Mia Faith - 4 to 5 months

11/10/2010  -  12/10/2010

Hi there!

Time is going by fast!  I'm such a happy little girl and my sister is one of the biggest reasons for that!  I love watching her twirl around, play, sing, dance and I especially love it when she plays with me.  She is such an awesome big sister.  She shares her toys with me, likes to tell me I'm beautiful and cute, comes to my bedroom when I cry and fills my crib with her toys so I'll stop crying, and even likes to hold me sometimes.  I love her lots and I can't wait to get grown-up enough to play with her.  I think we'll have a lot of fun together. :)

This month I've been suffering a little bit.  Apparently I have had big issues with digesting the new food I'm trying and now I can't poop! That's right... so I'm back to 90% breastmilk and that's still not helping much.  I learned how to suck my thumb so now I sleep through the night!  That's right, I sleep through the night MOST NIGHTS and my mommy is so happy!

On another note, I am insanely cute.  In fact, every day I get cuter and cuter.  I'm also so in love with my mommy.  Just looking at her makes me smile and that makes daddy a little jealous!  I'm almost sitting without support and I will grab anything and everything that is within reach.

Here are some pics:

STATS:
weight:  15lbs
height:  24.75 inches

MILESTONES:
sleeps through the night!: 11/10/2010
makes herself fall asleep: 11/14/2010
rolled from back to tummy: 11/15/2010

Mia Faith - 3 to 4 months

10/10/2010 - 11/10/2010

Hello world!  I'm officially a quarter of a year old! :)  I'm very independent now and I sleep all by myself in my room... no need to have mommy beside me anymore now that I'm a big girl!  I also got earrings this month and now I look even prettier than before, if that's at all possible!

I also learned to roll over and I'm very aware of my surroundings.  The highlight of this month was that I started eating some real food for a change...well, not really EAT since it's such a tiny amount.  I'm not a big fan of it yet but as I watch my big sister I noticed I have to eat veggies and fruits in order to move on to candy and chocolate.   Although, I did have my very first taste of chocolate a couple of weeks ago.  My mommy was having a tough day with me not wanting to nap and all so she grabbed a handful of chocolate chips and one fell in her shirt so when it was time for me to have some milk I got chocolate milk instead of the plain kind.  It was yummy ... I had a little bit of a tummy-ache but it was SO WORTH IT!  :-)

I'm getting really big and really smart.  I have yet to learn how to sleep through the night even though I sometimes tease my mommy with about 6-7 hours of sleep (one time I did a 10-hour night!) and I don't like to sleep during the day.  I'm a happy girl though... I can make my mommy and daddy forget about how tired they are when I smile. 

Everything is so exciting right now but I'm hoping I can get moving soon.  Sitting in a bumbo seat or in a jumperoo is starting to get a little boring.

See ya next month! :)

STATS: 
weight: 14.3 lbs
height:  24 inches

MILESTONES:
sleeping in her room: 10/11/2010
earrings: 10/16/2010
rolled from tummy to back: 10/17/2010
grabbing feet: 10/20/2010
slept through the night (10 straight hours): 10/25/2010
started eating solids: 10/31/2010

Mia Faith - 2 to 3 months

9/10/2010  -  10/10/2010

Hi there!  Mia here!  I thought I'd write this since mommy's version of what's going on with me is growing a little boring.  I can say that about my mom, right?  :)

"Anywho", I am growing up fast and I'm learning lots of new things.  For starters, I now giggle!  Mommy loves it, although she does seem guilty that she can't make me laugh a lot all day because of all the work she has to do around the house.  I'm a very happy little girl and I love to smile!  I can also reach out and grab stuff.  Luckily, I have a very messy big sister who spreads her toys all around, so I have easy access to some very interesting things!  I also love grabbing mommy's hair, earrings, necklace and my all time favorite, her glasses!  Did I mention I have some pretty amazing things attached to the end of my arm?  Yes, that's right, I discovered my hands earlier this month and it's pretty fun!  I have yet to learn how to suck my thumb so for now I'm content with sucking any and as many fingers I can!

Sleeping is still an issue for me.  I surprise my mommy every once in a while and sleep for 6 hours but the next day I'll go back to my 3 hour stretch.  I can tell that drives my mommy crazy but I think she's kinda used to having to wake up.  I absolutely must need to start liking the bottle... I eventually take it after much stress but I don't like it and I make sure I state that!

I don't cry as much anymore, but then again, I'll have my bad days.  As my mom says, at least it's not every day. :)  I'm very chubby and have very cute, fat cheeks!  Mom wants to bite them so badly!  My doctor's visits have slowed down, thankfully!  I was poked twice more this month for blood tests and I have a feeling some doctors think that, just because I'm white, I'm a lab mouse.  My mom says we've had enough tough.  She's a really great mommy!

Overall, we're having a lot of fun. I'm more aware of my big sister and she's so sweet that I often smile for her and that makes her SOOOO happy!  She's a really great big sister.  I can't wait 'til I'm ready to sit and play with her.  I think we'll have a lot of fun playing together.

I'll pop in next month to let you all know what I'm up to.  I have a feeling I'll have lots of news!  See ya!

xoxo

Mia Faith

STATS:
weight:  12.6 lbs
height:  22.75 inches

MILESTONES:
First giggle: 9/22/2010
Reaching out to grab toys: 10/1/2010

Mia Faith - 1 to 2 months

8/10/2010 - 9/10/2010

Hectic but joyful is probably the best description for this month.  Joyful because it always is.  Mia is sweet.  She's a calm baby, smiles a lot and brings us more love than we could ever imagine.  Hectic because, only this month, we had one x-ray, one ultrasound and two blood tests done, not to mention her shots which I know are routine but the poor thing suffered a lot! 

Mia's belly has been very bloated and hard and she has been very fussy because of it.  Her pediatrician thinks the more she cries, the more air she swallows and that makes her belly even harder but to be sure she requested an x-ray of her abdomen.  So we did that and the results were that there was a lot of air in her belly. They also found some fluid in her intestinal tract but they don't know what that means and told me she could have had a virus.  I'm not surprised by them telling me this because, as you may know, a virus is the answer to almost anything doctors can't figure out.

The blood test is another story.  Mia's umbilical cord stump has yet to fall off!!!  Her pediatrician explained that she may have an immune system deficiency and that's what's causing the detachment delay so she requested the blood test.  I was so nervous about doing that on Mia because she's so little but we went and they did it.  On my way home the doctor calls me to tell me her blood clotted and we had to repeat the test.  Awesome. :-/  They managed to use some of the blood that hadn't clotted and ran the tests hoping they had enough blood.  One test came back normal (the one that shows she has a normal immune system...no deficiencies, so, YAY!) but the cell study they did showed that she had high potassium and her cells that fight off infections came back a little low.  Her doctor was going to consult a hematologist to find out more about that and let me know if they wanted a second test.  That's exactly what sent us in for a second blood test and this time the cells came back normal but her potassium is still high so we'll have to see a hematologist for that.  I was told it could be nothing but it could also be a problem with her adrenal gland.  My heart is filled with peace and I doubt anything will be wrong but I think they'll want to poke Mia again and do another blood test to confirm.  Meanwhile, she also needs to be seen by the hematologist because of the amount of time it has taken for her cord stump to detach.  The ultrasound was to make sure her umbilical cord had developed correctly from within her body and to check her organs.  I'm still unsure what they were looking for but they couldn't really see much.  Mia had so much gas that the ultrasound image was pretty blurry but they didn't seem worried.  She's a very healthy baby overall.  I guess they just want to cross everything off the list before calling this umbilical cord issue a "freak of nature".  Everyone, including doctors, I talk to say they have NEVER seen this happen.  It's the worse thing you can hear when it's health related. 

Her fussiness seems to be decreasing and she has been growing well.  She brings so much joy to our family and brings out the best in us.  I've learned to be calmer, to let go of wanting to be the one in control.  God uses the weirdest things to work with us and change what needs to be changed.  I'm thankful for that.  I know this will make me a better daughter, a better wife, a better mom, a better sister, a better friend...

STATS:
weight: 11.6 lbs
height:  22 inches

MILESTONES:
Cooing: 8/12/2010
Rolling to sides: 8/24/2010

BIG sister Lila Grace

I am so proud of Lila!  She has truly amazed me. I never thought having a sister would bring out so much love in her.  I knew she'd be loving but I wasn't expecting her to be helpful at such a young age. 

Whenever Mia cries she lets me know and goes to her immediately.  ("Mamae, Mia choando." ou "Mamae, Mia ardou."... the first one means Mia is crying and the second means Mia woke up.)
She leans over and says "oh Mia, it's okay".  Sometimes she'll get a book and read to her while she's crying.  One time she took her Bible and "read" the story of Noah and sang the Noah song she knows.  It was the sweetest thing!  Other times Lila has taken her dolls and showed them to her..."Look Mia, balleina (ballerina...)" .  Whenever she draws pictures or colors a page she runs to Mia and shows it to her.  She says: "Look Mia, I did it!"  Smart!  It helps a lot that Lila isn't the type to want to touch Mia all the time.  She doesn't try to change her diaper or feed her or even hold her.  It has been easy to trust her around Mia without fear of Mia accidentally getting hurt.

We told her that Mia has a tummy boo-boo and if she cries Lila runs and gets the pacifier and Gripe Water so we can help the "boo-boo" and she'll actually say "Mia dodoi barriga" (Mia has boo-boo belly)...then she prays so Jesus will kiss her baby sister's boo-boo away. ("Papai Ceu, bejinhu dodoi barriga Mia, ome Jesus, Amen!") So sweet!

Lila hasn't been giving me an ounce of trouble...really.  The only thing she requests is to be held which is so okay with me.  She is sweet, and loves helping me out.  It has been a very pleasant surprise to say the least!

I am so blessed.  I can't thank God enough for these wonderful presents He is trusting me to care for.  To close, here's a picture that shows a ton of sisterly love.  Notice Lila's pout? :)

Mia Faith - 0 to 1 month

7/10/2010  -  8/10/2010

Time flew by... 

Mia is such a good baby.... very alert and likes to smile all the time!  She nurses a lot... on average, she'll nurse every 2 hours if not every hour and a half.  She's so chubby now!  At 3 weeks she weighed near 9 pounds!  Yes, it's exhausting feeding her so often, but so worth it and I'm really enjoying it.  It's amazing how much more confidence a mother has with the second child compared with the first.  Of course, with Lila it was hectic since the very beginning and the experience we had with her gave me a certain sense of insecurity which took a while for me to let go of.  However, I wouldn't change a thing about it because I learned a lot from it and how to relinquish control of some things.

Sadly, Mia also has a lot of colic and cries a lot.  I feel helpless because there's really NOTHING a mom can do to help alleviate the pain except wait until she's about 3 months old when it naturally stops. I've done my share of researching and changed my diet but I guess waiting is the best medicine right now.  I never wished for time to go by fast until now.

Her umbilical cord stump hasn't fallen off yet... yes...that's right.  I was worried at first but, since there's no infection, I guess there's really nothing to worry about.  It's actually weird that I think it's sort of neat that her umbilical cord stump is still intact because I feel it's the little symbol of both of us being connected and when I look at it I smile...  :)

So, not much to report this month.  We'll be back next month!

STATS:
weight:  8.6 lbs
height:  21 inches

MILESTONES:
First smile: 7/31/2010

The first 15 days!

I can't believe it has been 15 days since we brought our little bundle of joy home.  We've been adjusting pretty well and Mia is an angel!  I've been having a lot of help, thank God... it's not easy taking care of 2 kids!!!  Even though I have help, I still miss some of the pampering I got when I was in the hospital...for exemple: since Mia was nursing well at the hospital, I asked the nursery to bring her to me during the night and not give her formula.  It was great having the nurses bring her to me and then take her from me when I was done so I could get some sleep.  :-)  Still, there's no place like home!

Lila went to visit us at the hospital and it was very interesting.  I missed her like crazy... I actually had to keep a picture of her next to me the entire time so I could look at it.  It was hard not to cry but knowing my mom was with her kept me at peace.  She didn't seem to understand that Mia was no longer in my belly or that there even could be a possibility of her being in there...LOL  The funny thing was that after a few minutes she was already calling that little swaddled peanut "Mia".  She even sang and danced for Mia...so adorable!  I was fearful that she would give me a hard time with Mia, maybe want more attention, or that she would be too physical with the baby but she has been SO SWEET and so easygoing.  Thank God for that!  Lila actually lets me know if Mia is crying, wants me to pick her up as soon as she starts to fuss and wants to kiss her head and hug her but always asks first.  There have been no tantrums!  Seriously!  At least not related to Mia... :-)  I'm really, really blessed to have such a good, sweet and kind little girl.  I knew she would be an awesome big sister...I'm so proud of her!

Mia is a really good baby.  Sometimes she manages to sleep relatively well...sometimes she'll go 3 hours from one feeding to the next.  Other nights (like last night...) she'll wake up every 1.5 hours to nurse.  She has been having colic and now I fear she may have reflux, too, which breaks my heart.  Seeing her in pain makes me feel pretty useless. 

Being alone with the two girls has been interesting.  Some days are okay, some days are harder.  I've been blessed with a lot of help this time.  When I had Lila, I didn't have a lot of help.  My sister-in-law has been bringing me food nearly every day which has made my life a lot easier.  My mother-in-law likes to come over to watch Mia so I can sleep when Lila naps.  My mother (my hero, really) works like crazy all day and sometimes she'll still make time to come to my house to take Lila outside or to keep me company.  I can't thank these people enough.  All I can do is pray that God will bless them SO MUCH. 

Yes, I am exhausted...but I've never been happier.  Between Lila's hugs and kisses and Mia's smiles I manage to forget how tired I am.  My husband and I look at each other and we're just speechless at how blessed we are.  God is amazing...and we're so greatful!!!

Here are some more pictures!

Mia Faith is here!

Meet Mia Faith!

Born on July 10, 2010 at 3:20 p.m.
6 lbs, 12 oz  - 19.5 inches

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It all happened so fast! 

I actually managed to sleep through the night and did not experience the false labor contractions I had been having for the past few days.  I got up at around 6 and everything was calm... even the contractions I had been having off and on were gone.  I was doing nothing out of the ordinary when the contractions slowly started coming back.  It was around 8:30 in the morning.  They were mild and coming every 15 minutes or so but I wasn't really paying attention to them since I had gone through this before.  Then they started coming every 12 minutes, then 10.  When I noticed this, I called my mother and asked her to come over.  I told JR that I was going to take a shower and that I thought I was in active labor.  Suddenly, the contractions went from mild to painful but manageable...it was around 10:45 a.m.  I called the doctor on call who said I was definitely supposed to go to the hospital.  By this time, the pain was getting pretty intense.  On the way to the hospital my contractions were already every 8 minutes and every bump on the road made me feel like Mia was going to come out in the car.  We live about 45 minutes from the hospital so, needless to say, it was pretty crazy.  Between contractions I was laughing with joy and excitement because I was getting my wish:  no need for induction this time.  JR helped by laughing (I think he was nervous...) and saying "see, this is what you wanted... you once said you wanted to have Mia the natural way without pain medication and you might get that wish too" which freaked me out because the pain was getting stronger and stronger.  This didn't stop him from trying to get a video of me in pain while we were driving to the hospital.  Why do men do that???  Luckily I was too happy to punch him in the face.

So we got the hospital and I was admitted at noon.  They left me at triage for about 45 minutes.  By then, my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and I was 6 cm dilated.  At 1:40 p.m. the anesthesiologist gave me a spinal block instead of an epidural because things were moving too fast and the epidural takes 20 minutes to apply plus 20 minutes to start taking effect.  The spinal block takes effect in 2 minutes but only lasts 2 hours.  At 2:33 p.m. the doctor broke my water and exactly a half hour after that I was in more pain than before getting the anesthesia.  I called the nurse who called the anesthesiologist and she gave me what I call a "booster" shot in the spinal IV to help with the pain but it had not effect. Then she increased the medication on my spinal block but still, no difference. When the doctor checked me she said I had to start pushing because it was time. I was so afraid of the pain I was in but at 3:12 p.m. I started pushing and Mia came out 8 minutes after that. Amazingly, the pain was gone as soon as I saw her. I actually saw her come out of me. She looked so small but simply PERFECT. She was crying loudly which was a relief (given what had happened to Lila when she was born) and I got to hold her for a long time before they took her to be weighed and measured. At 3:44 p.m. I got to breastfeed her for the very first time. She knew exactly what to do and I was overwhelmed by the love I was feeling for this little baby that had just come out of me. I felt so blessed to be able to hold her and admire her as soon as she was born. There was no chaos in the delivery room. It was just the 3 of us and we were bonding instantly. This was all very new to me and JR. Mia nursed for almost one hour and we realized just how great it is to wait for God's plan to take place in our lives. Maybe, if I had been induced yesterday, I wouldn't have had the same experience. God's will truly is good and perfect and we're forever thankful that He allowed us to go through this wonderful experience.


Here are a few more pictures:

 

Pregnancy Journal: month #10

• Tenth month: 07/09/10 to only God knows when...

Yes...that's right...it's my due date and here I am!  We actually went to the doctor this morning with my bags all packed because they had told me my amniotic fluid was decreasing and, if it had slightly decreased again in today's exam, they would send me to the hospital to be induced.  My mother took the day off and we left her with Lila.  My heart was heavy because I already missed her as soon as I walked out the door.  After the exam, the nurse in charge said my fluid had increased (surprise, surprise...) and there was no need to send me to the hospital.  In the meantime, my doctor is on vacation and will only come back next week.  Knowing her, she'll have me wait at least a week past my due date until we talk "induction" again.  That's what she told me in our last exam - the same exam where she told me "I'm sure you won't make it to your due date, never mind go past it."  So we go back on Monday (that's when I'm 3 days late) to see my doctor who I pray will be refreshed from her vacation and will send me to the hospital.  That is, of course, unless I go into labor on my own this weekend.  Is that too much to ask?

Sigh...............

Pregnancy Journal: month #9

• Ninth month: 06/09/10 to 07/09/10: anticipating, nesting and so much more...

I can't believe it... 9th month!!! :-)

Anxiety has now been taken over by excitement...well, maybe not yet...  Yes, I am a little anxious about the day I'll meet Mia and hold her in my arms but the thing that has been making me the most anxious is WHEN..WHEN will she be here? Will I go past my due date again?  This has been an issue I constantly bring up at my prenatal visits.  From the very beginning I asked my doctor to NOT let me go past my due date but I am torn between that and being induced.  She tells me she really believes I won't go past my due date this time.  I really want to experience the feeling of going into labor without being induced but I don't know right now if it's worth waiting for the natural to happen.  I was anxious when my due date arrived while pregnant with Lila...and each day that passed I was getting more and more anxious but it was ok since I had not other children to care for.  This time it's a totally different situation.  I have been struggling to give these "worries" to the Lord.  I know He knows what's best and Mia's arrival is all planned out by Him and it couldn't be more perfectly planned.

I'm so blessed that my mom is near and will be taking a few days off to take care of Lila when I go to the hospital and to help me once I come home.  God bless her for doing that.  I'm also very blessed my mother-in-law is here and will also be helping me once Mia arrives. :-)

Nesting:  I call it an obsession now.  I don't think I can go one day without cleaning or organizing something in the house.  There's still so much to do in Mia's room but at this point I decided it can wait until after she arrives.  I managed to get the most important things done (bassinet, glider, dresser, laundry) so the decor will come later.  If you know me, you will know this is not normal behavior for Joyce...LOL... I guess I have started to learn how to pick my battles as I'm sure I'll be doing lots of that in the years to come.  I hear having 2 girls is not easy and I sort of know that since I have an older sister and a younger brother.  Our house was anything but calm.

Lila has yet to understand what's going to happen.  I anticipate she'll give me a hard time because it's really just me and her all day...I'm sure she'll be a very loving big sister but she'll struggle to have my attention divided between her and her little sister.  I'm already praying hard about this because it'll be the 3 of us alone all day for a few weeks.  Since I know I won't be getting much sleep, my patience will be short and God knows how I'll handle it.  Also trying to give this up to the Lord completely but during my sleepless nights (yes, I'm still experiencing insomnia) that's one of the things I find myself constantly thinking about.  She officially calls my belly bump "Mia" now but sometimes she calls her daddy's "belly bump" that too...LOL

Well, I hope to be back next time with news of Mia's birth!  Hang in there with me...  :-)

Pregnancy Journal: month #8

• Eighth Month 05/09/10 to 06/09/10:  anxiety, "where are my toes?", preparations, big sister Lila Grace...

Anxiety: a big issue this month.  Believe it or not, now all I can think about is that Mia Faith will arrive way too soon and I won't be ready.  I hope this is just "fear of the unprepared" because, really, I haven't started doing ANYTHING yet.  I've managed to make a list of all the things I need to buy and do but have yet to find the time to get started.  We bought Mia's dresser and a bed for Lila (so we can use her crib and mattress for Mia) but that's about it.  Now we need to paint it in the color I want and go from there.  There's also a ton of laundry I need to do which is something I'm actually looking forward to.  I love organizing things and doing it for my daughter only makes it more fun!

"Where are my toes?":  that is the question this month... seriously.  I've been hearing "oh you look so small" and "you don't look like you're in the second trimester, let alone the third!" and all of a sudden my belly just POPPED.  It's not terribly heavy just yet but it's heavy enough!  Mia is not huge... the doctor said she's about four and a half pounds this week (week 33).

I had the nicest surprise last week.  My friends and family threw a surprise baby shower and it was so much fun!  Just having the ones I love all together in one room for a couple of hours was so great.  I've been so busy with errands, doctor's appointments, crossing things off my "to do" list that I haven't had a whole lot of time left and this was such a treat!  Thank you all for the wonderful surprise and all the lovely gifts!  I love you all!!!  (I'll post pictures soon!)

Lila is still oblivious to the fact that she's going to have a sister soon.  I try to talk to her about it as much as I can but I don't feel like there's a need to really push the subject when she doesn't seem to understand it just yet.  She's always sweet when I ask her "who's inside mommy's belly" and she says "baby" or "Mina" (her way of saying Mia)...  The funny thing is when I lift my shirt and say "there's a baby inside mommy's belly...it's Lila's little sister, right?" and she pulls my shirt down and says "night-night baby".  LOL  I think what she's really trying to say is "I'll deal with her when I have to but not right now"...LOL  Just a quick note about something sweet that happened and I can't stop thinking about:  we started doing the non-stress test this week (that test where they put a couple of monitors on the belly to track the baby's heartbeat, movement and contractions).  Lila is always present at every appointment I have... for 20 minutes we got to listen to Mia's heartbeat and Lila was actually dancing to the sound of it!  It was soooo sweet!  Next time, I'll try to catch it on video.  :-)

Be blessed everyone!

xoxo

Pregnancy Journal: month #7

• Seventh Month 04/09/10 to 05/09/10: emotional roller coaster, "so in love", baby's kicks, baby's name...

Wow, seventh month... From the very beginning I've been so worried about the baby being late and now I'm actually praying she'll stay in here at least until her due date.  Women really DON'T know what they want, especially when hormones are running the show.  I already miss being pregnant so much that I don't want it to be over, even though I can't wait to see my little girl's face!

I'm so in love with this little blessing that it makes me want to cry sometimes.  I always hear parents of more than one child saying they experienced a certain kind of "confusion" when their second/third/fourth child was about to arrive... a feeling of "how will I manage to split the love between all my children?", almost as if our hearts are limited to a certain size, but amazingly, I've found out it doesn't really work that way.  Mia is not even here yet and I'm already learning that our hearts grow bigger, so we don't have to split our love between our children.  Rather, we love twice as much.  God is truly amazing in the way He built us and our emotions.

Did you notice I wrote "Mia"?  Yes, it's official.  The chosen name is Mia Faith.  I'm actually doing pretty well in calling out her name now... I say it more often than "the baby"! :o)  As I'm writing this post, she's kicking up a storm in my belly.  If it's true that the baby's activity in utero is similar to what it'll be when she's born, then I'll be up most of the night.  She's smart... this is the only time of the day where she'll be able to have some one-on-one time with me. LOL

Everything else is well.  My belly is growing fast and I'm very tired, but overall, I feel pretty good.  That being said, I'll go to bed and rest while I can!

God bless!
xoxo

Pregnancy Journal: month #6

• Sixth Month 03/09/10 to 04/09/10: emotions, big sister Lila, baby's movements, baby's name...

Sixth month is here! I feel this pregnancy is flying by. I was shocked to read on the 9th that I entered my 3rd trimester. THIRD! I'm having such a mixture of emotions...probably because we "think" this may be my last pregnancy and so I'm constantly thinking about how much I'm going to miss being pregnant. JR really doesn't seem like he'll want to have another child, mostly because he’s concerned about giving nothing but the best to the two we have...school tuition alone is outrageous, then you add healthcare and the other necessities and you think “what was I thinking when I decided to have 2 kids?”. LOL I secretly want another one...(not so much of a secret now, is it?!) Ideally, I’d have 4: 2 girls and 2 boys but only if I could get one grandmother per child! LOL

Big sister Lila turned 2 last week. She’s amazing... I daydream about how she’ll act around her little sister. I have a feeling our struggles will be more about fighting over who will change the baby’s diaper, who will hold her, who will feed her and so on. Lila is so into “mothering” her dolls. We can’t go out for a drive without her putting her “Nenem” in my bag, along with a toy bottle. Because of this, we got her a bunch of doll stuff for her birthday and now, when we’re in the house, she’ll put the doll to sleep in the crib, then put her in the carseat, then the stroller, then the baby carrier. She’ll rock the doll in her rocking chair, sing her a lullaby and even “shush” her. Lila also has a medical kit and she’ll give the doll her shot and say “aw, it’s okay” while caressing her...she does a full check-up which included taking the doll’s temperature, checking her ears and nose and mouth. She’ll even brush the doll’s teeth! She seems to understand a little more about what’s going on, but not to the point of actually “understanding” that she’ll have a sister, mommy’s having a baby, etc. I ask her “what’s inside here?” while pointing to m belly and she’ll say “baby”. Then she’ll caress/hug/kiss my belly...so sweet! Her little sister is lucky to have such a caring and loving big sister! ~:-)

This baby girl is SO ACTIVE. I’m so glad because I know this means she’s very healthy! We had an ultrasound again a couple of weeks ago. She’s head down now (and please, baby girl, don’t change your mind in the last minute and flip over, okay?!) and she’s a bit of a prude...we wanted to make sure that she is, in fact, a SHE and we almost got out of there with another “it’s probably a girl but we can’t be sure”. Her legs were crossed shut! The technician asked the most experienced person there to redo the ultrasound just to confirm the gender and after much shaking and pushing around, we got our “it’s a girl” image on the ultrasound screen. Once again, she was nonstop but managed to cooperate a little more this time while they checked her weight and size. She seems to be right on target! Praise God!

Last night I got a little preview of what’s to come in a few weeks. I was about to fall asleep when Lila woke up calling for me. So I went in her room, hugged and cuddled with her for a couple of minutes and put her down...went back to bed and then it was the baby’s turn to want some mommy-and-me time. So for about an hour, she would not stop kicking me and stretching...and dad was just snoring away beside me. Can I just say, I have the best husband in the world! He helps me out so much...more than most husbands out there. He will clean the whole house just so I won’t have to do it and he’ll do it while singing! :-) Anyone that knows him knows this is true. He loves helping me. The only thing he asks NOT to do is the laundry and I’m so okay with that! I think it has been very tough for him lately because hormones have been taking the best of my mood some days. I lash out at him for no good reason... and almost as soon as I do it, I say “I’m sorry honey...it’s almost over”...LOL At least we can laugh about it a few minutes after.

THE NAME... everyone is asking us about this is I have to say, I’m 90% sure it’ll be Mia Faith but I can’t bring myself to actually call the baby by name. I know a lot of women like to call their baby by the name while pregnant but I’m not that type. I don’t call the baby “it”...I say “she” or sometimes I’ll call her “baby girl”. Even with Lila, I always felt weird referring to her as “Lila Grace” or “Lila” because I wanted to see her face before calling her by name. What if she didn’t look like a “Lila”? I also love the name Chloe the missing 10% is for “Chloe”. JR doesn’t seem to be a big fan of Chloe. He likes Mia. So does my mom. My sister, on the other hand, prefers Chloe. I ask Lila which one she prefers and she doesn’t seem to understand how important her answer is. ~:-)

An update on the little girl, Layla Grace, who I mentioned on last month's post.  She passed away on March 9th.  We were all very sad but we can rejoice in knowing she's at peace and is in God's arms, cancer-free.  Now she knows no pain, no struggle... in her parents' words, "she's playing with the angels".  Layla and her wonderful family will always be an inspiration of strength, faith and perseverance to me, and I pray God will continue to pour peace over them every day.

I want to finish this month’s post by saying how grateful I am to God for giving me such a wonderful family. I may not remember to thank Him as much as I should, but when I look around, I see how blessed I am. He has blessed us with health, with joy, and with much more than we need in order to be happy. Sure we have tough days, but He’s always there and we’re so thankful. We celebrated Easter this month... to know He sent His son Jesus, who died for us and rose on the third day, and lives forever, and promised us eternal life, there is no greater thing. We’re so fortunate and so blessed! God be praised for His abundant grace and mercy poured over us each day.

Be blessed!
xoxo

Pregnancy Journal: month #5

• Fifth Month 02/09/10 to 03/09/10: even bigger belly, baby's gender revealed and a little about someone that changed me forever...

Hey everyone!  This month has been quite a ride.  I've been having lots of insomnia, which is completely new to me since I've always been a very good sleeper.  The biggest event this month: we found out we're having A GIRL! Yes! Another girl! I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am.  Sure, in the beginning I had a "feeling" it was a boy, but two girls is a dream come true!  I have a sister, and I know how precious it is to have that kind of friendship and connection.  My sister and I have an awesome relationship and we are very, very close.  I already find myself daydreaming about Lila and her little sister playing together, growing up together, getting in trouble together and fighting (my sister and I did a lot of that, too...LOL) but most importantly, how close they'll be.  We ended up opening the infamous envelope on February 13th.  We had the family together and Lila was the one that actually pulled out the post-it note from inside the envelope.  Funny note:  Hubby here wanted to find out so badly that he tried holding the envelope in the light to see through it and he couldn't see it.  Well, we know why.  The ultrasound technician wrote "girl" with a yellow marker, on a yellow post-it note! LOL  I guess she knew he'd try that!

My belly is growing rapidly and our little girl is kicking me hard.  I did notice her kicks her sort of weird and mostly "downward".  I wasn't surprised when they told me on this month's ultrasound that she's breech.  They said 97% of babies turn to the "right" position so I'm already praying hard for that. I cannot imagine myself having a c-section.  It's not because I'm afraid or anything like that.  I'm just worried about the pain and prolonged healing time, when I already have Lila to care for and don't have much help from family.  My mom works a lot, my sister has her two kids and my mother-in-law already helps my sister-in-law who also has two kids.  I guess whatever happens, we'll deal with it.  I'm trying not to worry about it just yet...too soon!  The funny thing about this ultrasound is that I asked the ultrasound technician to show me that it is indeed a girl (when it comes to these things, I need to see it to believe it) and to my surprise she said she couldn't confirm because the umbilical cord is between her legs.  I felt that, since my big scan was at 17 weeks, it was early too to be sure of the baby's gender.  I'm pretty convinced it is a girl but I just want to see it, you know what I mean?  My next ultrasound is on the 30th so they'll check it again then.

EMOTIONS:  the highlight of this month for me was the fact that I "met" a 2 year-old little girl named Layla Grace who lives in Texas.  I found her through a store on Facebook, which I'm a fan of, and they were donating $1 for each new fan to this little girl that has neuroblastoma stage 4 and is in her last days.  If you want to read her story, and I think you should, check out http://www.laylagrace.org/.  Her parents also post updates on Twitter.  Check out http://twitter.com/laylagrace.  Her story changed my life forever.  I believe I'll never, ever, ever forget her.  She showed me how selfish I was being...She made me appreciate my life more, the health of my loved ones, and my daughter even more so.  I find myself praying for her as if she were my own daughter.  I wake up and go to sleep thinking about her.  I lay awake in the middle of the night and all I can think of is her and her little face...her little body and how strong this little girl is.  I think about how I've been taking so many things for granted...how I complain about little things that are just so petty.  I feel I know her just by reading up on how she's strugling to fight this cancer.  Her doctors gave her weeks to live and she's still hanging on.  Her parents are watching as their daughter suffers and I cannot imagine how they must feel... I assume they feel useless, helpless, sad, angry, devastated, probably because that's how I'd feel.  Today I read that her mom tried to hold Layla and she cried because her body hurts from all the tumors and the fact that she's so skinny from not eating... imagine not being able to hold your own child, knowing she's suffering!  THIS MADE ME UNDERSTAND THE LOVE OF GOD EVEN MORE.  God gave His Son for me. He, too, watched as His Son died.  Jesus endured all the pain for every illness that exists.  The pain Layla is feeling is very familiar to Jesus because He felt that on the cross.  When you read Layla's parents' posts, they are at such peace.  That peace can only come from one place: GOD.  They are so grateful for each moment they spend with Layla and they make the best out of them.  In the midst of all this suffering they remain positive.  They are truly an inspiration and an example to be followed of faith, strength and grattitude.  I know the God I serve can heal Layla. I pray he will touch her body and make those tumors fade away. I pray that her parents will wake up one day to Layla sitting up in bed saying "mommy, daddy, I'm hungry" (she hasn't eaten in over two weeks and is too week to lift up her head).  My Jesus can heal the sick, He can raise the dead.  NOTHING is impossible to the God I serve. But as He Himself teaches us to pray:  " your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven".  God has a plan and no matter the outcome, I am sure, Layla has changed the lives of so many people on this earth forever.  Mine is one.  If you're reading this, I urge you to pray for them.  I urge you to appreciate the little things in life which sometimes go by unnoticed because we're too focused on the "big" things.  I urge you to be more appreciative of the blessings you have.  I urge you to hug your loved ones more, let go of the petty things we make out to be so "valuable", and to be thankful for each moment, no matter how "bad" it may seem.  Worry less.  Enjoy more.  Forgive more.  Bless more.  Give more.  Pray more.  Love more.

God bless us with a thankful heart.... and may He bless Layla Grace and her beautiful family always.

Pregnancy Journal: month #4

• Fourth Month 01/09/10 to 02/09/10: bigger belly, baby moving, big ultrasound, boy or girl?...

Our BIG ultrasound is scheduled for February 2. Dad has started to pressure me into finding out. I feel bad for asking him to wait so I told him if he wants to know, he can find out as long as he doesn’t tell me. I have a feeling that won’t work and I’m really not curious (which is hard to believe, I know…). I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. On another note, belly is growing too fast and my hips are so sore from all the changes in my body. I’ve managed to gain 3 pounds so far which is great. Insomnia also started and it has been hard having to stay awake and active all day. Running after a toddler alone is enough to drain me out… put that with waking up at 3 a.m.!

The most amazing feeling so far was waking up to the baby’s hiccups! The baby is moving so much and I can tell it’s so strong! It keeps me up during the night and it’s A LITTLE calmer during the day. We hope to change that as soon as the baby is born... :)

THE BIG DAY: Fetal survey day is here! The baby sure is active! We actually got worried when the ultrasound technician kept trying to focus in on the baby’s heart and couldn’t really see everything. Then she said she needed the opinion of a doctor. He came in and looked at everything and said everything was fine (SIGH OF RELIEF) and that the technician had trouble looking at everything because the baby wouldn’t stop for a second! It looks so big and compared to Lila’s fetal survey. I remember Lila floating in a big pool of water and this baby was almost squeezed in there. Apparently, it still has enough space to do its flips. It covered its face, sucked the thumb, crossed the legs, and just would not stop.

This baby is so different than Lila. I’m not only talking about behavior, but the profile alone is totally different! Dad is convinced it’s a boy now…The doctor asked us if we wanted to know the baby’s gender, and I said I didn’t but asked to have the answer in an envelope because DAD is really curious. They gave us the ultrasound pictures and in one of them we swear it shows it’s a boy. Obviously, we’re not sure. The envelope has been driving us insane. The family is crazy to find out and dad is getting tense too.  The pathetic thing is that dad keeps putting the envelope in the light hoping he will be able to see what's written...  Personally, I started to get a little curious because I look at the envelope every day (it’s hanging on the refrigerator door). I think we may open it after all!

Fetal survey ultrasound. The bottom picture is the one I mentioned in the post.

A better look at the "is that a wee-wee?" picture!

THE envelope! :)

[ Of course I immediately asked if the baby has Choroid Plexus Cysts which Lila had around this time. Thankfully, the baby doesn't have them. For those who don't know, these are small brain cysts (sometimes one, sometimes a few) that lots of babies have during this time and from what I was told and researched, they are benign and they shrink and disappear with time, before the baby is born. We were very worried when we were told Lila had them, but the doctor told us NOT to worry. Apparently, many things can cause these and they have been found in babies with Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18, but in my case, my thyroid condition caused the cysts. When the doctor sees these cysts, they check the heart, the brain and other vital organs to make sure they are healthy. When they are healthy, that usually means everything is ok. My doctor always says they check for so many things, and due to the fact that ultrasound machines aren't very reliable, it's completely normal that up to 4 things come back questionable (as long as they aren't serious "things"). If more than 4 come back with a "negative" result, then they look into it further. He also said there's more risk in doing an amniocentesis to check the cysts than to wait until the end of the pregnancy so we never even considered doing that since about 1 in 200 women who do an amniocentesis end up with a miscarriage.  I just want to say I love my doctor! Everything is explained to me in detail and he always puts me at ease if he thinks it's something not worth worrying about. I've seen other doctors who freak out over anything, causing the parents to be nervous over nothing sometimes. ]

Pregnancy Journal: month #3

• Third Month 12/09/09 to 01/09/10: nausea ending, belly growing, second ultrasound…

HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is the year the baby will arrive! Wooohooooo!  And to start out the new year, THE NAUSEA IS GOING AWAY, yay! I’m so thrilled to have an appetite and, although I still have food aversions here and there, I’m managing to eat at least one meal a day and that’s very good progress! No weight gain yet, but my belly sure started to show. Scary how fast is starts to show after the first pregnancy! We also had our second ultrasound and the baby is looking great! The doctor said the baby is so active and from the ultrasound, I could tell I’m in for a rough ride with this one. At 11 weeks, the baby was stretching the arms and legs, sucking its thumb, flipping back and forth, and bouncing, LITERALLY bouncing all over the place. The doctor took almost a half hour to look at everything because the baby wasn’t helping out much. I love that! LOL… very healthy! Lila was active, but definitely not like this; and again, this has caused everyone to tell me “it’s a boy” this time. I don’t really mind if it’s a boy or girl. I figure we can’t lose: if we have a boy, we’ll have the best of both worlds. If we have a girl, Lila and her will be best friends. Dad sort of wants another girl, I think because he sees how Lila’s eyes sparkle when she looks at him and he wants that again… of course, he has no idea what it’s like to have a son, so he says he doesn’t really care about what it is. Personally, I don’t want to find out but dad wants to find out badly. I would like to wait but if I find myself getting too curious I won’t torture myself. We’ll see how it goes…
This was a busy month with all the birthdays and holidays. Christmas was here at home, and it was so much fun. All the kids together just got me more excited to see how it will be next year with the new baby.   :)

New picture of our baby!

Pregnancy Journal: month #2

• Second Month 11/09/09 to 12/09/09: the nausea, first ultrasound…

Big surprise: very strong nausea. I didn’t have it a whole lot while expecting Lila so I thought I was just lucky and it wasn’t going to happen in any future pregnancies… It goes to show every pregnancy is different. I’ve heard of women that got really sick during pregnancy that they were scared to get pregnant again because they thought they would be just as sick during the next pregnancy. And I think the thing I heard the most was “it’s probably a boy, since you didn’t feel too much nausea with Lila”.

Seriously, I don’t know how some women go through it during the whole 9 months. I couldn’t eat anything and I think the toughest part was having to cook for Lila. I felt so bad for her because some days I just couldn’t look at the food, never mind feel the smell of it. So we got lots of take out and the poor thing ate a lot of the “jarred food”…poor thing! It just so happened that she started the “I pick what I eat” phase and was very into fruits and not into food at all! As a result of the nausea I lost 6 pounds (I can’t say I was upset about that). Luckily, I have a very “strong stomach” and I don’t throw up easily; otherwise I probably would have lost too much weight and, most likely, would have felt crappier. Energy-wise, I’ve been ok. Sure, sometimes I manage to nap while Lila is napping but that’s rare because I always have something to do, but that’s not bothering me as much as the nausea…so, YAY!

The highlight of this month is that we got to see the baby for the first time! Our ultrasound was great, the baby was measuring just right and we were given a due date of JULY 9, 2010. I’m very happy about that too because not only the weather is very nice, but there’s absolutely NO ONE in our family from July. What a relief! January, February, March, April, August, October, November and December are the busy months!

Baby's first picture!

Pregnancy Journal: month #1

• First Month 10/09/09 to 11/09/09: finding out…

Surprise! We’re pregnant! God knows how shocked we were to find out! After all the issues we had while trying to conceive and after undergoing IVF to become pregnant with Lila, we thought we wouldn’t be easy to get pregnant again. The doctors had told us it COULD happen naturally, because sometimes the fertility issue “cures” itself after delivery, but we certainly didn’t think it WOULD happen! And I think the funniest thing was that I had all my doctors’ appointments this month (OB annual, endocrinologist) and both of them asked me if I was trying to get pregnant and if so, that I didn’t have to wait a year before getting help because they would immediately send me to Boston IVF.

What I felt: I got really suspicious when I started getting up at night to go to the bathroom, because that only happened when I was pregnant. The funny thing is that, although I was suspicious, when I went to the store to buy a pregnancy test I also bought ovulation tests to see if my cycles were on schedule! How funny is that?! So on October 28, 2009 we got our surprise miracle…we couldn’t be happier. We’re going through a messy mixture of emotions: happy, scared, shocked, excited, nervous, and everywhere in between!

How dad found out: So I “peed on the stick” and left it on the bathroom counter for a couple of minutes not giving it much thought. After 5 minutes I went to check and sure enough, there were two lines! I started shaking so bad and grabbed Lila and started kissing her and hugging her and jumping up and down…LOL… she must have though her mommy was crazy. Dad was at work and I didn’t want to call him to give him the news. I took a picture of the test and saved it on his computer’s desktop as the wallpaper. As soon as he gets home, the computer is the first place he goes to. That day he called to say he was coming home late so I couldn’t wait that long. I emailed him a picture of the test and wrote “surprise, DAD!” He called later in the afternoon asking if it was a joke…typical! Like I would joke about that! Needless to say, he was so happy! We certainly are so BLESSED! God is awesome!

The pregnancy test

Baby's first present! Big sister picked out the stuffed toy!

So proud to be a BIG SISTER!

Dear family and friends:

Welcome!

As most of you may know, I tried to start a blog about everything... but I didn't think it was fair to our newest addition, since Lila had her own website while growing in my belly.  I figured I have to be fair (already going through the guilt syndrome) and this is the best way to do it!  So the only things I'll post on this blog will be related to our new baby!

We are beyond happy about this baby! God has blessed us once again!  I look forward to having you all be a part of our journey as you all were in our journey with Lila.  One of the biggest contributions you can make is by giving us NAME SUGGESTIONS!!!  We really want to keep the baby's gender a surprise and we have some names we like, but we could really use your help.

Thanks in advance and we hope you enjoy our blog!

xoxo