He's Here!

Well the week started out really crappy.... I went to pick my daughter up from school and was stopped at a stop sign and this woman is turning onto the road where I'm stopped and he truck dies losing all brakes and steering. Needless to say she smacked into the front of my car. I wasn't injured but it shook me up for a few hours. That same night and next day I developed an extremely itchy rash that the doctor thought might be related to the accident and caused by nerves. To be on the safe side she wanted me to come in today and do lab to rule out anything bad. When I got to my appt. this morning my BP was high 148/102 and she just decided that it was time to deliver the baby and said they were waiting for me already in Labor and Delivery and I needed to go straight up there. I called my hubby at work and had him meet me there.... wouldn't you know the one time I told my hubby I'd be OK to go by myself and told him to stay for his all day meetings today, it would be time!

The C-section turned out great and I kept my calm the whole time and didn't panic, in fact I was more anxious and excited that we finally get to see my lil boy we've been awaiting so very long for. He ended up being 5lbs. 12oz. and 18 inches. He is the most perfect baby I'd ever seen, along with my daughter. I hate to brag but we make beautiful babies. He sure does have a set of lungs... he came out crying and screaming. His apgar scores were great: 9 and 9. Here are a few pics from today. I will definitely be posting more once we get home and I can take some of than just random snapshots.

Pregnancy Update....

So I'm almost 34 weeks along now and definitely counting down the days. My blood pressure has been creeping up slowly and they have been closely monitoring it. I'm supposed to be going to the doctor every 2 weeks but the last few weeks I've been going twice a week. Last week I had to do the 24 hours urine and blood test. They said everything looked OK but I had a doctor appt. today and she wants me to repeat all those tests again this week and come back Friday. They are going to do an ultrasound while I'm there to look at how big the baby is and make sure he's growing properly because of my BP issues. I'm scheduled to have my C-section at 39 weeks which will be Oct. 19th but I don't think my doctor thinks I'll make it that long. Honestly she sounds like she's worried I won't even make it till 37 weeks. That is her goal though to be considered term.... So I have about 3 1/2 more weeks to go. Honestly with Athena she was born at 37 1/2 weeks but she only weighed 4 lbs. 9 oz. It looks like we'll be doing lab work every week until delivery just so if something was wrong we would catch it early and not so late like last time. I will keep everyone up to date on the pregnancy especially if I deliver early. Wish me luck! Good thing is we are ready for him to be here. Both his and my bag are packed. We have his carrier and playyard/bassinette for him to sleep in and plenty of clothes and diapers to get him started since I've already had my shower. I will get to go to the Kids Sale preview party tomorrow so whatever I still don't have I will get the chance to buy cheap then. Here are the things I need that hopefully I will be able to find, bouncy seat, crib, jumparoo and more premie clothes just in case he does come early.

31 weeks along

So I decided it was time to do more maternity self portraits. I'm 31 weeks now and haven't done any since 22 weeks, not even as much as a snapshot around the house of my belly. With Athena I took a pic about every 2 weeks or so until the last trimester and then every week. Why am I slacking. At least now I can take a little better quality of picture than just a polaroid. When I find them from being scanned to my computer I will show you the pregnancy pics with my daughter over 5 years ago.

I am huge now and feel like I could pop anyday honestly. I don't remember being like this with my first pregnancy.

Here's what I got from my selfs today... at least a few of my favs.

By the way I have changed my name to 918 Studios... it was my hubbys idea and I like it. 918 is our area code so that was kind of different.

Good News

After 2 days of bugging them about the results they finally got the results of my GTT today and had the doctor review them. They called about and hour and a half ago and said the doctor said everything looked good. I am so relieve to not have Gestational Diabetes. I didn't want to have to be restricted... I mean I eat pretty healthy but occassional I like a little pastry every now and then. YIPPEE one less thing to worry about with this pregnancy.

The GTT sucked!

So I was there at the lab first thing in the morning yesterday to do my Glucose Tolerance Test. I didn't want to go any longer fasting than I had to so I was there when they opened. I had to start off with a fasting blood draw and then I had to drink the awful sugary stuff (this time twice as sweet as the first time) and had to do subsequent blood draws for the next 3 hours. I made it through the experience without vomiting which is good because if I had during the test it would of been invalid and I would of had to do it again another day. I felt a little weird in the head at times but never to bad... that is until....

I actually go to lunch directly afterwards and within the first few sips of soup my body starts to go into some type of shock or something. I immediately started sweating, shaking so hard that I can't even hold my spoon and just queezy and hot as hell. My friend kept trying to convince me it wasn't hot in there and I looked like I was going to spew... Never did I get sick but it took me the whole meal to feel half way normal again. I had to stop at my hubby's work to relax and assure myself it was OK to drive home with my daughter.

Needless to say we made it home OK but I still have yet to know my results from the test yesterday. Hopefully I will know something early tomorrow. I am super anxious and worried still.

My Pregnancy and Life Update

I am currently 27 weeks pregnant with a little boy and have a lot on my plate. I have gained 20 lbs. already although it's all in my belly. They convince me there is only one baby in there though (:

this is a self portrait I did a little over a month ago so I was about 22 weeks. Huge huh?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but things have been crazy. I've worked an 8 to 5 job up until about a month ago when I decided it was best for me to stay home with my now 5 year old daughter. Plus my pregnancy was starting to get exhausting especially when I have problems sleeping at night because of congestion and drainage.

anyways, at my 20 week ultrasound they noticed that the baby had only 2 vessels instead of the normal 3 they are supposed to have. there is a slightly higher risk of cord accident of course... it's important for me to do kick counts especially when I feel like he's not moving around like usual, but luckily he does karate in my uterus constantly. there is also a risk that something may be wrong with the baby, such as renal problem or even heart but only about 25% of 2 vessel cord babies have any abnormalities. I'm a little worried but I can't really worry too much. The pediatrician will do a renal ultrasound after the baby is born and also look at the heart.

Also Wednesday when I did my glucose screen it came back a little high so I I have to carb load for the next 3 days and go back fasting on Monday and do a glucose tolerance test. You know this is all I need, to have Gestational Diabetes on top of everything else and the higher risk of delevoping Pre-E and HELLP again.

So far my BP is good but we'll still keep a close eye on it.

Maternity Self Portraits

Earl Grey Tea coloring (ONE OF MY FAV shots)

Soft Dewberry Glaze coloring

Soft Strawberry Glaze coloring

Regular adjustments but I love how I accidently cut off my head :)

Regular adjustments but it accidently didn't focus completely but I like it!

Me and my girl with the Orton effect action

Here are some of my favorite self portraits I took today... I've been needing some maternity pics other than just snapshots. Let me know what you think. I just want to thank CoffeeShop's blog for some of the actions that I used.

Today at the park

So my 4 year old daughter and I went to the park today and of course I took my camera along. The picture of me is one she took with my camera. I was amazed at how good it looks considering I didn't crop it at all, I just touched up my no-make up face with pimples :)

I made a collage of all the pics I took of her. I'm trying to practice making collages so... this was really my first stab at it.

It's a.....

So we had our Ultrasound today and we finally found out what we are having. I just want to say EVERYONE thought it was going to be a boy, including the chinese gender calendars except for my little girl. She always said it was a baby girl/baby sister. Well take a look at the pictures for yourself and tell me what you think..

IT'S A BOY! Immediately after she put the thing on my belly the first picture to pop up was of his legs spread. Usually that is the shot that is the hardest to get. He was however stubborn when it came to showing his face. The tech kept trying to look at his umbilical insertion but he was laying face down on his tummy so it made it very difficult and he would not move for anything. I think he's already being lazy and sleeping all the time. I still think my 4 year-old-daughter is still in denial. She won't admit it's a boy and still calls it her baby sister.

We already have a name picked out and it's super unique. I just want to explain the reasoning first. You see my daughter's name is Athena and it is from greek mythology. Well in mythology her brother's name is Ares pronounced like Aries the sign. I thought it was only appropriate to name him that because of the "A" name of course and the connection from the two. So his name will be Aries Orion Claborn. I love it and think it's creative. If it was going to be a girl we finally decided on Sophie but I'll name get to name a girl that because it's a boy and we are done having kids after this.

Is it a Boy or Girl?

So tomorrow is the big day, Ultrasound DAY!... Is it a boy or a girl. Everyone in my family and all of my friends think it is a boy... but my daughter is the ONLY one who thinks it's a girl. I tend to think it will be a girl because of family history but we are rooting for a little mama's boy. If someone refers to it as her little brother or a boy, she quickly corrects them and say no it's my baby sister and her name is going to be Hannah Montana. I just want to say NO it is not, if it's a girl we will probably name her Sophie (no middle name picked out yet). Wish me luck and I will post on here what it is as soon as I get home.

19 weeks

My pregnant belly at 19 weeks and 3 days. I couldn't hardly make it through Walmart today grocery shopping before my back started to really hurt beyond belief. I don't remember being that uncomfortable with my first. My husband kept making the joke to go get one of those electronic carts but I think he was serious because he was tired of me complaining. I told him I would leave it for the elderly who really needed it.

18 weeks

Everyone is definitely noticing my belly now. I just joke and says it's just a gut. But really I'm almost half way done. Although I've been feeling the baby since about 13 1/2 weeks on and off, I can't wait to start feeling it regularly and stronger kicking or as I call it baby karate. Also I can't wait till June 11th when I find out what it is and I can quit guessing or calling it he or she. My daughter is so assured its her baby sister. But we'll see.

Pregnancy Pizza

Since I have been pregnant I have had an extreme craving for jalapenos. I want them on my cheese fries when we go out, on my beans and potatoes, and of course on my pizza. My husband made fun of me this evening when we went to order pizza for dinner tonight and I told them I wanted mushrooms, pineapples, and jalapenos. He said that's just gross... but of course the lady at the pizza place just laughed when I ordered and told her I was pregnant. Of course she understood because she's due at the same time as I am.

Does anyone else crave jalapenos? If not what do you crave during your pregnancy?

My mother-in-law keeps telling me it's going to be a boy because I'm craving the spicey things. That's just an old wives tale but I hope it's right because we're wanting a little boy. I want a little boy who's going to be a mama's boy because my sweet little girl is no longer sweet to me, in fact she'd rather be around her grandma all the time than to be with me. She told me yesterday when I went to her awards ceremony for her class "mom I told you not to come" and was in a bad mood all after that. She was perky and dancing with the class and all before she seen that I was in her classroom. What's a mom to do?

Fire-engine Red

I just want to start off by saying that I feel like a lobster... My daughter had a birthday party to go to yesterday and it was loads of fun for her jumping on the bounce around and blowing bubbles, but us parents just sat out in the lawnchairs in the sun for 2 hours. I didn't feel any pain or burn while I was there but once I got in some shade and home, the burn was on. I am normally white as a ghost and have olive complexion so I'm sure that help contribute to my lobster-like sunburn. You can see the distinct line as my upper thigh is white as a sheet of paper and my lower thigh down is fire-engine red. Even my feet are burned and you can see my flip-flop shape.

What was I thinking? I guess I wasn't, we don't own sunscreen anymore because we don't have a pool and we never go to the lake or anywhere that requires it. Sleeping last night was the worst. If I could of slept on my back it would of made it easier because they really wouldn't have to touch much... but with the pregnancy, that is a no-no because it compresses the aorta and doesn't give you or the baby much blood flow, hence less O2. So I had to alternate from side to side because I get so stuffy I have to turn to relieve some of it and help me breathe. Once I was actually bearably comfy, I realized I couldn't breathe and once again the pain emerged when I had to switch sides again. The worst part is when the 2 hot legs touched each other. It is so hard to keep my thunder thighs from touching :) When I got up in the morning, I was in for another surprise. I couldn't hardly walk. My legs were so stiff and hurting down deep it actually felt like it burnt my muscles. As much as I wanted to call in from work, I pushed myself to not only get myself ready but to do the same for my daughter who is always slacking in the morning.

Do you remember what it is like to shower or bathe with a sunburn? It's HELL! My hubby and I shower together every morning to not only save water but to save time. I knew that couldn't happen this morning because he takes HOT HOT showers. Just thinking about it makes me hurt, OUCH! So I took a lonely shower last night and had it lukewarm or cooler. It was still too warm for my burns but too cold to almost stand it. The worst thing about taking a shower the night before is my hair is wild in the morning. That is another obstacle I had to tackle this morning, my wild short mane. Took me longer than usual.

I just want to say one last thing to everyone... don't be foolish like me, USE SUNSCREEN!

Check out my new tattoo

I forgot to mention what I had to do today to make my daughter happy... She is a tattoo junkie, every couple of days she wants us to put a new washable tattoo on. Well she wanted both of us to have one today. I decided to put it on my belly as you can see. That probably wasn't the best idea though because it was all intact as I was sitting but once I stood up I guess my belly skin stretched to accomidate and now it has cracks all through it. The things mommys will do for their kids :)

My Mother's Day...

These top two pictures are from today... MOTHER'S DAY! Me and my baby girl... She actually acts like she loves me for once.... usually she is always saying she's mad at me and I can't come to her birthday party... She's definitely my drama queen.

This picture is me and my self portrait in the bathroom yesterday... I'm 16 weeks now. I really have a belly though, I was the same way with my daughter too... By 12 weeks I was showing and 16 weeks I really popped out. I know this is the first picture I have posted and I will continue to keep up with taking them and posting them. I try to take one every week to monitor my growth and document my pregnancy. I have been taking them every week until now but I always looked bad in the pictures, no make up, hair a mess... you know weekend look!

HOPE EVERYONE ELSE'S MOTHER'S DAY WENT AS GOOD AS MINE... we ate at Chili's and then went bowling and played some games...

Boy or Girl you say?

I have never heard of such a thing until the other day. You can now pee in a cup it will tell you whether you are having a boy or a girl... hmmm wonder how well it really works even though they say it's 90% accurate. Knowing my luck I'd always be part of the 10% who it didn't work right for. Of course you have to be at least 10 weeks pregnant for it to tell.

My mother in law first told me about this when her 18 year old grandson's girlfriend (well on and off and we are not sure who's baby it even is) of 16 years of age said she bought this test called ova 90% accurate or something like that from Walgreens and it told her it was a girl. She is only about 12 weeks pregnant and is ditzy and bleach blonde so I of course was like whatever. I said she probably bought an ovulation test (by the name of it) and it came out positive and that's why she thought it was a girl. By the way I am still not totally convinced she is even pregnant anyway because the last time she said she was she never went to the doctor officially and then she ended up saying she wasn't pregnant and that her body was just confused and that is why it thought it was... She has yet to go to the doctor again this time but she claims to already have an ultrasound... ANYWAYS! So I looked on the Walgreens website and sure enough I found a test like it but with a different name.

I'm sure there are tons of people who are willing to pay the 29.99 just to find out ahead of time when they could just wait another month or two. But then again even the ultrasounds are totally accurate and your little boy you expected could come out as girly as can be (damn that umbilical cord for fooling us into thinking it was a winky)! Or sometimes your little one is just so shy anyway that it doesn't want to flaunt it's parts to the world. I think I'll just wait... June 11th is the scheduled ultrasound day to find out. YIPPEE!