I love the puppy and chevron prints!

Speaking of Caleb and his most-loved blanket….

I poked my head in to make sure he was napping, and I couldn’t resist taking some pics of him all cuddled up in his bed. He looks so sweet and little. I love this little guy!

 

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Showering!

A few months ago, I had no intentions of sharing our surprise baby news with my mom2mom group that particular day, but it came up (how could it not, at a mom’s group?) When I said, “Yep, it’s a big ol’ surprise!” Another lady said, “What? You’re pregnant? Me too!” Then another lady, “Me too!!!”

Fast forward until this morning, our sweet friends at the mom2mom group threw a shower for us as well as some November babies coming up. The first two that I mentioned are both due right around my due date, one before and one after. The one who is due before me is in the exact same boat – 4 kids already, and this one is the surprise victory lap!

Here we are in order of due date, as if it isn’t obvious!

We were treated to diapers, wipes, baby shoes, a beautiful handmade baby toy, and an organizer. On top of all that, another friend gave me a bag that said, “This isn’t a gift. I was going through my kid’s stuff and these just made me think of you guys.” Inside was a baby basketball uniform and baby Air Jordans!

It was such a fun party, I totally forgot that baby kicks had me awake since 4:30 that morning! The food was great, the devotional was encouraging, the friends were terrific, and the fellowship was just what I needed!

It’s “Fall!”

Yesterday was yet another surprise for this pregnancy!

It started off by heading to my check-up with the doctor. I got to the hospital in 20 minutes and got a parking spot by the elevator, which put me in a fantastic mood….until I realized why there was no traffic and lots of open parking spots. It was a holiday here!!! I went from completely happy to totally bummed in the second that I read that all the Dr. offices were closed that day. But I made the most of it by heading to Starbucks and back to my air-conditioned car. Even though I didn’t get done what I needed to, I enjoyed that quiet hour to myself!

While I was driving home, my friend Michele asked me if I wanted to walk together when I got home. I am always up for a walk and talk with Michele, so I got ready to go as soon as I got home. About 25 steps into our walk, my left foot stepped on some moss on the road’s downward side slope. I went straight down, with my legs in a “4” shape. I looked at Michele with an “I think I’m ok” expression. I stood up and tried to take a step, but the pain the front of my pelvis was intense! At the same time, I started to see stars.

A neighbor’s driver saw me struggling to walk and ran over to help Michele steady me. They walked me back to our condo lobby and with each step, my vision started to go away!!! It was crazy. I could only see black for a while. It was scary, but the pain of walking was distracting me enough to not be too alarmed. When I heard the magical words, “Ok, you can sit. The chair is right behind you,” everything got better. My vision came back, the stars went away, and the pain in my pelvis was gone.

Meanwhile, someone had run to get Josh, and when he arrived, I tried to stand and walk again. Unfortunately, the pain and stars returned with a vengeance, so I had to sit back down. At this point, Michele and Josh had to talk me into going back to the hospital to check everything out. I really didn’t want to go, and I definitely didn’t want to go back when I had already been there once that day! I could feel the baby kicking, so I wasn’t too nervous. But I called my doctor and she told me to go to the ER or pre-labor room.

So off we went. Thankfully, we zipped right in again because of the holiday. The ER was packed, so we asked if they could just wheel me up to the pre-labor room. When they did, they hooked me up to a fetal monitor, where we all heard a happy little heartbeat. I also had no bleeding and my cervix was closed up tight, so there was really no issues, except for the intense pelvic pain! By then, the faintness was gone. I’m guessing it was just because my bp dropped when I fell. It’s only about 100/60 anyway, so it wouldn’t take much! They really didn’t address the pelvic pain at all. I was happy to just go home knowing the baby was fine, but Josh knew I was really hurting and was asking them all kinds of questions. Basically, all they said was it wasn’t fractured and that I should treat myself to ice packs and a whopping 500mg of Tylenol every 6 hours. Yippee.

Again, since it was a holiday, the billing department was pretty empty, so we got right in and paid the P1600 ($36) for the fetal monitoring, consultation, and exam. I think we were in and out in less than an hour, which is exciting and unheard of here! That left time for lunch, so we headed over to Charlies for burgers and fries. I couldn’t get out of the car, so we grabbed take-out.

We got home just in time to go get the kids from school, but Josh wanted to get me upstairs first. I tried to take a few steps out of the car with his help, but it was too painful and the stars came back! There was no way that I would make it to the elevator and down the hall to our condo. I told Josh to grab the pushcart that I carry my groceries home from the car, but he showed up with Caleb’s stroller! I could barely cram myself in it, but Josh was able to get me all the way to our bed in it. I should’ve gotten a picture, but I didn’t think about it until later.

So now it’s been about 24 hours since the fall, and I haven’t moved from the bed since getting into it, except to go to the bathroom. That’s a fun-filled 10  minute ordeal! Otherwise, sitting and laying in certain positions is pain-free. Walking and changing positions is quite uncomfortable. I feel a bit better moving around today than yesterday, so hopefully in a few days, I’ll be up and running (not literally running, of course!)

The kids and Josh have been taking great care of me! All I wanted for dinner last night was a giant bowl of Cheerios, so Mackenzie hooked me up.

I can sit up comfortably, and the Cheerios sit even more comfortably on the baby bump!

Josh made me my favorite french toast for breakfast, and he’s been single-handedly taking care of the kids. What’s crazy is that he was asked to be in a wedding in the US this weekend, so if he had gone, I would be completely up a creek without a paddle! God’s plan is perfect. Although I would’ve been cool with a no-fall-at-all plan as well. If there is a perfect time for falling, this was it, because my volleyball girls are all off on the high school retreat, so I’m not missing any practices. Plus, Monday is another holiday, so that’s an extra day to recover!

So, after an eventful day yesterday, I’m spending this entire day in bed. Caleb comes and visits me and we play trucks, watch TV, and read books together. I’d appreciate it if you join me in praying for safety for both of us, quick healing, and no more slippery surfaces!

It’s A Male Young Individual!

We went for it! We piled up the kids and headed to the mall to see our baby for the first time. I had planned to video our reaction when they told us what the gender was, but when we got there, I had to sign something saying that we wouldn’t take any pictures! I was bummed, but I had a few minutes to come up with Plan B.

Meanwhile, this is what Bella was doing during the wait…

When it was our turn to go in, I asked the dr. to please not tell us the gender right then, but just give us the report and we’ll read it together later. She was cool with that, but when she found the gender, she asked, “How will I label it without telling you what it is? So I made everyone turn and face the wall until she gave us the Ok to watch again.

The kids LOVED seeing the baby! The girls were able to pick out the major characteristics, like face, arms, and legs. They all loved seeing the little heartbeat. All of us were dying to know the gender! At one point, I asked her a measurement question and she switched to a screen with all the information on it. That’s when Josh read “Female.” He told me that he saw, but didn’t tell me what he saw.  A few seconds later, the tech said, “Here is his heartbeat.” I was the only one who caught the pronoun usage, so I kept it to myself. Of course, in Tagalog, there is no gender specific word for he/she, just siya for both, so when they speak English, “he” and “she” are often switched, so I wasn’t 100% sure it was a boy at that point.

When we were finished with the ultrasound, we waited for the report. Mackenzie, Bella, and Deacon were bouncing up and down with anticipation, but for different reasons. The girls were itching to find out if they had a little brother or a little sister. Deacon was excited to eat supper.

When they handed us the envelope, Josh videoed the experience.

Now it was Josh’s turn to be shocked! He stopped videoing and said, “Wait. What? I saw ‘female’ on the screen!” We figured he must have seen my information up on the screen. So he was pretty excited to find out that another son is on the way.

Now to find a name!

We want, but are not committed, to give the baby an Australian-themed name, since he’s our extra little souvenir from there. If it was a girl, I had already considered Matilda (Mattie, Tilly, or Tildy) or Emmie (M-E: the first two letters in Melbourne.) I didn’t really have any boy names picked out because I was 98% sure it was a girl all this time! I was pretty shocked when I found out that he was boy. This entire pregnancy has been a shocker!

What will he bring on next?!??

A Bumpie

It’s like a selfie, only its targeted towards the bump. I can’t believe that I’m 18 weeks and this is the first picture I’ve taken! So unlike me! Anyway, when I saw this picture, I thought to myself, “Wha? Where is the ginormous protrusion that has pretty much been there since I go the positive test!?!

I guess it’s not as big as it feels or looks from my vantage point. I can still fit into my regular clothes, but they are getting tight and harder to put on. Let’s face it, pregnant or not, it’s no fun watching clothes get tighter!  (I just put the laptop down to go give my yoga pants a hug of appreciation!)

Baby is 18 weeks as of yesterday. I feel better than ever in this pregnancy! My energy is back, appetite is full speed ahead, but thankfully I’m able to work out 4-5 times a week, so it balances out the eating. Running has decreased DRASTICALLY, but I’m ok with it. I have to use the bathroom at least twice during every run, so I’m fine with decreasing all of it! I’ve picked up weight training 3 times a week (ish) and I love it. I’ve also done some swimming, but…meh. Walking and talking with friends is always terrific.

I just checked the web site for an ultrasound place here called In My Womb. We went there for our ultrasound with Caleb, but of course, we didn’t let them tell us his gender. Anyway, they say that I can come in as early as 16 weeks for a gender reveal and if they can’t find it, I can just come back in 1-2 weeks for another ultrasound, free of charge! So Josh and I are trying to decide if we should just give in to our crazy temptation and curiosity and go in, like, today! It’s P1400, which is about $30. Super cheap compared to the US, but still a chunk of change. We’re planning to bring the kids with us, so it’ll be an exciting day whenever it happens!

So yeah, everything is going well with my little bell pepper, as babycenter calls my 18-weeker. I feel him/her moving and shaking occasionally, especially after a rich dessert, which fortunately/unfortunately happens frequently! Baby kicks are one of my favorite things in life, so I’m happy that I get to enjoy them for one more pregnancy.

ONE.LAST.TIME. Seriously.