First Dream of the Baby

I had my first dream of Baby last night! I was getting ready this morning when it popped back into my head and I screamed for Neal so he could interpret it. I had a dream that I was placing Baby into a Pack n' Play and it was such an ugly thing!!! (the pack n' play not the Baby!). There was a really big old dirty bear attached to one end of the crib and everything was in blue. An Ugly Royal Blue with sea animals decorated all around it. And I placed baby on the little carrier and said "I'm so sorry you're crib is so ugly...Mommy will buy you a new one". This is my rendition of the horrid "Bear/Sea Life Royal Blue Pack n' Play". I can't remember what the Baby looked like but since everything was blue I'm assuming it's a boy so Neal's baby face is a nice touch to this image!

And then I was at a store with all these options for different nettings for the crib. The nets had different hole sizes and materials...I even remember seeing babies faces smashed against the nets to show me how they work.

I'm not sure if the dream meant anything but was really excited that I finally had a dream about the Baby!

Since we've been told that we're going to find out if Baby is a boy or girl a little less than a month now we've started to really think of names. Every time we start thinking of boys we end up throwing out names for girls...(they're so much easier to be creative/cute and unique). We've come up with a plan to each come up with a list of 10 names for a boy and 10 for a girl and we'll pick our top 5 of each.

It'll be interesting to find out what Baby is...I have a theory that it's a girl since my family is a factory for producing girls. But I'm feeling like it's 60% boy. Neal has a theory that Emery's have first born sons but thinks it's a girl. I guess we both have "family gender tradition" theories so that brings us back to square one for boy or girl! We can't wait to find out!!!!!!!!

15 Weeks

Baby is now the size of an orange! Yum! One of my favorite fruits...doesn't an Orange Julius sound good? I don't even know if they exist anymore! I'm still feeling great with a few body aches here and there. Neal has been amazing...he talks to Baby before we go to sleep and makes funny voices and sounds to the Baby in the morning. Socks is still cute as ever and a very sweet puppy...when Neal and I dance in the house she's right there in the middle of us on her two legs jumping up and down!!! =D Can't wait to have Baby join our little dance party!!!

Baby's now the size of a naval orange!Continuing the march toward normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure his arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably can't feel the movements just yet.
(the bump)

Your baby is about 4 to 4 1/2 inches and about 1 3/4 of an ounce. If you could see your baby's face, you might be able to see her wince and grimace, because her facial muscles are developing and flexing. All of her tiny organs, nerves, and muscles are starting to function. The intestines have moved farther into the baby's body; her liver begins to secrete bile, which will later aid in the digestion of fats; and her pancreas begins to produce insulin, a hormone which turns sugar into energy.
(Baby Center)

A few days before we went to Vegas I started to have a pinching lower back ache on the left side. Walking miles and miles in Vegas didn't help out my situation either! I asked the doctor and she said that it's common in pregnancy to develop sciatica in the lower back. A few years ago I used to have in on my right hip and now it's moved to the back! I've been trying to wear flats to work even wearing walking shoes...hopefully it'll relieve some of the pinching ache...I'm horrified to know how it'll hurt when the Baby gets bigger!

Women with sciatica often experience shooting pains or paralyzing numbness in the lower back or buttocks area and sometimes down the backs of the thighs. The pain can be severe enough to limit a person's mobility almost entirely, and because it is caused by the position of the baby inside the womb, there's very little that can be done to relieve the situation entirely until the baby is born. "As the pregnancy goes on, ligaments and tendons loosen to prepare for the ultimate childbirth, and the back in some women can become quite unstable," says Horshinski, who recommends regular chiropractic adjustments for sufferers. "Some women get better with a couple of visits, but for those with severe sciatica, I recommend coming in every month or so throughout their pregnancy."

Another 'slight' discomfort I had during our Vegas trip was when I took naps during the ride I would wake up every 15 minutes cause my hands fell asleep. It was the oddest feeling...I didn't know where to put or position my hands cause I didn't know what was causing it. I fixed it by not going to sleep! Neal kept looking over cause I would wake up shaking my hands out!!!

Symptoms may include numbness, tingling, burning, pain, or a dull ache in the fingers, hand, wrist, and even up the arm to the shoulder. In severe chronic cases, your hand may feel clumsy or weak.
Symptoms usually affect both hands and can appear at any time, but they're more likely to begin or worsen in the second half of pregnancy when women tend to retain more fluid. The symptoms usually go away gradually after you give birth, as the swelling from pregnancy subsides.

The carpal tunnel is a bony canal formed by the wrist bones on three sides and a ligament that runs across the wrist on the other. The swelling and fluid retention that's so common during pregnancy can increase the pressure in this relatively narrow and inflexible space, compressing the median nerve that runs through it.
The median nerve gives sensation to the thumb and the index, middle, and half of the ring finger and is responsible for movement of a muscle at the base of the thumb. Pressure on this nerve is what causes the symptoms.

It's only happened once since we've been back. The only thing I can think of that might have triggered it was when we left for Vegas I had a little filipino food...which has a lot of salt. Hopefully it doesn't come back!

I think its funny how I didn't have any morning sickness but keep coming up with these odd side effects of pregnancy. Overall, I can't really complain...I've had a real good run so far so I'll take these odd uncomfortable feelings here and there!

P.S. I am sooooo looking forward to Watermelon this year (preferably seedless please!). I think we'll be best friends during this summer pregnancy =D

2nd Year Anniversary & 14 week Appointment

We headed to Las Vegas on Saturday to celebrate our 2nd Year Anniversary!

Here's our complimentary room =D

Of course our first stop was our traditional Pho at Treasure Island!

They have the best Pho! (and most expensive too!)

The next day we walked from Treasure Island to Excalibur...gambling here and there, window shopping and on a look out for those people who offer free shows and dinners to couples! We were at our last stop in Excalibur and finally someone stopped us and offered us a package to go to a Timeshare Tour and Presentation. They offered us a "Romanitc Package" at the Venetian and free lunch!

So off we went to South Pointe (about a 10 min bus ride) and though the tour and presentation was quite long (2 1/2 hours) it was very informative. We learned that they are building another "Vegas Strip" and it'll be about 3 miles long. The sales people were trying to offer us a Timeshare for $41,000 and by the time we were out the door the offer was down to $4,999!!! How did that happen! Anyways, we walked out spending $0.00, got a free lunch and the Romantic Package!

The first offer was free tickets to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum at Venetian.

We had a blast playing the wax figures!!!

Our second free offer was a Gondola ride in the Venetian. Can you believe for a private ride it would cost you $64.00??? and the whole ride lasts about 8 minutes!

But it was romantic and fun!

And he even sang to us!

The third free offer was a 3 course dinner at Tintoretto .

We ended our Romance Package with Gelato!!!

We went back to Treasure Island and got an even bigger surprise. We usually stick to our usual slot machines but Neal sat down at a random one and it was the best move ever! We hit a "Triple, Triple, 7"!!! It made our night! and right after that we went to another machine and it hit again!!! We were HOT on the machines...but the tables sucked this weekend!

Of course we got Puppy Updates on Socks...doesn't she look so sad??? =(

Her report card didn't look too good on this visit. She had 3 accidents and wouldn't eat unless someone handfed her.

She's used to sleeping in between us and Siopao loves her so much that he never leaves her alone. I don't think they ever nap when they're together. Maybe she was being bad so we would come home early =(

We were thinking of 'getting married' again...but we wanted to do it on the actual date...unfortunately when we got there on the 24th they were still closed =/

So we just settled for pictures!!!

We tied off our Anniversary Weekend by having lunch at The Reef.

Woo hoo for 2 years! Baby Emery got in the picture too!

Here's our 1st and 2nd year anniversary picture at the Roof Top. Hopefully, The Reef will be there in the next 50 years so we can take this picture annually!

We rushed to pick up Socks after lunch and I don't know who was more excited...me or Socks! Poor little dog...as soon as we got home she walked up the stairs and climbed into our bed. We all took a 2 hour nap!

During dinner Neal, Socks, Baby Emery and I watched our wedding video. It was a great way to end our anniversary weekend!

Today we had an appointment to see Baby Emery. Our appointment was at 10:00 but tell me why we didn't get called in til 11:00??? It was the longest wait time I have ever had at a doctor's office! When we finally got called in I found out we weren't going to see Baby Emery but instead get a routine "womanly" check up! It was the biggest let down yet...wait for over an hour thinking we would see Baby but instead get something totally different. We then had to wait another 30 minutes until the doctor finally saw us. I was so uncomfortable that I just laid down...how do they expect a pregnant woman to wait an hour in the lobby and half an hour on the exam chair?

The doctor finally came in and she was so nice that I forgot about the hour and half that was wasted. It was our first time meeting her and she was very sweet, excited and informative. We did get to hear Baby's heartbeat and at first she said it might be hard to find but as soon as she put the doppler on my stomach there was Baby's heartbeat! And there was another sound that kept coming between the heartbeats...Baby Emery was kicking! The heart beat was at the low 150s.

Our next appointment is on February 24th...we'll be 19 weeks and we will find out if Baby Emery is a boy or girl!

Any guesses?

14 Weeks Preggers and Viva Las Vegas!

 Baby's now the size of a lemon!Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine, and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over her body for warmth.

Your Baby in Week 14 of Pregnancy
Now the size of your clenched fist, your baby is more fluid-like in his movements, so he’s no longer doing the jerk every time he repositions his arms and legs. Other developments this week include a roof of his own (inside his mouth, that is) as well as intestinal activity: His intestines are producing meconium (which is the waste that will make up his first bowel movement after birth). He is also sporting a downy coating of hair (lanugo) that keeps him nice and warm. Not to worry — you won't give birth to a monkey; baby fat will accumulate over the next few months and take over the function of keeping your baby warm and toasty —allowing most of that hair to shed.

I can't believe we're at week 14 already! Time seems to be going too fast! I'm still feeling great...I've been monitoring my glucose daily and have gotten really good numbers. We had a class on Tuesday and she said if in 4 weeks they're still all good then I can cut down to every other day and if they're still good in 8 weeks I would only have to test twice a week. That doesn't sound too bad!

We're celebrating our 2nd Year Anniversary this Monday and we're celebrating it at one of our favorite places----->LAS VEGAS!
It's a much needed mini-vacay...we've just been both so busy with work that it'll be nice to relax. We're hoping to catch a show but we're going for the surprise element and will pick one when we're there. We even joked about renewing our vows at a wedding chapel. We'll see how much time we have on Monday! After Vegas we're going to go to The Reef and have a nice little lunch to celebrate more.

Hopefully Socks has a blast with Siopao...they're usually best friends but she always comes back soooo exhausted! Can't wait to spend this mini-vacay with the hubby and celebrate with Baby Emery...but I can't wait til I get to see the little puppy again...I always have a hard time when we leave her =(

OH! And the best Anniversary Gift we're getting is on Tuesday...we get to see Baby!!! It's been a whole 3 weeks since we've last seen Baby...I can't even imagine how much it's grown...SO EXCITED =D

Birthdays, Hospital Tours and Necklace Myth

On Saturday we celebrated Paula's 28th Birthday at El Adobe in San Juan Capistrano!

Here's beautiful Sister with her Hawaiian Margarita!

Mother and Daughter shot

My very cute husband!

And we all sang happy birthday and gave her a wonderful Mexican hat!!!

And we gave it to Grandma Emery...she looked like a cowgirl!

Fam Bam Photo Op!

On Sunday we headed to the OC Swap Meet and had a good walking session. Their famers market was amazing as always...loved trying the fresh fruit samples!

We also saw a few vendors that sold specialty baby things: shopping cart covers, high chair covers, etc...we have to go back soon!

At 1:00 we had an appointment with Hoag to tour the Maternity Department.

As we waited, Neal read OUTLOUD a whole article in a cartoony yet serious voice!

 Even in a serious environment he knows how to make any situation silly!

This is the Nurses Station

And this is the room for Labor, Delivery and Recovery.

We learned a lot in this 1 hour tour!

• You're not allowed to eat during labor...you can only have ice chips and Popsicle
• Neal can eat anything!
• You can bring in your own blankets and pillows (I loved how the nurse said..bring your own pillows in differenct colors like Purple!)
• There are no longer designated visiting hours...so if someone wants to visit us at 3 in the morning they could!
• You can use a cell phone anywhere!
• There is a 1-2 hours Golden Rule after the Baby is born where it is dedicated to Mom and Baby: Skin to Skin time and no visitors are allowed
• You can have cameras and video cameras but no tripods!
• Baby stays with Mom and Dad the entire time...Neal was very happy about that!
• After two hours of recovering you are transferred to another floor
• The next recovery room is about half the size of the Labor, Delivery and Recovery Room BUT you could get an ocean or mountain view
• They will make us watch tutorial videos before going home
• Neal is allowed to sleep on the pull out couch overnight
• The baby footprints they take of the Baby has no significance to the hospital...it's merely a souvenir gift
• They give you a Congratulations Dinner with Apple Cider though you can bring in champagne
• There can be unlimited visitors (which works out for our families!)
• We will be in the hospital for a total of 2 days
• And finally, we need to sign up for more classes!

It was a great experience and good tour...though the sight of 10 pregnant women turned a lot of heads around the hospital!

But after all that...all I could think about was..."Where would Socks be? How will she eat? Won't she be sad?"...I wish they would just let her in my room!!!

We then headed over to Whittier for a multiple birthday party.

And once again we got lost...we always get lost when we go to Jaime's house!

First Birthday song was to 4 year old birthday boy, AJ!

Then it was 9 year old Little Robert

And 15 year old Matthew!

It was also Big Robert's birthday but I don't think he wanted to blow out 37 candles on a cupcake!

There were about 6 pregnant women at the party! It's like we never left the hospital!

There was a lady that supposidly could tell you if it's a boy or girl by a necklace. I've heard of this myth before but she had a different method.

She used a cross and you had to open your palm and she dropped the necklace in your palm 3 times and then watched the pendant either go in a circle for a girl or side to side for a boy.

She did it on me and it said that I'm having a girl. And then I guess she kept doing it to see if we would have more kids and it stopped.

Then she did it to Neal and it also said a girl and no more kids!

The lady did this to all the pregnant ladies and even aunties that already had kids. Not too sure if it's all true...some were right on the money and some were off!

On our way home we were so intrigued that I told Neal that I heard of a different method. You take your wedding band and put it on a necklace chain and do it above the baby while I laid down. Since we're so adventurous we busted out some floss...but that didn't work so we hunted down a necklace chain! I laid down and first it went in circles then it went side to side. We got more adventurous and Neal laid down and his went side to side. Then I did it again and we figured out it all depends on how you hold the chain at the end. If you hold it at the lock it goes in circles, if you pinch the chain it goes side to side. We even got crazier and tried it on Socks! Socks thought we were crazy and looked at us with her big eyes while she was on her back! We were laughing so hard that we couldn't even tell what direction the necklace was going!

A little update on my lovely pricking! All my numbers have been well under suggested blood sugar reading!

Neal is now starting to believe that my testing was a fluke and this is just now an inconvenience...we have another class tomorrow...we'll have to ask whether or not there's a point if I can stop testing if my numbers are fine. Hopefully they say YES!