a late post from my birthday

We celebrated my 27th birthday about 3 weeks ago.

We had a fun dinner with Josh and Cortney, Jesse and Reese and my parents, but of course, I took the camera and didn't get it out. Fail. I got a Keurig coffeemaker and accessories and coffee! So excited!

Then Coco and I went to Paris for a few days. (Hector had to work.) :(

Coco helped Granna frost the cake!

That's about as smiley as my dad will get, unless you just catch him smiling.

Eating a stick?? Not sure..

Man, I know I'm partial, but that is a beautiful kid right there! Love him to death!

We came back on my actual birthday, and had a nice dinner with a few people from our community group. At Cracker Barrel! (comfort food cravings fulfilled!)

Sweet Colton and his daddy Patrick!

Sallie ventured out with Maggie and Baker all alone, since Tyler was out of town.

They were playing a very involved game of checkers!

Jackie, Colton and I!

The men: Coco, Hector and PK.

Colton thinks he can take pictures, too!

The Rays! Love this fun picture of them! 

The hubby and I! (29 week baby belly with William!)

And the three of us! 

It was a great way to spend my birthday! :) With family and good friends. Can't ask for more. 

First trip to the library!

I have been meaning to take Cohen to the library for so long. We're home most mornings, and there is a library like 5 minutes from our apartment.

So today, after our breakfast, a baby powder fight (Cohen found out if he shakes the powder, it will fly out and go everywhere) and showers for both of us, we loaded up and went to the library. It was only 98 degrees outside.. so.. yea. We were sweating by the time we got there. Yuck. Did I mention I'm ready for this outrageous heat to ease up?

Now, Cohen is a pretty loud kid. He's happy and excited and he shows it with his voice. :) So he had a pretty rough transition into library world. But then he kinda "got" it and started whispering. And he would mouth words at me and think I understood them. It was cute, but none of it made sense. Haha.

I love this sweet picture of Coco. I tried to get a picture of him just looking at books, but as soon as he saw me pull out the camera, he came up and started cheesin'.

It's still pretty fun (not to mention easy, since I'm 8 months preggo!) to get away from Mama, so, he liked to stay about one row over from me. And he would tell me, "I jus' lookin' mama! I only lookin'!"

Lots and lots of children's books. We came home with about 8!

Then he discovered the kids' computers. He didn't know exactly how to play any of the games, but thought he was real big, sitting there with the headphones on, pressing all the keys. :) Gosh, he's cute!

As I was checking out our books, he ran back over to the children's section and came back with a Cars book. I had seen him looking at it earlier, but he put it back. So cute that he remembered where it was and grabbed it for me to check out. It's a book that introduces and talks about all the characters in "Cars". That's my boy! :)

So, a successful first trip to the library!

Only 10 more??

We are 30 weeks! Time has flown by, I swear!

How big is baby? the size of head of lettuce! What to Expect app says baby weighs 3.2 pounds and is about 18 inches from head to feet.

Weight gain/loss: I'm not weighing myself this week :) I'll update this on the next one.

Sleep: Sleep is not good. I feel pretty tired these days, especially at work. I still nap if I can. I wake up so many times a night. Usually to go to the restroom, even if it's very little pee. :( Gets old. My hips hurt all the time. My AMAZING friend Leslie, took my complaints about sleep to heart the other day, and gifted me with a pregnancy body pillow. It has made sleep much, much better. And it helps me stay on my side! (I tend to wake up on my back a lot) :-/

Movement: Still moving a lot! I feel body parts now. Pretty sure he pokes his little booty out a lot. 

Symptoms: Backaches when I don't rest enough or drink water. Reflux, reflux, reflux. Now, I'm taking Protonix for the reflux. If it doesn't help enough, Dr. R will order Nexium for me. :) Other than the gross reflux, I feel pretty great right now. Feel lots of pelvic pressure, too.

Belly Button: Innie still! (with Coco, it never popped out!)

Food Cravings: Sweets! Mannnn, do I have a sweet tooth! Cookies and milk, cupcakes, s'mores.. Bring it on!

Gender: It's a BOY! William Emile Miranda, "Liam"

What I miss? Sleeping on tummy (or good, at all), feeling rested

What I'm looking forward to? Some cooler weather.. it was 105 degrees on the way home from work tonight (7:30pm)

Big brother: He is great! He likes to kiss my belly now and says "I love you!" to him. I can't believe how grown up he is. He had his first day with his sitter, Laura, this past Friday. :) It went well, and he was very tired at night time!

Dr. Appointment notes: I'll be going to the doctor this Thursday (when I turn 31 weeks) So, I'll come back and update. There wasn't anything spectacular about my last appt. I got my Rhogam shot. I told her about some abnormal movements Liam did on my birthday. He woke me up at about 5am, and I was on my right side. He was stomping and punching very rapidly and for about 20 minutes. It really scared me. Eventually I realized I should get off my right side, that I might be cutting off circulation to him or something. I just feel like he was in distress or something. Dr. R wanted me to tell her immediately if it happens again. It hasn't. But I just worry that I hurt him. So, I'm super glad that I have that pillow to help me. I'm praying he's ok. He's been moving great and has a perfect heart rate. 

what.a.morning.

I can't even believe how "wrong" this morning has gone. 

It started with me waking up naturally at about 8. This is good. I continued to lay in bed for about 30 minutes, because I didn't hear Coco yet. At 8:30 Hector woke to shower before work. We got Cohen out of his room, he was stirring. I hugged him and found immediately that his pjs were soaked in urine. As were his sheets. I guess my decision to leave him in his regular diaper (that was bone dry) rather than putting on a night time diaper, backfired on me. I took him to the shower with Daddy for a rinse.

I started bacon and eggs while they were showering. Then Hector yelled that Cohen was ready, so I went to grab him and diaper/dress him. Finished that, first pan of bacon: borderline burned. Started next batch, whisked some eggs. 2nd batch better. Scrambled the eggs. No clean pans to heat up tortillas. Mini-meltdown because our kitchen rivaled something you'd see on Hoarders. But I washed a pan, and Hector graciously heated tortillas while I fixed Cohen's plate. Then Hector poured us each a glass of apple juice. Now, about..two months ago, we were both pretty tired of washing sippy cups and straws and valves and pieces. And Hector made the executive decision that Cohen would be fine with cups with no lids. And he'll own up to this decision. So we tossed them. Today, Hector sat Cohen's juice on the high chair and told him "Be very careful, ok?" "Ok, daddy." :) We sit to eat, no big deal. Cohen reaches for his fork... Elbow comes in perfect contact with his cup, spills it all down his front. Soaks his shirt, his shorts, his diaper, the cushion on the high chair, runs down his leg and starts puddling on the carpet. And apple juice is sticky. Shouting, from me. And an apologetic look from Hector, because he knows that is partly (mostly) his fault. 

So, I cleaned it up and we finished eating. Hector left for work. Then I got Cohen down and changed his clothes and diaper. He went on to begin dragging out all of his cars and sports toys. I started cleaning the kitchen and loading dishwasher. Then Cohen found a half of a snicker bar that he and I had shared last night. I left him get a bite, but he took the world's largest bite. So I sat near him in the living room while he worked on chewing it. All the while bits of chocolate and peanut falling into the carpet. I semi scolded him on why we don't take big bites like that. Then he starts crawling to his cars and I guess opens his mouth, because a huge chunk/drip of chocolatey saliva falls to the carpet. Then another drip. Down his chin to his white tank top. Now I yell again. Something about "why did you do that? See what big bites do? Can you go 2 minutes without making more messes??!"

I grab him a new shirt, change him. Then I start putting the movie Cars in, in hopes that he'll sit for a few minutes and watch it. I hear him say that he'd like a drink of water, but don't think much of it. Until I hear him say "uh oh! Spill it!" I turned around and he'd gotten the lid off a bottle of water an KNOCKED it over on the carpet! Half had poured out by the time I grabbed it. Spanking and yelling. He didn't cry, just looked at me surprised and silent. I scooped him up and sat him on the couch while I cleaned up the new water puddle. 

He's just sitting quietly on the couch, watching me. And I grabbed the remote to actually play the movie, as it was on the menu screen. And my tears started coming. I was so frustrated that one small being could make so many messes in one hour. Frustrated that I was by myself to deal with it all. Frustrated that Cohen does not grasp how to be careful. Frustrated at myself that I could lose my cool with my sweet son so quickly. Sad that he was sitting quietly on the couch, wondering what was wrong with Mommy. 

And I recognized immediately that this was Satan, interfering in my day. Trying to make me feel like an incompetent mom. Trying to hurt my relationship with my boy, by me being angry with him and yelling. Pushing me away from The Lord and into situations that fill me with despair. And I think back to that 30 minutes when I was awake, before Cohen and how I chose to lay quietly in the peace, instead of picking up my devotional journal and Bible. Man, had I just started my day with a little quiet time and Jesus, how would things have been different? My heart would have been more calm and my mind would have been more patient to interact with my son. So I went and read my "Jesus Calling" devo for today. 

"Come to me. Come to me. Come to me. This is my continual invitation to you, proclaimed in holy whispers. When your heart and mind are quiet, you can hear Me inviting you to draw near. Coming close to Me requires no great effort on your part; it is more like ceasing to resist the magnetic pull of My Love. Open yourself to My loving Presence, so that I may fill you with My fullness. I want you to experience how wide and long and high and deep is My Love for you, so that you can know My Love that surpasses knowledge. This vast ocean of Love cannot be measured or explained, but it can be experienced." 

This book, you guys... I just can't explain. It is the most divinely written words I've read in a long time. I truly believe Sarah Young's words were inspired by The Lord. Each day that I read it, it winds up being exactly what I needed to hear that exact day. 

I read the words, read the scripture, and prayed over what I'd read. I asked Cohen to come sit with me and I asked him to please forgive me for losing patience with him and told him how sorry I was. He doesn't quite understand but said, "it's ok Mommy! So sorry mommy!" That's all I needed to hear. We agreed to try and have a fun day together and be careful to avoid messes. 

It also makes me appreciate everything. I'm glad we even had juice to spill. A snicker bar to take a too-big bite of. A bottle of clean, drinkable water. Carpet to walk on in our shelter..our apartment. Sometimes I get so darn caught up in what goes "wrong" or what we don't have, that I forget to see all that we have. To God be the Glory! 

I'm sad that our day began the way it did, but so glad The Lord helped me recognize it early, and take steps to rectify it. Thank you, Jesus. 

almost 27 Week Update!

We are 27 weeks this Thursday! I just really wanted to share the name, so I did my board early! :)

William Emile Miranda

And shortened, it won't be Willy (though I have a great cousin named Willie!)... or Bill.. :) It will be Liam. 

We're just thrilled with his name, it took us a long time. But we felt immediate peace and relief when we said, "this is it."

How big is baby? the size of large cucumber! What to Expect app says baby weighs 2.2 pounds and is about 15 inches from head to feet.

Weight gain/loss: about 17 pounds gained

Sleep: Sleep is a tiny bit better. I feel slightly less tired these days. But I still nap if I can. And I wake up so many times a night. Usually to go to the restroom, even if it's very little pee. :( Gets old. 

Movement: He is moving lots! We see it from the outside now. And I feel those big moves, like rolls and flips. It is pure joy for me.

Symptoms: Backaches when I don't rest enough or drink water. Reflux, reflux, reflux. Now, I'm taking Zantac for the reflux. If it doesn't help enough, Dr. R will order Nexium for me. :) Other than the gross reflux, I feel pretty great right now.

Belly Button: Innie still! (with Coco, it never popped out!)

Food Cravings: Sweets! Mannnn, do I have a sweet tooth! Cookies and milk, cupcakes, s'mores.. Bring it on!

Gender: It's a BOY! William Emile Miranda, "Liam"

What I miss? Sleeping on tummy (or good, at all)

What I'm looking forward to? Some cooler weather.. We're a long way from that, aren't we? :-/

Big brother: Is a crazy kid! He still denies that he's getting a baby brother. He is talking so much. We can pretty much say anything to him and he gets it and can talk back with us. It's so great. He loves playing with his cars and trains right now. He'd love to go outside all the time, but it's 100+ degrees right now.

Dr. Appointment notes: July 25th (our 4th wedding anniversary!) we went in for my glucose tolerance test. I'm a little upset about it, because the "failure" threshold was >140, and my result was 132, after fasting for 12+ hours. I feel that's a little high, but they didn't care and said not to worry. With Cohen my result had been 105. I guess I just watch the sweet tooth and not worry? Ugghh. I'm just upset they didn't want to recheck or anything. 

Misleading information on Coconut Oil

I wanted to write this as a public service announcement.

A couple weeks ago, I read an article titled, "Ditch the Toxic Sunscreen; Use Coconut Oil Instead" by Anthony Gucciardi, on the website Affliction Free Naturally: a Guide to Healthy Living.

I thought, "Yes!! I'm new to this coconut oil thing, but I like it! And I've heard that regular sunscreen has a lot of extras we don't need in it. Sounds good, I'll try it!"

I even shared it on Facebook.

So, I packed up my pool bag, grabbed some waters and headed to the pool. With my container of 100% Organic, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil from Trader Joe's.

I laid my towel out, and started slathering on the coconut oil. It's very oily and shiny. I spread on a generous layer at 11:00 am. At about 11:45, I got in the pool for about 15-20 minutes. A little after 12:00 and drying off, I reapplied the coconut oil to my entire body again. At about 12:45 Hector got to the pool and we swam for about 30 minutes and then went in the house.

(Note that this is the same amount of applications I would do if I were using traditional sunscreen. About 2 times in 2.5 hours, and after dipping in the water)

(sneaking in a pic of 24 week baby boy!)

See, it's very shiny! Looks like any other tanning oil.

Me, all oblivious.

So yes, the article I cited above, states that coconut oil can be used as a sunscreen, as it has an SPF of 10, which means it blocks 90% of UVB rays. 

When I got out of my swimsuit to shower, I thought, "Wow, I got some pretty distinct tan lines.." 

When I got out of the shower, my skin was tingling a little, and looking pink. 

About 3 hours later, after we came out of a movie, and I went into the restroom at the theater, I was flabbergasted. My skin was the color of a tomato. And it itched and burned. It felt tight all over. And this is a problem for an ever-growing pregnant belly. 

This picture was taken 36 hours after the sun exposure. 

I would like to report that I have never, ever had a sunburn of this caliber. I have to take Tylenol to keep the pain at bay. It hurts to walk, to sit and especially to try and lay down and sleep. Thank the good Lord my pregnant belly didn't allow me to lay on my tummy under the sun, or my backside would be just as burned. 

I'm super embarrassed of my maroon-purple skin right now. People ask what happened and I almost just want to say I fell asleep at the pool. Sounds more likely than, "Oh.. I read an article about how to use coconut oil as sunscreen.. haha, yea, it says it works! But, uh.. obviously it failed me." 

I know my whole front side is going to peel in a few days and it's going to be atrocious. I'm layering on aloe lotion every chance I think of it. 

Part of this is my fault, definitely. For reading one article and running with it. I should have done more research and been more cautious. But honestly, I did not feel like I was burning, while I was outside. I really feel like an idiot. I'm also writing the author of this article, because it is absolutely false information that can seriously hurt people.

There may be ways to make your own natural sunscreen out of coconut oil, but KNOW THIS. Coconut Oil ALONE will not protect you from sunburn. Just learn from my painful experience. 

I still love coconut oil as an everyday moisturizer, and will continue to use it, as my skin heals. But I will never again use it for sunscreen. 

23 Week Update

We've made it to 23 weeks already! When July 7th came and went, I thought to myself, "How can there only be 4 months left??" (Since due date is November 7th!)

I was going to do a chalkboard picture at 22 weeks.. since it's an even week. But I worked that day, then I decided I'd wait for an update on Baby's heart to do a post. (Recall that at our last ultrasound, the gender scan, the doctor felt that the heart was a little more midline in the chest than it should have been, so she ordered another one for about 3 weeks later.)

We went in for a repeat ultrasound on Monday morning. We ARE still having a boy. :) And confirmed by both the tech and the MFM doctor who reviews/interprets sonos, Baby Boy's heart is perfect. It is in the right place, it's four chambers are doing exactly what they are supposed to do and it is the correct size. I believe God answered our prayers, and the prayers of many, and put our little boy's heart right back where it is supposed to go. We are so thankful.

So here you go! 23 weeks down, 17 to go!

We've only had the one check-up since my last update. But I did overdo it last week and baby told me to slow down. I was scheduled to work 5 days with only one day off in the middle. Well, by that fourth day, I was feeling it. We're not allowed to have water in our rooms at work anymore, and sometimes we're too busy to go to the break room. This causes Braxton-Hicks contractions. Which I was having frequently. This, coupled with a continuous lower back pain and not feeling the baby move at all for several hours (and some other unmentionable symptoms) had me calling my doctor on Friday. She advised me not to work that 5th day, so I had to call in on Saturday. And all day Saturday and Sunday, I laid on the couch and drank water. I felt much better and baby boy started back with his normal kicking and squirming. And everything at our check-up on Monday went perfect. She checked my cervix and said it was not budging, not to worry about that. :) BP was great, weight gain is good. And he was behaving perfectly on the ultrasound. So, I've definitely learned that I have to take it easy some and 5 days of 12 hour shifts is too much. Period. And to drink water. Like, once you think you've drank way too much water, drink double that. 

Let's see.. We ordered our first baby items this week! The Moses basket and stand from rhbaby! I can't TELL you how thrilled I am with this purchase. I just can't wait for it to get here, so I can set it up and look at it everyday and admire it. Oh, and we did a small baby registry at buybuybaby. We don't need a lot, since big brother Coco was also born in the winter. :)

We traded rooms with Cohen this week. He had the bigger room, and let's face it. The soon-to-be three of us need more space than his little self. And he's quite happy with his new room! Now we have a nice big area to fill with baby stuff. (All the more reason I need that bassinet to get here!)

How big is baby? the size of Papaya! What to Expect app says baby weighs 1.2 pounds and is about 8.5 inches from head to bottom. And our sono said he weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces. He always measures about 5 days ahead of where we are.

Weight gain/loss: 10 pounds gained, still.

Sleep: Still not sleeping very well. I feel slightly less tired these days. But I still nap if I can. And I wake up so many times a night. Usually to go to the restroom, even if it's very little pee. :( Gets old. 

Movement: He moves all the time. More in the evenings, I suppose. He moves consistently enough now that I can make myself nervous when I don't feel him for any amount of time. 

Symptoms: Backaches when I don't rest enough or drink water. Reflux, reflux, reflux. I keep my bottle of Maalox in the refrigerator, so that it's cool and refreshing when I need it. :) Other than the gross reflux, I feel pretty great right now.

Belly Button: Innie still! (with Coco, it never popped out!)

Food Cravings: No real cravings right now.

Gender: It's a BOY! We're so excited for Cohen to have a little brother. I was initially a tiny smidgeon disappointed when the tech said "boy", but got over it immediately and am getting very excited! No name yet!

What I miss? Sleeping on tummy (or good, at all)

What I'm looking forward to? Getting his bassinet this week! (Hopefully!) 

Big brother: Is so fun right now. He is a good helper (Buddy, bring me that remote!). He loves going to the pool and playing cars and trains. He loves watching Cars and Madagascar. He likes to say "just" a lot lately. i.e. "I'm just looking mommy." "I just want to run mommy." "Just come play daddy!" :) He's so smart. 

Dr. Appointment notes: July 8th, we had our second anatomy scan. Everything looked great. He has grown so big! And Dr. R said everything seemed fine. Very reassuring. We'll go back on the 25th of July for my 1 hour glucose test. Yuck! I remember this!