Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays 2012

This year we decided on having my mom makes us Christmas hats (yes, Eli had one too but she was not too fond of it for the picture) as our card theme.  We LOVE how the card turned out!

Also, I have decided to enter our card for the first time on the The Paper Mama's 2012 Holiday Photo Challenge! @thepapermama

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico!

After three years celebrating Thanksgiving in either New York or New Jersey, I was glad to be back in Puerto Rico for Thanksgiving. There is nothing like Puertorrican food on that dinner table and enjoying the time with your close family! Also, it was E's first Thanksgiving with our family and in Puerto Rico. Things to be really grateful for :)

Please enjoy some pictures of that day. 

Singing typical Puertorrican Christmas music.

Our delicious food: turkey, arroz con gandules, yuca and mofongo balls, stuffing, and potato salad.

Plus tons of dessert! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin flan and pumpkin cream cheese cake! YUM! 

A very Mouseketacular shower!

Last weekend, my mom hosted our baby boy's shower. I am 32 weeks now and still holding on -with medication and having irregular contractions-, but hoping for the best.

Since our baby boy will be the first boy in our family in a long time since we are three sisters and then I had our daughter, I knew it would be a big event. The theme was Baby Mickey and everything in blue: the first time there was so much blue in our house!  We had lots of fun and we are very grateful to everyone who came to celebrate with us this special moment in our lives.

Here are some of the pictures:

Bassinet for our baby boy filled with everything Mickey :)

Beautiful and delicious cake!

Chocolate and vanilla lollipops.

The Price is Right baby shower game. Guests had to guess the total amount plus tax.

Baby Mickey painted by my sister.

Guests enjoying some of the games. 

Baby shower trivia and Word Puzzle.

Matching pairs of tiny socks.

Half of the gifts. Thank you to everyone who came.

E's birth story

With this whole issue of preterm labor, I realized that I haven't shared my daughter's birth story. I thought it would be a great idea to remember that day in May 2011 when we welcomed her with open arms into the World! So here it is: 

My labor story is long since I was in pain, having contractions (in the early stages of labor for over two weeks). On my 37th week checkup, I was 1cm dilated so we knew that the contractions I had been having were doing something. The next week I had progressed to 3cm and 80% effaced. At that point the Dr. told me you are in labor so you should go into active labor anytime now. Guess what? I didn't! I kept having on and off contractions, but no more progress. I went to my 39th week checkup and still no change, but contractions had been getting stronger at times. (Also, I had been to the hospital a couple of times for decreased movement and contractions getting closer, but they sent me home). That day the Dr. told me that I would be able to go into labor within 24-48 hours, but that didn't happen either. Full term rolled by and still no baby! I should mention that I went in on Sunday (39wks6d) for decreased movement and everything looked good except for the fact that I was having contractions every 2-4 mins and they still sent me home as I was not progressing.

On Monday, when I turned 40 weeks, I started having really strong headaches, my lower back aches were getting stronger and I was feeling really nauseous. The Dr. called me checking up on my visit to the hospital the day before. I told him everything and told me to go to the office the next day. On Tuesday went to the office and was still 3-4 cm and 80% effaced. He was baffled as to why I hadn't gone into labor yet. We talked about induction and c-section and the risks since I was overdue. Well, Tuesday and Wednesday I still felt sick (headaches, nausea and pain plus on and off contractions). On Thursday, while Egy was on a conference call for a project due on his class, my parents and I decided to go for a walk to see if more walking (yeah, I basically had walked all of Manhattan already, even taking subways!) would do the trick. We sat at a Dunkin Donuts and then I realized that I hadn't felt baby E move all day. So I called the office and told me to go in to the hospital because I needed to be monitored. 

At the hospital, they hooked me up and they noticed that her heartbeat was very high (over 170) and wouldn't calm down. In addition, her heat beat stopped at times that even the nurses looked worried. They were doing a sonogram to test for fluid levels (which were normal) and measuring. When it got to finding her breathing score, they were there a while. I could see something in their faces. After a while and many glasses of water later, her heat beat went back to normal. Then one of the nurses came and said that I was going to be discharged. My mom, worried, went to the nurses and said that she wanted to talk to my doctor (his partner was the doctor on call, who kept saying that supposedly my body was not ready). After saying that they had spoken to the doctor (the other one) when they had not (I had called the office and  no one was there and the nurse later confirmed that they had not called yet) and some more time passed, they finally got hold of my doctor. He said that I should be admitted for induction. The nurse went to me to ask me what I wanted to do. I of course said that I wanted to have the baby at that moment as I couldn't handle anymore of the pain and I was worried about the baby's condition.

So that's when the real labor story began! At 8:30pm they started pitocin. At that point I could handle contractions without pain meds. (I even worked on a paper due the week after). At 12am, I was checked and was basically the same. Soon after, I started having cramping like if I needed to use the bathroom so they checked again at 3:00am and I was at 4cm. After 3am, contractions were back to back and pain was awful because I felt everything on my back, nothing on my abdomen. I suffer from sacroilial joint sclerosis (condition in the coccyx) which made the pain worse. At that time I asked for an epidural which I had in by 4:15am. The nurse said that we should get some sleep so that's what we did. At 5:30am the nurse comes in and says that they will put me an oxygen mask. I knew that something was not right with baby's heart beat because that's what O2 is for. She said that hb was decreasing after contractions. Right at that moment I felt a big gush and I asked if my water had broken (thought for a moment that I peed myself b/c the foley had come out) She checked, it was my water and a resident came saying that I was 9-10 and 100% effaced. Her next sentence: "We better call Dr. Gardner now". 

They were impressed that I had progressed that fast in a little over an hour. My doctor came around 6am. Checked me and asked if I felt anything and I said no. The baby was +2 station, so basically coming out and about to crown. He had to take me off the epidural so I could feel contractions and the need to push. I started feeling some of them and at certain points need to push. The worse part was the shakes; I could barely concentrate because of how bad I was shaking after the epidural. So I would say I started pushing at about 6:30am (didn't take that many pushes) and our baby made her debut at 7:13am!! The labor part was not that bad at all...much better than I expected!

29 weeks and on bed rest...

As some of you may know, I am finally back home after some tense days at Labor & Delivery (L&D) for preterm labor. If you know my previous birth story with daughter E, you wouldn't think that I would be one having preterm labor symptoms. She was born past her due date at 40 weeks 4 days after an induced labor.

You may now be asking how did I notice and honestly, I think it was my mommy instincts kicking in as I did not have any real pain. It started mid afternoon on Monday while I was at work when I felt how my belly would tighten and loosen without a real pattern or any pain. I thought I was having Braxton Hicks contractions so at first didn't think anything of them. However, after half an hour I had quite a few and even though I was sitting down with my legs up and drinking as much water as I could - as dehydration can cause contractions -, they didn't seem to go away. After an hour of my belly tightening, I decided to call my OB GYN office and was told to head to L&D as I had more than 6 in an hour.

On the drive to the hospital, I kept feeling them which made me nervous. As soon as I got to the hospital, I was put on the monitor to check on the baby's heartbeat and contractions. In the period of an hour, the monitor picked some contractions but not many and I didn't feel any real pain so I thought everything would be fine. The nurse checked me for dilation and everything seemed fine. However, the doctor gave orders to keep me overnight in observation just in case. At 4am, the doctor came to check up on me -she had been called in to attend an emergency delivery-, and she said that my contractions had stopped so maybe it was due to dehydration and that if I was at 0 dilation, I would be discharged. Little did I know what was coming next.

The doctor proceeded to check me and I knew something was wrong when I saw her face completely change. She then asked me if I had a baby before and how long ago. I also told her that I was being monitored every 2 weeks for incompetent cervix after a procedure I had done and she said that was a cause for concern. She then told me that I was 1cm dilated and the cervix was thinner than she'd like for 28 weeks gestational period. She told me that I would be admitted and be given steroid shots for the baby's lungs and medicine to stop contractions and labor. Hearing those words made me really nervous, especially since in the Observation area of L&D I had to be alone. Obviously, I called my husband at 4am to tell him what was happening.

After being admitted to the hospital, they gave me Procardia twice a day to stop contractions plus an IV line to keep me hydrated. Even though I was given medicine, I still kept feeling some menstrual-like cramping sporadically which meant that I could not go home. At one point, the cramping got constant plus dull lower backache which led to 3 dosis of Brethine injections to stop contractions. On Friday, my doctor came to check me and told me that if I remained the same, I would be able to go home on bed rest and still taking the Procardia. However, if I had dilated some more, they would keep me in the hospital until I gave birth. Thankfully, the checkup revealed that labor had not progressed so I was discharged. We are all relieved as it means that baby boy can keep "cooking" longer.

Preterm labor is labor that happens at any time before 37 weeks gestation and it can happen to anyone. It is important to keep in mind symptoms of preterm labor and contact your doctor if you experience any of the signs. These are: contractions every 10 minutes or less, change in vaginal discharge, pelvic pressure, dull backache, menstrual-like cramping and abdominal cramps. For more information, visit Signs of Preterm Labor, March of Dimes.  For any mommy-to-be preterm labor can be scary, but there are drugs that can be given to stop labor and help baby mature his or her lungs. For more information, visit Drugs for use in preterm labor.

My family and I want to thank everyone who has been praying and thinking of us so that baby boy can be born as close to full term as possible. 

Many thanks!

-themomthelawyerthehousewife

26 weeks... and 17 months!

Huh?, you might say.

Well, I am 26 weeks along with baby boy and Eli is turning 17 months tomorrow! How fast time has flown by! It seems yesterday I saw the positive test announcing that we were going to have our FIRST baby and now we are 14 weeks away from the arrival of our SECOND baby!

Pregnancy, after the scare at 22 weeks, has progressed beautifully. Belly and baby keeps growing at an adequate pace. Recently, I had to take the glucose test to determine if I have a tendency towards gestational diabetes. Yep, that dreadful day where you have to drink the super sugary orange (or in some cases lemon) drink and then have your blood drawn an hour later. I certainly hope I passed the test as I did with Eli. How could I give up chocolate or sweets?!?! Never.

Also, we went to a new mother's fair in a local shopping mall and won our first thing ever: we won a basket full of Pamper's products!! Yay us! In addition, we wen to a conference given by a renowned pediatrician in PR, Dr. Mario Ramírez, who spoke about how a healthy and happy delivery should be; Much like what Ricki Lake showed in her documentary, The Business of Being Born. It was very interesting and educational at the same time!

As for Eli, she is doing great! At her 16 month old checkup she was 2 1/2 feet tall and 25 lbs, very healthy at 75% and 50% percentiles. She is also saying over 25+ words, in both English and Spanish plus some signs. And recently, she started putting 2 words together as phrases or trying to say sentences. The other day she asked for "more water" in Spanish or "más agua". She is so smart!! Her new likes are balls, which she says in English, Spanish and Sign Language. She throws them around and bounces them trying to play with you.

On the other hand, she is at the stage where she thinks that she can do her own thing and gets mad if we say no or steer her away from wherever she is trying to go or where she is not allowed. And just this past week, she started throwing herself to the floor if I grab her hand to walk someplace and she doesn't want to. Can you say tantrums?

That's it for an update for now. We couldn't be happier with our little family!

-themomthelawyerthehousewife

Rest and drink more water!

Those were the words that my doctor said to me yesterday at my appointment after ending up in the Hospital with contractions. And what difficult words are those to hear, especially when you have a 16 month old toddler running around and who needs your constant attention. It breaks my heart when she says mama and looks at me for me to pick her up.

It was 3:00 am when really sharp pains on my lower back woke me up. I sat up hurting as I started getting really painful cramps. After a few minutes, I had to wake DH up so he could help me get up and get me something to drink. The pain got even more intense and even made me cry as I couldn't breathe. The sharp pains and cramps came and went and I knew something was wrong. After about 40 minutes of this, we headed to the Hospital. I was put on observation and thankfully, the contractions subsided and everything looked good with the baby. However, the doctor wants me to rest this weekend and take precautions to try to identify the source of the contractions.

I keep getting some Braxton Hicks, which are "practice" contractions where the uterus contracts and the belly gets hard, but they are not painful which is a good sign.

Being pregnant is a great thing, but it does comes with worrying and some not-so-glamorous symptoms.

22 weeks

On another note, I wanted to share a pic of my daughter and husband enjoying the water during the Attorney's Convention last week.

20 weeks and counting...

This week marks the 20th week of my pregnancy..so I am halfway there!!! It is very exciting and kind of nerve wracking at the same time as my due date approaches. I am still trying to figure how our lives will have to adjust now that we will have 2 kids, but we know it is part of God's plan for us.

So this week, I have been feeling baby boy a lot more and even my husband has started feeling him. It is the greatest feeling in the world when you feel those tiny kicks and/or jabs knowing that a life is growing inside of you...and sometimes it also reminds you to slow down! As for symptoms, the heartburn has decreased thankfully, so I feel much better even though I still need the occasional tums.

Another very exciting thing that happened this week was the anatomy scan, where a specialist will take measurements of different body parts and analyze the growth, etc. We got to see the baby for a while, moving all around while keeping his hands up by his face. Also, we got some really great views and shots of his tiny face in 3D! Technology nowadays is amazing!

On another note, our daughter, E, keeps growing and learning at a fast pace. This week she started saying "ball" while signing the word at the same time. But she doesn't say it without meaning; she will say it whenever I show her ball or whenever she wants it. Yesterday, she was "talking" up a storm in her play pen and suddenly she looked at me and started saying ball and showing the ball to me, followed by bobo (pacifier in Spanish) and showing it to me. So she not only knows the words, but she knows the object it refers to. Amazing for just 15 months, I think.

I can't wait to see what new things she will be learning this week!

Thanks for reading! 

-themomthelawyerthehousewife

We are having a...

We confirmed last week that we are having a BOY!!!!  We are beyond excited, even though we would have been as excited with a girl. But in my family a boy means that he will be the KING of the house, as he will be the first boy in two generations! 

As for my pregnancy this week, I am not happy to say that I experienced my first leg cramp or charlie horse as I was waking up and let me tell you, I did NOT miss those at all!! I had them quite a few times during my first pregnancy and I though that maybe this time it would be different: oh I was so wrong! Those leg cramps are the worst, plus E was sleeping on her crib in the same room so I had to gather all my strength to not scream from the pain. 

According to Baby Center there is no real explanation as to why pregnant women get them. These may start during the second trimester and may get worse as the pregnancy progresses (which in my experience, it was true for me). To alleviate the pain from a leg cramp, some suggest flexing your toes back or massaging the muscle. What works for me is to quickly stand up and put the foot flat on the floor. 

As for E, her vocabulary keeps expanding. The other day I was counting to her and all of a sudden she would say "two" after I said "one". She also did it in Spanish, "dos" after "uno". We are all so impressed with the level of knowledge that she has been developing at such a young age. She is only 15 months old!! At this rate she will be reading by the age of 2! 


-themomthelawyerthehousewife

...and then there were FOUR!

I know, I have been MIA for a while but with the move back home, starting a new job and readjusting our lifestyle, it has been hard to log in during the past few months!

Also we have some exciting news to share... the family is growing by TWO FEET!! Our daughter will get to be a Big Sister soon! During the next few months, I will attempt to share my experiences being pregnant along with E's milestones.

What a proud big sis!

During the time I have been MIA, many things have happened. After 12+ months of breastfeeding, we had to stop due to a varicella (chicken pox) scare since I was already pregnant and never had them before. But I am glad to say that we made it that far.

As for hitting milestones, E (who turns 15 months tomorrow) started talking and signing: she now signs milk, more, all done and eat. She also says both milk and daddy, both in English and Spanish! We try to incorporate both languages as much as we can and it seems to be working. She also had more Spanish words incorporated in her expanding vocabulary, such as: mamá, más, leche, agua, jugo and others. In addition, she learned how to wave and say bye bye!

Other milestones she has reached are learning to dance, sometimes sings and just recently, started walking. Now, she walks everywhere!

She also played with sand for the first time!

As for my pregnancy, I am happy to be in the second trimester. The first trimester was tough on me, though not as tough as pregnancy number 1 was. I felt completely tired all the time and was nauseous almost all my awake time every day. Also I have had more acid reflux and heartburn...Tums (which are safe during pregnancy) have been my best friend. As for food aversions, I could not drink water or coffee, which are the only two things that I normally drink. Thankfully, that is all gone now and I am back to drinking my 8+ glasses of water and morning cup of coffee.

Did you know that you are supposed to drink more water than you normally do during pregnancy? The lack of hydration can cause contractions. I know that all too well as I ended in the hospital at 30 weeks during my first pregnancy with contractions caused by dehydration.

Also did you know that you can still drink caffeine, but you need to limit your amount? According to doctors, you can drink up to 200-250 mg a day which translates into 2 maximum cups of coffee a day. So there is no need to go cold turkey on this one if you need it. I drank 1 cup of coffee daily while pregnant with E and I did not notice any change on her. In fact, she started sleeping through the night at around 2 months and at 15 months she still sleeps 10-11 hours at night and takes 2 naps.

I will keep updating during my pregnancy with more experiences and fun facts!

- themomthelawyerthehousewife

The Big 1!

(Pardon my absence for a while, but we were working on the big move back to P.R.)

Our daughter just turned ONE! Well, she did on Mother's Day this year and what a way to celebrate my First Mother's Day!!

We decided on having a party for her in N.J. so her family in the States could come and another smaller party for our family and friends back home. The theme for our princess: Lady Bug! I started planning two months earlier so that everything would be ready for the big day. In the end, it was a great success!

These are some of the pictures of her Lady Bug party in NJ.

Cake table with Chocolate Lady Bug cake and Carrot Cake cupcakes made by me.

Lady Bug Candy Bar! 

E's Lady Bug decorated high chair 

And some pictures of E and the guests enjoying the party!

She really liked the cupcake with ALL of its frosting :p

The Big Move..just a week away!

Some of you may know that we move back to Puerto Rico NEXT week! I cannot believe time has gone by so fast.  This week was my last Zumba class, my last Book Club, our last week in NJ..and I'm pretty sure many other lasts!

Anyway, this is how moving is looking so far...

Packing clothes 

Empty walls

Box after box...

(Linking back to The Paper Mama)

FREE Tutu Giveaway!

Hello Blogger Friends!!!!

In honor of this being my First Mother's Day and my daughter's First Birthday on the SAME DAY, I am holding a little giveaway! ($25 value) Are you excited??

The rules are simple: have your family and friends LIKE my Facebook page Tutu Designs by Griselle and comment WHO sent them on the post with the official instructions. The person who sent the most friends over WINS! Contest ends on Friday, May 11th at NOON!

Spread the Word!

Here are some of my designs:

Where is your changing table?

That is a question I feel I am constantly asking after becoming a mom. A changing table is something that, if you do not have kids, you take for granted. But almost a year after having Eli, I know how indispensable those beige plastic things are!

Today was one of those days where I am out and about with Eli and I need to change her soiled diaper. So as I head to the store's (TJ MAXX) restroom to use the changing table, lo and behold, there was none. ZERO.  What did I have to do? Well, head out to my car to improvise and change her in the back seat, while she is being her usual squirmy self that can't stay put for me to change her. Sigh*

My little squirmy lady..she wouldn't let me finish dressing her.

The sad part of the story: this was not the first time I have had to change her in the car! If restaurants and stores could take into consideration families and have a changing table, it would be splendid. Maybe it should be even made into legislation (as I have researched that there are no laws even requiring restrooms!). And I don't mean only in women's restrooms, but in men's restrooms as well. Something that even my husband agrees on as he is very hands on when it comes to parenting.

What do you think? Have you had a similar experience to me?

Roadtrip!!!...Niagara Falls!

We had to do it!! How could you not?! Particularly after knowing that we are moving back to our Island over the Summer!

Downside? I had to drive (yes, drive!!) there and back (over 8+ hours each way when you factor a child) because my husband let his license expire! But now that I have that drive under my belt, all I can say to him is: TAKE THAT! LOL. In addition, the weather was not too cooperative with us as we had wet snow! (yes you read correctly) at the end of April!! Nonetheless, when it stopped, we did get to experience the Maid of the Mist boat ride and the falls up close and personal :)

Now we feel accomplished and we can cross one more thing off our list! Enjoy some pictures!


Update: I added some more pictures! 

At the hotel after a long day of driving!

It was a gloomy and cold day but the attraction was still operating. We got lucky!

Horseshoe Falls or the Canadian Falls. Did you know that only 10% of the water falls on the American side?!

We treated ourselves to some dessert at Hard Rock Café, Niagara Falls!

Happy Birthday to my other half!

Last Monday, my husband celebrated his.... TWENTY-SOMETHING birthday! (ha, I think he would kill me if I posted his age)  As we are far away from home, I think he felt a little sad about it so I decided to throw a last minute surprise birthday with some of his friends here!

It was great! I spent all day decorating his cake (even though it was girly as I was practicing for Eli's first birthday) and put up a few decorations.

I want to thank our friends who took a little bit of their time to spend it with DH. We really appreciated it!

Here are some of the pictures we took. Please excuse the resolution as they are phone pictures and it was dark.

Our little family!

With the cake