Definitely "popped" from week 15 to week 19!

We are having a boy!!!

Yesterday was full of anticipation and nervousness for me, and for Jordan. I had my 18 week regular OB check up at 3:20 and then at 4:00 we were doing the anatomy scan and gender determination ultrasound. I could hardly wait for the day to pass and the afternoon to get here! My good friend Sarah came over for a couple hours and helped keep me occupied, which was awesome! The time just flew right on by. Finally Jordan came home from school and we were off to my first appointment with my doctor.

(A side note – I really love my doctor’s office! Everyone there is so sweet and nice. My doctor herself is a little unperson-able, but her nurse is fabulous, the gal who weighs me and takes my BP is always funny and talkative and the receptionist is just sweet as sugar! The place is clean, organized, and prompt. I don’t feel like they have done any unnecessary procedures or anything less than they should – very blessed to be there!)

Anyhow…Dr. Bosch checked the heartbeat, which was great – about 150 – and just asked me some questions to make sure I was still healthy and feeling good. So far, I told her I was great! This pregnancy has been a breeze, in all honestly, and I THANK GOD for that! My BP rose, however, but we are assuming that is due to my excitement and nervousness in regards to the upcoming ultrasound. (It is normally 116/60 and went to 136/60!) After that appointment we went back into the waiting room until I was called in for the ultrasound!

The U/S tech’s name is Cory and she, too, was very nice! We spend about 40 minutes in there and she did all the measurements to deduct a more accurate EDD – which is still May 6^th, however technically I am 18 week 6 days and he is measuring 19 weeks 6 days. We listened to his heartbeat again and saw the zig zaggy lines of his heart on the big screen (our U/S screen is huge, btw!! So awesome.) She said his HB is about 147. Everything seemed to be in place and working properly! Kidneys, heart, brain, it was amazing! I know that both Jordan and I were nervous because you never know what sort of thing could go wrong when a baby is being MADE inside a woman’s womb. How do you prepare to hear bad news??? But, God showed us that His hand is on our baby boy (He created Him, after all) and so far, so good! Even if something was wrong with our baby, all praise be to God!

A few seconds into the U/S came THE BIG REVEAL!!! Oh the anticipation of it all!!! After waiting for nearly 5 months we were finally going to see if our baby had boy parts, or girl parts! As soon as Cory put that little thing where his booty was we saw a very prominent boy part!! Clear as day! No misunderstanding! Our little boy had no shame. J We are both incredibly excited and overjoyed! Both of us have always wanted to have a little boy first and for some reason, God gave us that exact desire. Well, baby boy was moving all about, kicking and waving and trying to scoot away from the U/S tech – it was pretty amusing. Sweet Jordan didn’t want to say anything, but he was afraid that all that poking and prodding on my tummy was upsetting the baby. I love my husband! He’s right, baby doesn’t like being pressed on and tries to get away when things bother him, but I think he’ll come away from this experienced unscathed. J

We went out to eat afterward to celebrate the joyous occasion! Where did we go? Why our favorite spot in Fresno – Chevy’s! Jordan said we had to get something with steak in it, since we are having a boy now, of course. We got the yummiest platter of food…soooo good! Just FYI, this was my 4^th time going to the Chevy’s in River Park and they have never steered me wrong! Always delicious! P.S. since we are on a budget, we used a $5.00 off coupon, ordered waters (like we always do) and shared the massive meal. A wonderful date night celebration for only $13, including tip! We know how to party it up!

All said and done, I did not sleep a wink last night! My brain would not shut down – it just kept thinking about our baby boy, boy things, boy clothes, boy nursery décor, etc. Some people may choose to wait to find out the gender of their baby, desiring a big surprise in the delivery room – but not us! I don’t think I could have handled waiting any longer! I commend those who have the patience to wait; but I know me…I want it all now! Hehe. Let the real nesting begin!

That's my 10oz baby boy!

And that's his pee pee!

Crossing his legs - so cute!

Might be hard to tell, but that's his little face, see his nose? His hand is over his forehead!

The U/S tech said "ooooh so dramatic' and flug her hand over her face just like he did, it was so funny!

BEST maternity purchase thus far!!!

So, I was recently lamenting over the fact that I can no longer squeeze my fat A into my super dark skinny jeans. :( They were a staple item in my wordrobe! Well, after traipsing all about (Kohls, Target, Old Navy) I finally went to Destination Maternity and found the most wonderfully perfect dark skinny jeans a la maternity style!! They were a little pricey (39.98) but to me, they are so worth it. They are nearly identical to my beloved pre-prego ones (which I got at Marshalls, go figure!) They have literally allowed me to have about 10 more winter maternity outfits (which is very nice because I was tired of looking frumpy for church and also needed some nice pants for the holidays with family.) Ah. Sweet success. :)

Ya, I just blogged about pants. Cool, huh?

Feeling guilty...

...because sometimes (oftentimes) I don't do ANYTHING productive for the first couple hours of the morning. It's not like I'm getting up early and relaxing before the day starts or anything, either. Lately I don't get up till about 9 or 10. Jordan goes to school full time and works part time, so he's gone for the first few hours of the morning. I putz around, go on Facebook, Baby Center, check my e-mail, look at apartments on Craigslist (because we are moving next summer) and eat. That's about it...

I guess I justify this laziness by the fact that in 5 months, my life will be dramatically different and changed.We've only been married for 7 months, and we never lived together or anything beforehand (duh). We didn't have much time to enjoy being newly married and without kids before I got pregnant. Literally, 3 months later we found out we were expecting. (Though you know me (us, really) we couldn't be happier!)

I don't work right now. I was a lead preschool teacher for a two year old class and halfway through my first trimester, I resigned because I was nauseous all the time and exhausted - none of those things make for a very productive preschool teacher when you have 10 - 20 two year olds hanging on you! Not to mention I was getting sick all the time! Bronchitis, the flu, the stomach flu and colds at least once a month. I was just done.

So now in 5 months I have the baby, my husband graduates with his Bachelors and we move from Fresno to San Diego so he can continue his education by getting his Masters. While he is doing that I will be a first time new mom and starting up an in home daycare to get us through those 3 or 4 years of him being in rigorous training. (He is going to be a pastor and the school he is going to is tough!) I'm going to be quite busy taking care of my newborn along with a few other infants.

So that's my story. Just writing it out helps me not feel so guilty about my nonproductive mornings :)

1 Week!

In exactly 1 week from today we find out if our little baby is a boy or a girl!! I am giddy with anticipation! I hope he/she cooperates and doesn't "hide the goods". Hehe. :) I can't wait to be able to start buying things for baby! I know my mom/sister/MIL/SIL are all very anxious to start buying things, as well. They are all hoping for a girl, as is everyone else in my life. Wondering what this special little someone is???? Only God knows right now and He is totally in control of it! Yay!

Also, been feeling this little baby move a lot lately! A lot, meaning like three times. Haha. But last night he/she kicked quite a few times! So cool! I can't wait to lie in bed and hopefully feel it again tonight. It is the best feeling!

GIDDY!

I'm so giddy! Just like a school girl with a new crush. Hehe. :) My reason? I'm really excited about the next chapter of my life!! The chapter that I am in right now is swell and all, and I know that God has us in this tough spot for a reason, but I can't wait for our move to San Diego!!! Come May there will be a lot of changes in my/Jordan's/OUR lives! Graduation from FPU, baby, moving! So much will be happening and it is all so exciting and exhilarating to think about. I'm not gonna lie, this past year has been tough! We have been married for 7 1/2 months and SO much has happened...the big one being getting pregnant. When baby is born, we will have been married for just shy of a year. Pretty crazy, eh? It's exciting and scary all at the same time.

Now my goal is to be a better wife, gain more patience with where I am at in my life right now, and be productive! I need to learn how to focus on the "here and now" instead of planning my entire life for 6 months from now. Oh, it's.just.so.hard! I am a planner. It might even be borderline OCD the amount of time I spend looking at apartments on craigslist for North San Diego. Seriously, I scare myself. I mean really, it's pointless for me to search for apartments 6 or 7 months before we move and pointless for Jordan to look for a job, but I can't help it!

Anyhow, I'm still excited. :)

Growing Belly Pictures

Soooo, it may not look like much to you, but to me, I see the growing-ness of my belly. Pretty sweet, eh? Mind you, all of these pictures were taken first thing in the morning, before I ate. HAHA. So, my question is, when will I start to pop out!?! Today I am 15 weeks and 5 days. That's like, 4 months...come on baby...make yourself known! This is an awkward stage for me. Regular clothes are too small and preggo clothes are too big. My shirts are all too short and my pants all give me muffin top. Arrrg!

Be Thou My Vision

This song just came on my Pandora - I love it. Thank you, Jesus.

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee, Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for my fight,
Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight.
Thou my soul's shelter, Thou my high tower.
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heav'ns Son!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

No title, really.

Blah blah blah. Honestly, don't really care if anyone reads these silly posts. In fact it would almost be better if you didn't. :) I was an avid journaler when I was younger, but now, not so much. I try...and I start...but then I get bored. I stopped journaling just a couple years ago because once I met Jordan, I guess I didn't feel the need to write about my boy-woes anymore! So I guess this is now kind of like my own personal online journal. Maybe I could make one of those that is private? I really do prefer typing to writing. I type my faster than I write, and my hand doesn't get nearly as tired. Hmmm.....I think I will do that right now. From now on out I promise only to blog when something exciting or somewhat important occurs - like about our holidays or the baby. :)

Ta ta for now!

Tangents

I didn't really have "morning sickness" during my first trimester. I had about a month of nausea, but never threw up from it. I just had to lay in bed for a while until it went away. Sometimes it hit me in the morning, other times in the middle of the night. Anyhow, all that to say, I shouldn't complain that I should not complain that I feel sick right now, because I had plenty of friends who had terrible morning sickness for weeks - throwing up a few times a day and getting migraines. BUT, I'm going to complain anyhow.

So I feel SICK this morning! :( Some mornings are just like that. I generally feel sick at some point during the day, nearly every day. It's usually not so bad, and passes after a little bit of time. But it's still annoying. I thought that because I was in my 2nd trimester that I would be feeling much better, because that is what I heard happens. But I suppose every woman is different. I'm a little less exhausted, but still quite tired if I don't get almost a full 10 hours of sleep. (I got about 9 last night, so maybe that's why I feel yucky?)I've always been someone who needed at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep even before pregnancy in order to feel good, anyhow. I get headaches nearly every day that are only cured by Tylenol, and that works just for a couple of hours. I hear headaches are quite common in the 2nd trimester, though. And then there's this sick queasy feeling I get most mornings if I don't sleep enough, get up too fast, don't eat right away, etc. Sometimes it feels like I'm going to vomit, but I don't. Anyhow, that's how I feel this morning. Oh the life of a pregnant woman. :)

Tis a blessing though!!! Ever since I was little, I wanted to be wife and mommy. That's all I ever wanted. And guess what? My dream is coming true! People told me I couldn't do it. They said that I wouldn't be able to stay home and not work. They said I was foolish to expect my husband to be able to support our family with one income. I say they are way too hasty to jump to that conclusion! It bothered me every single time. If we had money, I would be quite happy - I wouldn't have to keep such a tight leash on our budget. I wouldn't have to be on WIC, or get a discount on our PGandE bill, we might be able to go out to eat more than once every couple of months and even get our own meal instead of sharing and also just getting water. We could maybe even go to a movie, or a sporting even with our friends, or even buy a bed that's at least a queen and not a full. But you know what? I love my life just how it is! We are not poor in any sense of the word. We have FAR MORE "things" and "money" than the majority of the people in the world and even in Fresno. We are spoiled. Yes, we live on an EXTREMELY tight budget and spend WAY less than most people do, but we have Jesus, we have each other, we have this precious tiny baby growing in me, we have our wonderful family and our sweet friends, we have our health! We are SPOILED and blessed. :) Thank you, Lord, for always providing for our needs and surprising us with monetary blessings just when we need them. He is good. He is beyond good.

Did I go off on a tangent?

P.s. I love my husband. He is the most supportive and loving man I have EVER met. I dated a whole of guys before him and wanted to marry most of them. How silly was I? God brought sweet Jordan (young as he is!) into my life just in His perfect timing and caused him to sweep me off my feet and fall in love with him. I will never worry about him hurting me, leaving me, belittling me, yelling at me, ignoring me, or being cruel ever. He has been a fabulous husband in this short 6 months we have been married and I am confident he will only get better. I know he is going to be an amazing daddy, too! He can't wait. :) He loves kids and he's smart! He is so creative and smart it's disgusting, haha. Our children are going to adore him. Thank You, God, for my wonderful husband.

Alright, that's it for my more ramblings. :) Have a wonderful day!

It's aliiiiive!

So I had my 3rd OB appointment this morning. I am almost 15 weeks along. They didn't do an ultrasound, like I had hoped, but we DID listen to the heartbeat! It was the best sound in the world. I definitely cried - a lot. I was just so relieved! The nurse said the heartbeat is very strong and sounds perfect. Baby was really easy to find, about 3 inches in length and in a perfect spot in my uterus. :) That's a good little baby. :)She said my weight gain is right on target (I've gained 8 lbs), my blood is good and healthy, all the lab work is good, and I'm all around very healthy!

On December 8th I go in for my 2nd ultrasound and that is when they can do the gender determination! Yay! I will be 18 weeks and 5 days then, so if baby cooperates, then we should be able to tell very clearly! Just in time for Christmas. :)

That's all for now...short and sweet. Time to do some house chores. Tonight we are going to Jordan's friend Greg's house for dinner and so the boys can slave away on the their senior project papers. I suppose I will read or watch a movie while they do that??

Tired....always

I have a bad case of the sleepies. It's 6:00 in the evening and I can barely keep my eyes open. I know fatigue is a normal symptom of pregnancy, but I really hate blaming all my problems on being pregnant. I was never a very high energy person to begin with, however. I am borderline anemic, which to this hypochondriac basically means I AM anemic. I blame my exhaustion on that fact. Plus, it's Sunday....and it's raining...and it's dark...and I'm in pajamas...and, well, that's about it. I'd like to read a book, or maybe watch a movie even, but I might fall asleep while doing those thing. I suppose that wouldn't be so bad?

Anyhow...last week was really busy. I had to do any orientation with Social Services to get medi-cal since my current insurance does NOT cover maternity - lame. I had to take my cat to the vet because he suddenly was dying from some random cat fever (he's fine now....110 dollars later). I had to take Jordan's car to the shop to get some new brake pads. Had to go back to social services for my actual interview with the social worker to get me set up for medi-cal. Had to go BACK the next day to bring in some missing documents, so that makes 3 trips to the ever-so-lovely SS Office on Shields and THEN I had to go get my hair cut. Haha, but that was a fun appointment. :)

I got my hairs cut at the Aveda salon in Riverpark. I highly recommend this particular sort of salon. It's relaxing, it smells good, they offer you tea and water, you receive a delicious hair scalp and shoulder massage with lavender and rose oil, then they wash your hair with a soothing smelling shampoo WHILE you are getting a hand massage. Simply fabulous. I'd go simply for the pampering.

And now here it is...Sunday evening. Jordan once again had to leave me to lead the group of kids who have terrible family lives in the Least of These ministry. I'm very proud of him for doing this outreach week after week. The kids must love him, because they always do, and I know he really loves being with the kids. I'm not gonna lie though, I'm really selfish. I feel bad for him because he is ALWAY SUPER BUSY. His life is school,work and ministry. Which is great....except he NEVER has time for leisurely activities, such as reading a novel or choice, taking a walk with me, going to a movie, watching a movie, taking a nap, going out to dessert, etc. He is simply a very hard worker and I commend him for that. Did I mention he just got accepted into Grad school?!?! Yes siree bob! He is officially accepted into Westminster Seminary California in Escondido. VERY proud of him!! How could they NOT accept him??? He's met nearly all the profs already, has kept a good email relationship with the admissions director AND best of all, has had straight A's for 6, and hopefully going on 8, semesters in a row. I sure love my smart man. :)

That's enough of my aimless ramblings for now. More to come the next time I have nothing to write. :)

Toodles.

14 weeks.....

Today I am 14 weeks pregnant. I'm just waiting for this belly to grow...sometimes I talk to baby. I say "Hey baby! Are you in there?? Where you at?" Anyhow, I get nice and bloated as the day progresses, and then my belly pops out. But it's still not a baby bump, not really, at least. Oh well.



On another note...Jordan will be home in about an hour and I'm still sitting here in his pajamas, unshowered, and the dishes are still piled in the sink. After the zillions of appointments and errands I did all week, I am now totally unmotivated to clean my house and be productive. But alas, I must, because if he comes home and sees me/it like this, I will be embarrassed. He won't care, but I will. So I'm getting off my lazy butt as soon as this post occurs, I'm splashing my face with ice cold water, I'm turning on Christmas music and I'm doing those darn dishes!!

Now THIS is embarrassing....


But THIS is the outcome...


Have a pleasant Friday. :)

Officially my 2nd trimester!!

Had another dream that I'm having a girl. That's 3 dreams so far. I don't know if it's because I "secretly" want to have a girl, or if people are telling me they think it's a girl, or if I keep thinking it's a girl, or if God is telling me it's a girl....haha. Either way, boy, girl - I'll just take a healthy baby! In all my dreams my baby is healthy and I start breastfeeding right away with no problems. I'm thankful for these good dreams. :) They always have some really weird stuff in them, though - of course. Like last night the hospital was really old and ghetto with carpeting in the rooms and a huge wood burning fireplace in the elevator. And for some reason my baby grows quite rapidly after I give birth. First she's a newborn and then suddenly I'm nursing a 6 month old. Very strange. Sometimes she has dark hair and sometimes she's bald.




On another note....sleep has been a pain in the butt. I can't seem to get comfortable and it's quite annoying because usually I am a champion sleeper. I used to fall asleep within 5 minutes, nothing would wake me up, and I'd sleep all through the night. Now suddenly that I am further along in my pregnancy I take forever to fall asleep, I wake up every 2 hours, and I toss and turn and can't get comfortable for the life of me. I'm only 13 weeks! I don't even have a tummy! I can't imagine what it's going to be like when I have a basketball for a stomach. Oh well. There are worse things in life. The good news is, it's not like I have to wake up at any particular time and I'm always free to take a nap in the middle of the day! Soooo I should not complain. :)




Then on another note...and please don't get mad...but I'm not gonna lie! I feel FAT. Feeling fat is not fun. I've been skinny all my life. I have worn a size 2 and have weighed around 120 since I was 16. That's 10 years now, people. I have 2 pairs of size 4's - they are my "fat jeans" for when I breach 125...and guess what? I'm in them. I can still squeeze into my 2's, but I have to use the niffy rubber band fastening system to keep them closed. I wake up in the morning and I don't look even remotely pregnant, but then as the day progresses, the bloating ensues!! Ahhhhhhh retched bloating!!!! It adds like, 3 inches to my waist and makes me feel terribly unattractive and gross. Ahhhhh! The vanity of it all!!! I can't wait for my baby bump to ACTUALLY be a baby bump and not a gassy, bloated, food baby bump! I will probably still feel fat, but at least I won't be ashamed to wear a tight shirt and let that puppy show it's true colors. Right now I'm all about baby doll tops and loose sweaters. I know, I have problems, right? Sheesh.




Well, that's my ranting for the day. Time to start my housewifely duties and wash dishes/make the bed/clean the bathroom/etc. :) I like staying home - it's a dream job - every who is able should do it!

Baby???

Pregnancy is in the air, folks! I swear it's contagious, so watch out! Either that, or it has to do with the fact that I am in prime child-bearing age along with the majority of the other females I know/grew up with. I can count off 12 gals who I know personally that are pregnant and about 5 who had a baby in the past couple months. 5 of the girls are do in May, along with myself.
So a little recap on my pregnancy, for those who are actually willing to read, hopefully this won't be terribly boring! We found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks - quite shocking, but incredibly exciting! Anyone who knows me at all knows how much I LOVELOVELOVE babies and have always wanted to be a mommy. :) Soooo, even though Jordan and I had only been married a short 3 months, God blessed us with our very own Baby Rossi. I kept this news a secret about as long as I possibly could...which wasn't very long considering I told my mom and a good friend that very night and a few other people in the falling next few days. I was good though! I didn't tell the facebook community until after my first ultrasound, which was done around 10.5 weeks.

My first trimester was a fairly smooth one. I never had any real bad bouts with morning sickness, just some nausea here and there that was mostly brought on by my prenatal vitamins. I have since switched to a fabulous all natural iron supplement and Flinstone vitamins - these two together give me everything I need. I never threw up due to the morning sickness....this of course does not count my terrible battle with the stomach flu during the end of my 6th week! It was just awful. I threw up nearly 20 times in the course of a few hours. I had never felt so sick in my life. I was like the living dead for the next few days after that. I had no energy, strength or appetite for about a week. I had lost 5 pounds...which I have since gained back. :)

The ultrasound appointment was a heartwarming, joyful, and a little tearful experience for all involved. My mom and sister were in town visiting, so they, along with Jordan, accompanied me to my appointment. When they put that little device on my tummy and baby popped up I felt a wave of relief! 1)Because there was just one of them, 2)Because there was indeed a baby! and 3) Because he/she appeared to be healthy. Baby Rossi started out on his head and ended up flipping all around, up and down, wiggling and jumping. It was hilarious! I felt such love for our little baby at that moment.

Tomorrow begins the start of my second trimester! 13 weeks!! Thank God it has gone as well as it has. I've been extremely tired on some days and other days I feel really good. I have an awesome/wonderful husband who "allows" me to stay home and rest and no longer work. It has been a real pleasure being able to be a real homemaker! (Baby will complete that roll.) I'm able to keep our house clean, make dinner most nights, do errands, go to appointments, etc without having the stress of being exhausted or not having enough time. I feel truly blessed.

I have my next appointment in a couple weeks - not sure what that will entail but I'm really hoping they will do another ultrasound because I love seeing my little baby moving all around. I'm also hoping that we may catch a glimpse of some boy or girl parts??? If not, that's okay. We for sure get to find out the sex the first week of December. Christmas presents for my little baby?? I think so!!! That's all for now...hopefully the next blog will bring some more exciting Rossi baby news!

Our Cats

After 4 long weeks of keeping the rescued kittens quarantined in the bathroom due to ringworm, we have finally let them out. Papa cat (Hosea) tried to sink his teeth into their necks at first, but quickly became uninterested. The gray kitten, Trousers, is a boy and much like Hosea. In fact, he has already picked up most of Ho's habits, such as lying on the coffee table and attacking our legs. Ariel, the orange kitten, is a girl through and through. She definitely has a personal space bubble and does not appreciate it one bit when Trousers or Hosea attempt to rough house. She hisses and her tail gets all puffed up as she runs away to be by herself under a bed or behind a door. Both kittens, though strays, have adjusted very well to be domesticated. :) We are now outnumbered by these fury felines. Who needs babies when you have three cats to keep you entertained? JK...no babies for now, but Lord willing, soon.

4th of July in Reedley

This is the first year that I have spent Independence Day away from the Coast. At first I was quite sad and definitely had a pity party for myself, but then my mood perked up when we ended up going to Reedley for an awesome fireworks show! Jordan's cousin's wife's family help put on the show every year and we sure had a fun time! It was held at a baseball field complete with inflatable waterslides for the kids, food vendors, a great acapella group called Vocal Experience and a pretty sweet live band that took us back to the '50's and '60's. To kick off the night, we had the color guard march and hold their flags and the acapella group sing the Star Spangled Banner. The ground show was amazing! Unfortunately the finale in the sky fizzled out due to some wiring problems, but all in all I had a great time. :)God bless America!