Hello Stranger………

OMG, it’s been awhile since I’ve logged into my account.  So long that…….i had to reset my password and everything!!!

I hope all my sisters are doing well!!  I surfed through several pages of my ‘reader’ and was able to get a sense of where all of you ladies are at.  Big congratulations to those of you that are expecting!!  And an even bigger congratulations to those of you that are expecting AGAIN!!  God truly is amazing!  For those of you that have had your babies, I loved looking at updated photos of your little ones!!  They grow so fast!

As for us, Max is now 13 months and 9 days.  He’s truly the most amazing guy.  We frequently look at him from afar and just talk about how cool he is.  He’s the happiest person I have ever met, giggling and laughing – literally ALL. THE. TIME.  He’s such a blessing.  He’s a big dude, in the 90th percentile overall (head, height, weight) and has SIX teeth.  He loves Sprouts TV and has the most amazing palate.  He eats exotic food and likes spices.  I continue to tell my husband it is due to the fact that we did a LOT of fine dining while we were pregnant.  Max also started aqua babies swim class!  DH gets in the water with him, and i’m the official photographer and videographer.  We also sold our home, built a new house, and are now settled in.  Thankfully, our day to day has slowed down and the highlights are now all about Max.

I look forward to continuing hearing about everyone’s journey and day to day.  I really have missed y’all!!  xo

 

 

Crossroads….

Hi All,

I know it’s been awhile, but know i’ve been surfing the posts for a few weeks and am really excited to see a lot of you have either gotten your BFPs or given birth.  I know a bunch of you are still in the TTC stage – and i seriously am rooting for you.

It has been awhile since i have written on here.  I have been a total IG and FB junkie lately and for the most part, i typically post about Max.  But I love my TCC sisters, so here i am on wordpress again!  But i feel like i’m at a crossroads:

• Knowing it can be difficult for those TTCing to read, I can continue to post about Max (our IVF miracle),
• I can post about serious #workingMOMLIFE stuff (work, multi-tasking, girl stuff, etc), or
• I can post about other aspects of our life (overall stuff about our family.

I am seriously leaning towards posting about #workingMOMLIFE.  Before all this TTC, i actually had a life – a life i really loved.  I did a lot of traveling, spend a lot of time with my girlfriends, at the yummiest food, and just plainly enjoyed the life i lived.  I will still post about Max, as it pertains to my #workingMOMLIFE, but outside of this blog i’m 100% all about my family.  I try to be the best housewife to my husband and Max, I try to be super mommy to Max, I try to be the best GIRLfriend to my girls, and i try to be the best daughter/sister to my family – but guess what?  I think it’s time to focus on ME.

I know i will probably lose some followers along the way, and it’s okay.  I still love you guys.  I will always have this blog up and active, but i think it’s important to embrace the next chapter of my life…..

xoxo

B

Max’s First Holiday!!

It’s been awhile since i have posted on here. I hope all you ladies are doing fabulous.

The holidays were amazing. Our very first with Max.

Max is about 6 days shy of being 6 months and he’s awesome. His personality is starting to show more and more each day.  Sleeping wise, he continues to sleep through the night with several naps during the day. Luckily with the dogs, he even sleeps through their loud barking!!  He’s still drinking formula but we have been increasing his solid foods. He’s tried carrots, butternut squash, pears, green beans, apples and blueberries – with pears being his favorite.

He truly is an amazing soul and every day I thank God for blessing us with an amazing creature.

Max 15 Weeks (12 weeks adjusted)

Sorry I’ve been absolutely MIA on here. I’ve been a combination of busy and lazy. But here I am!!  Last week, Max turned 15 weeks old and he’s fabulous. Here’s some great facts on our little man:

He has the most amazing giggle, smile and laugh.

He’s a major chunk, so we are trying to feed him more on demand versus on a timely schedule.

Max is mastering tummy time and turns on his back every so often.

He drinks up to 40oz of formula daily and goes through clothes like a crazy baby, as he tends to spit up often.

We tend to frequent Whole Foods for our nightly dinner and he does best in the Ergobaby carrier.

He sleeps through the night, typically 10-12 hours.

I’m still on maternity leave and go back to work on 12/4. I dread for the time to come, but I know it’s unavoidable. Just wanted to say HELLO and let you all know we are still alive. Have a safe Halloween!! xo

MAX

Our little guy arrived!!!  Sorry I’ve been a bit MIA on here, but Maximus Ernesto was born on July 8th, 2015. He’s the greatest thing that ever happened to us. The nights are long and we are super sleep deprived, but we feel super blessed and wouldn’t change it for the world.

Please dont ever give up trying for your miracle baby.  I gave birth to this miracle at 41 years of age, with my own egg and hubby’s sperm.  We endured 4 IUI cycles and 2 IVF cycles.  I was once told to consider donor eggs.  Our TTC journey was the MOST difficult thing I’ve  ever been through.  Would I do it again?? YES.  Was it worth it??  HELL YEAH.

**after the below 2 photos, please keep reading for our birth story**

Max on his “birth” day:

Max at 1w1d:

Max’s Birth Story:

On July 7th, hubby and I went in for our 36w MFM ultrasound (I was 36w5d at this point). After measurements, our guy fell from the 44th percentile at 32w to the 8th percentile. My blood pressure wasn’t that great and the recommendation was to deliver sooner than later. After the MFM doctor consulted with my OB, we were told that they wanted to deliver Max that SAME DAY. I held back the tears and we gathered all our stuff, dropped off the dogs at my moms, then Hubby and I had our last lunch as a family of 2.
We checked into the hospital at 1pm and was given cervidil to soften my cervix at 5pm. By 7pm I started to feel uncomfortable and by 11pm the contractions were on top of each other. I ended up getting an epidural at 12am and was finally able to get some rest (I was only at 1cm at this point). At about 1am they removed the cervidil, as Max was having a hard time with the contractions and also gave me a shot (forgot what it was called) to slow down / stop the contractions. They advised us that Max may not be able to handle a vaginal delivery, so a c-section was on the table and Hubby and I signed all the consent forms. At 4:45am, they ruptured my membranes and also attached an internal monitor to Max – to get a more accurate idea of how he was doing. At this point, I was only 3cm. I took a nap. I woke up around 8am and Max seemed to be doing MUCH better with the contractions – and SURPRISINGLY, I was now 8-9cm dilated. An hour later, I felt serious pressure in my pelvis (not painful, but just a lot of pressure). I was then checked and was 10cm! My contractions were about 4 minutes apart and I started to push. After 45 minutes, at 11:11am on July 8th – we were blessed with the most amazing little boy.
NOTHING went as planned for Max’s birth. I gave birth at 36w6d and wasn’t considered full term, I didn’t want to get an epidural, i didn’t want my membranes ruptured, I didn’t want to do internal monitoring, I didn’t walk around during labor, I ALMOST had a c-section, Max didn’t stay with us as he had to go to Special Care Nursery due to hypoglycemia, we didn’t get discharged with Max….but at the end of the day, it was perfect.

this baby has a mind of its own!!!

Today was my 1st of 2 weekly NSTs. Historically, this baby hasn’t really jumped around too much during these things, but he eventually moves enough to get us a clean bill of health and the OK sign go go home.

My blood pressure has slowly been elevating. Over the weekend it shot up to about 170/97-ish. I felt normal and just informed my OB of my BP readings.  See, I have chronic hypertension, so I’m really pretty used to all this blood pressure stuff. Although officially today, doctor told me that I’m on bed rest. Basically no getting up other than to use the bathroom and to grab something to eat from the kitchen. Don’t be fooled, this does NOT include cooking something to eat. I also did a 2nd round of lab work to see if I have preeclampsia or if we can rule it out. I’m still waiting on those lab results.

Honestly, I’m absolutely proud of baby and myself that we have made this journey as far as we have. I’m thrilled to be 37 weeks on Thursday. I have cleared out our calendar through the end of the month, except for our doctors appointments. This means I’ve cancelled the following:

• All festivities for hubbys birthday (weekend in SF)
• Wax appointment
• Vet appointment
• Prenatal massage
• Dog boarding
• Dinner hosted by GF

I really would like to hold this guy in for a bit longer, but it looks like he’s gonna come out on his own terms.  We’ve got an ultrasound with the high risk OB tomorrow and my weekly OB appointment on Thursday.  We should know more by then.

Wish us luck!!

STOP the OnLine Shopping!!!

What I need to do is get a handle on my shopping.  Here’s how that’s looking like right now:

1. BABY REGISTRY PURCHASES – when will this madness ever end?  I’m sure my husband wants to kill me as I purchase items through our registry, analyze what’s on there, edit, remove, delete, change quantities.  You name it, I’ve done it.  And I revamp and review our registry every day.  This doesn’t include my Amazon wish list where I park items that I need to purchase for the postpartum period.  Today I actually pulled the trigger and purchased all my postpartum items.  Hopefully that should keep me quiet for awhile and the shopping can cease.
2. CLOTHING PURCHASES – Okay, I’ve said it before over and over again – we are all good with the clothing.  I have a decent stock of newborn, 0-3, 3-6, 6-9 clothes.  I shouldn’t buy anymore.  But then I see sales – like take an additional 40% off the entire site of Burts Bee’s Organic Clothing – and it’s like a shopping spree that I can’t just ignore!!
3. SWADDLES – I mean, how many of these do I have… A LOT.  I have about 6 swaddle blankets, 2 swaddle me wraps, plus 2 NB Halo wraps / wearable blankets, 2 small wearable blankets and 2 medium wearable blankets.  I need to stop buying blankets and swaddles!!  I just noticed that another girlfriend bought me 4 more swaddles (via my registry) and I hate to do this – but they may get returned.  I’m sure I could use them, but then it UPS my swaddle blankets to 10 swaddle blankets.  That is a LOT!!!  Even though I could come up with multiple uses for them… I’m going to really have to think if I should keep them.

Otherwise, without the little guy here – I honestly don’t know what we need and what we don’t need.  For all I know, I need more socks…. I don’t know.  He’s now got TONS of hats that I really should sew open holes to the top of them for the dogs when baby boy grows out of them!!

dear fertile co-worker….

Okay, this is a rant.  Please move on if you don’t want to read about my rant….

Just had a new coworker start recently.  She is great.  I actually also was part of the interview team that gave her the thumbs up.  Well, she has two kids.  She’s also obviously fertile.

She repeatedly tells me “i’m so grateful that i’m not pregnant when I see you”.  Why would you say that to someone?  I’m so grateful to be pregnant.  It’s the greatest blessing that God has ever bestowed onto me.

Well today she goes on to tell us how she jogged with her kids in a Bob stroller very early on.  Which is great, to each their own.  She comes over and tells me that “you should get a Bob stroller”.  And that “she jogged with her kids in her Bob while in a car seat at 8 weeks”.  I’m like…oh, yeah, I probably wouldn’t do that until at least the age of 6 months (probably even longer to be safe).  Especially with the neck development of a child, and that the neck is still unstable at that age.  She insisted that it was safe especially with a newborn insert.  I then repeated, to each their own – it’s just something I wouldn’t personally do.  She wasn’t thrilled with my answer and was forcing me to believe it was safe.  She is beginning to bug.  But I just try to let her comments go in one ear and out the other.

Okay…rant over….

32 Week Update

How far along: 33 weeks – this update is through 32w6d

Meds: Prenatals, DHA, Synthroid, Labatalol, Baby Aspirin, Levemir and Novolog

Baby is the size of: Pomelo

Belly pictures:  No picture this week because I’m LAZY!!! 😦

Total weight gain: 18.4 lbs since transfer bringing me up to 163.4 lbs.

I actually also started doing the treadmill Mon-Fri.  Primarily for my Gestational Diabetes and my Chronic Hypertension.  My BP was a bit elevated at my last appointment, so i’m trying to do whatever I can to give me my best chances to keep this little guy in my belly!!

Maternity Clothes: Yes, I’m typically a jeans and tee slob during this pregnancy but I’m trying to make an effort every other day or so. I did, however, buy my baby shower dress!!!  Here it is:

Stretch marks: Nothing new, but I’m getting a bit paranoid – so I’m slathering on extra balm.

Sleep:  Well, I don’t know if I can blame pregnancy, the baby, or my dogs. I’ve been awake every night at about 3am for the past few nights. Then I get sleepy about 30 minutes before I have to really get up and go to work. Well — I’ve been getting to work late too…that’s cause I’m LAZY.

Gestational Diabetes: My glucose levels finally feel like they are under control!! It only takes 24u of Levemir at night, and 6u of Novolog before breakfast.  Otherwise, we are well!!!

Symptoms/Feeling:  I feel like my pelvic bone is about to fall out from underneath me. And there is a pelvic burning sensation when I get up from sitting.  But then I remind myself how long its taken to get here…and I welcome the pain!

Best moment of this week:  Going to our 32 week growth scan. Baby is doing well. Legs seem a littler short, but I think that’s the filipino in him. He wouldn’t let us take any pictures, but he has a scrotum now!!

Miss anything: I still miss sweets.  But I only have a few more weeks to go, and I know they will be worth it.

Movement:  OMG, the movements are stronger and at times – more painful.  But they remind me that he is healthy, so it’s all good.

Food cravings:  My huge splurge is Plain Greek Yogurt and Trail Mix (yes, with chocolate and dried fruit – don’t tell my nutritionist)

Anything making you queasy or sick: When I forget a snack or meal and my blood sugar dives.

Boy or Girl: Boy!!

Labor signs:  Goodness NO!

Belly button in or out:  FLAT!!

Wedding rings on or off:  Wedding band is off….BUT I got my engagement ring resized!!!  SO I’m rocking my engagement ring and it makes me so happy!!

Happy or moody most of the time: Anxiety is slowly creeping in….. Or is it excitement?

Purchases/preparations for baby:

The nursery is almost done!! It should be done this weekend if things work out.  I also plan to get our hospital bag all ready and organize the few items in his closet!!  Here’s the room again (which is also in a previous post):

Looking forward to:  Maternity L-E-A-V-E!!!!

Little Big Man Nursery (In Progress)

So, this past weekend we FINALLY were able to remove all of the baby purchase boxes from all over the house.  We finished painting the baby’s room and also got the carpets cleaned.  Although now I’ve got some organizing to do, all of the big furniture is out.  And here is our work in progress:

I know it’s only a portion of the room, but this is really the only portion that is fixed.  Haha.  Here is a roundup:

• Crib – Ikea:  With hours and hours of research, we opted with the Ikea Sundvik crib ($119 USD).  I know I wanted a crib that had more of a modern look, and with my dream crib being triple the price – it was a no brainer.  Plus the crib I wanted to get – pretty much looked like this crib.  The great thing is that this no-frills crib has clean lines which didn’t take up much room, which is a major PLUS for us, as we are limited in space (living in the bay area!).
• Mattress – Naturepedic Organice 2-stage mattress:  This was definitely more pricey than a lot of the other mattresses out there ($299 USD), and luckily we received this as a gift from DH’s parents.  It’s Organic, which is a huge plus for me, and it has 2 sides – a firmer side for infant and a softer side for toddler.  I love this mattress and we figured it would be smarter to spend the money on a mattress and save money on the crib.
• Crib bedding – TL Care Organic Velour ($18 USD):  I originally wanted to go with navy blue crib sheets with either a chevron, polka dot, or modern print.  But when I saw these ORGANIC velour sheets – I couldn’t put them down.  I also got the matching changing pad cover in the same material!!
• Crib bedding – TL Care Organic Waterproof Crib Mattress pad ($35 USD):  I know you can’t see this, but it is on beneath the crib bedding.  It’s organic and waterproof.  How can you go wrong?
• Sound machine – Cloud B On the Go Gentle Giraffe ($33 USD):  I keep reading about sound machines.  I didn’t want to buy a clunky machine, then I came across this cutie which several moms highly recommend.  It’s attached to the back of the crib rail (in case you can’t locate it) and is small enough to take along out of the house.
• Rocker woth Ottoman – Wayfair:  Okay, I forgot the brand, but I know that this one made out of plushy faux leather with a metal frame ($285 USD) would last me a lot longer than the typical cloth upholstered wooden rocker.  So when I discovered this, I pulled the trigger right away!  It’s really nice and adds an elegance to the room.
• Bassinet – Uppababy:  Our bassinet is part of our Uppababy Vista stroller system (entire system $859 USD).  Again, with the intention to use our products as much as we can, we decided to use the bassinet as a cosleeper in our bedroom.  I can’t wait to put the baby in there!
• Bassinet Stand – Jolly Jumper:  This stand is AWESOME.  I almost pulled the trigger and purchased the Uppababy bassinet stand ($149 USD) – actually I purchased it.  But after I purchased it, I ran across this wonderful contraption and cancelled my UB stand order.  This actually is a rocker and easy to move to any part of the house.  They are made for moses baskets but the price is to die for ($32 USD).  It’s not the most perfect handcrafted wooden piece of furniture, but knowing this will probably only last us 6-8 months, or until baby grows out of bassinet – how could you pass up that price?!?
• Baby Swing – Graco (partially shown in bottom right of photo):  I actually received this at work as a gift and it’s oh – so – cute!!  We also have the mammaroo, but we decided to keep this swing on the 3rd level of our home and the mammaroo on the 2nd level.  We figure we can’t go wrong with FREE.  Luckily it matches our nursery wonderfully.

So that is it SO FAR with the nursery update.  As you can tell, we didn’t want to go with a BABY theme.  No airplanes, no animals, no baby blue – no no no!  We didn’t want to spend a lot of money on things that we would eventually donate or  toss out.  We wanted to keep things simple, modern and classic.  Funny thing is that this room is a great representation of our living room.  The leather seating, dark wood furniture.  Ha.  So basically you can say this is me and DH’s nursery.  The baby can decide what he wants to do with his room when he’s older.  🙂

More updates to come when we update the diaper changing area and closet!!!