Update

So as you can tell, time has not really been on my side since I returned to work. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged! Well Donovan now weighs 17 lbs and is 25 inches long. He can grab and hold things, as well as sit up pretty straight. He also has the nerve to get an attitude when you put him on his belly and he realizes that he's not going anywhere despite his efforts to crawl, lol. He's also has been self spoiling himself. I know that it is my fault that I started the nasty habit of him sleeping next to me at night, but now that he is getting older I have been trying to put him in his own bed...but he says differently. Last night he hollered for about forty minutes straight and would not sleep in his bed. I guess he called himself mad with me for even attempting. And I know some will say, just let him holla, he'll eventually stop and go to sleep, but it just hurts my heart when he cries and I think forty minutes was long enough!

What else can I say...I still get a kick out of seeing him do new things and he definitely brightens my day when he smiles at me. I'm not tired of him...and hopefully, he's not tired of me :)

A BIG baby

It is natural for people to stop and look at your child when you are out in the street...what I find funny is that for the past month or so, everyone has thought that my 2 month old baby is actually 6months old. For example, I was in line at the restroom where this woman was like, "wow, how cute, what is he...like 6 months"? I was like, "oh God no, he's only two, lol". She had this look like, oh damn that's a big baby....but then I went on to explain that he was big from birth, and that always seems to make it alright. Oh like how I saw one of my girlfriends and her new baby, who is a little older than Donovan. I was like, wow, he small compared to my chunky monkey...and at the time I didn't know she took offense to it, until she met Donovan and was like, "now I see why you thought my man was small...you have a whopper over there, lol" I was like, "yeah, I told ya".

And then there is the issue of his clothes. Now, when he was born, even though he was almost ten pounds, he could still wear newborn clothing. I was actually kinda proud that he could...cause it was automatically assumed that he was wearing 3month clothes when he was first born. So as nice as it was for him to wear these smaller clothes...it seems like he's skipped the 0-3 month stage of clothing. He made 3 months today...and he is comfortable in the 3-6 month stuff I have him in, and can even wear some 6-9 month clothes which just don't make sense. I was packing away his stuff that's too small so that he doesn't have to be embarrassed by wearing extra smedium clothes, and realized that he had alot of stuff that I would have loved to see him wear. Oh well....let's hope the next baby is a boy and can benefit where Donovan couldn't.

Lastly, I love shoes for myself, and I am greatly enjoying building up his shoe collection. Which, I know is pointless since his feet are going to grow super fast, but I think he looks cute in his little man shoes and sandals. This one lady told me she likes to see kids barefoot looking like country bumpkins...I was like, "not my child"... he is going to be used to wearing shoes now, so that they stay on later...I don't know why people like to have their babies outside in pj's and barefoot...makes no sense....

Pictures

Ok...so I don't carry around physical pictures of the baby, as I spoke about before, and today at work someone asked to see pictures of the baby. So I get on my computer and show her the pictures that I have on my desktop. Now, I don't know this woman from a can of paint, and she says " can you print out that picture"? I'm like "yeah". So she goes, by the way, my name is ___. I say, hi, nice to meet you, my name is Tequilla. She says, could you print out that picture for me, I would really like to have that picture..and then goes on to talk about her grandchildren. So my question is this...is it weird that a random stranger wants a picture of my son? Better yet, am I wrong for not wanting to supply her with that picture? I understand how some people just love babies and kids, etc...but that doesn't mean you have to collect photos of every kid that you think is cute. Am I being irrational? Just curious...


Oh...and my whopper is now 14lbs at 9 weeks!

Club Mom

Did you know that there is like this secret society for moms? Well, if you are a mom then you know all about it. It's like, once you pop out a little one, you join this society of women that have come before you. And they are all waiting to pull you in. Even if you don't want to, once you have a child of your own, you find yourself doing it to new moms to be. What you might ask...giving advice and swapping pregnancy stories. For example, I have three friends right now that are pregnant, and I just can't seem to stop myself from comparing pregnancy experiences. Furthermore, I can't stop from having baby talk. It's like, I know there are people that could care less about my motherhood journey, yet, the baby is like a new toy that I just want to talk about- ALL THE TIME. And even if I don't want to talk about him, he still seems to dominate the conversation. Like, if I started out talking about shoes that I like for myself, I will eventually shift to talking about how the new baby shoes I've discovered for Donovan - See Kai Run - and how there are so many shoes that I want to order him for the fall. Or how those crazy dogs of mine have chewed up yet another pair of his sandals and completely pissed me off.

But back to the club examples. We went to the doctor today for him to get his first set of shots. A lady on the elevator began talking about the baby and asked if I was breastfeeding him. I told her yes, and she started telling me about a article in a pediatric journal that explains how nursing while getting shots eases stress levels in babies and how she would nurse her daughter at the same time she was getting her shots and she didn't even flinch. Or the couple of 3 1/2 year old twins that we met at navy pier that were reminiscing about when their kids were Donovan's age. We told them how we wanted twins and they promptly told us how we didn't, lol. But this mom club crosses over into our daily lives. It is no longer about us, but our children. And its all about the products we get for our children. See, when you are without children, you can spend $100 on a pair of shoes and show them off...now you spend that $100 on a a baby bjorn and you are in style. It's crazy. I've learned so much about baby products its a shame. I actually had someone tell me that there are only two real car seats that you can buy- a Peg Perego or a Britax. Everything else is uncivilized, lol. Now, if I had $400 to shell out for a car seat then sure, I'd buy a Britax, but that's just not in my budget. Nonetheless, its so crazy how once you join club mom, it is all about the kids, nothing is about you anymore, and the new way of showing off is through your kids and not yourself...and don't read this and act like you don't show off!

Back to work...

So yesterday was my first day back to work. I knew there wouldn't be much for me to do so I took some busywork with me. Now, I assume that most mothers suffer from some type of separation anxiety once they return to work. Almost every person that saw me immediately asked how I was doing being away from the baby. They looked at me strange when I said that I was fine. The next question to follow was something to the effect of, don't you miss the baby? How many times have you called to check on him? When I would reply that I was fine and that he was doing well with his father, they looked at me like something was wrong with me. I even had a coworker look at me surprised when he asked to see pictures of the baby and I told him that I didn't have any. Does this make me a bad mother? I mean, I have him as my screen saver on my cell, but at the time I thought he was asking to see physical pictures. I could see if I had my own space where I could put up family photos to bring a smile to my face during the day, but I don't. I told my mom that I was scared to put pictures on my desk for fear that I would return and either the photos would be laying there without the frame, or the pictures and the frame would turn up missing! Sounds crazy, but it is so true. I think that the fact that Donovan is being care for by trusted persons, I don't have to worry about if he's ok, or call a million times to check on him. I was a little nervous about Francis keeping him for the first time for the entire day, but considering Francis said they had a good day, I'm fine with that. Now, had Francis called me a million times in distress, I might have different sentiments....nonetheless, we are back to work...

Mommyhood

So I haven't had the same amount of time to post blogs as I thought I would. Well, let me rephrase that, I haven't felt like blogging, because if I get down time I'd rather sleep! LOL. My little man brings me an indefinite amount of joy, its unexplainable. I have an insane amount of patience with/for him, but not for the rest of the world, which, I'm working on. But what can I say. I can see how these days go by fast. For example, he can already hold his head up and his body (as if in a crawling position). It amazed Francis and myself. We were overwhelmed with joy when we saw him smile for the first time, and even more so when he smiled at us. He has even started to try to talk (cooing) and his personality is developing. His hair has gone from straight to curly and is starting to get lighter. He still has those funny looking feet and even looks like he has a tan. I always say that's momma's baby... and he is daddy's champ. Yes, motherhood has been good to me thus far. Sure, we have those nights where he keeps me up, but that's usually when we are dealing with gas issues. And yes, I'm learning little by little to do things like keep a bib on him so that he doesn't mess up his clothes, and time his feedings so that I am prepared when he gets hungry again. But learning is half the battle, and I think I'm a good student :)

12 hour marathon

Donovan decided that he would be fussy for 12 hours straight yesterday/today. Of course, he is sleeping like no other today. We were awake since about 4pm yesterday and did not get anything that resembeled a nap until a little after 4 am this morning. Of course, when we woke up this morning I called the pediatrician, because that's just ridiculous. My initial prognosis was correct, it was gas. My poor baby is plagued by gas, which in turn is plaguing his mother, because I have yet to get any sleep between going to the hospital, etc. Aww the joys of motherhood. I had such a bad headache yesterday that my eyes hurt. I couldn't get any sleep and neither could he. Let's hope for a better night tonight :)

Yup...definitely a Whopper, lol!

5 days old

So Donovan Samuel Lopez came into this world on May 18, 2009...weighing in at 9 lbs 7.7 oz and almost 21 inches long! Francis and I went in on that Sunday at approximately 8 pm... walked for 2 hours until I was 3-4 cm dilated, and I had him the following day at 5:43 p.m. I will spare you all the horrible details of my labor, and shorten it by saying that I pushed for three hours and then had a c-section (which I felt- medications didn't work). But yes...I have been unable to blog, because I have been recovering and sleeping when he sleeps. Now..the only reason I am putting up pictures is because he doesn't look all wrinkly like most newborns...nope, my boy is a whopper that looks like he's about a month old :) He is daddy's joy and mama's angel. We couldn't have asked for anything more. Stay tuned, as time permits I think I will journal this thing called motherhood. And boy what a journey it has been so far....

The time is near....

39weeks 3days
....Or at least it seems like it. Technically we have four more days until he is due, HOWEVER, I am starting to demonstrate signs of labor. Now, whether they are pre labor or false labor, I don't know. I did have a series of contractions for most of the day/evening yesterday, and today I woke up with "show". I am going to wait until I have contractions that are 5-7 minutes apart before I call the doctor, or at least that's what I'm going to try to do unless my water breaks. Which, as a quick fact, only about 10-15% of women have their water break as they go into labor...so all that stuff we see in movies is just for show. But back to the contractions...they aren't painful, just a tightening in my stomach and pressure in my pelvis...but definitely nothing to go screaming about. I am excited that the "show" I had today resembles the "show" I read about in my book - I'm talking about the bloody show that lets you know your body is dilating/effacing. I feel great though. I'm contemplating attending the dinner and a movie with my friends tonight, and my mom is on her way to take me to run a few errands. She doesn't want me driving and having contractions at the same time. Right now as we speak my body feels like it does when that time of the month comes, but nothing more. I am going to stick to my plan of trying to labor at home for as long as possible and then hopefully by the time I get to the hospital it will be time to push. We'll see how that all works out. Originally I said that it would be nice to have the baby on my grandmother's birthday, which is tomorrow - May 17th. I might have even mentioned this in a previous blog. We'll see what the Lord wills on this one. Oh, btw, I just had a contraction as I'm typing this...I dont' forsee the baby coming past the 20th...

No Go

Well...it's Monday, and I'm blogging, which means no baby. The most I got yesterday was a few contractions, which by the way, I didn't even know where contractions until Friday. I guess Baby Lopez is telling his mother that he's gonna come when he wants to come, and no time sooner. Who knows...there are a few things that I need to get done around the house, but that notion of anxiety is starting to take over. One of my co-workers did say today that she would pray that I would at least "drop" this week...she says that I look like I'm 8 months high! I was like..hey, he is due next Wednesday, so who knows if I'll drop..plus, I may even go past my due date since most first time moms do. And that's the thing...I don't want to go past my due date. I know patience is a virtue, but anyone that knows me, knows I am not very patient. In this case I have no control over the situation so I will just have to wait. I've tried all of the old wives tales solutions to helping him come on out and still nothing. Oh well...

And yes...random strangers on the street are still telling me how I look like I'm ready to pop, how I'm due any second, not day, but any second now, and how I look like I'm having twins...even when I say there's only one in there, they ask me if I'm sure, as if I haven't had a million ultrasounds that confirm there is only one in there. I tell ya...

The Final Stretch

The final stretch it is....as of today, I am 38 weeks pregnant. I officially have a right foot that swells up often...I cannot wear my wedding band because my hands swell throughout the day, and I am officially tired. And even though I get winded easily, I am going through that nesting period, so I'm still moving around like crazy. I went to a breastfeeding meeting yesterday and was surrounded by women popping out their boobs to feed kids that ranged from 3 months to 3 years...now, don't get me wrong, and I hope not to offend anyone, but if the baby can walk and talk and wipe themselves in the bathroom, they don't need to be feeding off the nipple! I think a good year of breastfeeding should be good...but not three or more! That's just me, but we'll see.

I am also experiencing increased pelvic pressure, which I think is great, cause maybe that means he's trying to make his way out :) I am a little nervous that 50% of first time moms don't deliver until their 41st week. Which is why I called one of my girlfriends and asked what she did in delivering early. She said she did lunges and squatting for like four days before she went into labor, and she never dropped. Which is great news for me, because I haven't started dropping either. However, this whole week I've gone to bed with this notion that I am going to get up in the middle of the night and feel some contractions. So far, nothing, but I think there's hope. I guess I'm just a little nervous about pushing out a baby that the doctors say already weighs over eight pounds. That's alot of weight to come out of a small place! And as I've said before, I DO NOT want a C-section.

On a brighter note, his nursery is coming together. I had said that I wasn't going to worry about doing much to it, but we were so blessed at the baby shower that I got in the mood to decorate. So far, I must say, it looks just as adorable as can be. Francis even likes how its turning out. Too bad everything probably won't be done before the baby makes his appearance. I'm going to exercise the power of the tongue and say that Baby Lopez will be here within the next week...I'll even go so far as to say that he will be a mother's day baby. Now if I'm blogging on May 11th, then you know nothing's changed, lol.

It's not a whopper jr, but a WHOPPER!!!

36 weeks 1 day

What you might ask? Well it's not a what, its who- Donovan Samuel Lopez. My boy and I went to the doctor Wednesday to get a fetal growth ultrasound done, basically because he has been measuring kinda big for the past month or so. So once we are done with the ultrasound, the tech informs me that he is measuring 38 weeks and 1 day (granted, I just made 36 weeks that day) and he was currently weighing in at 7lbs 12oz. Do you hear that folks, he's almost 8lbs!!! He's not due for another month...babies are supposed to gain an ounce a day...so by the end of this week he will be 8 lbs and growing!!! Now that's what I call a whopper. And speaking of being called a whopper...I kid you not, everywhere I go someone has a comment about how big I am. Francis and I gave change to a homeless guy, he then informed me that he had lost his basketball and wanted to know if I had found it! I was in the supermarket and a woman told me, " you know you shouldn't be out this late" I said, "I am on my way home". She's like.."are you sure, you look like you should be on your way to the hospital!". She then proceeds to tell me that I carrying twins...after I told her it was just one, she's like, naw honey, I think there is another one hiding in there. Heck, I had a elderly lady tell me today that I probably have two in there since I'm so big and sitting so high. Funny thing is...I don't necessarily look that big to myself..it's only when I put on clothes and look to the side in a mirror, then I'm like wow...wide load coming through!

It's all good though...I was able to see my boy and I am very excited for him to make his appearance. Every time I look at his ultrasound picture, it creates a calming feeling for me, a very loving feeling. I can't wait until I can see him all the time with all his many faces that he'll make, and changes he'll go through. Most of all, I'm just curious to see exactly who he will look like.

Cankles

Cankles....you know, the place where your calf and your ankle meets...except its a cankle when you can't tell where one begins and one ends. That's what was going on with me last weekend. My feet began swelling on Thursday, and did not go down until Monday. I guess I have been doing too much walking and running around and my body is forcing me to slow down. At my regional conference, people were looking at my feet like wow...you need to sit down..I was even able to get in early for the dinner. A few Sorors said, let this one in to sit..she's pregnant and her feet are swollen...as I walked pass people and sat down, I could hear them say " yeah, they real swollen, let her through!" I don't think it helps much that I have flat feet, so they look wider anyways. But yeah..it was kinda nasty cause I could feel the fluid moving in my right foot...nasty....and speaking of nasty...look at my stretch marks for my 35th week pic...

Name that Body Part

Tomorrow I will be 35 weeks pregnant. Yup...count em, 35 weeks! 5 more to go....am I tired of being pregnant? No. Am I ready for him to come already? No. But I am starting to get physically tired. Over the past week or so I feel like I just popped out of nowhere. I look big/pregnant to myself, whereas before I didn't think I looked that big, even though everyone else reminded me that I was. But he and I are chillin...I keep telling him that we must make it to the month of May to be ok. But anyways, another thing that I hear from various moms is how when they were pregnant and the baby would move, they could see a foot print here, or a hand print there. I feel like I play name that body part everynight. As he's moving around, I still can't distinguish a head from a butt, or a arm for a leg, a foot for a hand. I cannot clearly say I saw a foot kick out, or a hand press out. He moves, but they are such smooth movements that it just looks like a cartoon when the person's stomach is grumbling. I always look down so that I can watch the movements, but they are indistinguishable. The only thing I can do is tell someone where he is in my womb and whether or not he's finished moving. So yeah, this is one more thing that we can add to the list of things that happened to other moms but not me. Never fear, I have no complaints....the worst thing that has happened to me, outside of the kidney episode, is that I have to take iron pills because of the anemia. I can handle that...I don't think I would've been able to handle some of the other factors. Oh, and by the way, I've only gained like 22 pounds over the course of the pregnancy so far :)

Why people? Why?

33 weeks 2 days...Baby Donovan, stretch marks and the partial tattoo (Sesa Woruban)

Disclaimer: This blog is a rant, and not specific to anyone, read at your own discretion.

Read to the baby, talk to the baby, play music for the baby...these are all statements that I have been told lately, and I question them. Now, don't think that I'm a bad mother...I think Donovan and I have a great agreement/relationship with each other so far, and that it will only get better. But I wonder, how does the baby know the difference in me reading to him, and me talking to the world? He hears my voice all day long, why, cause he's inside of me! So what is the difference??? What is the difference in me listening to the radio in the car, and me putting headphones on my belly? And as for talking to the baby, the only voice he responds to is that of his daddy. I can talk to him all day, say his name, etc, and nothing. Francis can walk in the door and say, hola mi muchachito, como estas, etc, and he's up and running. I know you may say that I sound jealous, trust me, I'm not. This is mamma's boy, bets believe it. But I'm just saying people, what is the difference?

Next question. Why does the outside world view pregnant women as substitute buddah statues? When random people rub on your stomach, do they think it will them bring good luck? I had someone walk up to me today, rub my stomach, and then ask me if it bothers me that random people just rub me. I replied, "yes, I am not a dog, I am not buddah, and I don't appreciate the fuzz marks you are making on my midsection by rubbing me". Now, I know that sounds harsh, and trust me, it didn't come out that mean...but if I don't know you, why would you rub my stomach? I have no problem with people putting their hand on my stomach...or me letting them feel the baby move...but I didn't like being rubbed or caressed when I wasn't pregnant, and nothing has changed since.

Lastly, darn acid reflux. For the last few nights I have suffered from the worst acid reflux. My little boy is acting up. First he disobeys and starts giving me stretch marks. Now he has me unable to go to bed at night because I feel like I need to vomit and can't. I heard a wives tale that it just means he has alot of hair on his head. We are almost done, why is he just now growing hair?!?!? We are also back to this going to the bathroom 2-5 times a night. We haven't done that since my first trimester. I'm up and on the toilet every 2 hours it seems. Not to mention I suffer from a little insomnia. But I'm not going to complain, well, not anymore. Things could ALWAYS be worse, and like I said, we have pretty much been in agreement over the past eight months. Maybe he is trying to tell his mommy to slow down. Maybe this is my punishment. Don't worry little man, mommy is listening...and thanks to daddy putting me on bedrest when I'm home, we have all the time in the world to relax :)

The African Fertility statue

So I'm at my cotillion yesterday, and one of my friends says to me, " You are all belly, you dont' even have breasts anymore!" LOL. I was like" I know right, you don't see boobs or booty anymore, and Lord knows I have alot of booty- all you see is belly". Which got me to thinking about earlier that day when I walked pass a mirror naked and said, I look like that African fertility chick. My belly is so big now that it made my booty look relatively small. Never in my almost 28 years of life did I ever think I would be saying that my butt looked flat! As my aunt likes to say, " That baby is just taking over yo body". And that he has...but what a blessing he is. And we are starting to gain weight as well...as of last Thursday, I am a whopping 184.4 lbs!!! That means that we gained 7 pounds over the last three weeks. I think I'm getting laxed because its all me...I eat just becuase now a days...even shortly after I've had a full meal. But, you know what they say, when in doubt, just say "I'm pregnant" and blame it on the baby, LOL.

It's Begun....

I've heard about it, I've read about it...but it hadn't happened to me so I didn't really think about it, and then last week it began. What you ask? The point in every woman's pregnancy when she loses her identity and it becomes all about the baby. Friends and family see you but they don't speak to you, they put their hands on your belly and start talking to your unborn child. And forbid if you have named the fetus, then that is all you hear! I went to a few gatherings last week where Donovan got ALL the attention. I know that it is not about me anymore. I know that a shift is about to occur...but dangit, he's not due for another two months! LOL! But seriously, it has begun. Baby Lopez is greeted before his mother is, even though he can't respond yet. Maybe I should start getting used to it...

They keep coming....

29weeks5days

They keep coming...what you ask? Those blasted stretch marks!!! I woke up today to find another dark one and a lighter one coming in...that brings my count to three!! My body and I are not in agreement right now (angry face). We have been doing so well these past 7 months, and now we are falling out of sync. I need to switch up my oil or something, my tummy has built up a resistance...

Last night, I saw the baby distinctly move across my stomach for the first time. It was all alien like...it was like a elbow or something that was moving/stretching from the middle of my stomach to the right side, craziness. And even crazier, that's just what it felt like..as if I took my finger and rubbed from one point to the next. More and more I'm like, "Wow...there really is something in there", lol.

28weeks3days

The final stretch

So a few weeks ago I was reading one of my baby books and it said 27 - 40 weeks is the final stretch...and they did not lie. On that Wednesday that marked my 27th week, Donovan began moving like no other...I had never felt so much movement. I also noticed my first stretch mark! (angry face) Which I am NOT happy about. I know its a part of childbirth, but we were doing so well I actually thought we would be able to pull off the whole 9 months smooth, I guess I was fooling myself :/ But yes, we are in the final stretch, and before we know it, he will be here :) I was telling Francis today about how last month I wasn't ready, but today I started thinking about how nice it will be to have the baby here...so maybe I am getting ready, gradually, for the arrival of my big boy :)

I'm not ready

So my line sister had her baby today, a beautiful baby girl, and upon hearing the news I instantly felt weird. It's like, one minute you're pregnant, and the next you're not. My whole being felt weird, like, wow, that's gonna be me in a few months. And no, I'm not ready, not at all. I totally don't mind being pregnant, I have no complaints whatsoever. I actually think I am a little scared to give birth...so it has me thinking, what am I gonna be like come May? How am I gonna react when the water breaks? I mean, I'm not going to have lamaze class or anything like that, so I'm going at it old school style like they did back in the day. No new technology methods for me, nope, just straight water break and push when they tell me to. So yeah...I'm not ready...ask me in a few months and see if my answer changes...

Is it time yet??

26 Weeks 2 Days

Someone asked me today, "Are you tired of being pregnant?" My response, "nope". And why might you ask. As I explained to my co-worker, the baby and I are chilling. I enjoy that I can feel him move around throughout the day, and he definitely is more active now. I wish I could get another sonogram to see his face, but the doctor informed us that we probably wouldn't be having another one performed unless something is wrong, so oh well to that. But I'm definitely not to the point where I'm tired of being pregnant or wish he would just come already. I need all the time possible to prepare for his arrival, and right now, I don't think Francis or I am ready for what's in store!

Side note: I think its funny that I look like one of those shrunken head dolls- you know, small head, big body, lol! I was looking at myself in the mirror today and my head is so small compared to my body right now, its crazy! HA!

But seriously, we are starting to pick up weight now. I have gained about 10lbs since October 31st...and approximately 6 of those 10 lbs came in the last month. I need to watch my sugar intake...I've been maxing some cake and coffee rolls and ice cream lately. And no, its not like I'm having cravings for these things..they have just been readily available and me being baby greedy as always, I'm just taking it while its available. But I am in no way trying to get HUGE, nor am I trying to have one of those big babies that get stuck at delivery time. If we can avoid cutting, I say we do that, ya know.

So yeah, Baby Lopez moves more frequently now, although we still keep a good bedtime schedule. I see what they say when they get so big that its like a snake moving across your stomach..but he's so fast that when I try to lift my shirt to see if I can see him moving, he just stops. So I've yet to see the movement across the belly...but I definitely feel it. Movement is good, he doesn't press on my bladder anymore and I only wake up once in the middle of the night to pee instead of every hour :)

Me no likey the doctor

24 Weeks 4 Days

So Francis and I went for a routine OB visit a few days ago to have my glucose levels screened and check the baby, etc. We get there, running late as usual, and I go to drink my sugary drink. Now, I thought it was gonna be super nasty, but it was actually ok-at first. I had the lemon lime flavor, and was like, oh, its like drinking a sprite...but half way through it I'm like, ugh, the aftertaste is killing me. I slightly wanted to vomit...and I don't think Baby Lopez liked it either. But anyways, we got through that..now we're just waiting for the results. In the meanwhile, we saw a new doctor - very nice lady- who was doing her job and trying to check the heartbeat. So she lubes up my belly and starts putting the little monitor over it and nothing. She moves it around some more to different parts and still nothing. At this point I'm like, why don't we hear anything? So as she's pressing on my belly he kicks out hard! Francis saw it from across the room like , did you see that? I guess Baby Lopez was tired of her pressing on his head or something. Frankly, I was getting kinda sore from her pressing so hard as well. So she found the heartbeat and pressed in some more while moving my belly to one side and he punched again! He was like, dang lady, leave me alone, lol. The doctor was like, wow, he's a feisty one :) I thought it was funny. He settled down once she stopped pressing the monitor on my belly.

That blasted 3 a.m urge to pee....

It gets me every morning....I get up at about 3:30 a.m. with the need to release myself...then climb back into bed and try to resume my previous position to sleep...except, I CAN'T! Stupid insomnia! For the past few days I have remained awake with various random thoughts clogging my brain and the need for sleep that I can't achieve. Donovan usually wakes up about thirty to forty five minutes later and starts kicking and moving around. Not only am I awake, but I've awaken the baby. Aint that about nothing. So then I find myself talking to him cause who else am I suppose to talk to at 4 a.m.? And what sucks even more is that I will find my self drifting off into the land of sheep, and then my alarm goes off for me to start my day! Is there no hope???? I do love feeling him kick though, lets me know he's ok in there :) I can't wait until I can see his face...I'm real curious to see what he's gonna look like. And he's gonna be a good baby, I just know it..I've spoken this into existance - I hope. But yeah..that's about all going on here... Donovan is 25 weeks and 4 days old today, pics will be posted of the belly soon (I hope), and we have a doctors appointment very soon. Our last one was full of good news..he's growing at a good rate and everything looks good so far, so as I've been telling people all day today, we've been chillin :)

I'm just a vessel...

So as I'm driving home today I begin to have the same thoughts that I've had this whole week...I'm just an incubator. My body has been invaded by a foreign being that feeds off of me. I am just an safe haven- growing, stretching, itching, and conforming to whatever shape makes the baby happy. And just to think....24 weeks ago this baby was nothing but a micro organism that has completely expanded into something that moves- yes- it moves and I can see it! Not only do I get beat up from time to time (only on Sundays in church), but I can feel him moving all across my tummy...sometimes really low, sometimes high where if I look down I see the wave. This whole idea of childbirth and child bearing is such an amazing thing. Just the whole concept of conception and all the stages up until childbirth. I really appreciate that I can now feel and see him moving though. It makes me happy and I feel a sense of joy just knowing that I am going to be the mother of a beautiful baby boy really soon. This is my little parasite (that's how the midwife once described the baby...because if I didn't give him the nutrients he needed, he would feed off of my bones, etc, to get what was necessary). Let's just say...life from here on out is going to be interesting...

Baby Abuse

22 weeks

A previous post reminded me of this past Sunday. So we are in church, and Baby Lopez (yes, he is still Baby Lopez...we will talk about that in a minute) is moving around. Now, when he kicks its usually really low and just feels kinda weird, nothing major. Today in church pastor was getting good into his message and so was the baby. The louder the pastor got, the harder I got kicked. Every time he finished a sentence on a high (loud note), bam! I got kicked. I was sitting in my seat jumping like I had sever hiccups or something! I even put Francis hand on my belly for him to feel. It was non-stop action. I don't know if he was trying to tell me something or he just got excited by pastor's voice, but whatever the case may be, it was quite the different experience. Now he's back to his regular light kicks that just feel weird. I'ma test this theory out next Sunday that he just has a thing for pastor getting all loud, but at the same token, I don't wanna get beat up from the inside every Sunday!

Oh, and the name game.... so after we found out it was a boy, Francis decides to make a compromise with me ( this was, of course, a few days later). He says " if the baby looks like me, we will name him Francis Jr, if it looks like you, you can name him, and if it looks like my brother, we will name his Samuel. Now, Francis really wants to name the baby Samuel regardless...I think we should make Samuel the middle name and choose a first name that we both agree on. I don't even have a problem with naming him Francis Samuel...that's my compromise. I am really a fan of calling the baby Baby Eli for some reason too though. I like Elisha as a first name...last night Francis told me he likes Elijah better than Elisha...cause Elisha sounds like a girl. Anyone who I say Elisha to automatically thinks I said Elijah...which could pose a problem for the baby growing up. So yeah...we still don't have a name. I asked him if we could go back over our list that we had back when we first found out we were expecting and see if anything jumps out. I fear, however, that the baby will not be named until he is in this world. On a lighter side...Francis says to me the other day, I really need to figure out what I'm going to name this baby. I said, oh really. You need to figure out what to name our baby that is coming out of my vagina? He said, yeah, that's my fatherly duty. Hmp...I don't think so!

The XY factor

So on January 2nd, Francis and I went for our possibly last ultrasound. As soon as we get in the room the tech asks us if we want to know the sex of the baby. Francis is like " Yeah, that's what we're here for! lol). Needless to say, within five minutes of us having the gel on the belly, she pronounces, "It's a boy!" and types XY with an arrow next to his pee pee. Francis smiled for the whole hour after that :) Our little man likes to move his hands alot. Francis asked the tech if he was throwing up gang signs, lol. The tech also showed us the baby in 3D....and I was like, whoa, that looks like an alien baby, not cute at all...needeless to say, I don't have those pictures. He wouldn't get into a position where she could take better pictures either...sounds like a stubborn Taurus man to me.

So we go to my grandmother's house to show her the new pictures...and pronounce the sex of the baby. When she see's the pic of his pee pee, she like, "Wow that baby has alot down there"! Francis is like..."Yeah boy, that's Lopez right there". She gives him the crazy look and we go about our business. But then other people have had the same reaction as well...in church, work, chapter, with whoever I show the picture....I'ma ask the doctor if there is something unusual about my baby's pee pee...if she says he's fine, then I guess he will just be a well endowed man ;)