Half Way through my Pregnancy- More baby bump pictures

• How far along?:  23 weeks
• Baby is the size of a: Grapefruit
• Total weight gain/loss: +5
• The Bump: Bump has grown overnight, at least thats what it feels like
• Symptoms: Still have headaches
• Food Cravings: Raspas - Shaved Ice ONLY please!! 
• Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Fast Food, which I have a habit of eating that but now I cant stand it which is a good thing :) lol
• Sleep: Sleeping better
  
• What I miss: Being able to go out and drink but this is all worth it
• Weddings Rings On or Off: On
• Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yes. Baby Elias Eduardo Ochoa
• Gender Prediction: Its a Boy!
• Movement: A lot of movement now! He makes me jump at times but I love it. 
• Maternity Clothes: Still the same maternity clothes, trying to use my regular tops that didnt fit me before because I didnt feel comfortable showing my rolls lol Now I have a belly but its ok to show that off ;)
• Labor Signs: None.
• Best Moment of the Week: Daddy saw my belly move for the first time
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: More movement from our baby

Half Way - 20 weeks down and 20 weeks to go

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• How far along?: 20 weeks
• Baby is the size of a: Banana
• Total weight gain/loss: +2lbs
• The Bump: Bump is growing
• Symptoms: Headaches and gagging
• Food Cravings: Raspas, gummies with chammy & fruit with chilito
• Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: The thought & smell of Fast Food
• Sleep: Sleeping better
  
• What I miss: wearing heels
• Weddings Rings On or Off: On
• Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yes for both boy or girl. 
• Gender Prediction: We had to visit a 3D/4D ultrasound location to find the gender: Its a BOY!!! 
• Movement: Feeling slight movements
• Maternity Clothes: Same ol maternity clothes, wearing old tops
• Labor Signs: None.
• Best Moment of the Week: I cant believe Im half way through my pregnancy; we had our Gender Reveal session on the weekend. That was fun!
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: More movement from our baby & actually being able to see when he moves. 

Ive been extremely behind on placing my weekly pictures but here are a few that were left out these last few weeks.

• How far along?: 18 weeks
• Baby is the size of a: Sweet potato
• Total weight gain/loss: down 3 lbs from original weight
• The Bump: Bump is growing but not that visible 
• Symptoms: Constant headaches and slight morning sickness.
• Food Cravings: Nothing too specific. 
• Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Not really
• Sleep: Sleeping ok, getting better with restroom breaks
  
• What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach :( 
• Weddings Rings On or Off: On
• Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yes for both boy or girl. 
• Gender Prediction: We say Girl but lately when I talk about our baby to others I have caught myself saying "he". Eeeek! I've had a lot of our friends & family members saying Boy! So I dont know now.
• Movement: Feeling a few flutters or bubbles are more like it.
• Maternity Clothes: Havent bought extra maternity clothes 
• Labor Signs: None.
• Best Moment of the Week: Bubbles in my tummy
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: More movement from our baby and finding out the gender of our baby.

• How far along?: 19 weeks
• Baby is the size of a: mango
• Total weight gain/loss: down 2 lbs from original weight
• The Bump: Bump has grown & becoming more visible :) 
• Symptoms: Constant headaches and gagging
• Food Cravings: Nothing too specific. 
• Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: bad smells
• Sleep: Sleeping ok, getting better with restroom breaks
  
• What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach and kind of missing the alcoholic beverages lol
• Weddings Rings On or Off: On
• Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yes for both boy or girl. 
• Gender Prediction: We couldn't find out the gender at our Dr appt at 18 weeks but they told us possibly a Boy!! Not 100% confirmed though
• Movement: Feeling a few flutters or bubbles are more like it.
• Maternity Clothes: 2 pair of jeans, black tights and black dressy pants
• Labor Signs: None.
• Best Moment of the Week: My husband placed his head on my stomach and within 5 min he heard a thump and looked up at me to ask if I felt it and I did. It was an awesome feeling!
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: More movement from our baby and getting a 100% confirmation of the sex of the baby. Set up an appointment at a 3d/4d ultrasound place.

14 weeks - Hello 2nd Trimester!

• How far along?: 14 weeks
• Baby is the size of a: Lemon
• Total weight gain/loss: It fluctuates, last week at my Dr appt I had lost 4 lbs from my last appt.
• The Bump: Not much there. I already had a belly before the pregnancy hehe! 
• Symptoms: Constant headaches and slight morning sickness.
• Food Cravings: Nothing too specific. I have been eating a lot of fruit with chilito. Yumm!
• Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Not really.
• Sleep: I wake up quite a few times in the middle of the night for restroom breaks but I sleep through most of the night. I have a hard time waking up in the mornings though. That has always been a problem.
  
• What I miss: I missed shrimp my first trimester. I was told I couldn't have it until my second trimester. Now that I can have it, my husband hasn't taken me to eat my shrimp :( 
• Weddings Rings On or Off: On
• Any Names Picked Out Yet: Yes for both boy or girl. 
• Gender Prediction: We say Girl but lately when I talk about our baby to others I have caught myself saying "he". Eeeek! I've had a lot of our friends & family members saying Boy! So I dont know now.
• Movement: I haven't noticed anything yet. I think it's still too early in the pregnancy but I know our baby is moving a lot. Last week we had an ultrasound and Baby O was making flips and stretching their legs and arms. 
• Maternity Clothes: Last week I passed by Motherhood at the mall and took a quick look. I came out paying over $100 on basic pieces. I will need more soon. I can't seem to be comfortable in my jeans anymore. 
• Labor Signs: None.
• Best Moment of the Week: Nothing this week but last week was seeing our baby moving so much in our u/s. Last time we saw our baby was at 6 weeks which looked like a bean in our ultrasound picture. This time the baby parts were very noticeable. That was the first time I actually shed quite a few tears. It was a relief! That was OUR baby!! 
• What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Feeling the butterflies in my stomach that everyone talks about in the beginning of your pregnancy. Once I feel that, I know it will make me smile. 

New beginnings of 2013

Hi Bloggers of 2013,

I have started off the year a bit late on my blog. I haven't had much time to sit on my computer and give you all the gossip into the 8A's household.

To begin with I am back in college. I started last year in Fall 2012 and came back to my second semester Spring 2013. I am taking three classes this semester, History, Music & a Physical Ed class. So far, it has been interesting. I have taken my first test for my music class and aced it. I will be studying for the next couple of weeks for my first History exam, which I am a little more nervous about. Hope that goes well. I am really excited that I decided to take this step and I can't wait to finish with my basics. The last time I attended college was back in 2005 but I am back and ready to finish what I started more than a decade ago. If God permits, I may be able to finish at the end of this year or the beginning of 2014.

My BIG secret is........ 

Yes, we are expecting!! This is HUGE! My husband and I are extremely excited and feel blessed to finally be able to experience such a beautiful miracle like this. We found out when I was about 6 weeks pregnant. I was a couple of weeks late on my menstrual period and I had a feeling something was going on. My husband and I went to a drug store and bought a pregnancy test. I was extremely nervous that night. I took the test and seconds later I noticed two faint lines appear. When I showed it to my husband he got teary eyed. I wasn't sure what it meant so after researching on google I decided to take a second test in the morning. The results were the same and one of the lines was still faint but visible enough. I texted my sisters a picture of the test and they both told me "You are pregnant!". I was still doubting it and wanted to take a third test. I had my husband take me to the store again for a digital test to make it certain. I took the test that night and it read "Pregnant". I was still in disbelief but my eyes got watery but I couldn't seem to show too much emotion like I would of expected. My husband was a different story. I think my fear was not knowing if this was all real and just from so many stories that I had heard of miscarriages was frightening. I immediately called my ob/gyn office and set up an appointment to get a confirmation. A couple of days later it was confirmed by my doctor that I was pregnant and was about 6 weeks into my pregnancy. We had an ultrasound done but it was too soon to see anything. It was a size of a bean. We set up another appointment for a couple of weeks later and at our appointment we heard a heartbeat. It was beautiful! My husband couldn't hold back. It was all still surreal to me. 

The next few weeks was going to be difficult. I wanted us to wait before we announced to our family. Christmas was right around the corner and I wanted to surprise everyone with a cute Christmas card. On Christmas Eve, we celebrated with my family and it took my mom a while to see the picture and understand what it was. Everyone was extremely excited and there was tears of joy. My mom couldn't believe it. My older sister was also pregnant at the time but a whole lot further than I was. I think my mom was overwhelmed to know that in 2013 she would have two new grandchildren. She had been asking for more grandchildren for some time and we hit her with the news of two in 2012. On Christmas Day, we celebrated with my husband's family and it also took his parents awhile to get the hang of our card. Once they found out everyone was also excited. That night it felt relieving to finally get that off our chest. It was hard to keep that in from our families. We told a few other close friends about our pregnancy. We didn't make it official on FB until my 13th week. I wanted to make sure I was done with my first trimester before I made it public. We got so much love from everyone, it felt amazing. The picture above was taken on the day of Superbowl Sunday. A good friend of mine is a photographer and I had asked her weeks before about taking our announcement pictures. She did a great job! She was able to send me a few pictures to review and choose the one we wanted to use for FB. My next photo session will be a gender reveal session. I cant wait!

This blog for 2013 will be mainly about my progress in my pregnancy and lots of belly pictures. I am anxious to see the difference week by week. I'll be posting my first weekly picture tomorrow. For now, goodnight everyone. 

Love,

Jeddie + 1 

Towards the end of 2012 ... almost there!

So we haven't had the best of luck this past month but we won't let it get to us. God continues to bless us on a daily basis. It's only a bump in our path and we will overcome it soon. It's nothing too major but it has definitely added stress to our lives.

Other than that, everything else has been fine. My family and I had a chance to be a part of the Step Out Diabetes Walk/Run about a week ago. This is our second year participating. Diabetes is well known in both my family and my husband's side of the family, it means a lot to be a part of this event. It was held in Downtown and the weather was beautiful. This is my family.

Oh and Thanksgiving just passed, it was great. We spent time with both of our families and ate like no tomorrow. We had a Part 2 with our Damage Inc family (husband's truck club) and ate even more turkey but we sure didn't complain. The rest of our four day weekend was relaxing. We are truly bless with all that God has given us although none of us deserve it. It's amazing how great and forgiving our God is.

On another note, we are now pet owners. Yay! My husband finally let me convince him to get a dog. We got lucky! I found out that someone in our neighborhood was trying to find homes for two of her dogs that she could not take care of anymore. We took in one of her dogs and her name is Cali. She is a female Boxer mix and is about 18 months. She is a loving and active dog. We've only had her for about a week and a half. She's been adapting but I think she was definitely experiencing some home sickness the first few days. She managed to escape from her crate during the day while we were at work and tore up two of our window blinds. She is a smart and strong dog! She figured out how to get out of it. We found a solution but I've decided to keep her out of the crate while we are at work. Her last owner told us Cali loved her crate and was use to staying in it through out the day but for some reason she is not liking it anymore. We found a solution for now but I hope she will get the hang that this is now her home and maybe we will be able to get her back to her daily routine of staying in it while we are away. Don't get me wrong, she stays in her crate at night without a problem and tends to go in it during the day while we are at home. She just doesn't like to stay in it while we are away for so long. Here she is, meet Cali.

Thats all for now. Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays with their loved ones. 

Love, 

Jeddie 8a

Tutu Runners go to New York

I am back from my New York trip with my Tutu Runners and all I have to say is WOW. It will definitely be an unforgettable event. We went to New York to run at the Diva Half Marathon in Long Island, NY. Many have been training for the half marathon but I can't say the same for myself. After my knee problems, I became lazy and stopped training. The trip had been planned for awhile back and I just never got on the program. The day arrived quick and I was out of time to train. I had mixed emotions. I was excited to know I was finally going to visit New York but at the same time I was nervous and scared because I wasn't physically prepared to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) but I had no choice but to face my fears.

I originally signed up for the 5k run (3 miles) but once it got closer, I wanted to push myself as much as I could. I decided to upgrade to a half marathon but kept telling myself that I would not be disappointed if I wasn't able to finish 13.1 miles. I knew I could do more than 3 miles but I wanted to challenge myself and curious to see how far I could go.

Here are a few pictures from our New York trip.

Tutu Runners arrive to New York (at La Guardia Airport)

Our Texas Tutu shirt for the Diva Run in New York *Dedicated to our Tutu Yayita who has recently been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer* We love you friend!! 

 Our first train station experience. This was our daily transportation from Long Island to NYC.

On the bus tour cruising through NYC streets.

On top of Empire State Building

 

Tutus in Times Square

Saturday morning picking up our packets for the Diva Run.

Walking through NYC

Then the day had arrived. It was time to rise and shine and get ready to run 13.1 miles. Was I nervous? Of course! The most I had ever ran was 4 miles. What was I thinking? I hadn't trained like I was suppose to. Did I think I could finish the 13 miles? Not exactly. I had told myself that I wouldn't be disappointed in myself if I couldn't complete it. I had originally signed up for the 5k (3 miles) but I wanted to see how far I could push myself. I knew I could do 3 miles but I would never know how many miles I would be capable of completing if I didn't try. So I pass the 3 mile marker and I knew anything after that I would be proud for pushing myself. Then I passed up 6 miles and I told myself my next goal is 8 miles, let's do it. I tried running to keep up with my other Tutus but I felt a horrible pain on both legs. It was like a cramp. A HORRIBLE cramp that stiffened up my legs and I could bearly walk. I got scared! I had to stop and try to massage my legs. One of the staff people from the run saw me and asked if I needed medical assistance. I told them I was ok and kept trying to walk but I could bearly move. I took a break and tried to fight the pain. After awhile it went away and after some time, I was coming up to the 10 mile marker. I told myself that was it for me, I couldn't go any longer. I couldn't run to try and better my time and I knew if I kept walking as slow as I was, I wouldn't make it on time. I started to doubt myself and was proud that I reached 10 miles, so I kept telling myself I'm done but how would I get back to the finish line? I couldn't call someone to pick me up. I was far away from where the rest of the Tutus were waiting for us. They had a few staff people driving around and was told there was a van driving around picking up those who couldn't finish but I would have to wait until they returned. I continued to walk and reach 11 miles, luckily the van came around and I was able to hope on. I finished 11 miles!!! WOW! I was only 2 miles away but it was started to sprinkle, mentally I felt like I couldn't go any longer and physically my body was tired. Could I have continued for the next 2 miles? Maybe. I was happy with how far I got. That's what matter to me! Not what everyone else thought. It was a challenge for me, for someone who hadn't trained and hadn't ran in months. I felt like I did my best. It only pumped me up even more when I saw our Tutus cross the finish line and made me want to run another one. I just need to train and work on my time to be able to finish the 13.1 miles before the time is up. Since I knew I wouldn't beat the time, I gave up. No one will rain on my parade!! I did 11 miles, many can't say that. Here is a picture of us after the run. Proud Tutus! Great job!!!

XoXo,
Tutu Love
Judy 8A

So many new things in a short period of time

I have been slacking on blogging but I'm finally back. I have so much to talk about of what has happened in the last couple of months.

My last post I spoke about starting a photography business. I have been working little by little with a few clients and so far it's been so much fun. I'm hoping to continue and get more business as time goes by. I will be shooting at my first wedding and probably my only for a good while. I'm doing it for someone who is like family and I couldn't say no. It's an awesome feeling to know that someone trust you to take photographs at their wedding. Here are a few pictures I am very proud of. I hope to share more in the future.

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I attended our 10 year high school reunion last month. It was fun! I saw many faces I hadn't seen in years. Well other than Facebook. It was great catching up with everyone and chatting after so long. So many enjoyed themselves that they were asking for us to have a get together every year. We shall see. I'm glad I had a chance to attend our reunion. It's a once in a life time experience. I just can't believe ten years have gone by since I graduated high school. Time flies. I felt so old just thinking about our reunion. I don't regret going though.

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I had a little scare back in August. I was having a bad pain in my knee that was getting hard for me to make any kind of movement. It was difficult doing my daily routines like going up and down the stairs, getting in and out of the car, even walking. After a couple of weeks with the pain, I finally decided to make an appointment with an Orthopedic doctor to have it checked. It was a difficult two weeks. I had a check up with a general doctor the year before but I didn't get x-rays because I financially couldn't afford it. With time the pain went away until August but the pain was worse than I had ever felt. I was scared because I had done some research and I kept reading possible arthritis. Which freaked me out! I couldn't wait to see the Dr. to confirm whether it was arthritis or not. My appointment finally arrived, I was so nervous to get the news from the Dr. I expected the worse. Once the results came in, the Dr. walked in and the first thing that came out of his mouth was "Well it's not arthritis". I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was almost in tears. It was great to hear those words. I can't remember the exact words he said but it was something regarding my muscles were weak and it was causing the pain. They had me do therapy for a month. It felt better after some time. So far I'm good but it's taken me some time to get back on track to training for my Tutu runs. I became extremely lazy after not jogging for about a month. No excuses, I am healthy and need to get back on it.

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I still can't believe this but I have decided to return to college. I have been talking about returning but never made the first step until recently. Since I decided to look into it a bit late, classes had already started but I had a chance to sign up for a second start class. I spoke to a counselor and found out that I had quite a few credits from back when I went from 2002-2005. I have about 17 credits left to finish my Associates Degree. I hope to get it over with in a year or so and then move on to bigger things. I signed up for a Philosophy class and just turned in my first assignment. I haven't done homework in years! I'm so nervous but it's time for me to finish what I started years ago.

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This past weekend I planned a surprise party for my husband's 30th birthday. It was a great outcome. My main concern obviously was my husband finding out but he tells me he had no clue. A few people slipped a few hints but I played along with it so well and threw him off. It worked! The day of the party I was going crazy because I couldn't shop for decorations until he left. I planned out an afternoon for him with one of our good friends. He took him out to the shooting range and did a few things after which helped with stalling him for a few hours. The weather wasn't the best, we had a lot of rain that day which didn't make it any easier. Luckily, I had great friends and family who helped me and made it happen. He was shocked when he got home. It was priceless! You only turn 30 once, right? I had to make it special for him. He enjoyed himself! Mission accomplished!

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Now last but not least, I have an upcoming trip this weekend. I'm ubberly stoked and can not wait! I am going to NEW YORK!! Tutu Runners are going to their first half marathon out of state. I am excited to blog about my trip once I return. Wish me luck!

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That is all for now. So much has happened these last two months, from good to bad. God is good!

XoXo