Week 24: life happens whether you want it to or not...

Well this week has been filled with ups and downs. First my mom got Walking Pneumonia. Thankfully we haven't been around her since before she got sick so we didn't catch it. See kids, you shouldn't hang out with your parents. HA! jk. We then were informed that her sister had a brain aneurysm a few days ago and is currently in a medically induced coma at Mission Hospital. For anyone who is close to me knows my uncle (from my Dad's side) actually passed away from this back in 2007. So of course it's a very stressful and emotional time to get such news. But thankfully her co-workers and doctors acted quickly and she is stable in the ICU with brain activity. At this point it's all very medical and the staff is doing everything possible to help her recover. She's made it past the first 48 hours which is the critical period so we can only stay positive and keep praying for her and her two daughters. I'm glad that their father is there to comfort them but they are taking on a lot of responsibility and pain that they've never had to go through before. They are both very strong and from what I hear are keeping their spirits up as best they can.

While it's important to keep up to date with what's going on with my aunt I also have to prioritize the things in my life, specifically Zoe's health and mine. It's easy to feel guilty for not putting more emotion into these tragic, sad or unfortunate events (i.e. Elvis passing away, my mom getting sick or her sister in the hospital) but I just can't allow myself to go there. I still need to make Zoe and my family my number one priority especially when high stress, pressures, emotions etc can affect Zoe's health, development and well-being. I've asked my mom to only provide me with updates on Debi's condition as aposed to the dramas and annoyances that come with these tragic events. Unfortunately things like this bring out the worst in most people and I just can't make time for that right now. I'm looking forward to visiting Cali in June and will visit with Debi and the girls then, in whatever capacity that might be. For now, I still have my life to focus on and doctor's appointments to attend.

Switching gears, the highlight of this week has been the doctor appointment we had yesterday. The doctor measured my belly with a measuring tape (this will now be a normal process). I'm currently at 24cm long from pelvic bone to the top of my uterus. The range they want you to be in is +/- 2cm from the week you're at. For this week I should be between 22-26 cm, so I'm right on track. We got to hear the heart beat which was about 158-160 bpm. The doctor was impressed that Zoe moved about 4 times in the 20 seconds she was standing there trying to read her heart beat. The monitor would jolt every time she moved and it just made all of us laugh. Per the doctor it's not common for the baby's movements to be felt this strongly already so she was very pleased and had nothing bad to say. I've gained 5 additional pounds since my last visit a month ago, a total of 12lbs. My doctor is happy with that as well and says I'm right on track. My next appointment is a month from now where I will be doing the dreaded Glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I've requested fruit punch flavor, of course and will let you know how it goes!

Other than that we've been taking walks as a family and working on dog training techniques we see from Ceasar Milan, aka the Dog Whisperer. haha. They actually are helping quite a bit. Our main goal is to be able to control their energy and bad habits before Zoe comes. We've banned them from the couch, are working on the jumping up, "drop it" with Zero and their excitment for walks. We're beginning to also search for a church and doing some small community events just to make it feel more like home. We've been hanging out with our friends Nadia and her fiance, Beau, as well as Cameron and his wife, Rachael. I know Nadia and Cameron from back in Cali. It's been great seeing familiar faces and catching up. :)

We took a walk at sunset with the dogs and stumbled upon a nice park right by the house. We just love the views we get here.

 

The community hosted a picnic/movie in the park night. Marco cooked us stuffed pork with mac n cheese. We ended up running into our neighbors and owners of our home. We sat with them for about an hour. It was really relaxing and enjoyable.

 

Also, we've begun putting together her nursery. We repainted the room and stained  what will be her changing table (don't worry I was forced to wear a mask). We also hung up a couple shelves. There's still little things to be done but it won't be complete until after the baby shower. Here are some pictures of the progress:

Before and after of the wall colors and window treatments

Before and after of the armour/changing table. We stained it black.

 

One of the walls with black shelving and frame. Look how well behaved Zero and Luna are.

How far along: 24 weeks 5 days (Eggplant: 9in, 1.7lbs)

Symptoms: still hot, hungry and growing lol. My nails are growing fiercely. More dehydrated this week. Need to increase my water/liquid intake.

Aversions: none that I can think of
 

Cravings: nothing really. Marco has made me quesadillas lately so those sound good all the time now.

Wedding Rings: They have become so tight that I can BARELY get them off. I took all but one band off. If I don't try to remove it, it's fine and comfortable. We will see how long this lasts for.
 

Belly button: still in but closer to the surface than I ever thought possible. It's about to pop in the next week or so. I had to take my belly ring out because it was rubbing against my clothing more and very sensitive.
 

Sleep: Sleeping on my back the last few nights has been most comfortable.

 

Excited for: Seeing the finished nursery put together.

Fears: Still worried about the development but all seems fine.

 

Missing: laying on my stomach

 

Movement: Constantly. Feels more like she's shifting her weight now than just kicks. I can feel when she's laying on my bladder. Very weird feeling haha.
 

Exercise: Lots of walks with the dogs and playing in the backyard with them.

 

 

Just some good old fashioned cooking in our house! Had to share :)

 

Teriyaki chicken stew over rice

Lobster tails with clarified butter, sauted zucchini and mashed red potatoes (made by Marco). Yes, mines the one with the milk. :p