"Rock on!" - Five Months

Fun Facts About Owen:

• Can sit up on his high chair without shoulder straps.
• Started eating solid foods.
• Loves FaceTiming with his grandparents and great grandparents.
• Has begun sleeping through the night (HECK YES).

My little guy is 5 months old! And let me tell ya, he is all over the place! Ever since he learned how to roll over last month, we haven't had to worry about him getting enough "tummy time"...because he certainly does. Pretty soon, we'll have to start baby-proofing our place because he's starting to crawl. Help.

Always on his tummy.

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Owen had his 4-month appointment a couple of days before July 4th. The doctor said he is growing just fine and even recommended that I drink stout beer to help with milk production. The only reason why he suggested it was because I was concerned that my supply would begin to diminish because I started working. So far, I'm pumping enough and haven't had to use formula yet.

Owen also got his 4-month shots...and yes, he got a low-grade fever again and was suuuper cranky and cuddly for the next few days. This picture was taken a few hours after he got his shots. :(

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On the 4th of July, I decided to just stay home because - 1) Ralph was working; 2) Owen was still being a grump-a-lump from getting his shots; and 3) my family had a wedding to go to in the afternoon. I was pretty bummed that Owen was going to celebrate his first Independence Day with just me and Wendy at home, but my parents and brother surprised us by coming over and bringing lunch (and then they went to the wedding afterwards).

And then when Ralph got home, we decided to walk to Lake Mission Viejo, where there was a Street Faire and a fireworks show. That was kind of a bust because Owen lost a shoe on the way there (which I JUST purchased the day before!), and he fell asleep while watching the fireworks display. Womp womp womp. At least he isn't afraid of loud noises!

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I'm sorry. I'm kind of all over the place with this post...hence, the breaks.

Throughout this month, Ralph and I have noticed that Owen likes to sit up, so we assembled his high chair. Soon after, I decided to feed him rice cereal (mixed with my breast milk), and he loved it! I may have been a bit too eager letting him try other foods because, within this past week, he has already tried applesauce, sweet potatoes, bananas, and carrots (not all on the same day, of course). So far, he has liked them all, but bananas were definitely his favorite.

The positives to Owen eating solid foods:

1. I'm not as stressed about producing enough breast milk for him, since he has other forms of sustenance.

2. He sleeps through the night! A few days ago, he slept from 10:30pm to 5:30am. Too bad Ralph and I didn't do the same; we kept waking up every hour to check on him!

3. It's fun watching him try new foods. His "applesauce" face was definitely the best.

"So sour, Mama!"

The negatives to Owen eating solid foods:

1. Smelly farts and smelly poops. And that's enough negatives for me.

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And just when I thought our place couldn't get any more cluttered, it did. Owen's stuff has taken over every inch of our living room/dining area. We've got a swing, a rocker, a high chair, a crawling mat, and more recently, a bouncer.

We've had it for less than a week, and it's already a sticky mess.

I promise this post would have been better written with more events/detail, but this Mama has had a long week and needs to go to bed...until next time!

21 Weeks

How far along?: 21 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +9 lbs
Sleep: Still sleeping with a wrist brace but having some WEIRD dreams.
Best moment this week: Hockey season has begun!
Movement: Constantly moving, especially when I'm eating.
Symptoms: My belly itches a lot. Putting that cocoa butter to good use.
Symptoms I DON'T have: Nausea and fatigue; my feet aren't swollen anymore!
Food cravings: STEAK.
Food aversions: Eggs and avocado.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Not yet. :)
Belly Button in or out?: In.
What I miss: Sleeping on my back, though I have woken up a few times this past week ON my back.
What I am looking forward to: Our Hawaii vacation!
Weekly Wisdom: Take naps while you can. (Did I say this already?)
Milestones: Ralph feeling the baby move for the first time.

20 Weeks - Halfway There!

How far along?: 20 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +9 lbs
Sleep: It's somewhat better - waking up less frequently than the last couple of weeks. I sleep with a wrist brace though...
Best moment this week: Finding out the gender of the baby!
Movement: This baby has been kicking a LOT these days, usually while I'm eating.
Symptoms: I propped my feet up today and noticed, for the first time, that they were HUGE!
Symptoms I DON'T have: Nausea and fatigue.
Food cravings: Cheeseburgers.
Food aversions: Eggs and avocado.
Gender: It's a boy!!!
Labor Signs: Not yet. :)
Belly Button in or out?: In.
What I miss: Having sensation in my right hand. Weh.
What I am looking forward to: Ralph's birthday on Friday. :)
Weekly Wisdom: If you're a first time cake maker/decorator, then I suggest you just BUY a nice cake for an event. I made the gender reveal cake, and it was a struggle - the cake was too crumby to frost (even though I put it in the fridge for an hour or so); when I transferred the cake onto the cake container, the bottom fell apart (so I had to re-frost); AND the top of the cake container was missing a latch, so the top kept moving during the drive to Riverside and kept hitting the sides of the cake! Just...fail.
Milestones: Finding out that we're having a baby boy and seeing his little boy parts for the first time!

Gender Reveal!

I know a lot of people have been waiting to know the sex of the baby...but I couldn't say anything until we told ALL of our family members! So, without further ado, Baby Herrera is...

A BABY BOY!!!

Ralph and I found out on the morning of October 1st (first appointment of the day!). It was my mid-pregnancy ultrasound appointment - so not only were we going to find out the sex of the baby, but the ultrasound tech was going to be getting measurements of the baby and sending it to the radiologist - that way, he/she could analyze whether or not the baby was healthy and growing normally.

As soon as I was on the exam table, the ultrasound technician told us that she would take about 25-30 minutes to do all the measurements, then she would turn the monitor so we could view the baby together. Of course, she asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby, and without hesitation, I answered, "YES."

For the most part, nobody said a word - she seemed so focused on what she was doing that Ralph and I didn't say anything. I just stared at the ceiling, trying to think of anything that would distract me from thinking about going to the bathroom (I was instructed to drink 24 oz of water one hour prior to the appointment so that I would have a full bladder...well...FULL BLADDER INDEED). But not 10 minutes into the exam, she said out of nowhere, "It looks like it's going to be a little boy."

I quickly turned my head to look at her, and I said, "Really?! Oh...I'm gonna cry!", which is exactly what I did. When she was finished, she turned the monitor so Ralph and I could see how big our baby had grown. We saw his little face, his feet (they look huge), and his little baby boy parts! There is absolutely no mistaking that this kid is a boy! And later that day, I received an e-mail from the radiologist, and he said that the baby was the right size and nothing abnormal was seen on the ultrasound. Thank you, God!

THEN it was time for the fun part...as you can see from the pictures, we surprised our folks with the results. For my parents and brother, I used a big cardboard box that contained blue/white balloons; and for Ralph's mom and family, I made a cake that had blue frosting in the middle. (By the way, I'm ordering a cake next time...baking/frosting/decorating that cake was a nightmare! I love baking, but baking does not love me...)

Anyway, we are so unbelievably excited and cannot wait to start shopping and doing all these DIY projects for our bouncing baby boy. February cannot come soon enough!