Hello 3rd Trimester!!!

As this pregnancy comes to a close, I am compelled to reflect on some things...

Some things that I have missed while I am pregnant:

1. Sleeping on my belly.  I am not usually a belly sleeper but the option to do so is nice.  I usually sleep on my left side which is good while pregnant.  It increases blood flow and circulation to the baby. 
2. Not having to get up 2 times a night to use the restroom.
3. Not suffering from the intense burning of heartburn all day.  Especially when I get hungry.
4. Drinking coffee without guilt.  Once again, I am not a HUGE coffee drinker but I do enjoy an occasional cup.  And I still do even while I'm pregnant, but I do feel a tinge of guilt while doing so.
5. Being able to pick up my son and play with him.  Now, this isn't a big deal while pregnant in most cases, but due to my sensitive situation I am not allowed to pick up anything over 15 lbs so he is definitely out of the question (and so is my dog, Lilly).  Ha!
6. Handling meat without getting disgusted.  There is something about handling ground beef that kinda freaks me out in this pregnancy.  I can eat it (a little bit of it) but cooking is kinda gross.
7. Painting my toe nails.  I would usually go get a bi-monthly pedicure but I am having to save that energy for when I get closer to my baby shower so it can be special treat.
8. Getting in and out of the car without losing my breath.
9. Being able to cuddle with the hubby without the belly in the way. 
10. Eating at normal intervals.  I am practically starving every 2 to 3 hours still and it is frustrating.

Some things that that I will miss when I am NOT pregnant:

1. The baby's movement.  My absolute favorite part of being pregnant.  The feeling of having your baby kick, move, and stretch inside of you is by far the most incredible part of being a pregnant woman.  It's amazing how a little jab can give you such a sense of reassurance that everything is okay in there. 
2. Being a little bit spoiled.
3. The excuse to shop.  I have had to do a lot of my shopping and window shopping online to help pass the time on bed rest. 
4. The belly itself.  I honestly believe that a pregnant woman and their pregnant belly is one of the most beautiful sights on this earth.  Knowing that inside that belly there is human life makes it such a pleasure to look at. 

All in all, pregnancy is beautiful but I think we are done.  At least for a while.  This pregnancy in particular has been really rough on me and my family.  Such a dramatic difference between being pregnant this time than it was with Aleczander.  I don't feel nearly as attractive during this pregnancy as I did with Alec.  Alfred did point out that the reason behind that is probably because with Alec I wasn't restricted to my bed so I had reasons to get dressed up and be out and about.  With this pregnancy since I am in bed or at home all day, I don't take the time to dress up or put on make up.  I have enjoyed this to some extent and it makes the times that I do have an opportunity to get dressed up (like for doctor's appointment and such) a little more enjoyable. 

There are a couple of big events (before the "big" event) that I am looking forward to to help me feel a little more human.  The first being my maternity/family pictures with the amazing Amanda Adam's (www.dayzphotography.com) on November 9th.  She is so talented and I can't wait to see what she does with our family.  The second being my baby shower for baby girl JAH on November 13th that is totally being made possible mostly in part by my bestie Jennifer Borgman. 

She has some tricks up her sleeve and I cannot wait to see them.  I also can't wait to spend some time with family and friends that I have been unable to really see during this pregnancy along with some friends that I have not seen in a while.  Speaking of the baby shower, if you received an invite, please please please RSVP as soon as possible.  We really need to have a good idea on how many people we are expecting.  Thanks! Also, if you are going to attend, please show up on time.  Unfortunately, we are limited on time in the rented area and I would hate to have to cut the time spent with family and friends too short just to be able to clean the place up.  Thanks again!

The theme of baby girl's room is going to be fairies with the colors red, yellow, pink and white. I love love love fairies and I use to collect the Boyd's fairies until Alfred moved in and made me box them all up and put them away.  Well guess who is coming out of the attic?!?!  Baby girls first official fairy themed gift came from a very thoughtful and sweet co-worker.  My face lit up when I received it! 
I can't wait to put it on her!



In the womb this week (week 28), baby girl JAH is approximately 2.25 lbs and almost 15 inches long.  She can blink her eyes, swallow, and hear us out here in the world around her.  Since she can hear, I'm sure she enjoyed herself this past weekend at Buzzfest with all the music and mommy singing all day long.  The doc gave me the green light to attend Buzzfest at the Woodlands Pavilion only if I took it easy, and I did.  The ONLY walking I did was from the front gate where Alfred dropped me off at to the lawn where I planted my butt for the day and to get up to use the restroom.  I only stood during the first part of Staind's performance (they are the reason why I wanted to go so bad).  So I think I followed doc's orders pretty well. 

Braxton Hicks contractions are in full effect these days.  I get them at least 4 or 5 times a day and they are uncomfortable!! Baby girl gets hiccups almost daily and she one hell of a mover first thing in the morning and between 10:30 and 11:30 at night.  I can't believe I am already in my 3rd trimester of this pregnancy.  Although week to week it feels like it drags on especially since I am on my 10th week of a very lonely and isolated bed rest, but overall it has gone by pretty fast.  It kinda makes me sad that I only have, at most, 12 weeks left to protect my princess inside of me.  I know these next months are going to FLY by.  One thing I have learned while on bed rest is who my friends are.  It's amazing how quickly one is forgotten once they are immobile or "unavailable."  I'm on bed rest people.  I don't have a deadly contagious disease. And even if I did, it wouldn't be catchy through the phone. Just sayin...

As you may have read in an earlier post, Alec HATES getting haircuts!! So instead of taking him to a barber, we decided to buy some clippers and take matters into our own hands.  We thought that if we tried to cut his hair outside while he was on his swing, that he may be a little more peaceful and relaxed through the process.  Turns out he wasn't.  Once you start a hair cut, you can't stop until it is done, right?  So there we (Alfred and I) were, outside with the clippers attempting to cut Alec's hair.  I could have SWORN that the neighbors were going to call the cops on us after hearing the way Alec was screaming and crying. It took us almost 45 minutes to get it to look reasonable.  I really don't know why he has such a fear about his hair getting cut.  His hair is a hot mess right now.  I personally like his hair long.  I think it is super cute and it helps cover up that crazy cow lick. But we have decided to cut his hair at least once every week to see if that helps him get more accustomed to the idea.  Wish us luck.  Here are a couple of before and one after pic.  Please don't laugh at us...

After

Well that's all for now.  I will leave you all with a picture of my sweet baby boy resting his head on his sister while we were all hanging out in bed one day.  I cherish these moments of peace and family. 

From the bed of Jessica Hernandez

So here is the latest news on the growing baby girl.  At my doctor's appointment on September 28th, not much had changed with my cervix so the doc released me to try going to work for a week to see what happens.  So on the 29th, I returned to work.  It was nice to get up, put on my nice work clothes, drive to work and enjoy some time with co-workers that I missed o-so-much.  Thrusday and Friday passed without any issues. The weekend came and went.  On Monday, while I was at work something felt "off."  I'll spare you the details of what exactly I was feeling but it ws enough to alarm me and spark me to call my doc.  He had me come in that afternoon for a quick check on things.  Good news was that my cervix hadn't gotten any shorter but the bad news is that it had started to funnel. 

What does that mean exactly?  Basically that my cervix had started to dilate or "open" on the uterine side (where baby girl's head is at).  So the the "closed" portion of my cervix is shorter but the overall length of it was about the same as it has been (around 2.2mm).  Make sense?  I know... there is a lot to take in.  So, the outcome of the visit is that after only 3 days of being at work, doc took me off.  And instead of the doctor's note saying "bed rest for a week" it stated "bed rest for the next 8 to 10 weeks" which is pretty much the rest of my pregnancy. Booooo!

So that was Monday the 3rd of October.  Continuing with the weekly adventures to the doc (sadly enough they are the highlight of my week) this past Monday we got a bit of decent news. NOTHING HAS CHANGED!  And in the world I am currently living in, that is great news.  The funneling is still there, the cervix is still short but it is all the same as it was last week.  The doc actually sounded optimistic and positive during this visit.  He said that at week 19 (when we first discovered this issue) he would have hoped to get to the point that we are at now with the measurements we have now.  We are still shooting to make it to 30 weeks, which is 4 weeks away, before we feel a real sense of relief.  He said if I continue to take it easy, that he can see everything being okay.  But he is also a realist and says that he cannot predict the future but he feels pretty good about things.  He said I can be a little more active throughout the day but just to make sure I don't over do it. 

I still have to see him every week for a couple of more weeks but if all continues the same then he may only need to see me every 2 weeks instead.  Woo-hoo! We still have an issue with weight gain.  I have gained weight but I am still about 3 lbs under from where I started during my first doc appointment.  According to him, I should have gained about 14 lbs at this point but I have only gained about 8.  I promised him I most definitely have been eating.  Like every 2 hours. 

Planning my baby shower (with the help of my incredible and crafty friend, Jennifer) has kept me busy the past couple of weeks.  It's going to be on the 13th of November (invites should be leaving here today) and I'm super excited.  Due to me being chained to my bed for the past 8 weeks I originally registered online at amazon.com and babiesrus.com but I think I will venture out of my home this weekend to finish up my registry at the Babies R Us store.  It will be my outing for the week.  With talks of the baby shower happening, people have really started to ask more often for the baby's name.  As tempted as I am to share the beautiful name we have picked out for our princess, we are still keeping it under wraps.  If anyone would like to purchase a personalized item for her, they can do it with her initials, JAH or it can wait until after she is born.  :)

Here are some pics of what's been going on around the Hernandez home. 

Putting on daddy's shoes.  He almost got them on right.

Drawing on the back porch.



Hanging out watching Cars.

Here recently when it's time for bed, Alec has to take some of his toys with him and keep them in bed while he sleeps.  The other day for nap time, he chose 3 of his toy cars to sleep with.  About 20 minutes after I laid him down for bed I went to check on him and this is what I found...

Look at how they are all lined up facing forward on his blanket.  He's so funny.

We went to surprise daddy at work this past weekend and Alec got to take advantage of some of the amenities the grocery store had to offer.

Just hanging out around the house.

So that's all I have for now.  I must resume my search for the perfect dinner recipe for this evening.  Adios Amigos!!!