A Festive Time Of Year

22 Weeks, 3 Days

Lobster Pot Pie at Wit & Wisdom

December is by far the most festive time of year for me. No, it's not just because of the holidays. It's my birthday, too! I turned the big 2-9 on Saturday. Vicente and I celebrated by doing what I do best these days: eating. A lot. We went to one of my favorite casual spots, Papermoon Diner, with our pal Jess for lunch, then dined at super fancy Wit & Wisdom at the Four Seasons for dinner. So delicious. I'm sure I gained at least two pounds over the course of the weekend. I never order lobster, but since my more-than-generous mommy said our dinner was on her, I decided to splurge for my birthday on the "deconstructed lobster pot pie." I hate sharing food pictures, but check this puppy out. Impressive, no?

Speaking of calorie-loading, I just had my monthly doctor's appointment this morning. According to the office scale, I gained 8.5 pounds since my last visit four weeks ago. HOLY MOTHER! I was not expecting that. But, given the fact that I'm pregnant during the holidays, I give myself a free pass this time. My doctor actually laughed and said it's totally fine that I gained so much, but I should probably stick to the pound-a-week plan until my due date. She says she expects me to gain 15 or so more pounds total this pregnancy, which still puts me within "normal" range. But still. Seeing the numbers jump that much in just four weeks is a bit shocking.

On the plus side, all is good in Baby Vince's world. My uterus is measuring where it should; the top of it is just a couple fingers-width above my belly button. We heard his heartbeat loud and clear via the Doppler  The heart rate was at a steady 140 bpm. I'll never tire of hearing that glorious sound. I also got the results from my spina bifida screening and it was perfectly normal (I have a less than 1 in 5,000 chance of having a baby with spina bifida.) That's always a relief. My doctor also said Baby V is measuring around a pound at this point, and by my next appointment, he'll double in size!  I asked if I'd be having another ultrasound and my doc said that she typically doesn't order another one unless they suspect something is wrong. She said that they saw everything they needed/wanted to see at my anatomical survey ultrasound at 18 weeks, so she likely won't order another U/S unless I have any complications. I was slightly disappointed because I love seeing our little one moving around in there. I'm tempted to go to one of those ultrasound clinics and pay out of pocket to get some more shots of the baby before he's born. My next doc appointment is in mid-January, and I'll have to do the diabetes testing on that visit. Apparently I'll have to chug a glass of glucose and sit around for an hour until they can draw my blood. Sounds disgusting.

Here are some pics from my birthday weekend. Enjoy!

Wearing my new maternity top thanks to my sweet mother-in-law!

Dressed to impress for my office Christmas party

Birthday lunch at Papermoon Diner with my hubby

Five Guys Fan

21 Weeks


According to my plethora of pregnancy iPhone apps, Baby V is now 3/4 of a pound and has graduated from the size of a regular banana to a LARGE banana. Ha! I also read that he can taste what I eat from the amniotic fluid at this point. Vicente asked me h the hell the medical community could prove such a thing, which I thought was a damn good question. It's not like they can ask the baby about it... Although, Vicente and I had lunch together at Five Guys today and as I was wolfing down my bucket of fries, Baby V was kicking like crazy. That's the only evidence I have that he can taste what I'm eating. The boy must love french fries as much as his mama.

I don't really have any profound updates today. I'm still pregnant. Still tired. My belly and boobs are still getting bigger (WILL THEY EVER STOP?!?!)

I got a fun gift for the nursery delivered at my office yesterday. Ariel knew that I was decorating the nursery with baby circus animals, so she bought an adorable lion chair on Amazon. I absolutely love it! Check out these pics. The one of Madison sniffing it in the baby's room makes me laugh. Such a curious beagle.

Feed Me

20 Weeks, 4 Days

People seem to think that pregnancy has given me the the right to eat whatever my little heart desires. I mean, I am eating for two, right? WRONG! It's a pretty cruel joke actually. Pregnancy makes you crave the worst kinds of foods while simultaneously giving you the ability to stomach a boat load of groceries, but it does NOT give you a free pass to eat twice as much without getting a huge ass. According to all the literature I've read, pregnant women only need 300 more calories per day than the average woman. That's the equivalent of a bowl of oatmeal or a slice of whole grain bread with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Simply put, it's not that much, ya'll.

I'm trying my hardest to avoid stuffing my face on every whim, but these damn cravings make it difficult. I once asked my mom what she enjoyed eating while pregnant and her response made me laugh. The woman hates ice cream, yet while pregnant, she craved Wendy's Frostys; except she would add sliced peaches on top. Props to mom for originality.

Due to my terrible short-term memory, I figured it would be a good idea to blog about everything I've been craving and eating more of now that I'm preggars. Just ask my best friend, Ariel. She and I chat every day and I'd say 75% of what we talk about is the food we wish we were eating. You'd think she and I were 200+ pounds just from reading our g-chat convos. (Disclaimer: Ariel is not pregnant. She just likes to eat. Even though she's a twig.)

My Pregnancy Cravings To Date:

Guess what I'm eating as I type this post?

• Mac & Cheese: I eat at least three servings per week. Mainly from Corner Bakery and Panera. Although I do have an amazing recipe that I make at home from the Pioneer Woman, aka: Ree Drummond.
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Chocolate Cream Pie: Before pregnancy, I don't think I had ever eaten a slice of this classic diner food. But lately, it's all I want to eat just before bed. I made my own pie from scratch this past weekend from this recipe.
• Chocolate-covered Pretzels: Fleet Street Market, an adorable local grocer just blocks from our house, sells the BEST pretzels in bulk.
• Girl Scout Cookies (Samoas only)
• Ice Cream "Smushes": This is my own creation. I put two scoops of vanilla ice cream in a glass cup and pour milk and chocolate syrup on top and smush it with a spoon. Mmmm, soupy ice cream goodness.
• Oatmeal: This is probably the only healthy thing I crave. I love to make my own Swiss Oatmeal. This recipe is to die for.
• Vodka: Please note, this is a CRAVING, not something I indulge in. I went from a two-Vodka-a-day diet to nada as soon as I found out I was pregnant. However, I've never wanted vodka more than I do right now. No seriously. Right this second: 1:23 pm on a Tuesday. A co-worker of mine gave me a very appropriate card to congratulate me on my baby news and I loved the message so much that I pinned the card on my bulletin board at work: "Expectant Mom Thrilled About Pregnancy, Bummed About No Alcohol for Nine Months." So true. So true.

Big Banana

20 Weeks, 3 Days

I can't believe I've made it to the halfway point in my pregnancy! When I look back, time has flown by. I've been blessed to have a relatively symptom-free pregnancy thus far and hope that the rest of the way is smooth sailing. Now that I'm on the downhill stretch, it's time to start preparing for little Vince's arrival.

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids

My mom and sister are currently planning my first baby shower in Houston for all the Childres/Howard/Valero women and close family friends in January. My friend Jess is hosting another shower in February for my Baltimore gal pals. With my birthday and Christmas looming on the horizon, not to mention all these baby parties, I started building my registries at Babies R Us and Pottery Barn Kids. (Vicente's dad already bought our crib! Woohoo!) Registering is so much fun. It's surprisingly more fun than registering for wedding presents, although I had a difficult time deciding on the nursery theme. There are way more attractive options to decorate girl nurseries than boy nurseries. I want little Vince's room to look "baby" without being too grown up. There's plenty of time for the big boy stuff later. Because I despise sport/car/boat themes and didn't want his nursery to be over-the-top blue, I decided on an adorable baby circus theme. Who doesn't love baby animals? Here's a pic of the room I want to replicate, but I might do red curtains rather than beige. I'll accessorize the room with little elephants, lions, giraffes and hippos, too. To quote the movie, Despicable Me: "IT'S SO FLUFFY I COULD DIE!"

I read somewhere that Baby V is the size of a banana at 20 weeks. I totally believe it! I feel him move all the time now. He kicks and punches constantly - more so after I eat. He also likes to curl up into a tiny ball really low in my abdomen and off to one side after I eat large meals. It's probably because my stomach takes up a lot of room and he has to move aside to accommodate my full belly. It feels so strange. Almost like a tightening sensation with some pressure. It's not the most comfortable feeling in the world, but I love feeling my baby move. If anything, its just reassuring to know he's alive and on the move.

I've been uploading baby bump pics to Instagram to track my progress. I posted a pic of my belly at 20 weeks last night and compared it alongside the photo of myself at 15 weeks. The difference is pretty astounding. I can't even begin to imagine how huge I'm going to get. Check it out:

15 Weeks

20 Weeks

Thanksgiving and the Gender Reveal

19 Weeks, 4 Days

Last week Vicente and I went to Houston to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. We landed at 7 pm and went straight to my mom’s house for the big “gender reveal” party. I had asked everyone to come wearing blue or pink depending on what they thought Baby V was and nearly everyone wore pink, except for my mother-in-law who wore blue.

My mom had pre-purchased two bouquets of balloons – one pink, one blue – so that Vicente and I could wrap the appropriate bunch inside of a giant gift bag when we arrived at the house. The anticipation was palpable when we got to mom’s house. We immediately took the bouquets upstairs to wrap them up while everyone gathered in the living room. Once concealed, we brought the balloon-filled bag downstairs and handed them over to our moms. They each took a peek inside before revealing to anyone else the color of the balloons. Their reactions were priceless. Both moms started screaming and jumping together! Then they ripped open the bag so the balloons could float out and the secret could be revealed.

Baby V is a boy! (My intuition was right all along.) We have already picked out a name: Vicente Valero, IV.

Unfortunately, we got so caught up in the moment that I didn’t get any pics of the unveiling! Anti-climactic, I know. I did, however, get a few snapshots on my iPhone after the fact.

Aside from revealing the sex of baby V, we had an amazing weekend with family and friends. Thursday was Thanksgiving; we spent the morning/afternoon with Vicente’s family and the evening with my family. It was the first time any of my extended family got to see me while pregnant, so I rocked a clingy red dress to show off the bump in all its glory. Someone else in the Childres family got to share another exciting secret on Thanksgiving day as well! My sister Ashley revealed the news that she and Nick are expecting their second baby in June! It was so sweet how Ash shared the news: “Hey everyone, we just wanted to tell ya’ll that not only is Ava going to get a new cousin next year, she’s also going to get a little brother or sister!” I’ve known about the news for quite a while, but she let the cat out of the bag since she’s already starting to show. I’m so happy that I get to be pregnant at the same time as my dear sissy. She’s only 9 weeks behind me, which will make these little cousins very close in age.

Ava and Auntie Am

On Friday, Vicente and I went over to Ash and Nick’s for some more Ava time and went out to lunch. My adorable niece Ava is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s fun to see how much she’s talking since the last time I saw her. She’s almost mastered “Amber” although it comes out sounding like Apple. Hey, it's better than my former moniker "Almo." She certainly loves her Auntie Amber and I must say, I melt like butter in her hands. Mom took V and I on a mini shopping spree later that afternoon to stock us up on baby boy clothes. Despite the store having no electricity, we successfully spent plenty of money. J

We went to dinner on Friday night with Vicente’s guy friends. They were all incredibly sweet and congratulatory. We went over to a buddy’s house after dinner and played a few rounds of beer pong (I played, but didn’t drink.) The usual beer pong smack-talking was taken to a whole new level when Seb and Dro started talking about umbilical cord sausage and placentas to try and distract Vicente and I from making our shots. Gross. Too bad for them, we still won.

On Saturday I tagged along with my bestie Ariel as she tried on wedding dresses with her mom, soon-to-be MIL and sister. That was a BLAST. I wish I could post pics of her dress choices. She looked stunning in every single one, as I expected.

Sunday was travel-back-to-Baltimore day, and here we are…back to the daily grind!

I’m inching closer to the 20-week mark, which is officially halfway through my pregnancy. It’s amazing how fast time has flown by, especially during these last few weeks. It’s like my toilet paper theory is in full effect: the closer you get to the end of something, the quicker you get through it. I don’t feel much different than I did last week or the week before, other than feeling Baby V move a lot more. He’s about the length of a banana now so I can pretty much feel every punch and kick. I also find myself getting physically tired a lot faster now that my belly is starting to hang out and pull on my lower back.

Hubby carves up the bird!

Happy Thanksgiving

On the Move

18 Weeks, 4 Days

I woke up this morning at 5 am to Baby V kicking up a storm. It's such a strange/amazing sensation. It's more than "flutters" now. It feels like tumbling and tiny pokes. Kind of like someone let a squirrel run loose in the attic.

It’s a…?

18 Weeks, 3 Days

Today we found out the sex of Baby V! Vicente joined me for our anatomical survey ultrasound this morning at 8 am. I’ve been counting down the weeks, days and minutes since scheduling the appointment more than a month ago. It was one of the most nerve-wrecking movements of my entire life. I’m not going to reveal the sex on this blog just yet. We’re waiting to tell our parents in person this week as we make our way home for Thanksgiving and don’t want to spoil the surprise. As soon as we arrive in Houston on Wednesday evening, our parents and siblings are going to meet us at my mom’s house for the “grand reveal” – or as my stepdad Van likes to call it, the “Sexing Party.” 

I’ll post pics and details about the party soon, but in the meantime, here’s a quick recap of this morning’s events:

I popped up at 5:59 am just before my alarm went off. I tend to do that when I’m anticipating something exciting that day. I quickly showered and wolfed down breakfast, then patiently waited as my sweet husband Vicente dressed and gathered up his things. Poor guy; I might have been a little impatient with him this morning as I was more-than-a-little antsy to get us out the door on time. We all know Childres women hate being late.

On the way to the hospital, I was incredibly nervous. Not only was I anxious to find out what we were having, I was worried about the health of the baby. The anatomical survey U/S isn’t just about finding out the sex of the baby, it’s to determine whether or not it’s developing as it should. My Mommy Worry is already on high alert and Baby V is still months away from being born.

The ultrasound took about 45 minutes to an hour. Baby V was stubborn and refused to change positions the whole time, although he/she did kick and punch quite a bit. The baby was lying on its side throughout the entire ultrasound which made certain screenshots challenging due to the positioning. The radiologist had to come in at the end to get a better shot of the heart because the technician was having trouble finding the major blood vessels around it. Turns out, nothing was wrong, it was just an awkward position. Our ultrasound tech was incredibly sweet though and explained what she was looking at as she scanned our little nugget. She took measurements of all the major body structures and organs. We saw a perfectly round head, the eyes, nose and mouth, all fingers and toes, and vital organs such as the heart (all four chambers included), kidneys, and stomach.

At least 30 minutes passed before she got to the tail end of the baby (aka: the money shot!) The technician positioned the wand so that we could see an underneath shot of the baby’s bottom which included the tush, the hips, and the legs. We could see straight between the legs and she asked us, “Well, any guesses?” It wasn't as easy as you'd think; it is a grainy black and white image after all. I had already done a little research prior to the appointment by Googling "girl ultrasound" vs. "boy ultrasound," so I made an educated guess. I answered, “Is it a BLANK?” Turns out, it was!

I immediately burst into tears of joy. What an overwhelming moment to find out whether you’re going to raise a son or daughter.  Vicente had a huge smile on his face and was a bit teary-eyed as well. No matter what baby V had turned out to be, we would have been thrilled. It’s incredibly awesome to finally know and be able to envision the child that we’re going to bring into this world.

Ok, enough sappy shit. I’m having a hard time holding it together while typing this during my lunch break at work. I wasn't able to keep it quiet among a few work friends, but they have been sworn to secrecy until we reveal the sex to our families. Hopefully nobody spills the beans on Facebook.

 Stay tuned to find out what Baby V is later this week! I can’t wait to see the expressions on our parents’ faces. It’s going to be so much fun!

Here Goes Nothing...

I was G-chatting with my sister-in-law Liz this morning, when she told me she wished she had kept a journal while pregnant because she barely remembers a thing. I’ve toyed with the idea before, but it always seemed like a huge commitment. Each time I attempted to put pen to paper – or fingers to keyboard – I became overwhelmed with the seemingly monumental task of chronicling every experience, emotion and sensation for the next 40 weeks. But, time seems to be flying by and Baby V will be here before you know it! Which is why today, at 18 weeks, I’m turning a new leaf and joining the tens of millions of women who call themselves “mommy bloggers.” Bleh. So here goes nothing…

18 Weeks

I had my monthly OBGYN appointment yesterday and all went well. I've gained 8 pounds since my first pre-natal appointment which was about 10 weeks ago. My total pregnancy weight gain is 13 pounds. As someone who has been thin and fit my entire life, pregnancy weight gain terrifies me a bit; maybe more than the thought of experiencing labor. (I’m sure my tune will change soon enough.) However, I seem to be on target with my weight gain and I can live with that. Normal pregnancy weight gain for a woman my size is between 25 and 35 pounds. If I can stay within that range, I’m going to treat myself to something really expensive…followed by something really high-calorie…at the end of this pregnancy.

Other updates from my latest doctor’s visit: The top of my uterus (aka: fundal height) is at my belly button. We listened to Baby V’s heartbeat on the Doppler and the heart rate was in the 140s. My blood pressure was perfect for the first time since visiting this new doctor. If you don’t know this about me, I suffer from major white coat hypertension. It stems from anxiety I have with doctor’s offices in general, but it’s always worse when I’m at a new practice. My pulse skyrockets as soon as they whip out the blood pressure cuff, and the nurses always look at me like I’m some unstable, crazy person when they take the reading. My pulse has been known to skyrocket to 120 bpm. WHAT is wrong with me?

But I digress…

This Monday is the most anticipated moment of my pregnancy thus far. We have our anatomical survey ultrasound which will reveal the sex of our Baby V! Vicente and I are beyond excited. The anticipation is killing me. I used to say I’d wait until the birth of my child to find out the sex, but then realized I’m way too impatient for that. Let’s not kid ourselves, Amber.

I’ve polled some of our friends and family on what they think Baby V might be, and a majority of them are saying boy. I had a feeling it was a boy at the beginning, but now that we’re so close to finding out, I feel that it could be a girl. I’m 100% honest when I say I have no preference either way. Here comes the cliché: all I want is a healthy, perfect, happy, beautiful child with Vicente’s smile and my green eyes. Is that too much to ask? I’m embarrassed to say I bought one of those silly “gender prediction kits” at Rite Aid back when I was 10 weeks and it clearly said boy. Too bad there’s nothing scientific about it.

I started feeling the baby move recently. It’s called “quickening” but that term icks me out. It reminds me of oatmeal or quicksand or something. The movement isn’t very pronounced just yet; it’s hard to detect unless I’m really still and actually thinking about it. But what the books say is true: it feels like little flutters. Sometimes I get some soft tapping like a leg or hand is knocking me from the inside. At this stage, the baby changing positions is much more noticeable than the tiny fetal movements.Yesterday morning at the doctor’s office, I felt an uncomfortable pressure and a tiny jab of pain in the very lower left side of my abdomen, close to my hipbone. When they pulled out the Doppler to listen for the heartbeat, they determined that the baby was right where all that pressure was. Hunkerin’ down as they say in H-town. I guess it wants to snuggle up next to my colon. Go figures. This morning when I woke up, I rolled over on my back and felt my tummy. Baby V was really high and balled up to one side. Instead of having a nice round belly, I saw an odd protrusion that looked more like a tumor than a baby bump. Sexy.

Here are some iPhone pics I've snapped along the way to document my body’s crazy metamorphosis from fit to matronly.

8 Weeks

9 Weeks

12 Weeks

14 Weeks

18 Weeks