No baby yet... 2 weeks to go!

We have been super busy these last few weeks with baby showers, family gatherings and last minute house preparations. Baby Elias will be here any day now and that in its self makes me so happy! Joey and I had a bet going on what day he would be born- Joey said Nov. 10 and I said Nov. 12... and those days have come and gone and no baby! (the loser would have had to change diapers for the first whole week- it would have been nice to see Joey attempt to do that lol)

As for Baby Elias and I, we are doing great! Dr. Ball reaffirmed at my last appointment that I am still on track and now it was just a matter of waiting.... and let me tell you waiting sucks! And if you know me well enough, you know I HATE WAITING! For about two weeks now, I've had dreams that I was going into labor and then I open my eyes and looked down and there it was my big oh belly! Sometimes I start cramping and I stop to time the contraction cycles, but shortly after they go away. I have even thought my water had broken... but no I had just waited too long to go potty!! (sorry to share that! lol)

People keep asking if I am ready... physically I AM READY... but in terms of everything else, I think Joey and I have done a good job of preparing ourselves. I have his diaper bag ready, my bag is somewhat ready and Joey will wait to the last minute... typical male mentality. Reality is this baby will come whenever he wants whether we are ready or not... personally I feel you can never be "ready" enough.

I have my next doctor's apppointment this Friday and hopefully I will have good news for you.

Keep your fingers crossed that next time you hear from us it will be about Baby Elias!

AMAZING!

I had an OB appointment yesterday... nothing too exciting. Elias is doing well; his heartbeat is great! I still get butterflies when I hear it. Joey couldn't come along because of work and a part of me wish he had been there to keep me company since I had to wait 2 hours because my doc got called to deliver another baby right as she was about to see me.

Now it's just a matter of waiting. I am so anxious to see my baby boy that I quite often find myself googling pictures of babies at 34 weeks... it's amazing how much they develop in only a matter of weeks... take a look.













Baby at 18 weeks

Baby at 34 weeks


In 6 short weeks, Elias will be with us and the anxiety of holding him in my arms is killing me! Joey and I talk about it all the time... we look back at the day we found out it was a boy, thinking to ourselves "Are you sure?" because we thought we were having a girl... LOL. We got so carried away with all the myths and calendars you find on the internet, that we had made up our minds that it was a girl. Ironically, we were having a boy... so a little word of advice for all expectant couples out there... don't believe everything you hear!

Well until next time...

Childbirth class... Baby Shower... so much fun!

Weekend recap...

... Friday: Hung out with family... Sarah and Daniel were in town and it was my mother-in-laws birthday so we were invited over for pizza and cake. Good times!

... Saturday: A very long day of childbirth class at Woman's Hospital.... we learned about stages of pregnancy and labor, learned about some things that almost made us throw up... (LOL, we weren't prepared) and practiced some very useful breathing techniques. The class and hospital tour definitely helped ease the anxiety of labor and delivery... almost here!

... Sunday: 2nd Baby Shower... Thank you to everyone who came out to the shower... we are so grateful for great family and friends! Special thanks to my mom and sisters, Angelita, Becky, Dorothy, Vanessa, Anna, Julie, Moni, and Sheri. Ohh, let me not forget the men who helped setup and cleanup.


Enjoy the pictures...

The yummy cake!











My mommy and I (almost a grandma!)











My sister Kenya and I











Opening gifts...

... me and all the wonderful gifts for Baby Elias! THANK YOU EVERYONE!











The girls and I











My godmother and I (I love her!)














Dorothy and I (she won the candy baby bottle game)

Getting closer!

I'm 29 weeks! Ahh! Things are moving so fast now... including little Ely... I'm telling you we have one active baby! I am happy to announce that Baby Ely and I are still doing well. On August 27, I took the gestational glucose test and it wasn't as bad as people made it sound. The orange liquid actually tasted like orange Fanta to me... LOL. Test results came back normal.

The baby showers are being planned as I speak and well things could not be better.. well actually things could slow down at work, but yeah right with two weeks away from Race Day, there is now slowing down.

For those of you who don't know, I work for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Race on October 3rd is our largest fundraiser with over 30,000 participants. Visit www.komen-houston.org for more information. This year, I have the tough task of managing over 1,000 volunteers on Race Day... wish me luck... I will be 32 weeks pregnant that day!

Til next time...

PS- I will be posting pictures from Joey's 28th bday soon!

I know it’s been a while… I apologize. I guess keeping up with this, along with personal life, work life, hubby, family, doctor’s appointments, updating Facebook (lol), etc., isn’t that easy. I promise to try harder.

A lot has happened since June… let’s see… we decided on a name for the baby: Elias Joseph Cruz. Joey actually found the name and I liked it so we agreed on it right then and there, no more thought to it. I love hearing people say what they’re going to call him: Ely, Baby E, E, EJ… any others I missed?

We have also started getting his room together. We painted the room… well Joey and Rook (thanks Rook!) painted the room. The crib is here (thanks Sandra and Peter Lisboa) and we are waiting on the other pieces. Hopefully in a month, the room will be complete and I can post a picture. Below is a picture of the bedding we choose for the nursery.

I had my last appointment on August 6th. My sister in law Sarah was in town and came with me because Joey had work in-service. I once again got to see little Elias…. Shall I say active Elias! Boy, he moves so much! It is surreal to see his little body moving, kicking his legs, waving his hands, opening his mouth… it definitely makes me feel closer to him and love him more and more each day. I wanted to share with you my favorite video clip and a 3D picture from the last doctor’s visit…. enjoy! (If you can’t tell, Elias is grabbing his foot with his hand... amazing!)

Today I realized that in about 105 days, Elias will be here! Time is flying by and there is still so much more to do. I want to take a moment to thank my wonderful hubby for always being there for me these last months, especially on those days when food was my worst enemy and everything seemed to upset me... I love you baby!

I hope to have more pictures for you soon! Until then... take care.

It's a BOY!

Joey and I are excited to announce that we are expecting our first baby and it's a BOY! We are super excited and blessed that he is healthy.

I am 17 weeks this week and slowly growing, ok definitely growing. Joey is amazed at how my belly is slowly expanding. (LOL) We have not decided on a name, but we do know that the middle name will be Joseph. Thoughts?

I have not felt the baby move yet, but I look forward to the "butterflies", as women call them. Our next ultrasound is scheduled for July 1st. I promise to have pictures to share with you of our little bundle of joy.

Take care,

-Tania and Joey