30.6 weeks- A baby's shower

Saturday Baby Willoughby had his first baby shower. Here are a few pictures from my cousins camera. I would have had pics on my camera, but sadly, before the shower I stopped by the thrift store to donate some boxes, and low and behold, my camera by accident made it into the box and was donated. We are still hoping to get it back.

Thank you so much Mom for throwing Baby Willoughby the shower. I had a wonderful time, the food was excellent, and it was great to see family that I haven't seen in a long time. You are the best mom! I wouldn't trade you for anyone. I love you!


Also special thanks to:
Grandma Stella-for letting us use her house/backyard to host the shower
Mone't and Mom Wendy-for coming with me all the way out to French Camp for the shower.
Alex, Cami, and Mya-for your help and the beautiful cake!
And to all who gave gifts to Baby Willoughby.

He got so many cute outfits and DIAPERS!!! My M-I-L made him some handmade gowns, and would you believe it, she found Joel's old baby blanket, and gave it to the baby. I am so excited. It's perfect for the vintage nursery theme we are using. I'll post a picture of it as soon as I can borrow a camera (or we get ours back). :(

Last Wednesday I had a doctors appointment. Baby's heartbeat was 150. Fundus grew 6cm. She also did an ultrasound (no pic) to check on the position of the baby. He is already in head down position facing my back. Great news! That means he is not breech, or facing the wrong way. I was glad to hear that. From now on (until the last month) we are going to visit our doctor every two weeks. It's crazy! I mean we only have 9 weeks left....it's flying. But enough about that, on to the baby stats:


What's new this week?

How far along: 30.6 Weeks

Maternity clothes: Yes.

Total weight gain: 8 1/2 lbs.

Waist: This week my waist measures in at 43 1/4".

Belly Button: Still an innie, thank the Lord!

Best moment this week: Getting the perfect baby mobile, and my mom throwing the baby a shower. We got some really cute clothes. Finding out another friend is pregnant. So happy for Shyra and Omar!

Food cravings: WATER! My-lanta (speaking of, I need to go get some tums) I can't get enough water. I am probably drinking about a gallon or so a day....okay maybe half a gallon is more accurate. Seriously though!

Food aversions: None.

Gender: It's a boy! Check out the picture from our previous post.

Crazy Dreams: Had a bad dream this week, but I won't post it. I had to wake Joel up in the middle of the night to pray. It was scary!

What I miss: Not having a headache. For the past couple of days, I've had a headache. Boo!

What I am looking forward to: Painting the nursery (same color, just refreshing the walls), finishing with the decorations, and the baby shower on August 7th.

Milestones: Baby is moving a lot. Hitting the "every two weeks" doctor's appointment. It's crazy!



Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Until next post,

Emotions of a pregnant lady...

I never knew that a baby mobile could bring me to tears, but that is exactly what happened to me this afternoon. I am constantly looking for things for the nursery, and today while surfing eBay, I found the perfect baby mobile. As most of you know, I decided to go with a vintage theme. It can get rather expensive looking for decor, so I limit myself to looking for certain things, and today I decided to check out the vintage mobile section on eBay....and then I found it.

I immediately called Joel and asked if I could make a "best offer", and after thinking about it, he said "Why not?"....and so I did.....and then I waited....and waited...(okay so my wait time was probably about an hour, but that is an eternity when you want something, and it's perfect, and you have to have it, and know right now that you're going to get it), and then I checked my email and saw that they accepted my offer....and then the emotions started coming. First I got so excited, and I sent a text to Joel telling him the good news, and the next thing I know, I'M BAWLING LIKE A BABY!

I know to most people it sounds silly, but to those that have been pregnant before, you understand (at least I hope you do, and I am not the only weird one to ever cry over something as silly as a baby mobile...lol)

So without further ado, here are a few pictures of the mobile that made me cry today. It's going to look perfect in the nursery....and for those who are worried, it is just for looks, and baby will not be "playing with it" due to the small choking hazards it possesses.







It is authentic vintage from the 1950's that is Brand new in the box. How cool is that? Also, here is a reminder picture of the two decorative toys already purchased for the nursery.


The duck is a reproduction, but the apple is vintage. Aren't they so cute?

Until next post,

29.6 -Squashed? Most likely!

So I know squashed is not a common word, but it seem to fit nicely with my title, as Baby Willoughby is measuring up to a Butternut Squash this week.

Sunday I thought Baby Willoughby was going to kick his way out into this world. I seriously think he like Spanish music. We had a combined church service with our Spanish congregation, and every time I have been in service where there is Spanish music, he always kicks more. He usually kicks me during service, but more so when it's in Spanish....crazy huh?

I'm super excited about this weekend. I have a baby shower scheduled, and I am anxious to see my mom and other family members. It's been a few months since I have seen my mom, and undoubtedly I have grown since then. Next weeks post will probably be full of pictures, and special thanks.

Last week I pre-registered with Eden Hospital (that is where we will be delivering),and they asked me if I had a GP....well I didn't so I had to find a GP. So Monday I had a Doctors appointment with my regular GP, but today I have a doctors appointment with my OB. I think from now on I go in every 3 weeks until I hit the 32 week mark (8 months), then it's every two weeks....we'll see after today.

What's new this week?

How far along: 29.6 Weeks

Maternity clothes: Yes.

Total weight gain: 9 lbs. Yay! Gained another two pounds in the last month. Weigh in is from my DR. appointment on Monday.

Waist: This week my waist measures in at 43".

Belly Button: Still an innie, thank the Lord!

Best moment this week: Watching Mone't feel the baby move, and he gave her a really strong kick. It was so funny!

Food cravings: None...well I went to the Farmers Market and I saw these extremely large english peas, and I just had to have them.

Food aversions: None.

Gender: It's a boy! Check out the picture from our previous post.

Crazy Dreams: This morning I dreamed that I was in Venezuela, and I missed my plane back home. I didn't know my plane was leaving, and so all my luggage was still at the hotel. Since I missed the plane, I decided to go back to the hotel and get my luggage, only to find a note that said

"It looked too clean, we got suspicious. Your luggage is at the front desk. Get out immediately! Signed Sasheen G."

So I go downstairs grab my luggage, and as soon as I am out of the hotel, a high speed chase starts. Then I woke up....crazy!

What I miss: Sleep! It seems like I am now having insomnia. Maybe my mind has too much to think about, I dunno

What I am looking forward to: Having the nursery set up. It's slowly getting there. Seeing the Baby again.

Milestones: Feeling the baby move and getting the "kick in the ribs" everyone was talking about.



Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Until next post,

My husband has a new blog

So most might not know that Joel loves writing, and has always loved to write stories. With much encouragement, he has decided to start blogging his short stories. Now please keep in mind, he is still working on them, but your feedback would be much appreciated. So if you have a few minutes, stop by and read "a piece of his heart".

Love you Joel, and I know that you are a good writer. Who know's, maybe you'll be the next Harlan Coban, or Stephanie Meyer's....

His blog can be found here or in the left sidebar under "My favorite blogs".

Double portion blessing!

God is so good! Yesterday we got a double portion blessing almost at the same time. I went to the mail, opened it, and then got a phone call. Here are the details.

1. Firstly, I was laid off from my job back in December. At that time I applied for Unemployment, but since I only worked for last two months out of the year it was not counted. Well, I had a independent contractor position for 4 months last year as well, but that does not pay into unemployment, so I had no wages that I could benefit from with that job. So needless to say, I had no wages to benefit from at all. Confusing I know! So the other day, I decided to try and apply for unemployment again, because this time my wages from working those two months would be included. Praise God! I qualified. So for the next 13 weeks or so, I will be getting a small check. It's not much, but it will help.

2. Second, after I opened the mail and saw I had been awarded unemployment, I got a phone call from our tax guy. A couple of weeks ago, I had received a corrected 1099 form from Joel's work for a settlement that he received. Because of the settlement, we ended up owing the IRS over $1,500.00. Talk about devastation when we found out. So when I got the corrected form I called to let him know, and yesterday he called me back to let me know that with the corrected form it dropped our taxes owed by 2/3!!!!! Praise God! Now we won't be owing taxes to the IRS for 100 years....lol

God is good and always on time, and just when I did not see a way out of our situation, God is working it out. It pays to pay your tithes and offerings. Even when you can't afford to pay them...do it! This is a testimony to God's many blessings!

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Until next post,

28.6 Weeks- My ever growing cabbage patch

Do you remember those? I do! I had a whole collection of them. I even have one of my nieces dolls here and ready when she comes over to play with. Speaking of cabbage patch dolls, my little cabbage patch is growing. This week I found my first two signs of mommy-hood on my belly. Yep! Two tiny stretch marks...smaller than a dime in length. They are not that dark, so hopefully the will fade soon (they already look lighter).

This week has been eventful for me. FINALLY, we moved the office out of the nursery, and downstairs. I still have my filing cabinet to put in the garage, and hopefully next week I can move my dresser into the nursery.

I mentioned in my last blog that I have two baby showers scheduled. The first is for June 26th. My mom is throwing that one for family on her side. The other is scheduled for August 7th, and that one will be for the many friends and other family members we have.

So this week I added a new category for the "What's new this week" part of the blog. I have decided to start measuring the waist. Please don't be too harsh, I was a little chunky prior to being pregnant, and so therefore my waist like was bigger. With that said, it should be easier now to see how much Baby W has grown.


What's new this week?

How far along: 28.6 Weeks

Maternity clothes: Yes.

Total weight gain: 7 lbs.

Waist: This week my waist measures (now don't criticize me, cause I was chunky before pregnancy) in at 41 3/4".

Belly Button: Still an innie, thank the Lord!

Best moment this week: Moving the office out of the nursery. I still have some things to move out, but I can't get to it until next week. I also plan on cleaning it next week. Finding out a good friend is also having a boy. Yay! for Rachel and Ryan S.

Food cravings: Watermelon and chocolate, but not together.

Food aversions: It's not really a food aversion, but more like un-satisfaction. It never fails that I can made dinner, and never want to eat it, and then half an hour later, I am starving!

Gender: It's a boy! Check out the picture from our previous post.

Crazy Dreams: None this week.

What I miss: Not having a headache. For the past week, I have had off and on headaches, and my lower back has been hurting.

What I am looking forward to: Continuing to set up the nursery. Next week I should have some things set up. My dad is still planning on painting the crib, I just have to get it to him.

Milestones: Got my first two stretch marks on the belly. :( Baby must be putting on weight, as he is over 2 1/4 lbs now. Having people feel the baby move.



By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Until next week,

Yay! The third trimester is here

Yay! We are in the homestretch. Soon Baby Willoughby will be here. I still have so much to do, but for now, we are glad we made it this far.

I'm getting really nervous thinking about the baby being here. It's still so weird to think that we will be having a baby soon. What if he comes early? That's the part that has me scared. I know that medically, he will most likely be fine (as we are entering the latter stages of pregnancy)..................but will Joel and I be ready when he comes? It crosses my mind more frequently now.

To be continued...

Until next week,

27.6 weeks - Calling my lovely cauliflower by name

*********ATTENTION...sort of a long post**********

Joel and I decided on a name for the baby quite some time ago. Well actually it was on our list from the last pregnancy, but since the baby did not come to full term, or grow enough to know if it was a boy or girl, we decided to keep the name as an option. And so when we found out this baby was a boy, we already knew what we were going to name him, (hehe...we are just keeping it a secret until he is born).

It's so hard sometimes not to tell people. Funny thing is Joel tells people we are naming him Jehoshaphat, and we usually get a laugh from people (No seriously, we are not naming the baby that). Once Joel slipped and called him by his real name in front of people, thankfully they were all talking and no one heard. But in the morning I try and make a ritual of saying "Good Morning _____" to the baby. Sometimes he responds, and other time he does not. Like this morning....I thought my stomach was going to explode he was moving around so much! It was crazy. He must have had the hiccups because sometimes it was a steady rhythm of movement.

Thursday I am officially entering my third trimester and will be 7 months along (28 weeks). Crazy that I am nearing the end already. I think posting a weekly blog helps make the time go by faster....lol. I still have lots of work on the nursery to do, BUT I bought two toys for the nursery this week, wanna see?

Ist't that duck just so cute?....He's not authentic vintage, but a reproduction, but I still like him none-the-less, and I love my apple!

What's new this week?

How far along: 27.6 Weeks

Maternity clothes: yep!

Total weight gain: 7 lbs. Had to be weighed the other day, and I gained one more pound. Whoo hoo!

Belly Button: Still an innie, but I dunno for how much longer. :o/

Best moment this week: Feeling the baby move, and realizing I only have 12 more weeks until the baby is here.

Food cravings: None this week.

Food aversions: None this week.

Gender: It's a boy! Check out the picture from our previous post.

Crazy Dreams: Had two this week that I can remember, well one that turned into two. One was of me skydiving from a cliff, and falling into a sink hole, and then when I fell into the sink hole, I fell into a river, and there were things or people trying to pull me under. I'm glad it was just a dream.

What I miss: Being able to get up out of bed without pain. I think I might have something called SPD (Symphysis pubis dysfunction). Let's just say it hurts to lift my legs, turn in bed, etc...you can read up on it here.

What I am looking forward to: Getting rid of things, and rearranging furniture.

Milestones: Heartburn is officially here almost everyday. He's weighing in around 2 pounds now! Movements are much more jerky and can be visually seen. I have a family shower set on June 26th, and a friends and family shower for August 7th.


This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.


Until next week,

26.6 weeks-Cool as a cucumber pt. 2

On a different note, I just heard back from the Doctors office. I do not have Gestational Diabetes. WHOO HOO!

Also, I want to say a special thanks to Petra and Ian S. They were gracious enough to pass down clothes and a few other baby items from their son who is now 5. I am so excited, and while going through all the clothes, toys, and bottles, I felt like nesting. I have to put all this baby stuff somewhere. So this week, I am endeavoring to clean up the office, and make it easier to transition into the nursery.

I have decided to put our computer downstairs, and so now I will have to make room in the garage to put my kitchen hutch in there. We have a dilemma of only two phone jacks in our house, one in the nursery, and one in the kitchen, so finding a place to put the computer has been a problem from the beginning, but I think it will work. It has to...lol.

And special thanks to Annette H. She so was so kind to pass down some much needed maternity clothes! I now have outfits to wear to church and casual clothes too. Now I can sport a baby bump in style. You are truly a life saver, and people at my church will thank you, as I have been hiding the bump with my regular clothes. Now they can really see the Baby Willoughby bump.

And lastly, Dad and Lynn. They bought me a beautiful antique rocking chair. Okay antique might be pushing it, but it's from the 1980's...you remember the old wooden ones with the wicker/cane backs in the shape of an oval...yeah that kind.


Until next week,

26.6 weeks-Cool as a cucumber pt. 1

Yay! We are nearing the third trimester. One more week and we are there! Baby Willoughby will be here before we know it! I am getting really excited. I had Joel take a new baby bump shot on Monday (Memorial Day) Here is a pic:



What's new this week?

How far along: 26.6 Weeks

Maternity clothes: Maternity clothes have finally been embraced. I still wear regular clothes, but I mostly have been wearing maternity for the last week and a half.

Total weight gain: 6 lbs.

Belly Button: Still an innie, thank the Lord!

Best moment this week: Getting a whole bunch of maternity clothes from a friend, and My Dad and (his wife) Lynn showing me the rocking chair they purchased for the nursery ...well for me really! Also, the looks on people's faces on Sunday when I came in my first maternity outfit, and they could finally see the baby bump. I got so many compliments, it was very embarrassing.

Food cravings: Water, I must be dehydrated.

Food aversions: None this week.

Gender: It's a boy! Check out the picture from our previous post.

Crazy Dreams: None this week that I can remember.

What I miss: My energy...I feel zapped at the end of the day, and have to take naps.

What I am looking forward to: Cleaning the room that is to become the nursery and moving furniture around.

Milestones: Baby Willoughby is moving so much. His kicks are a lot stronger now. Showing off a legit baby bump.





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 (an English hothouse cucumber) 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.

Until next week,