Yes..... 39 Weeks Pregnant

Yes...... 39 weeks pregnant and yes..... still counting...

First I am relieved that baby Joshua did not decide to make his debut on Christmas day / my b/day.... That is such a huge relief. However, here we are today at 39 weeks and still counting.... I know a full term baby goes till 40 weeks but somewhere inside of me I was hoping that he might decide to make an earlier entry into this world. We love him so much already and we are so eager to meet him but then again, we have to wait for him to decide when he would like to join us. Anyway, as of right now, we have fully surrendered to the fact that he will come in his time and not ours. I think this is an amazing lesson for us and I am so proud of myself to getting to this point.

As of right now, my belly is huge and the skin around my belly is fully stretched too. A little while back, baby Joshua changed from feeling like a big watermelon to feeling like a sack of rocks. I can feel his back, knees and feet fairly easily if either of us moves. It is starting to get very uncomfortable in there because some part of his body is stabbing into my right rib. The sporadic pelvic pains and the complete lack of energy are some of the day to day symptoms I am now experiencing.

So we picked up baby Joshua's swing (see photo below) and his essentials. Now it is just a waiting game :( We hope that next weekend will be the big weekend for his debut and we will soon have some good news :)

So, here is this weeks picture.

Thank you for reading and see you all next week....

38 Weeks pregnant and still counting........

If you are still wondering if we are still pregnant, the answer is YES..... 38 weeks pregnant and still counting. I hope we will not be counting for much longer now.

From this experience of being pregnant, I have learnt that the hardest period of pregnancy is undoubtedly the last 4 weeks of pregnancy for a full term of 40 weeks. The lack of comfort is like no other, the anxiety of when the big moment will be is nerve wrecking and restrictive, the questions that run through ones mind regarding their parental capabilities are unending, the fatigue is incomparable, the constant bathroom visits are plain annoying, the list goes on and on....... I guess one has to relearn the boundaries of a lot of virtues that we take for granted.

Gosh, time flies by so fast, Christmas is here!!! It seems like we just celebrated Thanksgiving the other day. This is always a wonderful time of year to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and to enjoy and cherish various family relationships. However, most importantly as Christians, this is also a time to evaluate our relationship with Christ. On the other hand, December 25th is my B/day too..... I guess the fact that I share my birthday with one of the biggest Holidays of the year is in itself an oxymoron, meaning it is a bitter sweet day for me. It would be nice to have just my own day where the loved ones in my life just spare some thoughts JUST FOR ME and for me to just take that day off to reflect on the start of another new year in my life. Being much older now, I am much more rational about the sharing of the day. Right now though I am on pins wondering if baby Joshua might decide to make his debut on this same day....... It is interesting to even just think that there is a slight chance that our baby may share a birthday with me..... that will be a very hard one, trying to share three landmark celebrations in our family all celebrated in one day... Honestly, I hope he waits till after Christmas so we can have a special day JUST FOR HIM....

Enough of my rantings about sharing my B/day, we would like to take this time to wish all our family and friends who live in various continents Happy Holidays!!! We especially want to pass a special Krismasi Njema to our family and friends in Kenya. I really miss you all during this festive season.

So we finally received baby Joshua's travel system. Here is a picture of the travel system. Jonathan put it together and it looks great, thanks Honey! We only have one reservation about this travel system though, it is bulky. Now that everything is about ready for baby Joshua, the reality that he will be here in less than two weeks is really setting in.........

So here is this week's picture. My belly has not really changed much. I think I have reached a plateau in terms of weight gain and belly size for this pregnancy!!

In conclusion, HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!! and Happy early Birthday to me :) I would much rather celebrate the relationship we have with Jesus Christ than my piling of years lol... :) Stay warm for those celebrating a WHITE Christmas....... and enjoy the sunshine for those who live in the Kenyan savanna and tropics!!

 

Thank you for reading and see you all next week, hopefully with some good news :)

37 weeks...Yes, Officially full term and Married!!

37 Weeks pregnant this weekend, meaning baby Joshua is now clinically considered officially full-term!!! To add icing on the cake, WE ARE MARRIED!!!!!! If you have not heard it already, we would like to share with you the news that, YES WE ARE MARRIED. It really does have a nice ring to it... very sobering and blissful too!!!! I love you honey! Since this is the baby blog I will not go into the details but yes, Thursday was our big day! Thank you to all who have visited with us, called or emailed to wish us well.

Being full term, I am also officially "extremely uncomfortable." I have taken to sleeping on the couch which offers comfort like a recliner... way much more comfortable than the good old regular bed. Some people keep asking if I am uncomfortable and tired of being pregnant... the answer is YES. Even though labor could be two or three weeks away, I feel like things are heading in that direction. I feel a lot more pressure in my back and pelvis, yes a lot more pelvic sharp pain than the last couple of weeks. The Braxton Hicks are getting more and more frequent too and more unpleasant. I have been blessed to keep the stretch marks away so far, I pray this trend continues. I especially hope they continue to stay away for the whole pregnancy term... Besides having sharp cramps and a lot more Braxton Hicks, which are also becoming more intense there is no other early labor signs..... If you asked me, I would love for Baby Joshua to join us before Christmas or new year... but hey, it is not up to me to decide lol!

Now that we are safely into the 37th week, baby Joshua is theoretically ready to live in the real world without much complications. His lungs should be mature and ready to start breathing air without any aid being offered by hospital equipment. Now all we can do is wait until he decides to join us and make our family complete. According to most experts, baby Joshua is now about the size of a watermelon, one of my most favorite fruit during my pregnancy... I thought I would dramatize it a little with this picture often used by most baby websites to show the development of a baby at the 9 month of pregnancy......

I just got done with work on Friday, but I am onto doing my school finals next week and finishing my research for org research methods. Besides the fact that I have all these work to do plus regular household chores... and yes, getting my hospital bag ready,...I don't feel well enough or rather I do not have enough energy or motivation to do much, so I feel like I am just sitting around and procrastinating....not good.... Anyway, as far as this pregnancy goes, I'm ready (as ready as possible) to move on to the next phase, but again I have to remind myself it's not up to me.

Some quick statistics to share with you all, in the last weeks of pregnancy, the placenta changes to allow larger molecules to pass through. This means the baby starts getting maternal antibodies, giving the baby temporary immunity to diseases that the mother is immune to, in preparation for life outside the womb.  Lungs and other organs continue to mature. Hormonal changes in both the baby and the mother are working together to start labor. The baby is putting on about half a pound a week these days.....

So here is this weeks picture. Yes, I know.... the adding of pounds is unforgiving........ well, lets hope that my body will work with me to lose these pounds after baby Joshua is born.... Looks like the baby has dropped for sure :)

Thank you for reading and see you all next week!

Baby Shower....yay!

First, I would like to apologize to all of you that follow up with our progress on the blog for not posting our pregnancy progress of week 35. So much has been going on, I just got overwhelmed by school, work, and just being pregnant :( 

So we had our Baby Shower this past weekend. Jonathan's mother, together with family threw it for us and it was great! We were surrounded by family and friends. We played games, ate great food and we were graciously blessed with many presents for Baby Joshua. We feel so blessed to have so many people that love us and we know baby Joshua does feel blessed to be loved by so many already!!!! Thanks again to mom Debbie for hosting the shower and everyone who came and shared in baby Joshua's first shower!! We feel loved and blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives! I will post pictures from the shower at a later date.......

So here we are today less than one month before the arrival of baby Joshua. Today marks exactly 27 days before the arrival of our bundle of joy. I am both anxious and nervous about the days getting closer. Mostly I am happy that I will be relieved of all these discomforts that I am currently experiencing...

Of late I have been thinking more and more about labor.... just listening to people that are more than willing to share both their horror and wonderful stories about labor can be scary and comforting respectively. For me, I am decided on using an epidural. I do not think this will be a time to proof my heroics on withstanding pain. I know my pain tolerance is next to zero.

The other night I was sitting and thinking, I just couldn't put my mind around how truly miraculous being pregnant is. I kept thinking about how no matter what, your body knows how to grow this child, how in 9 months, the baby will come, whether you are ready or not and most amazingly that it takes 1 egg and 1 sperm of miniscule size, to create a human being. If this doesn't make you realize how amazing God is, I don't know what will.

Well, anyways, I'm getting larger by the day, and it's getting harder to get comfortable especially when rolling over in bed.... or sitting on the couch to watch TV. Here is this week's picture. 36 weeks and counting............... I just realized I had a picture taken during by niece Jill's birthday at about week 15 or 16. I thought it would be fun to compare it with this week's picture.

So here I am at about week 15 or 16.

And here I am at week 36.

Thank you for reading and see you all next week!

6 weeks left to meet Baby Joshua!

So as I sit here today, I can only think of one thing...HOW CAN I POSSIBLY GET ANY BIGGER AND UNCOMFORTABLE? However, many people have reminded me that I will indeed get larger and more uncomfortable over the next 6 weeks! The most notable change in my physical appearance is a notable weight shift known as "lightening or engagement". The baby is resting deeper in my pelvis making me feel like I am carrying a water melon in between my legs............ and yes, the result is I am officially 'waddling'!!! Not a very pleasant way of moving my weight around :( Besides this being very uncomfortable it makes me feel very impatient too about the next 6 weeks of waiting :( I wonder how many pregnant women start getting impatient around this time too???? Sometimes I wish we had a choice as to when our little ones can come into this world :) Just wishful thinking lol!!

My back has been killing me, I've gained 16 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, it takes a lot of effort to get up and down, put on socks, roll over in bed........... yes especially roll over in bed :), I have to sit down to put on pants and shoes and I can't stand on my feet for any period of time, but hey, we are surviving every step of this last leg of the journey. The pelvic pain especially is a lot worse this week. Once I get walking around, it's not so bad, but the first time I get up after sitting for a while or sleeping is kind of unbearable.

To help support my back and belly, Jonathan suggested we get a belly support. We picked one up from the mall over the weekend.... thanks honey! It works great............... I absolutely love it!

There have been a series of events in the last couple of weeks that have just reminded me how blessed we are to be pregnant. I know I say that a lot...but it's true. I think sometimes in between the moans and groans and complaints about weight gain, pains, and uncomfortable situations and things we deal with sometimes we forget to focus on the big picture, the miracle baby we have been blessed to carry and raise. How can I really complain when there are still people in the world dealing with infertility, miscarriages and probably harder struggles? While all these things in our pregnancy are real and not always pleasant, we have indeed been abundantly blessed no matter the circumstances to be able to have and care for a child that God created just for us. I am humbled by that fact and everyday I thank the Lord. I am indeed reminded daily that our God is bigger than everything...there is nothing too big for the God we serve.

So Jonathan did get this fancy Sony HD - SR11 camcorder..... it has been exciting playing around with it and one of the fun things that I absolutely love that he has done with it is capture our baby's movements with it. I know I keep saying the way he is such a kickboxing champion so far ..... well, I believe this short video is evidence enough of this claims lol :)

So here is this week's picture. I hope you can be able to see the weight shift. By the way, this weight shift has improved my breathing a little.

Thank you for reading and see you all next week!

33 Weeks, 7 more to go!

We are now 33 weeks, what a journey! It feels good just saying we only have 7 weeks to go to meet our bundle of joy.

Watching TV of late, there are so many commercials, programs, and talk shows talking about thanksgiving. Being Kenyan, we do not celebrate the thanksgiving holiday but I have adopted this holiday because I feel it really does give everyone, especially me, a special chance to kick back, relax with family, and actually think about what to be thankful for. That being said, I have my own list of what to be thankful for and I would like to share it with you in the spirit of this year's Thanksgiving Holiday. I know thanksgiving isn't till a couple of days from today but hey I already know what I am thankful for:)

So here goes, this year I am thankful for...

1. The baby that we have been blessed to have and especially for being able to carry him. He sure does nudges, rolls, and kicks that reassure, make me smile, and keep me company no matter where, when, and what I am going through.
2. Jonathan, for going through this journey with me every step of the way.
3. The struggles and joys that have taught me patience, appreciation, and humility on this journey.
4. The unconditional love and support of family (I really do miss the ones in Kenya so much! I really miss you Mama na Tata)
5. All my friends who have stood by me, you mean a lot to me!
6. The opportunity to say Thank You to family, friends, the strangers that opened doors for me, and most importantly to God for being with me on this incredible journey.
7. And I could go on and on...

I just realized I started doing this post when I was 23 weeks. In celebration of the 10 weeks I will post the belly picture at 23 weeks and the one at 33 weeks.... Interesting seeing how much I have grown in just 10 weeks. I am also 10 pounds heavier between the 10 weeks.

Here I am at 23 weeks

And, here I am at 33 weeks......

What a transformation of the human body in just 10 short weeks! Anyway, thanks for reading and see you all next week!

Only 8 Weeks to go :)

Another week completed :) We are 32 weeks pregnant today! WOW! What an accomplishment!

It is such an amazing feeling to know that I am carrying a miracle, created by God, made with the love Jonathan and I have for each other. The thought still overwhelms me! I am still throwing up, nosebleeding and all..... usually I throw up after I eat...it's like my belly gets too full and invades Little Joshua's space, so I get sick and then all is well! The kicking is getting overwhelmingly bigger and more noticeable every day. Sometimes it even tends to be quite painful. He loves to roll around and stick his arms, legs, butt (or maybe his head, we are not really sure) right next to my naval or as far into my right side as he can, oftentimes causing my belly to become lopsided!! haha! He loves to wake up around midnight, right when I really need to sleep and kick, kick, & kick. Even though I'm so tired, we love feeling him move and could sit for hours with my hands on my belly anticipating his next move! We just love him so much already.

This past week I’ve noticed a remarkable shift in my body. I’ve also noticed a remarkable increase in tiredness, breathing is getting harder, my rib (yes, just one special rib…the lower right one) is getting kicked quite a lot more now, and doing anything is pretty uncomfortable anymore. Walking is terrible… sitting is uncomfortable… and laying down is uncomfortable. Curling up in a ball with a pillow between my legs and another supporting my belly feels the best. Sleeping while in that position feels even better! So just imagine every time I get up to go to the bathroom (Which right now is at least = or > 3 times per night) I have to reposition these pillows...Oh, the Joy! :) But we keep reminding ourselves it's all worth it!

The exhaustion is coming more and more frequently too - even when I haven’t done anything lol! Once in a while, especially after eating, all of my energy will drain so fast that the only hope I have in recovering is laying down immediately and falling asleep.

Anyway, as the birth of our son gets closer, I tend to get more and more emotional. This past week I realized that there are so many poems and songs right now that are making me tear up. It's probably because they are talking about unborn babies and about the relationships between dads and sons. They are enough to make me cry like a 2 year old!! haha! So I thought I would share my favorite poem and song right now. I am not posting the whole song though ... just a snapshot to show you why I love it.

The poem I want to share with you is by Evangelina Sandoval and it is titled "Child of Mine"

Child Of Mine

Like the warmth of a loving hug, I feel you everyday.
Tossing and turning about you move every which way.

At first you were a tiny seed in my womb that grew more and more each day.
Now your Dad and I are anxious because we know that you are on your way.

We will wait ever so patiently to see your loving face,
For we know that it will be filled with wonderful loving grace.

You are our little miracle sent to us from up above.
God just knew that we would be the ones for you to love.

I thank the Lord for giving you to me,
for choosing us as your Mommy and Daddy to be.

I want you to know now loving child of mine,
That I will love you and hold you from now until the end of time.

The song I want to share with you is "Just the two of us" by Will Smith

From the first time the doctor placed you in my arms
I knew I'd meet death before I'd let you meet harm
Although questions arose in my mind, would I be man enough?
Against wrong, choose right and be standing up
From the hospital that first night
Took a hour just the get the car seat in right
People driving all fast, got me kinda upset
Got you home safe, placed you in your bassinet
That night I don't think one wink I slept
As I slipped out my bed, to your crib I crept
Touched your head gently, felt my heart melt
Cause I know I loved you more than life itself
Then to my knees, and I begged the Lord please
Let me be a good daddy, all he needs
Love, knowledge, discipline too
I pledge my life to you

Chorus:
Just the two of us, we can make it if we try
Just the two of us, (Just the two of us)....

......Wait an see gonna be tall
Makes me laugh cause you got your dads ears an all
Sometimes I wonder, what you gonna be
A General, a Doctor, maybe a MC
Haha, I wanna kiss you all the time
....I try to be a tough dad, but you be making me laugh
Crazy joy, when I see the eyes of my baby boy
I pledge to you, I will always do
Everything I can
Show you how to be a man
Dignity, integrity, honor an.......

So with all that...here is the picture for this week. My baby bump is definitely sticking out gosh, I am really so popped :) As always, I wonder how popped I will be at about 38 to 40 weeks :)

Thank you all for reading and see you next week!

31 Weeks, Yay!

We hit the 31 week mark today! Yay!  We’ve finally made it to the single digit week countdown. 9 weeks to go :) It sounds good to just know in about 9 weeks we get to meet our little boy!

According to the ideal baby development week by week progress, this week baby Joshua is now a little over 3 lbs and is compared to 4 oranges.  Like the teen years down the road, they say he’ll soon experience a big growth spurt (good luck for my ever stretching baby bump and back!).  Imagine a 5 lb bag of flour or sugar, they feel pretty heavy ha?  Baby Joshua only has a little more than a pound to gain before he’ll be as heavy as a 5 lb bag of sugar or flour.  Not to forget the weight of the uterus, placenta, increased body fluids... lol! Yet, strangely, sometimes I don’t feel like I’m carrying a heavy bag of sugar or flour in my belly.  It’s quite weird to think of it that way I suppose but sometimes the realism of something is when you compare it to something that you can easily relate to. Sometimes Jonathan holds my belly in his arms...... lol you can feel the difference as soon as he lets go.... I wish there was a way he can help me carry the belly most of the time :)

Baby Joshua's movements are very frequent and strong now - sometimes I think of him as our little Kickboxing champion fighter.  At times it even feels like he’s invited some of his friends over for a tournament! It is just not possible to imagine one little baby being pretty much everywhere in your belly at the same time :)

He has had the famous braxton hiccups. They are not regular but they can be very uncomfortable :( He had the hiccups today again. This time they were concentrated just above my left hipbone.   It’s very awkward to feel the hiccups because at times I have the inclination to want to hold my own breath or drink water.  Unfortunately that does little to remedy the situation. :(

Just the other day I was laying down to rest after a long day at work. I was thinking how life being pregnant just changes everything about the human body. Certain things about being pregnant just completely boggle my mind.  I currently have 2 of everything…. two heads, two hearts, two livers, two spinal cords.  Then I have 4 arms and 4 legs.  Everything is coexisting right here in my body, and my “bigger heart” and “bigger organs” are sustaining life to the littler ones.  It’s quite mind blowing if you let yourself think upon it too long.

We received our little boy's bassinet and Jonathan got straight to work on it. He put it all together and it looks beautiful! Thanks honey! I am sure baby Joshua will love his new hung out :) I took some pictures to share with our little boy when he grows up.... I am sure he will appreciate his daddy's work :) Here is one of the pictures of Jonathan putting together the bassinet.

From my last doctors visit I have added one more pound :) As you can see from this week's picture, my baby bump is growing bigger every week. I still have to add at least one or half a pound every week!

Thank you for reading and see you all next week!

30 Weeks! Gosh, how days fly by.......

I can't believe that as of today, we are 30 weeks pregnant!! I remember how excited we were at 10 weeks, then 20 weeks, but now that we are 30 weeks, it is kind of crazy how these days have flown by. That means that we only have 10 weeks left, or 70 days! Wow, talk about a lot of reality starting to set in.

Jonathan and I get more excited every day as we anticipate the arrival of our little boy. Who will he look like? How big will he be? When will he be born..... You know they always say due dates given by your obgyn are just estimates... he could decide to come anytime from two weeks earlier or after the predicted due date..... Will he have hair on his head at birth? What color will his eyes be? These and more are questions we tend to ponder more and more about these days as the time gets nearer. No matter the answer to any of these questions, we realize that in approximately 10 weeks we will be blessed with the creation that God has created especially for us! Isn't that an amazing feeling?

Fatigue and nausea are still my not so friendly friends at the moment, I can't seem to get enough sleep. I think that our little one is trying to tell me to rest a lot more than I normally would. Sometimes getting home from work or school I feel like there are things that need doing for the day and then to get dinner ready. In reality a lot of these things are essential but I end up laying down and getting up becomes nearly impossible. Most of the time as I lay quietly baby Joshua decides to show us his latest kickboxing routines! Wow! I have never seen my belly move so much! He rolls and kicks all over the place :) some of his rolls and kicks literally take my breathe away! We just can't help but laugh and smile:) Indeed he is a little wonder in there, a miracle of creation, a gift from God, here for a reason and a purpose. So far it seems that little Joshua's sole purpose is to make Jonathan and I smile and stare in awe! To make us ponder about our lives and the choices we're making now, that will affect his and our future.

Exciting news!!!! Yesterday we purchased baby Joshua's bassinet. We both loved this bassinet because of the features that it has and just its general look. Here is a picture of it. Just looking at it brings a lot of reality that soon our little boy that we have come to love so much will be sleeping in it..... We will create lots of memories on or around it....... I can't wait........ lol.. I wonder how parents before us were able to keep in check their excitement and anxiety of waiting especially in these last weeks!

As usual, I have added a couple of pounds in the last week and the result has been a bigger baby bump. I have grown close to a centimeter from my last post. Here is this week's picture. My fundal height is now about 30cm which is an appropriate height for my pregnancy progress. Sometimes I wonder how big I will be when I get to about 37 or 38 weeks :) as they say, you add about a centimeter each week!

 

Thank you all for reading and see you next week!

Knitting and Crocheting for baby Joshua

I have done the post late this week :( As the days have been steadily progressing, I have been so fatigued and nauseated, having a lot to do for school assignments as the semester gains momentum and the result has been for me yearning rest almost every waking moment.

So here we are 29 weeks pregnant and still counting. The Lord has been good to us. My vitals have been good and Baby Joshua has been very active, he has a steady heartbeat of about 150 beats per minute which the obgyn said was excellent. His kicks are getting more and more stronger and very visible from the outside. Sometimes you can think it is an active volcano in the belly just waiting to erupt.. lol! I think baby Joshua can enroll in a kickboxing contest already :o)

According to my last prenatal appointment last week I have added 8 pounds so far from my pre pregnancy weight... in the weeks ahead I need to add an average of about 1/2 to one pound a week....We can't wait to meet this little bundle of joy we have come to love so much. I just love the way Jonathan talks to him.. it is so sweet :) I love the bonding.. I think this is what I will definitely miss about my pregnancy:( 

In the last week I went for my 1 hour glucose tolerance test to see if I have gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a special type of diabetes that 5% of pregnant women develop, somewhere around the 28th week of pregnancy. Although it is not the same disease as regular type 1 or type 2 diabetes, it involves much of the same symptoms - and puts post-pregnant women at a higher risk of developing type 2 later in life. Because it is “gestational” only pregnant women develop this type of diabetes, and it usually disappears after the placenta is delivered during the last stage of labor. If uncontrolled, gestational diabetes can put the woman and unborn baby at severe risk - from unhealthy fetal weight gain (a “too large baby”) to preeclampsia (where the mother’s blood pressure shoots too high and early delivery is the only cure).

I have also been busy this week doing something for our little miracle. When I was a little girl, my Mama always knitted and crocheted sweaters, scarfs, hats, skirts e.t.c... I always loved the stuff she made for us so much! So, when I was old enough, my Mama showed me how to knit, crochet and saw using a sewing machine. At the time I was learning how to do this stuff, I would make little ones for my dolls and I promised myself that someday I would lovingly do the same for my child... so it came as no surprise when I got the bug to knit and crochet something special for our little miracle. So we went over to Michaels with Jonathan and picked yarn, knitting, and crocheting stuff and got down to work..... So far I have done about 3/4 of the blanket for baby Joshua and I am working on the sweater. I will also knit little socks and a hat for him :) I hope when he grows up he will appreciate Mama's love and effort in making something special for him before he was born :)

Here is a picture of the "blanket in progress" :) I will post pictures of the completed stuff when they are all done (hopefully before baby Joshua joins us :)

Because my other top is now too small I will be taking my regular baby bump weekly pictures in this new top! Lol...... my baby bump is literary getting bigger every day!

We want to thank all of you who have been very supportive to us. Thank you for your unwavering support and prayers. Please still keep Jonathan, me and baby Joshua in your prayers.

Thank you for reading and see you all next week!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Today was Jonathan's B/day..... It was great hanging out with family just enjoying one another's company and eating lots of cake and pizza!!!!! My cravings have been for sweet things.. so  you can imagine... I was in my little heaven.. I loved the cake but there is only so much my body can take.... Thanks grandpa, grandma, and auntie Cindy.. It was wonderful having you over for Jonathan's B/day :) We also want to thank the rest of the family for the cards, gifts, the phone calls, and emails to wish Jonathan a wonderful b/day.

Oh, I have to share this with you .... Jonathan's grandma was so hilarious while visiting... she took one of baby Joshua's new outfits and went over to baby Joshua's pictures posted on the fridge to ask if he likes the new outfit he got ... I thought that was so cute.... I had to take a picture :) Oh well, I do not know if baby Joshua said yes or no but it was so cute altogether :)

Below is a picture of Auntie Cindy, Grandpa, Grandma, and Jonathan (I love this picture! What were you doing honey?????? It is funny.... You always make me laugh:) It was a joy spending Jonathan's B/day with you all!)

I can't wait to celebrate these important days together with baby Joshua.. Jonathan's mum sent him such a wonderful gift that I have to share with you! The gift actually brought tears to my eyes the first time I saw it...... a cute jump suit that reads, "mommy's little guy"! How befitting.. well honey I know it is your b/day but hey I will take pride in the gift..... I hope you don't mind :) I took a picture to share with all of you. Isn't it cute..?????

Well, another week has gone by and we now have exactly 83 days to the arrival of baby Joshua. I am steadily adding on the pounds,  and in return slowly saying goodbye (at least for now) to most of my pre-pregnancy clothes. It is amazing that I am still wearing some of my pre-pregnancy jeans, well, some tops and dresses too :) Not for long though.

With the days steadily progressing, I have been fatigued more than usual, experienced steady morning sickness, and yes.. the break outs on my face have not had mercy either. To lift my spirits, Jonathan surprised me with a day at the salon to have my hair done. That certainly worked in lifting my spirits.. every girl knows how important it is to look good.... especially when pregnant.. so you be the judge.. I got my hair done and I think it makes me look and feel fantastic. Thanks Honey!!!!!!

 

Here is this week's picture.....

I have lost my naval.. My linea nigra line is very prominent too.... As I always say, it is amazing how the body changes to accommodate the stages we go through in our lives.

Thanks everyone and see you all next week!

90 days to go!

Our Little Miracle's arrival is quickly nearing...  About three more months to be exact. It's all becoming so incredibly real! He's getting so big that I can feel his little appendages when he moves...an arm, a leg, .....even his head..etc. Joshua's movements have also become more and more consistent and so much more visible from the outside... This morning he had the BIG STRETCH (I think he was laying sideways at the time :) and his little hands poked out the left side of my belly while his feet poked out the right! It was hilarious! That actually woke me up:) Can't wait to meet this little boy that we already love SO much! Not long now. The days are just flying by...

Well, we are now full swing into the 3rd trimester and everything is happening so fast. So far, there are only two things I do not like: the break outs on my face and the return of the occasional morning sickness. I never thought that at this point I would still be experiencing nausea. This past week has been crazy though. I have had to visit the bathroom a couple of times because of the morning sickness. I guess this is something that is here to stay until baby Joshua is born. As for the breakouts on my face..... I am helpless for now.. :( All I can do is cleanse my face regularly and wait till the hormonal surge evens off. Despite all these side effects....... I can only say thanks that we have been blessed to have our little miracle. These little sacrifices are temporary and they will pass but Joshua will be a lifelong blessing!

This week is a landmark in our lives too because Jonathan will be celebrating his birthday on the 12th!! Happy (early) birthday honey!!!! Can you imagine that during your next birthday, Joshua will be with us... I can't wait till he can sing to you .... happy b/day.. preferably in Ekegusii or Swahili... that will be fun :) We love you and pray that the year you have ahead will be filled with joyous times and you will tackle the challenges it brings with grace and victory! I just have to mention this..... In the coming year, you will be celebrating your first Father's day too :)

Ok, after all the excitement about Jonathan's landmark celebration.... here is this week's picture. I have not weighed myself but I can feel the pounds adding on............I am trying to eat healthy now that my appetite is back in a big way :)

Thanks everyone and see you all next week :)

Under 100 days to go.......

So we have made the big anticipated leap and have under 100 days until the arrival of baby Joshua! YAY!! It's hard to fathom that in 98 days we get to meet "our little miracle". Jonathan and I want to say Thank you to all of you that prayed for us this past week. Thank you for the phone calls too :) The Lord is amazing and has blessed us with serenity and peace this past week. Thank the Lord!

Well, the third trimester is fast beckoning..... I can't believe that we are almost 2/3 of the way done!! Baby Joshua has certainly improved his sense of hearing. Sometimes when the dad talks or laughs, he jerks in his cozy home. I think he now recognizes our voices for sure... I think that is so cool. His sleeping patterns are also becoming very regular. Looks like he is going to be keeping us awake in the  middle of the night. He is always awake and playing around midnight! His kicks are also getting much stronger :)..... a good sign that he is growing and getting stronger everyday :)

So here is this week's picture. My top is getting shorter everyday..... Ha ha! I think I should have said, my baby bump is getting bigger everyday :)

Thanks for reading and please still keep Jonathan, baby Joshua and me in your prayers.

See you all next week!

Moving right along -------- 24 weeks and 6 days!

So here I am sitting and pondering the fact that in about 15 weeks or so we will be holding our precious baby boy. Isn't that amazing! We just feel so blessed every time we think about those things. Well, we are moving right along and the baby is doing great. He is measuring right on track and all my vitals are good. It was amazing, last night while I was watching TV I looked down and could see him moving (not like a foot popping out, but the skin would bump out for a second) it was awesome to actually "See" him move.

It has been a roller coaster of events since the last post. School has picked up momentum and work is very busy during this time of year.

Jonathan's mum was in town and she invited us over to visit with Jonathan's grandparents. It was fantastic hanging out with family. Being so far away from my side of the family, experiences like these always make me feel so much better :) We had so much fun together just enjoying one another's company and talking about how the new year will change because of the arrival of "our little miracle". Here is a picture of Jonathan and me at his grandparents home. Yes, I did get a chance to wear my ethnic outfit ..............:) Very colorful and with a lot of room for the ever growing belly :)

We have been talking and thinking about baby names for our little miracle for a while now...... and yes we have agreed on one name so far, "Joshua" :)..... We love the name Joshua but for me and my side of the family it has a lot of sentimental attachment. My loving late brother was named, Joshua. It is such an honor to me and my family that we will have the memory of our brother live on in the naming of "our little miracle". Thank you Jonathan :) The name Joshua is of Hebrew origin and it means, "God is my salvation, Jehova saves". This is such a beautiful meaning that has a lot of relevance to our lives.

Have you ever received any bloodcurdling phone call........? Monday was my day of receiving the second most bloodcurdling phone call ever. The first being about the death of my brother. So, this is what happened on Monday: I get a call from the clinic where Jonathan and I go for our prenatal care. Turns out the genetics blood test results for the baby were out and they wanted us to go to the clinic to visit with the genetics counselor. Apparently, we are at a high risk of having a baby with a genetic problem. According to the results, we have a 1:61 chance to have a baby with down syndrome.......... Please pray for Jonathan and me that baby Joshua will be ok.

Anyway, we did go to the hospital on Tuesday to do a detailed ultrasound to check for any signs that might indicate that baby Joshua might have down syndrome. Apparently, every couple has a chance of getting a baby with a genetic problem but chances vary from couple to couple. Because of these variations, obgyns prefer to do a diagnostic test known as amniocentesis to diagnose for sure if there is indeed a chance of the baby having down syndrome. The genetics counselor shared our results and she described baby Joshua as being at risk and if we wanted to know for sure if he was positive or negative for down syndrome, we needed to do the amniocentesis. We discussed this issue with Jonathan and agreed for now not to do this test. The test has several risks because it is an invasive test. If you want to read more about the test and why it is done for expectant mothers you can check out this link that I found very helpful. http://www.babycenter.com/0_amniocentesis_327.bc

However, before an amniocentesis is done, an extensive ultrasound is done to check for markers of down syndrome. Our ultrasound results showed that baby Joshua is perfectly fine. Here is a glimpse of what we got to see on the 4D Ultrasound scan. Isn't he gorgeous? We think his left eye was itchy at the time the ultrasound was being done............see how in all these slides he is rubbing or picking at his left eye...... we wonder what was bothering him with his left eye.......... I think this is about the time when babies open their eyes for the first time.... maybe that is what was happening... some questions you wish you had answers for :( ...... we wish there was a way we can help him rub that itch away but I guess we have to wait for another 15 weeks or so to do that.............. He seems to be at peace in his cozy little environment.......

     

Baby Joshua has his first "fridge posting"! Yay! ....... Yes, after getting the 4D ultrasound print outs we could not resist putting them together and posting them on our fridge :) I thought I should share that with you. It is so cute looking at him every time you go by the fridge......  Anyway, this is baby Joshua's first fridge picture posting:

Lastly, here is a picture of my baby bump at 24 weeks and 6 days. This time Jonathan took the picture... thanks honey! I have gained 6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. The baby bump definitely is starting to look much more sharper and getting in the way of doing some simple household chores :) I am definitely starting to loose my normally "inny" naval. It is so flat these days, I have a feeling soon baby Joshua is going to need some more room and my naval will completely pop out to give more sleeping and playing room :)

 

Once again, we would like to say thank you to both our families and friends for the prayers they have said on our behalf :) God Bless you all! Let us all stay true to our Lord His love is steadfast.

Thanks for reading and see you all next week!

At Last............. :)

I have been toying with the idea of blogging for a while now. My boyfriend has been encouraging me to do this and yes it did take me a while to get down to doing it but hey today with my boyfriend's help I have set up a blog and this is my first post. As they say, better late than never!

God has blessed us beyond what I ever could have expected especially at this point in my life. Well, since word travels fast, I thought it would be best if it came from Jonathan and me if you already did not know! :) Jonathan and I have been blessed with the privilege of expecting our baby on January 4th, 2009. With simple math using the due date calculator you can tell that we are well into our pregnancy, to be precise, we are 23 weeks and 6 days today!

 

Lol that is a long way from that May 5th, 2008 day I found out that we were expecting our baby. By the way you can easily calculate due dates using this due date calculator: http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/923526833.html I find it very helpful in determining milestones like, conception date, end of first trimester, second trimester and so on........

There is so much that has happened since we first found out about 'our little miracle' but I will try and sum it up in a couple of bullet points below. Hopefully in the future I will faithfully keep you updated on a weekly basis how we are fairing (with pictures too :)   ......

1. We found out we were expecting a baby on May 5th, 2008. Looking at the pregnancy test kit and seeing a + sign was an experience that I do not think I will ever experience again. I love my boyfriend and sharing the news with him was the best thing ever. We have embraced "our little miracle" though unplanned with open arms. The Lord has been great and we do say a little prayer everyday asking that He gives us serenity and good health in our journey of being parents for the first time.
2. Our first three months of pregnancy were tough :( Morning sickness kicked in right away and keeping anything down was a struggle :( The bathroom became a very close acquaintance because of the many visits I made in there. Thankfully this problem subsided at about week 18. Occasionally, I do have morning sickness bouts but they are not as bad as they were initially.
3. We have felt him move!!!!! The first time I felt the quickening, we were at a baseball game with Jonathan. They were like little butterfly flutters. It was wonderful..... At week 23 the movements are visible from the outside and boy, he can move around a lot! I guess he can't wait to get out and play with us...... 
4. We found out the sex of Our Little Miracle on August 15th 2008. So, it is no longer a secret............ it is a Boy!!!! :) It was a joy seeing the little one move around in his little cozy environment. He did summersaults and cartwheels making it pretty easy for the Ultrasound technician to determine his sex. So here is our very first glimpse of "our little miracle"! Isn't he amazing! he is waving at you.... come on, you gotta love that.... You better wave back.........

   

So to start off with the pictures... here is a picture of me at Week 23. I will try and take pictures with the same outfit so it will be easy to track our progress.

 

 

The baby bump is very obvious here.............. It is amazing how the human body can accommodate changes that come with experiences like being expectant!

 

We have our next appointment with the Obygyn on September 16th. Thereafter, we will be going for our second ultrasound... We can't wait for a glimpse of 'our little miracle' one more time. Will let you all know how that goes.

 

We want to say thanks to both our families and friends both in Kenya and the US. We appreciate all the prayers you said on our behalf, the emails, phone calls, and visits. God bless you all for your undying love and support.

See you all next week!