Belly shots...

As my belly gets bigger, pictures are always a great way to document the pregnancy's progress... Here are some "cute" belly shots from this weekend

55 days left!!!

The countdown is ON!!! and this is getting exciting!  I feel good... exhausted and huge, but still good!

I've been super emotional lately; I think it's a mix of emotions.. I feel happy, torn, unprepared, anxious, excited.. it's crazy!!!  It's so hard to describe all the feelings and things that are going through my mind at this time... I just hope I'm able to sort all of this out before Gaby gets here!

I'm starting to wonder if she'll be early or late... this is crazy!!!

Week 31

The countdown continues and this pregnancy is slowly coming to an end...

There are only 8 weeks left to my due date and it almost sounds unbelievable; this has been quite a journey, with ups and downs but a great one after all....

This week the heartburn from hell came back along with a feeling that I'm not properly digesting the food I eat; I've started taking papaya enzymes, which helped me with this problem when I was pregnant with Olivia....thankfully they still work and make digestion much easier for me...

Also, I am peeing way too much; I go to the restroom at least five times within an hour and it drives me nuts...I am so sleepy all the time and sometimes feel that I'm going to fall asleep while driving... crazy.. I know..I hope it doesn't happen! ;)

This week I experienced a concern regarding my low blood pressure, but after speaking to my doctors and several nurses, I realized that it is quite common to have low blood pressure during pregnancy and it's definitely better than it being too high...

Baby Gaby moves A LOT.... it's great to feel reassured that she's doing fine, but sometimes it's very painful and uncomfortable....My feet are often swollen but overall not too bad.

I had my 32 week appointment this morning and it went great.  My belly measures exactly 32 weeks, Gaby's heartbeat was about 156 and I've gained  a total of 15 lbs during the pregnancy.. not too bad.  Hopefully things will continue to progress accordingly during the next 8 weeks. My next appointment is scheduled for June 9th. 

Breastfeeding and breast pumps...

When I was pregnant with Olivia, I attended several breastfeeding classes and was convinced that she would NEVER have any formula, or at least not for the first 6 months of her life...
When she was born, the story changed (just like every other idea I had)... it turns out that she was a very hungry baby and it seemed like my breast milk was never enough... Parenting is so unpredictable and this was one of those things that helped me realize that!
Well, I was still able to breastfeed her (supplementing with formula) for at least 4 months and then I weaned her and we were both happy campers...I thought breastfeeding was not "my thing"...I tried pumping but that never worked since my breast pump was so crappy....
This time around, I'm determined (once again) to breastfeed exclusively and maybe a little longer so I've been searching for a good breast pump. While I will not stress out if breastfeeding doesn't happen, I want to at least know that I did everything in my power to make it possible...
I have decided to rent a pump instead of buying one, so that I can get a really good one, even if I can't afford to buy it... So far I've found several good sites that offer monthly pump rentals and several other options....we'll see how that goes! ;)
Here are some:
http://www.lactationconnection.com/
http://www.pumpstation.com/
http://www.mybreastpump.com/
http://www.breastisbest.com/

Getting ready for baby....

It's really starting to hit me! I WILL have another baby in two months or so! Wow!
So far, I've already had my baby shower and even bought our double stroller...
Also during the past few days, I've been looking through Olivia's old clothes and getting ready to wash them and organize them in the drawers... this is crazy!!! For the first time during this pregnancy, the fact of having two daughters has become a reality...
I'm so torn...while I'm excited to have another baby, I feel bad to have to share my love, which means taking some away from Olivia....I continue to wonder if I'll be able to love Gaby as much as I love her... is this normal?
This is a picture of a few of the things that we have for baby Gaby... our house is a mess with so much stuff.. but it's so exciting!!! I can't wait for her to be here! ;)

We bought our stroller!!!

I'm beyond excited today as I finally bought the double stroller for our babies! Yay! Not only did I get the stroller, but it is also the one that I REALLY wanted! It took me a couple of months to convince Iggy that the stroller would be worth the investment, but he finally agreed and gave me the "ok" to buy it....he's so good to us!
After lots of research, I ended up getting the Phil & Ted's Dash double stroller in black. It was great because I found a website (http://www.babybecause.com/) that had a sale; they had the stroller with the doubles kit FREE and free shipping as well for $549.99. I though it was awesome, considering that the stroller was almost $700 at the local baby store! Now, I just have to wait until the stroller is delivered! I can't wait!!!Here's a picture of my "dream" stroller!

Really low blood pressure!

So far, this pregnancy has been a good one... Aside from the  common symptoms of pregnancy, I have been able to keep the "bad" under control and have had a rather uneventful journey....

Yesterday, however, I freaked out a bit when I took my blood pressure at home and it was 90/40.. I thought that was kind of low and decided to call my doctor's office, just to make sure that such low numbers were not dangerous or abnormal in any way... 

Well, the nurse didn't return my call until today (which is an OK turn around time) and I proceeded to tell her about my concern... She questioned my eating habits and I told her I normally eat breakfast, lunch and dinner... she then told me that I wasn't eating enough and I should be snacking at least every 2 hours!, "what if I'm not hungry?", I asked.. and she said.. you HAVE to eat more than your regular meals... 

So, here I am... I feel like such a bad mother for starving my baby, but then again, I feel fine... isn't that a sign that my baby is fine as well?.... after hearing what the nurse had to say... I guess not!

Week 30

This week was pretty decent, considering the size of my belly and the fact that I'm in the last 10 weeks.... As of today, there are 65 days left to my due date and I'm already on the single count for weeks...9 weeks left!!! Sometimes, when I look back at the day I found out I was pregnant, I get very amazed.. I can't believe this pregnancy is almost over and soon we will have another baby!

I feel "ok" for the most part... some back pain and heartburn at times, but it's manageable.. Sleeping is still a huge task, but I have found some positions that are not too bad... My boobs are very sore and I feel huge....oh.. and I'm super hungry all the time!!!

Other than that.. this week was uneventful in terms of pregnancy drama! haha!

Next doctor's appointment is scheduled for May 26th, so a week from today... then, I'll start seeing the doctor every two weeks!

Baby Shower

I had my baby shower today and had a wonderful time with friends and family. The food was yummy and there were lots of desserts as well...
I received many fun gifts from my registry and a bunch of gift cards from Babies R Us.. I can't wait to go shopping for baby Gaby... what a great shower I had... and I'm so thankful for so many good people in my life! ;)

70 days left!!

I just had to post today! I'm so excited!! I can't believe I have 70 days left.. and I feel GREAT!
Thank you God for such a wonderful pregnancy... I know I've been whining for a while but I am so happy for being able to have children and experience the miracle of pregnancy..
I never thought I'd say it.. but I think I'm going to miss this belly! haha!!
Yay for 70 days left!!!!!!!

Week 29

I'm happy to announce that things are starting to look up! Not only do I have only 10 weeks left, but I also feel so much better this week. I'm glad I'm starting to have a better outlook in regards to this pregnancy because even I was getting tired of being so my whining and negativity...
The heartburn has somewhat subsided and I've been able to control my emotions a lot better...also.. I've been sleeping better for the past week and Gaby has been so much nicer to me!

I'm still exhausted and of course I feel huge, but somehow I've started to see the light at the end of the tunnel a lot closer than I did last week.

I met my friend's newborn this past week (she also has a girl Olivia's age), and it made much more real.. the fact that we were pregnant together and her baby is already here definitely gives me some encouragement...

Also, I'm so excited about my baby shower coming up this Saturday! Can't wait 'til then! ;)

Amazing 3-D Ultrasound

After two failed attempts at a 3D ultrasound, where Gaby didn't let us see her face; we finally had an awesome 3D experience today. We were so lucky to get 3 sessions for the price of one since the baby didn't cooperate at first...so I guess I wasn't that bad!
This time around, she let us see her face and then some.. She smiled, yawned, rubbed her face, sucked her thumb, scratched herself and even "waved" at us... it was so cute... We also got some good pictures and a DVD of the session as a free bonus. The DVD contains most the session in 2D and 3D and lasts about 20 minutes.. it is great!
The most wonderful thing is that Olivia came along and was able to see her little sister.. she kept pointing at the screen and smiling... so cute!!!!
It was such a nice experience to see our baby in 3D, she is so beautiful... even the tech said that her face looked so perfect! We're now even more excited to meet our little girl and bring her into our family! ;)
Here are some pictures of the ultrasound... If you've never seen a 3D ultrasound, the images might be hard to make out...otherwise, her face is very visible! ;)

Week 28

The third trimester has proven to be horrendous! I'm feeling so sick and uncomfortable already.. I don't remember feeling this bad EVER! Good thing there's "only" 11 weeks left! Somebody please remind me, why is pregnancy so long???

This week was another week from hell, starting with horrible heartburn that just won't go away and just a general feeling of discomfort that is persistent every day...

My nights are horrible too... I can rarely find a comfortable position to sleep in and Gabriela just won't stop moving around... I have to pee at least every two hours every night and often feel like throwing up! I also feel fat and ugly.. I don't even think the pictures can lie anymore! ;(

Besides the physical discomfort, I'm also very hormonal and extremely emotional. I have crying spells and just a general sadness... I'm physically and emotionally exhausted... I hope this ends soon! As of today, 79 more days!!!

Baby Shower invite

So, after debating whether or not to have a baby shower for baby #2, my friends convinced me that I should at least celebrate with a little get together... I caved and we will have a shower (a small one) on May 17th... It will be *girls only* and not very fancy, but at least we will get to celebrate the anticipation of Gaby's arrival! Here's the invite I made for the shower!