Shame on me....Time to catch up!!

Shame on me! I haven't blogged in several weeks. We have been so busy preparing for Caden's arrival. Between doctors appointments, work, and baby showers we have been busy, busy, BUSY!

I am now 33.5 weeks along....and I really can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. We continue to go in for weekly appointments....have weekly shots...and are now having weekly sonos.....so we are getting to see ALOT of our little rocker dude!! As of a couple of weeks ago...he weighed 3lbs 11 oz and was 16 inches long....and by now he should be almost 5lbs. I think we will have new measurements done next week I believe. Caden is moving alot....I feel him all day long.....its a great feeling. We are starting to get very anxious. We are so ready to hold him and love on him. They have scheduled the c-section for May 26th....although I am not sure if I will make it that long...but I guess we will see! Either way...we are in the final stretch and we are sooooooo excited!

On March 27th we went down to Wharton for two baby showers. Caden got so spoiled that we had to rent a u-haul to bring back all his stuff. It was so good to see all our friends and family. The first shower was in Sugar Land at my friend Heather's house. It was hosted by Heather Houston, Donna Nelson, Sharon Lindberg, my cousin Anette Lee, and my aunts Kay and Debbie. It was a beautiful shower and they really made it special for me. The second shower was hosted by Mercy Salinas, Christina Garcia, Lupe Acosta, Terrie Ramirez, Mary Helen Duran, and Liz Herrera. It was an evening shower and consisted of close friends and mostly Mike's family. We had a great turn out. It was a VERY busy day...but it was a VERY special day for us. I can't tell you how great it feels to have so much support from friends and family. Caden has had sooooo many people praying and rooting for him and we are so thankful for all the prayers. Needless to say...it was a great weekend and it also marked the last weekend of travel for us. Below are some pictures from both showers.

I have lots of new pictures of Caden....but I need to go through them first....so I will post again very soon and share pictures of the finshed nursery and more sono pictures of him!!

Me & Caden's Precious Cake!

Me & my Hostesses

Me & My Family!!!

Me & Yolie...Caden's Aunt and My BFF

Caden's Greatest Hits

Welcome Baby Caden!!

Caden's awesome Cake!

The Cruz Family

Me & Mike with our Hostesses

Christina, Me, and Merc....

Caden's 1st Baby Shower & 3rd Trimester

This past Saturday was a very special day for me. On March 6th I was given my first baby shower ever! After a long 2.5 years...I finally got to have a baby shower.....and I can't express to anyone how much it meant to me and how special it was for us.

The shower was given by my sister in laws....Yolie, Danielle, and Valarie and they did such a great job. I could tell how much love was put in to it. They were so detailed with all the decorations and they really took the time to make it special for me and I appreciate that more than they will ever know. I have a feeling that Caden is going to be one very spoiled little boy. I was so happy that there was a good turn out....I believe around 35 people were there to help celebrate our little rock star. We got so many nice gifts....all sorts of cute clothes, blankets, an adorable build a bear....given by Aunt Yolie.....a baby bather, etc. Two of the bigger items given were his baby swing and my sister in laws all pitched in and got his stroller and car seat. My mom, Stephanie, and the girls were able to attend the shower as well and I was so thankful they were there to support me. It was a WONDERFUL day.....filled with lots a great friends, family, and lots and lots of love for my little guy. Thanks to everyone for making it special for me.....it is something I will never forget. On another note....Mike's brothers had a bbq for him while my shower was going on. Mike had such a good time hanging out with the guys. They ended up playing poker till pretty late on Saturday evening....it was a great day for the both of us! =)

Last but not least....I am sooooo happy to annouce I have FINALLY made it to the 3rd trimester! My first time ever. If you could see my smile. Thank you God....Thank you....

Here are a few pictures from our special day....

27 weeks

Another great doctors appointment today. Blood pressure is still good. My sugar test went well also.....so thats a good thing. Still getting weekly progesterone shots. And today I got my first steroid shot to help with Caden's lungs....OUCH! That shot did not feel good. Tomorrow I will go back for my second steroid shot and then I wont have to have one again for another 4 weeks I think. Thank God. lol

Besides that....not much to update this week. Caden continues to be very active.....loves to move and kick. I am still 11 lbs under my original starting weight. So....even though I am starting to expand.....I have not been gaining any weight. My doctor says this is fine as long as the baby is growing....which he is. =) Soooo......no complaints on that end.

And the last thing to share that really brought a smile to my face.... I was in the office working this morning and Mike walked in....bent down to my stomach....and said..."Good morning Caden. How are you today? (then he kissed my belly and said...) 1 + 1 = 2...... 2 + 1 =....you, me, and mommy. =) I thought it was precious.

2/20/2010

A year ago today I was admitted into the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy. I had no idea that the next day would be the end of my pregnancy. I had hoped that I would be there in the hospital for another couple of months. God had different plans.

Tomorrow marks one year since we lost Ava. If she would of survived we would be celebrating her 1st birthday. We would have enjoyed a full year of laughs and firsts and all that wonderful stuff that comes with being a parent. But God had different plans.

Instead....... we had another year of celebrating other parents "firsts". We sat on the sidelines and watched others around us....some up close....and some from a distance.....celebrate the things we wanted to be celebrating. And I dont just mean from the sidelines.....we participated too. We encouraged when we could.....we praised when we could.....and on the days we couldn't....we kept our distance. Cause it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that those "firsts"....are so important to those parents. And being supportive of others is something I feel is extremely important.....but to be honest with you....my heart wasn't always in it. Sometimes we had to fake it. There are days when I really wanted to run from alot of things. But God had different plans.

Eventhough I am going on 26 weeks pregnant.....I STILL have a hard time on bad days. We are still waiting for our "firsts"......and right now....besides the faith we have in God.....we are still empty handed at this point. Tomorrow is a reminder of a day in my life that I wish had never happened. But it did. And all we can do is realize how far we have come in one short year. Mike and I never gave up hope that God does have a plan for us. We just haven't been crazy about his plan so far. But we know that no matter what....God does have a plan for us.....and it is on his terms.....on his time....not ours. So here we are....2 1/2 years after we found out the first time I was pregnant....3 babies lost.....and hoping still that God's plan will NOT be different from ours this time.

We remember and miss you Ava Lynn.....

25 weeks

So today's doctors appointment went well again. Once again my cervix looked nice and long. And Caden is growing and growing. Not to mention kicking and kicking. lol





He was moving around alot during the sono and it was so neat to see on the screen. We got a couple of good pictures....not as many as last time. We did get a pretty good 3D one. The lady that does my sonos said that it looks like he has a cute little nose and chubby cheeks! lol I also had my glucose testing done today so hopefully the results from that will come back good. So far my blood pressure is staying normal....another good thing. My doctor also said that we will start cutting back on the sonos every two weeks. The point of those were to keep an eye on my cervix and since it is not shortening at all.....he feels we can slow it down a little bit. I will still continue to go in every week for my shot....and I will still continue to see him every two weeks. He also wants to start me on steroid shots in a couple of weeks for the baby. Because of my history....he is trying to take all precautions just in case of preterm labor. Therefore....the steroid shots will help Caden's lungs develop faster just in case I go into labor early. I can't tell you how good it feels to have a doctor that is taking all precautions. It makes us feel like we have a fighting chance this time. So that pretty much sums up my doctors visit.....and of course I walked out with a huge smile on my face. Here is a picture of our little man.....I personally think he looks like Mike so far....What do you think??

On another note.....we have started working on Caden's room. We still have alot we want to do....plus more furniture to be added....but so far I really like the way it looks. Here are a few pictures of what we have done so far....I hope my little Rocker dude knows how much love is going into this room. I have gone in there a couple of times and just sat on the floor looking around. A year ago we were preparing it for a little girl.....and now a boy. It makes me want to cry when I sit there and think about how close we are getting to him being born. I know for many 25 weeks means you have a long way to go still. But 25 weeks for us means our baby finally has a chance of survival if something goes wrong. Not to mention the fact that I really dont think I will be going full term with this baby.....so really....he will be here before we know it....and I cannot wait for that day! So here's a few pictures of what we have done so far....once it is completely done I will post more....

Another A+ Report- 23 weeks

So we had our weekly visit today and once again we walked away smiling. The sono showed that my cervix still has NOT shortened at all. As a matter of fact....they said it is even considered kinda long right now! Imagine that.

I can't tell you how excited we are that this surgery worked for us. My doctor even said.... we are NO LONGER dealing with the incompetent cervix issue at this point. It would have shortened by now if it were going to happen. So now the focus is all the "other" issues that could pop up for me.... high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, pre-term labor, etc. I will continue to go in weekly for a progesterone shot and I will have another sono again in two weeks. After that sono...I am not sure what the game plan will be. I guess we just have to continue to take it day by day. And praise God for getting us this far.

We were able to get some really good pictures this time....I will share a few below. But while having the ultrasound we got to see Caden moving around alot. He had one of his hands on his head for awhile.... and we got to see him yawn too! It was so cute. This week I have been feeling him kick alot more. He was really kicking the other night when I was watching the Grammy's. It seems he likes music....which is a good thing since the nursery is a rock n' roll theme! I think he gets that from his Pops.

Anyways....there is the latest update from our end....we are just so happy things are going well and we pray that God continues to watch over us during this time. Enjoy the pictures....

Close up of Caden....I love his little nose....

Another profile picture

Full Body Picture

His foot....I think he might end up with big feet! lol

A first.....

Last night something amazing happened. A first for us.

I have been feeling Caden kicking for awhile now....but last night as I was laying on the couch and I put my hand on my stomach and I felt him kick. I called Mike over and he put his hand on my stomach and Caden kicked again....and Mike felt it! I wish I could have captured his face on camera. It showed pure happiness. I would have to say it is one of the best feelings in the world....and we finally got to experience it. Amazing. Truly amazing.

I even woke up this morning still smiling. And as I started writing this blog something else came to mind. I realize how lucky I am. Even though I have not been able to have a child yet....with my two 2nd trimester losses....I had been able to feel the baby move....even if Mike couldn't. I was able to see and hold both babies....I was able to see what features they would of had. That is MORE than what alot of woman even get to experience. Even more so....I was able to get pregnant 4 different times.....alot of women don't even experience the joy of looking at a pregnancy test and seeing a positive result. So even though the end result has been the same as those women.....being left empty handed...I am soooooo thankful that I have been able to experience more in two years than most experience in their whole life time. And I pray for those who are struggling to start a family as we have.

Thank you God for blessing us with this first....it is something that we will never forget.