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:
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| 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. |
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| AND we had stormtrooper cupcakes! |
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| With Ralph's Grandma Mary... |
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| ...and his cousins Valerie and Angela! |
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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. :) |
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| 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:
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| 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
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!
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