Life of Baby

Gianna is a walker

2010-06-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Our little sweetheart started walking on May 23rd @ 10 months and 1 week old. She is so fast and tries to walk faster than her legs can move her. She lunges head first into a pace with her arms sticking out behind her like she's on a mission. Her new thing is nodding her head "yes". She does this when she plays or walks, and I'm trying to show her that she can answer mommy that way too.

We went to Gianna's first kid party on Sunday June 5, and she was passing by all the one year olds making her way around. She ate a little bit of birthday icing too and obviously loved it. Everyone went to the pool after the party, and Gianna didn't have her bathing suit, but REALLY wanted in the pool but we had another party to attend. We ended up taking her to the pool in our complex the next day and she loved it! We'll definitely be in the pool a lot this summer.

Gianna's top left tooth started to break skin this past weekend also, and the right one will be following. She got her bottom two at the same time also.

She also loves books and music. We recently bought her the Meowsic Toy Piano by "B" and she plays with it all the time. It plays songs, and you can play on the keyboard with a traditional piano tune, a banjo tune, a meow tune, a bell tune etc. You can record a song you play, and there is a microphone that plays your voice over the speaker and she loves to hold the mic and hum into it. I'll get that on video soon. She is certainly a lover of music.

<3

Many months of updates

2010-05-05T12:07:00.001-07:00

It's been WAY too long since I've updated this blog. Gianna is so active and into everything, and I haven't even had much time to write in her diary I've been keeping for her.

She is 9 1/2 months now and will be walking any day. She has been sitting up on her own since 4 months, and since about 7.5 months she's been "crawling". We call it her "primate crawl" because she wont use her knees. She walks like a gorilla, with her hands and feet all on the ground, but boy can she get areound like that. I'm sure it's much faster than any normal baby crawl would be. She's smart!

Gianna has also been standing without holding anything since about 8 months. Now she pushes things and walks with them, she holds furniture and walks along side of it and is into EVERYTHING! We had to baby proof the house at the end of April because she is fascinated with light sockets and staircases, and everytime we'd turn our back she was across the room within seconds!

We just blew up her baby pool last Sunday, and she had a lot of fun in it. She loves the water like her Daddy. When she watches Sesame Street, and the Beaches Family Resort commercial comes on at the end, she stops whatever she is doing an watches it. It's so funny. We'll have to take her there one day.

In the water I splash and splish...look, I'm a giggly, wiggly fish. Gianna loves to go to the park, and it's part of her daily routine during the week with Grandma. She loves the swings and the slides.

Gianna has also been teething, and it seems as if all my body parts are victims of her jaw! Our sweet little girl always has her hands in her mouth.

The top two teeth are about to break skin. The bottom two have been in for a while now. It looks like she might be getting more teeth along the sides next to the bottom ones now too.

Her teeth were bothering her so much a few days ago that for 3 days in a row she fell asleep in the shower with Daddy. She always likes to have a little cuddle with us right when she gets in the shower, but I guess she was in pain and found it very relaxing those few days.

Gianna thinks she is such a big girl now that she stands and gets herself all over the house with her primate crawl.

I thought you had more time before the kids got into everything, but Gianna has been into everything since 7 1/2 months. She's one smart cookie.

Gianna and Daddy in DC in February 2010

Gianna was our tour guide!

Baby's first balloon. We were in Trader Joes and the clerk gave another little girl a balloon and Gianna wouldn't take her eyes off of it.

Gianna and Gab!

We had a huge snow storm and were snowed in for a week. Gianna and Daddy:

Gianna and Mommy:

Baby's first snow:

We did a side-by-side comparison to see who Gianna looks like:

Jebo won:

Our little baker?:

Cheese!:

Gianna started drinking from a cup in December @ 5 months:

Gianna and Gab in January before we took the tree down:

December-

All 3 of us on a lazy day:

Gianna and Daddy on Christmas:

All 3 of us December 2009:

I'll try to keep up with this blog more, so I don't have to do such a large post again. Be blessed! xoxo

Update- PICS!!!

2009-10-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted on this blog in a while, so this post will be loaded with pictures and captions.

Gianna is 3 months old and time is flying by so fast. We love every second of being her parents, and she is such a joy and blessing in our lives. It is the coolest thing watching her grow and learn and figure out new things. We love it!!!

Gianna started showing signs of teething a few weeks ago. She constantly wants to chew on our fingers, her toys, and her own hand. She balls her hand up into a fist and tries to eat it. I'll have to get a picture of that soon. It's so funny!

Gianna loves playing and is very alert. She loves her toys, but she loves playing with us and talking more. She is not camera shy at all, and whenever you bring out the camera she is ready to pose. Future model?
Gianna still LOVES the water. She usually takes one or two baths in her tiny tub a week, and at least one Jacuzzi tub a week with Mommy and Daddy. It's one of our family "play times". On the nights she's not in the bath or Jacuzzi tub showers with either Mommy or Daddy.
She will spend up to 45 minutes in the Jacuzzi at a time and would probably stay in longer if we let her. She kicks and floats and has figured out she can splash. Splashing is very messy when she takes one of her baths in the portable tiny tub, because we put it on the counter in our bathroom, and by the time she's done we have water all over the mirror and counter. Haha! She's so fun!

Gianna mastered tummy time a long time ago, since she has always had a very strong neck since birth, but now she LOVES staring at herself in the mirror. She stares at the people holding her in the mirror too. She smiles a lot and talks to your reflection, as well as her own. I think we will have a social butterfly on our hands. I'm just glad she's not shy!
Gianna likes to hold toys and cuddle with them now. She grabs things and swats at them and plays with them, and has been for a few weeks now. She's so smart!
Hmmm....should I eat my fist or the hippo's ears? How about both?

Gianna playing...
I love my baby!
Our snuggle bug...
We went to Florida to visit Gianna's Italian side of the family in September. Gianna went in the pool for the first time and she loved it. The water was warm and she loved her float and ladybug bathing suit that our family bought her!
We took her to the ocean and had a mini photo shoot there. We took a TON of pics. Good thing digital cameras were invented, or we would have spent a ton on film during this trip.
Gianna sleeping in FL.
Aunt Donna made Gianna this Lei to wear at her first beach outing. Gianna loved the ocean and putting her feet in the sand. She was very patient with the hundreds of photos we took of her, even though it was nap time!
Nonna visited us in September, and was here for 4 or 5 weeks I think. Gianna and Nonna are so cute together, and they love singing old songs. Nonna sings and Gianna tries to sing along. It's adorable. Gianna talks to Nonna on skype now that she's gone. This picture is of Gianna, Nonna and Daddy talking to Papa Artoor.
Gianna and Nonna...
Gianna with Nonna & Grandma
Cute...

Check back again for more updates on our Angel.

Pretty girl

2009-09-14T09:06:00.001-07:00

Gianna is becoming more infatuated with holding things and exploring her hands. She is constantly sucking on her fist, or her fingers now. She is also able to hold toys and put them in her mouth. I got these cute shots during crib playtime the other day. How cute is she?!!

The great outdoors

2009-09-14T08:45:00.001-07:00

Gianna loves being outside. We always take her on walks or sit outside with her and show her the flowers on the patio. Yesterday afternoon we sat outside and she watched her Daddy wash the SRT-8, so she could get some Vitamin D from the sun.

The last 2 days, Gianna fell asleep by 5:30 P.M. and wouldn't wake up, but then was up 3-4 times in the middle of the night because sleeping so early messed her schedule up. Because of that, yesterday we tried even harder to keep her up until bedtime. We took her out to the patio before dinner and watched Sesame Street and she watched the flowers for a bit. Then she went inside and we had dinner, and after she took a shower with her Daddy.

She ended up staying awake until 10 P.M., with only a 30 minute cat-nap around 8:30 P.M. She slept until 5am (when she woke up to eat) then slept again until 6:30A.M., when she had to take her morning "potty". She slept again from 7:20 A.M until 9:00 A.M.

She's a good girl. It's noon right now and she's napping again.

Hands & Arms!

2009-09-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Gianna is a hands-on girl. She is always clasping her hands together, holding her paci in her mouth or pulling it out, touching her face, holding our fingers, etc.

She sleeps with hands under her chin, on the side of her face, or arms straight up next to her head. I sleep like that too. It's so funny how much she is like Jebo and I, but still has her own personality as well.

She can be feisty at times also, but it's adorable to us! Even Nonna & Grandma laugh when Gianna does her "protest scream" to let us know she's done doing something, or when she grunts and makes noises when she's eating waiting for the milk to come as if to tell us "You waited TOO long woman!" Hehe!
Our sleeping beauty with both arms up:
One arm up, one arm down, another typical Gianna sleep pose:

Baths & Showers

2009-09-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

Gianna is all about the water and the outdoors. The other day I decided to take her in the shower with me, so she could get used to it since we'll be going to Florida soon, and she won't have her baby bath to use. It was a huge success. She is such an easy baby, and adapts to anything.

Daddy wanted to shower with Gianna also, so he got his turn last night. He wants to do it every night now. He loved that bonding time with his little girl. So sweet!!!

After her shower with Daddy, I took her and wrapped her up in her towel. When Jebo got out of the shower she was talking to him and he snapped some cute shots of her snug as a bug in her towel.

We love this girl so much!!!

iPhones

2009-09-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

We bought iPhones the other day so now we are taking EVEN MORE pictures!

Jebo was at work taking pictures of himself and sending them to me, so I took a few of Gianna and I and sent them to him. These are the coolest phones we've ever had.

I also have YouTube on my iPhone, so I saved all of the vintage Sesame Street videos on it for Gianna. She loves our iPhones too! Here's a photo of Gianna watching Sesame Street on the patio with Nonna & Daddy. She LOVES Bert & Ernie, and the Cookie Monster.

Gianna & her cats

2009-09-14T07:32:00.001-07:00

Spike is very protective over Gianna. He always guards her and smells her to make sure she is OK.

Gooey leaves her alone, although I'm sure when Gianna is bigger, Gooey will be her Best Friend.

Khloe usually leaves her alone also but smells her on occasion. I think Khloe is a bit jealous that her Daddy doesn't give her as much lovin' anymore. Poor kitty baby!

Nonna is here

2009-09-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

Nonna flew in on Sept 3rd, and has been enjoying her time with us and her Granddaughter.

Friday we had some friends over so Gab could see all his friends he missed all summer, then on Saturday we went to Uncle Paul's birthday party. Gianna was a hit. Everyone was commenting on how cute she is and how alert she is for 7.5 week old baby.

Sunday we went to lunch in DC, and then stopped by a friends house because they were having an end of the summer party at home.

Yesterday my Mom came over with Paul & Chris and we had a nice dinner of lamb chops, crab cakes, garlic mashed potatoes and string beans. MMMMM....

We have been busy, busy, busy so I'm looking forward to a quiet next few days.

Playtime

2009-08-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Gianna loves her daily playtime with her toys. She is super smart and follows the toys with her eyes and interacts with them. She "coos" and "ahhhs" at them. It's so cute!!! I snapped these cute shots of her right after playtime today. Enjoy!

"That was fun Mommy. Nap now?"

Daddy's Girl

2009-08-28T12:38:00.001-07:00

These two are so cute together. It's a match made in Heaven. =)

Bath time

2009-08-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sure when Gianna is older, she will want to strangle me for posting pictures of her on the internet like this, but anyhoo........

Gianna absolutely LOVES bath time. We started giving her one every night instead of every other night because she loves them so much. She HATES getting out of the bath though. She's fussy when we get her dressed after her tub time, until I feed her after she's dressed...then she calms right down.

She's a good girl and she knows her bedtime routine now. She has her bath by 8-8:30 P.M., then eats for 1/2 hour- 45 minutes, and is asleep by 9:30-10 P.M. nightly, until 8-9 A.M. the next morning. She wakes for a feeding at around 3:30am, and another at 6:30am. Hopefully she will keep this up!

We love her so much!!!

Visit with Gianna's Godmother

2009-08-25T06:25:00.001-07:00

Gianna's Godmother, and my BFF since High School came to visit from MD yesterday. Gianna took her afternoon nap from 12:30-3:30pm so Megan and I went to La Tasca for an early birthday celebration lunch. It's also Restaurant week, so for $20 each we were able to get unlimited tapas. We hardly ate anything, so we were able to take food home to our hubby's.

Since Gianna was napping the whole time we were out, Megan and I started playing with our food. Behold the pepper tongue's:

Yeah, we're mature. LOL.

BOB Strides Fitness Stroller

2009-08-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

Our Stroller came last week and I LOVE it!

It is the best stroller for a jogging mom! Gianna loves riding in it and we go out every morning for a jog. Today we walked because my shins are sore from running every day so I'm giving my legs a little break.

I missed jogging and I'm so happy I have an awesome stroller so Gianna can come with me.

Our park had a Cambodian Festival this weekend, and there were 2 adorable St. Bernard dogs there. This guy was a 5 month old PUPPY:

This one was 2 years old:

How cute are they???!!!

Mohawk

2009-08-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

Gianna has a natural mohawk. After her nightly bath, I brush it down, but right when it dries it sticks right back up again. It's so cute!

I'm sure once her hair gets a little longer, it won't be like that anymore. She might end up having wavy/curly hair also, because when it's wet it has a curl to it.

Dress- up

2009-08-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Gianna gets cuter as each day passes!

I've been waiting to play dress-up with her since before she was born, and bought these adorable headbands from Etsy.com.

She has lots of cute frilly dresses like these that I can't wait to dress her in.

Enjoy!

Kiss the baby!!!

2009-08-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

LOVE HER!!!

Rolling over @ 1 month!

2009-08-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Baby Gianna rolled over from her tummy to her back during tummy time today!!! Babies don't normally do this until 3+ months old!

We are so proud of how advanced and smart our little one month old is!

She's such an Angel!!!

<3

1 month!

2009-08-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Our sweet baby angel, Gianna, is one month old today! We can hardly believe it!

We took some cute pictures of her today.

Enjoy!

Bashful?
So cute!!!
"Putt'em UP!"
"Your boring me Mommy & Daddy!"
"No more pictures. Feed me!"
We love her so much!!!

Gianna- 4 weeks old!

2009-08-13T15:35:00.001-07:00

Gianna turned 4 weeks old yesterday, and officially turns a month old on August 15th, the same day that her great grandmother, my Dad's mom turns 90!

We'll be visiting my Nana soon so Gianna can have some quality time with her great grandmother.Gianna is such a good baby. For 2 nights now she has slept 7 hour stretches, wakes up to eat and sleeps another 2-3 hour stretch, and sometimes will sleep for another 2 hours after a second early morning feeding. We are so blessed!Gianna also loves to stare at people and toys and colorful things. She has a ladybug tummy time mat that she likes to lay on. She's very strong and has been holding her head up from day one, and holds it up even better now. She loves to listen to music and have us sing to her. Jebo loves to sing her 80's music, and I sing her typical nursery rhymes. Hehe!She has very good hand eye coordination also. She loves to hold her pacifier, and clasp her hands together she is intently listening to you or relaxing. She loves to rest her arm over my breast when she is eating, and it covers her face also. It's so funny because she looks like she's lazy when she's eating. She does this all the time.

We love her so much and every day we look at her and can't describe the love we feel for her as her parents.

She is so beautiful!!!

Gianna update- 17 days old

2009-08-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

We can't believe Gianna is already 17 days old! This coming Wednesday she will be 3 weeks old! Like they say, "Don't blink or you might miss something!" She looks so much like her Daddy still!

Gianna is getting on a pretty good sleeping pattern so far. She wakes up for the morning around 10 A.M, and stays up until around noon. Then she takes a 30-40 minute nap, and is usually awake the rest of the day until 2:00-3:00 P.M, when she will take a 3+ hour nap. After that she is usually up until bedtime when we change her into her nightgown, read her bedtime stories and then I breastfeed her or Jebo will give her a bottle of breast milk.

We have tried a few different things at night. We have a snuggle nest in our bed for her but she squirms a lot in it, and now that I have practiced breast feeding laying down and feel comfortable with it, she has been sleeping next to me and I have gotten great sleep, and so has Gianna.

Every 3 or 4 hours we wake up, I change her, we switch sides (aka change breasts) and I feed her again. For a few nights we tried giving her bottles in the middle of the night also, but it didn't help. It was more hassle to get up, go downstairs, heat it up and feed it to her. Breast feeding is much easier. Plus, with implementing the bottles, I would have to get up at 3am and pump to empty my milk supply and I would get 5+ ounces at that pump as well as 7+ a few hours later when we would wake up for the morning. I definitely don't have a milk shortage!

It's much easier to empty at her feedings than to have to pump multiple times a day. Now I only pump in the AM, the afternoon and sometimes in the early evening.

We saw a lactation consultant yesterday and Gianna is feeding well. She weighs 7 pounds, 7.5 ounces now, so she is gaining weight as she should be.

The lactation consultant showed us how to feed her a bottle properly so she isn't gulping faster than her tummy can register the milk. Instead of holding her in a laying down position, you hold her sitting up, and let her take 5 sips then angle the bottle down so she can rest for a second. She said that is the pattern babies breast feed in. They take 5 sips, take a breath and pause, then they sip again.

It is quite clever to bottle feed this way. We practiced this morning, and Gianna fed very well and was actually full after 1.5 ounces, whereas before we were feeding her 2.5 ounces and she still seemed hungry. This morning however, it took her 10 minutes to finish 1.5 ounces, yet before she would drink the 2.5 ounce bottle of breast milk in 2-3 minutes flat.

Gianna is very alert, and loves to look at her toys and stare at Mommy and Daddy. She really seems to focus and listen when you talk to her. She is quite clever!

Jebo and I take nightly walks with her around 7pm when it starts to cool down. She really enjoys the fresh air and the stroller.

We are all learning slowly but surely as we get to know each other. Every day is new and exciting. We love being her parents!

"When in doubt, pinky out!" Hehe!

Gianna is here!

2009-07-30T11:05:00.001-07:00

Over 9.5 months pregnant

2009-07-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

Nonna's baby shower in Manila

2009-06-23T10:33:00.001-07:00

Jebo's mom threw Gianna a baby shower luncheon with all of her closest friends. They also had a ladybug themed shower.

Nonna bought Gianna a book called "Ladybug girl and Bumble Bee boy" for all of the ladies to write little notes to Gianna in. I'm sure Gianna will love reading that book when she's older, and will enjoy feeling all the love everyone has for her even before she was born. So sweet!
Nonna also made these cute ladybug candy wrappers for the shower:
Thank you to Nonna and all the ladies who attended the shower to celebrate Giannas's soon-to-be arrival. We are so blessed to have all of your prayers and well wishes for our sweet baby girl.

We love you all!

9 month baby belly

2009-06-23T10:20:00.001-07:00

Here is Gianna 9 months in the womb. We are 9.5 months today, so I'll post another picture soon. Enjoy!

Baby Shower Pictures

2009-06-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time at our baby shower! Everyone came dressed in red, black or white for our Ladybug themed party.

Mom made tons of food. Among the selections were: Brie with Roasted Garlic, Smoked Salmon, Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Egg Salad on Croissants, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Eggplant Tapenade over sliced mozzarella on bread, fruit and cheese platters and more...

Everything was soooo tasty.

For dessert Mom made a Death by Chocolate Cake and her famous Banana Pudding. The Banana Pudding was a huge hit. Good thing she made 2 pans of it. =)

Gianna received tons of great gifts. She got a lot of really cute outfits, and most of the items off of our registry. We officially have everything we need for her. She even received some "Butt Paste" diaper cream. Hehe!

We also played a few cute games, organized by my BFF Megan. One was a drinking contest to see who could chug their baby bottle of wine or beer the quickest, and the other was a play-doh baby contest, and everyone had to mold a baby.

Morgan won for the boys side- he made a cute fat baby and Rachel won for the girls side- she made a cute Asian baby. Here's Jebo and I holding the winners:
The boys "working hard" to make a baby:

The girls "working hard" to make a baby:
It was so nice to see everyone and we can't wait for Gianna to arrive soon!
A big Thank You to Mom, Paul, Megan for throwing the shower, and a big Thank You to everyone who attended. We love you all!!!

Baby Shower Galore

2009-06-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Jebo just called me to tell me his office threw him a surprise baby shower. How sweet is that? It's nice that they did something to honor him as the Daddy- since it's usually just the Mommy's that get spoiled. He received tons of gifts and gift cards for Gianna and they even had cake for him.

Tomorrow is OUR baby shower, thrown by my Mom, Paul & Megan. It's is being held at Pauls house, Mom is doing to catering and Megan is organizing the games and doing the photography for us. It's going to be a fun event, and most of our close friends will be there. Mom has Bartenders and Waitresses working the shower, and it's co-ed. It is Ladybug themed (of course) and we've asked everyone to wear red and black to keep with the ladybug theme. If nothing else, it will make for good photos! Haha!

On Sunday, Jebo's Mom is hosting a Shower Luncheon with all of her friends in Manila in Gianna's honor. She has also kept with the ladybug theme, and has even handmade ladybug place mats for the table setting and she made ladybug candy bar wrappers for chocolate bars to give out. Cute!!!

Gianna is one VERY spoiled girl already with 3 showers, 3 days in a row.

Our Lucky Ladybug!!!

Lots of Deliveries today

2009-06-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

Giannas glider was shipped to us today. Yey!!!

It is absolutely perfect in her room. I'm so happy we decided to buy it.

One of my best friends in Florida, Auntie Marissa sent Gianna the most adorable ladybug outfit today. Marissa has known about my ladybug obsession since she met me 10+ years ago, and she still has the eye for finding the cutest things.

Giannas Cord Blood Collection kit from ViaCord also came in the mail today. We have it downstairs with her car seat ready to go with us to the Hospital when we give birth to our beautiful baby girl.

All we have to do now is get our hospital bags packed, and we are ready to go.

Baby Memory Book

2009-06-09T11:04:00.001-07:00

We bought Giannas baby book today from ETSY.com. Have I mentioned that I LOVE ETSY???!!! The book was $70, but totally worth it because it is personalized and handmade just for Gianna. The pages include:

-Before you were born
-When we first learned of you
-Family Tree
-Baby Showers
-2 pockets for Mementos
-Your birth
-How we chose your name
-Chinese Zodiac and Astrological Sign
-The year you hatched
-Place for hands and feet
-Bringing you home
-A first for everything
-Glassine Envelope for lock of hair
-Family Photos
-Growth table and Immunization record
-Baby gets teeth
-A day in your life
-Holiday and Celebration photos
-1st Birthday
-Foot Prints/Hand Prints page

I can't wait for it to come. The lady who makes them will be done with it next week, and ship it out then. Yey! http://www.blinkblots.com/babybook.asp

Nesting

2009-06-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

Apparently I've been nesting because I have the urge to do all these things now that Gianna will be here soon. I've gotten rid of the spring flowers on my patio and changed them out to the summer ones. I have cleaned out our fish tank, and hermit crab cage. I have done a load of Gianna's EVER GROWING pile of clothes. (Have I mentioned that this girl does not need anymore clothes?)

Jebo and I also went to Babies R Us and got a few things this weekend. We signed up for a rewards program, since we'll likely have to buy everything on our registry ourselves. Babies R' Us has been sending out coupons lately, so that will help also!

I've been having lots of dreams about Gianna lately. Birthing dreams mostly...
Last night I dreamt I was grabbing her arms through my stomach, and my skin was soft enough that I could feel her elbows and touch them.

I also held her hand in my dream, while she was in my stomach. I couldn't see her hand, but I could feel the layout of it, and it was reaching for my hand as I placed it on my stomach and she wrapped her fingers around my finger. It was so cute and tiny. I really felt like I have held her had now after that dream.

Our baby shower is this Saturday, and we are excited to see everyone prior to Gianna's arrival. I'm sure we'll be MIA for a while after she is born, so it will be good to spend some quality time with our friends and family.

We can't wait to hold our baby in our arms...

Gianna- 32.5 weeks in the womb

2009-05-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

We are so in love...

8 month Baby Belly

2009-05-21T09:35:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow, we have our second 4D sonogram, so check back for pictures of our baby girl tomorrow night!

Music for Gianna

2009-05-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

We recently started playing Gianna classical music and lullabies via our Bellysonic. She really loves it! When I first place it on my stomach, she starts moving all around excitedly. After her initial excitement, she is mostly still and listening, but I get a few jabs here and there.

When I take the bellysonic off to use the bathroom, or help someone that walks in at work, she kicks because she wants her music back on. It's SO cute. I have to tell her, "Mommy will put it back on in a minute, I have to do something really quick." Then she will calm down. She gets so excited every time I put the music back on for her.

I have noticed she really likes these 2 songs when they come on:

Tchaikovsky- The Nutcracker- Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies
Petzold- Notebooks of A.M. Bach- Minuets 4 and 5

When they come on, she starts moving around happily. She has only been listening to the bellysonic for 2 days, and she already knows which songs she likes the most. She is such a smart baby.

I think the one by Tchaikovsky is particularly funny b/c it is called "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies". Her favorite nursery rhyme is called " The sugar plum tree", and the other story she really likes is called "The Dinkey Bird", which also mentions Sugar Plums.

Maybe she likes Sugar Plums, or that will be one of our many nicknames for our sweet baby Girl?

They say to stop playing it closer to your due date. I suppose that's because you don't want the baby to get too comfy in there, with her music, and then decide to hang around in the womb longer. Haha!

HypnoBirthing

2009-05-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

Jebo and I have planned to have a drug- fee labor, as I mentioned before. For those of you that think I've lost my mind, here is a little info on Hypnobirthing, the method we will be using to birth Gianna:

"Comfort is not a word often attributed to childbirth, but as Marie Mongon writes in HypnoBirthing. A Celebration of Life, "When the mind accepts the belief that without complication, birthing proceeds naturally, no pain exists and no pain is experienced.' In other words, if a laboring mother's mind is free of fear, pain can be reduced or even eliminated.

Mongan developed HypnoBirthing in 1989, based on the pioneering work of English obstetrician Grantly Dick Read. Dick Read postulated a fear tension pain feedback loop between a woman’s mind and body that produces oxygen deprivation in the uterus and painful, inefficient contractions.

By relying on her natural instincts, he claimed, a woman might short circuit the loop and experience childbirth calmly, comfortably and safely. In five two and a half hour classes, certified Hypnotherapist (who often are doulas, midwives or nurses, too) teach women how to gain control over their minds, bodies and emotions.

Participants, accompanied by their husband or partner, learn that the birthing muscles work better when the body is relaxed and practice visualization, self hypnosis and relaxation techniques to achieve deep relaxation. A pregnant woman might be instructed to imagine how she wants her labor to feel.

If she wants the experience to be like snow falling gently on her fare, for example, her partner might stroke her arm while she visualizes this sensation. The stroking is intended as a reminder of what the mind is suggesting to the body. Then, during actual labor, the practice is replicated to help coax the mind into a fearless state, permitting the muscles in the uterus to relax and work without stress.

Even the vocabulary used by HypnoBirthers redefines birth in a more positive way. According to Mongan, babies are birthed, not "delivered" like pizzas. The word "surge" replaces the word "contraction." While contraction means tightening and shrinking, surge connotes the opposite the rush or flow of something.

"I felt pressure during my surges, but no pain" says Napper, who gave birth to a daughter, Caitlin, after 18 hours of labor. "The best part was that my baby was alert. She wasn’t stressed at all ' "

Studies have shown that hypnosis during labor can reduce pain, complications and length of labor.

Source:http://www.lightparty.com/Health/BetterBirthing.html

Mothers Day 2009

2009-05-10T15:43:00.001-07:00

When I got to work on Friday, I was surprised to see these beautiful Mothers Day flowers on my desk:

Today we had a leisure morning, and then we met up with my Mom for brunch at Kilroys, one of our past-time favorites. We took some pictures together this afternoon, but our flash drive crashed, so the pictures we took at brunch were all lost. Boo! I had to improvise and take one of myself. Ha!

Gianna in my womb on Mothers Day. 7 months, 3 weeks. I can hardly believe we are ONE week away from the 8 month mark! Before you know it we'll be holding our sweet baby girl in our arms!
Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers and mothers-to-be!

30 Week Update

2009-05-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

We are officially 30 weeks pregnant today!

It's hard to believe that we have 10 weeks or less to go before Gianna is here. Jebo and I are SO excited and can hardly wait to meet her!

They say right now Gianna weighs around 3 pounds, and will gain around .5 pounds every week until she is born. I am feeling the pressure now in my pelvic bones from the added weight and I feel sore every time I stand but once I move around a bit it fades.

When I get out of bed now, I have to "roll" out. I can still sit up straight and use my stomach muscles if I need to, but I prefer to not put any strain on my body since my back has been a bit sore. My weekly pre-natal massages have really helped with my back though. I'm SO blessed to be able to get those every week!

I bought a book called Hypnobirthing http://www.hypnobirthing.com/ , that teaches mothers to think of labor pain differently. Women who use this method have shorter labor times, and say they feel hardly any pain. I was shocked at our childbirth class last week, to learn that I was the only woman there planning to have a natural birth. Everyone else has either already planned their C-Section, or have no doubts about having an Epidural.

I am shocked that most of these mothers have not done their research on the negative effects of an Epidural on their baby. They say it negatively effects the breastfeeding, the bonding, the baby's alertness etc. No Thanks. I'll pass on drugging Gianna while she's trying to come down the birthing canal. At that point I will have gone 9 months being careful of what I put in my body, and I don't plan on screwing up at the last minute.

Last night we read Gianna her bedtime stories and Bible. Afterwards, Jebo laid his head on Gianna and started talking to her and listening to the sounds in my stomach, when he got kicked in the head two times by Gianna. It was so funny. He would jump away from my womb and look at me all bright eyed and say "Hey! She kicked me!" Then he would put his head right back for some more action. She already has him wrapped around her little sweet fingers. So cute! She is going to be a "daddy's girl", and he will be a "daughters daddy". Ha!

Our Bumbo chair came this week, along with the cover from Etsy. When I put the cover on and showed the chair to Jebo he got all giggly and said it made him want to squeeze the invisible baby in the chair. He was looking at the chair, but picturing Puddy in it and wanting to squeeze her. (Puddy is our nickname for Gianna. Like Puddy in your hands.)

As I mentioned a few days ago, I read a book recently that gave me the idea to start a mommy diary for Gianna. The purpose of it is to tell her all about Daddy and I and how I feel while pregnant with her. Then after she is born, I will write in it all the time so she can read about our lives together when she was a little baby.

I would have loved to have had something like that to read when I was older, if my mom had documented my childhood in a diary.

Jebo also wants to start making videos of us talking to her before she is born, videos of me pregnant, and us together while I'm pregnant so we can have a little time capsule of memories for Gianna. We'll just have to be sure to keep up with it, and do it for our future children as well so they don't feel slighted. It's so sweet how my husband is even thinking of all these cute ideas to carry out for Gianna. I suppose having a little girl will bring out the sap in him. Haha!

We love you Gianna!

Bumbo Cover

2009-04-27T10:02:00.001-07:00

Another reason why I love ETSY.com...

A Bumbo Chair is on our list for "must haves" on our registry. The only problem is we aren't huge fans of the baby pink color or the other colors it comes in. I happened to google "Bumbo Cover", and was surprised to see that Esty has them!

This is the one I ordered:

This is what the chair looks like with a baby sitting in it. (I might end up buying this cover eventually also, but for now I'm into the black and white pattern):

Cute huh?

Love the Baby!

2009-04-27T09:28:00.001-07:00

I'm reading a book right now called, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas By: James Patterson. The story is basically a diary that a woman kept for her unborn child, and she wrote about how her and her husband met, their dates, their wedding, their lifes while pregnant etc.

I've tried to keep up with this blog, in hopes of printing it and turning it in to a scrapbook for Gianna one day, to document the announcement of our conception, and her growth in my womb. After reading this book, now I want to start a handwritten diary/book for her also.

The most exciting part of pregnancy so far for me, is the last trimester. Gianna is starting to get on a regular pattern with me, and I know her active times and she knows mine. She really is such a good baby already. When I sleep, she sleeps. She moves around a bit at first when I first lay down, but she does not ever jab and kick when I am still and sleeping.

I suppose having our nightly rituals of reading her baby poems, reading the baby bible, then reading our devotional and bible out loud to her calm her and let her know it is almost time to sleep and be still. By the time we are finished and we lay down, she moves a little bit, but then settles in.

When I get up to pee multiple times in the middle of the night, she will give me a light movement as if to say "Hello Mommy", but then she is still again when I lay back down. Even in the mornings, when my alarm starts to go off, she very gently starts moving around. She is such a sweet Angel.

I look forward to her movements all day. I know when she sleeps, and when her most active times are. She is always still when we read to her, but recently she has started moving a bit, especially when we read the bible to her. It's as if she's recognizing the books/words and getting excited.

On another note, we are slowly starting to collect the items we need for Gianna. As of right now, we have TONS of Clothes & a Co-Sleeper from my mom, a Crib from my Aunt Donna, and a Dresser/Changing table from my Dad. Jebo & I also bought a glider for Gianna.

We started collecting toiletries and diapers as well. The pampers swaddler diapers are so cute & tiny! I can't wait to put them on her! We have a ton of more things to buy, but now that we aren't having a shower, we will have to slowly collect the items from our registry at Babies R' Us ourselves.

I feel like we just conceived Gianna yesterday, yet here we are, with only 78 days left until her due date. Exciting!!!

7 month Belly

2009-04-20T10:37:00.001-07:00

Here's Gianna at 7 months in the womb. Side View:

Front View:

View looking down. Where have my feet gone? I can't see them anymore:

It's hard to believe that we are already 7 months pregnant.

Soon, we will be meeting Gianna face to face!

Our CS neighbors (who bought our condo) actually just gave birth last week to their first child, a little girl they named Lily Ann. She came almost 4 weeks early! That gives me hope that Gianna could still come around 37 weeks.

Exciting!

Birthing Class

2009-04-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jebo and I (and Gianna of course) had our first child birth class. It was held at our doctors office and all of the other couples in the class were also patients that go to the clinic, and are having babies within weeks of our due date. The classes will be conducted for 2 hours, once a week, for the next 6 weeks. They even include a hospital tour.

At the beginning of the class, we all introduced ourselves and said a little bit about our lives. All of the couples, like us, are first time parents and clueless for the most part of all the things we need to know about delivering a baby. After hearing everyone speak, it became clear that all of the women in the class were scared and all of the husbands were nervous.

When it was my turn to speak, I said "I don't think I'm as scared as the rest of you are. (insert laugh here). We were created to be able to do this, and SO many women have done it before us. Even 12 year olds can do it!" Everyone laughed, and it hopefully helped calm some of them down, even if it only lasted a moment.

After introductions, the instructor started explaining all kinds of medical terms to us, and giving us a run down of the hospital we will give birth at. We found out that Alexandria hospital has an Natal Intensive Care Unit (or NICU) if there were to be any complications, which there WONT be.

We also found out that after birth, the babies are secured with an arm band and a leg band, and only Jebo and I will have the same band, and only the two of us will be permitted to remove the baby from the room they normally keep all the babies in. They even secure a chip on the end of the babys umbilical cord, and if the baby gets too close to the holding room doors, the alarm sounds. (They take the chip off when we take the baby home.)

While were giving birth we get to have 4 other people in the Labor and Delivery room with us. No children under 12 years old are even permitted on the birthing floor of the hospital, because they carry too many germs. I guess it's a good thing that Gab will be in Fredricksburg on Summer Break, then. We'll just have to hose him down when he comes home to get all the germs off of him. Haha!

I know Jebo and I will be super protective of anyone touching Gianna unless they are clean and their hands/arms have been scrubbed. I guess that's a normal practice before you touch ANY newborn, since they are so prone to illness once they are exposed to the world.

The instructor also put a big emphasis on us mothers drinking at least 2 liters of water a day. I already exceed that amount, as I am ALWAYS thirsty for water. It will also help to drink a lot of water during the hot and humid Virginia days when swelling is possible.

Hopefully Gianna makes her appearance around 37 weeks, so it will be towards the end of June and it wont be too hot out yet. I know she will come when God is ready for her to come, but I'll still put my "end of June" prayer request in. =) They say for first time moms, only 20% of babies come before their due date, and 80% come after. C'mon Gianna! Be in the 20% for Mommy & Daddy, m'kay?

Towards the end of the class we watched a birthing video, and everyone was quiet until the video SHOWED a baby popping out of a vagina. I think for most of them, it was the first time watching something like that. All of them men were wide-eyed, and all of the women were whispering to their husbands and vice-versa. Jebo and I were just looking at each other laughing. This is our first birth also, so we'll see how he does in the delivery room. He thinks he's going to pass out, but I think he will pull through it when he realizes he has to keep me strong and help me get our daughter into the world safely and hopefully, quickly!

Sooooooooo excited!!!

Senses in the womb

2009-04-14T12:08:00.001-07:00

I found out today that babies can taste and smell in the womb! Amazing!

Here are the facts:

Taste:

By 13 to 15 weeks a fetus's taste buds already look like a mature adults, and the amniotic fluid that surrounds the fetus can smell strongly of curry, cumin, garlic, onion, or other strong tastes from a mother's diet. Studies show that a fetus's swallowing increases when surrounded by sweet tastes and decreases with bitter and sour tastes. (I guess I should eat more chocolate? Haha!)

By birth, babies have a strong sense of taste. Newborns can discriminate between tastes and have shown definite taste preferences. Even preemies as young as 33 weeks suck harder on a sweetened nipple than on a plain rubber one.

Smell:

A fetus's nose develops between 11 and 15 weeks. Until recently, scientists didn't believe that fetuses would have any sense of smell, since it was assumed that smelling depended on air and breathing. However, the latest research has opened up a new world of possibilities.

The nasal system is made up of no less than four subsystems, and it's now believed that the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus passes through the baby's oral and nasal cavities, triggering these senses.

http://health.discovery.com/centers/pregnancy/americanbaby/senses.html

Gianna- 4D at almost 27 weeks

2009-04-12T13:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was our 4D sonogram.

When we started the scan, Gianna had her whole face IN the placenta. I had to do a lot of flopping from side to side and I had to get up and down a few times before we got her to move. She is the cutest little baby ever!

While we were trying to get her to flop over, the doctor was shoving on my stomach and poking it like crazy to shake her a little and get her to shift positions. All that made her do was grab the cord with one hand, and her foot with the other. Ha! She was looking for something to hold on to! Cute!

She was sucking on the umbilical cord almost the whole time. She would hold it with one hand, and if it would drop, she would grab it with the other and bring it back up to her mouth. The doctor said she is very smart, because most babies don't have coordination like that in the womb.

We have over 50 pictures, as well as a movie of the whole sonogram. At the beginning of the movie, she is opening and closing her mouth as if she is hungry. I'm going to try to post it later.

Jebo and I are in awe of how beautiful she is already. He says she has my eyes, my nose and his mouth. I think she will have a combo of our eyes, a combo of our nose and his mouth for sure. We will see!

In a few weeks we have another 4D sonogram and will be able to see her face more clearly since she will be bigger and plumper.

We are so in love with her! Jebo is so excited to meet his little girl, and so am I!

More pics:

View of Gianna from up top:

Front view of face and body:

Side view of body, arm, head and ear:

We think it looks like she is praying here:

Kick the Daddy!

2009-04-08T12:25:00.001-07:00

Last night we were laying in bed and Jebo had his hand on my stomach and Gianna kicked him so hard HE jumped and almost screamed! That was the first time he had actually felt Gianna kick. He's placed his hand on my stomach many times before, but for some reason she is always still when he tries to feel her move. In the past, he'd have his hand there for a period of time, and she wouldn't budge, but then right when he'd move his hand she would kick and he'd miss it.

His reaction to her kick last night was SO funny. He was so worried that it hurt me and he didn't want to put his hand back because the realization that a human being just kicked him from inside his wife momentarily made him weak. It was like a kid that got bit by the fish in the fish tank, so he was weary to put his finger back in. Ha! That didn't last long, because after the shock of feeling her moving for the first time passed, he placed his hands right back and got a few more jabs from her. His eye's widened at each one. Cute!

After his "moment" with her he was freaking out if I moved to quick, or if I wasn't being "careful" enough. He said he's already protective of her, and it will only get worse. We watched Nick and Nora's infinite play list last night after dinner, and in one scene the kids were kissing, and he said, "Gianna will be doing none of that! I'm going to stalk her when she's out to make sure of it!" Haha!

Protective Daddy, incident # 1. Get used to it Gianna. Your daddy loves you too much already! Wait until he has you in his arms. You wont be able to get more then 10 feet away without him panicking! Sorry, darling! Haha!

26 Weeks

2009-04-07T13:30:00.001-07:00

I wonder sometimes if we have a future jazz dancer in my stomach with how much this little girl moves! She is ALWAYS moving and punching and kicking. I decided to start monitoring her most active hours, in hopes that it will give me a clue of when she will sleep after being born. Good luck with that, right?!

Our 4D sonogram is this Saturday, and we are SO excited to see Gianna's beautiful little face. Our appointment is at 1:00pm, which is good because in the afternoon she is the most active between 12:30pm and 2:30pm. Then she falls asleep and is active again from 4:00-4:30. She's always moving at least a little bit all day and night, but during the afternoon I feel the strong jabs that almost throw me forward in my chair. Soon she will be bigger and not able to move so freely in her cramped quarters, so I guess I should start looking forward to feeling those jabs in my ribs. Haha!

At 26 weeks, Gianna is now:
Opening and closing her eyes
Moving her head back and forth in the womb
Growing hair on her head
Growing fat under the loose baby skin
She has all her fingernails and toe nails now
Her brain tissue and neurons are rapidly developing

The best part is that she can now hear not only me, but Daddy and anyone else that is around me a lot! I have noticed that she is responding with kicks to loud noises that don't stop.

When we went for a drive the other day in the MG it was so loud that she was kicking and protesting the whole time. It actually made me uncomfortable to be in the car because I felt like I was torturing her, and instead of enjoying the open air ride, I was worrying about her sitting in my stomach terrified! Poor baby!

Last night I took a jacuzzi bath and she was protesting at the sounds of the jet rumbling, so I ended up just turning them off and soaking in the tub the regular way. She reacted the same way to the jacuzzi the last time I took one a few weeks ago. Jebo thinks it hilarious. We are always in the bathroom at night at the same time, so he always laughs when I turn the jets off, and asks me, "Puddi's kicking?" (Puddi is our nickname for Gianna. Like- Puddy in your hand.)

I'll have to get her used to these noises because I'm sure I'll be soaking in the jacuzzi a lot more in these last few months of pregnancy, and I certainly plan on going for more drives in the MG and enjoying the spring weather!

98 days until Gianna's due date!

Bracelet & Headbands

2009-03-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

We bought Gianna the cutest headbands from ETSY, which were delivered last week.

They are really soft and stretchy and will fit from newborn to adult. I even tried one on. They are SO adorable.

I can't wait to do one of many photo shoots of her at home in these headbands with big fluffy tutu's or really cute dresses to match the headbands! What a princess!

Here's how they look on a baby:

Here is her collection, so far:

Her new ladybug bracelet that will fit newborn to 6 years (the lady at ETSY threw in an elephant bracelet too) :

Bible reading

2009-03-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

They say it is good to read to the baby in the womb, and if you read a book over and over it will actually be the baby's favorite book when born. I have a ladybug book I'm going to start reading to her nightly and a few other bedtime books, but for now we have just been reading the Bible to her.

Since November of 2008, when we found out we were pregnant, we started reading our daily devotional and Bible out loud every night. Gianna is always still when I read the Bible, but then goes back to her normal active self when we stop reading it. It's so cute. She's still when Gods word is being read. Who knows- maybe by the time she is able to talk, she will be able to quote scripture!

I can't think of a better book for her to be able to quote, or have memorized. The Bible is the only book that matters. =)

Giannas Rug

2009-03-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

We found the perfect rug this weekend. Here it is:

The room color looks so different during the day when it's bright outside, verses how it looks at night when the lights are glowing. I love the contrast! Light and airy during the day, warm and cozy at night.

The cats have still been good about not being curious about her room. I haven't caught any of them trying to get in the crib yet. They do like the rug, however.

Right now we don't have a non-skid pad under it yet, so the cats like to run and slide into it across the room. Every morning the rug is pushed to the wall. Funny! They won't be able to do that once the pad is there.

Poor little kitties have all the fun taken away from them. Haha! I'm just happy then have 0% interest in the crib. Hopefully they will be the same way with the co-sleeper we put in our room.

We have less then 2 weeks until our 4D sonogram. We're SO excited to see her face.

Gianna's room

2009-03-27T20:12:00.001-07:00

Gianna's room is almost done.

We are just waiting for her white leather glider chair to be delivered, and I'm still looking for the perfect white rug for the floor.

Exciting!!!

Crib:

I made these ladybug themed letters:

Dresser/changer:

6 month baby belly

2009-03-27T20:11:00.001-07:00

Born with a Silver Spoon in her mouth...

2009-03-18T11:58:00.001-07:00

My Aunt Donna decided that Gianna should be "Born with a Silver Spoon in her mouth", so she sent her one. Not just any spoon, either. A spoon from Tiffany's.

Normally, when you hear "Born with a Silver Spoon", you think of a spoiled rich kid who's had everything handed to them. Inherited wealth. Someone born into a wealthy family is said to have "been born with a silver spoon in his mouth". As an adjective, "silver-spoon" describes someone who has a prosperous background or is of a well-to-do family environment.

Our friends Morgan and Kate recently told us there is also a health benefit to children being fed with a silver spoon. Silver actually has beneficial healing and anti-disease properties.

Silver ions and silver compounds show a toxic effect on some bacteria, viruses, algae and fungi, typical for heavy metals like lead or mercury, but without the high toxicity to humans that are normally associated with these other metals.

So, the main reason these children were fed with a silver spoon, fork, etc. was for health benefits, that only the wealthy families could afford.

My Aunt Donna already has plans to buy her a silver bowl from Tiffany's to go with the spoon. She also said she will be buying her a comb and a brush in silver, although I'm not sure there are any health benefits for your hair being brushed with silver. Haha!

The card says:

Dearest Gianna,

Mangia...

With all my Love,
Aunt Donna

Thanks again for the spoon Aunt Donna. Not only will she be spoiled by everyone, but she'll be healthy also!

Painted Closet

2009-03-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

Our painters came this weekend and painted Gianna's closet.

We removed the doors and made it a "nook" for her changing table/dresser combo. The drapes around the closet match the drapes on the windows. They are all tied back with ladybug ribbon.

I'm pleased with the results. Now we can start getting the furniture!!!

New bathroom for Gianna

2009-02-25T19:13:00.000-08:00

Our painters came this weekend to paint Gabs old blue bedroom, light yellow like the baby's room. It looks much better. I'll post those pics when the room is done. I have to put all of the furniture currently in Gianna's room into Gab's old room so I can start decorating the nursery.

We also painted Gab's old green bathroom gray and decorated it with more feminine items since it will be a girls bathroom now. Plus- at least the walls are gray now, so if we have a boy in the future, we can work with the color on the walls still.

Here's the new bathroom:

The way it used to look:

Better, right?

5 month baby belly

2009-02-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

Scare the baby?

2009-02-23T10:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Jebo and I were watching a movie at home. We have a speaker system in our family room, which makes it feel like your in a theatre when you watch movies. You feel vibrations and everything.

We happened to be watching an action packed movie yesterday that had lots of "booms" and "crashing" that our daughter didn't seem to like too much. At the really loud parts she started flopping and kicking, but then when it would quiet down she would be still. It was so cute.

Later we went to Church at McLean Bible and the worship in the beginning is really loud like a concert so she was flopping and kicking at first for that also. It didn't last long because I was singing so it calmed her down to hear my voice mixed in with the booms.

She was pretty active yesterday because she was kicking even when we were in bed watching the Oscars. Soon she will be bigger and those kicks will hurt! Great! Haha!

Baby Name

2009-02-23T09:46:00.000-08:00

Jebo and I have said for a long time that we will name our daughter Corinthia Jolie. Recently, everyone has been telling us what they plan to call her for short. Some say "CJ", others say "Cori", and a few like "Corin". The only shortening of Corinthia we like is Corin, but we know we can't stop people from calling her whatever they want for short if that's what we name her.

With that in mind, we have decided to look at other names. Names that couldn't be butchered and shortened into names we don't like. Aside from Corinthians in the bible, we don't hold an affinity to the name. All "Corinthia" means is "Woman of Corinth." We initially liked it because Jebo proposed to me reading 1 Corinthians 13, and we also had the reading at our wedding. "Love is patient, Love is kind..."

The other night Jebo and I looked around online at little girl names, and we both really like Gianna. It means "God is gracious, or Gift from God." So far, that is our favorite, and it's short enough that hopefully people won't try to butcher it. I mean- it's only 3 syllables. I think everyone can handle pronouncing Gianna without thinking it's too long, right? My name is Angela- 3 syllables and everyone does just fine with that. So- for the record- her name will not be Gia or Anna. It will be GIANNA if that's what we 100% decide on.

Jebo likes that name the most, and he calls her that every time we talk about her. Convincing Daddy of another name could be hard, so hopefully I don't find any others I like more. =)

Baby Jebo & Baby Angela

2009-02-20T08:44:00.001-08:00

I was looking through some old pictures, and found these really cute ones of Jebo & I as wee-little ones. Our daughter is going to be such a cute baby!

Little babies:

Us a little older- with Hair. Yey!:

It's a GIRL!

2009-02-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

Foot:

Here you can see her "vajay jay" between her legs:

We had our 19 week Anatomy Sonogram today. They looked at her brain, feet, hands, heart, spine, face, arms, legs, stomach, bladder and genitals. Everything is perfect. She is a GIRL- just what we have been praying for. We are elated!

After the doc checked out all of her parts, she let us take a video. The whole time the doctor was checking the Anatomy, our little girl was sleeping with her hands clenched in fists over her eyes. Is it bright in the womb, sweet baby of ours? It was so cute!

Right when Daddy started to video she started moving all around. She had hiccups so it looked like she was jumping. It was so sweet to watch her. She is getting so big, and we are 1/2 way closer to meeting her. Only 19-20 weeks left before we see her face to face!

We love you little girl.

Here's a video of her hopping around. ***PAUSE THE MUSIC AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE BEFORE PLAYING THE VIDEO***

Profile:

Shot from above of her face and 2 little arms up by her face:

19 weeks!

2009-02-17T10:24:00.001-08:00

Last night when I was sitting on the couch I felt jabs coming from my stomach that I thought were gas bubbles. They were like small little "pops". I soon realized this was our baby kicking/moving around.

Later when I got into bed and was still, I felt the jabs again around every 30 seconds. It was the coolest feeling, and it had me picturing her tiny little hands and feet exploring the womb. Finally after about 20 minutes of feeling her moving around, I said "OK Baby. It's nite-nite time now." After that she was still. She's already such a good baby!

They say right about now, she is growing the hair on her head, she is 6 inches long, and her teeth are forming under her gums. I'm going to have the doctor confirm her length at our sonogram tomorrow.

I'm at my desk right now and I have been feeling her jabs on and off since I arrived this morning. The feeling is very different then the flutters I have been feeling through the pregnancy. I love it! I can't wait until she's a bit bigger, and her daddy can feel her moving too!

Stay tuned for videos and pictures from our sonogram tomorrow.

Love,
JebAngBaby

Bedding for the Nursery

2009-02-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

Jebo and I found this crib bedding set that is the same color as the walls. The walls in her room are painted a very light yellow called "touch of nectar." It is almost a cream color, with a hint of yellow.

We have collected a lot of pictures of bedding that we like, but I think we have decided on this one. We want the room to be pretty, but not girlie. We like pink, but were more of the hot-pink type, not the soft-pink type.

Our color scheme for the nursery is- light yellow/cream & white with hints of red and ladybugs. I already have plans to make wooden letters suspended from ribbon to place behind her crib. They will look something like this, but more modern, and I will add ladybugs to them and swarovski crystals on areas. I can't wait to start making them:

I feel like I'm planning a wedding with all the research I'm putting into designing the room for our princess!

Pre-Corinthia Art

2009-02-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

I drew this in 2006 on a post-it and put it in Jebo's lunch.

He still has it under his mouse pad, and scanned it today to send it to me.

The dead sperm is an image of the "one who didn't make it".

On the other picture- the circle with the word "Corinthia" in it is the egg. The big black sperm is telling the other sperms to back off and he's holding them back so he can get the egg.

Though you would enjoy laughing at me.

I know, I'm strange.

I'm sure Corinthia will enjoy laughing at this when she sees it in one of her scrapbooks when she's older.

An ETSY Baby

2009-02-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

Today as I was looking at Etsy.com, I typed in "ladybug" in the search field, and came across over 500 items having to do with ladybugs.

I decided to narrow it down and change my search to "Ladybug baby" and found all of these UBER cute lady bug items for little girls.

I'm SO excited and can't wait to buy it ALL!!!

16 weeks

2009-01-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

When I woke up on Saturday morning and placed my hand on our baby bump it felt like it doubled in size overnight. Jebo was already awake so when I went downstairs to make him feel he was shocked and so happy. He thinks it's the cutest thing in the world and so do I.

He keeps asking me what it feels like for me, and I told him, "We'll right now it feels like a clenched hard butt cheek is sitting under my bellybutton that's only gonna get bigger, except it's not a butt cheek- its a baby and its alive." Haha!

The baby is almost 5 inches long this week, and the size of an avocado. There aren't any new changes in me, except this ever growing stomach and I find myself more tired these days. Usually around 3pm I'm ready for a nap, then I get a rush of energy when I pass the tired stage, but again by 9pm I'm ready to sleep for the night but I usually never crash until after 10:30pm.

Check out this link to see the growth of the baby/mommy from conception-birth. It's really cool. Just put your cursor over the grey box under the picture and slowly move to the right for week-by-week changes. Looks like I'm about to have an even bigger growth spurt in the next 2 weeks.
http://pennhealth.com/health_info/pregnancy/000088.htm

Big Brother

2009-01-23T13:23:00.000-08:00

This picture is so sweet. It's a watercolor painting I found online of a sibling connecting with the baby in the womb.

It's nice that Gab will be a TWEENAGER (10 1/2) when this baby is born. (TWEENAGER is defined as the double digit years prior to turning 13, so 10-12 are the Tweenager years. A tween is between 8 and 12 years old, and a tweenager is 10 to 12 years old.)

At least he will be old enough to TRULY connect with the baby as a BIG BROTHER since they are so far apart in age. We won't have to worry about them fighting. He will officially be a 13 year old teenager, when his baby sister is 1 1/2 years old. Wow. When he is an adult-18-his baby sister will only be 7 1/2 years old. He'll be the super protective big brother for sure.

=)

As promised- the 4 month baby belly

2009-01-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

This baby is growing fast, and so is my stomach. We're almost 1/2 way there! Only 5 months to go. I suppose after a couple more months my belly will just look like a huge round ball- so I'll try to post the growth progress while it's in the process of getting even bigger then it is already. The bump starts right under my belly button. The womb will slowly start creeping up the further along I get. Soon I'll be able to look forward to baby feet kicking my rib cage. Haha!

I officially cannot suck in anymore. Not possible. Enjoy!

I also emailed my belly pictures out, and Megan responded with "I love it, where's Jebos". He responded with this:

That IS NOT his belly. Don't worry. It might be that big, but it's NOT that hairy. Haha!

Baby Clothes Galore!!!

2009-01-23T10:19:00.001-08:00

Corinthia's closet is PACKED!
As you know- we've been collecting ladybug clothing, among other really cute garments, so I wanted to post them for your viewing pleasure so you can see what a cute little ladybug she will be! My mom has bought pretty much everything that you see in the closet, minus a few ladybug & other adorable things I have found on my own.
Tutu found at Old Navy. I LOVE this! :
Assorted ladybug clothes found at Target and BJ's:
Ladybug dress w/ matching bloomers found at TJ Maxx:
Ladybug sandals found at target:
New dress my mom found at a Thrift store- still complete with tags:

We can't wait for our baby to come so we can play with her and dress her up and treat her like a little princess. She almost has as many clothes as me! Now Spring is coming up- which means new ladybug garments hit the shelves and I'm sure the clothing collecting wont be dwindling down anytime soon!

Yey!

15 weeks

2009-01-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

I am amazed at how much our baby is growing, and that in one week she is 4 months old in the womb.

Every morning when I wake up, I touch my stomach to feel how much bigger it is. As of about 3 weeks ago, I could start feeling my womb by touching my stomach when laying down. I could feel it very well while standing for a little over a month now, but when you lay down, everything sinks in. Normal. Not anymore. Now in the morning, I just place my hand there softly and I can feel the baby bump. It's amazing. It's big, and it's only going to get bigger.

Jebo thinks it the most beautiful thing. He smiles so big every time he looks at my stomach. He says, "She's beautiful already." Sweet. You can see the pride in his eyes already for his baby. I love it.

I've also been collecting anything and everything ladybug that I find. Outfits, socks, shoes, bibs, blankets, washcloths etc. There are SO many ladybug things out there and it's not even Spring. I'm a happy mommy! Jebo doesn't even gripe when I come home with bags of things. He just loves all of it and says he can't wait to smell the baby.

The baby is around 4 inches long now. I feel her move sometimes. Supposedly in 2 weeks I should be able to feel her all the time. I had a dream last night that she was kicking and I felt it big time, but as far as I know it was just a dream. But- who knows. Maybe she gave me a good kick in my sleep. Was I snoring? Haha!

Speaking of DREAMS. Wow. The pregnancy dreams have kicked in big-time! I have been having the most bizarre dreams for about 2 weeks now. I even had a dream I birthed a cat, but then it turned into a human. Haha! I might even start a pregnancy dream journal because the dreams are so nutty.

Jebo and I are looking into a heart rate monitor so we can listen to the baby's heartbeat from home. We've also started thinking about our baby shower guest list, and as of right now it has 70+ people on it! It's definitely going to be a ladybug themed shower. Probably held the first or second weekend in June.

Nothing has changed with me. I feel great. Recently I've been waking up with headaches, but I think that might be a combination of my pillow and my wacky dreams. I'm OK with almost all food now. Nothing really grosses me out, but I still don't care for garlic these days. I think I have a pinched nerve in my lower back, which I need to have my chiro work on before this baby gets bigger and my back gets more strain on it.

Jebo is good. He's been weird with food lately. We ordered dinner last night from a Chinese resto we order from a lot, and Jebo didn't like it all of a sudden. Tonight he craved for spaghetti, but when I made it and he was eating he said he didn't really like it b/c the noodles were too thin. I told him he better start cooking then, because it's not my food- it's him. I swear he's the pregnant one here. He even stole my pregnancy pillow- the snoogle, and won't give it back! Indian giver!!! Haha!

That's it for now. This week I'll take a picture of my baby belly for the blog, and pictures of some of the cute baby clothes I have. Stand-by for those!

13/14 Week Sonogram

2009-01-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

(Pause the music at the bottom of the page first, because there are 3 videos on this post)

Baby Sucking thumb:

I say 13/14 week, because the baby is almost through it's 13 week of life, and onto the 14th week. This morning I woke up at 6:50am and could not fall back asleep. I guess I was excited for the sonogram and anxious to start drinking water, since the doc told me to drink a lot since we were doing a belly and internal exam.

I finally got out of bed at 7:45 and filled my fist cup up. 60+ ounces later, we were on our way to the doctors office. Our appointment was at 9:00am, but we didn't get called back until almost 10:15am. We were 15 minutes late, but STILL! That's a long waiting time when you have an appointment! I had to empty my bladder 3 times while we were waiting. They told me to try not to ,but I don't think ANYONE in their right mind wants to get in the way of a pregnant woman who has to pee! Ha!

Once we finally got called back, I was happy to see I had the same doctor as last time. She is super cool. We started off doing the belly exam and we were shocked to see how BIG the baby is now. It actually looks like a baby, and not a blob. You can see the face profile really good now, the legs, arms and fingers. So cute!

The baby was sleeping, so Kelly (the doc) kept poking at my stomach to wake the baby up. Poor little one isn't used to being up so early, and needed rest still! Haha! When she would jab at it it baby would move a little, but it was too tired to move around too much for us.

Jebo took a few videos, and at the end of this one you can see the baby move its arm around, and scratch it's face. Sweet huh?

(Pause the music at the bottom of this page)

Jebo also asked the doctor if it was too soon to tell the gender or not. She said she would look and give us an educated guess. At first the umbilical cord was between the baby's legs, so i got up and went to the restroom, then when I came back we did the internal exam to see if the umbilical cord had moved. It had moved, but she could see better for some reason with the belly exam so we started that up again.

She said, "Yep. It's a GIRL. Don't buy any clothes yet, but I'm pretty sure it's a girl." She said this because in the genitalia area it is flat, and by now she would see the penis if it was a boy.

Jebo is super excited, and so am I. I would be just as happy with a boy, but after thinking I realized it's probably best to have a girl first. At least she will NEVER have any "middle child" syndrome because she IS a girl and girls are spoiled princesses. Then, when we have our next child and it's a BOY- he will be the youngest so he wont feel slighted. He'll be the "baby", and his big sister will be his "mommy", and he will be her "doll".

Baby all stretched out (notice the legs and arms):

Either way, between Jebo, myself and my mom this baby will not be lacking in constant 1,000% genuine love and care. I'm glad Gab will be 10 1/2 when this baby is born, so at least he will be able to appreciate his sibling more then he would had it been born when he was younger. He will TRULY be a BIG brother. 10+ years older! WOW! In 5 years he can drive his 5 year old sister around. Well- maybe not. We'll have to test his driving skills first. Haha! He isn't as "car crazy" as Jebo- so who knows what kind of driver he'll be.

After my exams, they pricked my finger, and took my blood for more testing. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated. I guess I'm learning I'm not so scared of needles after all! I'm growing up! Haha!

Baby's profile:

I have had a smile on my face all day thinking about this baby and how big she is getting while looking at her pictures and the videos. In 6 weeks we are 1/2 way there to being able to meet her face to face! YEY!!!!!!

It's more REAL now that she looks like a baby.

We LOVE her!

Video of baby squirming around. You can see her kicking and stretching her legs at first: (pause music at bottom first)

Extra:

13 weeks- SECOND Trimester!

2009-01-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

The baby has changed SO MUCH in the womb the last 2 weeks. It has officially doubled in size (it's now 3 inches long), and is starting to look more like a human.

They say the baby's eyes and ears are moving to the place they are supposed to be now, and baby now has fingerprints.

We have a sonogram this Friday, and the baby will almost be 14 weeks old at that point. I can't believe how fast this is going. By 18 weeks you can find out the sex of the baby, so we'll know really soon. At 20 weeks we are half-way through our pregnancy! WOW!

For Christmas Jebo got me a Snoogle & a Belly Sonic for the baby. A Snoogle is a body pillow that will come in handy when this baby gets bigger and I can't sleep on my back anymore:

A Belly Sonic is a belt you wear on your stomach that you slip an ipod in, and the speakers in the inside send music to the baby. Jebo also downloaded every possible form of baby music you can find for our baby to listen to. Daddy is already spoiling his baby. Ha! www.bellysonic.com

On another note- it IS true when they say in your second trimester you start to feel more "normal". Things that made me nauseous before, don't bother me as much anymore. I'm not peeing as much as I was in the first trimester. I've had more energy, so I've been slowly cleaning out the baby's closet, and the closet it Gab's old room, which will be a play room until we have another baby down the road.

I've also realized that I am CRAVING Mexican food a LOT. I want nachos with beans and cheese and sour cream, burritos, and anything with Mexican flavors. This makes me think about one of my best friends- Megan- because she LOVES Mexican food. I used to LOVE Italian food, but now it doesn't appeal to me. I wonder if she will not like Mexican, but crave Italian when she's pregnant. Haha! That would be funny!

You can also FEEL the baby now when I'm standing. Jebo, Jody and her sister Kayla are the only ones that have touched the baby so far. It is beginning to be quite the hard little lump. Since the baby is now the size of a peach, I suppose that's normal.

I have felt the baby move 2 times. Once when I was laying in bed pressing on my stomach, and the second time was when I was sitting at work, and the seam of my maternity pants was pushing on the womb and I could feel the butterfly flutterings. I think I may have felt it a few other times, but I wasn't paying attention.

I hope this baby moves a lot for Daddy at our 13 (almost 14) week sonogram this Friday.

I'll post the pictures and video no later then Saturday, so keep a look out!

11 weeks

2008-12-22T13:03:00.001-08:00

I had my appointment on Dec 19th, but did not get a sonogram. Instead they used a contraption to listen to the heartbeat from my stomach, which was pretty cool.

I got tested for everything in the book, and they had to take 6 viles of blood from me, which was not as painful as I thought it would be. The last time I gave blood in was in high school, and it took 3 grown men to hold me still.

I still think my fear of needles has something to do with my mom getting my ears pierced when I was a toddler. She said it took 5 grown men to hold me down and that afterwards I wouldn't look at her or let her touch me without screaming. Needless to say, my dad had to take over a lot of my care until I was "over" it. Haha!

This time, I closed my eyes RIGHT when I sat in the chair, so I couldn't see her getting things prepped, and I couldn't see the needle. When she pricked me with the needle it actually was only a small sting. The lady said to me, "Girl, you can't handle a needle? How are you gonna have a baby?" I answered with, "Good question. I have no clue." Ha!

It was over in 1 minute, which was a lot quicker then I expected.

Afterwards, I went to billing and we called our insurance company, to find out what was covered in our plan. 100% of everything is covered, which is a HUGE blessing. They also told me to have one of the doc's at this clinic deliver the baby, I have to give birth in Alexandria. My mom wanted Fairfax, because she read it was better, but- Oh well. I'm sticking to doctors I know, and that's that.

I will be setting an appointment in about 2 weeks for more tests and at that appointment, I will definitely have a sonogram.

My next appointment after that is 2 weeks later for a mom check-up, then at 18-20 weeks Jebo and I will go back for the BIG sonogram where we find out if this baby is a boy or girl. YEY!

I can't believe in about 7 weeks we'll know if it's a boy or girl!

Amazing!

10 weeks!

2008-12-16T12:08:00.001-08:00

I was doing some research online today and got some fun facts on the baby:

Baby is now a little over an inch long, and the complete body plan is laid down
External Genitalia will begin to form next week
Baby started growing fingernails and peach fuzz hair this week
Baby will double in size in 2 weeks- to a little over 3 inches long
Baby no longer has a tail (I'm glad I couldn't see that in the sonogram) Haha!
Baby can taste, and has tooth buds. Cute!
Baby's FINGERPRINTS will be complete in 2 weeks!

Changes for Mommy in the coming weeks:

They say my uterus is now the size of a grapefruit, and it used to be the size of a pear.
My emotions will start kicking in and I will become overly-sensitive. I plan to fight this!
I will start to feel unattractive. Could the ZIT on my cheek be the reason for this?
Weight gain should begin now since the uterus and baby are growing rapidly. Um-yey!?

Yesterday my mom brought me a pair fo the most COMFORTABLE black maternity work pants in the world! Seriously- I might wear these for the rest of my life. She also brought me a few tops, which fit EVERYWHERE EXCEPT the breast area. I literally had to force the top down over my breasts, and getting the shirt off again was quite tricky. My mom, of course, found this quite comical- but I can't say I was as amused as she was. This baby must have plans to eat ALOT!

On a DADDY note- Jebo falls more in love with this baby every day. Everytime I give him a fun fact about the baby, he says " I love our baby!" When we are in bed at night winding down, he always pretends the baby is there and squeezes it, and yells
"B-A-B-Y!" Haha!
His other new favorite thing to say is, "I love YOU, and BABY!"

It's awesome that we get to go through all of this together. As most of you know, this is Jebo's first time actually watching his child grow from the very start in the womb. He was in Melbourne (getting his MBA) when Gab was "baking" in a baby oven, and Jebo was not in a committed relationship with the "baby oven" Gab was being baked in at the time, so it's a whole new experience for Jebo this time around. This is all NEW and EXCITING for both of us, which is a wonderful thing to be able to share for the first time as Husband and Wife.

I'm still trying to prepare darling Jebo for seeing his child being born. That will be a first for him too! I told him I'm going to make him watch births over and over again on youtube so he gets used to seeing them. I was actually quite shocked watching births online at first, but now I'm getting more used to watching them and it's not as hard anymore. I may have to strap him to a chair with his eyes pryed open to get him to watch it. We'll see! He'll thank me later when he's crying like a girl and holding his baby for the first time minutes after it's born!

I'll update the blog after my doc appt. on Friday! I'm trying to reschedule the time, so I might have to switch the appointment day, but we shall see...

I'll keep you posted.

Second Sonogram- 9 weeks

2008-12-09T16:19:00.000-08:00

Today was an exciting baby day.

I had another sonogram today to determine the due date, which is still July 14th. We are officially 9 weeks pregnant. Every Tuesday we increase a week.

In the sonogram today she looked at the womb, and my ovaries. She also was able to determine the egg ovulated from the left ovary! Wild huh?

This first video is of the heart beat: (Don't forget to go to the bottom of this page and pause my play list first, or else you wont be able to hear it!)

The below video is of the baby waving. If you have a lap top- turn it upside down so you can see better. The baby was laying upside down for this sonogram. Cute!

When the doc started the sonogram the baby was dancing. Both arms, both legs and the head was moving around. Active baby! OF COURSE when I started the video, monkey got still and stopped moving. I was happy to actually get ONE good video of baby waving and squirming a bit.

You can also see the yolk sac (what nourishes the baby) as well as the small placenta (that will be big one day).

We are so excited, and it was awesome to see the baby move!

It's still crazy to think there is a living moving child inside of me, and it makes it more real to be able to see it move around.

So sweet!

First Sonogram- Yey!

2008-12-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

Baby's head is at the top right of the blob in the black banana shaped thing (where the + sign is):

When I went to the doctor today and they said I wasn't doing blood work I was so happy! I hate needles! My mom was happy too b/c she also hates needles. So does Jebo- but I guess we'll all have to get over that sooner or later.

The doc told me we were just going to confirm the pregnancy. My response was, "Oh, so I'm going to pee on a stick again?" She said, "No, were doing a sonogram."

Mom and I were super excited, and I was glad I brought my camera b/c their printer for the sonogram machine was not working.

I got a bit violated today but I guess that's something I'll have to get used to. They had to test me for Chlamydia/Gonorrhea (a standard test for a pregnant chick), which is just like getting a pap.

For the sonogram, they stuck a small wand-type device inside of me and found the baby, AKA Fishy/Sea Monkey. (That's what we call the baby.) Baby would most resemble #20 in the display below based on the first opinion as to how far along we are- but when I look at the sonogram the shape of the head at this stage already like baby #21 below. It looks more rounded. Cute!!!

Next Tuesday, December 9th @ 10am I have a 3D Sonogram appointment at another office to determine the actual size/due date of the baby. My doc says based on her calculations Monkey will come around July 14th.

December 19th @ 3:00pm I go back for another appointment with my doc for blood work and another sonogram.

Exciting!

10 weeks already?

2008-12-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

10 week fetus (not ours):

Tomorrow we have an appointment to confirm the pregnancy (obviously we're preggo- but this is "protocol") and see how far along we are.

Based on pregnancy calculators, with my last period having been Sept, 20th- I am 10 weeks along. Time flies when your growing a baby and have no symptoms I suppose.

Aside from my daily enlarging breasts, I really have no other symptoms. I'm burping a lot more. I do get extreme hunger pains, and sometimes the thought of food, even something I just ate makes me grossed out, but I haven't had any morning/afternoon/evening sickness, and don't plan on it either.

A few days ago I was on a pizza kick, and now the thought of Pizza doesn't appeal to me, and I felt that way yesterday, even though I had a Tomato Basil Mozzarella sandwich from Cosi that is very similar to pizza. Go figure.

I guess food overall kind of turns me off, but these hunger pains I get cannot be ignored. They are the hunger pains you would get in the morning if you skipped dinner and lunch the day prior. They are horrible. Even when you eat, they come back in an hour or so. That's why I'm eating a lot of yogurt, fruit and nuts and I'm happy I don't have a specific craving that lasts too long.

My mom said she could only eat Tuna Fish sandwiches her whole pregnancy with my brother and I. Gross!

I'll update tomorrow, but for now I'll leave you with this photo that shows the size of a 10 week fetus' feet in comparison to Man hands.

Cute huh?

We're PREGNANT!

2008-11-10T12:09:00.001-08:00

We are overjoyed to be announcing our pregnancy to you all!

Here's how we found out:

Saturday morning I woke up and stumbled to the bathroom. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Lately, when I wake up in the middle of the night or morning, my breasts are so sore that It feels as if someone is simultaneously giving me an Indian burn on both of them.

This feeling continues through out the day every time I move, put on a bra, or remove a bra. I must say- removing the bra is the worst. It feels like I have bowling balls in my bra, and my body is trying to hold them up under my skin. They feel stiff and fake. That only lasts for a few minutes until they get used to "hangin' on their own", then they still hurt but not as bad as when I first release these puppies! Ha!

***Back to me going to the bathroom....

So- I stumble in, holding my breasts in agony wondering what in the heck is wrong with them.

I get ready to sit down. I decide to walk back over to the sink before I do my business, and reach under the counter to grab a pregnancy test.

I sit again.

I pee. (Sorry).

I look at the stick briefly after. I see one line.

I figure it's a negative.

I wipe. (Sorry).

I look again before tossing the test in the trash.

Lo and behold- TWO LINES.

I stare at it for a minute in shock. I'm pregnant.

I contemplate how to tell my husband and decide I'm too tired, so I go back to the bed and place the stick on his chest, and I say, "We're pregnant."

His eyes light up. He smiles. He says, "Really?" Then he starts excitedly laughing.

We lay in bed and talk for a bit. He already starts telling me not to move to fast, and he starts to feel weak in his stomach thinking about whats happening in mine.

He keeps touching my stomach and smiling.

After a while, he gets up to use the bathroom, comes back to bed but first kisses me and my stomach. That was the first of many baby belly kisses I'm sure.

We call my mom, we call his mom.

We are having a BABY!!! ***

My first sign should have been the fact that I am able to sleep for 11 hours, wake up and want to sleep again. I also should have been wondering what was happening to me when I made a Tuna Fish sandwich and the smell made me queasy.

I thought nothing of most of the signs I was given, because the last time my period came, my breasts felt the same way. That was on September 20th. We're all adults here, so I can talk about my period...right? Continuing either way...

My September period was heavier than normal, and now I believe that was God preparing my womb and lining to hold this baby. Out with the OLD, in with the NEW.

I went to the Gyno for a check-up in October after that period ended, and received a clean bill of heath. I ended up missing my period in October, which isn't abnormal because- due to STRESS caused by some "lovelies" in our lives, I have missed a few here and there.

With that said- we figured my period would be coming any day and since my breast were this sore last month, I didn't think much of it. The only difference is that last month they hurt this bad, but my period came a little over a week later. This time- they had been hurting for about 2 weeks solid, with no signs of letting up.

I have not had any signs of pregnancy except for being tired, and these abnormally sore breasts of mine, and sore gums.

We went to CVS and bought prenatal vitamins Saturday night, and I've been taking them daily along with an extra Folic Acid pill.

My mom gave me a ton of fresh fruits to eat in the morning, and I am starting to drink milk, even though I hate milk, and it makes me gag. We bought the chocolate milk, so it's not AS bad as it can be.

We scheduled our first sonogram to see how far along we are on December 3rd. Based on pregnancy calculators, I could be as far along as 7 weeks, but that remains to be proven at the doctor.

Please pray for us, and this baby.

We are Elated!

P.S- we took two tests to be sure. The test on the top came out positive , and we took it an hour or after the first one, and I only had two drops (literally) of pee on that stick. the line is lighter, b/c there was hardly any urine for the test.