Can I take yo pitcha!?

I picked some of my favorite pictures from our M/Paternity shoot with our friend Theresa from The Perfect Shot Photography!! 

We had our So Cal baby shower last weekend and it was AMAZING! I will do a joint post after our Nor Cal shower this coming weekend. 
Halle is so lucky she is loved up and down the California!! :)

Relax don't do it..

That's what I have been told to do.... Yesterday I was just getting started with one of my clients and I saw stars for a minute. It went away but for the rest of the day I was having waves of light headedness and a bit of dizziness. I just wasn't feeling right. I discussed this with my bosses and they both decided that since my blood pressure was high on Friday that I should call the doctor on my way home. I called and spoke with the nurse and she told me to go home lay on my left side, drink water and relax for the night, if it got worse or I saw stars again to go to labor and delivery. Since my blood pressure was high on Friday she wanted me to go in to see the doctor this morning. I saw the doctor this morning and they took my blood pressure again and it was higher than it was on Friday. Again, they made me lay down. The nurse took my blood pressure a couple minutes later when I was laying down and it went back down to normal range. My doctor is concerned that my blood pressure keeps fluctuating so she wants me to monitor it every day and watch for the other preclampsia symptoms (which I still don't really have, thankfully). If my blood pressure gets high again like it was today, she said to call ASAP. She said to monitor, decrease sodium, drink lots of water and TAKE IT EASY.

I have difficulty with this whole relaxing thing, not even just sitting down. I have a tendency to stress, kinda like my father-the major stress case. I have also been pretty anxious, I get anxious right before each doctor appointment and then after Friday's appointment my anxiety didn't necessarily subside like it typically does. After thinking about my appointment I have decided this could possibly be Halle's way of telling me to do what her Popi tells me to do all the time.....RELAX. I freaked when my blood pressure was higher today than it was on Friday, especially because I had been watching my sodium and drinking lots of water. I laid down and I closed my eyes and I just breathed in and out, she began to move around and it was actually kind of soothing to focus on her movement. The nurse took my blood pressure and it was significantly lower after doing this. I have taken this as a sign  that she wants me to take time everyday and relax and meditate on her. She completely deserves this, so that I will do. I think they are ganging up on me already :).

Appointment update..

I went in for my monthly Dr's appointment on Friday, I got my rhogam shot ((which is in your glute and kinda hurt! haha). Everything is looking good, Halle's got a nice strong heart rate of 160, Dr said she is an active baby :). They were a little worried because my blood pressure was elevated. So far through this pregnancy my blood pressure has been normal but on Friday it was high, I laid down and relaxed and they took it again and it was still high. It obviously made me nervous and I asked her if it was dangerously high and she said no but she did say that she wanted to see me again in 2 weeks versus 4 weeks. So I am going back on the 25th to get my blood pressured checked out. This little cause for concern made Arce and I a little nervous, so we have begun to do our research and decided to really keep an eye on our sodium in take and take other precautions to make sure we keep my/our blood pressure down. Pregnancy induced hypertension is not uncommon and it can be managed and treated. It is linked to Preclampsia which can be potentially dangerous for Halle and I, so that is why the Dr is being so cautious about it. I don't have any other preclampsia symptoms at this time but I will definitely be more aware of my body and do my best to keep my blood pressure low! I will be honest I was pretty bummed on Friday but thanks again to my awesome Husband, I am feeling good about our proactiveness to keep Miss Halle healthy :).

On another note, Arce and I went spent the early evening with my good friend Theresa from Perfect Shots Photography and we took maternity photos in Laguna Beach yesterday. It was a lot of fun and Theresa is an amazing photographer. She already uploaded some of the photos to her blog last night. Once we get the CD from her I will post some on Miss Halle's site.  Here is the link to Perfect Shots Photography Blog: http://theperfectshotsphotography.blogspot.com ! Check out their awesome photos!

The biggest is yet to come..

28 week belly shot..

I asked Arce to only get my belly and cut out the face but he is not a good listener! :) Little Miss Halle keeps making her presence more and more known! It seems impossible that this belly can get any bigger but I know it will :).

Angels

Halle has to angel cousins who have deeply impacted this pregnancy. My angel nephew Aiden was born sleeping on August 13th, 2010 just over a month before we found out we were pregnant. My angel nephew Shane was born September 9th, 2010, just weeks before we found out about Halle. Shane was born with a heart defect, he endured an incredible heart surgery hours after he entered this world. He was a fighter and fought all the way through surgery; however, his little heart had difficulty with the recovery. Both boys were perfect and the most beautiful baby boys I have ever seen. Both of the boys have the strongest sets of parents I have ever met. They have endured one of the worst things a person could experience in this life and they have all done it with such grace. They are amazingly strong people and have and continue to do a great job of keeping their amazing boys memories alive. I know that we (Arce and I) will never ever forget them and I know many of my friends and family feel the same way.

The loss of both of boys were two huge blows for Arce and I, obviously not the extent to which it effected their parents. We were heart broken for a number of reasons 1. We lost our nephews and 2. it was extremely hard to stand by and watch our two sets of best friends endure such pain. It is likely one of the most helpless positions to be in.  Some of the most important people in our life were in tremendous pain and there was absolutely nothing that we could do or say to ease the pain at all. And then weeks later we find out that we are pregnant. In different circumstances finding out you are pregnant is one of the most exciting days of your life and I will never say that I wasn't so excited and oh so very surprised when I found out I was pregnant but I would be lying if I say I wasn't totally conflicted. We were in the full throws of mourning the loss of our nephews, my mind didn't know how to process the information for a good couple of weeks. In addition to being filled with sadness and joy at the same time, I was terrified at the idea of telling our friends our news. I was scared out of my mind that our news would make their pain so much worse. The last thing we wanted to do was hurt them.  I know our news was not the easiest pill to swallow for our friends especially considering the timing but we have amazing friends who have loved and supported us through their grief. They are amazing friends and we are so lucky to have them.

But that is not what this post is about. This post is about how these little boys' short lives have deeply impacted mine/ours.  As much as the reality of things has increased my worry and fears during this pregnancy, these little ones have taught me one of the most important things. They have taught me what a blessing it is to be pregnant. I can be honest that I was like many young women out there who believed I was in complete control of my life. That when I wanted to get pregnant I would and everything would go according to my plan. Women who think "I don't want to get pregnant because I don't want to get fat..don't want to give up my wine yet.... don't want to have crazy break outs...I can't give up my freedom...my weekends..etc." My view on all of this has changed drastically. I have since participated in conversations with women who continue to feel this way and I just want to shake them and scream in their faces that NOTHING in this life is guaranteed! All of those things that they are not willing to "sacrifice" are 100 times worth sacrificing in order to bring another precious life into this world and they would be extremely lucky to be  able to do so.  They have taught me that just because I am pregnant right now does not mean that I am guaranteed a baby to take home in the end, that being said, I have appreciated every single milestone and moment of this pregnancy. I am not perfect and I get hormonal and I complain but I have done everything in my power to appreciate all of my time with Halle. Life is short and our time together does not just start when she enters this world.  Every kick and every movement, I try my very best to cherish.  Life cannot be taken for granted.

These little boys have made a bigger impact on the lives of those around them than most of us will in our life time. We love and miss Shane and Aiden deeply. I have both of their pictures on our fridge and up at work. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about them and their parents. They will live in our hearts forever and we will never forget them. I look forward to sharing our memories of Shane and Aiden with their future cousins and brothers and sisters.

ALSO! It's important to spread the word about Infant and Pregnancy Loss and Congenital Heart Defects awareness. Both are extremely worthy causes and causes that are not talked about enough!

Learn more about Aiden's story by visiting his amazing Mother's blog: Expectationsrevised.blogspot.com

Learn more about Shane's story by visiting his amazing foundation's website:
Shanesheart.org

Through the months...

Since I am starting the site so late I thought I would upload the pictures we have taken through the months thus far....

The first time we laid eyes on "Eva" @ 8 weeks

Her second debut for the Prenatal Screening at 12 weeks old

Our 1st "belly shot" on Thanksgiving @ 12 weeks

@ 16 weeks and I thought I was so big back then...

@ 20 weeks 1/2 there...

@ 22 weeks, Titi Omaira requested a picture..

In Las Vegas for Papi's 30th birthday @ 26 weeks

So I just realized we have been seriously slacking in the picture department, so it looks like tomorrow night we will take the 28 week photo :)

Our little Halle J

Halle J @ 20 weeks

I knew I wanted to start a site once Halle got here, as we have many family and friends who live a great distance from us that we would love to share our little girl with, but a friend encouraged me at the beginning of my pregnancy to start the site back then, so that I could keep track of this crazy journey called pregnancy. But I was intimidated and not sure that any one would care to read it. It took me 2 trimesters to decide, what the hell, why not. If anything it will be a digital  journal that I can share with her once she is old enough. And it never hurt any body to have an outlet.  So here is to a smooth 3rd trimester and a healthy and happy entrance into this world for Little Miss Halle J.

Her foot already looks just like her Papi's.