I totally forgot that I never came back here to update this blog when the baby arrived!!!! Forgive me for anyone who was following along all 9 months and then I seemed to drop off the face of the earth!
the NEW blog is here! with tons of great pictures of our miracle 
http://littleblessingfromgod.blogspot.com
see you over there!
We thought we’d be delivering on Friday but it wasn’t quite time yet. Here’s what went down that day:
i arrived and they decide to repeat the same tests : blood pressure check, urine check for protein and blood work. I lay on my left side the entire time and my bp is 117/45 – 134/48 – totally normal and GREAT.
My protein check came back FINE. so did the platelette check from the bloodwork.
so they are sending me home. We celebrate with a goofy photo of me in the L&D.
Strict bedrest for the next two days AGAIN. On sunday at 8am I start ANOTHER 24 hour urine collection. On Monday I turn it into my OB and wait.
Based on those tests they’ll decide what’s next.
Looks like we’re on a 2day wait and see cycle now which may repeat itself a few more times until they decide its time. Baby boy himself is doing great, but mama is gonna end up going crazy thinking today is the day when its not! lol I AM however happy that he’s going to be in there into his 37th week as everyday gives him a better chance of not being in NICU. Ray is staying home with me the next two days to make sure that I am in bed as much as possible and don’t have to get up to cook something for myself.
PS. I’m sorry if we don’t get to take/respond to your phone calls/emails during all of this..as you can imagine we are focused on one thing only at this time and that’s getting him here safely.
Saturday update:
We are being bombarded with phone calls & emails from family, friends and clients who are worried about bambino and I, so I decide its probably best to put updates on Myspace, the biz blog and here to keep everyone up to date. so below is the blog that puts a name to whats going on.
After many phone calls, emails, doctor & hospital visits we have a diagnosis : preeclampsia.
As you can see, this is potentially a life threatening condition for both mom and baby so we are being monitored very closely. The doctors have stressed it can be rapidly progressive and make a turn for the worse without warning. Because of this, we are asking for continued prayer and apologize if we are unable to return everyone’s emails and phone calls. We feel so blessed to know so many people are praying for us and supporting us to alleviate undue stress. It’s during times like these that you can wholeheartedly recognize what it means to be loved.
A special thanks to our clients who understand the severity of our situation – we cannot express how thankful we are for your patience and consideration during such an unpredictable time. * I won’t even get into specific details but we actually have someone who’s giving us hell because I’m not “actually delivering today” and Ray is taking care of me instead of shooting the event even though we have hired someone to replace us. 
* Yes, people like that do exist in this world. Sad eh.
Another Saturday evening update : My best friend offers to come stay with me while Ray goes to shoot the event for a few hours. Many have said that its insane for him to even worry about this clients needs, especially since we HAVE legally fulfilled our contract by hiring someone to replace us both, but the last thing I need is some inconsiderate client breathing down my neck and being even more unreasonable after baby boy comes. Some things just arent worth it and since we found a way to allow him to go , he did. Make no mistake though – I’m not dealing with this client and her event in any way until my return from leave on Jan 17th. Considering the fact that I’m trying to control a pregnancy condition that can be potentially fatal to myself and our child, I think we have MORE than accomodated her by allowing my husband to be at HER side instead of mine.
As you know, we are getting closer to welcoming our new bundle of joy. Ray and I have decided that it’s important to rest up as much as we can and we’re kindly asking for no visits during our hospital stay. You are all special to us and we can’t wait to share him with you in the comforts of our home. For all of our online family, we have not forgotten about you and we’ll be sure to post up photos as soon as we can.
Thank you all for your support and prayers. We love you!!! 
Here are the events as they unfolded:
I called the dr. office to describe my symptoms of itching and they asked me to come in. I arrived and they took my BP and it was elevated even more than last week – 154/88. He did a u/s to check the amniotic fluid levels and they were normal and my cervix was not doing anything. I described the itch to my OB and without even having to ask him if he thought it was cholestitis, he decided to send me to the L&D to have a fetal stress test and to get my liver functions checked for just that. WHEW.
At the hospital, they did the fetal stress tests and everything was great. Baby boy is doing fine, but my BP was still elevated after several hours. My lab results for my liver function were normal too, but here are the dr. instructions:
-bedrest for the next two days until my next dr. appt on thursday
-urine collection for the next 24hrs which we have to take to a lab for testing
-at my dr. appt on thursday depending on my bp and the results of the urine test, i may be induced this week or next, but the nurse said its VERY unlikely he’ll let me go to 38wks.
So yes, I”m in shock right now trying to absorb this sudden turn of events. We may be having a baby wayyyy sooner , not because he’s ready but because my freakin BP decided to shoot up suddenly the last week. I may be induced this weekend or next.
ok..i need to eat something. DH just got home so I need to sit down and discuss all of this with him.
wow….someone hold me.
Today we’re going to be shooting a quinceanera so there won’t be any new updates for a while (cuz i’ll be pooooooooooooooped) but here are some new pics marking 30wks. I love having a tripod and self timer, but i REALLY want a remote..it would make this so much easier than running back and forth! lol
Smokey isn’t so sure about this bump…
daydreaming of his arrival!
i can still see my feet!
Braxton Hicks contractions may intermittently become rhythmic, relatively close together, and even painful, possibly fooling you into thinking you’re in labor. But unlike true labor, during this so-called false labor the contractions don’t grow consistently longer, stronger, and closer together.
I was starting to chalk up the pains I started having yesterday afternoon to BH until the symptoms broke all the rules listed above. The contractions grew longer, stronger and on top of each other…at one point 3 minutes apart and at least 4-5 minutes in length. Yup, these weren’t BH but real contractions.
It started off with lower back pain, which I’m used to but then progressed to the same sciatica pain I experienced two weeks ago. I changed positions in my chair at work, looking absolutely ridiculous in my attempts to find something that worked but instead found myself going to my car to lay out on my side. After a good while, I felt enough relief to return to my desk and I thought the worst was over. Wrong.
Suddenly I felt the stabbing sciatica pain making its way across my abdomen. At the time my friend Kim and I were chatting and she being a momma already was asking me questions about my symptoms. She grew increasingly concerned when my descriptions started sounding more like contractions. I heeded her warning and told her I’d call my dr. once I returned from the ladies room. Well, I didn’t make it back. Once in there, I called Ray from my cell (which I took w/ me in case I needed help and my instincts paid off) and explained that the pain had just really intensified. A woman in the ladies room heard the conversation and witnessed my sudden doubling over when the first hard contraction hit. Thank goodness she knew another agent on the floor who was a nurse and called her over. Of course, she asks me how far along I am and if I”m having contractions. Well, being my first I haven’t a clue how to differentiate between a real contraction and BH so I told her I didn’t know, but my stomach was now like a rock. She started timing them for me. Sure enough, stronger, harder and close together and NOT letting up.
Ah yes, nothing like having contractions and a whole company gets to watch it unfold (by this time I was seated on a chair in a hallway as they called the on-site personel, my manager, my boss, the ER, my husband..you name it. You’d have thought that the babies head was coming out with the amount of people surrounding me. All I could do was just silently breathe thru each one. I must say I’m pretty proud that I wasn’t one of those women who wails at the first sign of pain (that happened last week during my ER visit- lol – I got that out of my system for now).
Nothing more private than being wheeled off in a stretcher by EMS all thru the halls of work! Lovely. After arriving at the ER I”m hooked up and they have a difficult time finding his heartbeat. I had felt him moving the whole time but now I”m starting to worry because maybe it was the contractions making me think he was when in reality he wasn’t. Quick prayer. Within a few minutes another nurse came in and she found him position very low with his lil heart beating away steadily. Prayer answered.
I turn over to read the output on the machine – his heartbeat is great and there they are…one by one those stinking contractions showing up on that piece of paper. They were real. Argh. I knew what was next. Another attempt at a fetal fibronectin test (which was not completed last time because the ER nurse had the hands and talent of Shrek), another cervix check, another ultrasound and oh yea, another damn catheter to get a urine sample. Don’t even ask me why I think the catheter is the worst of all when I know the fetal test is by far the one that’s most extreme at this point. Thank god this nurse had the talent, patience and empathy for my past experience – she was able to do all tests without me screaming in pain like last time.
My OB was there to monitor and also administer a few of the test including the u/s to check my cervix. He stated he was looking for at least 3.5 cervix length which is what most women have at this stage of pregnancy. Mine was overachieving at 3.9. YAY! No sign that its thinning out at all. But we were able to see a contraction happening right at that moment and baby boy was moving around right with it.
I ended up being there for almost 3 hours and when all tests came back it was determined that I was dehydrated. That came as a shock since I feel like I drink SOOOO much water, but apparently not enough anymore. I definitely clear 8 glasses of water before 3pm on any given day. Dehydration can cause braxton hicks, but again..this wasn’t BH however I’m going to increase my fluids anyway.
Once again , it was determined I’m not in pre-term and it was possible that I was not only experiencing contractions but severe sciatica pain on top of that making them even worse. Ah, what fun the third trimester brings. And what scares! Deep down I didn’t think I was in pre-term as I felt no pressure way low, but everything I’ve read says 4 or more contractions in 1 hour is enough to contact the Dr.
I beat that count within 15 minutes!
Today we’re home. Relaxing and I’m feeling completely beat up. The experience was once again unpleasant, but it’s all worth it when I know at the end of this road is a handsome baby boy. But he’s soooo grounded if he doesn’t get off my sciatica!
Exhaustion. It’s back. I can’t remember the last time ..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Oh wait sorry..what was I saying? Oh yea…EXHAUSTION. It’s here, I don’t like it..I GUESS I’ll get used to it. My goodness, talk about TIRED. I’m the perfect example of a pregnant woman at wk 28.
You may find a massage very helpful around 28 weeks pregnant. A massage can help alleviate some of the lower back pain and leg cramps you may be experiencing due to your increasing girth. Other women start experiencing some mild swelling or itching around this time which surprisingly massage can also help.
Now, I’ve been blessed where nausea hasn’t been an issue , but now that my stomach is in my throat I’m definitely needing to be a little more cautious about what I eat. Anything with tomatoes is a no-go. That rules out anything spicy too. Forget Bertollini meals..they almost kill me EACH time. Never send a pregnant woman to shop for groceries because she’s still likely to buy things that are bad for her. I feel kinda ill just thinking about it. ‘Scuse me.
This cartoon should be there other way around (cuz Ray’s the cook)
Last night after coming home from hosting Amanda’s baby shower I came home beyond exhausted. (see the theme here). anyhow,baby boy had his foot well positioned in my nether regions and he was giving me some great kung fu kicks.
Ray wakes up this morning saying he had the most interesting dream where he could actually reach inside and feel the babies foot. DOH. He said he was completely fascinated by him and could even see his little face. AWWWW. I can’t wait to touch mijo myself!
For those who don’t live near us but would like to see our registry, you can access them both online at :
www.target.com and www.babiesrus.com
They’re under : (registrant) Erica (M.) Hernandez and (co-registrant) Ray Hernandez
* its important and if you search for Ray, you search for him as a “co-registrant” otherwise you may not find the reigstry.
We’re in Kyle, so there are listings for other Erica’s in Austin but that’s not us Our due date is 11/30 so that’s another way to confirm you’re looking at the right registry.
The website will also show you that alot of the nursery decor items are “online only” (that’s a bummer and pain, I know) but for whatever reason Target decided to not carry them in store. Don’t they realize how much fun it is to touch this stuff in person?! hehe.
Ray was pretty proud that he put the crib together in just under an hour. Afterall, everything we’ve read and been told had us worried it would take NASA to set it up. Its perfect. Exactly what I wanted for my baby even before baby came to be. This nursery has honestly been the first room in the house where the planning of it couldn’t be going smoother (knock on wood). I normally am so indecisive on colors, layouts , etc. but one day I walked in that room and said “this will go here, crib there, armoire there” and in my mind it all fell into place.
I love how this looks now and it’s not even dressed up with the bedding yet. The armoire goes in with the help of a neighbor who can assist Ray in moving it in. Solid wood furniture isn’t lightweight and I”m definitely worthless right now in the moving department. But I can make up for it with shopping and decorating :p
The furniture is from the Babi Italia Pinehurst Collection in espresso.
Because I”m using this journal to also document my journey towards motherhood, I’m going to write up the events of last night.
Around 7pm I started feeling symptoms of a UTI, but thought perhaps the time had come where he weighs enough that he’s constantly pushing on my bladder thus giving me the signal that I have to tinkle. But then I started feeling dull aches similar to a menstrual cycle and after a 3 hour nap woke up to a horrible radiating pain/cramp that only affected the 1/2 half of my torso. Literally from my spine , across the right and stopped at my navel. Baby boy wasn’t moving and I felt my uterus tense up. Naturally, I became worried after moving about 30 minutes and he wasn’t. My next door neighbor came over, who’s a nurse and checked my BP for me while I took a few minutes on the phone talking to my best friend who went thru a checklist with me of symptoms. Ray was trying to get ahold of the on-call Dr. and that is a whole story in itself but ultimately after 1 hour of constant pain we opted to go to the ER. It was midnight by then.
So there we go, in the car taking the drive into Austin. I thought to myself “this is what the drive will be like when I”m in labor, but 10x worse.” Thankfully we got there in under 30 minutes. I’m rolled up to the L&D and they strap me up to get the baby monitored. There is that sweet sound. 155 bpm. Normal. And now he hears the sounds of his own heartbeat and starts to kick and kick. The nurse tells me she must give me an exam to see if my cervix is dilated to determine pre-term labor. Oh and a catheter to see if I have a UTI. Someone shoot me. I HATE catheters. I’d rather be stung by bees.
Well after many attempts and failures nurse #1 is unable to reach my cervix and calls in another who after much searching determines that its way back and very closed. No pre-term labor. Thank God. Catheter is done in a matter of 15 seconds, but again give me bee stings anyway. UGH. Ray held my hand thru the entire ordeal talking to me and distracting me from the immense pain I was under. If I had any second thoughts of having an epidural they’re now officially squashed. I WILL have one. If they’d let me have two I”d take both.
They kept me in the L&D for 2 hours for monitoring all the while baby boy can’t sleep because of the monitor loudly echoing his heartbeat. I nap here and there and Ray’s trying to catch some z’s too , but everytime baby boy kicks the sound is so loud it wakes us both. So , the results. No UTI, no preterm labor, no infections. They don’t know what it was. Great. They advise me to call the on-call Dr. tomorrow (today) after 9am because “she’s probably asleep tonight and that’s why she’s not answering.” Don’t EVEN get me started on how I felt about that. Must be nice. We get home around 4am, woke up today at noon and all I want is bbq and a backrup.
I”m grateful that he’s ok, that it may have been a ligament stretching or just some crazy cramp or pinched nerve. but what a scary night it was there for a while. Just writing it out has made me tired again.
Just wanted to share some pics of the painted nursery. I love the colors and can only begin to imagine all the fun he’s going to have here! Isn’t it so perfect?!
This changing table has been in this room when it was an office to hold supplies, but we haven’t decided whether to refinish it or not.
it was hard work but worth it…two days later here are the fine results of being on my feet so long that day
ah yes..the sexy swollen ankles and toes that come along with pregnancy.
