Merry Christmas from us

We had a very quiet Christmas with some family, and best of all, there was amazing food :)

Check out the pictures from our holiday! (Gerard's first tooth showed up on or around December 19)

...and the first tooth is making its way!

Today, I noticed Gerard's first bottom tooth surfacing through his gums. I first noticed his gums were extra swollen today, and upon closer look, it's because of the tooth. My brother first noticed it yesterday and didn't even tell me! But it's ok, I made the discovery for myself today -- my birthday! What a treat! Just wanted to share this as it's a wonderful milestone! 

Winter project

Baby growth is unbelievably cool. I look at pictures of Gerard's first few minutes of earth life, and I look at him now. He looks so different, but in my eyes, it doesn't seem like he changed all that much! Yes he's bigger and chubbier and have rounder eyes, but his growth seemed to have passed me so fast because he's just been this little baby I saw everyday (minus the days I had to be away in work-related circumstances and when we moved from one apartment to another), and voila, here he is continuously growing and changing in many ways. My project this winter is to finally start compiling his pictures -- from first newborn minutes to the first week, to the first month to the third month to the sixth month and so on till today. I will periodically update these as the months go by. Sooner or later, I'll be on this 12th birthday! Jeez, the speed of time when life is busy is too freaking fast. He has adjusted himself to go to bed at 8pm, though sometimes it's a bit later. He is still a bit random with his sleep pattern. He can go from 3 hours of sleep at a time to 8 hours. Even when he goes for 8 hours, his early bedtime results in an early wake up call for me (and/or Egan). Sunday is usually our only day together at home -- Egan doesn't have a Monday-Friday schedule but I do -- and I like to try to sleep in. But there are some Sundays Gerard will wake up at 5am and not go back to sleep again! Even when I try to cuddle him or ignore him, he gets me up earlier than I really want to. But hey, mommyhood is going well and I'm enjoying most of it! As for the rest that I don't enjoy, it's really just being sleep and time deprived of the other things I used to have time for. Oh well! It's a worthy trade off, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Almost 8 months old!

Gerard is pushing 8 months old already. How fast!! The day of his birth last April is a fresh memory in my mind, one that I'll always remember (I hope). Gerard is now crawling, eating carrots, avocados, bananas, squash, turkey, brown rice cereal multi-grain cereal and oatmeal. His appetite is pretty big right now -- always wants his milk regularly! We're proud of the little guy. Though he was born 2 weeks early and was a bit underweight, he's a perfect boy today! Very playful and inquisitive, and loves to be played with. Anyway, time is still an issue with mama here so I must cut this short. Till next time! 

Blue Angels fly by the Bay Bridge and Alcatraz

Wish list

The holidays are around the corner, and I'm looking forward to that since it will be Gerard's firsts! Seriously, what I'm about to list here isn't a cry for presents... but we do have awesome friends and family whose intentions might be to get us a little something. By no means you need to get us anything =) But if you're like me, you like to give a present that the receiver will use. With that said, the following are items and gifts that would go a long way in our household:

Picture frames

Gift cards (Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Starbucks, Macy's, iTunes)

Old/used oscilliscope for Egan

Cool or unique socks for Rio

Babies R Us gift cards for Gerard

Queen-sized cotton bed sheets

Some not-so-good ideas might include: video games, DVDs and books - only because we have a pretty good selection of these already. 

Hope this gives you an insight if you have us on your list this year :) 

In other news, Gerard is now almost 7 months old. Time flies!! It really does seem like I just gave birth and I was with him every day and minute before I went back to work. He's such a cool kid, very playful and loves the presence of his goofy parents. 

We had our "THE" moment

For the past 3 weeks or so, I've been cuddling Gerard to sleep at night as it seems to be the only way I can get him to sleep. This morning, with our freshly washed bed sheets and return of the comforter (it's been in the laundry hamper before Gerard was born), I had a great time cuddling him. His size is perfect for my arms, and the warmth in the blanket and the peace we had this morning was just too perfect to interrupt. But we had to get up :( That's all.
 

He's arrived!

Gerard Gabriel Gache-Hernandez was born April 11, 2008 at 12:21 pm, weighing in at 5 lbs 12 oz, and 18 inches tall! He was born a tiny little dude but he's the cutest patootie we could ever ask for. We've been busy attending to his demands of love, hunger and diaper changes, and we are taking lots of pictures of him that we will be uploading when there's time! 

-Egan & Rio

No sleep till baby's at peace

It is 5:45am Monday and the only reason why I'm even typing this is because I'm waiting for Gerard's latest feeding to settle in before I change his diaper. He is always in need of changing a diaper, even while we're changing him, he showers us with something or squirts us with something else. We're trying to get used to this. I'm sad to say that it's hard to breastfeed the little guy, I've succumbed to bottles and formula more often than I should. I still pump as much as I can but I realize it's not so good this early on to put that bottle in his mouth so very often. My frustration is that he sleeps while feeding and is hard to wake up, particularly in the middle of the night. His frustration is he can't always latch on so easily, and especially now that his mouth is used to the bottle's rubber nipple. When he does latch, he stays on for a long time and bite bite bite!!! Yes -- he's been biting.

So far, in the 9 days since birth, we've learned how Gerard signals for food, and that he hates the cold (bathing is a backbreaking task, and diaper changing is a cryfest). We have the heater on a lot now, which soothes him somewhat. We've also been using warmed cloth to wipe his butt instead of the cold wipes (we won't fall for the wipes warmer).

Our routine is quite.....routinely. In no particular order: feed, diaper change, sleep, feed, wake, wash/sterilize bottles, diaper change, sleep, feed, diaper change, mama eats, feed, diaper change, sleep, chores, and so on......I can't really tell what order that goes but it's something like that. And sleep isn't on the rotation as often as the others.

Well I think there's more to write but I should change his diaper now, so I can finally go to sleep.

A rare quiet moment to myself

Since Friday, that is.

Gerard Gabriel Gache-Hernandez was welcomed to this world on April 11, 2008 by way of induced labor. Our April 26 due date became irrelevant.

Because of my low fluids that kept getting lower as learned on my checkup last Thursday (April 10), my doctor called for an induction. I was sent to the hospital right away ("don't go home. Go straight to CPMC!") so I had to call papa Egan and asked him to excuse himself from work because we're having a baby. Doctor Rittenhouse would meet us there later in the evening.

I picked papa up from work, which was on the way to the hospital. Egan works for the hospital but at another campus (there are several across San Francisco). We checked in at the maternity ward where I was quickly admitted and settled into the labor suite. Got hooked up to monitors and stuff on me and all that good stuff for the delivery. We called our parents and informed friends of the situation and there started the excitement.

The nurses were very friendly and attended to EVERYTHING to make my stay comfortable. I was given pitocin shortly later to thin my cervix, as I was only 1 cm dilated upon arrival. It was a long wait that afternoon for the pitocin to do its job, for Dr. Rittenhouse to come, and for the actual labor to begin. Papa E went home to get some more of my stuff - my laptop and my gameboy, to keep me occupied. As the afternoon rolled into evening, my cervix thinned and my parents came just before Dr. R arrived. I was given morphine later at night to help me sleep because I couldn't nap or feel comfortable laying down all day. The morphine was purdy awesome, it totally knocked me out until the middle of the night when labor began.

I forget what time it was when I was asked when I wanted the epidural, but I thought to brave it out for as long as I could without it. But just a few minutes later, I started tearing my hair out and rubbing my face like crazy and told papa E to tell the nurse I need the freakin thing right there and then. I was feeling a lot of pelvic pressure. It seemed like forever for the nurse to come in and inject my spine (needles of all sizes hurt me), and it seemed even more forever for the drug to kick in. I hadn't noticed when it kicked in but the pain just numbed off. By around 10am, the nurse was asking if I was feeling pressure but I kept saying "no" -- thinking she meant if I was feeling any pain. When the fact of the matter was that I was feeling pressure, it just didn't bother me at all. She checked for my cervix but was surprised to announce that she could see Gerard's head and she called Dr. R right away to begin pushing. She waited a while to have me start pushing but Dr. R came quickly and the delivery began.... Gerard was pushing his way out on his own.

It was noon when he came in, and by 12:21, baby Gerard was out!!! Dr. R had me push hard but it didn't take very long because Gerard was helping me. I was encouraged to scream it out but I couldn't do anything past making the grunt face, and when I attempted to scream it only made me laugh. I only saw as much of his neck being stretched out for the rest of his body to be popped out. There really is no word to describe the moment -- papa E was amazed the entire short time when he saw Gerard's head come out more and more.

The nurse then brought Gerard across the room to clean him off, and I ended up vomiting from the experience I just went through. The rest of the day had Gerard being checked and vaccinated and bathed before I was able to start bonding with him. My parents came by, and left, and came by later that evening with the rest of my family and Bern. By then we were already transferred to our post-partum room. Egan's mom hadn't known yet because he wasn't able to get in touch with her early enough. She was actually picking up his grandmother from the airport that very evening, and they got home late to hear the good news. They came by much later that night to visit our latest addition.

The following day was spent checking up on Gerard's progress and trying to breastfeed. It was a frustrating experience (which, I learned, is very normal) so I was seen by a lactation consultant to help me. It wasn't very successful, and I hadn't fed Gerard anything at all since birth. I was quite uncomfortable the whole day (recovering from the stitches since I tore a little) and was bed-ridden, and struggled to get up everytime I had to go to the bathroom.

By Sunday we were discharged from the hospital. We got home, and dropped all our bags and quickly prepared for Gerard's comfort since we never really did much of that prior. We were relying on having 2 more weeks! My family came by to visit, as did Egan's mom later in the evening. Mayla and Vern also came by.

On Monday, we had to go to Gerard's pediatrician and she had me take him in for a blood test to check for his bili rubin levels. Unfortunately, it was higher than she wanted it to be. So she had me take him again on Tuesday, and even more unfortunately, the level went up. She had me take him back to the hospital for an overnight stay so that Gerard could go through photo therapy and get his bili rubin level down to normal. I felt so bad seeing him in the UV incubator with his eyes covered, and everything naked except his diaper. He cried and cried, but eventually, he learned how to cope being by himself. He was at peace under the heat that helped his bili rubin level go down to normal -- the very good news we received this morning. I was able to get more breastfeeding help because they all highly encourage I do this to help with his health and jaundice problem. By the end of Tuesday night, Gerard was latching on to my relief. He consistently latched on til Wednesday morning, and the lactation consultant was very pleased and relieved as well. We got discharged by noontime, and went home. I haven't had any problems breastfeeding him so far :)

I now have to put him under sunlight as much as possible as a way to help keep his bili rubin level normal. This isn't going to be a problem for us in the afternoons because we have a good amount of sunlight in our living room where he can nap naked.

And so at this time, my current worries are: finding him permanent health insurance (adding him to mine costs too much -- but we might just deal with it because I have a good plan), getting my work stuff taken care of (since I had to take my leave unexpectedly so early), signing up for WIC again now that I'll be on disability leave (I don't normally qualify because I make "too much" from my income -- which is unfair because I really don't even make that much) and just the usual things a new mom needs to face. Such as not getting much sleep. But on that note, I end this entry with a big smile because it has been an amazing experience, and I do look forward to what's coming. :)

Egan and I personally thank CPMC's nurses and staff for being so attentive to all our needs and making our stay so very awesome; Dr. Rittenhouse for being our doctor; Dr. Pepitone for making sure Gerard's health was game; our families for bringing food and help where it was needed; our friends for being ever supportive; and most especially Gerard for changing our lives.

As much as we're glad to be home, we really wish we could take the nurses too :) PICTURES OF GERARD TO BE UPLOADED SOMETIME THIS WEEK. 

Surprise induction today

I'm in the hospital getting induced -- instructed only this morning! We are 16 days from duedate and here we are! Bored, hungry, restless, uncomfortable........ More news later when I'm feeling less miserable and more comfortable. Next entry: Gerard will be here. We will see you all soon! 

3 weeks before the big due date

37 weeks into this pregnancy and I haven't felt much pain at all. My braxton hicks are getting more intense though, but it's like a gentle squeeze around my belly more than pain. We are now seeing two doctors weekly. Last week, we saw Dr. Rittenhouse for our regular check up, and we also went to the perinatal office for my glucose monitoring. Let's start with the glucose monitoring... The first part of the appointment was an ultrasound. Gerard's back was turned to the wand so we didn't see his little face. However, they found that I was low on fluids. The ultrasound tech called in a doctor to verify it, and so he called Dr. Rittenhouse with that update. They scheduled me on the spot for a non-stress test, and it actually turned out normal. Gerard was responding to the contractions (his heart beat would go up and down -- which is what they wanted to see) just fine. Because of the impromptu test, Erin my dietitian came in to talk to me while I was strapped to the non-stress tester about my glucose results instead of me going into her office like we've been doing. She said my daily test results were looking good, so I only have to do it once a day now, instead of 4x. She gave me more information on what I need to do post-partum, and gave me some paper for the hospital. I was advised to give it another 2 years before having another kid if we were planning on it as to give us time to recover and prepare for the next birth. I would need to notify them about the next pregnancy so we can start with my diabetes monitoring early on because I'm very much at risk for it again. Two days later we went in to see Dr. Rittenhouse where I was given a pelvic exam. It was uncomfortably done! He applied some pressure on me down there to which I just tightened my lips. He told me that's the kind of pain or pressure I'll feel during the real labor. I think he did a group B strep test because he handed me a tube of something for check out, and that I'll get results from it shortly. Why I hadn't confirmed what that was, I don't know! I think I was still reeling from the uncomfortable throbbing of the pelvic exam. He acknowledged my low fluids, and we asked what we could do about it. He said there really isn't a known reason why fluids become low but I should keep myself hydrated any way. Later that night, I was getting ready to shower when I noticed blood all over my underwear. It alarmed me at first sight, but I figure it was from the pelvic exam so I just let it be. I put a pad on overnight in case I continued to bleed, but next morning, I was clean. However, later that day at work, I noticed some bleeding again and called Dr. Rittenhouse (who wasn't in at the time) but his assistant advised it could possibly just be from the pelvic exam. I had informed her about the night before and how I figured it was from the exam, but she assured that Dr. Rittenhouse will call me back later. She asked if I was feeling any pain but I was not, so I really had nothing to worry about. When doctor called, he explained the same thing -- if the bleeding is more than a regular period, then that's when I should call in about possible labor. Well the last couple of weeks, white-colored discharges have been showing on my underwear and since my last appointment, I have been showing colored discharges. Nothing so alarming, though. We're still 3 weeks away from the due date, and the lack of pain makes it like I'm still very far away from that date! I go to the perinatal office and Dr. Rittenhouse again this week. But it's been so hard to sit down and get up!!! It gets harder by the day!!! Almost everyday now, I've been getting asked if we're ready and my response is always 'No' because I haven't really felt the reality of pain just yet.. and it's like just any other day in this pregnancy. Hehehehe. Last weekend, I was asked by strangers when I was due. I hadn't realized that I show that much now, because everyone else who sees me everyday keeps telling me I don't show as much. One lady on the street asked if I was 7 months along but we told her that we're due in about a month or so! Another lady at the grocery asked if we were having a boy or girl at the checkout, but I didn't think I was showing that much. She saw my belly shaping out under my thick sweater though! So there's our update. We'll see what happens on Thursday after the appointments. Hopefully we're still good on track. 

Feeling unprepared

I started seeing Dr. Rittenhouse every 2 weeks and so far, things are still good. We recorded the heartbeat so Gerard can hear it later on. Doctor told us that so far, from the results of our last ultrasound, he's at an average size, just a bit below the mean for babies born. Which is fine with me as long as he's not too big or too small. Our next ultrasound will continue to monitor his length so let's just hope he stays in that bell curve.

We received a whole bunch of baby stuff from my brother, so our apartment is really full. We haven't fully unpacked but we better get to it soon. This includes putting the crib together!

Why do I feel unprepared? I just do. Doctor said we don't exactly need a birthplan and it seems like we don't even need to pack a hospital bag of stuff because we'll be provided for. The only thing we'll need to have is a babyseat (check!).

My seasonal allergies aren't getting any better. I gave in to Wal-dryl last night (been avoiding any meds even if this was "safe" to use) and got knocked out.... so long that I pretty much missed dinner on time. Papa E took a nap with me and he zonked out as well. My inner clock woke me up at 10 pm and we rushed to finish making our sloppy joes. Gerard was moving a lot, which I don't normally feel at that hour. After that, I went back to bed, and woke up just as groggy today.

Yesterday morning I had some coffee to help wake me up but it seems all the caffeine went to Gerard. I still felt really sleepy, but he was bouncing around. During this 3rd tri, his movements haven't been as frequent (sleeping, much?). So no more coffee for us.

This journal is all over the place. But I'll end the update here. Happy Easter to everyone.

New picture!

There is a new picture in the photo album from our 32 week sonogram yesterday. We have more of the same stuff, but this one is my favorite =)

The sonogram was called for to check in on his weight and size. He looks great! I'd like to also share that my new eating regimen was right on track -- Erin the nutritionist was pleased with my daily blood test results given the kind of things I was eating the past week.

Our New Dig

This past weekend, we moved in to our new home. We haven't had much time to unpack and clean up, but it will take many good days to get it done. We now live close to Golden Gate Park. Photography times!!

Moving in

It's been a busy last couple of weeks, now that I have to really watch what I eat and we have finally found our own nest.

Work is keeping me busy on top of that.

We saw Dr. Rittenhouse last week, and we mostly just discussed medical care options. My health benefits only cover me, and dependents cost a little too much so we have to explore alternatives out there that won't rip our pockets apart. He said I can work up until I give birth when asked the best time I should go on my leave. I agree to the extent that I would rather use my maternity leave after birth because such time is limited. I do need to go back to work soon after birth (which I hate to have to do), but am currently looking at options to make this easier on me and my work contribution.

Before Dr. R, we had our first meeting with my dietitian who reviewed my eating habit and is putting me on a better track to improve my gestational diabetes. It sucks to be on this diet. I'm tempted by all kinds of junk food I miss. I see her again tomorrow, and every two weeks (I think) until birth. We are scheduled for an ultrasound (though I wish we didn't have to anymore) to check on Gerard's size and weight. Maybe we'll get to see his face, but I was hoping there would be no more ultrasounds at this point because of (known and unknown) risks it has on him. I will have to see Dr. R every two weeks as well. I have to figure out my work schedule so it doesn't get too crazy but thankfully I work with people who are flexible and fully understand what I have to do.

We are now at our new apartment, everything is well unpacked, and I still have more things to get from my parents' house. It's tiring to unpack with all the bending down and pushing of boxes I shouldn't be doing, but sometimes I can't help it. I just want things to get cleared and de-cluttered right away. We barely even have any furniture but we can't get them until the living room is cleaned. I estimate another few weeks before that happens.

Big thanks to our friends and parents for helping us make this transition as smooth as possible.

Before I forget, my family threw a baby shower for us over the weekend. We came unintentionally late because that was also the same day we were signing the apartment lease and the agent had almost forgot about meeting us, so he was late. We received all kinds of nice gifts (I think we're well covered with the newborn diapers), so a BIG HUG to our friends and family for their support and love.

There is much more work to do so I'll end this journal here for now. Hopefully the next time I get to write, we have a little more room in this nest!

P.S. Gerard seems to be "sleeping" a lot as I can only feel him move sporadically. I am getting a lot more contractions lately. Harder and more frequent! 

We're online

This is our website. It will mainly be our photo blog and stuff like that, and other stuff that might be useful for us in the future.

Fort Ross - May 2007

Here are some shots from our Memorial Day trip to Fort Ross.

Not good news

Dr. Rittenhouse called to break the news that I, unfortunately, didn't pass my gestational diabetes test. This means I have to check in with a specialist to help me through it and make sure that things are as normal as possible for baby. I also was reminded to eat more frequent but small meals and to exercise after each one. Even if it's just a daily walk.

Needless to say, I'm bummed. Very bummed. During the call, I was actually having lunch at my desk. I decided to take a walk afterwards. I had a long walk, and it resulted in an aching achilles. Right now it's pretty painful to walk around because of it.

I'm having seasonal allergies as well, and the light-sleeping-thing isn't helping much. I've never been this crappy until now! The frustration of finding our own place is also getting under my skin, so all of a sudden things aren't looking up. :( 

Will I need a cane soon?

It feels like it!!

Walking up a slight hill seems like an awful challenge now. I'm extra slow too to preserve my energy. The other day I got into my car rather quickly and it kind of hurt my belly a little. Never doing that again. Reaching for my cell phone in the car is getting hard as well, and although I shouldn't even be reaching for my phone while driving, I'd have to keep it where I can easily grab it without leaning over.

I continue to read weekly developments on the internet, and it seems that sleeping lightly will be common from here on. No kidding! I have had urges to nap whenever I need it lately -- getting tired randomly throughout the day has picked up again. Sleeping early seems to be a nice thing also, but I wake up in the middle of the night for no reason. Last week, a little 3.1 jolt woke me up early in the morning. I have never woken up from a minor earthquake because I'm a deep sleeper by nature (the only one I know of in my family). What hasn't changed is that I still sleep through my alarm.

It hasn't helped much that sleeping positions have become annoying. I should really get a pregnancy pillow now. I feel so much discomfort on both sides, and I think that may be the biggest reason why I can't sleep well. I'm supposed to get a prenatal massage this coming weekend as my only pampering treat to myself this trimester. It also feels like my uterus pushes against my stomach when I lay on my left side. I woke up from a nap today (laying on my left) with a very numb stomach. But even when I'm up, my stomach feels numb.

The need to urinate frequently is back! This time I don't really mind it as much because it allows me to get up from sitting too long. Actually, many a time, it's Gerard's movements that cause my bladder to feel like I have to go. He pushes against it often.

Forgetfulness is still with me today, but not as bad as before. Heartburns are random and annoying as well, but surprisingly I'm able to ignore it for the most part.

Holding a guitar? It feels different! I will probably get back into songwriting much later on if and when inspiration burns again, but during my maternity leave I plan to do just two things (other than being a full time mom to Gerard): read my design books and learn Flash, and learn how to cook!!! Yuuuup. I'm not a domesticated female at all, but I should learn that skill once and for all. Luckily for us, papa Egan actually knows how to cook so our butts are fed.....but I'd like to help out with that duty.

Also -- contact lenses become harder to wear in the 3rd trimester. Very true for me as well. I may have to stop wearing them for the next 2 months.


That's all to share for now! We're doing good as far as meeting these timely pregnancy expectations I've been reading about since week 6. 

Welcome to our third trimester

This is our first week into the last trimester, and while I'm so very ecstatic we made it this far, I'm so very relieved we're getting close to the big day.... but not without anticipating all the pains and joys of the actual labor.

Some third trimester points I've already begun feeling are increased Braxton hicks contractions (doctor confirmed what those tightening sensations were at the last appointment), lots of back pain, and body warmth. Yup. Lately I've been kicking off blankets or waking up in a lot of heat even in this cold, San Francisco winter. Of course I still get cold but my body warms up so fast these days.

Today was extremely weird at work. Something just didn't feel right and I was quite imbalanced. I had no idea what was up, but I felt it could only go away if I drank soda or had ice cream (my vices). I'm already trying to cut down my carbs and sugars in preparation for my 3-hour Glucose testing this Saturday but I couldn't resist the ice cream. Just had to buy a little cup. It helped a little, but just a little. I was also have some annoying lower back pain everytime I sat down. A brief walk on an afternoon break was called for, but that didn't help much because I sat down and my back was still in a lot of discomfort.

And tonight, I'm feeling quite crampy on the belly, specifically on my right side. Could Gerard be hanging out there? I tried shifting my abdomen towards my left but that didn't help. Right now he seems to be awake and moving around and my right side doesn't seem to cramp as much as it did 30 minutes ago. But the way I see it, as long as my boy is moving and keeping me entertained, I'm fine with the cramp.

I will try to sleep it off. Hopefully I don't wake up to another earthquake tomorrow morning! Maybe that's what got me all weirded out today. LOL
http://www.ktvu.com/station/14267655/detail.html 

Glucose Test result

FAILED! I'm not surprised, but I am. It's been really hard to cut off my carbs, even with doctor's recommendation I do. I have to come in again for the 3-hour test. Let's hope this one passes? In other news.... my attention was caught by a CNN article reporting on an apartment fire in Germany. I saved the picture of the baby being thrown out the window (he survived), while his parents or guardians watched from up above to make sure he was caught by a rescuer below. I don't know if anyone perished in that fire, but I hope no one did. The picture was very striking though. Seeing a baby dropped through the air.... 

Active little dude

The last few days have been about Gerard's much stronger movements. He kicks hard, he responds to my belly taps and movement, and responds to the way I sleep. I took a nap this afternoon and while sleeping on my left side, my shoulder started hurting so I turned to my right. Then he started moving in a way I've never felt until that moment, it was major shuffling in there. I turned back to my left to see if he preferred that position, but he kept making the same motions. So I turned back to my right because my left shoulder was really distressing. I hope all that calcium & protein I've been consuming are behind this.

I can't yet tell his response patterns when it comes to music and conversation noise. He randomly makes some kind of move when I'm talking, or when my boss is talking in a meeting, or when I'm listening to music. He has responded a couple of times to papa's taps on my belly. But he only does it after once or twice, then he stops responding. He'll probably the kind of kid who'll react to what his parents say the first time, then starts ignoring us the second time. Uh ohhhh. Hope I'm wrong.

I finally got started packing my hospital bag. Not quite done yet... I still need to wash some of his (new) clothing items before I pack those. Me being a germ freak, I have to wash even his brand new clothes before he wears them.  

gerard's updates

shortly before i started writing this very entry, gerard gave me a damn good tickle. yesterday, i was "playing" with him by tapping on my belly with a pen to see if he'd respond. then i realized i might be bothering him, so i looked it up on google and found this interesting article: http://www.birthpsychology.com/lifebefore/sound4.html

he did give me a hard kick when i tapped my belly at one point, but then he stopped responding for a while.

in other news, i finally got the go-ahead to get my glucose testing which i plan to take this saturday. doctor measured my belly (good size!) and noted that the position was also good. my weight was surprisingly good. so everything is just that... good. we had questions about delivery and fetal position, he answered them all. during the appointment, it seemed gerard was in fetal position but of course there's still plenty of time for him to tumble around. we won't be getting anymore ultrasounds (unless there's a medical reason for it) so at this point, everything will just be check ups until the big day! after my next appointment in february, i will be coming in every two weeks. we now have the option of delivering at another hospital in the case we find a home in the northern part of san francisco. doctor rittenhouse also works at that hospital and said we can go there if i go into labor in the middle of the night, or we can still go to my current hospital where i've been seeing him since august in daly city in case i go into labor while i'm at work (in redwood city). but let's hope i don't go into labor at work.

i'm a little under prepared with all of this as i've been pre-occupied with apartment hunting. but i'll start packing my hospital bags this week as it's never too late to start early. 

not feeling fat - that's a good thing

before i was pregnant, i'd always half-joke about gaining weight and feeling fat, and when it was serious i'd feel gross looking in the mirror. i'm short, and overweight for my height is 128 lbs. i was 132 lbs about 6 or 7 months before i got pregnant, but i lost 15 of those pounds during that time. so i was feeling good and it was noticeable......until around september when i made my pregnancy known to those closest to me.

apparently, my doctor said i have been gaining weight too fast the last time we had an appointment. i can't help it. i like to indulge when i eat. around here, carb-heavy foods are so accessible.

but i guess the best part is that i don't even feel fat, and i'm amazed my arms don't look like they were when i was 132 lbs (i looked much bigger then). in fact, i feel quite normal with my body shape, with the exception of the obvious growing belly.

our appointment is set for this coming tuesday. it's likely just to be a routine appointment because it's been more than a month since the last one. i have a whole sheet of questions for doc from a birth plan i printed out. i don't understand half of the terms in it. lol.

gerard continues to entertain me with his kicks and squirms. he does it a lot when i'm in a meeting, and i can't help but pay more attention to him than what's going on around me. :) yesterday, i popped a truffle in my mouth during a meeting and a few minutes later, he was kicking a lot. maybe he enjoyed it? he's gotten me craving for chocolate lately and i actually hate chocolate. i also started tapping at my belly button with a pen, and it prompted some sort of response from him.

a few of the last mornings, i've woken up with my stomach in busy movement -- i don't know about others but i love waking up knowing he's active! i may regret saying that when he's born and i'm not getting any sleep! it's okay... i've already tortured myself over the years with lack of sleep so it won't be new to me. his weight is noticeably heavier by the day which pleases me because he's growing! the most serious complaining i've ever really had during this whole pregnancy is that when i go on my disability leave from work, my monthly income will be so low and depressing (atleast, lower than what i'm used to getting). other than that, all the uncomfortable symptoms were just symptoms to me, knowing that i have to go through them. reading ahead prepared me so that would be my advice to friends who are reading this and planning to have their first kids soon *wink wink*. i'm surprised with myself that i'm actually enjoying this (though scared as hell at the thought of labor) because i was never the type to even talk about having kids ever, until just a couple of months before i actually got pregnant.

it's been raining all day and cold too. not my favorite weather!!! i'm wearing layers right now and feeling quite warm but i'd rather just be in a shirt and sweats!

time for dinner. gerard also likes to kick when i haven't eaten. P.S. Check the photo album! I took a snapshot of my belly tonight, and this is the first and only time I've put a picture of it up anywhere. 

Sleeping has been weird

The last two nights have been difficult for me to sleep. I go to bed at a reasonably early time (early for me). When I finally fall asleep, I wake up with below-the-waist numb or pain, or both. Oh and my bladder is going wild again. I know these are common symptoms around this time, so I'm not really trippin'. But it's kind of annoying, I guess. Especially how I can't knock out so fast. 

shopping for baby

i've always been a sucker for baby clothes, so now i'm more of a sucker about it. this past weekend we were making an inventory of what clothings we have so far, and also did a bit of shopping. on her most recent vacation, grandma hernandez bought items for baby. they are the cutest things! one of them is a red puffy vest. papa egan has one, i have one, and baby will have one. vest buddies. yeah. there's also some clothing for the next winter season, and i can't wait to put it on gerard! unfortunately for papa, because he hates croc shoes (especially for kids), grandma hernandez actually bought some for baby so now he has a pair. i have no comment on crocs, but i just had to hold his pair before i went to bed last night and tried to imagine his little feet in them. we've been adding items to our baby registry, but there are some items we couldn't resist buying on our own. we checked out some strollers and playpens and decided on a couple of products. papa and mama also have a personal wishlist so we are budgeting every move, and making sure everyone gets what they need. at the moment, we're apartment hunting so the days are keeping us busy. hopefully, we settle in asap because it's getting hard(er) by the week for me to actively move around. but hey, i actually feel really good for the most part. i had to re-schedule my appointment from this week to next. we won't have baby updates until then. 

big and bigger

baby gerard is coming along just great in fetushood, as he gets ready for his big day. he's obviously growing, and i'm obviously bigger now. his movements always get me giddy. i notice the movements much moreso when i'm in long meetings at work. a nice distraction for once. maybe he gets hungry because those meetings tend to overlap the lunch hour. most of the time, i feel him actually turning or squirming, because they're not just punches or kicks. i love the random flutters as well, it's almost as if he's giving me a good tickle.

perhaps i'm having an improper diet, but the last few days have got me gagging more often than i did in the first trimester. hmmm...a little odd? i don't feel nauseous or anything, though.

next appointment is in about 2 weeks. i believe doc will schedule me for glucose testing. i hope this one goes well, as my other tests have so far proven. there's a good chance we may have to switch to a different hospital and/or doctor just right before birth. papa egan will find out if doctor rittenhouse is also a resident at the hospital he works, as he swears he saw his name around the building once. if we end up finding a home in the area where papa works, and doctor rittenhouse is also a doctor there, we would be so grateful!! we need to start researching for pediatricians already, but i'm relying on finding a home first  in order to look for nearby clinics/hospitals.

Getting all rashed up again

One of the assistants at our doctor's office told me that my rashes could possibly last throughout this pregnancy (which happened to one of their previous patients), and though mine went away for a good while, they are back. In the last two weeks alone, my belly just kind of popped out of nowhere. I wasn't showing much a month ago, and now, it's getting hard to hide it. :) Surely this rash is corresponding with the stretches of my skin, but it's driving me crazy!!! Knowing my little belly jean is growing, on the other hand, is an awesome reason why. :) 

Responding to noise

As every family gathering goes, we watch a lot of movies. Today, for our new year gathering (which was rather boring) one of the movies we watched was Die Hard, Live Longer (or something like that). It had a lot of explosion and stuff, and my uncle's sound system is pimped out so not only could you hear the bass, but you feel it too. Apparently, Gerard felt it as well. He was kicking in startle everytime something exploded. On an unrelated (or kindof related) note, the bad guy in the movie was named Thomas Gabriel. That was a name we had thought of the day we found out we were having a boy. Thomas, Dylan, Gerard... were a few of the names we were going to pair with Gabriel. He's also been feeling heavier each day. Getting up from a chair, and in fact, just sitting down, feels a whole lot different now than a month ago. It's hard to sit on the floor, and whenever I get up it I definitely feel the extra weight from my belly. Last night, I had to sleep with a pillow under the side of stomach for the first time. I've read early on that the pillow really helps but I hadn't had the need for it until last night. I usually sleep on my left side, but my back was hurting that way and when I turned to my right side, my belly was drooping a lot more than I've ever noticed. Perhaps maybe, his head was weighing down on my right side which might be why it felt heavier. I've been bad and lazy about eating fruit as of late, and because of the holidays, I'm overwhelmed with chocolate around me. That's pretty much what I've been snacking on, and I don't even like chocolate all that much. Agghhh. Back to work tomorrow. Not.so.happy.about.that!