Baby Vicente's Birth Story

Three Months Post Partum

Hi, world! Given the fact that I haven't contributed to this blog in months, it's safe for you to assume that yes, I had the baby! Vicente Valero, IV was born on April 15, 2013 at 1:23 a.m. It's been a whirlwind of sleepless nights, poopy diapers, and breastfeeding since then, but I've loved every single minute of it. I officially went back to work this week! It's been rough, but I'm sure I'll acclimate in due time. Before "mom brain" gets the best of me and too much time passes, I wanted to record my birth story. Without further ado, here's how my perfect baby boy entered our lives...

Due Date: April 19, 2013
Actual Birth Date: Monday, April 15, 2013 at 1:23 a.m.
Weight: 7 lbs, 8 oz
Height: 20 inches
Apgar Scores: 9 and 9

Friday before I went into labor, I vowed that I'd do everything in my power to give birth before the weekend was over. I walked for miles. I ate spicy food. I drank loads of raspberry leaf tea. And yes, I got busy, too. I awoke on Sunday morning a bit disappointed, resigning to the fact that I'd be pregnant forever. The hubs went into the lab early to get a some work done, saying that he'd return in time to take me out for a late lunch around 2. I decided to rest on the sofa until then. I started watching Sex and The City on TV and fell asleep. When I woke up, it began. Here's a timeline of events:

12:45 pm - As I sit up from my nap, I feel a pop, followed by a gush of warm fluid. Lo and behold, it's my water breaking! I'm not experiencing contractions yet, aside from those pesky Braxton Hicks I've been having for months. This is literally one of the most exciting moments of. my. life. I know without a doubt that I will be meeting this baby in the next 24 hours. I call Vicente to share the good news, and tell him to hurry home. I phone my doctor's office to let them know my water has broken. Unfortunately, Dr. H isn't on call so I'm forwarded to another doc (who would ultimately deliver my baby.) He tells me to come in to the hospital as soon as possible.

I call mom, who doesn't pick up because she's in church. I send her a text:  "Call me ASAP. My water just broke!" She promptly returns my call and gets on the first flight to Baltimore.

1 pm - I tidy up the house and finish packing my hospital bag when Vicente gets home. I'm still not having real contractions, although I do feel cramping. Vicente takes Maddie out for a quick pee and throws a few last-minute items into his suitcase.

1:45 pm - We leave for the hospital, Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Still feeling crampy, but not experiencing any painful, regular contractions yet.

Checking into the hospital!

2:08 pm - We park in the hospital garage and check into the L&D ward. The receptionist was very friendly and asks me all sorts of questions about my water breaking. She insists on taking a photo of us. At this point, I want to punch her in the face, but I oblige. (I'm so glad I have this photo now!)

2:20 pm - I'm taken back to the observation area for monitoring to determine if I'm truly in labor. Once they confirm that my water did, in fact, break and I did not, in fact, pee all over myself, I'm finally admitted. I'm 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced. The monitor shows my contractions, but there's no regularity. I can definitely feel them now, but it's only at a 2 on the pain scale.

2:45 pm - I get settled in a private room where I'm expected to labor and deliver. We're there for no longer than 20 minutes when I realize there are ants all over the place and we request a room change.

4:30 pm - Since my contractions still aren't regular or increasing in intensity, I'm hooked up to a Pitocin drip to kick-start the process. Things get real pretty fast. My pain shoots from 2 to a 7 in mere minutes. My contractions get stronger and much closer together; on average, about 1.5 to 2 minutes apart. The whole experience starts to consume me and I get a little panicky for the first time in my entire 39.5 weeks of pregnancy. Real contractions, like Braxton Hicks contractions, tighten your entire abdomen. It's not unlike a Charlie Horse that might wake you up at night. However, unlike BH contractions, labor contractions are accompanied by epic pain. Before long, I can't talk through them because I'm so focused on breathing through each peak and resting in each valley. As I'm battling through each contraction, Vicente watches the Master's on TV while texting our family with updates. Sometime during these foggy hours, I spew out an Exorist-inducing, evil-laden speech at my poor husband. Looking back, I try to feel bad for him , but I just can't muster up the sympathy. He promptly rushes to my side to do whatever possible to get me through this. And he does a great job.

5:30 pm - A sweet nurse drops by to tell me my platelet level is around 94,000 and if I want to get an epidural, I should do it before 8 pm when the "good" anesthesiologist ends his shift. She tells me the other anesthesiologist on the next shift - let's call him "evil" - has a strict policy to not administer epidurals to patients with platelet counts below 100,000. I tell myself to contact the Vatican later to have this woman sainted. Her foresight spared me a very painful, mother-earth birth. Something I just wasn't prepared for. Although I applaud women who go this route. (Remember, I suffered from a condition during pregnancy called gestational thrombocytopenia...or, low platelet count. One of the unfortunate things about this condition is that it could impact one's option to get an epidural during delivery. Apparently, it increases your risk of bleeding, and some anesthesiologists get nervous about sticking GT patients with a needle if that's the case.)

7 pm - I'm given an epidural by a man who looks suspiciously like Santa.  It only takes one stick and the epidural is in. Only half my body is numb at first, so Santa has to readjust the needle until both sides are equally numb. Life is beautiful again. I can't feel a damn thing. The trade-off is that I'm paralyzed from the waist down and can't mobilize. If I need to change positions or roll from side to side,  the nurse has to do it for me from now on.

7:30 pm - I'm  3 cm dilated. The nurse continues to increase my Pitocin dosage in 20-minute increments to help the contractions progress. Mom arrives around this time.

8:30 pm - Holding steady at 3 cm.

11 pm - Despite the numbness in lower my half, I still feel contractions, only without the pain. I also begin to feel an enormous amount of pressure down below. The nurse tells me this is a good sign. It's getting close to go time. I'm now 7 cm dilated.

11:30 pm - Vicente's parents arrive.

Midnight (April 15th) - I feel a lot of pressure and now, the urge to push. I'm finally at 10 cm! The nurse goes to fetch the doctor and Vicente's parents clear out of the room so that the pushing can begin.

12:37 am - With mom on my right and Vicente on my left, each holds one of my legs as I start to push. It's harder than I ever imagined. There's nothing one can do to train for this marathon. With each contraction, I push three times while my audience of nurses counts to 10. Aside from free divers, I have no idea who can hold their breath for this long during prolonged periods of physical exertion.

1:20 am - After almost 40 minutes of pushing, the doctor asks me if I want to feel the baby's head, which has finally crowned. With a tentative "yes?" I reach down to feel a PERSON entering into the world. Talk about an out-of-body experience. Something is attached to me, but it isn't me? I can only feel the top of his hairy little head, but it gives me the motivation I need to finish the job.

1:23 am - VV4 is born! They immediately place him on my belly and dry him off. I cry along with my baby, and the only thing I can say is,  "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." I'm amazed to look at my beautiful son's face for the first time. I love him so much that its indescribable. After a minute or two, the nurses whisk him over to an incubator in the corner of the room to run his APGARs, weigh him, etc. While he's wailing in the corner, I deliver the "afterbirth" (gross), but keep my eyes glued to that pink, squirming little bundle on the other side of the room (the baby, not the afterbirth). I keep asking Vicente and my mom to describe what's going on and what he looks like. After 15 minutes of sheer torture while I wait to hold him again, the nurse brings my diapered, otherwise naked, little boy back to his mama to enjoy some skin to skin time. These moments are pure heaven.  He latches on like a pro and nurses for the next hour.

It was a wonderful labor and delivery, but there's nothing glamorous about it. I left out the particularly gruesome aspects of childbirth (aka: blood and guts and fluids and stuff) because a woman has to maintain a little bit of dignity. All I can say is that the moment you hold your sweet baby in your arms for the first time, life is never the same. And it's never better.

Here are some pics from LABOR DAY.

Almost time to push

First family photo

My sweet angel. Eye goop and all.

Weekly Update - One More To Go

39 Weeks

I had my weekly OB appointment yesterday morning. No progress has been made since last week in terms of dilation or effacement, but the good news is that I haven't gained any weight in the past week! At this stage in pregnancy, it’s the little things that make a woman happy. My doctor said I’m not “inducible” yet, but she said that if I don’t have the baby by April 19th (the due date), she will schedule an induction the week of April 22nd. Yay! It’s exciting to know for sure that I’ll be holding my baby boy sometime in the next 15 days. Little V’s heart rate was in the 140s, and he was moving all around during the exam.

Unfortunately, my blood pressure was on the high side again, so Dr. H sent me over to L&D to be monitored and have a fetal non-stress test done. This wasn't my first rodeo, having been through the same thing a few weeks ago. I was there for about two hours while they monitored my BP, the baby’s heart rate/movement, etc. I had several high blood pressure readings until the nurses had me lie down on my left side and then all the readings were normal. Doctor's advice is to "take it easy and lay down whenever possible" - a difficult thing to do when you're still working full time. Baby V was super active and his heart rate looked great. I had several contractions over the course of those two hours, although they aren't regular and are spaced out anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes apart. These contractions are still considered to be Braxton Hicks, although they are noticeably stronger than they were weeks ago and they now have definite peaks to them vs. just being an all over tightening sensation. The nursing staff checked my platelet levels again and I'm holding steady at 97,000. We're hoping and praying that my levels stay the same so that I can have an epidural as planned.

I was talking to mom this morning about how it feels to be 39 weeks pregnant. During the past few weeks I've been feeling that labor was imminent, but now, I've almost resigned to the fact that I'm going to be pregnant forever. Haha! In all seriousness, it feels like the end is NEVER going to come. Of course I know it will, but the waiting game ain't fun, folks.

T-minus TEN Days

38 Weeks, 4 Days

Only ten more days until my due date! It's getting so close I can taste it! I'm starting to get nervous about labor. Every little twinge of discomfort I feel, I automatically think to myself, "Could this be IT?" I had Braxton Hicks contractions all day yesterday. There wasn't a pattern, but they occurred anywhere between 5-30 minutes apart for the entire span of the work day. Then I woke up twice in the middle of the night with two VERY painful contractions that must be closer to what real labor feels like. So far, my BH contractions are just an uncomfortable tightening sensation across my entire abdomen. But the painful contractions I had last night were much sharper and more intense. Almost as if I had some bad Chinese food. Anyway, all is well this morning. I told myself last night if I had more than three of those painful contractions, it must be real labor, but they subsided and I dozed off.

Vicente is in D.C. today and tomorrow attending a conference which makes me anxious. With each passing day, I feel that labor could start at any moment. If I start to notice any pattern or regularity in my contractions, or if my water breaks, I'll give V a call ASAP and he can be in Baltimore in about an hour depending on the time of day he leaves. But even once he gets into city limits, he'll have a good 30 minute drive up to the hospital. So...its not ideal, but hopefully I won't go into labor in the next day or two.

It's supposed to get into the high 80s today, and I faced quite the dilemma dressing myself for work this morning. The last time I wore warm weather clothes, I was 40 pounds lighter. What's a nearly 39-week pregnant woman to do? Answer: dress yourself in pre-pregnancy clothes and hope for the best! I'm literally popping out of this outfit. I feel utterly ridiculous. Pun intended.

Parents Weekend

38 Weeks, 3 Days

Vicente and I are coming off of a wonderful weekend with our parents! Vicente and his dad had a conference in D.C. to attend on Saturday and Sunday, and V's mom came up with his dad on Thursday to stay with us and spend a little quality time before the baby comes. As it turns out, my mom and Van had also scheduled a trip to visit us this past weekend, so we had the pleasure of hosting both sets of parents in Baltimore the very same weekend! We truly had a wonderful time and I know it's something we'll always remember.

We were secretly hoping that Baby V would come early while everyone was in town. How convenient would that have been? Unfortunately, he decided he needs a little more time in the oven, so we'll just have to wait 11 more days...or maybe less?

I was able to knock out the last of my pregnancy to-dos this weekend, which included getting a haircut, having my car emissions tested, and buying video camera equipment (courtesy of our incredibly generous parents.) I'm so happy that we now have a camcorder to capture all those priceless early moments in our son's life. I love watching home movies from my own childhood and I can't wait to give this gift to our children as well. All the camera gear is charged up and ready to go whenever we finally make our way to the hospital to greet our baby boy.

I didn't take many pics from this weekend, despite the new camera equipment (and the new iPhone I was forced to buy last Thursday because I dropped and shattered my old one.) Here are a few pics I snapped in Fell's Point on Sunday before taking mom and Van to the airport. We were walking all over the neighborhood in an effort to jump start labor. It might not have worked, but at least we were able to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather!

38 Weeks,  2 Days

Me and Mese

Comparing belly bumps with Poppy!

A Wee Bit of Progress

37 Weeks, 6 Days

I just returned from my weekly OB appointment. I've gained four pounds in one week, but it's mostly due to swelling. My doctor even said I looked swollen, and boy do I feel it! I've been suffering from some brutal carpal tunnel syndrome this past week. I wake up multiple times in the night with numb, tingly hands. In the mornings, my wrists are incredibly sore. I know it's due to the swelling in my extremities, but it just sucks. Thankfully I only have to put up with it for a couple more weeks!

My blood pressure was normal (128/84) and the fetal heart rate was in the 140s. Dr. H did an internal exam and discovered that I'm 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced! Yay! She cracked me up when she said, "I can actually put my finger in your cervix. You've made progress!" I never thought I'd be so happy to hear someone say those words. It doesn't really mean much in terms of predicting when I'll go into labor, it just means that my body is finally making physical changes in preparation for childbirth. I could go into labor as early as tomorrow, or it might be after my due date. It's anyone's guess! Van really thinks its going to be this weekend while he and mom are in town with Vicente's parents. Wouldn't that be great timing to go into labor when the whole family is here?

Dr. H ordered more blood work to check my platelet count again. She's going to call me this afternoon with results.* Let's hope and pray that they stayed the same, or even went up, since last visit. I started at 94,000, and then a week later, I was at 109,000. Dr. H said if my platelet levels drop below 70,000, there are very few anesthesiologists who would feel comfortable putting an epidural in me. She said there are some that won't give epidurals if your platelets drop below 90,000, which for me, is cutting it close. I'm really terrified about not having the option to get an epidural. It's been my birth plan all along to have an epidural, so finding out it might not be an option for me this late in the game is scary. If I had known from the beginning this was a possibility, I probably would have taken some natural childbirth classes in preparation!

Oh well. It's out of my control. All I can do is pray that my platelet count comes back normal today.

*Just talked to Dr. H and my platelets are down a little bit at 96,000. She says they're "stable" meaning the change in the last three weeks hasn't been that drastic. Let's hope they don't fall any further than they are!

Surprise!

37 Weeks, 5 Days 

Today at work, while returning from my 20th trip to the bathroom, I noticed everyone in my office congregating in the conference room. They threw me a surprise baby shower! It made my day. I'm going to miss my awesome coworkers at Planit while I'm on maternity leave. It feels kind of weird to be checking out for three months, but I'll be back in July! Luckily, everyone at work has been so awesome and supportive during this pregnancy. I just hope it's not weird when I come back.

Check out some pics from earlier today!

Weekly Update - Almost There

36 Weeks, 6 Days

I had my weekly OB appointment this morning. I was anxious to find out whether or not my blood pressure had stabilized since my last visit, and of course, I wanted to know if I had made any "progress" in the past week. Here's a quick update of where things currently stand nearly 37 weeks into my pregnancy:

• I lost a pound since last week. I celebrated this fact by enjoying a big chocolate shake with my lunch.
• My blood pressure was normal (for me). It was in the high 120s/80s; I can't remember the exact reading.
• Dr. H. ordered more blood tests to monitor my platelets, which were abnormally low at my last visit. She just called to inform me that they had gone up from 94,000 to 109,000....it's still lower than normal, but it's improving! My liver enzymes were normal as well.
• I'm not dilated or effaced (damn it!), but the baby's head has dropped significantly. She said she could feel it under my pubic bone. That explains the discomfort I've been feeling lately (ie: a ton of pressure in my pelvis.) The doc said his positioning is normal and a good sign. She said for some women, the baby's head stays really high until the due date, and then the baby has a lot further to go when labor begins. Looks like Baby V has already got a "head start."
• My fundal height is measuring 36 cm, which is what it measured last week. Dr. H said this isn't because the baby is not growing, but is due to the fact that the baby's head has dropped pretty low into the birth canal.

Sorry if this is TMI for all your blog followers. I just like to record these things so I don't forget them later. Stay tuned for more news!

Huge Relief

36 Weeks, 4 Days

We had an ultrasound this morning to check on Baby V in these last few weeks of pregnancy. I'm happy to report that it's all good news! He's right on target for his size (in the 65 percentile) and my amniotic fluid levels are where they should be.  The radiologist estimates that he's around 6 lbs, 12 ounces. If he stays in there until 40 weeks, he'll likely pass the 8 lb. mark! Big boy!

Other than learning that our sweet bun is just about perfectly baked, this was the least climactic ultrasound we've had to date. We really couldn't see much in terms of anatomy or facial features because the baby is so large now.  He was also blocking his face with BOTH of his hands the entire time, so the radiologist wasn't able to give us a take home pic. We were able to see that all his vital organs are working properly, including his kidneys, bladder, stomach and heart. He has a nice healthy head of hair as well. We also got a glimpse of the family jewels, thus confirming for the third and final time that it is, in fact, a boy. :)

In other news: WE OFFICIALLY HAVE A NANNY! I was hesitant to post anything on the blog until we were finished with our search because I didn't want to jinx things. A little more than a month ago, I connected with a new mommy via a listserve comprised of families that live in Southeast Baltimore. She posted a message saying that she was looking for another family with a newborn to join her in a nanny share when she goes back to work in July. I emailed her letting her know our situation, and we decided to meet in person. We immediately hit it off and after talking over coffee, decided that our childcare needs aligned perfectly and we'd go into the nanny share together. From there, we threw together a job description and posted it on Care.com to begin soliciting applications/resumes. We interviewed four candidates in person, and more over the phone, before deciding on the final one today. We offered her the job today and she accepted (pending a background check.) We're working on finalizing the contract as we speak and hopefully things will be signed, sealed, and delivered by this weekend. What a relief!

Bit of a Scare

36 Weeks, 3 Days

Here I am! Just days away from being considered full term (which is 37 weeks)! Can you believe it? I certainly can't. I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER, while at the same time, it seems as if it was just yesterday I got a positive pregnancy test.

Looking puffy in the hospital...

We had a bit of a scare last Thursday. It all started when I went in for my weekly baby appointment at 8:30 am. All was pretty normal. My doctor finally "checked" me for the first time. Not exactly comfortable, but I'm anxious to learn whether or not I'm showing signs of impending labor. She could feel the baby's head; I wasn't dilated or effaced yet. Baby V is sitting really low and his head is pressed right on my bladder, which is the reason for the pain I've been experiencing these past few weeks. We listened to his heartbeat and it was right on target in the 140s. They also tested me for Group B Strep, which is standard procedure for all pregnant women between 35-37 weeks. If you test positive, you have to be on IV antibiotics during labor to make sure you don't pass it on to the baby.* Dr. H estimated that he's around 6 to 6.5 lbs by now. Everything about my check-up was normal, except for my blood pressure. It was abnormally high at 140/90. It was enough for Dr. H to be concerned so she ordered some tests to rule out a dangerous pregnancy condition called preeclampsia.  She also wanted to see me for a follow up appointment on Monday, rather than wait another week to see me so that she could check my blood pressure. So, after scheduling another appointment, Vicente and I waddled down to the diagnostic center to get my blood drawn. After that, I decided it was best to take the rest of the day off from work. I was feeling very anxious from the doctor's warnings, and we both thought it would be a good day to get some rest and get me off my feet. I'm glad we did. Around 3 pm, Dr. H called me with the lab results. She said that while my liver enzymes were normal, my platelet count was low (94,000). When paired with high blood pressure, that could indicate preeclampsia, so she asked that I come into the hospital right away for further testing and monitoring of me and the baby.

Vicente and I packed up the remainder of our hospital bag and drove back up to GBMC for the second time that day. I was pretty overwhelmed. Mostly, I was worried for the baby's sake. It was scary to think that I could be induced that day if something had been wrong. Long story short, I turned out to be fine. I was at the hospital for a couple of hours, during which time the nurses took serial blood pressure readings and monitored the baby's heartbeat. Oddly enough, all my BP readings were normal, and thankfully Baby V's heart rate was fantastic. Dr. H. popped in to tell me she did not think I had preeclampsia, but she thinks I have thrombocytopenia (aka: low platelets), a fairly benign condition that many women develop in pregnancy. She ordered a fetal growth sonogram for the following Tuesday (which is tomorrow) just to make sure the baby is growing as he should, but she has no reason to believe he isn't. I'm just happy I get to see my sweet babe one more time before he's here!

*Update, I found out this morning that I tested positive for Strep B, so I'll have to get IV antibiotics to protect baby V during birth. It's very common...one in four pregnant women have it. Luckily, being on IV antibiotics greatly reduces the chance of passing it on to your little one during delivery, so God willing, everything should be OK. I guess this is one of those reasons why prenatal care is so important!

Saturday walk in Patterson Park

Trying to walk this baby right out!
Like how my jacket still  fits?

Antsy and Uncomfortable

35 Weeks, 3 Days

Who knew a 35-week baby bump made
such an awesome table?

I've been having a lot of new pregnancy symptoms in recent days. Maybe it's because I'm a month away from my due date and hyper aware of my body. Every single new sensation I feel, my brain shifts into high gear and I ask myself, is it time? IS IT TIME? Trust me, I'm in no rush to go into labor. I want Vince to stay in there as  long as he needs to in order to be fully baked.  But, I am really anxious to have him here and the anticipation is killin' me.

One thing that's new: I think the baby started to descend into my pelvis this weekend. On Saturday, I started having occasional stabbing pains in what feels like my bladder - a sensation similar to what a bladder infection can feel like. It's not constant, but it does come on suddenly and it's uncomfortable enough to stop me in my tracks. I'll bring it up with my doctor at my next appointment on Thursday, but based on everything I've read, this is likely a sign that the baby is beginning to "drop" into the pelvis in preparation for birth. It happens to first-time moms around 2-4 weeks prior to delivery. So, the timing would be just about right for me.

Also, my Braxton Hicks contractions are getting notably stronger. When I first started feeling these around three weeks ago, they were completely painless. All I felt was a tightening in my belly. While I still have similar BH contractions every day, occasionally I'll get a painful one. Like today, for example.

I'm sure these updates are super boring to anyone reading this, but I wanted to document these new feelings for myself (for future reference) while they were fresh in my head. It's nothing I'm particularly concerned about. I think it's mother nature's way of preparing me both physically and mentally for D Day.

If these are signs that labor is imminent, at least I know we're ready for it! Vicente and I packed our hospital bag last night and installed the car seat in my Honda. :)

Can I have some cheese with my whine?

35 Weeks

Photo taken at 34 Weeks, 3 Days

Well, I hit the 35 week mark today! Only 35 more days until I can hold my boy in my arms instead of lugging him around in my belly. Also, 35 more days until I can again drink the sweet nectar of life that is vodka soda with lime.

My mom is coming into town this weekend to help with last-minute baby stuff. She and Van are planning to come up to Baltimore one more time in early April before the baby gets here, but that's more to visit than to get things ready for baby. I'm only two weeks shy of being "full term" and I feel like this baby could technically come any day now. Not that Braxton Hicks contractions are necessarily a precursor for early labor, but it does have my baby radar on high alert these days. I'm just waiting for my water to break at my desk every time I feel a BH come on. This weekend, I want to get EVERYTHING else taken care of that I need to just in case baby V wants to make an early entrance. Mom's going to help me pack my hospital bag in addition to a few shopping excursions to Home Depot, Target, and Babies R Us to stock us up on everything we'll need. Sounds like a fun weekend, no? Haha.

As I look back and read my earlier blog posts, especially the one I wrote at 29 weeks, I can't help but laugh at my pregnancy journey thus far. Only now do I truly understand what it feels like to be REALLY pregnant. I waddle everywhere. I have the intense urge to pee at least once an hour...even when I don't really have to go at all. I have pinched nerves in my back that makes walking uncomfortable  not to mention some pelvic pain if I overexert myself. All I dream of doing after work is lying on the couch with my feet propped up watching HGTV or the Food Network with a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich in hand. The highlight of my evenings is when I drape myself across Vicente's lap and he rubs me until I fall asleep around 8:30 pm. Have I become a totally frumpy cliche? Maybe. But I dare anyone who hasn't been 35 weeks pregnant to judge me for it!

Word Vomit

34 Weeks, 3 Days

There's something about late pregnancy that has reduced the effectiveness of my brain-to-mouth filter. I was on my way to the bathroom at work this afternoon when a male coworker came up behind me rather suddenly and asked how I was feeling. Honestly, all I was thinking about at that very moment was how baby V's head was pressing down on my bladder and I was doing everything in my power NOT to pee in my pants. I responded rather shortly, "Fine. Just trying to make it to the bathroom without incident."

He seemed a little confused and responded: "Um, OK." Poor guy.

Anyway...

Baby Update

33 Weeks, 6 Days

Wow, I've been doing a lot of blog posting this week. Go me!

I had yet another prenatal doctor's appointment this morning. Everything is perfectly normal. I only gained 3 lbs since my last visit. Yay! My doctor said the weight gain will taper off now that the end is near. I shouldn't gain more than 5 additional pounds. My blood pressure is perfect, and the baby is measuring exactly where he should at 34 weeks. The doc pressed around on my belly and said the baby's head is definitely down, and he's lying on his side so that his butt is pointed straight up toward the top of my uterus and his feet are firmly planted into the right side of my abdomen. His heart rate was in the 150s, but it spiked to the 160s as the nurse was monitoring it due to the baby stretching and squirming. She laughed because she could see his feet pushing out on my right side. Love that little guy (who is approximately 5 lbs now!)

I asked my doctor about the frequent Braxton Hicks contractions I've been having and she said they're perfectly normal. I also mentioned the pelvic pain and she recommended buying a belly band to help support my growing bump which is putting some strain on the ligaments in my pelvis. I'll check it out, but it sounds really uncomfortable. Like, worse than Spanx.

She also asked me if I planned on getting an epidural. I said TOTES! Apparently, my doc is very liberal about administering epidurals (music to my ears) so as soon as they determine I'm in active labor, I'm allowed to get one. She said it's ideal to wait until I'm at least 4 cm dilated to get one. I'll try to hold out as long as I can so that we don't unnecessarily slow down the labor process.

She'll see me again in two weeks, and then once a week until my due date. I'm getting so excited!

My sister Ashley had a prenatal visit today as well. What are the odds? She reports that baby Emma is doing great!

Hospital Tour

33 Weeks, 5 Days

Labor Room

Last night, Vicente and I took a guided tour of the OB floor of the hospital where I'll be delivering (Greater Baltimore Medical Center.) My doctor recommended that we take the tour since we opted to skip childbirth classes. She said it would be helpful to see the hospital and the delivery rooms so that we'd know what to expect when D Day finally comes. I'm glad we went, although nothing was particularly surprising to me.

Here's how it should all go down if everything goes according to plan...

Once my contractions start coming close together at regular intervals and my doctor tells me "it's time," Vicente and I will trek up to GBMC (hopefully with mom in tow if she's in town) which is about 30 minutes from our house. We can conveniently pull into valet, or he can drop me off at the front lobby and go park in the nearby garage.  I'll get checked in and then wait until the nurse comes to get me. From there, I'll be taken to a private pre-admission room with a fetal monitor to determine the frequency and intensity of my contractions. A nurse practitioner will do an exam to determine how far along I am in the labor process and then she and/or the doctor on duty will decide to admit me if I'm in active labor.

From there, I will be taken to my own room where I will labor and ultimately deliver the baby (assuming all goes well and I don't require a C-section.) Hopefully I'll make it to the hospital with plenty of time to receive an epidural. I don't see the point in experiencing the excruciating pain of childbirth when there are perfectly safe options to help moms cope with the pain. Although I 100% respect other people's decisions to go with natural childbirth. I can have up to four visitors in the labor and delivery room with me at a time, even when I start pushing. However, I only want V and my mom in the room when that intensely private time to push finally comes. My knees started shaking when I was in that room just thinking about what the whole experience is going to be like. EEK.

Once the baby is out, they'll take him to an incubator in the corner of the room to weigh him, suction out his mouth and nose, give him a shot of vitamin K, perform the Apgar tests, and put some gel on his eyes to protect them from infection. Then they'll bring him back over to me to hold and snuggle while the doctor works me over. I'll recover in the same room for about an hour, and hopefully the baby will be happy and healthy and we can keep him with us during that time. I learned that I get to breastfeed in that first hour after delivery, should I choose, and I'm really excited about that. I have no idea why, but it seems like such an incredible bonding moment. I'm getting all teary eyed just thinking about it.

From there, I'll be wheeled down to another private room where I'll spend the rest of my hospital stay. Baby V will be pushed by his daddy down to the nursery where he'll get worked over my the nursing staff. That's when he'll get his first bath, have his footprints taken, get some blood drawn and have his first vaccination. I'm sure a lot of other stuff goes on during that time, but they didn't get into the details. Once the nurses are done making my baby cry, they'll bring him back to our room where we can have him "room in" with us for as long as we want. Some new parents prefer to keep their baby with them the whole time, while others ask to send the baby to the nursery so that mom can get some rest after the exhausting labor experience. At this moment, I want the baby to stay with us in the room, but I'm not firmly committed to that because I have no idea how I will physically feel in the moment.

So, that's that! I should only have to stay in the hospital for 1-2 nights if all goes well. I'm starting to get pretty anxious about the whole thing, but I feel a lot more prepared now that we took the tour!

That Awkward Moment When...

33 Weeks, 4 Days

So...a really awkward/slightly amazing thing happened to me about an hour ago. I walked next door to a my favorite local deli to grab lunch (a tuna melt, in case you were curious) and as I was waiting in line to pay, a respectable-looking man walks up to me and says in a loud voice:

"Can I just say you look absolutely amazing?!? I was just telling my buddy here that you are by far the sexiest pregnant woman I've ever seen."

I subsequently turned 50 shades of red. Inappropriate? Yes. Awesome? Yes.

While I would normally frown upon public displays of sexual harassment, I gotta say, this one is an exception.

I certainly DON'T feel sexy these days. Yes, I think pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but it doesn't really make me want to shake my tail feather all over town. Right now, I feel like a planet. And just to give this guy's sexy comment a bit of comical context, check out this photo I took last night. Sexiest pregnant woman you've ever seen? I'll let my husband decide. LOL!

Oompa Loompa Doopity Doo...

33 Weeks, 3 Days

View from the top

Not much to share today other than this incredibly ridiculous "selfie" shot that I took last night before getting into bed. My feet are almost completely obscured by my enormous belly bump nowadays. Unfortunately, it makes it difficult to enjoy my colorful pedicures. FYI, my feet don't always look this red. I had just gotten out of the bath about 15 minutes prior to taking this photo. Multiple Facebook friends have pointed out that it looks like I have Oompa Loompa feet. Ha! True that.

Vicente and I didn't do much this weekend other than relax and enjoy some quality time together. Friday night,we went to our favorite dinner spot, Salt, with Jess for some delicious grub. I ordered two appetizers for dinner since I can't seem to fit a full entree into my oppressed stomach these days. Saturday, we went to the mall and waddled around for a couple hours. We ordered pizza in for dinner and finally watched Argo. Good stuff. Sunday, I got a pedi and washed all of Baby V's bedding, towels, washcloths and blankets. I'm saving the layette laundry for when my mom comes in town again in a couple of weekends. She's much better at laundry duty than I am, and I'm afraid I'm going to shrink and ruin all of little Vince's expensive new clothes.

This week, I continue my search for nanny candidates in tandem with the other new mommy I found online. We're currently using Care.com to advertise our job description and have received several applications from various candidates, but only a couple of those are worth exploring further. I'm trying to set up some additional phone interviews this week, and hopefully we can all get together before the week's end for some in-person interviews. Wish us luck!

Braxton Hicks

33 Weeks

This week, I started to experience Braxton Hicks contractions. Up until this point, I've had maybe 3 or 4 random contractions spread over a couple weeks, and usually during the night. However, I woke up on Wednesday morning experiencing a tightening sensation in my belly, which continued throughout the entire day. At first, I thought it was the baby getting into a really awkward position with his butt pointed straight out. When I looked down at my belly during one of these episodes, it looked pointy and was as tight as a snare drum. There wasn't any pain associated with the sensation, it was just uncomfortable. Anyway, all day at work on Wednesday, I felt the contractions occur 2-3 times an hour. I was so busy that I wasn't able to time them, but I knew they were Braxton Hicks so didn't think to call my doctor. By 4 pm, however, I figured it wouldn't hurt just to call her and let her know what was up. I spoke to the nurse practitioner, who paged the doctor on call. As soon as the doc called back, she advised me to go to the hospital just to make sure it wasn't pre-term labor. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that her advice wasn't to go home, lie down, and drink some water. I'm not a drama queen and felt that a hospital visit was a bit unnecessary. But it's always wise to follow doctor's orders. And since this is my baby's health we're talking about, I decided not to play around. The doc said sometimes during the third trimester, Braxton Hicks can be difficult to differentiate from pre-term labor, and if it was pre-term labor, there are things they can do to stop it if you haven't already progressed too far.

So, around 4:30 pm I ducked out of work and drove to Greater Baltimore Medical Center to get checked out. I called Vicente and my mom on the drive up there, and told them not to worry. V was so sweet and said he was going to walk and feed the dog in case this was the "real deal" and he'd meet me up there.

I checked in and was immediately hooked up to a fetal monitor. (I assume this is the room I'll go to when I'm truly in labor to determine what stage I'm in, etc.) I instantly heard my little guy's heart pounding away in the 150s, which was reassuring. I had some belly discomfort right when I laid down on the hospital bed, which was reflected on the fetal monitor, but it didn't look like a typical contraction. The nurse said that was just some cramping of the uterus that is a normal part of pregnancy in the third trimester. In the hour I was hooked up to the monitor, I did have one contraction, albeit a small one. It was validating to know that I was, in fact, experiencing Braxton Hicks and that it wasn't just fetal movement or gas or something else embarrassing. The nurse practitioner checked me out in my nether-regions and determined that my cervix had not dilated, so that was all good news.  After about 1.5 hours of being monitored, the doctor determined that it wasn't pre-term labor, just normal Braxton Hicks contractions, and I was free to go home!

What a relief.

The whole experience put things into perspective. Baby V could technically arrive any day now. One of my to-dos this weekend is to start packing a bag for the hospital. While we don't want the dude to come until I'm at least 37 weeks when he's considered full term, it's never too early to be prepared. I get that from my mama. :)

Since Wednesday, I've continued to feel additional Braxton Hicks contractions, but not as much as I felt that first day. They seem to come along in the late afternoons and early evenings.

I have my next doctor's appointment on Thursday next week, and then I start going in once a week until baby arrives. Time is flying by, y'all! In a matter of seven short weeks, I'll have my sweet baby boy in my arms. It all feels so surreal.

Now here's a picture that has nothing to do with this post. We hung the FINAL piece of the nursery puzzle last night: adorable ABC artwork that we placed over the changing table. Love how the colors tie in so well with the funky rug.

Baby Shower Roundup

32 Weeks, 3 Days

Check out how pregnant I am (at 32 weeks, 1 day)!

Not much is new on the pregnancy front other than being HUGE and uncomfortable. The baby is moving so much these days and gets the hiccups at least 5 times a day. His kicks and punches are so forceful that at times, I double over or cry out "OUCH" when I feel a sudden jab. I'm not complaining though. I'd much rather him be an active little monkey than too quiet in there. Also, I'm having some, ahem, pelvic pain, which is difficult to describe. I don't want to get TMI on you guys, but it feels like somebody punched me really hard in my lady parts. I read that as the pelvis readies itself for the delivery process, sometimes the ligaments can overstretch and it can be uncomfortable on mommy-to-be. Damn straight! I plan on telling my doctor about it at my next appointment, but from what I've read online, it seems to be normal. Lovely!

On a lighter note, I had the most wonderful weekend! Mom, Ash and Vanessa all came into town for my Baltimore baby shower. It was a total blast. Since I never posted any photos from my Houston shower, I thought I'd make today's post a round-up of photos from each shower. A special shout out to my mom and sissy for hosting my Houston shower, and to my dear friend Jess for hosting the Baltimore one! Everything was absolutely lovely and I feel like the luckiest gal in the world to have people care about me and this baby so much. Check out some highlights:

Houston Baby Shower - January 12, 2013

Darling Ava Grace and Mese

Aunt Barbara

Adorable centerpiece

Me and the MIL

Preggo Sissies

My lovely sisters-in-law

Valero/Lozano Clan

Lizzie and Alex

Baltimore Baby Shower - February 23, 2013

The Childres Chicks

One of the world's greatest sister-in-laws!

Mommy and Daddy

Jess, the hostess with the mostest!

Precious decor to match the circus theme of baby V's nursery

Anne Marie and Me

My favorite ladies from Planit

Vicente joined us to help open gifts. Check out these baby TOMS from Jess!

I also finished Baby V's nursery this weekend. Mom told me where to hang stuff, and Vicente did all the manual labor. It looks absolutely beautiful and I'm so happy with my choices. Of course, none of it would have been possible without the generosity of our parents, family and friends who contributed to the room with their lovely gifts. See for yourself how everything turned out:

Nesting and Such

32 Weeks

Well, I'm currently eight months along and have eight more weeks to go! I feel a bit like Thomas the Tank Engine, both in size and personal mantras. "I think I can, I think I can!" I'm happy to be near the final stretch, although I'm sure time will seemingly stand still now until the delivery.

This week was a productive one in terms of nesting and exploring childcare options. We hired a painter to spruce up our common living areas and give the guest room/nursery a makeover worthy of any stylish baby boy. Vicente and I plan to buy a house when Baby V is around 6-9 months old, but since we agreed to stay in our cozy city rental a bit longer, I thought it needed a little face lift  The combined living/dining room is now a beautiful taupe color that makes the space feel much warmer. The walls were painted a hideously cheap white color, and after three years of wear and tear, they looked miserable. The former office will now serve as the baby's playroom (complete with changing table, baby swing and rocker) since the nursery is too small to fit anything other than the twin guest bed, the crib and a tiny dresser. We had that room painted the same color as the first floor. Of course, we painted the nursery blue. I just couldn't resist. Everything turned out beautifully, and I'm so happy we decided to hire someone to do it for us. I would have botched every aspect of the job. I'm so uncrafty it's scary. Luckily, our landlord is splitting the cost with us so it wasn't that bad on the wallet.

Check out the pics:

 

 


The plan is to hang the wall decor this weekend while my mom, a fabulous self-taught home decorator, is in town to help. I attempted to hang curtain panels in the nursery last night while Vicente was at a hockey game, but that turned out disastrous. I dropped a curtain rod and shattered the glass finials...so I guess it's back to Target during lunch today. It's probably best that I had to stop the installment before I started. Preggo + ladder = bad idea.

My awesome friend Jess is throwing me another baby shower in Baltimore this weekend for some of my gal pals in the area. I'm so excited! I know she's put a lot of work into it, and I can't thank her enough for doing this for me. As I already mentioned, my mom, sister, and one of my sister-in-laws are coming into town tonight for the shower. Yay family! I'll do a better job taking pics at this shower than I did at my last one in Houston. Stay tuned.

Let's see, what else happened this week? My bestie Ariel decided to get married in Santa Barbara in July, which happens to be three months after the baby is born. After much debate, V and I decided to make her wedding weekend our post-Baby Moon and leave the little one in Baltimore while his abuela Maritza takes care of him. I already feel a bit guilty about it, but he'll be three months old by then and I'll probably relish a weekend  alone with my hubby. I ordered my bridesmaid's dress yesterday and had a bit of a dilemma trying to figure out what size to buy. Obviously, I can't waltz into a Bella Bridesmaids store to get my measurements taken, seeing as how I'm currently a heifer with a watermelon for a belly, so I had to guess what size I'll be by the wedding. I'm typically a dress size 2, but I usually order a 4 in bridesmaids dresses since you can't add fabric, you can only take it in. However, I decided to up the ante to a size 6 to accommodate my Dolly Partons. The body of the dress is flowy, floor-length and chiffon, so it should hide any remaining belly I might be holding onto at that time. I hope it fits!

Lastly, I have a pretty solid lead for a potential nanny share situation. I met a new mommy online who had a baby in January. She's heading back to work in April, and is currently vetting nanny candidates. She's looking for another family to share her nanny with -for cost and developmental benefits for the babies - and it just so happens that we are looking for the same thing! The plan would be for me to join her nanny situation in July when I head back to work. We've been going back and forth via email and we seem to have a lot in common. We're meeting in person on Sunday and if all goes well, which I'm sure it will, we'll start interviewing nannies in person together. I actually have a phone call to vet my first nanny candidate today and I'm inexplicably anxious. I hope she's not a freak.

Wish me luck.

All Quiet on the Western Front

30 Weeks, 5 Days

I had my monthly baby doc appointment this morning at GBMC. It was pretty uneventful - not that I'd want it to be any other way. Dr. H. gave me a clean bill of health, per the usual. My blood pressure is awesome, my weight gain is on track, and my blood work from the last visit came back negative for diabetes, anemia and syphilis (there's a shocker...jk!). My fundal height measured 32 cm, which puts baby V on target, albeit a little bit large, in the size department. I learned today that a woman's fundal height should match up with the week of her pregnancy (30 cm at 30 weeks, 31 cm at 31 weeks, and so on...) It's not an exact science, but if it was, that would make baby V about a week older than we originally thought. Dr. H. said baby V is about 4 lbs and two weeks from now, he'll be 5 lbs. Big boy! When the nurse was trying to find his heartbeat this morning with the doppler, he kept wiggling around and she would lose the heartbeat. She laughed at how active he was, and when she finally clocked his heartbeat for a solid 5 seconds, it was right where it usually is in the 150s.

I now tip the scales at 150 lbs. That means I've gained 4 lbs since my last visit, 22 lbs since my doctor has been tracking me at 8 weeks, and 30 lbs total since I found out I was pregnant at 5 weeks. For the past three months, I've pretty much gained a pound a week on average, although my doctor expects it to slow in the last month of pregnancy. I'm within the normal weight gain range, but it's still a bit shocking to be in the 150s when I've been in the 120s since 8th grade. Oh well. 'Tis the life of a preggo woman!

Some other random pregnancy-related things I learned today:

• My doctor doesn't like her patients to go more than 7 days after their due date, so she would recommend inducing me if I was that late. 
• Dr. H. performs circumcisions on baby boys the day after delivery, which she said is her least favorite part of her job. I laughed. 
• Zantac is totally safe for pregnant ladies, thank God, and my doc recommends taking 75 mgs twice a day to relieve my ridiculous heartburn. If that doesn't work, I can up the dosage to 150 mgs. 
• Fetal hiccups are super common and completely normal, even when they occur more than 10 times a day as in my own experience. 
• It's a possibility that the umbilical hernia I was born with and had repaired as a child may rupture as my belly expands, but there's nothing I can do about it while pregnant so we'll deal with that if it happens.
• I should start feeling Braxton Hicks contractions more often now that I'm a couple months away from delivery. I've already had about 4 or 5 contractions in the last couple of weeks, which is to be expected. It isn't painful yet, just uncomfortable. My entire uterus tightens into a hard ball for about 15-20 seconds, then stops. My doctor said if I feel more than 5 or 6 within an hour, to lie down, drink some water, and call her. But, anything else is completely normal.
• I scheduled my next appointment for three weeks from now, then my doctor wants to see me two weeks after that, and then once a week until my due date.This shit is starting to get real, y'all!

Vicente is currently at the house negotiating with a painting company, who hopefully can start painting the nursery tomorrow. Why aren't we painting it ourselves, you might be asking? Because we're lazy and would rather pay professionals to make it look pretty. Once that happens, we can hang artwork, shelves, and put the final touches on the baby's room. I'll post pics once that happens, but here's a little preview of one-half of the "nursery suite."

Proud Daddy in the "playroom."
Note that we're using the ironing board to keep Madison off the baby floor
until we get a more practical baby gate.

My adorable niece, Ava, who is going through a Minnie Mouse phase.
Perfection, no?

Technology is "Nuts"

30 Weeks, 3 Days

Yesterday, Vicente and I did something incredibly cool. We visited an ultrasound clinic called Little Bo Peep to get a sneak peek of Baby V before his April debut. This "clinic" is one of the only places in the Baltimore area offering 3-D and 4-D ultrasound services by a registered diagnostic medical sonographer. It's an out-of-pocket expense, but totally worth it if you're anything like me and anxious to see how your baby is growing and developing in utero. My doctor told me several weeks ago that I wasn't going to have any more ultrasounds during my regular check-ups unless something went wrong, God forbid. I had heard of ultrasound clinics like Little Bo Peep before, and figured it would be worth it to pay an extra $100 to see baby V one more time before his birthday. I'm SO happy we did it!

Our ultrasound tech was cute as a button and so enthusiastic about the whole thing. She spent about 15 minutes capturing some priceless images and video footage of Baby V. We got to see his perfect little face, his hands and feet, and the family jewels to confirm that he is, in fact, a dude. I was amazed at how much he looks like his daddy. He definitely has the prominent Valero nose and Vicente's upper lip. Baby V was pouting a lot during the ultrasound, likely due to the invasion of his privacy. Luckily, he gave us a smile or two. So adorable I could die. We saw him opening and closing his mouth like a little guppy, and reaching for his toes with those tiny little hands! What did people do without this kind of technology!?!

I uploaded the ultrasound video to Youtube for easy viewing. Check out our perfect little prince, Vicente Valero, IV! (Disclaimer: video might make you cry.)

Sneezing While Pregnant

29 Weeks, 4 Days

Now that I'm comfortably (or should I say uncomfortably?) into my third trimester, the pregnancy symptoms I had hoped were a thing of the past are coming back to haunt me with a vengeance. Case in point: extreme fatigue. During my first trimester, Vicente teased me about my chronic fatigue, saying that I must have contracted the African Sleeping Sickness (a parasitic disease endemic to Subsaharan Africa that is transmitted via the lovable tse-tse fly.) All I wanted to do in those first 12 weeks of pregnancy was sleep.  Luckily, I regained my energy in the second trimester, only to lose it again the moment I hit 28 weeks. Oh joy.

Another symptom? Breast growth! As a woman who was already enjoying a healthy C-cup prior to pregnancy, I wasn't really begging for a more bountiful bosom as some of my smaller chested counterparts do. Frankly, I was shocked and even a bit awed to find myself jumping up THREE cup sizes in the first trimester. I was praying to God Almighty that the growth would slow down after the first trimester, and it did....but only for a few weeks. Now the boobs are starting to take over my body. I think they're jealous that my belly has surpassed them and they're now playing catch up. I assume the growth is due to the fact that I'll soon be a milk factory, but let me just say I'm not a fan. There's got to be a flip side to these Dolly Parton-esque breasts. Because let me tell ya, being ogled at by every man walking the street isn't one of the perks (no pun intended). I better have one healthy, chubby little baby who never cries because he's hungry at the end of all this. I'm certainly not going to trade in my career in PR for a career in porno.

I've also been suffering from a whole new pregnancy symptom since I hit the third trimester: RAGING heartburn. Unfortunately, I've always suffered from heartburn as an adult, but with some minor modifications to my diet (bye-bye cranberry vodkas) and a regular dose of Zantac prior to red wine binges and steak dinners, I could deal with it. Pregnancy heartburn, however, is a whole new beast. Obviously I'm not drinking wine or cranberry vodkas these days, but I still get the raging heartburn every day around 4 pm like clockwork. I keep a giant tub of Tums on my desk at work to help me deal. I expected to get heartburn, but I never imagined it could be this bad. It feels like battery acid is splashing into my throat. The burning is so intense it brings tears to my eyes. I can totally sympathize with fire-breathing dragons these days.

But enough complaining. Some of the joys so far from my third trimester? I can tell which end is what now that baby V is approximately three pounds (the size of a butternut squash). His little round head prefers the left side of my body, and his feet are usually firmly planted into the right side of my abdomen. He also gets the hiccups at least three times a day, which I utterly adore.

29 Weeks, 3 Days

PS: Sneezing while pregnant sucks. It's painful and I feel like I'm going to pop a hernia or pee on myself every time I do it.

PPS: I have a friend who grew up in Denmark who told me this weekend that Danish people call pregnant women whales...and it's not deemed an insult. I'm so glad he didn't ask Vicente how the old whale was doing. I might have punched him in the face.