September 5, 2009

That's right, Jeremiah is going to be a big brother- I'm PREGNANT! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I found out on Wednesday night(the 8th), and even though it has been a work in progress for a while, it was still somewhat of a surprise to find out that indeed, I was pregnant. I took a test on New Years day and it came up negative, but when a week went by and still nothing was happening, I figured I'd better test again. I was praying it was positive because, of course, I wanted another child, but also because I was hoping that my sudden chocolate obsession was normal. I wanted choclate 24/7. I was even dreaming of chocolate, believe it or not. I polished off a piece of molten chocolate cake last Saturday in a matter of minutes, and scarfed down an entire half-pound box of Sees candy, by myself, in less than an hour. I didn't have food cravings like this with Jeremiah. Now that I know I'm pregnant, I'm staying away from the chocolate- because, no matter how much I may want it, I want tons of post-pregnancy baggage even less.

That's not the only thing that is different with my pregnancy this time around. My reaction alone to seeing the positive pregnancy test was a big one. When I found out I was expecting Jeremiah, I yelled out a big "OH SHIT!" upon reading the pregnancy test, even though it was a work in progress as well. I was scared out of my mind finding out that we were indeed going to be parents and my life was about to change forever. I was up until 4 a.m. that night, panicking and worrying, and didn't even feel the least bit excited until the following day when we got a doctor's pregnancy confirmation and estimated due date. This time? I'm surprised Louis's friend, who was working in our garage when I took my test, didn't hear my screams of joy. Louis wasn't home at the time, so I ran into Jeremiah's room, screaming in elation, and telling him over and over "you're going to be a big brother!" Poor guy must have thought I was nuts. I was so excited that it was a miracle that Jeremiah was fed, bathed and put to bed without a hitch. Louis didn't come home until a few hours later, and when he did, his cousin Monique was with him, wanting a little bit of girl time with me. Ironically enough, she mentioned that night that she thought we should start trying for another kid so they would be close in age. I bit my tongue- hard! Finally, she left and I had Louis go find the "present" that Jeremiah and I bought him at Target on our pillow- the positive test. Just like when I told him I was preggers with Jeremiah, he was THRILLED and instantly swept me off my feet. We told the family the following day. I purchased a "Big Brother" shirt for Jeremiah at Babies r Us and let our moms read it and try to figure it out. Needless to say, everyone's excited. Our kiddos are going to be 21 months apart!

I went to the doctor's on Friday to start my bloodwork and paper work (medical history, etc.) I am using a different OB/GYN this time around, because the one we had before is in West Covina, and since we now live in Whittier, it is pointless to drive 30-40 min. each way for appointments and the delivery. We have a fantastic hospital just blocks from our house. In fact, I can see it from our yard, and that is where we are going to deliver Baby #2 (Whittier Presbyterian). I get to meet my OB on Tuesday when I go in for my physical. I heard that she's a woman (YAY! no more 85 year old man looking at me!!!) and is very, very sweet. She won't be delivering my baby because she works out of the other (crappier, from what the nurse told me) hospital in Whittier, but the nurse also said that the doctor who will deliver me also comes highly reccomended. The office I'm going to is the same office that I take Jeremiah for his pedi appointments. It's going to be a bit of a challenge to find a sitter for him during my appt's, since my mom is half an hour away and both Louis and his mother work late. I'm praying that Monique will be able to watch him during my appointments because her house is right down the street from the office.

Okay, before I completely bore you with my pregnancy excitement, I'm going to say that, once again, we will NOT be finding out the gender of our baby. I could go either way on the issue, but Louis loves being surprised. In all honesty, it was a lot of fun with Jeremiah, even though that motherly intuition told me towards the end that he was a boy. PRAY for a girl!!! I'd be happy with a son, but I would LOVE a daughter. Thanks for reading and sharing in our exciting news!!

"The Waiting Game"- circa November 19, 2007

Just another peek into my life one year ago today! By the way... happy 15th birthday to my cousin Jasmine!

Just a QUICK update since I am falling asleep... i was up from 2:00 a.m. til roughly 5:30 a.m. with major cramping =(

Just 3 days away from my due date! As of today at my doctor's appointment I am nearly 2 cm dilated and 50 % effaced, which is definite progress from my last few appointments. My doctor doesn't think the baby will be here prior to Thursday but that's okay with me. I'd love to have one last peaceful Thanksgiving (and shopping on Black Friday, I"ll admit!) I'm SUPPOSED to go for more fetal monitoring on Saturday just to make sure my baby is moving okay, but I have half a mind to skip out on it. A) I know my baby is moving a TON; I feel this is very unneccessary and B) this test is not covered under our hospital agreement unless I happen to go into labor during the monitoring session and it is rather expensive. We have yet to receive the bill for last week's monitoring and i'm NOT looking forward to seeing it!

My doctor said that if the baby isn't here by the 29th (one week past due date) then we will discuss induction for that day or Friday the 30th. These details will be confirmed at my appointment next Monday, should I still be pregnant then (I hope I"m not!) I'd LOVE to go into labor on my own but don't want to go too much past my due date, and know that it's best for my baby to be out of me after one week of being overdue because the living environment of the uterus isn't as suitible the further you get from your due date. One week to one and a half weeks is okay; anything past that starts to lessen the amount of fluids (and space!) available. He doesn't want to induce any earlier than the 29th to give my cervix a chance to dilate/efface as much on it's own as possible so that the induction process won't be as long or painful.

Please keep us in your prayers! I"ll keep things posted, I promise! Oh and if you'd like to be included in a mass text message for when I go to the hospital and deliver, feel free to email me your cell number at erin.e.castillo@gmail.com

Happy turkey week everyone!