9 months - 36 weeks

Well, Manuel and I are just about ready for baby Jacob's arrival. We took every class that the hospital offered and we'll continue to take another outside class weekly until the baby's arrival. I have my hospital bag half packed, but all the clothes I want to take are washed so I'll have Manuel help me finish putting it together tonight. The baby clothes from newborn through month three are all washed and in drawers. We have a co-sleeper in our bedroom so the baby can sleep near by the first several months. We have plenty of diapers, wipes, and a variety of other baby products. The car seat bases are securely installed in both cars, so we just need to take the carrier to the hospital. So, I guess we're as ready as we can be : ) Until the big day, I'll continue reading all the materials we picked up in classes to try to cram it into my brain.

My foot and hand swelling has continued to progress, and over the weekend the fingers in my right hand began to feel numb. It might be carpel tunnel, which is being aided by the poor circulation to my hands. And I'm down to two pair of shoes that fit - even my wide crocks are snug on my right foot. So I went to see the nurse on Monday morning because the hand numbness is not feeling pleasant, and they found my blood pressure was a bit high. After laying down for a little while, my blood pressure went down. So, my doctor wants me on bed rest this week (and potentially for the rest of the pregnancy) to see if the swelling and blood pressure will go down. I go back tomorrow morning to see the doctor for some additional testing, so let's see what she says. I'll be 37 weeks on Thursday, which is technically full term, but my fear is that the baby won't be ready to come out until 41 weeks and I'll be sitting around until then because we were hoping to have a natural child birth (i.e. let the baby come out when he's ready without drugs or medical interventions). So, we'll see what happens.

So, I'm here in my living room laying back in my recliner. I watched an hour of TV and I'm already bored, so this might be a long week... I have a few things on my 'to do' list that involve the computer and a few shower Thank You cards to finish, so I'll work on that today. I'll try to work in a nap and a movie too before Manuel comes home from work at the end of the day. I can't help it, but I still feel the need to be productive : )

Valero Shower

Manuel's co-workers at Valero threw us a really nice shower this past Monday. Manuel has a LOT of friends at work and they were very generous - we pretty much completed the registry for all the things we really wanted.

Now I don't have an excuse to not decorate the nursery because we got the bedding and accessories I needed... other than the fact that I'm increasingly tired and let me complain again about the swelling feet. I keep hearing about a burst of energy and 'nesting' that comes at the end of pregnancy, but I'm still eagerly waiting for that!

33 Weeks & Jeremy's visit

My 33rd week has been tough. Not only are my ankles swelling, but I'm starting to notice it in my wrists, fingers, and tops of my feet too. I'm about the same size around, but the swelling is really making me uncomfortable. I'm trying to keep my feet elevated as much as possible, but it's hard to keep the swelling down when I sit at a desk all day! And it's starting to get really getting hot here in San Antonio - we're approaching 100 degrees this week.
33 weeks in Jacob's soon-to-be play room.

This past weekend we visited with my cousin, Jeremy, his wife Melinda and daughter Leah. They are on leave from the Navy, stationed in Japan at the same base as my brother. We celebrated Leah's upcoming 3rd birthday.

Leah wasn't brave enough to hit the pinata, but she loved opening gifts!

Elsa's Baby Shower

Yesterday, Elsa and family hosted my 3rd baby shower! The second shower was at my work, USAA, and the 4th is coming next week at Manuel's work, Valero. The showers are fun, but they wipe me out!
We had great food, a beautifully decorated and delicious cake (thanks to Aunt Mary), and fun games.



I received a great variety of baby necessities, including a diaper bag, baby bath items, and more diapers!
Gaby, Reyna, Samantha, and Emilia were my helpers opening gifts. Baby Jacob received two beautiful hand-made blankets thanks to Aunt Lupe and June.

Two of my second cousins are also expecting, sisters Monica and Veronica.

8 months - Maria & Ruben's visit

I'm officially at the 8 month mark (32 of 40 weeks), and I'm definitely feeling it! I've got swollen hands, feet and ankles (not quite cankles yet); tireness and fatigue; and an increased need to urinate, which I notice most at night now that I wake up about 3 times. But things overall have been progressing well and the baby belly is definitely growing!

We had fun the past few weekends with my parents visiting from Michigan, and we spent one steamy evening walking on the San Antonio Riverwalk with Jennifer and Patrick.

Despite the rain (yes, it finally rained in SA), we had BBQs all over the place. We started at Uncle Roland's house.

Then we had a few BBQs at my house...


We enjoyed lots of family fun and a lot of delicious food, especially fajitas!