Breathing Techniques

As big as a cauliflower and with only 90 days to go until our due date, baby Lucas is practicing inhaling and exhaling with his rapidly developing lungs! (it's amniotic fluid and not air but still counts!!!). The weekly email also informed me that his brain is developing fast and is even showing brain activity now!! I cant believe this is the last week of the second trimester, time is flying!!!!

But speaking of breathing techniques, like those my little man is now working on, my instinctive techniques surfaced this week!....I guess after watching tv shows and movies with pregnant women and those in labor, I've learned the techniques of relaxation and way of breathing which has come in handy since that intermittent abdominal pain won't go away completely!! I find myself a few times a day breathing like those women! (deep breath in through the nose, and slow focused controlled breath out through the mouth)

Speaking of those pains, after seeing the OB on Monday, I was put on that dreaded, inevitable bedrest for the next 4 weeks!!!! I knew the day would come, it just came a lot faster than anticipated! Thankfully, she said it didn't need to be "strict bedrest", but that I just needed to take it "super easy", sit a lot, put my feet up, relax, watch movies, read books, to give Lucas the best chances of staying inside my belly until at least 32 weeks!!! I got the feeling that she doesn't think I will make it the whole 40 weeks, so I think the goal is to make it to 32 then pray for an additional 4-6 weeks :)

Today I saw the cardiologist and although he seems content with the progress plus the fact that he said he couldn't increase the dose of the heart medicine anymore even if he wanted to, he also gave me the impression that he doesn't think I will make it to 40 weeks. He agreed with the OB team with the whole bedrest thing, because of the "uterine irritability", plus the fact that my heart rate is up regardless of the medicine and my breathing is getting a little affected (I think little man is running out of room and pushing up against my diaphragm, crowding my lungs and heart!!), so I think I will try to make the best of the next month or so, continue to get his room ready (which I now want to get done ASAP!!) and catching up some good old shows, decent books, and much needed sleep!

Last but not least, can I just say that Ink is the most adorable dog ever??? Tonight while I was watching tv on the couch, Ink came over to me so that I could pet him and I looked at him and asked him "Ink, where is the baby?" so he laid his head on the belly and gave me the cutest look!!!

Amazing, ha?? Love ALL my boys...................................wait, I'm going to be even more outnumbered at home now!!! uh oh!!!!

Let-tuce Keep Getting Ready!!!

Unbelievable, time is flying!!! Yesterday, baby Lucas and I reached another milestone, 26 weeks down and only 98 days to go until the due date! This week, his eyes are forming and will soon start to open and close to practice blinking, eyelashes are now grown too, he is taking breaths of amniotic fluid to get ready for breathing in the outside world and soaking up my antibodies while preparing his immune system!!!

This past week was a busy one! Craig finished painting the nursery and putting up the blinds and curtains,  which needless to say makes it 100 times more real for both him and I. The shop has kept my mind busy so that I don't go crazy shopping for baby stuff (which I'm dying to go do!) although our registries are done and plans for upcoming baby showers are being finalized! We feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends that want to shower us with gifts to get us ready for Lucas's arrival.  

Unfortunately, this week was also a week of sickness. Started with my father-in-law who wasn't feeling well for a few days with a headache, neck stiffness and nausea....he later was admitted to the hospital for viral meningitis!!! After spending a few days at the hospital, he is now thankfully recuperating at home. Craig and I (and Lucas) have not been able to go visit yet!. Before Rick was even discharged from the hospital, I got a phone call from my aunt saying that she had gotten a phone call from my grandmother's nursing home and she wasn't doing well. I headed in that direction and found her sitting in a chair pale, sweating, cool, clammy, and honestly looking a little rough! I insisted we needed to go to the hospital. She was seen and later discharged with dehydration and the stomach flu!!!...needless to say, my aunt, my mom and I were sick the next day :( Finally Sunday night, after coming back from Jessica's baby shower, I was not doing well. I spent hours having severe abdominal pain with waves of nausea. I thought "Holly crap!, no preterm labor please, Lucas is too little!!!, hang in there buddy!!!" Craig and I were extremely worried. We called the doctor on call and he sent us to labor and delivery to get checked out! When we arrived, I was placed on the monitor, vital signs looked ok, Lucas was moving around, his heart rate was strong at 140-155bpm and although the monitor didn't pick up any "labor contractions" (thank God), I was discharged late Sunday with the diagnosis of "Uterine Irritability Secondary to Dehydration". I spent most of Monday doing absolutely nothing but watching tv and drinking fluids!.....it was a scary few hours though, I have to admit!!

Happy to Introduce Our Little Man:

More and more in love every day!

I'm in love!...completely head over heels for my eggplant!!!...and it gets better and better every day that goes by, actually more like every minute that goes by, like when I feel his kicks, organize his room, look at baby items, hear babies giggling in the street, Craig talks to the belly, baby shower plans get up in the air, etc, etc, etc....

According to the weekly email, it is finally starting to "dawn" on me that the baby will be here soon and that I actually have to deliver him...and this is VERY true...and as the doctor put it today "time is flying! you are well beyond the half way point and he will be here in the blink of an eye!"...GULP!!!! This is true, I'm anxious and excited at all the same time, I can't wait to see his face and hold him but at the same time I'm scared about being a mom...my mom reassures me all the time that it is normal to have anxiety and that every first time parent gets it!!! So I keep taking it one day at a time :) This week, our little man is gaining weight, growing more hair and is enjoying his new sense of equilibrium while doing flips in my belly!!!!

As far as pregnancy goes, heart rate seems controlled (although of course I know my limitations), back pain occurs most of the time but I'm doing ok managing it with a heating pad, sleepless nights are often, but I keep thinking that my body is getting used to having to wake up multiple times a night (which I hope, because not hearing the baby cry is one of many fears!), cravings? not really, although I still love a daily cup of coffee and mangos!!!

This past week, Craig and I worked on "Project Nursery"!!! We went to the store and picked the paint colors, the blinds for his room, and Craig put together the crib and changing table!! My role in getting the room ready, included telling Craig where to put things and taping the room for Craig to paint...he was so sweet and so protective! He didn't let me be in the room because of the fumes!!...I think the end result is going to be beautiful!.....stay tuned for the "After" picture!!!

 YAY!!!

Everything pushed to the middle, room taped...we are ready!!! 

Let the work begin!!! 

Even after cutting his paw, Ink is guarding the baby's room!

A few days ago, the girls and I attempted to have a girl's night. We planned take-out dinner at our house and for them to have a glass of wine while we talked, and shared stories, but unfortunately, their hands were full!!! They were unable to leave the babies at home so I had an 8 month old and a 5 month old playing around our floor! I got a bit of a taste of how hectic life will be after little man arrives as they could barely eat and they only took about 2 sips of their wine!! Yesterday, our new neighbors stopped by and I was happy to learn that they are a young couple with two little boys!! Hunter is almost 2 years old and Patrick is 7 months old!! I can't wait to have play dates with everyone!

Always with his hand in his mouth!!! 

Yesterday I saw Dr. Datell and had an ultrasound done to check if my placenta had moved since last time it was too close to my cervix!!! I had been looking forward to this day for a long time because I love seeing my little man's face on the screen and get new pictures!!! Unfortunately Craig wasn't able to make this appointment because of work. I made it there and had the ultrasound and everything looked just the way it was supposed to :) Our little man is growing well, weighing 1lb 13oz, placenta has moved a little bit and doctor is happy to see the progress!, I do have to go back in 2 weeks for another check up! I also had some blood drawn to check for gestational diabetes and now we just wait for results

Sweet Grapefruit!

6 months down and my sweet boy has reached the size of a grapefruit!!! Although to be honest, I feel much bigger than that! I feel like Im carrying a soccer ball already!!! People laugh when I say that :)

It has been a great week! The shop is keeping us busy, we are anxiously waiting for the crib and dresser to arrive and yesterday we picked out the paint color for the baby's room!...It is all coming together...slowly but surely and I couldn't be happier!! My mom has decided to take on a project for the baby and she started making a rug for his room that goes with our "bear" theme. It is time consuming and I don't know where she gets the energy to do it, but it is coming along beautifully!!! She is amazing and I think the idea of being a grandma has her adrenaline pumping!!! She has always been such a wonderful mother and I can't wait to see her in action as Manis! I feel very lucky to have had her example and I know that if I can be, to my son, half the mom she was to me, I think he'll turn out alright :)

This week, our baby is growing steadily, after having gained some weight, according to our weekly email, he must be at a little over a pound!! At almost a foot long, he still has a pretty lean figure at this point but will continue to fill out proportional and will soon plump up!! His brain is growing quickly and his taste buds continue to develop (of course I'm trying to eat lots of good stuff for him to try!). His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, which is a substance that will help air sacs in the lungs inflate once he hits the outside world! His skin is still thin and translucent but its becoming more and more opaque and pink as small capillaries continue to form.

After multiple failed attempts at feeling the baby kick, Craig finally got a couple of high-fives from his son yesterday and I wish I could have captured the moment on video or taken a picture of his face! We were sitting on the couch watching TV and being lazy and I felt the baby move around so I figured I would ask Craig to put his hand on my belly, so he did. After a few minutes, the baby kicked and Craig's eyes got big as he sat up on the couch in amazement! His excitement was palpable, his eyes had the same sparkle of incredible love that I have seen before...two occasions that pop to mind are our wedding day when I was walking down the isle and I couldn't look at anything else but him at the altar, and when we found out the baby was a boy and he felt so proud!!!! Since he was having to go to work shortly after this, I told him to talk to the belly, and what he did, was he recorded a little message to our little man on my phone so that I could play it to the belly on the days that he's not home: "Good night baby, have sweet dreams, and don't kick too much, I want you to rest and relax so in the morning when you wake up, you are full of energy and so your mommy is full of energy too! and then you guys can have a wonderful day. Daddy loves you!".....my heart melts when I think of my little family!