300…

So apparently one of the many side effects of pregnancy is crazy dreams. And I have to admit I have woken up several times with the most random people in my dreams. People I haven’t spoken to since Jr. High and other people whom I have never met and I always asked myself how they got in my head. Well a few nights ago was no exception. I think since I was near my due date and I had that fear factor of birthing and everything I began having dreams to boost my confidence. Well this is the craziness that I dreamed….

If you have never watched the movie 300 then you probably won’t get this, but I encourage you to watch this trailer of the movie (fyi the movie is rated R and is definitely racy, but its great if you can get past that). The trailer will give you an idea of the music that was playing inside my head during my dream and one of the exact scenes I dreamed of was in that trailer. It wasn’t an overly long dream, but basically there is one scene where King Leonidas’s wife is responding to a messenger that was sent on behalf of King Xerxes. The messenger wanted to know why Greek woman had influence/control over Greek men. (At this point in the movie King Leonidas was asking his wife what he should/shouldn’t do in response to the message sent from Xerxes). And Leonidas’s wife responded to the messenger with a simple “Only Spartan women give birth to Spartan men”. In essence saying that Greek men wouldn’t exist without Greek woman to birth them so they see each other as equals where in most other cultures women were held below men and were not used for counsel in any matter.

So basically in my head I was chanting “Spartan Woman give birth to Spartan Men” over and over again in my dream. And then following that I dreamed about the scene (its in the trailer) where King Leonidas looks at his wife (during the conversation with the messenger) and she gives him a nod. He then proceeds to kick the messenger in slow motion to this really awesome rock song and he goes flying in the air and falls into this tunnel to his death. This was King Leonidas telling King Xerxes you can go fly a kite because they won’t submit to slavery. (**killing a messenger was like an abomination since he was just delivering the ‘message’ so that was a big no no).

Anyhow, after that I woke up and I had the theme music in my head and I couldn’t stop replaying the words “Spartan Woman give birth to Spartan Men” over and over. I found it hilarious. I told Hector about my dream and his response… “Do you think your having a boy?” I about died. I said no our daughter is going to be a GIRL, however I apparently think role playing as a Greek Queen during Labor and chanting the words “Spartan Woman give birth to Spartan Men” will make labor easier for me. (maybe I will even dye my hair black and wear a Grecian robe and have a banner above my hospital bed that says “Prepare for Glory” – see picture above)

At the very least this will give me something amusing to think about when our daughter does decide to get this Labor going. And who knows maybe saying those words will help me. Although I am pretty sure I am a “White Woman giving birth to a Half White/Half Latin baby girl”, but for some reason that doesn’t have the same powerful ring to it.

Oh well 🙂

**p.s. the real quote is actually “Only spartan women give birth to real men”, but in my head I said Spartan Men so I went with what I actually dreamed. And just so I don’t get a bunch of comments from people correcting me… Yes, I am aware that isn’t the real quote, but just go with it k.

Stick a fork in it…

Because we are done!

The day that felt like it would take years to come is finally here. November 15th, 2010 – your expected due date. To be honest it might as well be November 15th, 2009 because I don’t feel like I am about to become a Mom and even though I have been pregnant for the past 10 months I still can’t wrap my head around the reality that I truly am pregnant. I think its one of those things that doesn’t become a reality until you’ve been a parent for awhile. It’s rather weird. But anyhow we are pretty darn excited to meet you and since your taking up a large amount of my physical real estate it would be awesome if you came sooner rather then later, but I will be patient.

So for all of my non-facebook friends (ahem Kim Murray). I thought I would share my most recent belly shots and some of the maternity photos that my sister took of us. Enjoy!

My sister got together with us in Ocean Beach for a maternity photo-shoot. She has a great eye and since she is my sister I get the family discount of Free Photos 🙂 I loved the way they turned out. I hope you like them as well. 

p.s. here is a sneak peek at one of the outtakes for our Christmas Card Photo

Any day now…

So basically they tell you that after 37 weeks of being pregnant you could go “any day” and it wouldn’t be considered bad. The baby is apparently fully developed and the only thing that happens in the last few weeks is they chunk up. So right now I am sitting on 38 weeks and 2 days. I really wanted to give another update before things go haywire, even though I am assuming it will be at least another week until any action occurs. So here is how things have been since week 29 (the last time I did this).

Today’s Date: November, 3rd 2010
Weeks Pregnant: 38 weeks and 2 days
Current Weight:  167 – eeeek!
Weight at the Start of Pregnancy: 126
Total pounds gained so far: 41 big ones baby
Height: 5’6”
Am I getting Braxton Hicks Contractions: All the time!! Especially at night. Sleeping sucks.
Do I have stretch marks: Some on my hips and one above my belly button where I got it pierced.
Do I eat weird foods: No, but I am always eating now. I had a foot long all by myself a few nights ago. I have NEVER eaten that much food before in one meal. I think it scares Hector 🙂
Do I exercise: I am still walking (did 4 miles the other day!!) at this point and I went swimming the other day, but the braxton hicks make doing too much physical activity super uncomfortable
Have I enjoyed being pregnant: YES! I didn’t get uncomfortable until about 2 nights ago. Sleeping is a lot harder now with the contractions and constantly having to pee. Luckily it took me until 38+ weeks to legitimately feel uncomfortable. Up until Monday I was happy as pie. I am still happy just bummed about the lack of sleep.
Am I reading Babywise: You bet I am. It’s a little overwhelming to swallow all the concepts, but it makes a lot of sense. And who wouldn’t want a baby that sleeps through the night at 7-9 weeks.
Am I using a doula: If one is available when I arrive I think I will gladly accept the extra help. Otherwise its just me and Hec  🙂
Did I do all recommended screenings: Yes. Any test that the hospital offered I took (as long as it wasn’t invasive or a health risk to myself or my baby). 
Did I get the flu shot: No
Did I get the H1N1 shot: No
Did I get the whooping cough vaccine: I will once she is born. Hector and I both will be given the shot immediately following her delivery.
Do we have a name: Yes, we have her full name picked out. We have decided to not announce it until she is born. Even though we love her name we do have a minor feeling that we might change it once we meet her, but hopefully not since we don’t really have a ton of back up names.
Measurements: We had some minor setbacks about being in the birthing center due to an ultrasound that showed her having an overly large Abdominal Cavity. We have since then had another u/s done and thankfully all of her measurements are average or on the small side. Which in reality means nothing because an u/s is never 100% accurate.
Anemia: Besides the measurements the only other thing that was a setback was me being Anemic. Apparently anything over an 11.5 means you are not anemic. My first blood tests showed me around 12.8 which is good. Around 20 weeks I dropped to 10.3 and if I got below 10 I wouldn’t be allowed in the birthing center. I was put on iron pills (which sucked!!) and my number went up to 11.1. I then switched to liquid iron around 28 weeks and at my last appoint it was up to 11.8 which was even better. And the liquid iron was much easier to handle. So right now I am still taking it daily, but all in all my hemoglobin is looking good 🙂
Other Vaccines: Hector and I haven’t given much thought to what we will or won’t do in regards to vaccines. I think we definitely will space them out more (they give waaaay to many at once). And we will probably say No to some of them, but I haven’t done a ton of research so its still up in the air. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!
Brain Cyst: We also wanted to let everyone know that her cyst has since disappeared. At her 19w u/s they saw a cyst on her brain, but it went away and everything was cleared at her 36w u/s as predicted by my midwife.

Lastly, here is the most recent comparison from my first picture (week 13) to my current picture (week 38).

I can’t wait to tell the entire world what your name is and to announce your weight, length and time of birth because it means you are finally here!!!