Updates and some fun pictures :)

Went and saw Margie today!  Baby is continuing to measure 2 cm ahead, so that is GREAT news!  Means that he is continuing to grow big and strong...heart rate of 146 bpm...he was pretty active and moving around right before she used the doppler on me.  My blood pressure is just fine, and my urine checks out just fine as well :)
Next visit will start the begining of the weekly visits!  Hooray!

I have been feeling so great these past couple of months, but now I am wearing down again...back ache, hip pain, pelvic pain, swolen feet, waking several times per night, frequent urination, double chin etc, etc...good thing I'm pregnant or else I'd swear there's something wrong with me lol

I am SO ready to meet my little man...BUT I am completely content as well waiting for him to come when he is ready (2 more weeks though and I'll be counting the days since 37 weeks is technically full term) :)

Here's a couple pictures I made...my progression picture (from when I found out until now) , and my "Mom vs. Me" picture (Mom at 35 weeks with me, and me at 35 weeks)

(If you click on the picture, it will open up bigger for you to view better)

24 Weeks and counting!

So I went and saw Margie yesterday, and Karla got to come with this time.  I think it was exciting for her to hear his heartbeat because she had a big grin on her face :)  I am measuring bigger than average still...29cm this time...but I have been growing consistently at the same rate, so that is good :)  His heartrate was 141 this time. 

He gets more and more active each day...and I love it!  I know that he is doing well, and I am looking forward to the next ultrasound on the 29th.  I just know in my heart that everything will be okay, so I'm getting excited to see how much he's grown in these past couple of weeks.

I am also looking forward to having a little photoshoot to capture this wonderful time...a friend of mine has requested to take some photographs...this will be her first time taking pictures of a pregnant woman, but she does excellent work, and I love being a guinnea pig for her lol...I am a Callison girl so being in front of the camera is pretty much second nature at this point lol...Karla is going to do my makeup for me, so I will be all glamed up :)  Now I just need to shop for a couple of outfits ;)

Other than that, Manny and I have been trying to walk at least a mile or so each day or every other day...we have to do it at night now since it's so hot out!!  Summer is here :)

Here are some pics from last weekend...enjoy! :)

22 weeks

So I found these fill in the blank questions on another person's blog, and I thought it was kinda neat...here are my answers :)

How far along: 22 weeks (going by 9/27 edd)

Weight gain: 15 lbs so far...and it seems like most of it showed up in the past 2 weeks lol
Stretch marks: none so far...yay!  I'm am definately not giving up on the lotion any time soon :)
Symptoms: Sometimes I feel a little nauseous after eating dinner or a bigger meal, but that may be due to the fact that I usually try and lay down or lay back and relax after and may have some acid reflux or something going on.  I feel pretty good and active...I was able to clean the entire house this weekend and I was soooo relieved about that, but my feet and back were aching at the end.  I have to use the restroom whenever I stand up (and sneezing is not my friend if you know what I mean).
Sleep: I am having some trouble sleeping...I have no problem falling asleep, but around 3am, I start tossing and turning and it is hard for me to get comfortable.  I'll find a good position and then wake up 30-40 mins later and have to roll over.
Best Moment this Week: Being able to visit with friends and family...all of whom can't resist touching the belly and talking to little Adrian.  He just wouldn't kick for anyone this week, but man, as soon as I lay down in bed, he moves around a lot (probably getting himself comfortable for sleep) :)
Food Cravings: Nothing really...I had been eating at Chipotle at least twice a week, but now I have switched to wanting Samurai Sam's at least twice a week (All white chicken meat, rice, veggies, with teriaki sauce).  Oh and salad too this week...we tried going to Sweet Tomatoes on Friday, but apparently everyone else in Henderson wanted salad too, so we ended up going to Marie Calendars and I have a chicken pot pie with a salad :)      I have had a sweet tooth lately too though I must admit.
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out?: Still in...although Margie keeps reminding me that I will need to buy a pregnancy belly ring soon lol
Rings on or off?: Ring still on...no swelling in my hands thank goodness, I can't decide if my ankles have swelled a little or not though...I never really paid attention to them before so I have nothing to compare them too lol
Movement: Lot's of movement...especially when I lay down for bed and around lunch time too
Milestones: Having a baby belly that looks like a baby belly!  22 weeks...they went by really fast!  Here's to the next 18!

Twenty Weeks

Here's a picture update...This was me last Monday at 20 weeks...and the last picture was this Saturday at Karla's graduation...she's so funny :)  I'm getting bigger and bigger, and it seemed to have happened over night!  He is still very active, but definately getting stronger because those little kicks are definately kicks and not just flutters anymore :)  Oh and for the record, we have agreed that our baby boy will be named Adrian Alexander Pena!!

Happy and Sad

First I would like to share pictures of our beautiful baby BOY!!! (haven't decided on a name yet) He is healthy and growing as he should...he measured at 19 weeks today, estimated weight of 9oz (over 1/2 pound!!). Heartrate of 142. Great looking heart & kidneys. He also did a couple somersaults for us too during the ultrasound :) Here he is...

Baby Face

Side profile, 4D...I think he has daddy's nose lol

Baby face 4D...he looks kinda funny in this one :)  That is his hand right by his face on the left

Baby Feet!!!  How adorable is that? :)

Proof....He's all boy!!!!!!

So now for the not so great news.  When looking at the placenta, the doctor pointed out to us that it is abnormally shaped, and it appears that there is an area that didn't grow in the center...he also mentioned something about a cyst, so I don't know whether the spots in the middle were cysts or an actual "hole" in the placenta.  The doctor seemed very optimistic about this, and that it will hopefully take care of itself with time, but there is always the possibility that it won't.  In that case, babies tend to have some growth restriction as well as not being able to tolerate labor as well, so constant monitoring would have to be done during labor, and I'm sure that it would ultimately end in c-section (worst case scenario).  Then the doctor also showed us a spot in the brain that he was slightly concerned about, although again he seemed very optimistic about it as well.  There is a spot in the brain that has not quite developed to the point where it should by now and there is some cerebral fluid that is still being "communicated" between areas which should be closed at this point...he stated that at a 10 week ultrasound scan, this would look normal, but at 19 weeks, it is something to keep an eye on. 

So while the first part of our appointment was extremely exciting, especially when my "motherly instincts" were validated as being true about Baby Pena's gender, the second part was not so fun to hear.  Dr. Roberts is a perinatologist that deals specifically with high risk pregnancies, so I feel like I am in the best care possible at this point.  I am soooo thankful that I chose to go to see him to get the full medical ultrasound scan performed because if I would have gone to just do a gender check with someone else, who knows if they would have found these things.  Our follow up ultrasound with Dr. Roberts is to be in 8-10 weeks, so end of June/ beginning of July. At that time he will be able to reassess the placenta and brain development and hopefully give us a clean bill of health.  Again, Dr. Roberts tried to emphasize that although it's not great news, he was pretty confident that there would be much improvement before our next visit.

Although I am saddened by news I never expected to hear, I am also feeling very optimistic that everything will turn out alright.  As I was reminded today, the Lord does not give us more than we can handle, so I must put my faith in the fact that everything has its purpose, and these things will only make you stronger if you just have faith.

I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers today as this was hard news for all of us, but we will get through and I'm sure we will be looking into the face of a healthy baby boy in September!  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  Love you all!

Before vs 18 weeks

Here's my before and "after" pictures.  The one on the left is right after I found out I was pregnant. I believe I was 4 weeks at the time.  The on the right is a picture of me tonight at 17 weeks 6 days. :)  I don't feel much bigger than when I started...and a lot of people still don't think I look pregnant, but I think it definately shows in these pictures lol...it looks like my butt has gotten a little bigger too (oh no!!!) looks like I'll be doing a lot of stairs when baby comes lol  Only 2 days until we find out!!  But waiting until Saturday to reveal!  I'm so excited to bake a pink or blue cake! I'm 95% sure it's a boy, but Manny thinks its a girl...man Monday is going to be the slowest day ever!!

Midwife Appt & scheduled baby's big gender debut!

So today was a pretty good day! I had my midwife appt today, and Manny couldn’t make it, but fortunately mom didn’t have to work until 1pm today, so she got to go instead. Worked out great! It was a good visit…baby is doing just fine…measuring right where (s)he should be…heart beat sounded strong…150 bpm this time.

Last night I swear that I felt the baby kick twice, and both times happened to be when Manny came into the bedroom and started talking…baby must love him already :) He doesn’t believe me that I felt it, and I may have been feeling something else, but I don’t think so…I think it was baby…either that or I am going crazy lol

The next great thing was that Margie (midwife) gave me the information for the perinatologist that she works with so that I could schedule the BIG ultrasound!!!! So of course I called as soon as I could this afternoon, and it is scheduled for April 27th at 8am!! I am so excited, and hopefully baby cooperates because I would hate to have to go back for a second one. Margie says that he is a great doctor and they have very great ultrasound machines, so I am hoping for a very clear picture…he will also do all of the measurements and all the other checks to make sure baby is healthy too. Of course I am excited about finding out the gender, but having a good bill of health was just as important…if not more important :) (I had the choice of an ultrasound technician that comes into her office because she has an ultrasound machine, but he charges $125 and she said the clarity of her machine isn’t as great as the doctor’s office…but I wanted to go to the doctor because 1) he takes my insurance (saving money) and 2) because I wanted more than just a gender check…I wanted a check on the health of the baby as well)

So so so excited!! I haven’t discussed this with Manny yet, but I’m not going to give him a choice lol, and I am going to throw a little dinner for our parents at our house…I am going to bake a cake and the inside will be either blue or pink, and the outside will be decorated to where you can’t tell the color inside. After dinner, we will cut the cake, and everyone will find out together what we’re having…for our family far away, I will send a text picture right away so they will know too.

After that, I will post a picture here for the rest of the world to see PINK or BLUE!!

Until next time...here's an update picture...16 weeks and counting...24 weeks to go!

Pictures...13weeks3days & 13weeks5days

So here is the ultrasound from my appointment last Thursday with the urologist.  The right picture at the top is the baby...the big circle far right is the baby's head, and the two bright spots to the left of the head are baby's hands.  Obviously it's not the greatest picture of the baby because they were focused on gettng the picture of the bladder, but I still love the picture, and the baby looks more like a baby than the last ultrasound I got :) 

This is me at 13 weeks 5 days.  This was after the concert that me and our friend Amber took Karla to for her birthday!  Still small, but slowly growing...I think I've gained at least 5 lbs now...I never thought gaining weight would be hard, but I am trying...to be on target, the midwife said I should gain a pound a week, so since my appointment with her, I think I've done that, so I'm on the right track...I know when baby starts really growing that it won't be hard to get those extra pounds on :)

Midwife Appointment

The appointment went great...Manny even asked some questions this time LOL He's so shy sometimes :)  Uterus is measuring just right and baby's heartbeat sounded wonderful!!  162 bpm...It was so awesome to hear for the first time!  I can't wait until I actually start feeling baby move around...but I still have several weeks for that.  My next appt is in one month...I was told that I need to start gaining more weight now...It's so strange to me to actually have to gain weight, and I really have been trying the past couple of weeks, but it's actually harder than I thought it would be!  I'm sure that soon enough I'll see the scale move on up though.  She said that with my starting weight she would like to see me gain between 25-30 lbs which is a pound a week!  When she said that, she said "because you have 26 weeks to go until your due date" which made me think, and in the grand sheme of things really doesn't seem that long...I didn't realize how quickly time flies! 

It feels just like yesterday when we were anouncing to our families we were pregnant and now I'm already 12 weeks along!  I am really enjoying this journey so far, even with the sickness and nausea.  I am already so proud of how strong my little one is growing!  I can't wat until we know the sex though so we can name and start the fun stff...shopping for baby!!! :)

9 weeks today!

So today I am 9 weeks, and I am starting to feel better from this cold that just won't go away!  I've had this cough for over a week now, and it really stinks!  Other than that, I got what I wished for and morning sickness started about a week before I got sick.  I get nauseous if I don't eat, and then if I try to eat anything other than fruits and vegetables, I just feel sick.  Oh the joys!  I haven't posted any more pictures, 1) because I've not been feeling well and that probably would have translated in the pictures lol and 2) because I don't feel like I've changed all that much from the picture I posted earlier. 

With this cold, and nausea, it's been hard to eat properly...I force myself because I know it is not good for baby, but there's only so much you can force yourself :(  So I haven't really gained any weight yet, and my pants all fit pretty much the same.  I know that I am going to regret saying this later (like I did with the morning sickness), but I wish I was showing more by now!  I don't want a big baby, but I have looked at pictures people have posted on babycenter.com and they look huge!  I don't want to be that big, bu showing a little would be nice :)  Anyway, that day will come soon enough I'm sure :)

One more thing, I found this neat website where you all can participate in it...it's a guessing game on when you think baby will be born, weight, length, & sex.  It's just a fun little game to see what everyone thinks  :)  Here's the link below, and feel free to join in the poll.  Once the baby arrives, I'll post on here who the winner is :)

http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyPena

Love you all!

7 Weeks, 1 Day - Due Sept 27th

Or what ever day baby decides to come :)  It was so magical seeing the little heartbeat on the screen for the first time.  I couldn't help but cry :)  It was amazing to both of us and made it that much more real.  I just pray that the baby continues to grow and be healthy, and I can't wait to meet him or her in September (or October if I go late) lol  Anyway, here's introducing baby Pena!  or as Karla is calling it, Fergie lol

5 Weeks

So here's where the story begins...I took a test on Jan 15th because I was just not feeling like myself...I was hungry every couple of hours and extremely irritable.  Little things would make me so mad, and I just couldn't let it go.  So I decided to take a dollar store test just to see, and it was positive!  I took another test the next morning to make sure, then went out and bought a digital just to see the actual words hehe

So here are my "pre-baby" body pics I took...I was actually 5 weeks here on Jan 19th.  I thought that taking scale pics would be fun just so that I could record that as well and have motivation once the baby comes to get back to that original weight LOL