Holiday Traditions

Since Christmas is just three days away, and Tito and I are now celebrating our 9th Christmas together this year (our 5th as a married couple) :) we have meshed our family traditions together to make our own, and I know this will continue after the baby is here and beyond. Here is what we do...what do you do?

Tree:
We get a fake tree. Yes, we've had a real tree (surprisingly enough when we lived in Florida we had a live tree!) but the mess with two cats and having to vacuum around it everyday because of the needles was too much work. So we decided to have a fake tree and bought one about 4 years ago, our first year in Washington State. We put the tree up on the day after Thanksgiving, along with all of the decorations and ornaments. We play Christmas music while we do this, and sometimes enjoy some cookies and hot cocoa.

Theme:
We don't have a theme tree. As much as I wanted one, I've grown to love our mish mash tree. Each year, Tito and I get one another an ornament. Also, if we travel, we get ornaments from those places to put on the tree if we can find one. I love the ornament tradition and plan to continue it with our baby and future children.

White lights or colored lights:
We do both. Our tree is pre-lit with white lights but we add two strands of colored lights.

Tinsel or no tinsel:
We don't do tinsel that drapes on the tree since we have cats and they would eat it. However, we do the tinsel that wraps around the tree. This was Tito's tradition, not mine. I'd prefer ribbon, but we compromised.

Christmas Dinner:
We follow Tito's tradition and eat Christmas dinner at midnight on Christmas Eve. This is what he does back home in Peru, so we have done this since we have been married. We start cooking, go to mass, come home and have dinner, and then go to bed. In Peru, Tito and his brothers would go outside and set off fireworks, but since those are illegal here, we don't do that. When he used to spend time with my family for Christmas we got sparklers and set those off which he liked and was surprised with the first year we did it. Might be something we continue with our children. We have turkey, mashed potatoes, veggie sides and Tito usually makes a beet salad that is his favorite from home.

Christmas morning:
We wake up sort of early (usually around 8am or 9am.) I know these days are gone as soon as our little one arrives. We'll open presents while sipping hot chocolate and then make breakfast. We can't wait until our children are old enough to "get" Christmas because seeing it all through the eyes of a child is really the best.

Stockings:
We open the stockings first. I get really into the stockings and finding things that are not only favorite treats but also favorite things to put into them. We also do stockings for our cats which are usually filled with a new toy for each (they have their own type that they like), wet food (which is a special treat) and treats for one of our cats because only one likes treats.

Must haves in our house for the holidays:
1. Hot chocolate
2. Panetton (this Italian bread treat is enjoyed by Tito mostly, as I don't like it but we always have it.)
3. Christmas music/CD's
4. Christmas movies (some of my favorite must watch ones are: It's A Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Love Actually, A Christmas Story (we watch it on TBS with the 24 hour marathon on Christmas Eve), Elf, Christmas with the Kranks, and Miracle on 34th Street (original version). I'll also watch various other movies throughout the season that happen to be on tv...I really love Christmas and Christmas movies so none are off limits!

What are some of your holiday traditions?

Another addition

This past weekend I braved the crowds at Target 5 days before Christmas and picked up the shelf for the baby's room. I was so happy to get it and happier still that it was only $20!

This is the shelf we ended up getting:


Nothing huge, nothing fancy, but it matches the other pieces we have and didn't cost a million bucks! We still have his dresser, mattress, some frames and I wanted to get a couple of floating shelves, but then I think we'll be done with furniture and decor for his room! It's all coming together!

26 weeks

How Far Along: 26 weeks (98 more days to go!) I can't believe I'm now under 100 days until this little guy arrives!

What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development: The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

Mama: Are you rushing around trying to get to childbirth classes and prepare your baby's room while still taking care of all your other daily tasks? Make sure that you also continue to eat well and get plenty of rest. Around this time, your blood pressure may be increasing slightly, although it's probably still lower than it was before you got pregnant. (Typically, blood pressure falls toward the end of the first trimester, and it tends to reach a low at about 22 to 24 weeks.)
If your lower back seems a little achy lately, you can thank both your growing uterus — which shifts your center of gravity, stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, and may be pressing on a nerve — as well as hormonal changes that loosen your joints and ligaments. Plus, the extra weight you're carrying means more work for your muscles and increased stress on your joints, which is why you may feel worse at the end of the day. Walking, standing, or sitting for long periods, as well as bending and lifting can all put a strain on your back.

Weekly Food Comparison: An English hothouse cucumber

The Good: Lots of kicking, punching, etc.

The Bad: Being sick with a cold this week and just generally feeling sick

The Weird: Movement in my belly! Tons of movement yesterday which I caught on camera. You can see the video here: http://vimeo.com/8250250

Currently Craving/Avoiding:

Avoiding: Handling raw meat

Craving: Pickle spears, salty foods like chips, soup

Doctor Updates: Had my gestational diabetes test on Tuesday and passed! Blood pressure was back up a bit though so they increased one of my meds to hopefully combat that. We go back on December 29th for our next ultrasound and another peek at this boy!

Total weight gain/loss: Still up 15 lbs.

Maternity clothes? All bottoms are maternity. Some tops but I can still wear some of my pre-maternity tops and sweaters.

Stretch marks? 0

Sleep: Still getting harder and harder. Although this week with me being sick I've been sleeping well.

Best moment this week: Passing my gestational diabetes screening

Movement: Constantly. Throughout the day. He has busier times but he's definitely moving!

Food cravings: See above.

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out? In...still slowly closing in on itself

What I miss: Wine, and this time of year champagne

What I am looking forward to: Finally finishing the nursery


The Weekly Belly Bump: Here's the 26 week belly!

5 years...

Without Tito and I, Baby D wouldn't be in existence....today, Tito and I celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary together. It is hard to believe that we have been married for 5 years today. It is also hard to believe that that means we've been together for 9 years!

So much has changed in the past 5 years - where we live, how we communicate, the fact that we're now pregnant with our first child, etc. - but the most important things have stayed the same. We still love each other, but our love is stronger. In general, our relationship is stronger than it's ever been. He's truly my best friend and life would not function without him.

I can't believe we were such babies when we got married...him at 23 (almost 24!) and me at 27. It was a small, civil ceremony (we celebrated 10 months later with a big wedding in the church with a reception and tons of friends and family there) but it was perfect. Here are a few photos from that day:

Tito on the way to the hotel where we were married

Me before the ceremony

Reading our vows - which we wrote and read in Spanish and English

Officially married!

At dinner after the ceremony with my parents and brothers and his brother and dad

Passed!

I had my gestational diabetes screening the morning. Normally I love having early morning appointments because it means I don't get stuck there for too long if my doc runs behind. For that reason alone, it was good this morning. But having an 8:30am appointment meant I had to leave the house at 7am (lovely Seattle area traffic) and drink my lovely Glucola drink (read: sweetest soda ever...tastes like liquid candy) on the way in in about 5 minutes time. I had no choice in flavors, so was stuck with Orange. Which is my least favorite flavor of drink in normal life. But I sucked it up and drank it down. The end of the bottle was the worst part...just like a syrup, so gross.

I then had to sit in traffic for the rest of the hour with a somewhat upset stomach. Made it to the hospital on time, got my blood drawn (apparently one of the tops of the blood draw tubes was leaky and resulted in a "blood bath" in the container they were all being held in. I'd had 7 tubes of blood drawn, so I stuck around just in case they needed more. Apparently they didn't. :)

Made it to my doctor's office (right down the hall from the lab) and had my ultracomm, which measures my cardiac output, blood pressure, etc. My numbers were up from last time just a little bit, and my flow was off the charts again. So he increased one of my medications just a little bit. Hopefully it doesn't make me feel dizzy and lightheaded all the time like it did before. He measured my uterus and said I'm measuring two weeks ahead right now...hopefully this stops as I don't want too big of a baby in there! We'll see in two weeks how the growth is going as I have another ultrasound. He said it was encouraging to hear that I could feel the baby move around and kick all the time. Sign of a healthy baby. We heard the heartbeat again (nice and steady) and heard several "kicks" and movement when he was listening to the heartbeat. Apparently this baby wanted to make sure we knew he was in there!

I also had a contraction while I was laying on the table - I didn't feel it but the doc put my hand on my stomach to show me how it was hardening in a round ball. I told him I'd felt that before and he said it was normal - Braxton Hicks contractions. He said if I feel more than 6 an hour to let him know.

At the end of the appointment, after me asking some questions, he went and got my GD test results - which were perfect! He said they were well below the 130 that they use as a guideline, so I don't have to do a repeat test and don't have GD. Thankfully, we're celebrating my brother's birthday tonight, so I can enjoy that piece of cake!

Stronger and stronger

This baby's kicks are definitely getting stronger and stronger...and more often! He is kicking constantly throughout the day, and I can see 99% of them just from watching my belly (a nightly occurrence) as well as seeing him move around in there. No hand or foot impressions yet but I have a feeling they're coming.

On Sunday morning, I woke up to Tito saying "I felt him kick!" Apparently he'd woken before me and put his hand on my belly. The baby kicked hard and strong about three times in a row where he put his hand. He was so excited. I told him (as the baby continued kicking) that I felt these kicks, movements, etc consistently all day. And I mentioned that these felt a little like hiccups since they were consistently timed and constant. I said he was probably banging some part of his body against my stomach while hiccuping. Still very cool and Tito was excited. He's felt the baby's movements before but never this strong. I mentioned to him that now his kicks/movements are getting stronger because he has moments where it feels like he's storing up all of his energy for one big kick/punch and then will let loose with one. Occasionally they are so strong that if I'm walking or standing they'll throw my balance off a bit!

Gracias!

We received a huge package on Saturday from Tito's parents in Peru. Filled with clothes, blankets, books, CD's, DVD's and more for this little guy. We are so thankful for the gifts! His closet is filling up now (I've definitely purchased a few things, although have been smart and the little clothes (9 months and under) have gotten at consignment shops or from friends with older boys for steals!

Here is a photo of Tito with the package we picked up:

Gracias Papa Alberto and Mama Lupe!

25 Weeks!

How Far Along: 25 weeks (105 more days to go!)

What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight is about a pound and a half and he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Mama: Your baby's not the only one with more hair — your locks may look more full an lustrous than ever. It's not that you're growing more hair, but thanks to hormonal changes, the hair that you'd normally shed is sticking around longer than usual. Enjoy the fullness while you can — the extra hair will fall out after you give birth. You may also notice that you can't move around as gracefully as before. Unless your caregiver has advised you otherwise, it's fine to continue to exercise. When you have your glucose screening test a second tube of blood may be taken at the same time to check for anemia. If blood tests show that you have iron-deficiency anemia (the most common type of anemia), your caregiver will probably recommend that you take an iron supplement.

Weekly Food Comparison: A rutabaga...huh?

The Good: Still lots of kicking, punching, etc., dizziness seems to have gone away for now

The Bad: Dancing on my bladder...his feet seem to be down a lot and he does a lot of kicking on my bladder...not nice.

The Weird: Nothing odd this week

Currently Craving/Avoiding:

Avoiding: Sugary foods, handling raw meat

Craving: Pickle spears, salty foods like chips, soup

Doctor Updates: Cardiology appointment on December 10th declared me as "boring"...see previous post for more info. This is a GOOD thing!

Total weight gain/loss: I'm up 15 lbs so far...according to the doctor this is right on track, but man it's hard to see that number on the scale...I'm in another 10's category on the scale now!

Maternity clothes? All bottoms are maternity. Some tops but I can still wear some of my pre-maternity tops and sweaters. Thank goodness for the styles being so blousy lately!

Stretch marks? 0

Sleep: I wake up three times a night on average to pee. I also have a hard time when I first lay down getting comfortable. I toss and turn (and bring my pillows with me, which means watch out kitties and Tito!) at least three or four times until I can get to sleep, even if I'm super tired. I've come to dread this time of night.

Best moment this week: Cardiology appointment!

Movement: Often. After drinking juices or eating fruits, in the evenings and throughout the day.

Food cravings: Yes! Randomly I crave things, and only crave them once. But consistently it's pickles, salty foods like chips, etc.

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out? In...I feel like it's not going to pop out, but will instead just close up on itself.

What I miss: Wine.

What I am looking forward to: Getting the bureau and shelves for his room and the artwork.

Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy every minute of this


The Weekly Belly Bump: Here's the 25 week belly!

Close up of the ever-disappearing belly button!

In normal clothes...I'm having to get more and more creative with my clothes now rather than wear the same thing over and over. I've been pairing non-maternity with maternity...open sweaters seem to work well...

Boring

Boring. The word I heard today to describe me and my pregnancy/heart related issues as of now. Music to my ears.

Had a cardiology appointment today as a check up during the pregnancy and to go over results from my echo cardiogram I had last month. It was unchanged, which was so nice to hear (when you have aneurysms, you want to hear that there's no change, especially if they aren't changing to bigger ones!) The PA declared me boring, and that I was having a nice, normal, "boring" pregnancy. Like a real normal woman who doesn't have a heart condition and coronary aneurysms? Fantastic words. Seriously, I left with a big dopey grin on my face. Might have been their Christmas present to me this year!

I've been dealing with Kawasaki Disease, aneurysms, heart attacks and heart issues since I was 15 years old. I've been seeing cardiologists since then, have had multiple hospitalizations, and had to face the fact that I might not be able to get pregnant as it might pose too much of a risk to my health. Luckily, I have a fantastic perinatologist who said it would be no problem to get pregnant, and they would monitor me all the way. Knock on wood, 25 weeks in, I'm doing fine. Boring, even. :)

Tonight I'm going to go home, split a pizza with my husband (our Thursday night tradition), and watch The Office, hopefully spot and feel a few baby kicks and punches and celebrate my being boring. Happily boring.

New colors!

I tried to find a template that was more "holiday"...but since I don't pay for this blog the choices I had were pretty boring. So my only option was to change the colors on an existing layout. Hence the red and green.

We're in the holiday spirit around our house. It's been decorated since November 27th. Tree up, lights on, stockings hung on our mantle (a real mantle this year, not the floating shelves we used as a mantle for the past three years at our old place - why some places have a fireplace but then don't install a mantle is beyond me...don't the two things just go hand in hand?) We had a holiday party with some friends last weekend so I baked Spritz cookies and made peppermint bark. Easiest recipe ever. I ended up decorating the cookies myself since Tito was out doing "guy" things like getting new tires put on our car. So not the fun I'd want to be having. Cookie decorating and baking sounded much more fun to me...plus I got to stay in my pj's while doing it!

It's been COLD here lately. 17 degrees each morning when I leave my house for work. Had some frost on my windows this morning that I had to scrape. For some reason it's been a really dry cold front so it feels colder at 17 degrees here than it ever felt at 2 and 3 degrees back in Maine. Luckily we moved out of our old place (the ice box) to the new place just in time. New place has all new windows that are triple paned and energy efficient. Heat kicks in fast (baseboard in the bedrooms and forced air in the living/dining rooms) so we're not too chilly for too long when we get home. Because of all the baking and heat being on all day on Saturday, we were actually really hot and had to turn the heat down and open the windows to air it out! That's a nice change from our last place. And surprising since we have cathedral ceilings in the livingroom.

Here's our holiday decor:

Tree - with Epi underneath

Mantle with stockings and nativity scene

Dining area

Breakfast bar area

Cookies decorated


Cookies waiting to be decorated and baked


Monet ready to help me wrap gifts (in her holiday scarf!)


Epi showing off her holiday scarf


Tito and I in front of the tree...nice to know we now hide it together since I'm getting so big!

This is a drastic difference from last year's photo of me in front of the tree!

See here:

Ahh...I keep telling myself I'll be thin once again...and have a waist back!

It's definitely all worth it though!