Frustrated

I am now 37 weeks and nearing my 38 week mark and am very frustrated. Last Monday I started having contractions off and on and on Wednesday for a complete 24 hours I was having contractions every 12 minutes but then it stopped. This has frustrated me on so many levels because once the contractions start I just want to get the labor process over. I realize the baby will come when she is ready but I also realize that my body is exhausted from having contractions on a normal basis. Yesterday I went in and had another check up and I am officially dilating now but I was only a 1 when I left the office. I have no clue if any progress has been made since then but I am getting stronger contractions and I am just worn out. Please keep our family in prayer as we are nearing the end of this pregnancy and I am beginning to get a little more irritable with everyone around me. I am trying not to say anything period but every once in a while I say something I wish I didn't. For instance my babies come and run to me to give me a hug but they happen to do it when I am getting a contraction and I get so upset and tell them to please leave the room. My babies don't deserve that so I have been trying to suck up the pain and give them hugs and kisses so they know I still love them. They know something is different and every once in a while Isaiah will say, "Mommy you alright?" I love my babies but I must admit at this point in the pregnancy I am not liking this part at all right now. Today is a new day and I am grateful that we have this day to enjoy. I thank you for all your support and prayers. I finally downloaded the sonograms up to date so here is where our baby is at this point. Hope you enjoy.

Baby Appointment

I must have been off in my calculations as far as my due date when I posted my last baby update but I am now 36 weeks. I went in for my check up and the midwife told me that she can see a difference in me since the last time I saw her which was two weeks ago. I have dropped a little and she says even my demeanor has changed and she feels the baby may come soon. Her heartbeat was very strong and she grew 4 centimeters in the past two weeks. At my last visit I was measuring at 34 weeks and now I am measuring at 38 weeks. Can you say she has grown a lot? I can definitely feel the difference. She is now pushing on my cervix which is a new experience for me because I didn't notice it much with the first two pregnancies but with this pregnancy I feel like I am going to drop her every time I walk. My cervix is definitely softening and I am beginning to show signs that early labor may be setting in. I started having menstrual cramps this morning and this was something I never really noticed with my first two pregnancies but I am noticing now and my midwife said that those are minor contractions. She tells me to take it easy because my body is gearing up for delivery and every little cramp will get me closer to having this baby. We have a sonogram on Thursday afternoon and unless I end up going into labor the next few days I will see my midwife again in a week. She says I am doing good though. I am putting on weight like crazy now. I am now at a 10 pound weight gain for this pregnancy which is good because up until about a month ago I was only at 6 pounds but I have put on at least 2 pounds every two weeks so she says that those are all good signs to having a decent weight baby. She just doesn't want her to be too small but she says she doesn't see that being a problem. She also told me to prepare for feeling more pressure on my bladder which didn't please me very much because I am already feeling that as she is getting ready to make her appearance. We will keep you posted as we near our due date which is not very far now. The end is in sight.

Aleida

More Photos

So I have officially uploaded 3 out of the 5 cameras I have developed and here are some more pictures. Again they are from a few months back but these are some of my favorites of the memories I have in my mind. It just amazes me how fast time goes by and to see how different and yet the same my children are. These photos are from August - October 2008.

Here I am with Alex.

Isaiah enjoying the Texas sun and the backyard sprinklers.

The best brother and sister I can ever ask for.

Everyone ready to eat this cake my sister made.

One of the kings of my house.

Another king spending time with Grandpa Curiel.

Isaiah playing with jump ropes at the circus.

Isaiah working hard with his daddy at putting our new table together.

Our house after decorating it for Halloween.

Isaiah carrying pumpkins at the pumpkin patch.

There are many more photos to come but these are the ones I have uploaded recently. Hopefully I will get caught up with all of the photos I have so when the baby comes I can post pictures of her and our new memories at a much better rate. We shall see. Hope you have a great week.

In Christ,

Aleida

Nearly 36 Weeks...

It is funny because last Tuesday I was telling my mom that I don't see this baby coming any time soon and how great I feel for being this close to the end and a few days later I started to feel differently. Friday evening I began to have some pretty painful pains and for the most part I only feel this pain when I walk because I begin to feel pressure. I also feel like she is starting to drop a little and I am not carrying her so high. I have kind of just put myself on bed rest because I really want to wait until at least next Tuesday so my midwife can check me out again and let me know what she thinks.

Saturday and Sunday, Alex had to work so I worked on tax returns and then scrapbooked on Nathanael's album. I am trying to finish this so I won't be so behind on Naomi's album when she gets here. I was able to complete 3 months worth of pictures in two days so I was pretty impressed given my time frame. I normally do scrapbooking during the few hours that the kids nap so they don't get into any of my things.

Today and tomorrow, Alex is off because this is his weekend and I will take it a little more easy now that I have help for two days and enjoy my time with him. He is ready for the baby to come but I want to wait just a little longer just to make sure she grows as much as she needs to. After he goes back to work we have a really short week and then we celebrate Easter which will be a nice break.

Please pray that the Lord continues to keep his hands on this precious baby I have in my belly and continues to give me the strength to endure the last few weeks. I never realized how tired I get during the end of pregnancies. Maybe it is because I have two active boys and one of them I am in the process of potty training and the other I am trying to keep from destroying everything. Hope you have a good week.

In Christ,

Aleida

Good Times with Old Friends

Yesterday one of my old roommates from Teen Mania came to Maine to visit. She is doing an east coast tour with a friend and they perform at open mikes up along the east coast. They wanted to come to Maine so I told her if she was ever my way we would host her and her friend. We were so blessed to have her come up here and stay with us for an evening. I hadn't seen J. for about 9 years now and it was nice seeing what she is up to now while being able to show her what my life is like now. Alex was excited to just meet another friend of mine from Teen Mania because he enjoys meeting all of the people I spent a few years of my life with. Our time was short as she left this morning around 10ish and they were heading to Boston. They have some open mikes set up for the next few days and I am sure they will stay busy. Please pray for J. and S. as the Lord directs them through this tour and that they have safe travels.

I know my time with J. and S. were short but it was so refreshing to see a familiar face and to be able to enjoy the company of fellow believers. I even got to try Thai food for the first time. Alex and I have been wanting to try this little restaurant since we moved up here but have been hesitant because we only go out to eat like twice a month if we are lucky and when we do get the chance to eat out we rather spend our money on food we like just in case we don't like the food but J. mentioned the restaurant and how her and S. wanted to try it out because they love Thai food so we said well lets try it out. We ordered food in and Alex and I fell in love with our orders and we will definitely be trying some new food from that restaurant.

I thank the Lord that he has blessed me with such wonderful friends and for blessing me with times of encouragement which is what he did by bringing J. and S. to visit. Both Alex and I were very encouraged and sad to see them leave but we know we will see them again someday.