baby does kickworm

We just came back from the doctor and we saw the baby moving. It was kind of doing a reverse kick worm!(a breakdance move). It was so cool and the perfect celebration for this stage of the pregnancy. We are almost done with the first trimester!

On another note we saw the ultrasound and we couldn't tell if that was an umbilical cord between the legs or....something else. So I started picking out boy names just in case. I think colin is a cool name. It's irish and they like to fight and drink beer so that's kind of manly. I don't like to fight but I like dark beer. Anyway I am on a tangent. So let's just say it was a very good and eventful day

Jereek's Story

So my buddy Jereek (Che's hubby) told a story about "The Incredible Shrinking Woman." I however feel like "The Incredible Expanding Woman"...every inch of my body has been feeling like it's expanding yesterday & today. Could be Symone...but I think it's those pizza cravings that I've faithfully given in to...I'll be re-thinking the menu for my second trimester feedings...more grean leafies, more fruits, more protein! =)

Words From Friends

Angel, friend from Singapore, asked "Are you comfortable?" I replied "Yes, very." Then the next day, I suddenly knew what her question meant! I became quite "uncomfortable" and have been on & off ever since! Just some bloating & aches & minor pains. I guess she asked that question right at the turning point =)

Che Tiffany, nurse friend, asked "So, How's it going?" I replied "...achy...etc..." She encouraged me with these paraphrased words "Hang in there sis; as baby gets bigger, so do mommy's aches & pains!" That's comforting, believe it or not! It's always good to know when the aches are normal & not something to be concerned about.

Ramon, my hubby, is always answering my question of "Why do I feel like this?" with the simple, yet profound response of "Because you're pregnant." So wise, so deep! The truth is that childbirth does bring on pain! Somehow hearing that helps me to know that I can swing this for another 6.5 months, all by the grace of the Lord.

Thank u all my wise friends & family! =o) Keep that encouragement coming!

Our Appointment Is Upon Us...

So, we made it to the day before our final 1st trimester ultrasound with no major problems. It's tough to be confident because when we lost Mercy, we also had no real problems and were totally surprised at the results of that dr. visit. We're working hard to anticipate it with excitement, rather than dread, at least I am. I am so thankful to God that we have experienced no traumas in this waiting time & that the appointment is finally upon us. If you read this in time, please be praying with me/us all throughout tomorrow, especially around the hours of 4pm - 6pm.

Ethiopia and ruling the world

I will be going to Ethiopia in a week and I am really excited about this trip. The one big drawback is that I will not have Yvette or our baby Symone with me. One thing this has started to get me to think about is how much traveling I want to do while the baby is young. For sure I do not want to travel alone I mean sometimes you have to do it but I will have to have a cut off limit. I think at this stage in life it is better to be at home while most people are trying to rule the world. I would rather invest in my family. After all there will always be worlds to conquer but if you missed your daughter's first steps that's it. Even after you conquer the world your kids may resent you and all of it will mean nothing.

Dad feelings

After I finished preaching Sunday an overwhelming feeling of mushiness and joy came over me. I'm going to be a Dad! I kept thinking about our baby Symone and the times we will watch her grow up. Every time I looked at a kid after that it was just different. So I guess it has finally sunk in and I have Dad feelings. The question is "What kind of Dad am I going to be? Homer Simpson...Cliff Huxtable...Archie Bunker..Fred Sanford. Hmmmmm...it's funny how many dad figures there are on TV. Maybe I will take a cue from God. He's a good father.

Babies like cheerios

Ok I am back, its been a while since I have written anything on this blog. It is hard sometimes because Yvette seems to have alot more to say than I do. This whole baby thing is new to me. I do know that I loved seeing the baby's heartbeat. It looked like a little radar blip-you know like in those movies with fighter planes (the man's perspective :) So needless to say I am feeling a bit out of my league here and I am learning a whole lot. One thing I do know is that I always see kids eating cheerios and now yvette carries a sandwich bag of cheerios to work...so she is on the right track :)

Please Sign Your Name When You Comment!

...or else I won't know it was you! =) I am so encouraged by the expression of your thoughts & prayers for us. Thank u for taking out the time to share with us! =)

Nix the Nausea, Enter the Exhaustion!

Fatigue has taken me over, seems like my transition happened between the second & third month of pregnancy. I haven't had nausea for almost 2 weeks now & have been extremely tired for about a week and some days. I've also been experiencing aches & pains that I'm trying not to focus on. Everything seems fine & normal, & we're looking forward to getting back to the dr's office to confirm that on the 31st.

Today's Urgent Prayer Request

Thanks to my friends who were able to pray ASAP without asking questions upon receiving notification that I needed it. I began to break down in the dr.'s office today as the office scheduled me for an ultrasound with the one person I did not want to see again - the person who did Mercy's ultrasound. Quickly, my heart drifted back to the day we lost Mercy in that office, with that technician & I was losing hope quickly about today's ultrasound & Symone's little heart. I asked Ramon for a scripture, and he gave me Philippians - whatever is true & good...think on these things. Great choice. But of course I couldn't think of ANYTHING good at the moment, so I decided to send a desparate plea out to friends who are on text messaging to beg prayer of them. I know for sure that Emily & Melissa got the message and were praying because they were able to respond immediately. Thank you girls, and thank you to everyone who prayed!

Finally after waiting for what felt like an eternity, we were able to see our dr. first and explain the situation to her and she offered to perform the ultrasound for us & schedule our future ultrasounds so that we wouldn't have to go back to the person who did our original one. Praise God!! I didn't even realize that was an option, so I'm so glad the dr. took the time to explore it. We proceeded into the ultrasound room with the dr. & were completely blessed by everyone in the room & our experience was exceptionally above the original one. I am so thankful that I can cry out for help and be heard & receive response like today. Thank you all again! =)

Next Appointments

We are scheduled for 2 more appointments in January - both are on the 31st. The first is an OB appointment with our dr. @ 4pm & the second is for an abdominal ultrasound & first trimester testing @ 5pm. This testing is done between 11 - 13 weeks - we'll be about 12 weeks along at the time of the testing. The date is absolutely perfect because we were able to schedule both appointments for the same day back to back on a night that our dr. is on duty & available for questions. This is really important to us because we want the assurance of full disclosure available to us after every ultrasound / appointment. Typically the people performing the ultrasound give limited information and you must wait for the dr. to be available to review your records to get the full story. My concern was that with an ultrasound scheduled for a Thursday we may not be able to hear from our dr. until Monday or Tuesday of the next week, which is just a very long wait. In our first pregnancy, we were not aware that the ultrasound technician would withhold info from us and we were really devastated by the way we found out that Mercy's little heart had stopped beating before we could even see it going. So, all that to say, praise God that this time our dr. will be around and open for discussion on the day of our next ultrasound. We were able to fit both appointments in before Ramon leaves for Ethiopia in early Feb. That was a huge answer to my prayers and just an all around blessing to have him be around to experience each appointment throughout this process. These appointments are also scheduled at the same time as my last day of winter intercession classes at LA City College, which means my students should love me for giving them the final exam a day early. =)

Celebrating Symone's Heartbeat !!!

Go, baby, go! Dr. says baby is looking good and development is on schedule! We were mistaken to think that we could hear a heartbeat at this point, however we were able to see a heartbeat today! Quite possibly the most beautiful thing I've even seen in my life. Just a few more weeks to go until we are past the hump of this first trimester...please keep praying with us!

Postponed Ultrasound =(

Today's appointment for an ultrasound was canceled & postponed to Monday 1/7 @ 10:45am. Bummer! We were really looking forward to this one! Oh well...guess we'll have to wait just a few more days to listen in for those one or two little heartbeats! Please keep praying! We value it so much.