38 Weeks - Baby Shower #2, Nursery, and Other Updates

Baby Herrera Update

I went to see my OB-GYN this past Wednesday for my 37-week check-up. I was looking forward to this appointment since I saw him 6 days before...because I wanted to know if I was dilated/effaced! (Dilation is the gradual opening of the cervix, and effacement is the thinning of the cervix.) To my surprise, I was 60% effaced, which means...I'm in the very early stages of labor. HURRAY! Unfortunately, I am not yet dilated, but my doctor thinks that I may actually deliver before my due date. Fine by me!

Finding out whether I was dilated/effaced or not also helped me to decide when I'd take off for maternity leave. If I was dilated, I'd just finish off the week; if I wasn't dilated, then I'd work until I was 39 weeks - so...yes, I'm working one more week. Am I crazy? Yeah, probably, but I don't want to take off too early because you only get 6 weeks of paid maternity leave. And I'd rather have more time off after the baby is born than before.

Baby Shower #2

Yesterday, Ralph's mom, sister, and grandmother threw us another baby shower! This one was held at Papa Joe's Pizza in Riverside, and in attendance were Ralph's side of the family. We had so much fun, and the decorations were AWESOME! A huge thank you to Ralph's mom, sister, and grandma for setting up and hosting the shower. And, of course, a big thank you to all of those who came and gave the baby more burp cloths, wash cloths, and diapers than we could ever hope for! Here are a few pictures from yesterday:

I mean...c'mon. COOLEST CAKE EVER! I was given the difficult task of cutting this amazing cake...I really didn't want to! Thank you, Liz Perez! Check out her Instagram: @kustomgoodies.

AND we had stormtrooper cupcakes!

With Ralph's Grandma Mary...

...and his cousins Valerie and Angela!

Thank you, Becky/Nana, Jen, and our gift opener Desirae! And Grandma Angelina (not pictured...bummer)!

Fatso Peanut received so many gifts that my poor husband had to make several trips to and from our car to bring all the gifts inside the apartment. Once everything was in our living room, I was absolutely pumped to get things organized. Some people call this is "the nesting instinct",  but I'm just one of those people who can only stand clutter to a certain degree. I mean, honestly, you'd want to clean this up too, pregnant or not!

Let the organizing begin!

I stayed up until 3:00am organizing everything and even started washing some of the clothes, blankets, cloths (burp/wash), bibs, etc...and boy, did I knock out when I went to bed.

Nursery Preview

Fast forward to this morning...

I woke up surprisingly early, but lying in bed isn't so comfortable these days...so I got up and got to work. While clothes/blankets/cloths/bibs were being washed, I decided to give Ralph a break and assemble the last piece of furniture that needed assembling - a desk. Oh. My. Goodness. I don't know what the heck I was thinking, but I just wanted to get it done, especially since Ralph was back to working his regular schedule.

It was simple enough, but I had to take several breaks. And I PROMISE you...the whole thing was not that heavy, and I did not overexert myself. :)

And then afterwards, I washed, folded, and organized all this stuff and more!

I should have taken a picture of the second room before we started setting it up as the baby's nursery, but the second room was basically Ralph's "office" and storage room. Right now, it looks like this:

If I could only put up curtains...

Ralph and I thought it'd be best to pick Marvel or Star Wars as the theme for the nursery because Ralph already has a bunch of Marvel/Star Wars stuff...so it would be a lot easier to decorate the room. But I love neutral colors, so I thought Star Wars would be the better option (when I think of Marvel, I think of vibrant colors). 

The nursery is still a work-in-progress, but I hope to get everything done by this week - 

Things to Do: 

1. Purchase shelf organizers, rug, lamps, mirror, and books

2. Possibly set up wall shelves for books (yeah, I know we already have a bookshelf, but it's full of Ralph's Lego Star Wars sets lol!)

3. Hang pictures

4. Organize the baby's toiletries

And if I don't get everything done...then I definitely will when I go on maternity leave!

Weekly Update

How far along?: 38 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +23 lbs
Sleep: If it's not the contractions keeping me up at night, it's definitely the lower back pain...kinda feels like my lower back/tailbone needs to be cracked/popped, buuuut it won't.
Best moment this week: Baby Shower #2, for sure!
Movement: Always! And it seems like he's always in the same position - head down towards the pelvis, feet/legs on my left side, and his butt on my right side.
Symptoms: I think, at this point, we'll just refer to the "Labor Signs" portion.
Symptoms I DON'T have: Sciatica, nausea, heartburn, itchy skin
Food cravings: Cold and crunchy stuff - salad, cereal and milk, chips with pico de gallo, etc.

Food aversions: I actually ate guacamole the other day...so...nothing? I'll eat anything now.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Lower back pain, pubic pain, contractions, "nesting" (I guess), and uh...other gross bodily stuff...
Belly Button in or out?: Flat-ish.
What I miss: Now, more than ever, caffeine.
What I am looking forward to: MATERNITY LEAVE.
Weekly Wisdom: Buy a mini crib. The full-sized one seems rather big and takes up a lot of room.
Milestones: All baby furniture has been assembled!

January Updates!

Can you believe it's already more than halfway through January?! I SWEAR it was just Christmas! Here's what's been going on the past few weeks:

Doctor's Appointments

Since I am 35 weeks (8 months!), my doctor's appointments will be every other week now. My most recent one was a few days ago, and the doctor said everything is looking fine - he even said that the baby is now head-down! Baby Herrera is getting ready! Here's an ultrasound photo of the baby from an appointment a few weeks back.

The baby got so big that his whole body can't fit on the screen anymore. Can you spot his face, arm, and hand?

Our only concern is that I developed intense itching on my belly, and the doctor wanted to rule out cholestasis, which is a condition in which there's an issue with bile flow (the mommy's, not the baby's). There's no harm to the mommy, but it could potentially harm the baby, even causing a stillbirth. So my doctor ordered another blood test, and if I do end up having this condition, I will be seeing my doctor twice a week to have the baby monitored and will have to be induced at 37 weeks. Hopefully, this is not the case, and my belly is just irritated from being stretched.

Baby Classes

Ralph and I enrolled in a few classes, and so far, we've attended two. The first one (not really a class) was the Maternity Walking Tour, and it's exactly what it sounds like. We toured the hospital and the maternity ward and were given instructions of what to do the moment I begin to have labor symptoms. We are so fortunate that we have Kaiser...the hospital in Irvine is such a beautiful building, and I have no doubt that we'll be receiving the best of care there.

The other class we took was called Baby Care Basics - we learned how to change a diaper, comfort a crying baby (the 5 S's - swaddling, holding the baby on its side, shushing, swinging, and sucking), how to reduce the risk of SIDS, etc. Our last class (breastfeeding) is in a couple of weeks, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep that one...I might pop by then! Haha!

Baby Shower: Part 1

Yesterday, my parents and brother hosted our first baby shower (second one will be in Riverside with Ralph's side of the family...our families are just too big!), and Ralph and I could not be more thankful for all that they have done. My dad told me he started setting up the night before, and my mom was just a cooking/decorating/organizing machine. Thanks, Mom, Dad, and Matthew! A huge thank you to my mom's friends/neighbors for contributing tables, chair, and decorations; and also to my buddy Trang for being in charge of the games. And, of course, to everyone who came and spoiled the baby! Here are a few pictures:

With my parents and brother.

With Ralph's mom, sister, and niece.

Thank you, Trang, for being in charge of games!

My amazing coworkers...thank you so much for coming and for always looking out for me at work. Fatso Peanut is so blessed to already have so many aunties.

I love this photo!

So many gifts!!! Fatso Peanut's room will be stocked in no time...and we still have another baby shower to go to!

And as for work, I AM still working! My company is currently undergoing an EMR conversion, and this could not come at a better time. I am no longer able to work as a floor nurse, so I've been able to help out with data entry/transfer, and I'll be working as operator all next week. And it's a good thing I'm off the floor...it's hard to work with a watermelon for a belly. :)

I'm not sure when I'll be going on maternity leave - I guess it all depends on my blood test results. I would like to work till 38 weeks, but who knows... I think Fatso Peanut wants to make an early appearance. We'll see!

And lastly, the weekly update:

How far along?: 35 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +21 lbs
Sleep: A lot of women say they hit insomnia late in their pregnancies...but believe me, I'm SLEEPY, and I would LOVE to sleep! But, as usual, I'm not getting enough.
Best moment this week: Baby Shower!
Movement: Baby Herrera has run out of room, and I'm totally paying the price. Many times a day, he will push SO far out that it hurts to breathe. Sometimes, he'll even kick so hard that I'd get surprised.
Symptoms: My tummy itches SO much! Vitamin E oil, cocoa butter, lotion, and hydrocortisone cream have done absolutely nothing to relieve my irritated skin. It's like a horrible sunburn that won't go away.
Symptoms I DON'T have: My sciatica is gone! I think this is mostly due to me not working on the floor anymore.
Food cravings: Meat, cheese...the usual. :)

Food aversions: Chicken and guacamole.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Not yet. :)
Belly Button in or out?: It's not really poking out...it's more flat than anything.
What I miss: I guess just doing things normally...without a huge belly in the way or getting tired quickly...lol!
What I am looking forward to: Going on maternity leave!
Weekly Wisdom: If this is your first baby, take classes! Every little bit of information helps!
Milestones: Our first baby shower. :)