Just more pictures

So, not much has been going on around here except a whole lot of baby feeding and diaper changing. Our little guy is growing so fast. He's still kind of long and skinny, but hopefully he'll start filling out pretty soon. :) It's really cool to see him start to notice things a little more and to see his eyes open up so wide when he's awake. Anyway, here are a few more pics of little Ever...

Our New Little Life

Ever is a week old today, and I feel like time is going by way too fast already. He is quite the eater, sleeper, and diaper messer and although the nights are pretty rough because he wakes up so often to eat, we are both loving our new life as parents.

I just wanted to post some pictures of him....seems that's all we're taking pictures of now....so everyone back home and elsewhere can see how adorable he is! Everyone seems to agree that he looks a lot like Dimas. He does have my hair color and texture though...it's a really nice dark chestnut brown. His eyes still look dark grey. I'm pretty convinced they're going to be brown but we'll see! We love you all and can't wait until Ever gets to meet all of his family and friends. :)

A Few more pics

Immediately after Ever was born. Crystal and her mom, Luz. Doesn't Crystal looked relieved?

*Note from the future* - I had to delete a couple of these pics due to my wonderful husband posting ACTUAL PICTURES OF MY BOOBS ON THE INTERNET.....!!! While it is nice to have some personal pics of Ever's first breast-feeding session, I, ummmm....don't like them on the interwebs.  You are forgiven, Dimas.  However, my mom looks so pretty here.  I look like a scary horror film scene, but my mom's prettiness wins.  This one can stay. :)

Ever Dimas Garcia

Here he is! All 7 pounds 2 ounces of him! 19 inches long and a big ol' 13.75 inch head! He's perfect and very calm right now, he's just kinda lookin around at stuff, trying to figure out where he just woke up. I'll upload more pics later. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers that everyone sent our way, we really appreciate it and I'm sure they helped. Crystal never got any pain meds and she just won the Birthday Super Bowl, what a warrior. She was joking throughout the thing, and smiling in between the contractions! We'll be out of here on Friday, as they said that she'll be good to go by then since her's was a natural birth. Again, thanks everybody and Happy Birthday Ever!
p.s. I cut the umibilical cord...wtf?!

Geez, ridiculous

Poor crystal, she just got finished with an hour-long stress test. Her contractions are more frequent now and she's obviously in a lot of pain. Currently, she's 5-6 cm dilated and 90% effaced and the pain is coming on strong. She's such a trooper, she is still adamant about not using any kind of pain medication. No epidural, nothing. The nurses here came in to say "you go girl" because she's trooping along. In about an hour and a half, they're going to check again. She's walking around the room now, very upset at life. As a matter of fact, she's leaning on a table, swaying back and forth trying to ease the pain in her back and the little pain in her front. We'll keep you posted.

Labor is stupid

and painful. And dumb and other such things. I'm in between contractions and they surely do hurt....sad thing is I know that I haven't seen nothin' yet. I'm lucky that I'm able to be up and about...in a rocking chair right now and it really does help. I recommend natural labor (so far!) Probably not so much in the next few hours. Oh, I snuck in a little donut at about 7am...I feel sneaky but I was soooo hungry. Anyway, I look like crap and don't even care! :D

Dimas is being wonderful, as I knew he would be. My mom is awesome and helpful and momlike. He's taking a slight nap right now, while he still can. Gonna try and do the same.

Love you all, we'll keep you updated!

Doing a check

The nurse is about to check Crystal right now. Crystal just said "Ack, more leakage." Nurse: "baby's head good against the cervix...real good against that...she's 4-70 (4cm dilated and 70% effaced)."
She's now being allowed to get up and walk around a little. We'll see if we can get her to blog real quick.

Technophiles

We will never part with our electronics. In life, nor in labor. Above is Crystal, texting, during labor.

Imminent breakage

Her water's broken and she's being really mean to me and her mom. Poor Luz, she's just trying to help, lol. Doctor came in, said she's at 3-4cm and asked Crystal if she wanted her water broken (in order to get this thing started!) and she said "..suuuuuuurrre...", obviously, not very sure of anything. The water was broken with a needle the size of a broomhandle and now her contractions are coming faster and are lasting longer. Now we wait. Keep you updated

We're Here!

Listen up people. We were just admitted to the United Hospital Center in Clarksburg, WV at 0600 hours local time. We arrived at approximately 0430 and Crystal was monitored for one and one half hours. Upon learning that she was 4cm dilated and "very thin", the nurses told Crystal and myself that she would be staying to have the baby (aka our son, aka Ever Dimas Garcia). We are now in the labor/delivery room 512 and getting comfortable, as it seems that we will be here for an extended period of time. This blog will remain updated throughout the delivery process.

36 Weeks: A Husband, An Active Baby and A Nursery

So, Dimas left today after being here about 5 days. On the one hand, having him here was awesome. On the other, having to say goodbye was horrible...even though I know I'll see him again in just two weeks. Something about airports and goodbyes just doesn't sit well with me anymore. There was a time when I almost felt immune to the effects of sad goodbyes, but I think I've lost my edge. Why is it that my nose cries more than my eyes do when I'm sad? It's gross.

All the sadness aside, this past week was wonderful and I couldn't have asked for a better husband. He honestly tries really hard to spoil me when he's here. He packed my lunch for me everyday since I had to work, he opened all kinds of doors for me everywhere we went, and he wouldn't let me carry a single thing. Makes me think I should be pregnant more often. Then again, alone and pregnant sucks. Not completely, but there is a lot of heavy lifting involved and a lot of doors that need opening.

Cutest thing that happened during Dimas' visit? The first night he was here, the little one was being extremely active, which is becoming a nightly ritual for him. So much so, that it really hurts! Plus it's just weird to see some pointy thing sticking out of my side. Anyway, Dimas got really close to my belly and told Ever to please calm down, among other things. And he listened! It was ridiculously cute to me....I imagined that he was in the womb and heard this thunderous new voice that made him go, "Huh? Is that you, God?"

And now for the grand finale.....the nursery is just about complete! After my sister and her boyfriend helped with the putting together of the furniture and the rearranging of things, AND the painting of his name, Dimas came and added the finishing touches. It looks great and I'm entirely pleased with the whole thing. Remember those adorably cute wall hangings I mentioned in my last post? Well, here they are in action:













And here's Dimas working hard at cute baby stuff installation:



We have so many people to thank for being able to have such a cute nursery. Which means I have a ton of thank you cards to write....eeep! :)

Now, I've thought long and hard about including a picture of my stark naked belly on here, and decided to just go ahead and do it. I apologize in advance for offending anyone...but I think it's an interesting thing to see. So, for it's first and only public viewing, here is my 36 week belly:



That's it then. Only 4 weeks left!

Saturdays are funny

Not really, but this picture is.

*WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT*



I know, I said I wouldn't let the pictures happen again, but it's just getting silly and felt you should know.


That picture makes me feel much better about myself.

Anyway, today I met a friend for lunch at Texas Roadhouse, which was eatish, as those things tend to be. Then I went over to some furniture store and bought a bedroom set. We've never had more than a mattress and a yard sale or flea market dresser, so this was a BIG step for us. Here is what it will never look like in our room:


I then proceeded to Kohl's and bought $30 worth of towels, which, when taken with Kohl's great discounts and a $10 off card, equates to a nice amount of towels. Or, not really. I did buy two full sets of them though. They're a plum color and I do love them. :)

Oh....little Ever got his first package in the mail today! His grandma made him some REALLY RIDICULOUSLY ADORABLE wall hangings that match his bedding set perfectly and Ever is very excited to see them hung up. :) Which is something he'll make daddy do when he comes to visit THIS TUESDAY! YAYNESS! I will post nursery pics when it's all done.

Okay, that's enough excitement for now. Thanks for staring at the screen for awhile.

34 Weeks...

And I'm done. I know he needs to stay in there at least a few more weeks, but I'm getting to the really tired and annoyed point. No more pictures, that's for sure...lol....my stomach keeps growing in this weird, downward way and I'd have to put a *warning, graphic content* advisory on any pictures from here on out. Also, you would not believe how tired I'm getting. If I stand for too long I feel out of breath. It's abnormal.

And why on earth are infant car seats so heavy? I'm supposed to carry that thing with one hand WITH a 6 - 10lb. infant in it?? I was messing with mine today and got extremely frustrated at the bulkiness of it all. I think it's just one of those days.

Now let me tell you about the baby movements. People always ask, as I put a fist into my side to help relieve the random pain, "Is he kicking?" I always respond with a yes, or a nod, or something in the affirmative way, but I'm lying. I'm not 100% sure what it is he's actually doing, but kicking aint it. It feels like all kinds of elbows and knees trying to make more room in a really cramped space. And I feel really bad for the little guy, I do, but we're both in this together and his thrashing about isn't helping anyone. It just makes me gasp and breathe weird because it always surprises me. Plus it hurts.

What else? Stretch marks.....ugg...I think I'll leave that topic for a strictly female audience. They exist....in places I never expected to find them. And they're multiplying.

All the crankiness aside, I'm still in awe over the whole thing and wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm just ready to meet this little creation that Dimas & I concocted. Soon enough, though...right??????

Are we there yet?

Update time! A lot has happened since I last posted, which is usually the case since I'm now going so long in between posting things. There's been a lot of good news, thankfully, but also some pretty bad news. Shall we start with the good? Answer = yes.

I'm 33 weeks now! Arglemuffin! It's crazy how time is flying by, and I can't exactly say that I'm 100% ready to be a parent, but I CAN exactly say that I'm 100% ready to TRY. It's crazy to think that in 4 weeks he'll be considered full-term. He can come anytime after that, as far as I'm concerned. Here's a picture of my droopy new appendage....

Though I'm pretty sure I look miserable, I promise I'm really not, as evidenced by this more happy-faced picture:

I'm just a rounder version of me, that's all. When I see myself in the mirror I tell myself, "Why Crystal, you're looking very baby today." True story.

In interesting news, my sister Jenny and her boyfriend Gilbert are here visiting me from San Antonio! Though I'm finding it pretty hard to keep them entertained, I'm thoroughly enjoying their company and am dreading going back to aloneness once they go back home this Saturday. They've taken a ton of pictures that I'm hoping she'll email to me, so that I can say I'll put them on this blog and never get around to it. :) I went to Pittsburgh with them yesterday, had a ton of braxton-hicks contractions and complained of hunger a bunch...lol....but other than that I've had to work almost every day they've been here. Luckily, they've been able to do and see a lot of cool things on their own.

Oh! And I had my 3rd and final baby shower today. I've been so very blessed this pregnancy. I thought that due to my distance and lack of friends, I wouldn't even get one shower, and I got way more than I ever could've imagined. Two wonderful ladies from work didn't offer, but TOLD me they were throwing me a shower, and it turned out really great. Again, I'll have pictures at some point in life, and I will post pictures of all three very awesome showers in the future. For now, you just get to see how I made out like a bandit!

In case you don't know, that's a lot of baby stuff! There are items galore and I really can't believe how generous these WV folk have been to me, Dimas and the little one on the way. I won't list all the cool things I got, but I will say that we now have baby's butt and bath needs covered for awhile. :) Also, a high chair, a bouncer and one lady even crocheted him a blanket, then monogrammed his name on another blanket! Again, I really can't say enough about how lucky and blessed I've been. I'm pretty sure that if Dimas and I let them, they would spoil our son rotten. :)

In the last bit of good news, I received a promotion at work......wait, did I already tell you that in an older post? Well, in any case, I got promoted to this really cool new position in this really interesting unit that I am loving. It's hard work but it's important and I feel good about it. Yay.

Unfortunately, it's not all happiness and rays of sunshine all the time, and some bad things have happened over this last month as well. The first being that my grandpa passed away July 15th after a fairly short battle with cancer. Thankfully, I was able to see him one last time when I went to SA in May...and seeing him was one of the main reasons I wanted to go so badly. On the other hand, I couldn't make it to be with him during his final days or go to his funeral, which saddens me deeply. My family says it was first class all the way, and as a war veteran and being the good man that he was, he deserved nothing less. I thought some pictures would be pretty nice to share with you all:

While he was still sick, I'm very lucky that he was doing relatively well when Dimas and I visited in May. This is the picture placed in his obituary....he was 18, just joined the Army, and looked so happy:

Sigh....while I'm still so sad to have lost him, I'm thankful he's no longer suffering and I know he's with God. As he used to tell us all the time, and what's now written on his headstone: "It's not goodbye. It's so long." I'll miss you, grandpa.

While we're in the bad news category, I have more to share. As it turns out, after a long time waiting and a good battle fought, Dimas is most likely getting stop-lossed and deploying sometime this fall. While there is ALWAYS hope that somehow this won't happen, we're preparing for deployment and all that comes with it. I really can't say much more than that, mostly due to the fact that I don't know much more than that, but I still want to thank everyone for all the prayers over the last 6 months or so. While there is probably a 99% chance of deployment, I do believe your prayers have helped us deal with this in a positive way, and I know we'll get through this stronger than we were before, just as with the last deployment. We've always believed that things happen for a reason, and this is no different in our minds. So, I'll keep you as updated as I can and, even though we're preparing for the worst, we never let go of that strand of hope.

Anyway, sorry for the sadness, but it's just a part of life sometimes. It always seems that in years that really big, good things are happening, some bad things have to happen as well. It definitely makes me appreciate the less eventful years a little more. :) Take care everyone. As always, you are very loved by me, Dimas and the little one on the way.

More Pictures of the Little One!

I know, I know, I've promised all kinds of updates for awhile now but to be honest I've just been so lazy lately. I'm trying to change!

Today kind of sucked. I've been cramping all week on and off, so I ended up going to Labor & Delivery at the hospital I'll be delivering at in September. It was kind of freaky to pass by the birthing rooms knowing I'll be in one in 3 months or less! (In case you're wondering, they're pretty small but they do have tvs!) So, long story short, I'm having minor contractions (10 - 20 seconds long each) along with a soft cervix (which apparently isn't the best thing at 27 weeks) but they have no clue why and everything else looks good. No bed rest (thank God...can't afford it), but I will have to monitor my mini-contractions and try to take it a little easier. (I used a lot of parentheses in this paragraph.)

Now for the good news....ultrasound pictures! Yay! As if you didn't get enough last time...lol. I think these are better. He's moving right along....his big head is measuring almost 30 weeks, and the rest of him is pretty much right on the money. My new EDD is 9/17/09...yikes! But, I think the Dr. is still going with the original date from way back when of 9/22/09. We shall see. I know sometimes it's hard to know what you're looking at with these pics, but I think they're pretty clear. He was asleep, curled up in this weird, contortionist-style little ball....in a couple of pics his foot is like over his head....the crazy baby! I got to see him open his little eyes a bit (so cute and cool) and open and close his mouth a few times. It's all very amazing. Okay, pics!

I could've fixed the spacing a bit, but didn't feel like it. Told you I'm lazy! Oh, and if you can't tell that the second picture is a foot, I really don't know how to help you. :) It was 5 cm long! It looks like he's got mommy's long toes..lol....and he sure doesn't seem to need any more fat on his lips or cheeks! :)

I'm tired.....hope you enjoyed the pics, and happy belated father's day, any fathers that read this! Love you all.

The Infamous Project

I finally got the pictures from the dreaded project I had about a month ago at work and decided to display them to prove that yes, this actually happened.

Note the unhappiness.

Good old powerpoint. Did I mention the batteries to the clicker ran out while I was up there?

I knew it would happen to me.

Talking about my board and forearm in no particular order.

Happy smile of relief. I think my fist-clenched hands were still stressed out.

And finally....

I look like a wood elf next to her home tree.

You know that's funny.

Very well then. This little one's kicking me, telling me to go to sleep. Yay for pictures (which you can click to enlarge, by the way.) I will post the graduation ones soooooooon. Along with my baby showers! Oh, my trip to San Antonio was awesome...I will blog about it upcomingly!

Over halfway there. Exclamation point.

Getting to 21 weeks is no small feat, I tell you. I never realized how hard pregnancy is until I found out how hard pregnancy is! I could definitely complain about various aches and pains daily on here, but I've decided to spare you all the pregnant person crabbiness. It's definitely giving me a new appreciation not only for my mom, but for EVERY mom. Happy belated mother's day, all you moms and moms-to-be out there! You all deserve a very flavorful cake with buttercream icing and some sort of fancy cream in the middle......cool whip?

And, in case you were wondering, I'm aware that I'm getting quite large around the middle. I'm pretty sure that sometime in between my last ultrasound and now, a second baby has grown in there....there's really no other logical explanation. I can still see my feet though! Just have to bend a little farther or peer from around the baby holding device that was once a waistline. I really think my camera makes me look bigger than I really am, but maybe I'm just bigger than I think I am! :)

I still have a lot of pictures to post, but I'm waiting for my training instructor to give me a disk of the photos she took at graduation. Until then, hopefully a new picture and late mother's day wish will suffice. I love you all!

Unless I don't know you, in which case...probably not.

It's a boy!

So, today, April 28th, on Dimas' 30th birthday, we BOTH got a wonderful gift. We found out we're having a baby boy! He's as healthy as can be and measuring perfectly. That's really all we could've asked for...we couldn't be happier! :D

Here are the two u/s pictures I got. The top one is his little face looking at the camera. You can see his little hand just above his head...at one point it looked like he was waving. :) The bottom picture is a pretty good profile shot, where you can see a little bit of "the goods," lol. It's so cool to finally be able to see a baby who looks like a baby!



By the way, his feet were kicking like CRAZY during the whole thing...it was too cute. He was just moving like he had somewhere to be. At one point, he put his little hand over his face....it looked like he was rubbing his eyes in sleepiness. :) I could go on and on....

And Dimas is the BIG 3-0 now! I can't believe it! He's such a wonderful man, husband, and I know he will make the best dad....this little one inside me doesn't yet know how lucky he is to have Dimas as his daddy! I wish I could've spent today with him, but I did manage to send him a balloon bouquet. I also told him to buy himself something nice.....he didn't really want to until I suggested shoes. Lol, the guy loves shopping for sneaks! Anyway, happy birthday, sweetheart! I hope you enjoyed your 20's, and I know your best years are still to come!



My presentation went GREAT, by the way (sheesh, today was a big day). I'm so glad it's over with. I'll be getting some pictures of it next week so you'll get to see me all pregnant and nervous, trying to explain something to a bunch of people. :)

Well, that's all I have for now! I'm gonna buy something blue tomorrow!