2 months, 2 weeks

My little girl turned 2 months, 2 weeks today. We are so excited for her first Christmas this year. Aisling loves looking at the tree with the pretty lights and looking forward to all the gifts Santa will be bringing her. We will be going to Santa's house in Poway again this year. We are hoping that she will be awake and won't cry too much seeing Santa and Mrs. Claus... Pictures to come soon :)

November 20, 2011- Aisling turns 2 months

Tomorrow, November 20, 2011, Aisling turns 2 months old. I cannot believe how fast it has gone by since I had her. She is growing up so fast... she is beautiful and darling as ever and I love her so much. Happy two months pumpkin! Mommy, Daddy, big brothers and all your family/friends love you :)

November 17, 2011- Aisling's two months checkup

So today, Josh and I took Aisling to the pediatrician for her two months checkup. We were both excited because we wanted to know how much she had grown over the past few months. Unfortunately, Aisling had to get her first set of shots at this appointment.

Aisling weighed 10.3 lbs and she measured 22". This is her report card. Mommy and Daddy were very proud. The doctor said she was very healthy and is doing great!

Aisling got three shots and one oral vaccination. She was very brave. Mommy on the other hand, she cried as soon as Aisling cried. I was happy that Josh was with me and supporting us. Aisling will go back and see the pediatrician again at 4 months :)

Nov 16, 2011- Wearing my first pair of jeans

Mommy put a pair of jeans on me for the first time and I love it!!!

Aisling Mana Barnes- 5 1/2 weeks

Its been 5 1/2 weeks since I had Aisling (Wow, that was fast). I decided I wanted to be a stay at home Mom and its been so much fun. I LOVE BEING A MOMMY!!!

Post Pregnancy Pictures

Arrival of Baby Barnes

On September 20, 2011 at 7:00 a.m. I went to Pomerado Hospital in Poway, CA. It was the day I was going to get induced. As we were driving to the hospital, I felt nervous because it was my first time giving birth and I didn't know how it was going to feel. I also felt happy and excited because I knew we were finally going to meet our baby girl after 9 long months.

When we got to the hospital, the nurse got me all checked in. I was excited to see one of the moms from the preschool I taught at. Her name is Allison Orona. She is a nurse at the birthing center at Pomerado Hospital. I've known her for several years now, I taught both her children at Discovery Isle. She definitely gave me some extra TLC at the hospital :)

After registration, they had me changed to a hospital gown (very sexy, NOT) and hooked me up with IV's and pitocin. They started me with a low dosage at first, then increased throughout the day because I was not dialating fast enough.

As I got closer, I definitely felt more and more pain. I think I almost broke my husband's hand and this was even before the real labor when I had to push the baby out, LOL! I decided to get the epidural at 5 cm, I could not stand the pain. At this point, I remember how I dreaded watching the anesthesiologist putting the epidural in when I was watching the baby story a few months ago and listening to how much pain they were in. Oh how I hated this moment. Luckily, I had a great anesthesiologist. He was very calming, and talked to me throughout the procedure.

When they finally told me that I was at 10 cm and was ready to push, we were very excited. My doctor, Dr. Lasting wasn't there during the beginning of my labor because he had two back to back emergency c-section. I guess this is what you have to expect when your OB/GYN is the physician of the year, lol! So Allison, Josh and another nurse helped me start pushing the baby out. In the beginning, I didn't know how to "push" and I was quite frustrated, but when I got the hang of it, the nurses were impressed with me LOL! I didn't realize how much strength I had. I felt bad for Josh because I was crushing his hands while I was pushing. He was the most amazing coach.

After several pushes, Dr. Lasting came in and finished delivering our baby. Although I didn't want a mirror to see the baby come out (which I thought it was kind of weird, but I guess a lot of people do it), I did get to touch the top of the baby's head when she was coming out, WOW!

When the doctor told me I had one more push, I was so happy. Last push...then the baby came out. We heard a loud cry... it was the most beautiful cry I ever heard in my life. As the doctor put her on my lap, I could not believe she was finally here. Josh got to cut her umbilical cord. We waited 3+ years for this moment, and it was all worth it.

We started this blog by naming it "Baby Barnes." I am officially going to change it with her new beautiful name:

Aisling Mana Barnes
Born September 20, 2011 at 11:44 p.m.
She is definitely our miracle baby. She was born on the same birthday as MY late grandfather.

4 Days till my due date...

Today is September 10, 2011. I have had some contractions, but nothing big yet. I went to the doctor's yesterday and he said that I am progressing well. He said she may already about 8 lbs. 1 oz., but that is just an approximation. My whole family and friends are very anxious. I think we are more anxious than anybody else, lol!

We got most of the things done in the nursery. All we have to do it put the clothes in drawers and put some cute wall decals in the room. We purchased a nice play yard for her so she can sleep in our room.

I'm kind of hoping that she will not be born tomorrow on September 11th, but I guess we can't stop the process if it does happen, lol.

Well 4 more days till my due date... We will keep you posted :)

Recent pictures of me (9 months pregnant--39 weeks and 2 days)

My manicurist did this on Thursday, LOVE IT!!!

Nesting

I can't believe the day is almost here. We are at the homestretch! I will be 38 weeks pregnant this Friday. Josh and I have started visiting our doctor every week now. The doctor said that she is doing perfect.

Josh and I got most of the items we needed for the baby at Babysrus and Target and we have started the "Nesting" process. I know it took us a long time, but at least we are "getting it done", LOL!

The baby room is looking good so far. We got some wall decals for the room so we are planning to put them on to make it look cute. We washed and put away most of the clothes we have for Baby Barnes, which I am so thankful that I have such wonderful family/friends who has given us so many... she will definitely be very fashionable. She definitely is a lucky girl.

Her due date is September 14th. Countdown begins... 15 more days (maybe, lol)

So here are some pictures I took of some of things we did for her room.

NOT EVEN HALF OF THE CLOTHES WE HAVE FOR HER, LOL :)

Bookshelf

Some of the items we needed at Target

34 weeks Preggo

Its been a while since I posted any blog. I am now 34 weeks pregnant and Baby Barnes is doing great. She is very active and very energetic. I noticed that she always has the hiccups. Its a pretty funny feeling when she is having the hiccups in my belly. Josh loves to feel my belly now, now that he can actually "feel" the baby kick. Yesterday, we went to go see our doctor and he checked my vitals, weight, measurement and heartbeat of the baby. Everything looks great...my blood pressure is normal, haven't gained too much weight (knock on wood) and her heartbeat was very strong. The doctor said my due date is probably September 14th, but who know... she may arrive early or later.

A lot of things going on this month. Tomorrow and Sunday we are going to the Child Birth class. Also, I'm excited to have my baby shower on August 14th at my sister's house. It will be a summer theme where the guests can come in their swimsuit and swim in the pool or just hang in the jacuzzi. We are also having snow cones too, yay!!!

As for the baby's room, it is still under construction. We are planning to clean out many things out of the closet, start hanging baby clothes in it and actually decorating the room. We picked up the crib and the rocking chair from my sister's place so that is all set :) She will have a "Bug theme" room.

So here is a recent picture of me that I took. We are at the home stretch... Can't wait to see her beautiful face :)

Amazing Experience...

On July 3, 2011 (Sunday), my family and I went to a place called Baby's First Ultrasound. This is the place where we wanted to do the 4D pictures. I was excited that it was open on a Sunday :) So we went to breakfast first at Mimi's Cafe and then we headed to our appointment. We were all anxious to see what she looked like. We talked about if she looked like me or Josh more. My parents, my sister's family, Josh, Ian and Lachlan came.

When we first saw the image on the screen, I thought it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I've waited so long for this moment... and seeing the cute little baby that is growing inside me... she is truly a blessing to our family.

The person who did the sonogram was amazing. She took so many pictures and also made us a video/DVD of all the images they took. She had so many poses. We even saw her yawning, so adorable. So now I am going to show everybody some of my favorite pictures of Baby Barnes in 4D :) Who does she look like to you??? HAVE FUN LOOKING AND ENJOY!!!

MOMMY AND DADDY CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU PUMPKIN... WE LOVE YOU WITH ALL OUR HEARTS :)

May 31st - Glucose Test

Today was the day I had to get my glucose test. I must say I was not looking forward to this one. I went to the Labcorp at the Arch Health Partner in Poway. All day, I was thinking to myself, "What kind of gross drink will they have me drink before this blood test?" Then I thought, "What if it taste like dry chalk or something?" If that wasn't bad enough, I had to stop eating at 2:00 p.m. Baby and I was not happy. We definitely wanted to snack on something, lol :)

I arrived at the hospital and check in at Labcorp at around 4:20. The drink they gave me was not so bad. It tasted like orange soda, but it didn't really agree with my stomach at the time. I thought, at least it didn't taste chalky and gross. They wanted me to drink the liquid in 5 minutes... now that was a little bit tough.

After drinking the liquid, I had to sit in the waiting room for an hour. They finally drew my blood around 5:35. My results will be sent to my doctor in 24-48 hours.
Here is what my arm looks like. A little bit bruised (I guess the lady who drew my blood wasn't very good, LOL!)

Week 24: May 25th-26th Ultrasound

Our baby girl was a little stubborn the last time we had to go to an ultrasound. They had to take pictures of the spine, arms, legs, body, etc. They were able to take everything else but her spine. She was so wiggly and she wasn't positioned right so they had me come back.

When I went back on the 26th, Josh and I had a talk with our little girl in the waiting room letting her know that we are back at the hospital, to try and take a picture of her spine. Josh started singing the song "Total eclipse of the heart" by Bonnie Tyler. It was so funny. (If anybody forgot how the song goes, make sure you youtube it, LOL!)

So we get called in and it was the same lady who did our sonogram before, she was so apologetic. I really didn't mind... I wanted to see my baby girl anyways, LOL! So after a few minutes, these are the pictures we got... I guess the song did work :) Great job Baby Barnes!!! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you.

Scary moment...

Sunday night, I had a scary moment. I started spotting. This hasn't happened in a long time so it really scared me. This morning I called my doctor and he reassured me that everything was going to be okay. He told me I should stay home for at least 48 hours to rest and keep my feet up. After I got off the phone with my doctor, I broke down... My husband Josh was so sweet, took care of me and kept checking up on me even though he had to work. I love him so much...

The doctor also wanted me to go get my sonogram done (although it was scheduled for Thursday originally). He wanted to make sure everything was okay with me and the baby. Luckily, I was able to squeeze in at 3:00. I was at the hospital for an hour because they couldn't get the picture of the spine. Our baby girl was not very cooperative (she was not positioned correctly), LOL! So they had me walk for a few minutes around the hallway to see if she would move around a bit. It wasn't the perfect angle, but they finally got the picture of the spine, along with everything else they needed.

I still don't know why I was spotting. I heard that some women do spot throughout their pregnancy, but it is still a scary thought, especially with my history. I have to wait for the doctor to contact me about my results. I hate waiting :(

**On a good note... we are definitely having a GIRL!!!

Week 22: Friday, May 13th: Little thumps from Baby Barnes

So the last few days, I thought I have felt a thump or two from Baby Barnes. This week, I have been feeling a lot of more of her. It is one of the funniest feeling I have ever had. I always heard that it is kind of like having butterflies in your tummy, but that's not how I would describe it, lol. I think it is the most amazing thing I have EVER felt in my whole life. Right now the baby is still too small and Josh can't feel it yet when he puts his hands on my belly. I'm sure soon enough he will be able to feel her too. Can't wait!!!

April 29, 2011- 20 weeks pregnant

Today marks my 20 weeks, my half way point. I just wanted to post a picture with my baby girl. Its funny cause we are having a girl, yet I am wearing blue and it looks good LOL! I can't wait until I start feeling her kicking and moving. It hasn't started yet... I asked couple of my friends when they started feeling their baby, and they said it usually starts around 24-25 weeks. I know it varies, other people experience it sooner, others later. She definitely a wiggly girl, so I won't be surprised if I start feeling her very soon. Can't wait... I will definitely post a blog when I start "feeling" her.

Are we going to find out the gender???

On Thursday, April 21, 2011 I had an appointment at the Jean McLaughlin Women's Center in Poway which is basically located at the Pomerado Hospital. I was very anxious that day since I knew that I might find out the gender of Baby Barnes. I really didn't care whether it was a boy or a girl, but since I did have two stepsons, it would be a nice change to have a little girl in the house. I thought, as long as we bring a healthy baby into this world, that is all that matters to us.

My appointment was at 4:00 so I was excited and anxious all day. After work, Josh picked me up and we went to our appointment. My younger stepson, Lachlan, wanted to go see the baby for the first time, so he came with us. He seemed very excited. We asked him and his big brother, Ian if they wanted a baby brother or a sister. They both said sister, LOL!

I had to go through the registration process and waited for a while at the waiting room. I was getting more anxious as time went by. Finally, they called my name and we went to the back of the sonogram room. I laid down and they put the sonogram on me...and there it was...our baby. The baby was so wiggly and squirmy. There were two nurse technicians who helped us out. It seemed like one was more experienced than the other. They started taking pictures of the baby. They said it was hard since it was moving around so much. They asked me if I had eaten some sugar before my appointment. I had mentioned that I had ate some jelly beans throughout the day, lol. Hey, what can you say, its Easter!

So after taking different angles of our baby, the more "experience" nurse took over. She started taking more pictures (by the way, they couldn't get all that they needed since it was so wiggly), she asked us, "Do you want to know the gender or is it a surprise?" We said, "No, we want to know definitely." We were getting so excited! The nurse says, "Well, here is the butt cheeks, the legs and here is her labia" Josh and I started laughing. She said, "Its a girl." My first words that came out of my mouth was, "OH MY GOD! YAY!" So, my predictions were wrong...I thought it was going to be a boy, Josh knew it was going to be a girl :) But, as I mentioned before...I didn't care if it was a boy or a girl. As long as if it has 10 fingers/10 toes.

Last note: Now, since it she was a little wiggle worm, they told us to make sure again in 3 weeks. We are going to the doctor's office to check again on May 9th. Stand by for confirmation!!!

Starting to show, slowly but surely...

I took some pictures of myself today since I noticed that I was starting to show. This was me 16 1/2 pregnant. Gender still unknown... still "wiggle worm" LMAO!!!

March 17, 2011: St. Patrick's Day ultrasound

Today was St. Patrick's Day and we had a blast in our class. My co-teacher and I messed up the room and put green food coloring into the toilet bowl to make the kids think that the leprechauns came to visit our classroom. It was a lot of fun!

After work, I went to my doctor's appointment. I invited my parents to go with me since Josh was on a business trip to Jacksonville. He was bummed out that he could not go, but I made sure to take pictures and send them to him.

At this point, I was at 14 weeks pregnant. My parents got to see the baby on the ultrasound. It was definitely showing off this time. He/she was very wiggly, stretching its legs and arms. It was the cutest thing ever! I started calling the baby "wiggle worm." Thought it would be a cute name until I find out the sex of the baby.

A first look at Baby Barnes

On February 3, 2011 Josh and I went to Pomerado Hospital to go to our ultrasound appointment. We got to see the baby and the heartbeat for the first time. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I could not believe that this day had finally come. At this point, I was about 7 1/2 weeks pregnant. The nurse said that the heartbeat was 163 bpm. What a strong heartbeat!

Although I was 7 1/2 weeks pregnant, Josh and I decided to wait until 12 weeks to share our wonderful news to our friends. We did tell our family members; we had told my parents 2 days later that we were pregnant. My parents were so happy, my mom could not stop crying. We also told Josh's parents and family and they were very excited for us.

One of the many pregnancy tests I took...

We started talking to Dr. Lasting, my OB/GYN about the process of intrauterine fertilization. I read about the procedure, but I got a better understanding after I spoke with him. It was less scary and more reassuring, since he let us know what the success rate were.

We started the procedure in December of 2010. We did the actual procedure on
December 22, 2010 to be exact. It was a very simple procedure and less invasive then the IVF procedure. I was nervous at first, but at the same time I was praying that this would work.

On January 7, 2011 I decided to take a pregnancy test. I was so nervous. All those feelings that I had faced all these years came back to me. After taking the test, I started to pray. As I opened my eyes, I saw my result...it was POSITIVE!!! I was so happy, but then at the same time, I was thinking to myself, "What if this is one of those false positive results again?" I was feeling so happy, but felt like I needed some reassuring.

The next day I went to CVS and bought myself a 2 pack pregnancy test (different from before). I took those tests, it was positive again. Then I started buying more pregnancy tests, the ones with the double pink lines, digital and the ones that said yes or no. I felt like I was reliving the movie "Knocked up" where she grabs all the pregnancy test at the drug store and starts taking them. It was so funny. Josh was asking me how many pregnancy tests do I need to take? I told him until I get a blood test at the doctors. We had a good laugh.

I decided to go to Pomerado Hospital to take a blood test and the pregnancy test results came back positive. I was officially PREGNANT!!!

How it all started...

Josh and I got married on June 16, 2007. We didn't want children right away, so we decided to wait for a while. Starting beginning of January of 2008, we started considering having a baby. My first thought was, "Oh, how hard can it be to conceive? All my friends are having babies left and right." What a big mistake...

For three years we went through many fertility treatments, blood work
and on top of that, I had surgery which was one of the scariest things I had to do in my life. Our doctor, Dr. Lasting is one of the best OB/GYN in Poway. He is the most patient, determined, loving doctor I have ever met.

Then after a while, we stopped trying. There were just too many times where we thought we were pregnant (getting a false positive) but ended up not being pregnant. We faced too many disappointments and we were getting emotionally exhausted.

Then, Josh and I started talking about our options. We talked about adoption, invitro-fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI). We had never heard of the IUI procedure, so we decided to ask Dr. Lasting about it. It was a less expensive, less invasive way to try and get pregnant. To find out more about IUI process go to www.sdfertility.com/iui.htm

This is where it all started...