Some really good news and a little bad news...

The good news...

It's a Girl!!!

We had our ultrasound yesterday and she looks amazing! My appointment for the ultrasound was at 10:30am but they didn't see us until around 12:30pm.  Man, do they know how to keep people in suspense and anxious! The way it goes with the place that my doc sends us for ultrasounds, I go into the room alone for the first part of the scan so they can get the measurements and do all of the "official" stuff.  Then after that is done, they allow your partner to come in and take a look for awhile.  The girl had asked if we wanted to know the gender and I told her yes but I didn't want to know until my husband was in the room with me.  But while she was scanning with me in there alone, she kept on referring to the baby's parts as "his" such as "there is his leg and there is his arm" so I was convinced that she had seen a boy. 

After getting all of the measurements she called Alfred back to join us.  She showed him some of the baby's parts like the head and the heartbeat (which is amazing), the legs and so on.  Then she asked us if we had any final guesses before she gave us the gender.  Then she told us "it's a girl."  I cried.  Squeezed the crap out of Alfred's hand and cried.  I was sooooo excited.  I had the feeling that I was having a boy but I think I was forcing myself to feel that way so I wouldn't be too heartbroken if it was a boy.  Alfred asked her "are you 100%  sure?" and she replied "Well, we can't be 100% sure but if it was me, I would go shopping."  That's enough assurance for me!!! 

We have not finalized a name yet but when we do we are keeping it a secret until she is born.  We have some really solid ideas but nothing that we are committed to.  We do know we want the first name to start with an A or a J and the middle name to start with an A or a J.  Here are some pics of our Winter Princess...

Her face.

 Her arm and fingers.

 Her thigh and leg.

 Her cutsie little profile.

 And last but not least, the goods...

This picture is like she is sitting on glass and you are looking up at the glass and that is her hiney and the female parts in the middle.

Such a blessing!

Now, the not so good news...

I have a short cervix.

So what does that mean?  A normal cervix of a woman while she is pregnant should be around 3.0 -4.0 centimeters.  That creates a "buffer" between the baby and the outside world.  When a woman goes into labor, her cervix starts to shorten and eventually dwindle down to allow the baby to make it's appearance.  Well my cervix is now at 2.2 centimeters, which means it is shorter than it should be and if it continues to shorten, it could send me into pre-mature labor and make me have a premature baby.  Because of this, I have been put on bed rest for at least a week. After this week, I have to go see my doctor again so he can give me another vaginal ultrasound to see if it has continued to shorten or if it has stayed the same.  If it has shortened more then I may have to be on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy to make sure I don't have the baby too early.  If it stays the same then I may be able to go back to work but on light duty.  Either way, I will have to go see him more often to be monitored to make sure everything is okay.  Now this "bed rest" is the worst.  I have to be practically flat on my back.  I asked him if I could go to work and at least sit during the day and he said no.  That even while sitting, the fluid and the pressure of the baby from sitting down could cause my cervix to get shorter.  Even sitting at a 45 degree angle in bed to watch TV or something isn't a good idea.  I can only get out of bed to eat, use the restroom and stretch my legs occasionally. 

I hate feeling helpless.  I hate being waited on.  I love protecting my baby girl.

I asked the doc if there was anything I could have done to prevent this and he said no.  That sometimes when a woman has had one baby and been in labor once, that the cervix isn't as strong for other babies.  If it gets worse, then I read online that some of the options that the doc may use is to either put a stitch in my cervix to keep it stronger or use progesterone to make my cervix stronger.  Either option is also accompanied by bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy to relieve pressure off the cervix.  That sucks.  But thank God for an amazing mother and husband who are helping me and making sure I comply with doctor's orders.  And thank God for an awesome best friend who is 9 months pregnant and making me a huge pan of lasagna right now so we don't have to worry about cooking and dinner for a couple of days.   All I want is for my baby girl to be safe and to stay in there as long as possible.  So please feel free to drop your prayers off here.  They are much needed and appreciated...

On to a lighter subject, Alec.  He still doesn't get the idea that there is a baby in mommy's tummy.  I keep on pointing to my belly and I say "baby" but he just ignores me.  In fact, the majority of his day is spent ignoring me.  He is so independent and stubborn sometimes.  My mom says that is the Aries in him.  It kind of hurts my feelings sometimes but I like that he is independent and strong natured.  It will make for a strong man.  A go getter.  A great big brother who will protect his little sister. He still absolutely loves dinosaurs and the show "Dino Dan."

It really amazes me how much is growing.  I know it's going to shock and amaze me even more after the baby girl gets here that once upon a time Aleczander was the same size.  He loves his daddy like no other.  When I get home from work, Alec is like "momma, momma, momma" and looks at me and waves at me but that's about it.  When Alfred gets home, Alec is like "DADDA! DADDA! DADDA!" and he runs to him and jumps into his arms and is so excited to see him!!  I love that he loves his daddy. 

And I love him.

Something else I love about Alec is how he loves to go to bed.  Whether it be nap time or bed time, all we have to do is shake his cup that is filled with milk and tell him it's bed time and he grabs his favorite blanket and runs to his bed.  Before we give him his cup he gives both Alfred and I a hug and a kiss goodnight.   He gives the sweetest kisses...



Random thought... I'm really craving brownies right now.  Duncan Hines, hot, fresh brownies.  With this baby my major cravings have been fruit sodas like Fanta Orange and Strawberry, fruit, salads (I am LOVING me some salads right now) and cereal.  Any kind of cereal.  With cold milk.  Really cold milk. My dislikes have been orange juice, sandwich meats, or anything too heavy. I have been feeling the baby move for a couple of weeks now but it's becoming more consistent.  During the ultrasound yesterday we saw her move around quite a bit.  Ultrasounds are sooo cool.  I wish I could get one at every visit. 

Well I have been sitting up a little too long right now so I need to go "be flat" for the remainder of the day.  JOY!  But I will do whatever it takes for my princess. <3



13 week update

Tomorrow I will be 13 weeks pregnant! Only 25-27 weeks left to go!  I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday afternoon and all looks good so far.  Except that I have lost another 2 lbs.  That bring the total, according to my doctor, up to about 10 lbs. lost.  But that is calculated from my first appointment with him.  Before that first visit, I had already lost some weight.  So according to my calculations, I am down about 16 lbs.  Not good.  But I am eating.  Promise.  In fact, if I don't have something in my tummy every 2 to 3 hours, I am a ravenous beast trying to get my hands on the first carb I see.  Baby won't let me eat too many sweets like chocolate or sour candy just yet.  And I still have an aversion to beef at times.  I'm hoping that will go away soon because I sure do miss chocolate chip cookies and cheeseburgers.  My doc wants to see me in a month and during that visit, we will schedule the appointment for my ultrasound for the big gender reveal.  So that isn't for another 8 weeks.  We can't wait! 


We took the front crib rail off of Aleczander's crib a couple of days ago and so far it's going pretty good.  He's only fallen out once (and yes we do have pillows on the floor to help soften the blow) and he just kept sleeping like nothing ever happened.  Alfred found him under his crib with his blanket just sleeping away.  My poor baby.  He's such a big boy.  He loves climbing in and out of the bed all by himself and tucking himself in.

His new best friend is the vacuum.  He pushes it around and pretends to plug it in into different sockets around the house.  He occasionally makes a "vrooom" sounds like it's on.  But if I actually turn it on, he takes off so fast and stares at me wide eyed from the other side of the room. Ha.


For the 4th of July, we decided to skip the traffic and madness of downtown Houston and instead opted to go to Kingwood to enjoy the fireworks there.  It was a much more pleasant experience.  Alec had a great time.  Daddy bought him a bubble gun that was the saving grace of the afternoon.  It attracted a lot of admiration from other kids around us. 

My Prince.

Aleczander loved the fireworks. It's such a beautiful experience to see things through the eyes of a child.  He was so amazed and in awe.  He clapped and shrieked so loudly at each bang and pop. I love him so much.  And I love his kisses.  He gives the best kisses...

Now, I had to bribe him with sips of a Coke Icee in order to capture this tender moment. But hey... whatever works, right?

And last, but not least, a picture of me and the hubs.  It's been while since we have taken a pic together. 

 I <3 him!

New News!

Hello second trimester.  Hello vacation. 

Yesterday was the first day of my 2nd trimester and my dream of my symptoms disappearing with its appearance didn't come true.   But I am feeling a little bit better.  But that may come hand in hand with vacation mode.  Alfred and I are on vacation until the 7th of July and we don't have anything specific planned and it's great!! Yesterday we went to Moody Gardens in Galveston and we had a lot of fun.  Aleczander had a blast!!

Alec and daddy checking out the octopus.  Alec didn't like the octopus too much!



Can't blame him for being scared of it when it looks like this!

 

My big boy!



Me and my baby boy.  He never wants to look at the camera for a picture with mommy.



Alec looking at a bird in the Rainforest Pyramid.

Alec with daddy.





The highlight of Aleczander's day is when we made our way over to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens and he got an opportunity to cool down.  My kid LOVES water!

 Pooped out but not ready to leave.

We barely made it out of the parking lot before he knocked out and slept all the way back home.  It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun.  We have ambitions to paint some of the rooms in the house while we are on vacation, but we may not get to it.  Tomorrow, for the 4th of July, we may head downtown for the Freedom Over Texas fireworks and festival.  Who knows?  We may stay home and be lazy all day. 

I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday which is only 2 weeks since my last doc visit.  I will continue to go every 2 weeks until I gain some weight.  I can't belive I am losing weight with the way I have been eating.  My food of choice has varied from cheese fries (yummy) to fruit. For some reason, drinks make me more nauseaus than any foods.  Friends and family have been asking me if I have started to show yet.  I am not showing yet although I can feel a difference in my belly.  I'm a big girl though and usually big girls don't show very early.  With Alec, I was showing by now, but my significant weight loss in my first trimester with him, it allowed me to show a little earlier. 

Well that's all I have for now.  I need to eat something...