A Baby Shower!

Today was my shower. It was a lot of work to prepare for and I really needed some me time so I went in to my nail salon for some pampering. I got my nails done as well as a pedicure and my eyebrows waxed. It felt nice to take some time out for me. When I got home, everything was ready to go. We just had to wait for the guests. There was a small turnout with people trickling in, but very nice. My aunt and uncles both came which was a huge surprise. I was very happy to have family there. Unfortunately, Esteban had to work. He called as said he would be late, but was unable to stay very long. I was very sad because I wanted him to be there too, but I tried to understand.

There was so much food. I am surprised we got it into the fridge afterwards. (Actually, I’m still wondering what to do with the food in the fridge.) The cake was gorgeous and had the prettiest little cake topper on it. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. We played some baby shower games and cut the cake before the first guests had to leave and jumped straight into the presents. Everything was so pretty and new and girly. We received all kinds of little necessities and quite a few registry items. It was a great mix. I was very thankful.

Unfortunately, Jayden woke up from his nap and was taken by surprise with the number of people (strangers to him) in the house and cried for what seemed like hours. I had to carry him for quite a while and my arms were getting numb. He sat on my lap while I tried very hard to open the last of the presents. Finally, when he saw the other kids were playing and having fun (with his toys), he decided to go play. He really ended up having a lot of fun and I was thrilled. My aunt stayed with the kids in Jayden’s room while we entertained in the living room.

Most of the guests left pretty quickly. I wasn’t surprised. It was just after lunch and it was a beautiful day. Everyone had lots going on, especially since it was Saint Patrick’s Day today. Thankfully, my girlfriend stayed with her family and so did my aunt and uncles. They helped clean up, organize, pack the fridge and take out trash. They also moved the furniture back into place and moved all the gifts into the spare room. Good thing too because Jayden was starting to take an interest in the bags and bows and the all the tissue papers inside. My uncles even took Jayden for a ride around the block in his red wagon. Except for the streamers that are still hanging, there’s nothing left to do now, except sort and organize the gifts and work on Thank You notes.

36 Weeks (9 months)

Today was my check in at the OBGYN. I am going on 36 weeks, so that leaves just 4 weeks to go. We have been keeping busy preparing for the baby's arrival. So far, we pre-registered at the hospital. We’ve got the car seats and the bassinet down from the attic. The bassinet was cleaned and stocked so it's ready to go. We also got the toddler bed for Jayden. We just need a mattress. I still have to pack my hospital bag, but I guess we are making progress.

Now for my stats! My weight was at 216 which is up one pound from my last check up 2 weeks ago. The baby’s heart rate was at higher than normal, at 160. She is head down, but hasn't dropped yet. The doctor agreed to do the ultrasound next week, to check the baby's weight etc. He mentioned he'll be out of town from the 22nd through the 26th so as long as the baby doesn't come early, we'll be all right. This visit was the dreaded vaginal exam, where they do the culture. I felt like I spent more time getting ready for my visit than I did for my first date with my husband.

As agreed, the doctor discussed vasectomy as an option. Esteban didn't say much of anything so I asked him if he understood and he said yes. I asked him if he knew what a vasectomy was and he said yes (kinda). The doctor explained more about the procedure and said that the recovery time was less for a man and that it was a less invasive procedure than for me. The doctor mentioned that if I needed a c-section then it would make sense to go ahead and do the tubal ligation, but otherwise it would be best for him to have it done. We haven't had a chance yet to talk about it though because he went to work straight after the appointment. We'll see what happens.

Pigs on the Pond

Today, we took Jayden to Pigs on the Pond. I was so excited. The timing was perfect. Jayden took a great nap and then had a huge lunch. Daddy came home from work, we got dressed and left. We had such a great time. I took Jayden to last year’s Pigs on the Pond, but he was little and couldn’t go on any rides. We found out that there were only two rides that Jayden could ride on, but I was fine with that so we bought our tickets.

One was the Merry Go Round. It would be Jayden’s first time on a real ride, besides those little machines at the supermarket. But Jayden did not seem to like it very much. He would not stay put on the horse, and tried to get off. There wasn’t a seat belt so I was holding on to him for dear life. When it got going, he was ok though. I think the ride was going around pretty quickly so it was hard for him to spot daddy in the crowd but when he did, he would smile. We snapped our pictures and moved on.

Here's Jayden on the merry go round:

Here's Jayden after the ride was over:

The second ride was a slide, but it was way too high. I would not have gotten on this ride myself, let alone with Jayden. We decided to skip it and use the spare tickets on the Merry Go Round later in the evening. The ride area was super congested and since it was later in the evening, many of the families were going and the high school kids were starting to hang out so we decided to make our way back to the stands and kiosks.

I then started my quest to eat as much fair food as possible. First, I went looking for funnel cake. I finally found them and they were huge. Yummy, but super greasy. I could not finish the whole things but luckily Jayden and Esteban helped me finish it off. I was eyeballing the candied apples, but decided to wait when I spotted corn on the husk. There are tons of stands. Which one did it come from? Pigs on the Pond started as a BBQ contest, so you can imagine how many food stands there were. Poor Esteban was joining every queue line I sent him too and then I would go and get him and tell never mind, I don’t want this or that anymore. Finally, we gave up.

We went back to the Merry Go Round. Jayden liked it even less the second time around, even though he was riding with Daddy. Poor guy! My darn camera’s batteries went out and I was unable to get a decent picture so I snapped what I could with my camera phone and we headed back to the food stands.

Here's My boy:

We settled on getting sweet corn fritters with mozzarella cheese because we had no idea where the delicious hot dogs were coming from. Afterwards, Esteban went off to dispose of the trash and disappeared into the crowd. There was only one thing he could be doing. Bingo, he came back and had found the stand selling the corn on the husk. Yes! We head that way. Lucky for me, I had my folding chair so I sat off to the side with Jayden. It was a long wait too, but well worth it. We got the corn plus pulled pork sandwiches.

By now, we were both super full. No more room for candied apples or cotton candy. Oh well. It was a great night. Good exercise. Great company. The weather was awesome. There was a great breeze blowing off of the lake. We couldn’t ask for a better family night out.

Number Twelve!

Yeah! It’s time to add #12 to the list. “Hi!” Well, it sounds more like eye, but I get the point. So guess what that means? Whenever he picks up a new word, he drops another. I haven’t been able to get him to say bye-bye for me in a few days now, but he will say hi when I say hi, usually to others on the phone or on the street. If I look at him and say hi, he doesn’t say a peep. I’m still waiting for the day when he starts to use words more regularly. For now, I’m thrilled with #12.

A Day at the Park, Right?

We were supposed to go to Babies R Us to get Jayden a potty chair, but when Esteban came home, he said he wanted to go fishing. So I packed Jayden’s baby bag and we were on our way to the lake in Downtown Clermont. On the way there, I asked Esteban if he had packed a chair for me to sit in and he didn’t. So instead, he went on to the pier to fish and I took Jayden in the stroller for a walk. The pier is on an exercise trail that stretches for miles and I remembered that down the trail, there was a playground area so off we go.

As I look back now, I’m thinking it must have been about a mile to the playground, but at the time, I thought it was doable. Jayden was fidgeting because of course he wants to run all over the park, but I am in no condition to chase him on such a long walk so I leave him in the stroller. Then we came up on the area where the carnival is setting up for this weekend’s Pig on a Pond. Jayden was completely still during this time as he looked and listened to the all the men setting up the rides. Finally, we made it to the playground.

It’s so beautiful there. There’s a beach area, two swings, a playground and a basketball court and it’s directly in front of the lake. I sat Jayden in the swing facing the lake. There was another couple there with their son and while he was in the swing, his parents were tossing a football around. Jayden was completely entertained. He was even cheering them on. I pushed him on that swing until I was too tired to go on. Plus, the sun was starting to set so now came the fun part.

I have to remove Jayden from the swing. He screamed his head off. I could not console him and could barley get him into his stroller. He didn’t want his blanket, but I put it on him anyway because the temperature was dropping. He didn’t want his bottle either. He cried for a good 10 – 15 minutes. I had already started the trek back, but I was so tired by now. I could see people passing me by. They were walking, running, rollerblading, skateboarding, etc. Some of them passed me up several times. But that’s ok ‘cause I wasn’t racing.

I started to get a lot of Braxton Hick’s contractions, but I was trying to be discreet so I would pretend to stop the stroller and check on Jayden so I could rub my belly. It was starting to get darker and there were a ton of bugs out. Where was my husband? Wasn’t he worried? I couldn’t’ believe he hadn’t come looking for us yet. I was trying to push ahead, but the more tired I got, the slower I walked. Soon, it was completely dark out and the light posts were on. I could see the pier up ahead, but it seemed so far away. I could make it, I told myself. Finally, I see my husband almost running toward us. Apparently he had finished fishing, packed up the car and sat down to wait on us. When he saw that we were no where in sight, he decided to come out and look for us. We lost all track of time. That’s what happens when you don’t carry your cell phone, right? Well, he grabbed the stroller from me and it was amazing how that gave me the strength to keep moving. That was definitely a much longer walk than I should have taken by myself. What was I thinking?

A Big Boy Bed!

Esteban picked up a toddler bed for Jayden yesterday and put it together today. We re-arranged the furniture and I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely everything fit. I really didn’t want to get a toddler bed. I’d hoped to go straight to a twin bed, but since Jayden will be sharing a room with his sister, and the room is so tiny, I thought it would be best to go with a toddler bed since it would take up less space. Jayden immediately ran to it and climbed on. He was so happy. Then he climbed off and got his toys and ran back. I could tell he would take to it right away.

Now its 8pm and time for nighty night. I change Jayden and put him in bed. I give him his sippy cup and sit in the rocker to read him a story. He’s entertained and just lays there listening and drinking his milk. As I’m about to announce the end of the story, he gets up out of bed. I gently said, No. Night Night. I put him back in. I go to the kitchen and he follows me there. No Jay. Night night. I put back in. He gets out a third time and I say, Night Night Jayden. I put him in bed, tuck him in and give him a kiss. Inside, I’m dying to laugh, but I keep a serious look on my face. This time, he stays put. I go back to baking cookies. Esteban comes in after walking Rio and of course, Jayden gets up and runs to daddy. Have I mentioned before how spoiled Jayden is thanks to Daddy? Anyway, Esteban never comes out of Jayden’s room. I remind him that he doesn’t have to stay there with Jayden, and he insists that Jayden won’t stay in the bed and wants to be rocked. OK, sure. I let him be and go back to my cookies. A minute or so later, Esteban comes out and Jayden stays in bed. Success.

Now, it’s 8:30pm. We are in our bedroom when all of a sudden, Jayden swings the door open and stands there. Esteban starts laughing and I’m laughing too, but inside. I pick him up and bring him to bed. There he lets me know that he’s been up to no good. He’s climbed up onto his bed and reached onto the dresser and grabbed a bottle of baby lotion. He’s opened it up and gotten it everywhere and eventually dropped it under the bed. I start to clean up and then tuck him in. Night Night.

I’m dying to snap his picture in his new bed so I keep checking on him. He’s still awake both times. Obviously, he got up out of bed and gotten his rather large teddy bear and has laid it in bed with him. That’s ok. I love that he loves this teddy and that the teddy is as big as he is. I decide to snap his picture after all. He’s just smiling. He loves the flash. I say night night and he waves bye bye. He looks like he’s about the fall asleep any minute now though. I’m sure he will. He’s tired.


9:15pm. Bump. Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Clearly, he’s fallen out of bed. Esteban is very upset. Doesn’t he know that these things are bound to happen? Apparently not. I grab Jayden and start to rock him and console him. I explain that he was probably just falling asleep and fell off and is most likely crying more out of surprise than he is out of pain. Esteban doesn’t want to hear it. He proceeds to put the mattress back in the crib. Oh lord. Jayden settles down and goes into his crib and is now sleeping like an angel. Poor baby. Tomorrow, we’ll pick up bed rails to keep you safe and sound.

The Baby is Coming...

This morning, I woke up pretty early. I felt a pain and it was pretty intense. What could it be? It almost felt like the type of pains I had when I went into labor with Jayden. It felt like pressure on the cervix. Could it be? I’m not ready yet. The baby’s not ready. We’ve got 5 weeks to go still. But the pain won’t go. I’ve been getting Braxton hicks contractions on and off, but nothing like this. It feels like the real thing. It lasts longer than I think a contraction should last, but finally stops. Then it starts again. Esteban is leaving for work so I ask him to keep his phone close in case anything happens and I need to reach him. He leaves and it stops. Then a third one. I’m getting nervous. The baby is moving like crazy. What could be happening? Could the baby be on her way? The pain stops and I decide to get up and walk around. Not a long walk. Just long enough to get to the kitchen and fix me a bowl of cereal. If I’m going into labor, I’m not going in hungry, like I did with Jayden. That was the trick. They stopped after that. I guess it was Braxton hicks after all. Wow. That was all it took. The contractions were over. I guess that’s what false labor feels like.