Pregnancy Journal

4/26/05 - I am ll weeks and finally starting to show a little. The first 10 weeks have been a roller coaster of imbalanced hormones and absolute exhaustion. I'm hoping that as I enter the second trimester I will finally get some energy back. Nobody mentioned that the first trimester is much like waking up after drinking a fifth of Jack and smoking 3 packs of cigarrettes...EVERY morning! No coffee doesn't help. I went to the doctor's on Friday and we were able to hear the baby's heart beat - it was so fast! We called Luis so he could hear it on his cell.

We are renting a house in Remington, a neighborhood a few block east of Charles Village, but hoping to find a house to buy in Waverly shortly. Luis is almost done with his first semester at Hopkins (YEAH!) and we are going to spend a weekend at the Buddhist Retreat in NY in May. I am weighing in at 118.5 lbs (this is huge for me!) and my waist is slowly disappearing at 26.5"....see belly below.

not to be confused with Luis' belly which is still larger than mine

 

the baby looks like this now.....she (although I'm not sure if it's a she or he yet) is about 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 inches long and weighs about a third of an ounce, the size of a peanut. She can move her hands, hiccup, stretch and do somersaults. Her limbs are developing from webbed paddles into arms and legs that have well-defined fingers and toes. Fingernails, toenails, and hair follicles are also beginning to form. (ivillage Pregnancy and Parenting)

 

This is the crib set I picked out and I'm going to paint the nursery in bright colors with banana trees and a border of monkeys to match the quilt. There are monkey candle holders and banana leaf sconces at Pier One that must go in there, also! If the room has a ceiling fan, I'm going to make fan blades shaped like banana leaves.

Of course, we'll paint ginger plants, orchids and little lizards so she can see some of the plants native to the Dominican Republic. This is a picture of the pool at Luis' country house in the Dominican Republic. I still can't figure out why we don't live there...

 

6/19/05 - I am 19 weeks and definitely showing now! My waist is up to 32 inches and I am weighing in around 127 lbs.

2 weeks ago I felt the baby for the first time. I was laying on my back in bed and I felt what I thought was a huge gas bubble go through my stomach. It was so big I could even see it moving! When it stopped, my stomach had deflated and the only thing in it looked like I had a softball lodged in my bladder. It took me a few minutes to realize that it wasn't gas, it was definitely the baby that moved - more than moving, it was a total fetal migration!

We had the ultrasound last week. It was amazing! We could see the baby's hand moving and the heart beating. We also saw something I wasn't expecting since I was sure that this baby was a girl. But with little doubt, the radiologist informed us we would be having a little boy. We are naming him Luis Eduardo D'Andrade III, after Luis' father. Luis senior was nicknamed NayNay, so we will call him that for short. Needless to say, I had to bring all of the girl's clothes I had bought back to the store and replace them with adorable little boys clothes.

Here are some pics from the ultrasound...

He was looking right at us for the whole procedure, so we couldn't get a shot of his profile.

This is a pic of his little lips. You can see on the bottom the Radiologist labeled it Kisses!!! Very cute!

Here's a great shot of his whole body, side view.

 

We forgot to ask the Radiologist how far along she thought I was, but we have an appoinment this week with our new midwife, so we will find out a more exact due date then. We are having the baby at a birthing center called Special Beginnings... http://specialbeginnings.com It was built from the ground as a birthing center so the facility is designed very well for comfort and functionality. Each room has a double or queen sized bed, a birthing-rocking chair, birthing stool, birthing ball, seperate bathroom with shower and 2 of the three rooms have a seperate room with a hottub. I am looking forward to a natural birth with my family. This was a major crossing point for us because I was very unhappy with the midwife we've had up until this point. Additionally, the only facility available for birthing with the previous midwife was in a hospital. Not the most tranquil option in Baltimore City! Here are some pics of the brthing center...

 

Another problem that was solved this month was our housing situation. My mother graciously offered to help us with the down payment, so we were able to find a house in the neighborhood we wanted to be in. It is in Waverly, across the street from one of the Johns Hopkins buildings and the new YMCA. It is a rowhouse with a sunroom downstairs and a mastersuite upstairs with a balcony. There is a giant apple tree in the backyard and in the fall you can pick big, juicy apples from the balcony. There is also plenty of room for friends and family to stay when they come to visit. We are scheduled to close on June 30th and are hoping to move in the last 2 weeks of July. Can't wait!!! Here are some pics of the house....

Front of house backyard (use your imagination)

Livingroom with fireplace and french doors to the diningroom

Diningroom with french doors to the livingroom inlaid wood floors

 

And last, but not least....the updated belly picture....18 weeks - and counting

 

9/12/05 - OK, it's been a long summer! We moved into the house on July 18th, only to find it less than liveable. We are still in the process of painting away the olive green walls and ceilings after having to overhaul the whole house. Could've been worse, but home improvements are challenging when you can't bend over or peel yourself off the floor! The good news is that we're almost done - then I get to focus on Gabriel's room (his name is now Gabriel Luis Eduardo D'Andrade - lest anyone ever call him "Lewis"). I am going to paint a large tree with vines & monkeys hanging from it in his room. He'll probably sleep with Luis and I for the first few months, but then he can start sleeping in his crib in the room adjoining ours.

My sister is coming to visit next week & I'm hoping to buy the rest of the baby things that I need. I am getting really scattered and forgetting about things, like my ATM card - 6 more weeks to go!

A number of Luis' classmates are taking a birthing companion class, so hopefully someone will be able to attend my birth with me. It will be great to have someone there besides Luis. I need to be between 37 - 42 weeks to deliver at the Birthing Center, so that should put us between October 24th - November 28th. Definitely hoping for sooner rather than later. I can't wait to give little Gabriel kisses!

 

 

10/22/05 - 36 weeks (not sure where the other 17 weeks went) Ahhh & the good news is that the nursery came out almost exactly like I wanted it - see pics below. I can't wait to have little Gabriel in it!

 

Meanwhile, Luis is in the second half of his third semester at school. Only 1 & a half to go! He was the recipient of the Women's Board Scholarship which covers tuition for the last 2 semesters. Thank god! I have no idea how we would have afforded tuition/student loans otherwise. They also wrote an article about him in the nursing magazine - click here to read it. He is doing great and planning to start working at Hopkins in June - maybe even earlier, depending upon his class load. He'd like to work there for a year and then we are moving back to sweet, sweet Portland.

And now for the updated pregnancy picture....brace yourselves.....

I've had a very easy pregnancy so far, but I'm starting to feel it now. I can't go out for more than a few hours now because I get hot flashes and dizzy spells. I also can't seem to eat enough to ever be satiated - so I'm always hungry with a side of acid reflux. It's also getting increasingly difficult to get off the floor, bed, etc....Yes, I am hoping for an early delivery. I need to wait until Monday the 24th so that I can have him in the Birthing Center, but after that, it's fair game. I am weighing in at 157.5 lbs, so I think I have gained a total of 43 lbs. My waist is at 41 inches, but I swear I get bigger every day.....bags are packed - I'm ready to go!!

11/2/05 - 38 weeks - They told me yesterday at my appointment that I look like I will be right on time - November 14th. Fingers are crossed and toes are pressed. Luis' mom & sister will be here November 22nd, so it would be nice to have a few days to recuperate. I'm taking primrose oil to try to get my body ready. Other than that, I am just waiting...waiting...waiting.