32 Weeks

How far along? 32 weeks
Total weight gain: 23 lbs
Maternity clothes? still rockin mostly dresses...but I am getting sick of all my options and now it's too late to buy any new ones
Stretch marks? still none! woot!
Sleep: sleeping a little better but still getting up at least once every night
Best moment this week: my super productive weekend (it was a slow week on best moments)
Worst moment this week: Just a little thing called a near INFANT ABDUCTION.  I seriously just wrote about how this thing probably never happens anymore and then it DOES. Oh, and yesterday I ran over a lizard pulling into the garage and only squished it's tail and it's legs so I felt super bad about that. I am sure he was somebody's lizard-husband and son.
Miss anything? sitting at the pool, drinking a pear cider.
Movement: still lots of movement.
Food cravings: pretty much everything. i'm so hungry lately!
Anything making you queasy or sick? nope.
Have you started to show yet: obvi. i would start to worry if this wasn't the case.
Gender prediction: it's a girl!
Labor signs: none yet...that I know of. I can't tell if I am having Braxton Hicks contractions so I guess it's safe to assume I am not (?)
Belly button in or out? still in :)
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time? happy
Looking forward to: my parents arriving for a week on Friday and my California baby shower on Saturday!

And now, ladies and gentlemen, a special treat for you...a harmonious melody by the Rodriguez Duet.

Busy Weekend!

This weekend was a busy one! Robert worked all weekend so I took the chance to cross some things off my To Do List.

Thursday I took out the crying baby doll to introduce to Roscoe, who was not a fan.  I can't tell, however, if he doesn't like it because it's a baby and he wants to eat it or if he thinks it's a toy that I won't let him have.  Or maybe he just doesn't like seeing baby upset :)

Saturday I did a little shopping and bought Mila's diaper bag (and returned the two others I had already bought!).  Everyone kept raving about Petunia Pickle Bottom bags but I just couldn't get past the $150-$400 price tag; but WAIT! My neighbor told me that Nordstrom Rack had them for 50-70% off so I had to check it out.  (Side note: how have I never been to "the rack" before?? I'm definitely going to be in trouble when the one they just built down the street from me opens!).  There are so many pockets in these bags, they come with a fold out changing pad and have a wipes case built in; plus I like the idea that it wasn't a dorky backpack but that's a messenger-type so you can wear and still have full use of your hands

I also, may or may not have bought this purse too. I mean, Mila wanted it, not me!

I worked on Mila's closet a little bit and completed an arts and crafts project I saw on some blog.  First, I had some Skubb boxes from Ikea left over from when I first moved in with Robert and needed to whip his apartment into shape.  Then, I searched etsy for the same fabric family that our crib bedding was made of; finally, I pulled out my glue gun and voila! Beautiful new boxes for the closet.

I hit up Costco and stocked up on virtually everything that we could need for the next couple of months so that we don't have to worry about getting out and buying it once Mila is here and we have bigger things to worry about (like sleep).

I also finished acquiring all of my notes about finding Mila's pediatrician, which, let me tell you is quite the process.  Feel free to skip the next couple paragraphs or bear with me as I am writing this because I am sure I will forget it if I don't document it; insurance is pretty complicated stuff!

Mila is covered under my insurance for the first 30 days.  This means that I needed to find a pediatrician in Alamitos IPA for her first appointment.  At the time of birth Orange Coast will find a pediatrician within Alamitos IPA to check the baby at the hospital; if there's no Alamitos IPA physician available the hospital will just use a pediatrician on call; this should be covered by my insurance because it's attached to the labor.  I have decided to use Dr. Samsamy as Mila's pediatrician for the first check up appointment.  After she's born I need to call Dr. Samsamy's office to schedule Mila's two-week check up appointment. (If you're wondering why I don't just stay with Dr. Samsamy, it's because he's 75 years old!)

Within the first month I can call my insurance and switch Mila's doctor to someone in the Edinger Medical Group for her two-month appointment.  My number one choice was Dr. Valery Brouwer but she doesn't do new patient consultations; the receptionist didn't know if this was because she doesn't have time to do them or if it's because she's not accepting new patients (some receptionist!).  My second and third choices were Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Tran but they are both going out on maternity leave in the next month.

I did confirm that Edinger Medical Group DOES have a sick baby and a well baby area and they place newborns in rooms upon arrival to keep them away from the germs. So I have ultimately decided on a group of doctors, which was the first step, now I just need to nail down an actual pediatrician. Fingers crossed for Dr. Brouwer!

Finally, I started looking into childcare on Friday and then spent the rest of the weekend being so stressed out about how much it costs. Seriously, it's ridiculous.  Because of Robert's work schedule we will likely only need childcare twice a week, but it would still cost us around $800 a month. $800!  How do people afford this??  So say a little prayer that I can find affordable care with a non-child molester/serial killer and/or I don't give myself an ulcer worrying about how we're going to figure it all out.

As you can see, I use my full weekends to myself to get stuff done.  SO crazy that there's only one more weekend (in September) where Robert works all weekend; Mila will be here so soon. Last night Robert said that he didn't really think that I had hit my nesting phase yet, I said, what do you call everything I have been doing around the house?! He said, "that's just normal you."  Haha, the man has a point.

31 Weeks & So Much More!

How far along? 31 weeks
Total weight gain: 22.5 lbs
Maternity clothes? still rockin mostly dresses
Stretch marks? still none! woot!
Sleep: not so good...once I am asleep I am fine but if I wake up in the middle of the night I have the hardest time getting back to sleep
Best moment this week: finishing the nursery!!!!!!!!!!
Worst moment this week: omg the worst thing EVER in the pregnancy started happening Sunday afternoon. I. Have. Baby Brain. I thought, like numerous other pregnancy side effects, this would just bypass me but it hit me and it has hit me hard.   Sunday night I spilled a pan of eggs all of the stove, burned my knuckle on a pan and grabbed the handle of another hot pan and burned all my fingers; Monday I sent every. single. email. forgetting to attach the attachment. And that's only the beginning. I will start talking and then stop mid-sentence because I can't remember where I was going with the topic. I think I would have preferred morning sickness.
Miss anything? sitting in the sun, drinking a pear cider. yep.
Movement: still lots of movement. sometimes it feels like she's doing the Freddy (Camp Beverly Hills anyone??) with her arms and legs all over the place
Food cravings: none
Anything making you queasy or sick? nope.
Have you started to show yet: obvi. i would start to worry if this wasn't the case.
Gender prediction: it's a girl!
Labor signs: none yet...that I know of. I can't tell if I am having Braxton Hicks contractions so I guess it's safe to assume I am not (?)
Belly button in or out? still in :)
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time? happy
Looking forward to: breaking out the crying baby doll I just bought to see how Roscoe reacts (see below for more details on this subject).

This was a very busy week!

This past Friday our best friends, Bryan and Shawna came down for a visit. Shawna is also pregnant and only five weeks behind me so it was nice to hang out, compare notes and just catch up.  It's still so hard to believe that we are both having babies.

Yesterday Robert and his friend, CJ, went to the US Open surf competition down in downtown HB.  CJ has a 2 year old daughter, Hartley, that he brought over to the house; this is the first time Roscoe has ever been around a baby/toddler/child. Luckily Hartley has a dog at home too so she was very comfortable around him.  I was half expecting a mauling but I was SO impressed with how he reacted!  He did a lot of licking but was otherwise very gentle and only got a little out of control when Hartley would start running around because he would start to chase her and ultimately knock her down.  This was a very positive and reassuring sign for me because I have been worried about how he would react to the baby; plus it will be much easier once Mila is around all the time and it's not something new for him to "play" with.



We also had a very quick doctor's appointment today.  We went over my glucose test results; it turns out I did better on the three hours test drinking more sugar than I did on the one hour test drinking half the sugar, who would've thought.  I also got some pediatrician recommendations so I will continue that search.  We have one more appointment two weeks from now and then our appointments go to once a week.

Upcoming Doctor's Appointments

8/15 at 3:30pm

8/22 at 3:45pm

8/29 at 3:45pm

9/5 at 3:45pm

9/12 at 3:45pm

9/19 at 3:45pm

9/26 at 3:45pm

Finally, we had our hospital tour tonight as well.  This was a chance for Robert and I to get a layout of the hospital, get a look at the rooms and ask questions.  The Childbirth Center at Orange Coast Hospital, where we are delivering, is a locked facility but not an electronic banded facility.  That means that you do have to be buzzed in and out but you and your baby are not electronically matched up.  Instead, mother and baby each have a color coded, barcoded band on that identifies them as together. I never really thought about this before hearing there was the option of electronic bands so I am trying to forget they ever exist.  I haven't heard many stories about babies being stolen switched at birth so I will just keep my fingers crossed that this doesn't happen. It is nice, though, that they allow you or your partner (or another adult) to accompany the baby when he/she is out of the room so you can keep an eye on your goods.

They gave us a phone number strictly for the mother's to call if they have any questions and/or if they feel they are going into labor. They also gave a number (714-378-7510) for us to hand out to our family and friends for after we deliver; they didn't say it on the tour but I read in a brochure that cell phones are not allowed in the hospital.  Robert is allowed to stay with me at all times, vaginal or c-section delivery, both in the labor and delivery room and if we have a private room.  In addition, we are allowed three visitors (two in addition to Robert) at a time, during the day from 11am-2pm and 4pm-8pm.  2pm-4pm is called Cuddle Time and no visitors are allowed; it is strictly a time for bonding between the family. 

The hospital provides mother-baby couplet care, meaning the baby and mother stay together at all times unless requested by the mother (if she needs time to take a shower, nap,etc.).  One unfortunate thing about this hospital is that you deliver in a LDR (labor/delivery/recovery) room and then, after about an hour and a half, you are moved to another room for Mother Baby Care; other hospitals over labor, delivery and full recovery in the same room, which I would prefer.  Another downside to this hospital is that they only have six private rooms and 16 semi-private (two person rooms).  You can request a private room when you check in but those rooms are mostly used for women with complicated circumsstances (multiple births, c-sections, etc.). They do though, fill all 16 rooms with one person first and then start putting people together only if necessary.  If we end up with a semi-private room not only will I have to share with someone else, Robert won't be able to spend the night; it's only for two days for a vaginal delivery so I guess it could be worse.  She said that, being the year of the Dragon, they have been extremely busy with births, so fingers crossed we luck out and get a private room for our stay.

So there's all of our updates for this week!

Mila's Nursery

FINALLY I got the call on Friday that our crib bedding was ready! I left work and could barely contain my excitement on the way to pick it up.  Once it was in my possession I couldn't wait to get it home to put the finishing touches on the details of the nursery.  It didn't even bother me (too much) that the fitted sheet (which is supposed to be the polka dot fabric) and the rocking chair cover (grey fabric with the vertical stripe fabric as trim) weren't ready yet; I took what I could and hustled home.

I didn't think that the crib bedding would make such a difference in the room but I definitely think it pulls it all together! 

Here is what you originally see when you first walk in (ignore the folded grey blanket over the rocking chair, I am trying to make it look like it will once the rocking chair cover is done):

Ahhhh! Look at that pink chandeleir!  Cuteness overload!  I think this is my favorite part of the nursery.

Here's a view from over near the rocking chair looking at the opposite corner of the room.  I originally kept seeing this crib on one of the many blogs I read and loved how dainty and feminine it looked; I also loved the crisp whiteness of it.  Ironically, this is the exact same crib that Robert had when he was a baby (I'm sure his was tough and masculine, though) so I like that coincidence.

Here's the changing table station with a great bible verse, Mila's 3D pictures and a picture of Robert and I on the shelf above. The little container on the far right of the shelf is a Sigma Kappa glass candy jar that I have filled with pacifiers.  The baskets on the middle shelf of the table are holding diapers (in the left bin) and the others will be used for other baby items (wipes, aspirator, lotion, etc.).  All of the baby blankets go on the bottom of the changing table.

Here's a close up of the bible verse I bought off of Etsy and had printed at Kinkos. Love that I was able to replace some of the "yous" with Mila's name.

This mobile that is hanging above the crib was a last minute decision. Also ordered from Etsy, I couldn't decide if I wanted it or not. I am SO glad I bought it because I love how whimsical it looks.

I originally saw the whole letters in the frame idea on Pinterest and knew I wanted to do something similar. I like the way our looks with the same size letters and different size frames.

Ta da!  Our crib bedding!  It turned our just as amazing as I imagined it would be. 

So eventually we will have a fitted crib sheet in polka dots (like the bow in the picture above).

Of course we had to incorporate Mila's big brother into the room!

Another Ikea purchase; this is the perfect option for storage and also works well as a place to set bottles, milk, books, pear ciders, phones, etc. while rocking the baby.

LOVE this quote. And that is my piggy bank from when I was growing up; only appropriate that Mila has it as well :)

Every Fisher girl needs a reading nook in their house and, thanks to my sister's great shower idea, I have so many great books to start her library with! 

It's all in the details.  As with the owl above and the light switch plate cover below, I searched Etsy for the name of the crib fabric I chose and found some really great pieces to tie the room together.

Here's a look at how I organized the closet.  I took Ikea Skubb boxes, bought some fabric in the same "fabric family" as our bedding and covered the boxes. Ta da, now everything matches!

After receiving all of the adorable clothes from my KC shower, though, I promised to post a picture of Mila's current clothes stash.  Keep in mind that I still have two more baby showers to go to as well!  When I say this little girl is going to be the best dressed in the neighborhood I'm not exaggerating!

So there it is, our pride and joy, blood (ok, no blood) and sweat for the past couple weeks.  I couldn't be happier with the results; pretty much all we're missing now is the little baby that belongs in here.   A huge thanks to the most amazing husband in the world for painting the room by himself, for all the Ikea trips he endured and the assembling of the furniture. I've got a good one :)

Also, I had mentioned that Roscoe has been starting out the night going to bed in Mila's room; well now sometimes during the evening (around 7pm-9pm) he will disappear (which is SUPER unusual because normally he never leaves our side) and when we go to look for him he will be Mila's room laying on the floor, sleeping. I literally just took this picture two minutes ago:

Love.

Happy Birthday Roscoe!

Happy 2nd birthday to our firstborn, Roscoe Rodriguez!!!  You have turned into an amazing little puppers and have grown up so much in the past year (mainly because you are no longer eating our furniture).  Mommy and daddy love you so much and you will always be our baby no matter what (hopefully).

Roscoe and his homemade birthday cake

The rest of the birthday boy's pictures can be seen here.

30 Weeks

The big 3-0. The dirty 30. 30 is the new 20...well except when you're pregnant; then it's only 10 weeks away from your due date. 10 WEEKS!  Ahhhh!  It's hard for me to believe that in approximately 10 weeks we will have a little baby in our house. What's even harder to believe is that she technically could come in 6 WEEKS and still be full time.  As one of the world's most prepared, most organized people I definitely don't feel like I am ready for this!

How far along? 30 weeks
Total weight gain: 21 lbs
Maternity clothes? I find it kind of strange that I am still fitting into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes.  I can't decide if that means I really haven't gained a lot of weight (ha!) or if it means before I wore my clothes why too baggy
Stretch marks? still none! woot!
Sleep: sleeping okay except i am having to pee like 5 times every night. that's a lot of up and down.
Best moment this week: getting the call that I passed my three hour glucose test!!! woo hoo!!!
Worst moment this week: i decided (ok, fine, Robert decided) that it's probably time for Roscoe and I to establish some boundaries so the jealousy once Mila arrives is reduced. No more floor snugging with the puppers.
Miss anything? sitting in the sun, drinking a pear cider. yep.
Movement: an amazing thing has started happening the past couple of weeks.  when Mila starts moving in my stomach if I push back she will push back as well. I thought it might be my imagination at first but it's happened so many times now that it has to be real. it blows my mind that we can "play" and interact with her while she's snugged in my belly
Food cravings: none. still loving ice cream frozen yogurt, though
Anything making you queasy or sick? nope. eggs are becoming slightly tolerable.
Have you started to show yet: obvi. i would start to worry if this wasn't the case.
Gender prediction: it's a girl!
Labor signs: none yet
Belly button in or out? still in :)
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time? happy
Looking forward to: Shawna and Bryan coming to visit this weekend!!!!! Prego besties!

29 Weeks

How far along? 29 weeks
Total weight gain: 21.5 lbs
Maternity clothes? 90% dresses, esp now that it's getting HOTTTTTT.
Stretch marks? none :)
Sleep: uuuugh bad sleep this week. back and forth, back and forth.
Best moment this week: every night for the past couple weeks when we have gone to bed Roscoe has gone right into Mila's room and slept in there for the first part of the night. love this!!!
Worst moment this week: taking my three hour glucose test (more the experience/aftermath, rather than the actual test).  Results supposed to come in tomorrow. 
Miss anything? sitting in the sun, drinking a pear cider. yep.
Movement: lots of kicks...you can sometimes see the kicks on the outside of my belly!
Food cravings: none
Anything making you queasy or sick? nothing new
Have you started to show yet: yep
Gender prediction: it's a girl!
Labor signs: none yet
Belly button in or out? still in :)
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time? happy. and tired.
Looking forward to: Sissy and Bret coming to visit this weekend!!!