Tuesday, July 29, 2008

BABY ALERT!!!


The time has finally come!


The time for us to share the sex of little Baby Serrano!



We had such a wonderful visit today and the ultrasound was everything we could have imagined.




We saw the baby's head, the brain, and the little beating heart, with all four chambers!


After that we saw the baby's spine, the strong little femur bones, and the arms floating dreamily in the amniotic fluid.


Then there was the full face, where we saw everything - the eye sockets, the mouth, the nose....


And then finally, we got to the best part.....



We saw the baby's little winkie!

So, we are proud to announce that little Baby Serrano will be a


B O Y ! ! !


Our little guy was such a good model, he turned for the technician as if on cue. We got to see him making chewing motions with his mouth and I swear we saw a little smile :)


We also saw him punch up into my tummy at the exact moment I felt the jab! That was the coolest thing ever to actually see for the first time what my baby was doing at the same time I felt it.


We saw from the top down and the bottom up and saw him curled up into a little sleeping position along the bottom of my uterus.

It was something I couldn't have imagined. We loved it!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Weird stuff, man....

I just found out some very interesting news from a friend of mine in Israel, named Yossi. He and his wife, who were married last year, are also pregnant. Not only that, they are in exactly the same week as me!

That makes 3 people, all in week 19 this week.
Me, Andrea, and Yossi (well, his wife).

How weird is that?

Yossi already knows his baby will be a little girl
Andrea finds out her baby's gender this week. I have no basis for why I think this, but I believe her baby will be a girl too.
I find out my baby's gender one week from today.

Wouldn't it be nice if I had a little boy and already had two great options for future girlfriends for him? LOL!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Houston-bound

As most of you already know, we have decided to relocate to Houston, TX. This was a really difficult decision for us because we absolutely love our home and being in Southern California. But with a baby on the way, frequent travel for me was becoming troublesome, and we'd also like to be nearer to family for support.

So, we made the big decision to make the move to Houston this summer!

The move will be made easier by the fact that I'll continue to work as normal for my company, ePartners. My boss has been very flexibl and considerate in finding a way to make the move happen for us. With my employment situation all lined up, we've been able to focus on how we would transition Alberto.

We've also contracted with a Property Management company to rent out our house here in San Diego. That way we'll keep the property...who knows, we may come back one day!

In preparation for the move, Alberto and I just spent a week in Houston. We drove one of our cars there (1,500 miles and 21 hours!) to leave in Houston so we wouldn't have to worry about transporting with the rest of the stuff. Then we spent the week doing a number of things:
  • Looking for a place to live
  • Looking for work for Alberto
  • Looking for a doctor for baby+me

We got some excellent referrals on all three important tasks from our friends - thank you everyone! Because of all of the help we received, we managed to accomplish all 3 of our goals!

So, we'll be moving to a cute little house in Hyde Park (Montrose/W. Gray area) that was built in 1910, has all hardwood floors and a garage apartment in the back. Dudley will have a little yard in both the front and the back for sunbathing, and a wooden porch outside of the kitchen to watch the squirrels from.

Alberto got some great referrals and and after a few days of calling, finally got connected with a tile company that was so eager for him to get started they actually asked for him to start work the very next day. He managed to wiggle out of that one, but has a standing arangement to start with them once we get into town for good.

Finally, I found a great doctor in the medical center for me and the baby, thanks also to a great referral. Dr. Samuels is a very straightforward and no-nonsense woman who has over 20 years of experience delivering babies. One notable about her in this Olympic summer season is that she is also the doctor for Mary Lou Retton :)

We also had a great time getting to know the area that we'll live in and meeting up with friends for meals and entertainment. Thank you to everyone who was able to share some time with us!

As we were waiting to head back to San Diego on Sunday evening, Alberto and I chatted about how well the week had gone, and how good we feel about the move. Now that everything is in place, and now that Alberto has had some time to get to know the city and what it's like and what it's potential is, we both feel like we're ready for the big event.

We'll be spending the next few weeks packing what we want to take with us and selling the rest. Garage sales are happening this weekend and next, so feel free to stop by and see what we've got!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Third OB visit - 7-7-08

My third OB visit was today, and I met with the nurse practicioner of the office. It was very routine, nothing at all to really remark about.

We heard the heartbeat again - it was 148 beats per minute this time. This is down a little from 160 bpm last time, but she said that it is constantly fluctuating between 120 and 160 bpm.

I asked if we could find out the sex today since I am in week 17 and my next appointment in 4 weeks would actually be past the 20 week mark that they like to do it. They told me no, but instead scheduled my next appointment for 3 weeks from now, so it will be during the 20th week.

So, here is the big news of the day:

We will find out the sex of the baby on Tuesday, July 29 in the afternoon.

Look for updates then!