The Biggest Surprise of Our Lives

Before Summer 2018 began, Henry was just turning 9 months old and beginning to be more independent. He was eating solid foods and feeding himself; and sure enough, this led to a dip in my breast milk production. No big deal, I thought. It was bound to happen.

I also noticed that I was feeling more tired than usual, but I figured it was just due to chasing a very active toddler and a crawling baby (as well as another active toddler at my home health job). But then I was also getting light-headed, and I couldn't quite figure out why. 

One night, before I was about to head upstairs for bed, I realized that it had been a while since I had my period. I looked at my phone's calendar, and I was right - it had been 4 weeks and 5 days. I thought, I'm still breastfeeding. My cycle is probably still off. I bet I'll get it tomorrow. Still, something was telling me, Take a test before you take your pill. (I always take my birth control pill before I go to bed.)

I went to the downstairs restroom and took out a leftover standard pregnancy test that I had from when we tried getting pregnant with Henry. It turned positive right away, and I just cried.

I ran upstairs and shook Ralph awake as quietly as possible (Henry was sleeping in his crib which was still in our room at the time). Ralph followed me outside to the stairwell, closed the door, and looked at the test with the sleepiest/most confused look you can imagine. I can't remember what he said. I just remember being back downstairs and crying my eyes out and saying stuff like...

"How did this happen?"

"What are we going to do?"

"Poor Henry. We didn't give him enough time to be our baby."

"My mom can't watch three kids. I won't be able to work."

"We can't live here. We need to move, but we can't afford to move."

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOU JOKE ABOUT HOW YOUR SPERM IS 'SUPER' OR THAT YOUR SEMEN NEEDS TO BE DONATED FOR SCIENCE."

I really did say this while sobbing uncontrollably.

I was beside myself. After several more outbursts, Ralph just held me and assured me that everything was going to work out, that everything was going to be okay. I obviously didn't sleep right away that night, but it didn't take too long for me to realize one thing - God's timing is always perfect. A couple of hours later, I finally fell asleep.

The following morning, I did something that I hadn't done in a long time - I prayed. I felt terrible for reacting the way I did, so I prayed for God's forgiveness and guidance and thanked him for all my blessings (especially the one that was growing inside me). Shortly after, I called Kaiser to schedule my first pre-natal appointment.

Baby's first ultrasound.

The baby looked healthy and was growing on schedule with a projected due date of February 23rd, Owen's original due date. Funny, right? About 8 weeks later, we publicly announced the pregnancy. 2 weeks after that, right at 14 weeks, we scheduled an ultrasound to find out the gender.

During the ultrasound, the baby did not want to cooperate at first. I actually had to drink some soda AND use the restroom before the ultrasound tech was able to tell us the results; but before she even said what we were having, I knew. I have two boys, so I can spot boy parts in an ultrasound right away. This time, I saw nothing.

Technician: So...guess what?

Me: It's a girl? Are you sure? (Ultrasound techs must HATE this question.)

Technician: Yup! You're having a girl!

Excited that they don't have to share their toy cars with another boy. HA. So they think...

Honestly, we couldn't believe it, and I STILL didn't believe the other ultrasound technician who performed the 20-week anatomy scan 6 weeks later; however, we prepared for a girl, though I didn't really start doing anything until way into the 3rd trimester.

Preparing for a girl was super strange but super fun!

On February 18th, we welcomed Grace Celeste - our first and only daughter, our smallest and last baby.

Photo courtesy of Christina Cho Photography

Up next...her birth story!

The Last Year in a Nutshell + A BABY?!

Oh my goodness...where do I begin?! I haven't blogged in almost a year! To be honest, I had certain goals for this space (as well as other social media outlets); however, I realized that it was just too much for me. So...I'll go back to using this blog as I had originally intended for it to be used - a way to document and share my motherhood journey.

SO! A lot has happened since my last blog post in March 2018! Actually, looking at my blog, most of the recent posts were sponsored ones...I guess I haven't really shared any updates since Henry was born in September 2017. Yikes.

Here's a quick overview:

Owen turned 4 years old this past Monday. 4! Can you believe that? He's still wild, silly, and strong-willed as ever. He talks a LOT and asks about 10 billion questions a day (most, of which, he already knows the answers to). He also continues to be obsessed with anything with wheels, but Pooh Bear is still his favorite toy.

Henry is a full-fledged toddler and is never too far from Owen. He loves anything and everything that has to do with Mickey Mouse ("Mow Mow"), Toy Story, and Puppy Dog Pals. Henry is also our little foodie and likes trying out new foods - he's definitely not as picky as his dad and brother. He also started sleeping in the boys' shared room about 6 months ago (before that, he was sleeping in his crib in our bedroom), and we cannot be more grateful with how well he AND Owen have handled the transition.

Ralph hasn't changed a bit. He still works for the county and continues to train for marathons and Brazilian jiu jitsu. He also reads his novels, collects his comic books, and trains to become a Pokémon master (hahaha, yeah, the game made a huge comeback). Ralph does all that and still finds the time to be the best daddy and husband.

As for me, I cut down my hours at the urology clinic and got a second job as a home health pediatric nurse for a good portion of 2018 (it fit my family's schedule better). I worked with only one patient and her family until September when I got the heartbreaking news that they were moving out of state. Honestly, I could not have asked for a better family to work for, and I do think of them often. Luckily, we still keep in touch every once in a while. I resigned from the home health company shortly after my last shift and returned to working at the urology clinic per diem.

The BIGGEST update of 2018 (for the whole family) was that we found we were expecting our third baby. To say that we were surprised is a complete understatement, but I'll save that story for another post.

A week before Owen's 4th birthday, we welcomed a baby girl - Grace Celeste Herrera. She was born on February 18th at 6:21pm, measuring 19.25 inches long and weighing 7 pounds and 7 ounces. (The following photos are courtesy of Christina Cho Photography.)

We've been home as a family of five for over a week now, and we are enjoying every minute. Yes, it is super crazy, loud, and exhausting; but we are so blessed and so happy.

Until next time! Let's hope it doesn't take another year for me to post something!

Perfect Baby Gift Sets + GIVEAWAY with IncrediBundles.com

Last Easter, I made an Easter basket for Owen. I filled it with chocolates, snacks, and little toys; and he loved it so much that I promised that I'd make him one every year. With the arrival of his baby brother and me getting a new job where I work Saturday evenings, I wasn't sure if I would have enough time to do it...not to mention that I'd also have to make one for Henry!

Luckily, IncrediBundles.com has the perfect gift set for Easter. I would say it's a "shared" gift for the boys. Giving them their own Easter baskets would just be a nice bonus!

IncrediBundles.com is a website that sells pre-made gift sets for babies. Think of these sets as modernized gift baskets. And since Easter is coming up, I got the boys the Peter Rabbit themed bundle.

This particular set came with a Peter Rabbit plush, a board book of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit",  and stacking blocks with pictures and quotes from the book.

How perfect is this set?!

There are many different kinds of gift sets available. There are Diaper Bundles, Bath Bundles, and Sleep Bundles - you can even create your own bundle! No matter which one you get, each Bundle is filled with award-winning baby items, selected and approved by child development experts and parents. And the box the items come in is reusable. Owen has already decided that the box is going to be used to hold more books of his book.

In the spirit of Easter, I have partnered with IncrediBundles.com to give one lucky winner an Easter-Themed 3-Month Diaper Bundle! This set will include a bunny plush, bunny-themed books, and a 3-month supply of diapers.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

This giveaway is only open to U.S. residents and will run from March 23rd to April 2nd. One winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck to all participants, and Happy Easter!