Baby Mwango

Chileshe Mwango ~12 months old~

2011-12-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

Chileshe is a MANY things:
~Sweet
~Sassy
~Independant
~Cuddly
~ BALL OF FIRE =)
~ Smart
I could go on and on and on!

I am amazed everyday by her smile and her sensitivity to what others are feeling. She is very observant and has a BIG heart for her sister. If Malaika is crying, Chile is crying. If Malaika is laughing, Chile is laughing. She follows her around all day long and wants to do exactly what her big sister is doing. The relationship they have is so amazing and I am praying everyday that it will only get stronger as the years progress.

Chileshe turned 1 on November 2 2011 and we celebrated with a piece of pie that Grandma and Appa Lee brought over. She was a little nervous to touch it at first but as soon as she tasted the whip cream there was no turning back. By the time her big sisters birthday came on the 8th she was able to sing the happy birthday song with us. "Hap BIR Hap BIR".

She still has her feisty side. I have mixed feeling about this feisty-ness. On one hand I love it because she can hold her own.
While at the children museum the other day she made a 3 year old little boy cry. (I know I shouldn't laugh but...HAHA) She stole his toy from him and ran away, when he tried to get them back she smacked him. Poor boy didn't have a chance. I stood back and watched the whole thing play out. I was SHOCKED! I tried to hold back my laughter as I apologized to the little boy and mom and re-directed her to another area. It is nice to know she is going to have the confidence to take care of herself in stressful situations. She is not a pushover in any sense.
The part that makes me nervous is that she is only one and already starting that independent streak. There are two words she uses strongly; NO and MOMMY. Nice right? She is also pretty rough when it comes to playing with other kids. (Malaika has some scratch scars on her face to prove it.) I try to discipline her, as much as you can discipline a one year old, I know eventually she will use that feisty side for good. I just feel for the poor casualties a long the way.

Here are some of the things she is saying and doing now that she is 12 months;
* Walking
* Running
* Twirling - she tries to mimic what Malaika is doing and ends up walking in a very slow circle. It is SO CUTE! She has this look on her face like she is going so fast! haha
* She likes to put her head on the ground while in the standing position. She peaks at us between her legs and giggles.
* When she laughs, she slaps her leg.
*She almost ALWAYS says thank you when you giver her something. She also says Thank you after you sneeze.
*She can say Laika, mommy, daddy, appa lee, "mama" for grandma, and I think she said grandpa the other day but she has not repeated it yet.
*She can also say; puppy, kitty, pretty, num nums, up, down peas, mickey, minnie, no, YAY, Hap BIR, Bye bye, no no, Fish, Mooooo
*She loves books and has two that are her favorite. I love how her face lights up when I open the front cover. She gets a big grin every time.
* Her favorite cartoon character is Minnie mouse. She also like Sid the science kid
* She was 30lbs 6 oz at her last apt.
* She is off formula now and drinking 2 percent milk
* She can pretty much eat anything. She LOVES grapes, beans, and Chicken breast.
* When I get the camera out she will stop and look at it and make this weird scrunched up face. LOL
* She is now sleeping in her own bed in her own room! AMAZING! I have so much more free time now that I don't have little people in my bed. Hopefully we will be just as strong with our next baby girl.

Oh yeah, did you know I was pregnant? HA! Due February 18th 2012. I guess as time progresses I get more and more behind on my blog. I will not blog about her pregnancy BUT I will blog about the delivery. Are you ready for the name? We decided on it awhile ago but Edwin forbid me from posting it on facebook. I have been good so far but it is getting harder to just call her "baby" when she has such a cool name!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Drum roll>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Temweni Arianna Mwango

We are going to call her "Weni" (which sounds like Winnie)
Her name is a Bemba name (Edwin's tribe) and it means happiness.
I LOVE IT! We went with Arianna because both f the girls have A middle names.
Malaika Aiyanna
Chileshe Amyra
Temweni Arianna

FUN FUN FUN!

Well, I am sure I could go on and on but I better close before the kiddo's wake up!
~Tata for now~

Months 9 and 10 - She did not get the nickname "SASSY" for nothing.

2011-09-28T12:22:00.001-07:00

Chileshe is growing up so fast! I do not have a lot of time to blog these days because she is keeping me on my toes. There are so many new things she is doing I will try to make a clear list so I can remember later.

* Let's explain this SASSY thing, We call Malaika "sissy" and Chileshe "sassy". The name rings true for my little sassy-pants. She has a mind of her own and at only 9 and 10 months she will let YOU know if she is not please. She does not throw a tantrum the way Malaika did with just some crying and throwing herself back. Oh no, Chileshe hits you square in the face if she can! She will pinch and pull and scratch and hit and SCREAM. Most of the time this happens when you take a toy away from her of remove her from and area she wanted to play in. Lately it is happening when we take food away that she has found on the floor. MY goodness this child is STRONG! I have many scratch marks to prove it. It is a little embarrassing when we are in public. I honestly had no idea how to discipline her at first. She is so young and didn't really understand the word "NO" at this point. So i would remove her from the situation and try to keep her at arms length so she could not reach me. We are working it out now and she seems to be doing much better, but WOW, this will be excellent blackmail to tell her kids later in life.

*She is talking a lot more. She can say; mama, (addy) for Daddy, (mamaw) for Grandma), up, puppy, baby, she just started saying thank you when we give her things, and she is starting to say Laika.

* She is eating anything and EVERYTHING. We actually have to control how much she eats because she doesn't seem to know when her stopping point is. She will eat until she throws up. She is having fewer bottles now and more grown-up food. She is not a big fan of baby food, but who can blame her. Her favorites so far are strawberries and grapes and chicken

* She is crawling all over the place! She can stand up from a sitting position and walk her way down the couch and through the hallway. As long as she has something to hold onto she is fine. I think she is strong enough to walk on her own, she just has not realized it yet. I think she will be walking by the end of next month for sure.

* Sleeping habits have been ever changing. We keep talking about training her to sleep on her own BUT we are WEAK! It seems like every time we try she is cutting a new tooth or not feeling well. Then I just feel guilty. The past three nights we have been working on breaking the "three bottle a night" habit. So far so good! She has a 2 oz. bottle before we go to sleep and then she has been waking up around 7:30 for an 8oz. and then she will sleep for another hour or so. She is a fantastic sleeper.

* At her 9 month check-up she weighed 27 lb and was 31 inches long

* She is giving LOTS and LOTS of hugs and kisses! I love the hugs she gives because she will snuggle up really close and then I will feel a tiny little pat on my back. THOSE are the moments I want to remember forever!

I will go ahead an post this already before she turns ONE! Can you believe it???

Months 6, 7, 8 - growing and giggling

2011-07-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

OH Chileshe, My sweet little dolly!

She is such a joy to have around. From the time she wakes up she is smiling from ear to ear.

I tried to break down this post into 6 months then 7 months then 8 months but I just could not remember what she was doing exactly in that month. SO here is what she is up to now-a-days;

*She is CRAWLING everywhere - in the 6th month she started pulling herself in an "army crawl". She was slow and steady and tired out really quickly. By 7 months, if the incentive was right (the remote, or iPhone on the floor) she would pick up the pace but always in an army crawl stance. This last month she has been popping up on her knees. I think she is starting to notice that she can move quicker if she is on her knees. She can catch up to Malaika in no time. Malaika likes to play chase with her now and runs away squealing and giggling until Chile catches her.

*Standing up (this has happened in the 8th month) - She can pull herself up from a sitting position to a standing position and then walk down the couch. I am thinking she is going to walk a little earlier than Malaika did. She has a little more incentive though, with her big sister running around all the time. The only problem she has is the ability to sit back down. She will stand until her little legs are shaking. poor baby!

* She says mama and sometimes she will say dada

* at her last appointment (6 months) she was 21 lbs

*she is wearing size 4 diapers and 12-24 month clothing - she is my little chunky monkey!

* She has SO much personality it is ridiculous. Whenever she hears music playing she will immediately stop whatever she is doing and start to dance and clap. If she is on her knees she will start bouncing and swaying her head back and forth. She loves to listen to Malaika sing and is such an attentive audience!

* She will wave goodbye and try to blow kisses

* I have been more nervous about introducing her to solid food BUT I know I need to be more diligent. She is VERY ready. Her favorite baby foods so far are squash and sweet potatoes. She also LOVES applesauce.

These past couple of months have been very busy, we announced that we are having another baby (gotta get started on that blog). We are VERY excited about that. We have also been battling sickness like CRAZY! Luckily we are on the mend and slowly getting back to our happy selves. Stay tuned for more Mwango updates!

Months 4 and 5 - Feisty little thing!

2011-05-07T07:10:00.000-07:00

So here we are at 6 months! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! Time is whirling by and I barely have time to brush my teeth! Chileshe is growing so fast, I try not to blink because I feel like I am missing out!

At her four month check-up she weighed 17.9 lbs (I am terrible at remembering her length so I will update that later). At this stage Malaika weighed about 15 lbs so Chileshe has already outgrown all the clothes Malaika was wearing at this time. That is not a huge problem EXCEPT all of the clothes I have that fit her now are sun dresses. Where are you sun!? Come on' work with me here!

Oh well, my friends at Gap have been having some nice sales so she is definitely not going without.

Chileshe is still a gentle spirit, but some of that personality is shining through and I have observed some feisty-ness! (I have NO idea where she gets it from) She WILL let you know if she is not happy about something. And she WILL let you know if she would like to have a bottle or a diaper change. No, miss Chile is not a shy one. Unless, you are a stranger and you say hello to her, she will bury her head into my shoulder and then peak out to see if you are still looking. She is still one amazing little girl!

Here are some of the things she is doing

Smiling - She is such a happy baby. She wakes up with a smile. I think this is one of my top ten moments with her. When I wake her up in the morning she will have a fussy face with her eyes closed, but the moment she opens her eyes and see's you this HUGE grin breaks out and she is all smiles from that moment on.
Sisterly bond- Am I allowed to say that I am jealous of my own daughters? The bond that they have is so strong! I have a feeling they are going to team-up against me in the future so I will soak up all the sweet giggles and the ticket into the club Malaika calls "The GIRLS" Chileshe is smitten with her sister. When she walks into the room her face lights up and she starts smiling and kicking. MAlaika can make her laugh by blowing in her face or saying a funny word. I try for hours to get a giggle and it takes malaika 5 seconds. LOL What an amazing friendship they have ahead of them.
Rolling Rolling rolling... In the 4th month she had just figured out how to tip herself from belly to back. By the end of the fifth month she can roll from the living room to the kitchen and back. If she see's a toy she can roll to it and turn to get it. She did pop up onto her knee's one time but her face implanted into the carpet and her but wiggled in the air. It was hilarious! I have the house semi-baby proofed.
She is eating rice cereal and so far we have tried carrots, peas, green beans, mango's, and watermelon puree.
Her favorite snack is a rice rusk and an ice cube in the little net holder thingy-ma-jig
She grunts
She is wearing 6-12 and 9 month clothing . There are a few funny memories to remember with her clothing. We had to cut her out of one dress. It was a little tough to get on and I could not imagine what it would be like to get her out of it so we snipped it down the middle. Ha! And another night I was zipping up a sleeper and the zipper broke. Poor baby!
She is sleeping fairly well. She likes to take little nibbles on her bottle throughout the night. I need to find a way to break this. If you do not give her a nibble when she wants it she YELLS. (it is a yell, not a scream or a whine, a YELL!)
She is still sleeping with me. This is one thing I can say that I am HORRIBLE at. Edwin is currently sleeping on the floor in Malaika's room. She still gets up at least once a night so he finds it easier to stay in there and direct her back into her bed to sleep. Chileshe and I sleep in the "big bed" together. She was doing okay sleeping in her bassinet until she started rolling over. I was getting less sleep because I was constantly finding her on her belly and was too scared. In the bed she does not roll over completely. One difference for her is she does not really like to be snuggled. She liked her binky and her giraffe and her blanket and she is good.
She rolled to her binky on the floor the other day and fell asleep right there! AMAZING! Edwin and I laughed and said she will probably be the quiet one who we will find asleep underneath the bed or right by the toy box with toys in her hand. Malaika was NEVER like that so that is a fun difference to notice between them.
SHE SAID MAMA! And I have the video to prove it!

She is an amazing and beautiful little girl. Can't wait to see what God has in store for her feisty personality!

Funny things Malaika says...

2011-04-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, I wish I could walk on water with me SUPER feet!"
Laika: "Mommy , I am getting married tomorrow." Me: "Oh yeah? To who? Laika: I don't know his name. Me: Hmmmm.... Laika: Maybe it is JUSTIN BEIBER!!!! (followed by uncontrolable laughter)
Mommy, Can I have a sucker? Me: No honey it is almost time for lunch. Laika (blinking her eyes with a sweet smile, "But mommy, I am blinking!

2011-04-09

2011-04-09T18:49:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Months 2 & 3 - Oh that smile!

2011-03-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

Month 2 and 3

Month 2 was a bit of a blur, I was finishing up my degree (and graduated!! Whoo hoo!) My brother came for a week to visit and see the girls and then it was Christmas and new years. WHIRLWIND!

Chileshe’s first Christmas was nice! She was so quiet Christmas eve when everyone was over that at times I forgot she was there! I kept saying, Oh yeah I have a new baby. LOL She is so calm and happy. She loved all the snuggles and her big sister liked opening double the presents!!

Chileshe looks SOOOO much like her sister. It is ridiculous! I think that is what we had the most fun comparing in these last few months. She is so much like her big sister but also SO unique and beautiful in her own way. Her features are much daintier than Malaika’s.

Malaika always had big lips and eyes and per her doctor a big head. Haha! Chileshe has the same features but smaller. Her lips are perfect and tiny, and I love how little her hands are. She also has a TON of hair. I can put the hair on the back of her head into a pony tail already.

I will make a quick list of things she is doing and things I want to remember;

Tummy time… I have NEVER seen a baby that loves tummy time like she does. She could lay there for an hour and still coo and watch her big sis. She is also very active on the floor. She has her head realing and moving from side to side. By the end of the third month she rolled over one time, just as quick as she rolled over she rolled right back on her tummy and has not done it since! (I was on the phone with my mom when she did it)

Drooling – She is a DROOL MONSTER! She doesn’t like to wear bibs so I just change her clothes at least twice a day. But that is not a huge problem since she has enough for 4 babies! I think she might teeth early because she is biting on everything.

Smiling – Yes the dimples are amazing, and YES she gets it from me! Haha! I love to see my babies smile. Chile has two big dimples on her cheeks and then two tiny ones on the corners of her mouth. She is JUST the cutest thing when she smiles.

Laughing – Edwin can get her to laugh so easily. I have to work really hard. He is definitely the “Play” parents while I am the “nurturing” one. They go to him for fun and to me when they need some snuggles

Sleeping – She is an amazing sleeper. If I sleep on the couch with her she can sleep for 8 to 10 hours. I was worried at first and would try to wake her up to feed her but I decided to just let it happen and try to sleep too. Edwin and I have decided that we are horrible at training our kids to sleep on their own. I just cannot do it yet! If I sleep without them I have so much anxiety that every noise I hear I wake up and check on them. We ALL sleep better if I sleep with her on my chest. But she is starting to move a little too much so I need to get over it soon. (stay tuned, for the fourth month, we are finally making progress) .

Eating – She loves her bottle. She is eating 4 oz bottles right now and about half and half formula and breast milk.

She is starting to reach out and grab things . She gets so determined and makes funny faces when she is focused.

Such an easy baby, I think we are ready for just one more!

Chile- 1 month - gentle spirit

2011-02-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are at 16 weeks (4 months by my calculations but Edwin says we have to wait until February 2nd. Chileshe is growing and developing so fast I can hardly keep track.Here are the month break downs. I hope I can remember everything!

1 month -
This time was spent getting to now her and basically just watching her while she slept. It is amazing how much time you can kill just staring at a newborns face. They make so many cute faces and little grunts and coo's that you just want to remember every minute.
Adjusting to two kids was not as difficult as I thought it would be. My main concern before having Chileshe was that I would not know how to love her like I LOVE Malaika. I new that I would love Chileshe but I had such a connection with Malaika, she has been my sidekick for three years!!
As soon as Chileshe arrived though, there is this little compartment in your heart that grows and contains all the love you need! It is amazing and such a cool experience to love two little people as much as I love my girls!

Chileshe is such an easy baby. As a very new newborn she just needed snuggles and food and diaper changes. If she

cried you knew that one of those things were needed. The rest of the time she was sleeping and could even sleep in

her cradle during the day! (WHAT!?) I was dedicated to

breastfeeding this time around and really wanted to give it

a try. For the first 2 weeks I did breast milk only. She had weekly check-ups at the doctor and by the first check-up she had already lost to much weight. We had to continue to go to appointments twice a week until she gained back to her birth weight. They said I had to give her formula as well as breast milk. I was sad but not overwhelmed like I was with Malaika. I just decided to do my best and after two weeks she was back to her birth weight. Thank you Similac!
Her sleep schedule was fairly easy.
sleep from 5-9 - wake up eat and changesleep from 10-2 - wake up eat and change
sleep from 3-7 - wake up eat and change
sleep 8-10 - usually sister would wake up and

start making noise =0)

This was the first 4 weeks and she was also fairly easy to get back to sleep. The one thing I really noticed about her is her gentle spirit. She is SOOOO happy and easy. She did not have long drawn out cries and basically just calm all the time. We even took her to Red Robin for Malaika's family birthday dinner and papa's pizza for her friend party and she never cried once. Just slept... it was weird LOL

She was sooo tiny and dainty and BEAUTIFUL!

Malaika has adjusted so well and LOVES being mommy's helper. She is even willing to help with diaper changes. She gives Chile lots of kisses and loves to touch her face. She is such a good big sister!
The biggest adjustment for us has been WHERE to sleep. Malaika still sleeps in our "big" bed sometimes and we had tried to adjust her to her toddler bed before Chile came.

The first night home she was NOT okay sleeping in her toddler bed. She wanted in on all the action and baby "fun". SO I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room with Chile and Malaika and Edwin sleep in the bed. (uh hmm... she is 4 weeks old and I am still sleeping on the couch.... We are sooo not good at the independent sleep thing)

I dream of a day when Edwin and I can sleep in our gigantic bed all to ourselves and dream sweet un-interrupted dreams... HA!

Stay tuned for month two, hopefully before she is a year old.

Chileshe has arrived!!!

2011-02-05T22:23:00.001-08:00

Chileshe’s Delivery (I know a little late)
We were scheduled to induce on the 2nd at 7:30 a.m. at Tuality Hospital. My doctor advised me when we set up the induction that she would most likely not deliver my baby unless the induction process was fat and I had the baby by 5 or 6 p.m. I was supposed to call the birthing center at 7 and let them know I was scheduled for 7:30 and they would let me know if there were any available beds. (This is the same thing we had to do for Malaika’s birth. ) I was prepared for them to tell me that there were no available beds and to call back around noon. That is exactly what happened. IMAGINE! Luckily I was prepared and did not have a freak out moment this time and I just hopped in the shower and went about my dad as usual. I knew they would get me in sooner or later. Around 11:30 we received a call and they asked if I could get in within the next 15 to 20 minutes. I loved it when the lady immediately said, “So I hear you want to have a baby today?” YES YES and YES!
Susanna had spent the night the night before so she could take care of Laika until my mom could get to the house. So we packed up the car and gave her hugs and kisses and off we went. Malaika was actually pushing us out the door. I think she was excited to have alone time with her favorite aunty.
We got to the hospital around noon and they admitted us into this HUGE suite. It was GIGANTIC! After all the paper work and blood tests and IV were put in the doctor came to talk about my options. At my last apt. (The day before) Dr. Bird had said I was measuring at a 3 almost a 4. That was exciting to me because I knew Pitocin would give me the kick I needed to start labor. BUT when I was checked by the nurse she said I was MAYBE a 2. (Oh, and for the record, I cannot stand nurses with little tiny hands. They were actually bracing themselves on the bed rail to check me. I had 3 different nurses come in because the two before said they could not “find” my cervix. UM? I know it didn’t walk away.)
They had called the doctor to check me and I thought they were going to send me home. But she checked and said I was a solid 3 and they needed to get started. (Take that small handed nurses! Haha Can you tell I felt victorious!)
They started the Pitocin around 1:30 and checked on me every hour or so. The contractions kept increasing. Around 7 they started noticing Chileshe’s heart rate dropping with each contraction. They were a little bit concerned so they started coming in every 20 minutes or so to check on us. The pain was increasing but I felt really good. I was dilated to about a 5 around 8 o’clock. (Oh and by the way I prayed that my night nurse would be gentle and have nice long fingers. The LORD absolutely loves me and sent me a long fingered angel of a nurse. She was so kind and GENTLE, no bracing herself and shoving her entire arm up my hoo ha. SHEESH! The constant checks from the day time nurses were almost as bad as the delivery itself!) The nurse advised me that Dr. Hendrickson, the Doctor on call was going to come in to break my water (If I wanted that) in about an hour. She said I could either have my epidural now or after the water was broke. I decided to have the epidural before the water breaking because with Malaika, as soon as my water broke she was on her way.
The anesthesiologist came in about 20 minutes later and inserted the epidural. I was actually really nervous about it. I always have these weird fears that if the epidural worked so well the first time (as far as side effects go) then it was bound to get me the second time. Well, the first epidural did not work. I felt no numbing of pain and well, I Felt everything! You are not supposed to if you have an epidural. She kept asking me if it was working and I kept thinking it would eventually kick in. So we waited … She left the room and I started crying, I told Edwin I could still feel everything but I felt bad asking her to come back and re-insert it. I was also scared to go through the procedure again. What if I annoyed the anesthesiologist and she comes in and does a hack job the second time? EEK! Edwin calmly told me that we were paying a TON of money for this epidural and if it was not working we needed to let them know. I of course wanted to get my money’s worth. LOL She came back in and re-inserted the tube and this time it was amazing!
About a half hour later the Doctor finally arrived to break my water and put things into motion. I knew as soon as my water broke delivery would be quick. With Malaika they broke my water around 6 and I had her by 8 (ish). It was now 10:00 and I was MORE than ready to have this baby. The Doctor said everything looked clear and fine and she would be back to check on me in a few hours. As soon as the doctor left I could feel pressure and some pain in my core. I tried to relax and watch some TV (Modern Family was on) BUT I could not concentrate at all. Around 11 I started shaking uncontrollably (just like Malaika’s delivery teeth chattering and all) GOSH I HATE the shakes! Edwin made fun of me after the delivery because I kept apologizing to everyone because I was shaking so much. I think I would win the award for the NICEST woman in delivery EVER! With each Contraction came a wave of shakes. I could feel her moving down and I told the nurse I was ready to push. She had me do a practice push (I don’t think she believed that I was really ready). I gave her one push and she said… “Uh, hold on I need to page the doctor. Do not push while I am gone!”
When she came back with the doctor she was surprised that it was time already. They set everything up and said I could start pushing. I remember looking at the clock at 11:40 and I was like, “Oh Edwin I think we will have this baby today on the 2nd. “ The Doctor dashed my hopes and said ; “Well, pushing takes a while so it will probably be a little longer.”
I showed her! I pushed her out in 3 rounds of 3 pushes each and at 11:51 pm on February the second Chileshe Amyra Mwango joined the Mwango clan (8 lbs. 7 oz. and 20 inches long)! She is AMAZING and beautiful and I could talk about her for hours! They put her right up on my chest and they actually left her up there for a while. They cleaned her and I was able to just look at her beautiful features. It is so rewarding after waiting for so long and all the hard work you put into labor to see such a beautiful face and know that this little baby is a part of you. I tear up thinking about what a blessing my kids have been to my life, they literally change you from the moment you look into their little face. You want to BE more for them and GIVE them everything you can. Your desire is no longer selfish but abundant. Nothing can compare!

Week 39 - We are ready!!!

2010-10-26T19:41:00.001-07:00

Well, here we are in week 39 and I feel like I am twiddling my thumbs. I have ALL the clothes organized up to 12 months and I have purchased everything else possible. The house is as clean as it can be with a toddler running behind me undoing everything I have "done". LOL

I had my 39 week appointment on Monday and the doctor said that I was definitely 3 CM dilated but I was still measuring thick. It is so nice to go to a doctor appointment and have progress. I have been waking up with contractions all week around 2 am. (which is weird hat they are always at the same time) I usually lay there for a minute and try to time them and then get up and go to the bathroom and get a drink of water. By the time I do all of that the contractions have gone away. I told my doctor that the contractions were making it hard to sleep through the night and part of me was thinking about an induction if she thought I was a good candidate.
NOW let me say I have been SOOOO against having an induction this time around. With Malaika we had a lot of family drama going on and I really needed to have the induction and have all of my family around when she was born. With Chileshe I have not had a real reason to induce and I kind of want to see what labor feels like when you can do part of it at home. BUT I guess when you hit 39 weeks you could really care less what happens as long as you are healthy and baby is healthy. I am just ready to move forward with our little family and see what she looks like!!!

At my 38 week appointment I had my membranes stripped and I thought for sure that would bring on the contractions but I had no such luck. So the doctor stripped them again this week (CAN WE SAY PAINFUL!). She did advise me that she could induce Tuesday (which was today) but she also recommended that I wait and see what happens after the membrane stripping. She thinks I am going to have a Halloween baby.
Initially I said yes to the Tuesday induction, then Edwin and I discussed the pro's and con's and felt like we should wait a week and see what happens. So next Tuesday will be Chileshe's eviction notice.

I have felt fairly good this week. I gained 3 pounds bringing my grand total to 17 pounds this pregnancy. I am tempted to close my eyes next week so I can stay under 20. =0) I can't believe it is already October!

Stayed tuned for the Delivery...

Week 37 - the waiting game begins

2010-10-12T13:36:00.001-07:00

So, I really don't mind being pregnant. The minor aches and pains cannot compare to the alien like stomach movements at the end of each day. I can have the toughest day, and then I feel a little person move inside of me and I realize this is SOOOOO worth it. I had my 37 week appointment yesterday and I am almost done with the doctor rotation. It will be good to see my doctor again next week. So the highlights of this weeks appointment were;
* Gained 1 pound - That puts me at a total of 12 pounds this pregnancy
* Baby's heartbeat was fine and she found it down low so she is still in position
* This was my first internal exam and she said I was 2 CM dilated and 25% effaced
*She could also feel the bag of waters and Chileshe's head. (SO COOL!)
* They asked me if I wanted to have the flu shot and I said, OF COURSE! (Now my arm hurts like I had a serious weight lifting session. )

My next appointment is Monday and they will check me again. hopefully I will have progressed.

Last night I woke up to a few contractions. They were coming pretty regularly but my stomach was not hard like a rock. But these suckers were painful. Once I got up and went to the bathroom and drank a glass of water they went away.

I was making fun of Edwin this week because he is in TOTAL nesting mode. He is cleaning out drawers of paperwork and organizing cupboards in the kitchen. Last night we pulled the totes of baby clothes down and I sorted through them. I am trying to get a little bit ahead of the game on these clothes. It is one of the most annoying tasks. We also have an extra playpen, breast pump, and jogging stroller that I am going to see if my internship location would like or need.
Well, that is all I can think of right now. I need to go study for my final tomorrow night (biomedical ethics - gotta LOVE it)and then I need to relax! I have my last day of my internship on Thursday and I am SOOOOO excited to have finished all of those hours in such a short period of time. I will miss seeing the girls, but I know they are going to text me constantly. I will be posting a blog about my first maternity photo shoot that I did with one of the girls and her sister. They let me practice on them and it went REALLY well.

Week 34- Baby Chileshe, we are almost done!

2010-09-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

Since I left you all in suspense at week 14, I thought it was about time I let everyone in on my "never-ending" pregnancy. (At least that is what this week feels like)

I currently have 2 days left in week 34 and I am not going to be sad to see it go! I have been a sore, emotional, irritable, and a pathetic MESS this entire week. It all started when Chileshe decided to flip into position, which I am VERY thankful for since Malaika was Breech up until the end. The consequences of her flipping have brought the constant reminder to my lower back that I have a baby growing inside of me.

All whining aside I am so excited that we are nearing the end of this journey and I get to meet my sweet little baby in a few weeks! This pregnancy has been COMPLETELY different from my pregnancy with Malaika.HEre is my mental list;
* In the beginning I had a lot more morning sickness

* With Malaika I had bleeding and a lot of complications and with Chileshe I have had a pretty uneventful pregnancy.

* I would say I have been a little more emotional this pregnancy. But you would probably have to ask my husband or my mom since they are the ones who have to deal with me crying.

* Had one ultrasound at 18 weeks and found out we were having a GIRL! The doctor told me I will not have anymore ultrasounds soooo we are hoping they were correct when they told us a girl. (18 weeks is a little early) If not then we have a TON of pink clothes to give away!

* Had my Rho-gam shot for the RH negative blood type around 24 weeks.

* Edwin is getting more excited as we draw near to the end. He is really excited to have two little girls!

* This baby is a MOVER and a SHAKER! She is constantly doing flips and kicks and jabs. With Malaika I had to drink Orange juice and lay down and pray I would feel 20 kicks. I have not had to do that once with Chileshe. She is awake when I wake up in the morning. When I eat she kicks, when I go to the bathroom she kicks, and when I go to bed at night she rolls around! It has been really nice to not have to worry about her and I kind of like the feeling.

* I think we have decided on the middle name...maybe? I won't say yet because we have changed our mind SOOOO many times.

* Had an AMAZING baby shower and feel so blessed by all the friends and family in our lives!

* Pretty much have everything washed and organized. We just need to set up the cradle and playpen.

* Still working on getting Malaika into her own bed. We have our good weeks and then our bad weeks. But I do kind of like having her around so much. I just miss snuggling my husband!

* So far I have not had any outrageous cravings EXCEPT: Hash-browns! For a good two weeks that was all I wanted and one night I almost cried when I burned them. LOL
Watermelon is a constant and I think it is the reason I do not gain very much weight in pregnancy.

* As of my appointment on Monday I have only gained 9 pounds this pregnancy!!! THANK YOU JESUS! The doctor told me to expect about 2 pounds per week from now on so I am bracing myself to see that scale move up.

That is pretty much all I can think of right now. I am really thankful for my husband and his hard working bones. I have been able to be a stay at home mom throughout this entire pregnancy and I feel so blessed to have this time with Malaika and time to focus on school. I graduate this December with my Bachelors in Healthcare Administration and then I am looking at a Master's program in Public Health to start winter term. God just keeps providing for our family and helping things work out!

I will try to keep everyone posted in these final weeks and also post pictures ASAP!

Mwango Baby #2 - week 14

2010-05-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody,
I wanted to share a little bit about this pregnancy so far and finally have some free time to do it. I am currently 14 weeks and 2 days along. This pregnancy has been completely different from Malaika's. I have been SOOOO sick and crabby and emotional. Some days it hits me so hard I feel like I need to hide in another room so no one can see me like this. HAHA! But alas, my husband has been a trooper and has tried his hardest to understand when I need him to and lend me a shoulder to cry on. He is also enjoying cold cereal for dinner multiple times a week. =)

I have not had as many doctor appointments which has made the pregnancy feel a little unrealistic. Some days I feel like I am making the whole thing up. BUT then my nausea kicks in or my boobs hurt and I remember what is really happening. LOL
My next doctor appointment is set up for May 18th. My doctor said that we will schedule my first ultrasound at that appointment. YIPPIE! That will be my 20 week ultrasound and I will know the sex of the baby. Edwin and I both have a strong feeling that it is a girl and I just cannot WAIT to find out so we can get started on transitioning Malaika's room into a big girl and baby room. As far as weight gain goes this time, my home scale says I have lost 8 pounds and the last time I went to the doctor it said I was the exact same as my first appointment. I am hoping I can keep it up and not gain very much so I can lose it quickly afterwards.

Malaika is VERY excited about being a big sister. She tells everyone that she has a baby in her belly and she comes and talks to my belly and gives it kisses throughout the day. It will be interesting to see what she thinks when the baby is actually here and she see's it for the first time. Potty training is going FANTASTIC! She will definitely be out of pull-ups (except the nighttime ones) by the time the baby comes. This is going to save us a LOT of money! Hooray!

Hope everyone is doing good and enjoying MAY! Hopefully the sun will grace us with its presence soon.

Malaika would like to announce...

2010-03-30T12:16:00.001-07:00

That she is going to be a "Big Sister"!! We are sooo excited and cannot wait to add to our little family. If you ask Malaika what is in mommy's belly she will tell you, " A BABY" and then she will walk over and start saying hi to my tummy and giving it a kiss. So cute! Then if you ask her what is in her belly she will say, "Baby Andre!" (That is her cousin who is the only baby she knows.) It will be fun to see how she reacts as my tummy gets bigger and when the new baby arrives.

So far this pregnancy has been just as complicated as Malaika's except I have had MORNING SICKNESS. UGH! I found out I was pregnant in the beginning of February.(We had taken Mirena out the day before Thanksgiving) I contacted the doctor and they set up my first apt. for March 24th for the vital history and blood and urine test and April 13th for the first Doc apt and the fetal heartbeat (can't wait for that!)
At about six weeks I started to bleed (surprise surprise) and I felt all those emotions coming back from my pregnancy with Malaika. I contacted the doctor and she wanted me to keep an eye on it and contact them if it got worse. I waited it out but a few days later I was still bleeding.I decided I needed to just ask the doctor if I could at least get my Rogham since I am RH negative. They said they would see me the next day to check everything out.
After my exam she said the bleeding was not coming from the uterus and everything looked okay. (PHEW) So I was sent off with the message of only call if I have cramping accompanied with bleeding. (yada yada)

On March 24th I had the usually prenatal screening, blood work, urine, and medical history questionnaire. Everything went well and they gave me the packet of info with all the things you can and cannot do while you are pregnant. BUT a few days later they called and said I have a UTI and I will need to take medication for that. (yippee)OH well I will take it all and enjoy these precious prego moments.

I am currently 9 weeks and 2 days and according to the online calculation I will be due October 30, 2010. (Which is a week behind Malaika's original due date which was Nov 4th, 2007)

So there you have it, all up to date! Hopefully the second trimester will be a little kinder to me and I can relax and enjoy. Poor Edwin, I am not sure if he wants to have anymore kids after this round. (hehe)

The Mwango's go to Africa ~Part one~

2009-12-02T05:36:00.000-08:00

We finally did it! After YEARS of planning and promising, we finally took the plunge and went to Zambia. The only word that comes to mind when people ask about our trip is AMAZING! I loved the people and the area and the country. Now that I am home I wish I would have blogged everyday so that I could have kept track of my exact feelings each day BUT I will try to re-cap the event and stay as true to my feelings as I can remember. Sooo here it goes....

I will start with packing. We started packing a few months before we left. We were taking a total of seven bags and I wanted to make sure we had EVERYTHING we could possibly need while we were there. Three of the bags were packed full of things for Edwin's family members. I lucked out and hit the clearance racks in August for summer clothing since we would be in Africa during their hottest season. We packed shoes and purses and suits and LOTS and LOTS of baby clothes for his family. For Edwin and I it was fairly easy, all the summer clothing that I needed to pack away for the winter was packed into suitcases. I didn't know what the temperature would be like so I tried to pack a little bit of everything. Malaika was the tough part. When packing for a baby there is this maternal demon that sits on your shoulder and tells you bad things are going to happen if you don't pack THIS! Even though I KNEW I would not need Malaika's heavy winter coat, I could foresee Africa having their first and ONLY snow while we were there and Malaika freezing to death because I am such an unprepared mother! Haha! She did not even wear half the items I packed for her. (but if any catastrophe happened I would have been prepared..LOL) Her diaper bag was full of toys and coloring books and things that I though would entertain her on the LONG plane rides.
The main concern with the luggage was weight. we were only allowed 50lbs per bag that we were checking and they had to be certain dimensions. At home each bag weighed about 49lbs.(except one) PHEW! Susanna came and stayed with us the night before we left and drove us to the airport in the morning around 5 a.m. the baggage went through and the lady was so nice. we had one bag that was over the weight limit by 20 lbs. we were prepared for this and thought it would be an extra 50 dollar charge but it was actually a 150.00 charge. she said that because we had a baby we could take one more bag. She provided a box to put the excess stuff in and checked it all at no extra cost!! She also kept telling us (at least a hundred times) that we should continue to have more babies, and when we have them to come see her. What can I say, we make cute babies!
*Here is a tip for all you travelers out there... TRAVEL WITH A BABY! You get the most amazing service everywhere you go!* We were always escorted to the front of the line.
I was extra nervous about flying. I have not flown since I was in high school and the farthest I have ever flown is to Kansas. Now I have a (almost) two yr. old and a 36 hour flight ahead of me! EEK! The first flight was a 3 hour flight from Portland to Minneapolis. Since Malaika was under two we didn't have to purchase a ticket for her, she was a lap baby. this flight posed a slight problem because it was packed completely full and in the row of three seats were Edwin, Malaika and myself as well as another lady and her baby! Talk about cramped! For some reason every flight we had Malaika would pass out right before take off. It was almost like she knew what was going to happen. She would suck on her binky the entire time and we never had a problem with her screaming or crying because of her ears. She slept through the entire first flight *AMAZING*! The next flight was from Minneapolis to Amsterdam this was an 8 hour flight and it was the nicest plane! All the seats had individual movie screens and you could watch TV and listen to music. Malaika slept through half of the flight and the other half she watched dora (on the I touch) and Ice age on the seat screen. She cracked us up on this flight because she ate soooo much food! I had packed a few snacks (chex mix, cheerios, and goldfish crackers) she ate almost all of those and both mine and Edwin's plane food! In Amsterdam we had a 5 hour layover which was good and bad... (If I was telling you this in person, this is the part where Edwin would start laughing at me) I decided to go the comfortable route and wear a tracksuit on the plane. I wanted comfort and not style for a 36 hour flight. The problem is that the tracksuit was on the baggy side and after a few hours of being in a plane it had stretched out more. this would not have been a problem if we had not just landed in the most FASHIONABLE airport I have EVER been in. Everyone was wearing suits and fur and stiletto's! On top of that they all smelled SOOOO good! I smelled like an eight hour plane ride who's seat was directly across from the bathroom. UGH! My adoring husband did not help...He had unfortunately told me, before we left,that I should not wear the baggy tracksuit and that I should wear nice jeans and a nice shirt. He proceeded to tell me this for the ENTIRE 5 hour layover in Amsterdam and continued on the next flight! I hate when he is right! All of my nastiness aside, Amsterdam has an AMAZING airport. The changing room alone was beautiful! As you stepped in the dimly lit room there was light classical music in the background. There were about 10 round sectional couches and each had a built-in crib and sheer white curtains draped around them. BEAUTIFUL and relaxing is what it was. The playroom for the kids was furnished with wooden tree houses and lots of slides... Malaika enjoyed.

The next flight was an eight hour flight from Amsterdam to Kenya. This was BY FAR the worst flight we had. Time changes were catching up to us and it was our night and their day time. We were sitting next to a VERY loud group of Men (kenyan's as edwin called them) who did not speak a word of English but every word they spoke was in a LOUD yelling laughing tone! Malaika slept through this entire flight, she would not even wake up when we tried to wake her for food, and I wanted to join her so badly. Every time I would tune out the loud passengers and drift off the stewardess would wake me up to ask if I wanted something to drink or eat. UGH! NO I want sleep!!!!! There were no TV's and the battery to the I touch had gone down so I can strongly say that was the longest flight of my life!

When we arrived in Kenya It felt so good to FINALLY arrive in Africa. It was late in the evening for them (9 PM for them but afternoon for us time wise) This layover was not very enjoyable. Since it was late most of the shops were closed. My tracksuit was BEYOND baggy at this point and Malaika had just woken up from an 8 hour sleep. She was very perky! I had to use the restroom and when I went in the floor was covered in water. I hiked up my pants and headed to the stall (thinking this is normal?) the toilet was a hole in the floor... hmmmm. I checked the other stall and found a semi -normal toilet and decided I would rather chance an over flowing toilet then my balance on the other one. Good choice! We waited for about 3 hours and then boarded the plane to Lusaka. FINALLY!

This flight was about 2 hours and very exciting, we knew we were almost there. Malaika slept through this entire flight as well (we were soo lucky). The food on this flight was really good and the staff were also very nice. When we landed in lusaka it was around 11:45 PM and it took FOREVER to get through the customs line. We finally made it through and started looking for our bags. All but one made it, my bag was the only one that did not make it. Unfortunately that was the only bag I had packed anything in. I had an extra pair of pajama's in my carry on and luckily they were light and airy because I would be wearing them for the next 5 days! EEK! (Yes I cried... I cried a lot! )

Edwin's sister and brother-in-law were there to pick us up and they had paid for us to stay in a REALLY nice lodge for the night.(The shower had like 10 nozzles and a back massaging spa!) They dropped us off and told us to get some sleep and they would pick us up in the morning. That was my first night sleeping under a mosquito net and it was magical!!! I love AFRICA~!

-------TO BE CONTINUED---- hopefully not 3 months from now------

21 & 22 Months - "The pea's please mama!?"

2009-09-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

Yes people, it is true, I have heard the black eyed peas (boom boom pow and I got a feeling) a bazillion times in the last 2 months. Lisa and Cheryl can vouch for me. BUT who couldn't play it over and over and over when you have a little dancing machine shaking her booty to the music!? My daughter is soooo stinkin cute!!

These last two months have been a little busy in the Mwango household.

* I started school at Concordia and tonight is the last night of my first class. I am loving the program and feel like the time is going to fly by.

*Edwin applied for a higher position at work and after almost 2 months of waiting we finally heard back and he GOT THE JOB! HOORAY! I am so proud of his accomplishments at Aetna. He is a very hard worker and it it nice to see him get a promotion. (the raise is also going to pay our car payments so I am NOT complaining one bit!)

* We FINALLY found a church! We have been going to Westport community church for about 5 weeks now and decided this will be our home church. It feels really nice to get plugged in again. We have home group on Thursday nights and then they have a TON of community outreach programs to get involved in. One of the programs they are doing soon is for single parents. They are bringing in massage therapists and catering a dinner for over 100 single moms and dads. They are also providing daycare during that time so the parents can relax and enjoy their time. How cool is that! This church really has a heart for the community and I love that! (Malaika will not go to the nursery at the church yet..UGH!)

In between all of that our little sproutlet is growing and changing sooooo much.

* Just yesterday she actually spoke in a full sentence. She said, " Daddy says, go outside play!" All of her sentences lately have started with "Daddy says". I feel like I am in a continuous game of Simon says around here.

*I cannot even count the number of words she is saying but she talks from morning til night and also in between. In the middle of the night she is constantly taking about water or Dora or Mickey.

* She will eat almost anything. She LOVES turkey meatballs right now and noodles. She calls them "oodles". She also loves strawberries and apples.

* We finally broke the bottle!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY This has been an ongoing struggle for us. Basically because Edwin and I are weak human beings. Malaika has us wrapped around her little finger. haha! BUT we took charge and have been bottle free for 3 days now. I hold 12 step meetings on Tuesdays, at noon, if anyone wants to join. (we serve milk in a cup and cookies)

* I found a Dora quad on craigslist for 20 bucks and she has been LOVING that.

* I get together with my sister-in-law and a few other mom on Wednesday mornings at the park. It has been fun getting to know the other moms (we all try to bring a friends so the group can grow). It has also been fun watching Malaika develop. She is now able to go down the big slide all by herself!

* We bought Malaika some "big girl panties" She is now wearing them during the day when we are home. She likes using her potty and has used the big potty once or twice.

* She loves to sing and can sing the entire twinkle twinkle song. Every time we go to Winco she draws a crowd of people and they clap for her. She can sing her ABC's and Jesus loves me.

* She can count to 20 in English and thank you to Dora she can count to 10 in Spanish all by herself.

* I have been teaching her colors and shapes and her favorite shape is a triangle. She is ALWAYS pointing them out to me when we are shopping. For colors... everything is green.

* I try to take her to the zoo every other week so she can see the animals. It is good exercise for me and it helps with nap time.

* She LOVES to sleep! She goes to bed around 9 or 9:30 and wakes up around 10 and then she typically takes a nap around 2.

She is amazing and adorable and... the list goes on and on. I have learned so much from being a mom and I am thankful God gave me this little angel!

Our Africa trip is in 28 days!!!! Around this time next month I will be Baking I mean BASKING in the African sun!

Summer DAZE- 18,19,20 months

2009-07-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hello out there....

(sorry the site is not letting me add pics )

There is so much to catch everyone up on. This blog has been on my "to do" list for months and I have just not had the drive to 'get er dun'. But enough with the excuses and on to the good stuff.
I am going to share a little family life and drama before I talk about the little princess.

April and May were pretty tough months for us. At the beginning of April little Andre Chibwe Mwango blessed us with his presence.

He is SOOOOOO cute and such a good little baby. Edwin and I kept Mwila for a few days while Holly was at the hospital and adjusting to being home. It was so much fun to have Malaika and Mwila together playing. Everywhere we go people think they are twins. Which being only a month a part and looking VERY similar, I can't blame them. As most of you know Edwin's brother has had his ups and downs. He has battled with an alcohol problem for a few years and it was getting the best of him (Literally). In the beginning of May he was in an accident and was taken to jail for a DUI. this was not the first one he has had and they immediately started the process of court hearings and discussed prolonged jail time. While this was happening poor Holly was home with a brand new 3 week old baby and a 16 month old. Edwin and I talked about it and asked her if we could keep Mwila for awhile while she got adjusted and healed up and back on her feet. Their original plan was that she would go back to work in a few weeks and he would stay home with the kids. So her whole plan was knocked out from under her. Soooo May past by pretty quickly and we stayed busy with school and the girls. I definitely got a taste of what it would be like with twins! When the time came for Holly to go back to work I attempted keeping Andre and the girls and quickly discovered I was not super mom. =) I have no idea how Jon and Kate do it! We kept Mwila until she was able to get childcare set-up and DHS in order. She took her back the week before my brothers wedding at the end of June... (I am slowly listing my excuses for not posting on my blog =) ) During that time Musonda has had many court hearings and they have sentenced him to 2 1/2 years in the Salem State Penn. This has been such a bitter sweet time. We wanted him to finally get the help that he desperately needs. BUT I didn't want it to happen like this. IT makes me sad that he will not get to see his kids grow up in these early years. I also worry about the influence prison has on people. Musonda is such a great person. He is Smart and personable, he is the type of person who can make friends wherever he goes. Alcohol has really taken a toll on him and everyone of the people around him. So please pray for him... Pray that he will stay in good spirits and that God will really do a number on him while he is in there. Pray that Holly can stay strong and make it through this time with love and care for her children. And pray for Edwin and I that we will know the right words to say and that we can be a good example for Andre and Mwila and a good support system for Holly. Sometimes I really wish I was superwomen so I could help everyone and be ten places at once.

So that was April, May and part of June.....

There were two other events that transpired in June.
1. My mom moved out and into her own apartment. I am so proud of her (haha I sound like a parent) This was also a bittersweet moment for us. I LOVED having my mom live with us. She has been here since I was pregnant with Malaika and has been a source of support for me. I was a little scared that I could not do it on my own without her. It is amazing how much we need our parents when we are adults. I am so grateful for everything she has taught me. She has helped me become a loving, caring mom. I only hope I can be half as great as she has been to me! THANKS MAMA!!!!
We were also excited to see what life would be like with just the three of us... I know Edwin was really ecstatic to get to walk around the house in his underwear...haha! I was also excited to get to send Malaika to Gma's house for the weekend! Her first time was actually last Saturday night. It was my first time without her overnight (Remember she sleeps with us) I only cried a little.
It was a great night out with my hubby though and we felt like teenagers staying out until 1 in the morning! LOL

2. My brother got MARRIED! I know.. never thought it would happen. I LOVE his wife though. She is so much fun and a great partner for my brother. They were married here in Oregon at the Abernathy Center in Oregon City on June 25th (RIP MJ). I was a Bridesmaid and Malaika was a flower girl (SHE WAS SOOOOO CUTE!) I had all the groomsmen staying at my house and let me tell you it was GREAT! I had breakfast ready for me every morning and one of the groomsmen is slightly OCD and he was on his hands and knees scrubbing my kitchen floor! He even got a paint stain up that I had just accepted as a part of my floor.
The wedding was beautiful and I am sooo happy that Tony has found someone.

So that was June

Now July ----- Way to much has happened---- This will be Sporadic

We went to LaGrande for the fourth to go to one of my best friends weddings. Jana and Wade make the cutest couple and I can guarantee they will have the cutest kids (Next to mine!) Malaika tore up the dance floor and at one point she was on the stage dancing by herself. She didn't even notice that no one else was up there. She is SUCH a ham! Now I just need to figure out a way to stop Jana from moving to New Jersey.. =(

I have been reading REAL BOOKS! I love reading and while in school I never had the time. I started the Twilight series a few weeks ago and I am currently on the last 50 pages of the third book. I told Edwin I would take a break for a week so we could have some family time. (I tend to get caught up in my little book world).

I was accepted into Concordia Universities Health Administration Bachelors program. I start the week after Edwin Graduates from his Business Bachelors program. I will graduate next December and then apply for OHSU accelerated Nurse practitioner program. I just received my financial aid package and I was awarded the max for pell grant and an Oregon Opportunity grant. This is amazing because in the 5 years I have been in school the most I ever received was 500 dollars... this year alone I will get 6000! Thank you LORD! This will cover about half of my tuition.

We bought our tickets to Africa!!!! AND Malaika and I have our passports! We leave October 21st and get back November 6th. FINALLY! I will share more on that later.

Okay finally on to Malaika...

She is pretty much saying every word she hears... She is a talking machine from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to sleep. She even talks in her sleep. She can count to ten and sing part of the ABC's. She even said "refreshing" the other day when she smelled something. HAHA! She likes to sing along with any song and her current fav is Boom Boom POW (The clean version) by the black eyed peas. She is saying please and thank you so well now that I don't even have to tell her. pretty smart little girl!

She has been sleeping in her own bed (with me) for almost three weeks now. Soon I will start slipping out and leaving her...soon

She does not like her diaper being dirty. As soon as she poops she brings me a diaper or runs up and says CHANGE!!!!She has been letting me know ahead of time and we are starting to learn how to pull up and down our pull-ups to use the potty. She loves it when her potty sings when she pees in it. I think she will be an early potty trainer.

She is already wearing a size 8 shoe! Can you believe it! This poses a problem at times because a lot of kids that wear size eight are old enough to not need the back strap.. she clearly does.

We bought her a trike at goodwill I will try to get a pic of her today and add it.

She is still wearing size 5 diapers. Most clothes she wears are 2 and 3 T If I am buying clothes I only buy 3T

She is AMAZING!!!

Hope that got everyone caught up and not to long. I will try to get better! PROMISE!

Updates

2009-04-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

I have not posted some Mwango family updates in a while so since edwin is watching th Blazers game and mom is holding Malaika, I thought this would be the perfect time.

Overall we are doing great! It has been a very busy year so far, and I couldn't even tell you exactly why it is so busy. I am still unemployed and the time is drawing near for employment. It is bittersweet because I love being home with Malaika but at the same time we need to generate a little more income. I have been looking around for daycare and I am hoping there is an opening to the one I like when the time comes. Daycare in Portland is SOOO expensive though... they range from 800 to 1500 PER month That is as much as our mortgage! The home daycares run 25 to 35 dollars a day, but then you have the worry of not knowing exactly who they are.. ugh! (I will stop thinking about it)

The house is coming together nicely. I still need to post some pictures so you can see the before and after. Edwin is always embarking on a new project. "We" (hehe) recently put in new counter tops and sinks in the kitchen and two bathrooms. We had to take a break from that construction project though because Edwin cut his thumb with the circular saw on the last countertop. Someday I will allow him to play with the saw again. =)

We also purchased a new washer and dryer that are eco-friendly... they are nice and quiet and beautiful! I never thought I would be so excited about buying appliances.

Our most recent project is the backyard. We laid down bark chips and purchased a little playhouse and slide and basketball hoop so Malaika and her friends would have a little play ground this summer. Now it just needs to stop raining so she can go out there and play!

I think I said in an earlier blog that I had applied to two different nursing schools. I heard back from them both and I did not make it into the PCC program and I was waitlisted for the University of Portland. I decided rather than wait another year to apply again, I would create a much needed back-up plan. I have applied for Concordia University's accelerated Bachelors in Health Administration. This is a 16 month program and when I finish it I will FINALLY have a Bachelors! FINALLY!!! WHOO HOO! Edwin is currently attending Concordia for a Bachelors in Business and he graduates in August. He has loved the program and all the teachers so he has been persuading me that it is the best thing for me... I happen to agree. After I have a Bachelors I can apply to OHSU's accelerated nursing program. The program at OHSU takes three years and you come out with a bachelors in nursing and a Masters with a nurse practitioners license. Which is exactly what I wanted. SO in about 5 more years I will finally be done.. SHEEESH!
At least I am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

As I said before Edwin is graduating in August and as soon as he graduates he told me we are free to go to Africa.. We have looked at tickets and it looks like the last week in October and first week in November will be when we go. We have to go before Malaika turns 2, or we will have to pay for her. I am sooo ready to finally go! I will let you know when we actually purchase the tickets because their is no turning back then.

hmmm.. what else...
OH

We finally found a church! It is called True Life Fellowship. We have only been going their a short time but we think it is a perfect fit. They are more of a home church, a place we could feel comfortable and grow in. Musonda and Holly introduced us to them and they have been very welcoming. So I guess that is another thing I will keep you posted on.

And last but not least... MALAIKA
She is now 17 months! I weighed her on the scale this morning and she is 26 pounds. She seems to be stretching out and some of the clothes she was wearing last week do not fit anymore. She is wearing a shoe size of 6 to 7 but the size 6 shoes are starting to get small. It seems weird to buy size 7 and 8 for her! She is going to have big feet like her mama.
We have been hanging out with Edwins brother and wifey (They just got married on april 1st!) and little mwila a lot and it has been sooo fun to see Malaika and Mwila interact. Malaika gets sooo excited when she see's her. Holly is due this Thursday with their little boy so I will post pics as soon as I can.

We re-did her room and made a big girl room.. Here are some pics

We now have Madagascar posters on her wall.. I guess I need to re-take..haha

Malaika changing every day... She learns a new word every day and sometimes points and uses the right word.. haha She started saying "Pee Pee" and "PooP" and "Potty" which is great since I am trying to potty train. So far she likes to flush and raise the lid... she has only pee'd in the potty one time. Our carpets need a good cleaning though.. haha

She is also a FRUIT baby she loves straberries and watermelon and apples and oranges. She also likes Avacado and tomatoes, she can eat a whole avacado by herself! We are working on breaking the bottle habit and some days are better than others. I am not going to break the binky until we get back from Africa. I need to have a mute button for those long flights!

She loves the Blazers and when we say "Nicholas" she says "BAAATUUM" It is soo cute! We are trying to find a blazers cheerleading outfit for her.

I guess thats all for now. I can sleep peacefully knowing I am semi-caught up.
I hope everyone is doing well.. Happy late Easter!

(Malaika's first slumber party with Lauren!)

The doodlebug

2009-02-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

Malaika....

Well, she is now 15 (almost 16 ) months old..and getting smarter everyday. I have been so busy with school and re-modeling the house that I have not had time to update on the new things she is doing. Sooo today I am taking the time and I hope you all enjoy.

Here is the LIST: (There might be some repeats from previous months but... you get the point)

* She is saying sooo many words now I don't even think I can remember all of them. Here are a few;

-Please.. She even says "Oh, please" ... If she wants something I will ask her, "What do you say?" and she responds with "Please!" SOOO CUTE!

-Thank you

-Yes

-No

-uh-oh

-Ice (She loves ice chips)

-Hot

-sit

-what's this?

-bye bye

-nite nite

-PUPPY! - and she barks

-horsey

-She knows what sounds a puppy, cat, horse, cow, and chicken make

-She can say papa for grandpa

-she says bama for Obama and gets really excited whenever she see's him on TV or a picture of him.

- down

- Dora

- Barney

- She says cool now for everything new she see's .. "Oh cool"

- she also says Oh WOW! Whenever she see's a toy she wants

- she says HI

there are more but I can't think of it.. It is pretty amaing to see this new language develope. she also has a language of her own and she will babble your ear off. (Just like her mama).
She loves cell phones and laptops and anything with buttons. She will throw a huge tantrum when we take the phone away from her.. but she is learning that tantrums are only embarrasing (for everyone.. haha )
Whenever she throws a tantrum and my mom is around, my mom gives her this look and Malaika tries to hide. It is pretty funny.

She is currently wearing size 12 months -2t depending on the brand and size 5 diapers still.
And on our scale at home she is 28 pounds.

We updated her room to a "big girl" room. I will post some pictures as soon as I finish my finals on Saturday. I am excited to finish the little touches and then get her sleeping in their consistantly.

Sorry it took me so long to update... I will try to be better!
Hope everyone is doing good.

1 year old!!!

2008-11-28T21:07:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen- I would like to introduce you to my one year old little girl... Malaika "Mimi" Mwango!!!

Isn't she beautiful!

I have been so caught up in "life" that I have neglected this blog. My deepest apologies to my avid readers. (all 3 of you haha) Well, we have been up to a lot these days and so I will try to get you all caught up in one little post.

First there was Halloween! Susanna and I searched long and hard for the perfect costume and finally found one at the Disney store. We wanted something VERY girly and pink and it just so happens Minnie Mouse is all of these!
I think one of my favorite memories of Malaika was putting this costume on. Once it was on I took her over to the mirror and her face lit up! She crawled over so her face was an inch away from the mirror and had the biggest smile on her face. Then she backed up and grabbed the sides of her dress and started swaying from side to side. She was totally checking herself out in the mirror! My mom and I laughed o hard we had tears.... Then came the ears... not her favorite item. haha

After she was all dressed up I took her to Edwins work so we could show her off. Of course everyone ewww'd and ahhhh'd. She loved every minute of that.

Then we went trick-or-treating with my friend Nicole and her two little girls Lauren (5)
and Amelie (1) and their cousin Fatima (5)

They were all so cute and susanna and I *cough* I mean Malaika got TONS of candy. =)

The next big event was Malaika's 1st Birthday party!!!!!!! WHOO HOO!!

I cannot believe she is one. She is so big and grown up and beautiful! One year ago I could never imagined what life would be like with her. But now I cannot imagine what life would be like without her. It was a great day and we loved spending time with all our friends and family.

My mom and her boyfriend did all the cooking and they made the best food EVER.

We had Mac and cheese (Paula Dean style), beef Brisket, sweet potatoe fries and of course Chicken for my husband (He/we no longer eat beef). Susanna and Alisa helped me decorate with balloons and streamers . We had Pink Sippy cups for all the kids and animal cookies.
and I blew up a ball pit for them to play in. Malaika was blessed with clothes and toys galore! When it was time to open presents I asked the kids to help out and they opened all the presents in 3 seconds flat! I could not believe it.
Thank you to everyone who came and also to those who sent gifts and cards!

I think Malaika enjoyed the day...

she didn't really get a good afternoon nap in so when it was time for her cake she had a little meltdown. As soon as we started singing she started screaming. It was pretty funny but I also felt bad for her because she was so worn out.

But I was surprised at how good she was with sharing her toys with the other kids.

One great surprise was my dad. He came from LaGrande with his wife Cindy and her son Cody and we got to spend the next day with them. I love having time with my dad. It doesn't happen a lot so when it does I try to soak up as much time as I can. Cindy and Cody were a lot of fun to hang out with as well and we made sure to take some fall portraits before they left.

Malaika you are one pretty lucky one year old!

I guess since it is her 1 year post I should do an update on the things she is doing.
* WALKING EVERYWHERE!!! She started walking about 1 week before her birthday. It was like a ligh switch turned on and she just started walking around the kitchen. After that there was no going back to crawling. She is now into anything and everything!
*She is saying more words and pointing at thing and jabbering. She says yes and no and shakes her head when she says them too. Mama and daddy and sometimes "damma" for grandma. she says uh-oh and oh! when she falls down. She does this thing when she gets embarrassed.. it sounds like she is saying aww man! and then she hits herself on the head. It is pretty funny. I have been working on sign language with her and she knows how to say "more" and "up".
*Whenever there is music she likes to dance and sing. He favorite song right now is Move it Move it from Madagascar 2. She has a microphone and she will walk around the house singing into it.
* I can tell her to go pick up her binky and bring it to me and she will.. this is amazing!!! She knows she has to have her binky in hand before she can come on the couch for some lazy time. She likes to sit on the couch with me and take her afternoon nap. I think it is one of my favorite times because I can sit there and just watch her. So peaceful when she sleeps.
*She never liked eating babyfood so I have had to try other ways of feeding her veggies. Luckily she is not very picky. I grate apples and cucumbers for her to eat and I buy frozen veggies and steam them. He favorite veggies so far is cucumbers but she also loves cauliflower. She can eat a half of chicken breast no questions asked. (and she still only has 2 bottom teeth) She likes applesauce and LOVES apples. Another one of her favorite things is pumpkin pie. She loved thanksgiving! Another weird thing she likes is ice. our fridge makes ice chips that are small enough for her and she will eat those until I tell her she can't have anymore (This is after hours of feeding them to her) Then she cries and throws a little tantrum and then I distract her and she is over it. LOL She likes to eat gerber veggie crunchies... we have to hide or throw away the empty container immediately or she will freak out!
*We are weaning her off the bottle right now and only giving it to her 3 times a day. If she wants it. I am also weaning her off similac and switching to milk as soon as we run out of formula. She seems to like regular milk so far.

* We have been working on picking up toys and putting them away and she seems to like it. We have cubes in the living room for her toys and so she will take things out and put them back.

* She is a book FREAK! I think I have read every childrens book in the house 100 times a day! Edwin and I laugh because she will bring a book and then ask us to pull her in our lap. Then we will read it.. she will cry when it is over... then grab the book and take it over to another person. Then we tell her to get another book and she will wander off into her room for a few minutes and come back out with a new one. When I tell her book time is over she cries.. then goes to my moms room for more story time.. haha *sometimes when I see her coming with a book I will try to hide so she will give it to edwin to read first.. Is that bad? haha

*She is still sleeping with us... we have given up trying to make her sleep on her own. It was to hard for us to hear her cry for 2 to 3 hours and then sleep for a few hours and do it all over again. We decided we will wait until she is big enough to sleep in a toddler bed and try then. We also love having her with us. We have weird little bedtime family routine and when she is not there it feels weird and empty. So yes we are a weird little family and we love having our little girl sleep with us (accept for the nights she turns sideways and kicks me in the face) We figure we won't beable to have these moments back so why not enjoy them. BUT the next one... off to the crib you go!

*She talks in her sleep - she gets it from me

*She is wearing size 12 months -2T depending on the brand

*size 5 diaper

*Her last check-up (With all the shots) went great! No fever or crankiness..thank you Lord! I am forgetting the exact measurements but I think she was 31 inches long and 24 pounds. still in the 95th percentile.. her head is in the 99th haha

*She is forward facing in her carseat

*She still only has 2 teeth total! On the bottom. Her gums keep swelling up on top but nothing comes through. The doctor said it was fine and possibly better because late tooth bloomers have less cavities.. so I will take that and not worry to much. She loves brushing her teeth though. It is oneof our nightly family routines. We are trying to teach her how to spit in the sink now.
Well I better let you all go.. this is turning into a book!

On a final note - Thanksgiving was very nice and relaxing day. We invited some of our friends that are from Zambia and their two little girls and susanna and my mom were here. It was lots of food movies and chit chat! Just the way the holidays should be.

She is 11 months old- Can you believe it?

2008-10-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have had this blog on my "To do " list for way to long. I am glad I can take some time this morning and get caught up on what my baby girl is up to these days.

Over the past 2 months Malaika has been developing so many new skills and definately developing a personality. I don't know if I can keep up!

She is....

* Cruising like a maniac- She can run down the couch when we chase her. She LOVES to be chased. Then she chases us back. I love the high pitched squeals and laughter.

* Standing on her own and taking a few wobbly steps. Yester day she took two full steps and then fell. So we are almost there!

* She says- Mama, dada, Her most famous word is "HI" She says this whenever we come in the door or when we give her the phone. When she wants attention or picked up she says "ME ME" , She says Dora (wouldn't you know) and "OH!" every time she falls. She also sings "lala" when we play music. The other day we thought she said aunty when susanna walked in and gama when my mom walked in. So I guess we will see.

* Dora is stil her favorite.. BUT Edwin likes Barney so he has been watching that with her. We also went to the disney store to get her haloween costume (She is going to be Minnie mouse) and she grabbed the minnie mouse stuffed animal and would not let go. She was hugging it so tight and giving it kisses (of course I bought it... I am a sucka!)

*I think we have finally settled on her nickname... Of course we call her laika (Like-ah) and she is now our little doodle bug. My grandma used to call me Sarah bug so I thought doodle bug was a good fit for her. (edwin even calls her this.)

*She is playing on her own a lot more. I finally child proofed her room and set it up so she could play. She will go in there for a good 45 minutes to play with her toys. Which is nice so I can get the dishes done.

*She still only has the two bottom teeth. I have had to many sleepless nights for her to only have 2 teeth! I think I see a little white on the top gum but she won't let me near her gums to look.

* She is a dancing machine.. whenever she hears music she rocks back and forth, rolls her hips and taps her foot. she also claps when she likes something or when she hears other people clap.
*She takes the phone and puts it to her ear and says "Hi"
*When we tell her no she shakes her head no.
* When my friend nicole weighed her a couple weeks ago she was 22 lbs and 30 inches long. She is wearing 12-24 month clothes and I just went up to size 5 diapers.

* She is pretty much eating anything we give her. She will not eat baby food AT ALL so I have to be alittle creative on feeding her vegetables. The other night she had chicken breast (cut into chunks) stuffing and cauliflower (boiled) It is fun to watch her eat what we are eating. She loves yogurt and her new favorite thing is cucumbers, she will eat them until they are gone.. and then cry for more.

* We are having her first birthday at chucky cheese on November 8th! I am excited about it.

She is little miss personality that is for sure... I am enjoying every minute of it! I will try to get better with this blog so stay tuned for more!

Canada

2008-09-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

Edwin and I have wanted to leave the country for awhile but in 2004 INS had taken his passport (Long story) and they finally returned it over the summer. We were so excited we could finally get out of here, we decided to start small and go to Canada. Vancouver is about 6 hour drive and there seemed to be a lot of things to do. We wanted to make it our anniversary trip as well as our first family vacation!

Our first impression of Canada (sorry to say) was not the best. Canadians drive CRAZY!!! Crazy Canadian drivers and my Crazy African driver do not mix well. The first day we almost got in an accident. BUT I was very thankful for my Crazy African driver, he was able to adapt to their driving and get us around the city.

I have never been out of the U.S. so it was a great experience to see something new.
Some of the differences that stood out-
*currency - On our first exchange we exchanged 200 american dollars for 205 canadian dollars. So our dollar is not that powerful there.
* Everything is VERY expensive- I don't know if it was because we were in a tourist town or if that is the norm. For example a pop in a machine was 3.00 compared to our 1.50. Also a burger was 12.75 (This was at the aquarium) . Everywhere we went or wanted to go(Aquarium, amusement park, suspension bridge) tickets were 30 to 60 dollars each
* When I went into Safeway a lot of the food packages were in french.
* Their driving
* The Road signs - They are confusing at times
* They call eggs benedict "Benny's" and their scrambles eggs are yolks only
* The signs for their buildings were plain- ours have logo's and bright colors. theirs were white background and black font with plain text.
* The buildings there were beautiful
* The neighborhoods were interesting. On one side of the street their were mansions that were some of the prettiest houses I have ever seen. Then directly across the street there would be broken down homes with trash in the yards and something you would see in a really bad neighborhood.

*The people were not as friendly as they are here. I noticed that people didn't want to make eye contact and the friendly "courtesy" waves you get here were not to be found there.
*Diverse- There were people from every culture and background. I heard languages I have never heard before. Edwin kept laughing at me. He said I acted like I was in a 3rd world country because everything seemed new to me. I guess I need to get out more. LOL

Traveling with an infant is definately a task. I made sure to pack for every type of weather imaginable. What I didn't think about was the moods of a traveling, exhausted baby. We left around 4 AM so the car ride would be easier and she did great! When we got there around 9:30 we checked into our hotel and got ready for the day. The hotel we stayed in was a surprise to us. Edwin had accidentaly booked a room with 2 double beds. (great anniversary =) hehe ) The room didn't have any room for Malaika to get down and crawl which started off the day with a little crabbiness. She needed to stretch! The hotel was in Surrey which was 30 to 45 minutes away from Vancouver. We soon learned this was to far of a drive with traffic included. We decided to look for a different hotel in the city. (but we had to stay the first night in surrey)
When we went to Vancouver there was NO way we could find our way around without a GPS unit. We tried the map thing and it was not working. Our phone has GPS but Verizon charges 2.00 a minute for usage over there. SOOOO we went to staples and bought a GPS. IT WAS AN ANGEL!We were finally able to find our way around. Here is what we did while we were there;

1st day-
*We found the IMAX theater which was something I was really excited about. They had a 3D movie playing about Deep Sea fish. This was our first encounter of traveling with a baby. Malaika did fine at first. They gave her 3D glasses and she was trying to touch the little fish that were swimming around. BUT then a big fish came and ate the little fish and that was the end of our IMAX experience. We decided to let the other people enjoy the movie and we left. The manager was really nice though and refunded our money.

The theater was located on the waterfront and we had amazing veiws of the city line as well as the ships that were coming in. We walked on the promenade for awhile and took some pictures.
Then we decided to go to the mall. The mall was HUGE Their were over 500 stores and they were all high-end stores. We quickly decided we would window shop and enjoy the view. After that we went to safeway to get some food for dinner and breakfast in the morning and went back to the hotel and slept.

2nd day-
(We found a new hotel in Richmond and Malaika has a TON of room to roam. )

We went to Stanley park which is a huge tourist attraction. You could easily spend a week going through the hiking trails and different attractions just in this one park. It is basically an island filled with things to do. We went to the aquarium and spent most of the day there. There was a dolphin show, Beluga whales, and a shark tunnel. Malaika really enjoyed this (except for the dolphin show) It is fun to watch her develop and see things for the first time.

After the Aquarium we wandered around stanley park and walked along the beach for a little while. The views were AMAZING! This was my favorite day, it was so relaxing and enjoyable.

3rd day
We had two choices- 1) The Amusement park or 2) the Suspension bridge in whistler
We decided to go to the amusement park and ride some rides. The suspension bridge had a lot of staris to climb and we did not have a backpack for Malaika. We didn't think it would be that enjoyable with a 23 pounder on our hip. lol
The amusement park was the best decision. They actually had rides that parents could ride on with their kids. Malaika really enjoyed the choo choo train and the helicopter ride. Edwin went on his first roller coaster and felt like he conquered the world LOL . By the end of the day we were all exhausted and ready for bed.

The last day was pretty much dedicated to sleeping in, packing, and customs. Getting back over the border took over an hour. (Thank God for portable DVD players and DORA! )

We would love to visit canada again. Next time we would like to go to Victoria and ride the Ferry and see the gardens. It was a great Family/Anniversary Vacation.

Busy weekend!!!

2008-09-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

August went by as quickly as it came. We have done something every weekend and I tried to take pictures of it all. (It has also taken me so long to post this that I am forgetting all the details!) Here is one weekend...

Portland City Fest- (Friday)
Loius Palaou (No Idea how to spell) was downtown at the waterfront and they had all sorts of things to do. My mom and I decided to go on Friday afternoon so we could see Bob and Larry from Veggietales.
We decided to park at the Lloyd Center so we could take the max downtown for free. We tend to forget that we live in Portland and they are ALWAYS doing construction. We boarded the max at 2:00 and then had to get off at the convention center (which is really only a few blocks down) THEN we had to board a shuttle bus (With a stroller full of stuff for the day).

There were hundreds of people trying to get on the bus. People we actually jumping over the stroller to get on the bus before us. Something triggered my almighty mommy powers and I started yelling at people. LOL Most of you know I am pretty much the nicest person. BUT when your child is in danger there is something that bursts! Needless to say.. we got on the bus (with a few weird looks) hehe. When we FINALLY got downtown it was already 4:30 and we had missed the Bob and Larry show. But Kirk Franklin was going to be leading worship at 7:00 so we still had something to look forward to.
It was pretty amazing to see all the people gathered together for a Christian event. Newsong Church started the evening off with Praise and worship. Pastor Richard is such a good singer and he has such a heart for the city. We lucked out and found a spot in the front so we were able to see the stage really well. Kirk Franklin has WAY to much energy!

The next day (Saturday) Susanna and I decided to go to the beach. Edwin had a lot of homework so he did not want to come along. I was a little sad because I wanted him to be there for her first time in the sand but it worked out that mom came instead so we had a nice Girls day out.

Unfortunatly we picked the busiest day to go to the beach. It was the Hood to Coast relay and there were THOUSANDS of people on the beach.
We couldn't even find parking (In seaside) so we parked all the way down in the Safeway parking lot. When we got to the beach we even had to do a bag check with security. There were tents set up as far as you could see and they even had a band set up for a concert.
BUT we did have fun with
Malaika. She was able to ride the carousel and enjoyed it. She LOVED the beach, she is a beach baby for sure. She loved the water and the sand and didn't want to leave.She even crawled on the beach for a while until she found something nasty and tried to eat it. After the beach we had to find a place to clean the sand off of her. So we went to the Best Western on the beach and tried to clean her off in the sink. Unfortunatley I clogged the drain (WHOOPS!) so we got out of there as quickly as possible. haha
Edwin and I made Sweatshirts on our honeymoon they have MWANGO on the back so I decided to make Malaika her very own MWANGO sweatshirt. I will have to take a picture of it and post it. I always take to many pictures so hopefully you won't get bored. =)

The next day (Sunday) Susanna and I had planned a girls day and had apointments to get our make-up done at MAC. We have both become MAC addicts and I pretty much have every color of eyeshadow made. We talked my mom into coming with us and of course Malaika had to go (The ladies at the MAC counter LOVE her) We also went to a movie called the House bunny. It was definately a chick flick. Edwin was glad he didn't come along.

I am very thankful for my mom and susanna they definately help me out a lot and entertain me when I am needing it! THANKS GIRLS!!!

We always knew she was a star!

2008-08-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

A while back we had some new professional photo's taken of Malaika. I was going through my blog and realized I never posted the pictures here. We used FullofGracePhotography.com and she was so nice and welcoming! We had a lot of fun trying to get Malaika to stay in the pose we wanted. I am always amazed at the personality that my "mini me" has.

They also contacted me last week to let me know that two different hospitals wanted to use Malaika's pictures in their pediatric waiting room! How cool is that!!!! Of course I said yes! The pictures below are at the Calcagno Pediatrics Office in Gresham on the Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center Campus. YIPPIE!

8-9 Months- Full speed ahead

2008-07-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I neglected to post her 8 month post in time so I decided to combine her 8 and 9 month post.
Malaika…. Is the craziest, cutest, most inspiring, loving, AMAZING, curious, most beautiful thing I have ever been involved with!

She is growing by the day and keeping me plenty busy with her new budding curiosity. I guess I will try to list the MANY things she is doing.

*Definitely crawling all over the place. She is crawling like a pro now from room to room getting into anything and everything she can. We are trying to teach her the word “No” but I am not having much luck yet. So until that day we say no and then move her on the opposite side of the room. But I think she can find mischief wherever we put her.

* She can pull herself up to a standing position. Aunt Susanna got her a toy that she can stand up on and push buttons to play music. She loves to stand up and walk around the outside of it. She can walk from one end of the couch to another. She has not been brave enough to walk on her own but if I am holding her and let go she can stand on her own.

* She is eating all kinds of food. I think her favorite is Chicken. She likes to eat chunks of chicken and croutons from our salad. We have been surprised by how much she can chew with only two chompers.

* She can get out of her vibrating bouncer… I used to put her in it while I took a shower so she could play and not be to far away… The other day I heard a “THUD!” and then there she was right in front of the shower door trying to get in. LOL I don’t know how she didn’t hurt herself.

* She is enjoying swimming in our new pool. I think she is going to be a water baby.

*I think she has her upper teeth coming in but we can’t see them yet.

* When she see’s other kids she growls at them

* She still LOVES Dora the explorer. Our friends Lori and her daughter Hailey gave us a Dora the Explorer Playhouse with a bunch of dolls and Malaika loves them! I think I have the theme song down pat now!

* She is very curious and loves to get into drawers and the fridge. She likes to take toys out of her basket and then put them back.

* She likes to smell the flowers with my mom. Their daily routine is to go outside and water and smell the flowers. It is pretty cute.

* When I did a home measurement of her the other day she was 21 lbs and 28 inches long. She is wearing size 4 diapers and 12 -18 month clothes
* I cut her hair and evened it out because it was driving me insane! I think it looks a little better now but it is a little short.

I really cannot think of anymore at the moment. She is getting prettier and prettier everyday! I am so thankful for this blessing! I can’t believe it has almost been a year!

My Birthday – a day at the zoo

2008-07-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

On July 25th I turned the big 23! I know I know I am getting up there =)
Malaika was sure to be the first to wish me Happy birthday every hour on the hour throughout the wee morning hours. I tried to be as thankful as I could.
My mom had the day off so she wanted to take me out to breakfast and take me to the zoo for my birthday gift. I LOVE THE ZOO!

I could go to the zoo every day of the week and never get sick of it. Every time I go, there is something there I didn’t see before.

I also love to go because I get a good workout without even noticing. By the end of the day I am tired, tanned (ever so slightly), and twitter painted. I love animals!

We also took Malaika with us and it was fun to see her reaction to the animals. Last time I took her she was more amused by the leaves and the grass.

This time she actually saw some of the animals and was curious. I have a great video I will post of her with the Orangutan’s.

After that my mom and her boyfriend offered to baby-sit Malaika so Edwin and I could go out for a birthday dinner and movie. This part of the night was all a surprise. Edwin had been planning for a few weeks and wanted me to have a nice birthday. It was such a nice evening; it reminded me of old times! He came home with a dozen roses which is ALWAYS wonderful! First we went to Du’s grill; it is a little hole in the wall teriyaki chicken place that has THE BEST chicken, rice and salad. It is over by Portland Bible College and we used to go there a lot because it was yummy and cheap! Then we went to Bullwinkle’s family fun center and played video games for a few hours. We collected almost 700 tickets so we got to pick out a few trinkets to take home to Malaika. THEN we went to the new Will Ferrell movie “Stepbrothers”. Edwin is a HUGE Will Ferrell fan. It was definitely a laugh! He also got me my new phone! I was in desparate need of a new phone since mine was shorting out.
I also talked to my dad and he and Cindy got a $25 gift card to the movie theater and a $25 gift card to Claim Jumpers (which is an excellent restaurant) and my friend Maria also got me a Gift card to Nordstrom which will be put to good use! Thank you everyone for a great Birthday!!

Summer days

2008-07-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

We have been pretty busy these last couple of weeks. Here are some of the things we have done.

* Painted the outside of the house. It had to be done before the end of June. We still need to paint the trim and finish some touch-up work but it is looking really nice.

* Fourth of July- We had our friends Nicole and Everisto over with their two daughters Lauren (5 yrs old) and Amelie (11 months old) It was really nice and relaxing to hav them over and BBQ. Lauren was even brave enough to swim in the pool.

* We bought a pool! It is about 4 ft deep and it has been so nice on the really hot days. We have been trying to get Malaika used to it but it is not her favorite

* Went to LaGrande- This was a nice trip. Susanna and I went down for 3 days to go see my dad and "try" to see as many friends as we can. I decided that next time I am going to let people come to me.. it was so hard on Malaika to be in the hot car and drive around so much. I felt bad by the end of the 3 days she was exhausted. I was really nervous to make this trip with her because I didn't know how she would be on a 4 hour drive. Surprisingly she slept through the whole drive. I did not even have to stop. She is such a good baby. It was so nice to see my dad and Cindy. Malaika really likes Cindy. It is always good to see my dad interact with her (She is still not to sure about him.) We are hoping to make the trip again in September so for those o you I didn't get a chance to visit maybe we can see you then!

* When I got back from LaGrande I was making dinner when someone knocked on the door. It was our next door neighbor and she wanted to invite us to a cookout that they were putting together for a few of the neighbors. It was on Saturday evening and we told them we would bring some pie. I was really excited to meet the rest of the neighbors since we have not lived here very long and I have not been brave enough to go meet them.
We went there around 6 and they had set up a swing for Malaika and had some baby crackers for her to eat. (Most of our neighbors are elderly so they all LOVE malaika and think she is the best thing ever) It was fun to get to know all the different personalities. It is also nice to know we are in a neighborhood that is safe and fun and the neighbors actually care about eachother. Around nine they wanted to set off some leftover fireworks. Talk about "leftover" There was about $100 dollars worth of fireworks and they lasted for over an hour! Malaika is not a big fan of fireworks yet, so edwin had to take her inside. It was a really fun night and I am looking forward to more of them.

*This week has been pretty uneventful. We have ben trying to organize the house still and put some finishing touches. I think we will never be done with that. Today I am taking Malaika for some more professional photo's. I love living in a big city there are so many free lance photographers wanting to get more baby photo's in their portfolio's so I get killer deals. Today We are going to a free session in greshem and she will give us one free 8x10 as well as unlimited online photo's that have a lower resolution. Which is perfect for us because we don't really print the pictures. I will post some of them for everyone to see.

*OHHHHH and the last thing
I decided to go to an advisor because I have been taking a lot of random classes while taking my nursing pre-requisites. Turns out I had 99 credits just with PCC which is enough to get an associates degree!!!!! So all I needed to do was fill out some papers and I need to take it in and pay 10 dollars and I will get the certificate! This was such a blessing to find out. I felt like I have been in school for so long with nothing to show for it.. but now I will have something to put on my resume! Hooray! I will also be able to apply for 4 different nursing schools in the fall.. so PRAY that I get into one of them.

I will post Malaika's 8 month post this weekend. Hope everyone is having a great summer!!!

7 Months - "Mama"

2008-06-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

That’s right she is saying MAMA!!! It makes my heart happy every time she does it. The first time she did it I was trying to get her to crawl and she was crying, I told her if she said mama I would come and get her. Within seconds she belted out; “MAMA!” Edwin and I were like WHAT!? So now whenever I leave the room she cries and says mama, whenever she wants me to get her she says mama. It is pretty cute!

This month has been very hectic with moving and finals I have felt pulled in MANY directions. Malaika has been a trooper and made it through it all with me. I finished my final Anatomy class and got a B!!!! Hooray! I never realized how hard these classes were until I started them. There have been many sleepless nights this term. I have this week off and then I start my summer classes. I am taking Pathophysiology and an online typing class. I have one more class to complete and then I can apply for the nursing program. I AM SOOOO READY! Okay enough about school.. Lets talk about Malaika.

What she is doing this month:

*Definitely sitting by herself – She pulls herself into a sitting position from laying and can catch herself now if she is falling.

*Crawling- She cracks me up! She gets on her knees and rocks back and forth. Then she crawls for a few second and then drops to her stomach and does and army crawl. She can make it from one side of the room to another if the incentive is right.

*She pulls her self to a standing position. I was going through her clothes and had some totes out. Had her sitting on the floor with some toys and I needed to run into the other room to get something. While I was gone I hear the scream of a life time. I ran back in and there she was standing by herself. She wasn’t even holding onto anything! She had pulled herself up using the tote and then didn’t know what to do so she was scared. I couldn’t believe it when I walked in!

*I cannot leave her on the bed anymore for naptime. I left her on moms bed while I did dishes. About 15 minutes later I heard a THUD followed by a scream. She had fallen off the bed.. UGH! It is so scary! I kept a close eye on her the rest of the day to make sure she was okay. I was so worried that she had fallen on her head.

*She is eating all sorts of foods. I just gave her mango’s the other day. We have been taking our food and grinding it up and giving it to her. Her favorite food so far is applesauce. She also loves chewing on carrots. I can just give her a raw carrot and she will chew on it for an hour! (It gets little tech marks on it.hehe)

*She has 2 teeth that are through on the bottom and one on top that is starting to come in. Teething is so tough for babies! I feel so bad for her sometimes. She had a fever of 102.4 for 4 days when the teeth were breaking through. And then once that finished she had horrible constipation. We have to use a glycerin suppository to help her out. POOR THING

*She is still sleeping with us… I think we are ALL to attached

*She is wearing size three diapers (actually squeezing into them until this pack is gone)

*She is wearing 12 to 18 month clothing

*She loves Music! Anytime she hears a commercial with music she perks up and starts dancing. She wiggles and slaps one hand on her leg

*She is as beautiful as ever!!!

*She loves laughing!!! She is starting to laugh at little things we do. Sometimes I will be laughing at edwin or something on TV and she will laugh too.

Everyday I look at her and I am SO Blessed! She is a really good baby who loves learning new things. She is so persistent and I can tell she is going to be so smart when she is older. I never knew that I would love a little person this much!
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer break so far!

Swingin

2008-05-27T11:33:00.001-07:00

6 month check-up- Feva!

2008-05-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

Malaika had her 6 month check-up last week and it went.. okay
Her stats were:
Weight: 19 lbs 6 oz
Length: 28 inches long
He said that her head is pretty big for this age (This cracked me up) But he said it is proportionate to the rest of her body. She is currently in the 95 percentile. So she is still looking like she will be over 6 feet.

I had a few things I wanted the doctor to check on.
*She has been rubbing her ears so much that they have been bleeding so I wanted him to check and see if she had and ear infection/ she doesn't! YAY! He said that it may be her way of discovering her ears.
* Separation anxiety- She has been having a hard time when I am not around. Poor Edwin, every time I leave she cries the whole time I am gone. The doc said it is normal and by the time she is 2 or 3 she will become a daddy's girl! He just said to keep trying and eventually she will come around.

Her shots went okay this time. She only had to have 2 pokes and she made it through them ok. Later that evening she was really irritable and just cried and cried. I checked her temp and she was 101.3. I gave her some tylenol and we all went to bed. around midnight her fever had spiked to 102.7 so I called the advise nurse. They said that if it reached 104 to take her to the emergency room but for now just give her some more tylenol and a wet washcloth. By morning the fever was 100.9 and then it went down throughout the day. It was scary to see her like that though. We have been lucky so far and I have not had to deal with a fever or sickness. she looked so sad just sitting there and she felt like a furnace. We made it through ans she is back to her normal self now!

trying to crawl

2008-05-05T21:45:00.001-07:00

Malaika and Mwila

2008-05-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

6 months - Lovely

2008-04-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

These past 6 months have been the most wonderful, exciting, emotional, tiring, exhausting, life changing months in my life. I cannot imagine my life without my precious little girl. She is truly the light in my life. She makes me want to be a better person so that one day she will want to grow up to be like her mama!

I went through all of her pictures that we have taken in the past six months and I can’t believe how much she has changed. When it happens right in front of your eyes you miss some of the smaller details. I decided I would post a newborn pic of her and a recent pic to you all could see the comparison.

She is soooo beautiful!

This month has been a trying month for me emotionally. As Malaika grows and starts to discover this new world around her all she wants to do is touch it, grab it, and eat it! This poses a problem for a little one with very little coordination. She tries so hard to get to things she wants but she gets very frustrated in the process. This causes my little “Angel” to act like a two year old and throw herself backwards, pulling her arms in and screaming. Since she discovered her new voice and the reaction it has, she has made this a daily habit for anything she does not like. If I bring a bottle to her mouth and she wasn’t hungry…. THROW BACK AND SCREAM… If I have her sitting on the floor doing tummy time… SCREAM.. If I have her sitting in a position she doesn’t want to.. THROW BACK AND SCREAM… EEK! I am not sure how to handle a 5-6 month old throwing a tantrum. I tell her no. I let her cry it out every once in awhile. I try to find a new position that will make her happy. But by the end of the day I am one exhausted mama. Soooo.. if anyone has any advise I will gladly take it for the tantrum throwing baby.
I try not to get to frustrated though because I know she is just trying to get to a toy she wants or trying to tell me that she wants to do something else. I just never thought it would be this exhausting mentally and emotionally.

Now that I got that out of the way lets talk about some good things she is doing.

*Sitting on her own completely.. her wobbling is pretty much gone. She does have her moments though so I stay pretty close.

*She can stand on her own now for about a minute. Until she see’s something else and tries to reach for it. She can stand up on her own if she is holding onto something.

*When she is on the floor she will turn herself around so she is facing the opposite direction. She is also starting to roll more. If she is in a laying position she can sit up.

*She is not crawling yet but she is trying really hard. The poor thing gets so flustered.

*She turned to edwin last night and said “ dada” that was the first time she has said it! UGH! I wanted mama.. Oh well

*She can drink out of a cup. We have to be careful now when we are drinking. She is surprisingly strong and can pull the cup down.

*She likes House of Mouse. I let her watch it in the morning when I got to take a shower… it entertains her for 23 min.. hehe

*She likes to do what we call a “knee slapper” She takes her hand and hits her knee… pretty much this is an all day thing. I will have to video it so everyone can see.

*She discovered her lips and smacks them all the time.

*I am teaching her how to give hugs and kisses and she is learning. This morning I said, “Give me a kiss” and she leaned forward with her lips slightly puckered. I was sooo proud. (Believe me this is something we have been working on for WEEKS! )

*She is still not excited to go to other people. She will for a few minutes until she catches a glimpse of me. Then she reaches her hand out to me and starts crying.

*She is definatly reaching out when she wants to be picked up.

*We can no longer give her a bath in the baby bathtub… water gets EVERYWHERE!

*Her favorite song is Twinkle twinkle…This can distract her from anything. As soon as I start singing it she gets really excited and smiles really big. I even recorded myself singing so if we are in the car and she has a meltdown I can play it OVER and OVER and OVER. hehe

I guess that is enough for now.. it is amazing how much she has grown and I know I am forgetting a bunch of new things.

I thought I would also list the nicknames we have for her. Some have stuck and others have not.
For the most part we call her Lika (L-eye-kah)
Buga (Boo- gah)
Diva
Sis
Mal
Lovely
Gibi ( Ji-bi )

Edwin is the one who came up with Lika and he thinks he is pretty cool. LOL!
The house is almost done soo I will be posting some before and after pictures soon. Thank you to Solo, Susanna and Chris for helping us paint the whole place! Also I will have a biggest looser update soon… noone has won yet.. 20 pounds is hard to lose! But I will tell you I only have 5 more to go!!!

Wedding Vows

2008-04-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

My Dad got married on Saturday. It was such a beautiful intimate ceremony and I was so blessed to be a part of it. I am so thankful that my dad has found someone that will make him happy. I love her and I love her family!
They got married on the Portland Spirit a 4 hour dinner cruise along the columbia.
Here are some pics of the family. It was soooo good to see my brother and his fiance and my great grandpa A.D. was there. (So it is Malaika's Great Great Grandpa)

2008-04-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

5 Months- Miss Personality

That’s right… we the Mwango’s have created a beautiful, smart, amazing little monster. So much has happened this month, I hope I can remember it all. Also I might repeat things from last month but it is good to know she is still doing them.. right? LOL

* Her SMILE… it is always there, plastered on her face. I have found that we cannot go anywhere (and I mean ANYWHERE .. even in the women’s room) without someone saying how beautiful she is. Some days it is fun to take time out and admire my little angel with a total stranger and talk about how cute she is. Of course Malaika turns on the charm and flashes her dimples at the right moment (usually just as they are about to walk away )Then there is a whole new 10 minute conversation about who she gets those amazing dimples from. I proceed to smile and say “She gets them from her dad!” hehe

* She is so smart! She loves to drink from our cups. I have been giving her a little water in a cup and she grabs the cup and pulls it down to her mouth. She then tilts it so the water will come and then drinks the water! I am happy that she has caught on to this because I have heard it can be hard for babies to transition from bottle to cup.

* She can stand on her own for a few seconds without any help. I personally think she is going to walk instead of crawling. She doesn’t seem to show much interest in crawling when she is on her tummy. But if I stand her up she takes steps to get to things. She just needs to work on the whole balance issue. LOL

* She is sitting on her own, a little wobbly, but she gets so excited when she does it. She looks around to make sure you are looking at her and then flashes her huge smile.

* Holding her own bottles – THANK YOU LORD!!! I can now do the dishes while she eats in the afternoons! Hehe

* She can turn all the way around in her jumper and jumps in it now

* She is eating more solids- Green beans, sweet potatoes, bitter biscuits (for teething) and gerber toast. She is pretty interested in what we eat and is always trying to get it. She grabbed Edwins orange and shoved it in her mouth before we could catch her. She loved it and wanted more!

* She is still drinking 4 to 6 oz at a time.

* Sleeping schedule still varies. I think it is because she is teething. Her regular time to fall asleep is 9:00 pm and then she will wake up around 4:00 am to eat and then sleep until 9 or 10 in the morning.
Last week she was having a hard time at night and woke up almost every hour. She wouldn’t cry or anything by I could tell she was just uncomfortable.

*Drool MONSTER! I know there are some teeth just waiting to come out, but they have not made their Debut yet.

* She discovered her feet and loves to play with them. She likes to eat them!

* When she drinks her bottle she tugs on her hair. SOOO CUTE

*She rubs her eyes when she is tired. This is really interesting to me. There are so many things that just come natural to us. When she rubs her eyes I know she is getting sleepy.

* She is starting to mimic me. When I cough she coughs too. Then she looks at me and smiles. It cracks me up!

* She is wearing size 3 diapers and 3 to 12 month clothes now (depending on the brand) I even found a shirt the other day that is 3T and she is wearing it right now. I pretty much just buy what I think is cute and get a bigger size. She will eventually grow into it! The shirt she is wearing now is like a dress but it looks cute!

I love to watch her develop and change. It is so amazing how everyday they learn something new and they adapt. I am so in love with my little girl!!!!!

Laughing

2008-04-07T14:05:00.001-07:00

Malaika

2008-04-07T13:48:00.001-07:00

Biggest loser update/school

2008-03-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

Okay this will be my final blog of the night.... I have lost 10 lbs so far!!! YIPPIE! I think I am in the lead but you never know who will surprise me. Our deal is.. whoeever wins 20 lbs first gets 20 bucks from the other two.. Wish me luck!

Also a quick update on school.. I just took the second anatomy and got a B!!!!!! WHOO HOO! This next term I am taking the third anatomy and then I will take microbiology over the summer. Next winter I will beable to apply for the nursing program. I am so ready!

Edwin is a busy bee with school right now. He is currently taking his nursing pre-req's at PCC. But he is also finishing his Pharmacy tech stuff through Penn Foster online. Also this Spring term he will be starting at concordia university to finish his bachelors for business. I don't think I could handle everything he is doing but he seems to be doing great with it so far! I am so proud of him!!
Alrighty.. Now that you are all caught up in our lives I am going to bed! Good night!

Changes

2008-03-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

Sooooo... we have not really told a lot of people yet (No Karla I am not pregnant again..hehe) We are buying a little house. HOORAY! We wanted to wait to tell everyone because the paper work was not final yet. But we signed all the papers today and will be closing next week. We will get to move in on April 27th!! There is some work that needs to be done but edwin and I are sooo excited to have a place to call our own. It is 3 bedroom 2 bath and it has an AMAZING deck off the back. It has a little yard and it is by a creek. I will post some pictures of the outside now and then I will do some before and afters of the inside in a couple of months.

Malaika Mwango! 4 months old!!!

2008-03-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

Sheesh... its almost time to post her 5 month blog! Life has been amazingly busy and I have had very little time to do anything! But Malaika has been growing and changing as each day passes.

She had her 4 month check-up last week and she was a trooper! I was so thankful that my friend Jessie could come with me and hang out. I always get flustered when she has to get shots.
Poor Malaika still has thrush... that stuff is the devil! So she had to get thrush medicine and her three shots in each leg and some medicine in the mouth. When we got home she was a little irritable but did good. Then the next day she crashed! She slept for most of the day (I got soooo much housework done!)
Her stats at the doc office were ..... 15 lbs 10 oz, and 26 1/2 inches long chubba wubba!
she has out grown all of her 3 month stuff and I just started pulling out the 6-9 month stuff. I can't believe how many cute clothes she has!!

Things she does that make me laugh:
* When she coughs... she farts... that will ALWAYS make me laugh
* She likes to suck on her fingers... but then she sucks them to hard and chokes herself
* She makes funny expressions when eating greenbeans! (We did too when we tasted them.. YUCK!)
* She is learning how to fake cry
* She is gigglin!!!! When we tickle her to much and she can't giggle anymore she does this highpitched scream.. then she lets out this sigh of relief when we stop.
* If you sit her in one place for to long the seat will be covered in drool. We thought bibs would work.. but they don't.
* She likes to play ith the remote and gets really excited when it comes close to her. She breathes in and kicks her legs.. so cute!

I think my favorite time is in the morning when we are just waking up. She likes to snuggle just like me and we can spend a few hours in bed just snuggling and "telling secrets" I hope that as she gets older this can be a tradition of ours.

Some things that don't get us to excited....
* She trys out new crys every once in awhile.. this girl can scream
* She is starting to recognize people who are not her mommy... She then trys out one of her new crys. This can be very stressful when mommy has a final to study for.
* She pretty much wants to sit up all the time and do what we are doing.. including grabbing our plates and bringing them to our lap!

Some new things :
* She is still going with the letter B... and then spits all over everything while trying it out!
* She can now stand and swivel around in her jumper. She can spin the ball and she knows how to get the music to play by pushing the little keys.
* She is practicing piano and guitar with daddy... It is interesting to watch her get used to being around them. The first day he put her on his lap she just looked at the keyboard and didn't really do much. Now when he puts her up there she leans forward and presses down on the keys.
* She is eating rice cereal and a little veggie here and there. I am still BF her but she is getting the majority of her food from Our friends at Similac (thank goodness I am able to get WIC)
* She is starting to respond when we talk to her.. I will say something to her and then pause and she will make a noise back.. then she will pause and I will do it again. It is pretty fun.
*she is still in size 1-2 diapers.. but we are moving her to size 3 because Costco doesn't have reg size 2.

All in all it has been amazing and we are learning new things every day. I have my days when I am stressed and need a break.. But then I have my days that all I want to do is play with her and spend time snugglin. I can't think of a better way to spend my days! (well.... I can't think of a better way to spend most days.. hehe )

I hope everyone is doing great.. I will be writing a few more blogs about some other stuff going on in our lives so STAY TUNED...

A Beautiful Day

2008-03-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

As most of you know Portland rarely has beautiful days in the winter months… well I got to experience one! YAY!

We decided since it was so nice outside we would take Malaika to the park and enjoy some much needed Vitamin D. The day before we had done an indoor shopping trip to Washington square and mommy spent WAY too much money. We got a really cute sun hat and some new shades for baby so I knew that this wonderful sunny day was the perfect day to use them. When we first got there I think she was a little shocked… she looked around and then made funny faces when the sun would get in her eyes. We sat on a blanket for about an hour and then we decided she should probably go inside. It was fun though to see her reaction to the birds and the grass (she wanted to eat it of course).

I am really amazed everyday when I look at her… I am first of all amazed that she is a part of both Edwin and I. (I am also amazed that I did not have to pass a major exam or study really hard to create her.. hehe No dirty jokes here!) Secondly I am amazed at how she is developing. Everyday something new happens and she does something that I would never expect a baby to do. She has the biggest smile in the world (I am so blessed) She is a happy baby in the morning and sometimes in the evening. =) I am so thankful that God has blessed us with her.

Edwin has been home this month so that has really helped us relax a little more and have some great family time. I don’t want to post too much here because I want to post on her 4 month blog but I thought I would share this with you all!

3 months old - a whole new world!

2008-02-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

Malaika is now 3 months old!!!! Whoo hoo!!! The doctor promised me at her 2 week check-up that when she hit three months she would be a completely different baby. So we have hit that milestone and he was not lieing! This month was a serious roller coaster but it has had a happy ending. I will explain to you our journey....

At her two month checkup she had her shots She did great at the appointment and we had to keep an eye on her for the first 24 hours for side effects. We were a little nervous because my mom said that I had an allergic reaction to one of the shots when I was little. I told the doctor about it and he said that a lot has changed since I was a baby (Way to make me feel old! ) and that she should be fine but I needed to keep a special eye on her just in case.

She did great. BUT She was a little extra irritable. On friday my mom left for Kansas to go see my brother. Edwin and I were interested to see what life would be like without my mom helping us with the baby. On friday she slept really good all day long and then it was like a switch was turned and she just screamed the whole night. Poor edwin was here by himself with her because I had class. When I got home he was a little frazzeled so I thought I would take her and fix everything with my magical mom powers! YEAH RIGHT! She would be happy for a minute and then all of a sudden SCREAM! The neighbors really figured out that this baby has some lungs. I don't think either of us got any sleep that weekend. The rest of the week was pretty much miserable. Edwin was gone to work during the day and she was not a happy camper. On top of that I put her in her little snugli front pack so I could do some housework and I turned a corner and whopped her head on the door jam. She screamed I broke down in tears and just sat on the floor with her crying! Luckily she was not hurt and I just scared her. I even called the advice nurse crying because I felt so bad! she laughed and said that it happens to eveyone and I was not a bad mom.

By the endof the week my husband looked into my bloodshot eyes and told me he was going to use his OFLA and take the month of February off to help out with the baby and to help us all get on a schedule. I was sooo relieved! I needed a little break and some support to just get through the day with her. I could not believe how much she had cried. (I even left my mom some voicemails of just Malaika crying. LOL )

So friday night edwin picked up mom from the max station and they were both home! HALLELUJAH! I went to class a little blurry eyed but with the excitement that someone else would be there to help me out.

That night Edwin decided we needed to get her into a nice bedtime routine. We decided to feed her a nice warm bottle instead of breastfeeding her and then we laid her down in her cradle and turned on the mobile and walked away. (This was something we could NEVER do before. she would Scream and scream!) She was also not sleeping well in her cradle and slept next to me waking up every 2 hrs to 4 hours to eat.

Within minutes of setting her down she fell asleep! I hopped into bed and went to sleep right with her! She slept from 11 to 6! I kept wakingup checking on her to make sure she was alive!

From that night on she has been sleeping through the night! (Of course Edwin takes all the credit and says it is just because he is home) It has been AMAZING!

This is our typical night schedule

goes to sleep around 9 PM - this is when edwin and I hang out or study . She sleeps until around midnight and then I feed her and changed her diaper if needed. She will then sleep until around 6 (Sometimes she will wake up at 4 if she is hungry) I feed her and then bring her in bed with us and we all sleep until 9. that is when I get up and take a shower and she will continue sleeping until around 11.

Some nights are better than others but it is so nice to finally have a routine!

She has also been extremely happy when she is awake now. She smiles a lot more and is less irritable. She takes a 3 to 4 hour nap from 2 to 6 and then is ready to play again. I feel a lot more rested and relaxed.

Once she hit the three month mark we were thankful for what the doctor had told us earlier and we found out he was right!

Malaika is an amazing baby and she changes every day. when I look at her I see a destiny that God has laid out for her and I can't help but cry. God has blessed Edwin and I with this beautiful, Smart, sociable little baby and we just can't beleive how much she has changed our lives. I look forward to the days ahead and the special times we will get to share with her. I only hope that I can be a great role model to her and show her what life is all about.

Here are some of the things she is doing:

*Tummy time! She is still holding her head up really well. and can roll from her stomach to her back. She cannot roll from her back to her stomach yet

* She can actually sit up on the couch with out help but she is pretty wobbly if we sit her on the floor

* one bad thing... THRUSH! that stinkin stuff won't go away! but it is easier to deal with now

*SMILING BABY! It doesn't matter what you say or do she will smile at you. Edwin and I were having a little squabble the other day and she was looking from him to me and smiling this huge smile! We forgot what we were mad about and just laughed!

*She is starting to laugh - we really have to work for it! We tickle her and tickle her and she smiles really big and takesin air and then all of a sudden giggles! LOL she cracks me up

* we are feeding her rice cereal now. Not a lot but about a tablespoon at night so that her tummy will stay full longer.

* We bought her a jumper/exersaucer thing and she is able to stand in it and bounce around

* she is putting more pressure on her legs when she stands. sometimes I will let go and she will be standing by herself until she gets to excited and wobbles. Edwin and I laughed this morning. We were imagining a little baby like her walking around the house and decided she is to little and it would creep us out! LOL

* she is grabbing onto her toys and holding them for longer periods of time. She is also bringing the toys to her mouth

*We think she is teething already.. she drools like crazy and I put my finger in her mouth when she is upset and rub her gums and that calms her down and she chews on my finger. Also her gums have little bumps on them.

* She is talking A LOT! She talks to the TV when it is on. She loves Daddy time and they make TONS of noise when he is with her. I am trying to teach her how to say mommy! LOL she also likes to talk when I sing to her.

* SHE IS AMAZING and I LOVE her a lot!

* She sat on her first pony at a childrens fair I went to with Nicole. Nicole took the picture so as soon as she gets it to me I will post it.

Thats all I can think of for now but this has been a long blog.

Love ya'll

2 month Check-up and IUC

2008-01-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

Today was Malaika's 2 month check-up and what a trooper she was! She is actually almost 10 weeks so this appointment was a little late. I was excited to see how much she had grown it is weird when I hold her and actually think about it. When she lays on my stomach now she stretches all the way from my chin to my hips and her feet are almost to my thighs! What is really weird is you don't really notice it. She is still fiting into some of her newborn stuff but I can tell I am going to have to get out the tote and start packing some things away.

ANYWAY Back to her appointment...

She weighs *drum role please* 12 lbs and 2 oz!!!! They also measured her at 25 inches long. The doctor said she is in the 90th percentile. He was a little shocked at how long she has gotten. He said he wants to monitor it and see if she is just having a major growth spurt now or if she really is going to be tall. He said at the rate she is growing right now all the charts say she will be well over 6 feet! Which is weird because edwin and I are both about 5'7. I asked him if 12 pounds was to much for a 2 month old and he said no because she is very long and needed something to fill her out.
After that were the dreaded shots. I was a basketcase because I had to be there alone and I was afraid she would think that it was me giving her the shots. When the nurse came in Malaika had fallen asleep in my arms and she was so peaceful. The nurse had me lay her down on the table and wake her up a little bit. The first round of meds was in liquid form and that was comical to watch her gag it down. Then the nurse had me hold her arms down and she gave her two shots in each leg (4 SHOTS all together! I would cry too! ) The first one went in and she turned BRIGHT red. He mouth was wide open and as soon as she took a breath she was screaming!!! I kept trying to kiss her face to calm her but I couldn't do anything until the nurse was finished. As soon as she got the bandaids on I picked her up and calmed her down and then she was smiling and cooing. I guess babies forget easily.
The doctor told me all of the signs to watch for just in case she has an allergic reaction. Right now she is asleep in her swing but she keeps doing little cries in her sleep so I wonder if she is dreaming about it! Her next appointment is in March it will be interesting to see how long she is then .
I also had my IUC (Merena) implanted on Monday and it went WAY better than I expected. When I got there I was nervouse because she told me it was going to be really painful. Also I had talked to some people who had it and they said the procedure was really uncomfortable and painful. The doctor walked me through what she was doing step by step and when she told me she was inserting it I held my breath and waited for the pain..... nothing!... Then she said Ok I am done! I was like WHAT I didn;t even feel anything! I was sooooo thankful! So I am good to go for five years now unless we decided to have another baby in less time I can always have it removed. I hve to go back in 2 weeks for a checkup and then I won't see Dr. Byrd until my annual check-up.

hmmmm what else is there... Edwin and I started school this week and that has been going well so far. I can tell This anatomy class is going to be intense and I need to make sure to put as much effort as I can into it. Edwins classes are from 6 to 10 on monday and tuesdya night. This makes for a long day for both of us because he is gone all day long and I am home bymyself. then my class is Friday night from 6 - 10 and then Saturday Morning from 9 to 12. Then I have 2 other classes that are online.
Edwin and I are attempting to start a small business that will take place here and in Africa sooo if you could all be praying that it goes well and that we are doing what the Lord wants us to be doing. I am hoping it will really get going and I will beable to stay home longer. So far it seems to be working!
I hope everyone is doing well!

Biggest Loser Mwango style

2008-01-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

That's right we have come to the realization that we are fat..LOL Photographs have been trying to tell me for years but I looked the other way! We decided to have our own biggest loser competition in the house. We are all going to try to lose 20 pounds and we have to do it the healthy way. The incentive? All of us had to put 20 bucks in the pot and also the bragging rights will be the best reward ever! I will keep you posted on how we are all doing (of course I am going to win!!!!!! ) Pilates here I come!

Professional Photo's - 7 weeks old

2008-01-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some photo's from our little photo shoot we did. I found this photographer on Craigslist and she is AMAZING! They were such a blessing to us and gave us a deal on our package. We are going to go back to her for Malaika's 6, 9 and 12 month pictures. I will post more on my Myspace page but here is a little preview. Malaika did such a good job she was not very fussy and we got all the photos done in about 2 hours. (She also pee'd and pooped all over the place but it was fun! It is dangerous havin a naked baby!)

growing growing growing - 2 months

2008-01-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

Well she is not really two months until next Tuesday BUT she is eight weeks today and I consider that blog worthy! I have to say that being a mom is getting a lot easier! I am enjoying my timewith her during the day more and more. Here are some of the things we have been experiencing together...

* She is a noisy little thing!!! When she is awake she is always smiling and talking. The other day she was cooing so loud I couldn't help but laugh. I think she likes to hear her own voice. When she is sleeping she is always grunting or moaning. This can get a little frustrating because I am always checking on her thinking she is awake when she is actually sound asleep.

* She is sleeping in her cradle! She grew out of the co-sleeper we were using so we had to move her to the cradle andI am very happy we did. I missed cuddling with my hubby!

* She is holding her head up really well. When we went to our photo shoot with her the photographer was amazed at how well she could hold her head up and also how expressive she is.

* I play a little game with her and hold my hand above her and then go slowly toward her likea claw... her whole body tenses and she smiles sooooo big!

* She is getting used to being on her own. We can actually put her in her swing and vibrating chair and she is perfectly happy.

* She loves the car *YIPPIE* If she is fussy we get in the car and go for a drive and that usually calms her down. She also loves music I think her favorites are Tommy walker and New season. When I put those in she talks a lot like she is trying to sing with them. SO CUTE!

I have been having a lot of fun during the day with her. Edwin and mom leave around 6:30 and then I feed her and we go back to bed and sleep until around 10 or 11. Then we get up and get ready for the day and go shopping or just hang around the house.

Breastfeeding is getting a lot easier! I still don't have enough milk to pump extra but she is getting what she needs from me and we have not had to supplement as much. We did have to go back to the doctor and get her thrush medicine refilled. I am beginning to think that stuff never goes away. But it is getting easier to handle.

At her last doctor apppointment she weighed 10 lbs 4 oz... so she is getting to be a chunker! The weird thing is her newborn clothes still fit. I can tell she has grown though because the premie outfits don't fit anymore they are soooo small and I can't even believe she has grown that much! It is happening right before our eyes.

LEts see what else.... She is wearing size one diapers now and they are starting to get a little snug. I am amazed at how many diapers and wipes we go through. Luckily we found kirkland wipes from costco 15.00 for 700 of them and as soon as she fits into size 2 diapers she can start wearing the kirkland brand for those too!

Well I think that is all for this month. I can't believe how fast it goes Edwin and I start school next week so I will try to keep up on the blog... My unemployment also runs out in February so I need to make sure I have a job by then or we have our finances in order so I can stay home a few more months. I don't know how I can work fulltime and do school fulltime and still have time with the baby... I guess I need to tap into my super mom skills.

Hope everyone is doing well!

6 week doctor appointment

2008-01-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

I had my Six week Dr. appointment on the 27th. I still have four more pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight then I plan on losing a lot more! The doctor said that everything looked great and she was proud of how well I am doing. We also talked about what type of birthcontrol to use and we decided on Mirena it is an IUD that will last for up to 5 years but we can have it removed anytime if we decide to have more children (which we will.. but not anytime soon! ) I have to go back on the 14th to get that. She said it is a small procedure but it can be pretty painful so I will let y'all know how that goes. Bu I don't think anything can compare to childbirth.

It was a nice visit and my doctor was in a really good mood so we joked around and laughed. She also wanted some pictures of her and the baby and I. So it was fun to have her hold Malaika and take some pictures. I had the nurse take one with my camera phone and it turned out a little blury but it works! Ihave to say Dr. Byrd was the best doctor for me. I will continue to go to her for my checkups and for the rest of my pregnancies.

The Holidays

2008-01-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

It is crazy to think that the holiday season has come and gone already. It was exciting this year to establish more traditions as a family and spend some time together. Edwin requested for some time off so we had two four day weekends together in a row. My mom was also able to get the same time off so we were all home together. We decided to open our gifts on Christmas Eve and leave our stockings for Christmas day. I was excited because Malaika fell asleep and we were able to watch a movie together and open gifts and eat dinner while she slept like a little angel. She probably fell asleep for so long because of all the pictures we were taking! hehe She is probably traumatized for life! I got so many nice things this year...Edwin got me a really nice Winter pea coat and lots of scratch tickets!!! He also got me the new alicia keys cd and a nordstrom gift card and a TOASTER OVEN!!! . My mom got me an AMAZING bathrobe, some earings and socks (which I was in desperate need of). My dad also sent us our Baby's first Christmas ornament and an ornament that says First Christmas as parents. I was really excited about that because I had looked all over for one and couldn't find one that I liked. Edwin got a lot of lounge wear from mom and I. He also got a leatherman from mom and a wine chiller from me (yes we are becoming wino's (spelling) )

Malaika didn't get any big gifts from us this year (we were saving the money for her professional photo's) but she got a TON of new clothes from Grandma. Of course I loved opening every gift! My dad and Cindy also sent her an electric mobile that displays on the ceiling and rotates (it makes edwin and I fall asleep..hehe) We put in her stocking some new binkies since we can never seem to find one when we need it..LOL I also got her some wrist rattles she loves them!

On Christmas day we had Holly and Musonda and Mwila over and also another friend fom Zambia Mapenzie. Mom and I cooked Dinner (roast with mashed potatoes and green beans) and it was sooooooo yummy! I always like visiting with Holly because we have recently gone through the same thing and it is nice to just gab about it. We watched the Blazer game and then they all went home and we got settled in for bed. Malaika is starting to get on a schedule for sleeping which has been VERY nice.

For new years we pretty much did the same thing. New years eve Edwin my mom and I watched the Blazer game and then watched the countdown. I was soooo sleepy and I had had some wine and was soo relaxed that I actually fell asleep before midnight. Edwin had to wake me up at midnight to give me a kiss LOL! Susanna and her sister Hannah came over for New years day and we had a nice dinner and watched a movie. It felt good to be homebodies this year and not go out downtown. We also saved A LOT of money by not going out!

STAY TUNED:

We are starting our own biggest loser competition in our house... we have not set all the rules yet but I will keep everyone posted on who is winning!

I hope everyone had a nice relaxing holiday!!

Mwila is here!

2007-12-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

Little Mwila Mwango was born yesterday December 11 2007 at 6:15! She was 7 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long and ADORABLE!!! Holly is doing really well and will probably get to come home today or tomorrow. I am excited to have someone close that I can share stories with and who will understand. (Who else can you talk about poopy diapers with? ) I am sad that we forgot to take pictures of Edwin holding her and my mom and I but we have plenty of time for that! I am excited that Malaika will have a cousin so close in age to share life with. Great job HOLLY!!!

and we smile through our tears - One month!!!

2007-12-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

Poor Baby- after she got her purple medicine

I have a lot of stuff to talk about in this blog and I hope I can get it all typed before she wakes up... (Yeah it didn't happen it took me a couple of days to type this.)

It has been 4 weeks since she was born.. I say it is a month but edwin said she was not officially a month until the 8th sooo tomorrow she will be a month old. This week has been a roller coaster of emotions. Since she was born she has had a white coating on her tongue. We asked the doctor about it and he said it was normal and should go away over time but if it didn't we were to let him know. So we monitored it and the white coating kept getting thicker and thicker and also transferred onto her cheeks and lips. On sunday night she was sooo fussy. She would not breastfeed or bottle feed and would not take a binky. When I finally got her to sleep she started sucking on her hand and her finger scraped her tongue. She screamed sooo loud I felt sooo bad for her. lets just say i cried right along with her. It is so hard to see your little baby in pain especially when you can't fix it. It was such a long night and Edwin had to go back to work the next morning so he needed to get some sleep. This is where I am going to break up my blog a little bit.

Her doctors appointment-

I called the doctor on monday morning and they got me in at 2:00 that afternoon. The morning was really stressfull. With mom and Edwin gone it was just me who had to deal with the tears and the fussy baby. On top of that she was the fussiest she had ever been because she was sick. At one point I didn't know if I was cut out for this "mom " thing. When we got to the doctor as soon as he walked in I burst into tears and handed her over. I told he he had to fix her. LOL

He got this concerned look on his face and was like.."Are you okay? Do you feel depressed?" NOOOO just exhausted and stressed and we need medication! So he checked her out and determined that she did have a bad case of thrush. This bad case of thrush has also passed onto me (This makes your breasts have horrible shooting pains and it is sooo itchy) For those of you who do not know Thrush is basically a yeast infection but in the mouth. It is uncomfortable and painful. The doctor gave her this purple medicine that dyed her whole mouth purple. (I will post a pic) He also prescribed Nystatin for me and for her to take for ten days. I have to soak all of her bottles and binkies in vinegar every night and wash all of my bras and anything tht comes in contact with her mouth in vinegar. (This is just added to the many things I can't find time to do anymore.) And last but not least she has a little yeast infection in her diaper area so I have to put Clotrimozole 3 times a day on her little bottom. Poor thing! The doctor was impressed with her weight she was 9 lbs 2 oz! she has gained almost two pounds since she was born.

When we got home she was sleeping so soundly and pretty much slept that whole day and evening away. I could tell the next day she was feeling so much better because she was smiling and happy again and able to eat without gagging or crying.

My Doctor's Appointment - Might have to much info so skip this paragraph if you want!

This week I have been having really bad back pain. Because Malaika was sick she wanted to be held so much more. She also wanted to be rocked to sleep. At times it was SO hard because my back would be killing me and if I tried to sit down she would cry. I also had a foul odor from my discharge. (which is something that the doctor said to contact them about) So I called my doctor on Tuesday and they said they waned to get me in ASAP. When I got there they weighed me and I only have 4 more pounds to lose!!!! That was a relief ( I obviously have much more than that to lose but it feels good to have my body back) The doctor took some swabs and tested them and said that my bacteria has changed. She gave me some medicine to take and I am supposed to let her know how everything is at my 6 week post appointment. (December 27)

Other than that the doctor said everything looked okay. She did refer me to a nutritionist because I told her I wanted to learn how to eat the right things to provide the best nutrients for Malaika. She said she would refer me so insurance would pay.. YAY!

My first week without Edwin

well... it definately had its ups and downs but I made it! It was a lot more stressful because she was sick but I am getting used to giving her the medicine and the house smells like vinegar!

My main struggle this week has been breast feeding. I pretty much gave up when she had thrush really bad because it hurt sooo much to nurse. So I was pumping as much as I could and supplementing the rest of the time. Today was the first day I have been able to nurse all day long without any pain. I do have to say pumipng is SOOO much easier sometimes I wish I could just to formula completely but I know that breastfeeding will halp my body as well as hers. so we will keep MARCHIN ON!

On a lighter note I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done!!! I wrapped all of edwins presents last night. We are trying to save our money this Christmas because with the new car (we got a 07 camry! Sorry Shanti we let go of the honda) I am still not working and we only paid rent until the end of January. I can't believe I have been out of work for almost 3 months already. It has been a big three months!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!

Ready for Christmas

2007-12-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post a picture of our tree we got today!!! It was fun to decorate and we also got a Baby's first Christmas stocking. I love Christmas!

week 3 - Amazed

2007-12-01T20:05:00.001-08:00

BEWARE - EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE, SLEEP DEPRIVED BLOG

Week three was a very emotional week for me. This was edwins last week to be home (he goes back to work on December 3rd) I don't know how I am going to do everything. He leaves usually around 6:30 am (probably 6:00 with the bad weather) for work and he and mom don't get home until around 6 pm. I know that the motherly instinct will kick in and I can do it but I also know when they get home they are both going to be tired and Edwin is going to need sleep. UGH! Here come the water works again. Hopefully I will get over it and just make it happen. All I can picture right now is me sitting there looking like a zombie and crying. LOL

I have also been emotional about her growing... haha you would think I would be excited that she is now fitting into her newborn and 0-3 month clothing but I just think of how my mom must feel and how time flies by so quick. I just want to cherish every moment. (BUT then the night comes and I wish she was 5 years old sleeping through the night in her own bed.. hehe IRONIC)

Enough about me and my emotions lets talk about our little princess... SHE IS SO CUTE!

This week we have enjoyed spending time with her. We are starting to really understand what she needs and so it gets easier to calm and soothe her. We are still supplementing with formula sometimes I feel like she is permanantly attached to my boob all afternoon, but then she is still hungry! So formula is my hero for the time being. I am able to pump about 8 ounces a day so we try to pump and save those so eventually we can just use my breast milk inbeteen my nursing. I have been taking herbs to help increase my milk supply and that seems to be working. The lactation specialist also told me to drink a beer or a glass of wine in the evenings to help with my let down. I was scared to do this at first because I didn't really see any pro's but it is working and helping me relax at night. BUT I promise only one glass.. even though I would love to have a whole bottle sometimes.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. Pretty relaxed. I was so thankful that my mom was here to help cook (actually I only did the mash potatoes) We had Susanna, my mom, edwin, holly, and musonda here. we ate until we could not eat anymore and then watched TV. We laughed because when I went to feed Malaika she was really excited about the feeding, sucking like crazy, so I guess she wanted to have her pumpkin pie too!

On friday we went to the mall for some black friday shopping... HECTIC! I stood in line at Bath and body works for amost an hour. I got a cute little hat at baby gap that was on clearance. Then of course we had to stop by MAC and have them do my eye shadow.

My Dad and his girlfriend Cindy came that night and stayed for the weekend it is so great to see my dad interact with her. I can tell he thinks she is pretty special. I think him and Cindy will be GREAT grandparents to her. Cindy got her some cute little outfits and an eeyore stuffed animal.

It was hard when they left because I could tell my dad was sad and he really didn't want to leave her. I hope the winter is not to long so we can drive over to LaGrande and spend some more time with him.

Okay back to Malaika... we gave her her first official bath this week (the umbilical cord FINALLY came off) I was surprised how much she liked it. At first she cried but then once she was in the waer she was kicking and wiggling around it was sooo cute! Then when we took her out she cried!

She seems to love time with DADDY. She will just stare at him like she is mesmerized by him. He plays with her and kisses her and she always smiles this BIG smile.I love it when she smiles.

One thing that she has been doing a lot of is GRUNTING! It is cute during the day but a little annoying at night. She does it when she is awake and when she is asleep. Sometimes it is a poopy grunt but other times it is just an I want to make noise grunt. at night it wakes me up and I check on her and she is fast asleep.. LOL

She is an amazing baby! we have been so blessed. We can take her out to nice resteraunts ( we went to Olive garden last night) and she sleeps or just sits there and stares at everyone. I can't wait to see how much she is going to change overtime.

Last but not least i can fit back into my old jeans!!! Hooray! I tried them on this morning and they fit perfectly! I can't wait for my 6 week appt to see how much weight I have lost. Oh.. and I also dyed my hair brown... I needed a change Thats all folks! Have a great week

Week two - getting to know you

2007-11-25T09:37:00.000-08:00

week two has come and gone and we have learned soooo much about our little baby girl. She is amazing! We are still not on a great sleep schedule yet BUT it is getting better. It is so hard to put her down I feel like I will miss out on a smile or a special face that she does sooo many of. We have visitors during the day (which we love so don't worry if you were one of them. I wil say no if we are not up to it!) so she usually sleeps through those visits and then wakes up right when they leave. IMAGINE THAT! Her time to really sleep seems to be from 12 to 4 or 5 this will come in handy when Edwin goes back to work so I can rest and clean and cook dinner. We are able to set her down now when she sleeps as long as she is in a dead sleep when we set her down. If she is not then she stirs and wakes herself up.

My milk is coming in better now I am trying to pump every couple of hours. The doctor gave me some herbs to try to increase my milk supply and that seems to be working well. We are only giving her 2 to 4 oz of formula a day now and that is starting to dwindle down. We had her 2 week appt on wed and they pricked her heel to test for any disorders or diseases. I was so nervous because they had me hold her and breast feed her while they did it. I thought she was going to think I did it to her and she would hate me! LOL As soon as they pricked her she reared her head back and her face turned bright red I quickly moved her head forward and latched her back on and she started to eat and forgot all about it. YAY! The magic of food! hehe

She has gained up to 8lbs 3oz and the doctor said everything is going great. Our next appt will be in 2 months (Jan 8th which is also edwins birthday) so it will be interesting to see how much she grows in that time.

Some of the things she did this week-

* She can follow objects with her eyes! My mom is amazed with this because she said babies don't usually do this at 2 weeks (Grandma's always think their grandbabies are the brightest.. hehe) But I do think she is pretty well developed for her age. I held up a toy and she followed it and I can move my head back and forth and she will follow me. I even held up a piece of chocolate I was eating and she watched it (I saw a little drool come out too! hehe)

* She lifts up her head and looks around. we tried to do some tummy time to see what she would do and she lifted up her head and looked from side to side. sooo CUTE!

*she holds her bottle (this cracks me upI posted a picture above) We were feeding her one night and I had to grab a blanket so I let go of the bottle for a second and there she was holding on to it and keeping it high enough for the milk to stay at the top. It was so cute! No mom we don't leave her alone like that it is just cute to watch.

*She is smiling at us when we make funny faces or when we give her kisses. It used to be that she only smiled when she was sleeping (she still does this) now she smiles with her eyes wide open!

I think that is about it I am amazed by how beautiful she is and how much she changes daily. I hope that edwin and I can be the best parents for her and teach her so many things. We love her sooo much!

Week one- sleep?

2007-11-19T07:20:00.000-08:00

Week one went by so fast I didn't even know what day it was half of the time. We really enjoyed the time though. I just kept looking at her and could not believe that we had created this little angel. She is soooo beautiful! When she sleeps she smiles and I can see her dimples it is so cute! Edwin and I are trying to get on a sleep schedule but I don't think it is working very well. She doesn't like to be set down in her cradle or the co-sleeper hat we bought. She will wake up immediately and start crying. We tried to let her stay for a little bit to see if she would fall back to sleep and no such luck. The boppy seems to be my only rescue I can set her down when she is in a deep sleep and then get up and go to thebathroom or do the dishes. My mom has been a huge help! She babysat for us one night so edwin and I could sleep at the same time for a few hours. I never realized how precious sleep was until I am only getting like 2 to 4 hours in a day.

When she was three days old we needed some stuff from target and edwin thought it would be a good idea to get out of the house. Sooo my mom said she would watch her so we could go there and get back quick. When we got to target and started walking around I got so depressed. I just wanted to be with her! I started crying..LOL Edwin was like OH GEEZ! I think I cry more now then I did when I was pregnant. When we got home all I could do was hold her and squeeze her and give her lots of kisses.

She had her first doctors appointment on Monday 12th the doctor weighed her and she was 7lbs 9 oz so she hadn't lost to much weight. They went over breast feeding with me. I was having such a hard time because I had her latched on wrong in the beginng. I was cracked and bleeding and I dreaded every feeding. So they gave me a sheild and she seems to be doing good with that. Breastfeeding is one of the hardest things I have ever done though I can see why it is hard to keep going. We are chugging along though I am supplementing with Formula and trying to pump as much as possible but I am only getting 1 to 2 oz every time I pump. I hope the milk supply will increase soon.

We went to babies r us and bought her some premie clothes because she doesn't fit into any of the clothes we have for her. She swims in them and I am always rollingup her sleeves and trying to find her in the sea of clothing. One of the outfits we bought says daddy's girl on it and it is sooo dainty it looks so cute! Of course as soon as we put it on she had a blowout.. But a little laundry soap fixed that. hehe

Well that is all for now for week one... It is almost the end of week two and I can't believe how much she has changed!!! I love her sooo much more everyday and I can't believe how blessed we are to have her in our lives.

D-DAY

2007-11-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

Malaika Aiyanna Mwango
7lbs 14 oz
21 inches long
head was 14 CM

WOW... time is flying by and I decided I needed to take the time and write about the delivery before I forgot everything. I know... I know I should be sleeping... YEAH RIGHT! LOL I will probably have a lot of information and maybe some details you don't want to hear soooo.... I guess if you want to read on you can!

With all of the family stress going on my doctor and I decided that we could go ahead and induce me a little early so that my family would all be here for the birth. She scheduled me to be induced Tuesday November 7th at midnight.

When I met with my doctor she had given me three options of drugs to get induced with. The first one is pitoson which is the one we knew the most about and the other two were tablets (one was called cytotec and I don't remember the other name). These tablets are inserted vaginally and placed next to the cervix to help ripen it to speed up delivery. The doctor recommended that we try Cytotec so I signed the paper work to use what she thought was best. When edwin got home we did some research on the drug and started to get nervous. The drug is used mainly for ulcers and for abortions. There was not a lot of information on its use in induction. So we decided we would go with Pitoson because it is what we had heard the most about.

Edwin decided to go ahead and start his leave on Tuesday so that we could clean up the house and make sure we had everything packed. With everything that was going on I was pretty much a stress ball (and I was pretty cranky... poor Edwin) We were advised to contact the birthing center at 11:00 pm to make sure they were ready for me. So around 8 I went upstairs and took a long shower and made sure to straighten my hair (picture perfect... hehe wish it would have stayed that way!) at 11 we called the hospital and my stomach was in knots. The nurse advised me that they actually had no room for me that night and I would need to call in around 7:30 to see if there was more room. With all the stress and getting myself mentally prepared to actually go in and get induced I was soooo upset they told me they didn't have room. Of course I cried hen we decided we better get some rest. (worst night of sleep, or so I thought) At 7:30 I woke up and and called and the nurse advised once again that they still did not have room. So Edwin decided he would head into work so that he didn't waste his leave on days when the baby wasn't here. I was soooo upset. I understand that they do not know when their "busy" times will be but it is so stressful to plan on going in and then get told twice that they have no room! Sheesh!
Edwin got to work around 9:00 and at 9:30 the hospital called me and said that if I got there within ten minutes they would have a room for me. PHEW! So I called Edwin (poor guy) and my mom and I headed out to the hospital.

My mom and I got to the hospital and were admitted and in the room by 10:00. The nurse came in and hooked me up to the monitors and the baby’s heartbeat was loud and strong. She also said I was having contractions about five minutes apart. I thought that was funny because I was not feeling anything. I kept telling my mom that I wish I knew what they felt like. The nurse checked me and I was dilated 1 CM and 50% effaced, no changes from my previous doctor appointments. I told the nurse that my husband and I had changed our mind on the Cytotec and we wanted to use Pitoson. She was hesitant and said we would need to talk with the doctor before we made the decision. Edwin got there around 10:45 and at that time we were told the doctor would be over in a few hours so I would need to rest and kill some time. The Doctor (not my regular doctor) came in around 11:45 and explained the drug options to us. She said that she preferred to use the cytotec before pitoson because my cervix was not ripe enough. If they put me on Pitoson right away it could make my contractions to strong to fast. Soooo after all that waiting we ended up going with Cytotec.

At 12:00 they inserted the tablet, I hen had to lay flat on the bed (my head could not even be propped up) for 3 hours, after three hours I had to get up and walk for an hour and then they checked me… I was still 1 CM and 50% UGH! So they inserted the tablet again. By this time I was having contractions every 3 min (still not feeling anything) so I was down for another 3 hours and then walked for an hour. My mom and my brother and Edwin were there with me and made fun of me because I was walking in circles in the room. The nurse came in and checked me again and I was only dilated 2-3 CM about 60% effaced. By this time the contractions were pretty strong (according to the monitor I still could not feel them) so they were now ready for me to start the Pitoson drip. I was thankful to not have to lay flat for another three hours.

Around 9:00 I started to have some pain (like heavy menstrual cramps) They picked up and were coming pretty strong and frequent. I started complaining to Edwin and he helped me breath through them. The nurse checked me and I was still at a tight 3… by now I am tired of being there and feeling like this is going to take FOREVER! She asked me if I would like any pain meds and I said that would be nice. She gave me stadol around 10:00 and let me say that drug is AMAZING! I felt like a warm blanket was placed over me and while I could still feel the contractions the pain was very little and I was able to sleep. Unfortunately the drug wore off in an hour that is when the nurse advised me that I could have an epidural if I wanted to. OF COURSE I DO! I am only at a three! The anesthesiologist came in at 11:30 and gave me the epidural. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was so nervous and I could feel my body shaking like crazy. He was quick and very good. After about fifteen minutes I was feeling no pain! They hooked me up to the blood pressure cuff and it went off every 10 to 15 minutes. I tried to sleep in between that time (which is pretty hard to do) Mom and Tony had gone home and Edwin tried to sleep on the couch they had for him. Around 4 I started to have really bad pain the nurse said it was called the peritoneal region and sometimes the epidural cannot numb that as well. She checked me and I was at a 5-6 and 80% effaced. She said the doctor was there and she would come in around 6 to check me and break my water. The contractions were pretty strong and I was feeling them for sure! Edwin had to help me breath through them and I have to say he is the most AMAZING coach he made sure to stay right there with me. The anesthesiologist came in and turned up the dosage on the epidural and we hoped that would take the pain away. No such luck! Finally the doctor came in and checked me and I was at a 6. She broke my water and said the fluid looked clear and good that was at 6:30. After my water broke I could feel more pressure and I told the nurse that I felt like I needed to push a little. She told me not to just because the baby was not quite ready. Edwin and I continued to breathe through the contractions and we called my mom and told them they should come. At 7:00 the nurse checked me and I was dilated to an 8... ALMOST THERE! The contractions were so strong and painful they tried to up my dosage again and that still didn’t help. I told Edwin I didn’t think I could do this anymore the pain was so strong and my body was shaking really bad. But he helped calm me down. When my mom got there she helped rub my leg and told me to breathe. She was a huge help to because she was able to calm us both down a little bit. She was also there to take lots of pictures (which I will post some of them soon... I need to find the memory card...lol) At 7:45 the nurse came in and said I was ready to go! She had me push through 2 contractions (They were about a minute apart) Pushing was hard because I was soooo tired and my legs were pretty numb from the epidural. Mom had to support one leg and Edwin the other. The nurse went and got the doctor and I did 2 pushes while she was gone. Mom and Edwin said they could see the baby’s hair and it was black! That gave me more incentive to keep going. The doctor came in and got down to business (she had a surgery to do at 8:30) I asked her how long it can take to push and she said for new moms it can take up to 3 hours… Talk about bursting my bubble! She coached me through my pushing and the baby was out by 8:15! Thank you JESUS! It was nice that the epidural had wore off a little because I could feel her head come out and then her shoulders. It was such a relief when her shoulders came out. The pressure and pain was gone and I felt relaxed. The doctor did a couple of stitches (she said I did not tear too much) and she was gone by 8:25... What team work! When Malaika came out they put her up on my chest and I was so amazed to see what Edwin and I had created. She was so beautiful! Edwin cut the cord and I told the nurses I wanted him to be the first to hold her. They took her and cleaned her off and Edwin went over and watched everything while my mom took pictures. Malaika Aiyanna Mwango weighed 7lbs 14 oz and was 21 inches long her head was 14 CM.
It was the most amazing experience I have ever been involved with. When we looked at her face we saw little pieces of each of us and we were so blessed to have her in our lives. It is so amazing how much love you can have for someone who just came into this world. I am so excited to be able to be a part of her life and to help her grow up to be a beautiful woman. I just hope this time does not go to fast.
That day we were so tired but we wanted to show her off to the family. My Brother was there and he was so good with her. My mom (Grandma!) and then Edwin’s brother and girlfriend came. Around 12 we asked the nurses that they let any visitors know we are trying to rest and they should come back in the evening. My grandparents came and my Aunt hazel later that night. Edwin and I were trying to get the hang of changing her diapers and feeding her towards the evening she started getting a little fussier. The nurse came in and asked if we wanted her to baby-sit so we could get some rest… I was so tired I was so thankful for that! The next morning they came in and checked me and said if I wanted to go home I could. Edwin was more than excited to hear those words! My dad finally got to the hospital to see her before we left it was so cute to see him hold her. He was so scared! Edwin and I packed everything up and headed downstairs to load her in the car. We finally got her adjusted right in the car seat and then headed home with our new FAMILY!
I will continue to update about our first week soon. I have been trying to keep up on my homework and sleep before finals week is here. We have had lots of visitors and it has been so fun to show her off to everyone. Thank you all for your prayers and support through all of this. It was a hectic week and Edwin and I feel so blessed that everything went well and we have a happy healthy baby girl!

New induction date...

2007-11-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

Well some of you will be excited about this and some of you won't.. BUT I talked to my doctor a little bit ago and we are going to induce my labor sooner than monday. I really want my dad and my brother to see her and I want my family to all be here together. It means a lot to me! My dad has until the 11th off and my brother has to fly back to kansas on the 11th in the morning. My original induce date was the 12th. SOOOOO.. my doctor wants to induce me tomorrow night at midnight. That way we have time (she said it will take roughly 24 hours) She said that she thinks I am ready (I lost my mucous plug yesterday)
My doctor will not be the one delivering the baby because sh is not on call that night but that doesn't really bother me since I know that they are not going to put me with an unqualified person. So that is our update I don't know how I feel right now.. I am excited but also scared! We are really going to be parents! So keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we will be letting everyone know when she arrives!

week 39 Doctor's appt.

2007-11-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well... NO CHANGES! Everything looks good and the octor thinks I will not go until my induce date but I am still only at 1 CM and 50% effaced. She did say the baby is in position and a little lower but that didn't realy make me feel better. LOL The doctor told me to stop coming into the office with a smile on my face because that means I am not in pain. UGH! I asked her if she would just break my water while she was checking me and she said she would do her best..hehe

I did go get a pedicure last night with mom and Edwin (edwin liked it by the way) The lady that worked on me said she had given pedicures to pregnant ladies before and they usually go into labor with in 48 hours. She massages my feet and ankles for a good half hour! It was so nice. then she painted my toes all pretty! I hope her magic works!

The baby bag is all packed for the hospital. I have packed a few things for edwin and I but we live so close that we are not going to worry about things we need for the next day. We can always send mom home to get it. The baby room is done and the house is clean, and my midterms are complete... WHERE IS BABY?

I will keep you all posted on what I think is going to be a VERY slow week.
Hope you all enjoy!

Week 39- is still going

2007-11-01T07:07:00.000-07:00

Soooo this week was supposed to go by quick.. and it is NOT! I have not had any contractions this week yet and really do not feel any different. I guess I have been a little more tired than usual but it is also getting really hard to sleep because I am sooo huge! I have a doctor appointment tomorrow at 10:00 so we will see if I have progressed any further. I have noticed some decrease in her movement which made me a little stressed last night. She usually goes crazy when we first go to bed. It is always fun to watch my stomach move and edwin gets to feel her. Last night she didn't move at all. I woke up in the middle of the night panicked but then she did one little movement and I felt better. But she is definately not wiggling around like she was. If it decreases more today I will call the doctor and see whats up.
My mom's boss got me a breast pump (or a BP as my dad would say) It is a Medela and it is really nice! Mom's boss has really blesses Edwin and I a lot. She gave us a bunch of clothes from when her daughter was a baby (most of the clothes were brand new) and now a breast pump! Also I hung out with Susanna on Tuesday and she bought us a TON (YES A TON) of diapers. I think we are covered for the first year! LOL
My mid-terms are going well.. I did my music mid-term on monday and was so upset because it was a timed test (100 questions and we had 90 min) I was freaking out! By the time the clock ran out I had only finished 60 questions. So of course I called Edwin crying my eyes out. He told me to write to my professor and ask to take it again. So I did and she reset the test and also told me I can go over on the time! I was so thankful she understood. I actually think a lot of students were complaining because you can't do a test with that many questions that fast. (that is less than 1 min per question). SOOOO I only have one midterm left in my health class ( my other two classes only have finals) I had a talk ith the baby yesterday and asked her not to come until I finish my health mid-term. So far she is cooperating!
Well thats all I have for now, I will let you all know how my doc appointment goes tomorrow. Hopefully I wil be posting some pics of our BABY soon!

Week 38- The Human Vacuum

2007-10-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

What to say, what to say!

Well I don't have a lot to say about this week other than I have been eating everything in sight! The weird thing is I don't like to sit down and eat meals I just like to snack. But I told myself that I can eat whatever I want these last few weeks because after that I need to go into healthy mode and lose some weight. I CAN'T WAIT TO WEAR NORMAL CLOTHES AGAIN!!!! I had my doctors appointment yesterday and everything is going good. I was still only dialated 1 CM but the doctor said she could feel the babies head. She gave me the option to induce on the 2nd or 3rd because she will be on call that weekend. So Edwin and I are going to talk about it and see how far along we are on our mid terms. My midterms are all due by November 5th. If I have them done I will let her know on Friday. But if we are not caught up we will just go with the 12th. I am not in any big rush. I would love to not be pregnant anymore but at least I am good at this stage... Not so sure if I will be good at the other stuff. hehe

Edwin and I are taking this weekend off from everything! We decided it was our last weekend together and my mom went out of town to see nana and Grampy. (My grandpa who is 84 yrs old was in an accident while herding cattle. He is okay but walking with a walker now.)

So Edwin and I decided to go to a movie last night, Dan in real life, It was really funny and it was so much fun to spend time together. It is so weird to think that we are going to have a baby in the house in a couple of weeks (if not days) ANYTIME NOW! EEK!

Thats really all I have for updates, if I think of anything else I will blog again.

Week 37 - human development

2007-10-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

So this is my report on week 37 this week has seemed to fly by! I am trying to get as much homework done as possible but I can't do any of my mid-terms ahead of time and all of those are due the week that Malaika is due. Soooo I am doing what I can and that seems to be ok enough. I will be so thankful when I am finally in nursing school and my classes are all health related! On wed I had my unemployment orientation. The lady that ran it was sick so she told us she did not want to be there long. I was thankful for that because I didn't really want to be there. I saw two people that I used to work with and that was fun catching up with them and what was going on in their lives.

I have noticed that I have been a little more irritable this week. It's not like I go around yelling at everyone but I am highly emotional and the littlest things make me cranky or tearful. Edwin has been under a lot of stress lately and I hate seeing him go through that. But there is really nothing I can do but support him with his decisions. (some of you might know what I am talking about) I know he is getting so excited for the baby. He talks about her a lot and is so excited to be able to take time off work to be with her. He keeps talking about taking her for drives and talking to her and spending time with her. He is going to be such a great dad!

He is also taking a human development class and recently read that there is a tribe (I don't remember what country) that believes that everytime you have sex you are helping create a part of the baby... hmmmm... I told him that was a great idea for THEIR tribe.. LOL He told me that he liked that idea or belief because it made the dad feel like he was helping with the babies development. Which is something I have not really thought a lot about. I think sometimes the dad feels left out because we (the mom) can feel the kicks and the growth from day to day. They (the dads) can just hope that their hand will be in the right place when the baby moves. It was an interesting discussion.. then we decided we better get to work on the eyelashes.. hehehehe

I had my 37 week doctor appt today and everything went well. I lost the pound I gained last week so I guess now I am just in teeter toter mode. The doctor asked me if I would like to be examined... OF COURSE!! I really wanted to see if I was dialated or anything. She checked and I am 1 CM.. yippie! She also said that my cervix is 50% thinned so things are progressing really well. We talked about how long she would let me go before I was induced and she said she will only induce me if I am VERY uncomfortable (Which I am not really) and my cervix is ready. She also said if the baby has not come by November 12th she will induce me. So we know Malaika will be her by the 12th! So I am now onto my 38th week! The fun is just beginning right?

Nursery pictures

2007-10-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have added the nursery pictures in my myspace under Nursery. hope you all enjoy!

Week 36- I can still shave my legs!!!

2007-10-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Thats right my legs are now silky smooth and I did it al by myself! (which is amazing since my balance is a little off nowadays!)

Well week 36 has been pretty interesting. At my last doctor appointment the doctor found her heartbeat up by my ribcage. Sooo she told me that the baby was possibly breech but we would need to wait until the next appt. to know for sure. Soooo all week I waited, and waited, and WAITED it seemed like the week would never end! I kept feeling her move but it felt like I have 5 babies inside instead of one so I couldn't tell if she was moving lower or higher or what. Friday finally came.. I did the doctor appt. routine. first I did the urine test. You would think this would be the easy thing because I pee at least 100 times a day, BUT NOOOOO I could barely go enough for them to test.. hehe the doctor made fun of me and said I as developing stage fright. Then I weighed... ugh... only one pound up but I am soooo over seeing that scale move. Then I went into the office and the doctor came in and measured me and then got the doppler out. She found the heart beat quick and easy in my lower abdomen. So I asked if that meant the baby is fine and she said YES!!! Whoo hoo.. nothing to worry about! THE BABY IS NOT BREECH! (feel better karla? hehe) But then she folowed that with, " I am gonna need you to get your flu shot today." UGH! Oh well at least I won't get the flu. My next appt. is on friday the doctor promised me that she would let me have the baby one of these days.

On thursday my friend Lindsey and I went to the Pass it on sale they have twice a year for new parents. This is what I like about living in a bigger city! The place was packed full of cheap NICE baby things. I bought another boppy for like 3 dollars and it is in great condition. I also got 2 of the backpack baby carriers for 3 dollars each. There were a few other odds and ins and it was soo much fun to shop! On saturday I talked edwin into going back because everything was 50% off on Saturday. We ended up buying another carseat for the honda that way we don't have to lug the base back and forth. It was only 20.00 and then we got a sound and vibration thing for the crib for 5.00. AND of course I couldn't pass up the 3 pairs of nike shoes they had left.. hehe they are sooo freakin CUTE! This baby is so spoiled.

Edwin and I also bought the highchair at target this weekend. We got the kind that attaches to the dining chair so we can take it with us when we travel and put it away when the baby isn't using it. I THINK we have everything but I still have that weird feeling (like when you are packing for a trip) that I have forgot something. But it's not like we can't buy it once she comes.

I think the coolest part of these last weeks are the baby movements. they are so REAL and I can see my stomach moving and I can actually feel her when she pushes. I like to see Edwins face light up when he gets to feel her too. I think this week has been a bonding moment for him and the baby. One night I was fast asleep and I woke up to Edwin Laughing... I was like, "Uh.. are you okay?" He said he was laughing because he felt the baby moving a lot! hehehehe I thought that was cute.

Well, thats all I can think of this week week. I will try to post another blog on week 37 this weekend so that I don't leave you all in to much suspense. Hope everyone is doing great!

Week 35- sore, tired, getting excited!!!

2007-10-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

Week 35 has come and gone...
I tried to get as much homework and house cleaning done as possible since I know that I won't have as much time when the baby gets here. I actually surprised myself with the energy I had to get everything done. I even scrubbed the oven clean! I finished sorting the baby clothes and got the 6 to 12 month clothes labeled and packed away in totes. It felt good today to look around and see everything so clean.
his week I have had a lot of cramping and back pain. My mom thought it was because I was going to go into labor. (Her guess was October 4th HAHA I guess she lost) I had my Doctor appointment today and let her know about the pain and she said that I am having contractions just not the kind that can dialate the cervix. She told me to keep a close count on the timing of them and to call her if I think they are stronger. She also had a hard time finding the baby heart beat today. She finally found it up by my ribcage... So she said next week she will check to see if the baby is breech... if she is still up there next week we will try to manually move her or schedule a C-section. For some reason I am not to worried, I feel like God has been watching over me this far and he will continue to work things out.
So that is my update this week... we are still trucking along! Ohhh and the dreaded scale.. I gained 4 pounds DARN IT! LOL So that puts me at 20 total. But the Doctor said she is really proud of me. So I will not worry!
Hope everyone has a great week!

Today's doc appointment

2007-09-28T21:58:00.001-07:00

WENT GREAT! I only gained back 1 pound... *doing a celebration jig* The doctor also gave me a baby bag full of formula and a voucher for a local spa!!! Whoo hoo! So everything is on track and movin a long just fine! They also got the test results back for the swab they tool last week.. it is a test to make sure you do not have a certain infection. If you have it then they have to administer antibiotics before the delivery. It came back negative! Yippie!!

Week 33 and 34- BLESSED!

2007-09-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

Symptoms that I am having this week...

Many MANY bathroom breaks - It seems like I will go and then 5 min later I have to go again.
Lots of movement
Really thirsty- slurpees are still my favorite!
pain in my lower back when I sit for to long
Hard time getting comfortable at night so I am still having sleepless nights.

Week 33 and 34 were pretty similar so I thought I would lump them together. First of all I had another doctor appt last Friday and everything went really well. I always dread the weighing part because I am always nervous that I will have gained to much. BUT This week I lost 6 pounds!!!! The doctor was not worried at all so I will just take the blessing! hehe ( I guess my Chocolate everything and slurpee diet is working well. LOL) So this puts my total weight gain at 16 pounds. I have another appointment this afternoon at three and I am hoping that I have not gained it all back and then some. I guess we will see.

Edwin and I started school this week so that has been a slight adjustment. I can't believe how expensive books are! I am taking 4 classes (and only 3 of them needed books) and edwin is taking 2 classes. Our books were 525.00! Can you believe it! CRAZY!!

I titled this blog "Blessed" because I have never felt so blessed. I had a friend from work who had a baby girl 2 years ago. She called me and said they were going through their garage and found all of haley's baby stuff. They wanted to know if we wanted it. Of course I will always take free baby stuff! I love to go through it and see what other people got for their baby. So we went to her house to pick it up and she gave us three 40 gallon garbage bags FULL of stuff. I was so amazed. When I got home and started sorting it (which by the way took me at least 2 hours just to unload 2 of the bags.) They had given us a TON of baby clothes (2 bags full) and then one of the bags was full of Avent Bottles and baby toys. There was also a hand pump breast pump and some teddy bears that have the heartbeat sound. I wanted to cry when I opened each bag. For someone to just give all of that stuff is amazing! So for the last 3 days I have been washing the clothes and putting them into piles by month. I now have enough clothes to open a small baby store... hehe Edwin and I are going to sort it this weekend and see what we need and don't need and give the rest away.
I Also got a call from another friend who had a playpen and a crib bedding set to give us. We already have both but I told her I would take it and we can give it to Edwins Brother and girlfriend. She is due November 15th. They are having a little girl and they just told us they decided on a name... Mwila. I think it is pretty!

I got a call from my dad this week and he wanted to know what to get us. I told him that edwin and I would discuss it and let him know. At this point we pretty much have everything we need. I told him the only thing I could think of was a electric double breast pump. My dad said he wished he could have bought us our crib instead.. LOL Then the rest of our conversation he would not say Breast pump he would say BP..HAHAHAHA he cracks me up!

We are putting on our fridge everyone's guesses of when the baby is going to be born. I will post those sometime this week (They are downstairs and I am lazy) So if anyone has any guesses let me know. You have to guess the date and time! Winner gets the confidence in knowing you were right.
Well that is all I have for now! Hope everyone has a good week. Malaika and I are on to week 35!!

Weekend of birthing classes

2007-09-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Yep, thats right! This is every husband/father to be's dream come true. hehe
When looking at our options for birthing classes Edwin and I decided to go with the weekend getaway. This was a CRAM session of birth in 2 days. We had class on Friday (Sept 14th) from 6:00 to 9:30 pm and then Saturday (sept 15th) from 9:00 to 4:00. Edwin decided this was the best option for him since he works early in the morning during the week.

When we first got there on Friday night they had us make name tags and they had a little package full of baby stuff for us. They had coupons for diapers and samples of laundry soap. Then they had usdo a little icebreaker and meet some of the other couples. It was fun to get to know the others and realize we all had a lot in common. I think I was one of the latest due dates. Most of the women were due the end of sept or the first part of Oct. Right after the icebreaker she had us watch a video on what the birthing process is. This video did not show very much it just explained what the Placenta was and how everything works together to provide for the baby. They ended the night with GREAT massage techniques to use while in labor. the guys had to practice all of them on us. IT WAS WONDERFUL! Then we switched and gave the guys a backrub. I think that was edwins favorite part. The time went by pretty fast and we learned a lot the first night.
The Second day edwin and I got there a lil late (hehe) and they had already started their discussions. She went over epidurals and C-sections and all he typical topics hat new parents have. She shared with us the pro's and cons of each and shared funny stories. Then onto the part that every couple loves! Breathing!!! She set up little stations and had us try different positions for labor. My favorite was called slow dance. The mom puts her hands on her husbands shoulders and they rock back and fourth. I liked this because edwin toook that time and told me that he loved me and he wanted to be the best support he could be. It was a special moment and really brought this whole situation to reality. We are a team and we are going to do all of this together. We also practiced the different types of breathing we need to do in the different stages of labor. This was funny at first but the teacher wouldn't let us laugh... she said we didn't have time.. hehe then she would giggle.
We then watched 3 different deliveries. One C-section, one natural delivery, and one with an epidural. They were all so informative and fun to watch. I love watching these types of things because this is what I want to do when I am done with nursing school. It was fun to see edwins expression when we saw the baby head crowning. I don't think he realized what a women goes through. When we got home he just kept saying. WOW! LOL I think it gave him a whole new perspective.
Oh one other thing they did was had us lay down on the ground and hold ice in our hands for 1 minute the guys were supposed to support us and help us get through the pain. Then we switched and the women had to help support the men while they held the ice. It was funny to watch their expressions.
Over all it was a great class and we came home with lots of information and free goodies! They also had great snacks for us while we were there.

Well Thats all I can remember right now.. I will add more if I remember later!

Week 32- Busy week

2007-09-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Eight months! I can't believe it! It is funny to look back and remember when I took the first pregnancy test and how shocked I was. I remember siting on the couch that night and not being able to concentrate on the TV show we were watching. I had a million things running through my head. Then here I am 8 months later and this baby is more of a reality to me than ever. I feel her move around in my belly and I try to picture what her movements will be outside the womb. I also look at my husband and imagine what qualities she will have of his. I hope she has his smile because I personally think it is the best. It is just amazing!

This week was my last week at work... I had been at the company for a little over two years. It was a bittersweet week. I was ready to be done with work and just have time to relax and get some cleaning done around the house. But I am also worried about finances. I have never been out of work. I have been able to provide half our income and we have felt pretty comfortable for the past year. I know I will be getting unemployment and that will be good I just want to make sure I do no get lazy and forget what it feels like to work. I don't want to lose the drive to work full time and go to school full time. Before I didn't have any other way that was just how things worked. (But anyway enough whining)
God worked a lot of things out. I got a retention bonus for staying until the end of work and with that and my final paychecks we were able to pay our rent until the end of January. We were also able to pay some of our little bills. This was a great feeling and we can feel comfortable knowing our biggest bill is taken care of each month until January.

Okay onto the baby stuff.. hehe
Some of the symptoms I have had this week
* a little more back pain (I lifted something wrong earlier in the pregnancy and threw out my back. Since hen it had not been right)
* Lots of cramping in my lower abdomen. Pain seemed to shoot across the bottom and up the abdomen.
* Cramping that feels like menstrual cramps (not fun) I just want to curl up in a ball
* Sorry if this is TMI BUT I want to make sure I remember.. I had a lot of leaking this week. It was more like a steady trickle.
* Baby movement is not as fast. She seems to move slower and in more stretching like movements.
* Cravings ... CHOCOLATE! I wish I didn't bu I do! Watermelon... Pizza... Coke slurpees from 7-11 ... and any type of fresh fruit
* sleeping is getting harder and harder because I cannot find a comfortable position.

Sooooo with all this cramping and the slow trickle symptoms that I was having I was glad my doctor appointment was this week. I am still rotating doctors so that I can meet all of them before I deliver just in case my doctor cannot be there. This weeks doctor was not my favorite. She was not very personable. The nurse weighed me (as usual) and I gained 4 more pounds. So my total is 22 lbs so far. Then she did the urine test... this was the weird part. Usually they take the strip and throw it away but this time she said she needed to keep it to show the doctor. They never told me why. So then I told them my symptoms and she had me undress and put on a gown ( this is also not a routine thing) The Dr. came in and didn't ask me any questions she just had me lay down and listened for the heartbeat (which was fine) she didn't even measure me. She got a swab of the inside and put it under the microscope. She told me everything looked fine and she wanted to know when my next doctor apt was. I told her it was scheduled for the 28th and she told me that was to far away. She said I needed to come in every week from now on. BUt the frustrating thing is she wouldn't tell me why. I asked her if there was anything I needed to do and she said no. I asked her why I needed to come in earlier and she said she wanted me to see the new doctor next week. UGH! Soooo of course I came home and cried. I hate not knowing why they do certain things. My mom took the morning off next week so she can go with me and give them a piece of her mind if need be.. hehe (Gotta love my mom)
So that is this weeks update. We also did our birthing class but I will write about that separately.

Week 31- kicks, kicks, and more kicks

2007-09-09T17:31:00.001-07:00

Hey everybody! Well I guess I will list some of the symptoms I have been having...

*Lots of movement (lower abdomen) Sometimes I feel like she will kick her way right out! I still cannot tell if it is a leg or arm that is jabbing at me but it is fun to feel her moving around. I notice the most movement in the morning while I am sitting at work. (between 6 and 8) I think she had hiccups the other night.. it made edwin and I laugh because he pulsing of movement was sooo consistant.

*Edwin is getting more and more excited by the day! He went to ross the other day and came home with the CUTEST baby outfit. She is going to wear it home from the hospital!

* I have to make sure I eat smaller meals more consistently. I have found that if I forget to eat or if I wait to long to eat I get really shaky and start to feel nauseated. Also if I eat to much I feel like I am going to die. No buffets for me!

* I pee like 30 times a day!!!! Not even exaggerating. I think I have to go the most at night, I wake up at least 4 or 5 times to go to the bathroom.

* fatigue- I think this is from my frequent trips to the bathroom. My sleep is interrupted a lot so I am not getting the full 6 or 7 hours that I used to. I try to not let it effect my attitude very much but I am on the verge of crying half the time.. hehe BUT I only have one more week of work left and then I can sleep in a little and relax.

* I have been craving sweet things.. Chocolate mainly and regular milk. But I try not to eat very much of both because I do not want to gain to much weight.

* Swelling in my left foot- Yep that's it just the left foot. We were sitting down for dinner the other night and I looked down at my foot and freaked out. My toes looked like little sausages! Edwin massaged it for me and that made it feel a little better and then I put ice on it (hehe not sure why but it seemed to be the right thing to do) The swelling was gone by morning.

* My next doctor appointment is this Thursday at 1:45 so I will let you all know how everything is going.

* Last but not least... we bought a WII!!! I know I know that is not a symptom.. BUT I am about to be unemployed and don't have a lot of projects to do around the house since the nursery is done. We are setting it all up tonight and I am SOOO excited!

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support I can't wait to introduce you to our new little one (whenever she decides to grace us with her presence.)

Married one year to the love of my life!

2007-09-04T07:05:00.001-07:00

1 Year anniversary!!!!

This past weekend was our one year wedding anniversary. Can you believe it has been one whole year?? I love that it is on Labor Day weekend because we were able to go on a long weekend to the coast! We decided to go to Lincoln city since we had both never been there. We had so much fun just hanging out on the beach and playing in the ocean. I got a bunch of GREAT picture of Edwin trying to body surf (trying was the key word) hehe. I love going to the coast and looking through all the little shops they have and watching people with their dogs on the beach. It is so relaxing to go there and just listen to the ocean and not have a care in the world. We decided on Saturday night to go to the Casino and try to become millionaires! But we soon learned that playing the penny slots one penny at a time will only make you 10 dollars richer. LOL But we had a lot of fun and I liked that they had a non-smoking section so I didn’t have to breathe in the fumes. On Sunday we decided to go to the outlet malls and see what we could find. We went to the carter outlet and found some REALLY cute newborn outfits. We of course had to buy them! Edwin picked out one outfit and I picked out one. Malaika moved a lot this weekend at times it felt like she was going to claw her way right out!!! Edwin got to feel her a little and felt how strong the movements were. I think she liked the casino noises because she moved the most while we were there.
I love to spend time with my hubby so we had a lot of fun just talking about our dreams and goals and what we both see in our future. I am so lucky to have met him and been able to share my life with him. I know he makes my life more complete and we share the same dreams for life. I am so excited to have children together and see what qualities they are going to have from each of us. It is going to be funny to see who they look like and who they act like. I just thank God everyday that he brought us together!

Week 30- ups and downs

2007-09-04T06:52:00.000-07:00

Week 30 was a pretty busy week for me… I was taking medication for the spider bite and I am happy to say the swelling has almost disappeared. One of the wonderful side effects of the medication was (sorry if you didn’t want the details… BUT this is my reality… LOL) a yeast infection. So I went from miserable to even more miserable. Luckily I finished the medicine on Wednesday and my doctor’s appointment was scheduled for Thursday. This week’s doctor’s appointment was a roller coaster ride full of uppers and downers.

I was excited to go this week because they are starting to rotate me with the different doctors so I can meet each one in the event that my doctor cannot be there for the delivery. I personally am not attached to my doctor so I was excited to see who else they had and if I would click with any other. This week was Doctor Bennett and I LOVED HER!!! I will probably ask to switch to her. She was a little more relaxing and answered all of my questions without rushing me out the door. That meant a lot especially with all the questions I had.
When I first got in they weighed me (This always makes me nervous) BUT I about fell off the scale when she said I had only gained 1 pound!!!!!! Talk about a mini relief! So far the total weight I have gained is 18 pounds which is good. The Doctor would like me to only gain 15 – 25 total so I have been trying to watch my cravings and make sure I do a little bit of exercise each day. Next they had me do the urine sample which came back okay. For this appointment I had so many questions I made a list. I was excited when I asked the doctor if she could answer them she pulled up her stool and said she would love to. (You have to understand my actual doctor tends to roll her eyes and seems impatient)
I asked about my RH negative blood type. When they diagnosed me with it they told me I would need another shot at 28 weeks. So I wanted to make sure I got one. They set it up and did it right away (however they did it in the butt muscle… not what I expected. LOL) Next I asked her about the medication I was taking for the spider bite and the side effects I was having. She confirmed, and prescribed me an anti-fungal cream to use for a week and that would clear everything up. I also had just basic questions about Braxton hicks and what they felt like and when the baby is supposed to flip (She said they will start checking that at 36 weeks) Overall it was a very good appointment and I was so excited when I left. Oh... and the baby’s heartbeat was 144 and I measured at 30 CM so I am right on track!!!

The Nursery is completely finished and we have purchased everything we will need. This is a huge relief to both Edwin and I because I only have 2 more weeks until I get laid off at work and we know that we will have to tighten our money and make sure we have enough for bills and such. I love going into her room and just sit there daydreaming about what it will be like and how she will look in all of her new outfits. I also LOVE how the cradle and crib bedding turned out! I am VERY happy with it! I can’t wait for her to get here!!!

Week 29- spider bites

2007-08-24T07:34:00.001-07:00

Sooo week 29 (Sunday) started out with a little bump on my leg... I left it alone and brushed it off as nothing big and went about my day. On Monday that bump became the size of a golf ball. It was also purplish and very sore. I tried to put a warm wash cloth on it and thought maybe it was a pimple that was infected and if I put a warm washcloth on it then the infection would be drawn out. By Wednesday it has spread deeper in my leg and there was a rock hard center about the size of a plum. I was getting a little worried because about 2 years ago I had an abscess on my spine and it started out similar to this. (Not a fun experience) SO I decided after work I would go to the doctor and see if they could drain it or do something with it. (It was getting harder to walk because of the throbbing pain) The doctor looked at it and decided to try to cut it open and drain it BUT (sorry if you have a weak stomach) when she lanced it nothing came out it was just blood clots. She asked me if I had a spider problem and I said I didn’t think we did since I have not seen or killed a spider yet in our new house. She said that if it was an abscess then their would be stuff coming out... but with a spider bite it is usually just blood clots and some liquid (poison usually) SO she left the cut open and bandaged it and told me to put a hot pack on it and elevate my leg all day the next day to see if anything would change. She also put me on a medication called cephalexin (she promised it would not hurt the baby) this is supposed to kill any virus or infection inside the body. I am supposed to go back in 2 days (Saturday) if I do not feel any better and if it is still swollen.
So today is Friday and it is still swollen and still about the size of a plum. I am praying it will go down by tonight so I don’t have to worry about it.
Other than that the baby seems to be doing fine… Since I was off all day yesterday I had more time to think about her and think about how life will be like. I am really nervous about the delivery and having the responsibility of a baby. But I have an amazing husband who is there to support me and I know he will be a great help and an amazing father. He is always there to alleviate my fears… (And it seems I have had a LOT of those lately.) This baby is one loved little munchkin!
OHHH we also got an email letting us know our crib bedding is in. YAY!!! So we are going to go pick it up tonight and try to set up the crib!! I will take some pictures and post them in my myspace! Week 30 here I come!!!

Week 28- The longest week EVER!!!

2007-08-20T06:14:00.000-07:00

This week started out with a call from my doctor… They wanted me to come back in for another glucose test. This time I needed to schedule the appointment for 4 hours with the lab and I needed to fast for 12 hours before the test. I decided on Wednesday and I took the day off because I knew that with my nerves and also an empty stomach I would not be the best person to be around. My appointment was scheduled for 8:30. I got there around 8:15 to get checked in. They took me to the back and drew my blood and then made me drink the syrup again. (This time they gave me Orange flavor... I liked it a LOT more) I got done drinking the syrup at 8:21 so they scheduled me for 3 more blood draws in the next three hours (9:21, 10:21, 11:21). While I waited I was not allowed to eat or drink anything and I had to stay in the waiting room. I was BORED out of my mind!!!! But time actually went by really fast and the lady that did my blood did a VERY good job! I left the lab around 12:00 and by that time I was VERY hungry and a little sick from the pure sugar drink but I didn’t want to get fast food ( all I really wanted was honey nut cheerios… hehe ) I decided before I went home I would run to Target to get laundry soap. BAD IDEA! By the time I got the soap I was so light headed I went straight for their food isle. I grabbed some animal crackers and tried to eat some but I was not feeling any better. So I decided to go pay for things and then hurry out to the car. By the time I got to the car I was sweating so bad (probably from nerves and the 90 degree weather) I jumped in and just sat there hoping I would be okay to drive home. A few minutes later I started driving home and when I got home I ate a bowl of cereal and then went to sleep... I slept for a good 3 hours and felt SOO much better. But that was sure a scary experience.
I had to wait for 48 hours before the results came back and those had to have been the SLOWEST 48 hours of my life. On Friday I called the office and they said the results look normal and I am A-OK!!! Whoo hoo! I was so much more relaxed after that. Edwin was probably grateful because I was sooo cranky the whole week.
Over the weekend Edwin and I did some more prepping for the baby room. We found a dresser and re-painted it to match the other furniture. We picked up a baby monitor and some plastic drawers for storage. It is so fun to see the room coming together! The crib bedding should be here by Friday so I am looking forward to that.
The baby has been moving around a lot more this week! I dream about her moving too (not sure if she is really moving or if I am just dreaming about it) In the middle of the night I have these crazy dreams about her doing flips in my belly. It is a cool feeling and I always wake up feeling excited! On another note…Fresh fruit seems to be the craving of choice. I have been eating so many Mangos and plums and watermelon! I also crave milk and honey nut cheerios. (That’s all I have been wanting for dinner) I am glad it is not chocolate I am craving because then I would be in trouble.
I started a new workout routine. I really want to be in a little better shape for the delivery. I know I cannot do anything major right now to change things but I am doing a pregnancy Yoga tape and taeboe everyday. It has really helped my back and the little aches and pains I get in my legs. I also sleep better at night! Well that’s about it for this week Edwin and I are getting more and more excited to meet this little one! It’s not to far away.

Week 27 - Blood sugar

2007-08-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

This week was a great week! It started out with my baby shower which was amazing! Then the rest of the week Edwin and I got to shop for the rest of the stuff we needed. Edwin has vowed not to go back into Babies ‘R’ Us until the baby is actually born... hehe (I am sure we will go again) We ordered the crib bedding and are waiting patiently for it’s arrival. Once that gets here I have everything I need to finish decorating! The baby is moving A LOT this week. I have pretty much felt her in the morning afternoon and evening. She moves the most when I am relaxed at home in bed or on the couch but it has been so amazing to feel her little movements inside. She still has not moved for my mom. Every time she puts her hand on my stomach there is a relaxed feeling that comes over me and the baby doesn’t move. LOL! Mom said that I will appreciate that when the baby has been crying all night. Grandma will come in and sooth her to sleep.
On Friday I had my glucose screening… not the most exciting thing in the world but not as bad as I made it out to be. I had to drink this syrup solution that tasted like lemon lime soda without the carbonation and then I had to wait an hour and have my blood drawn. I got a call yesterday (Monday week 28) and they told me that my levels were a little higher than they like so I need to go in for a 4 hour blood sugar test. I scheduled the appointment for tomorrow (wed) and I have to fast for 12 hours before with only water. Then they will take a blood sample right away to see what my levels are like without food. Then I will drink the “OH SO LOVELY” syrup again and then they will take my blood every hour after that for three hours. I am prepared to be bored out of my mind! But at least I will know for sure what the blood sugar levels will be like. So I guess I will keep you all updated.

Baby Shower!!!!!

2007-08-09T07:16:00.001-07:00

Sunday August 5th was the baby shower… My mom and Maria were the masterminds behind the big event. We had it at the arbor rose clubhouse which is a VERY NICE place. Sunday morning Edwin and I slept in and I took my time getting ready. The shower was at 1:00 so I had plenty of time to beautify myself. LOL
It was a nice morning though just hanging out with Edwin. I love the time that we have together. He is my best friend and we can talk about anything. I am the most comfortable around him and I know he is going to be the most AMAZING father any kid could ever have.
Hailey and Lorie got their a little early so I got to show them around our new place. Her daughter Hailey was the flower girl in our wedding and she is SOOO CUTE! (She was also VERY helpful) We went to the clubhouse and my mom and Maria and Susanna were all busy getting the last minute touches together. Marcia (a friend from work) had shown up early and was also helping. My mom got cupcakes in the shape of a baby buggy (although we had to tell most of the guests what it was supposed to look like.. hehe but they were THE best cupcakes! ) There were about 30 people there and Edwin and I were SO BLESSED! We pretty much got everything we needed!!! I will post pictures of everything this week (our camera has been acting up)
We also got cash from my mom as well as some gift cards to target and that evening we went out and bought the rest of the big things we needed. (Like the mattress for the crib and a boppy)
The only thing we really have left to get is a swing and a breast pump. I cannot believe how blessed we are!!!! The baby has MORE than enough clothes and we got a lifetime supply of baby wipes! And a Spa baby Bathtub! We also got a gift card to Babies R Us and went and got the cradle bedding and ordered the crib bedding. It was so fun to get the cradle all decorated.
The coolest thing about the shower was my husband. The whole week he said he didn’t want to be involved because it was a girly thing. I tricked him into coming for a minute because we “forgot” Some towels to clean the kitchen and I knew there were people that wanted to see him and say hi. So he came and popped his head in and said some hello’s and then ran out as fast as he could. Then about a half hour later I received a text from him... “Hey! Would it be okay if I come back there...? It looked like a lot of fun” LOL SO I called him and told him to come back. He did and he helped me open all the presents. It was sooo much fun to do it together.
SO I want to say a big THANKS to everyone for your Support, advice, and gifts! We had such a great time and love everything! I can’t wait to have this baby and dress her up in all the clothes we got.

Week 26- anticipation

2007-08-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

Week 26~ July 29-August 4th

Well this week was a simple week… not a lot of ups and downs. I was restricted from purchasing any baby stuff because my Shower was on Aug 5th (Sunday). My mom hates it when I go out shopping before a big event so I tried to be REALLY good. It is getting harder and harder not to buy every cute frilly outfit in sight though.
On wed we went to an African Concert at the Zoo and that was a lot of fun! Edwin and his brother were really excited to go! It was great to just get out of the house and do something spontaneous. Lately I have felt overwhelmed with work and the stress of getting everything prepared so it was nice to have a night out and have some fun! As most of you know my work is closing. It has been a bittersweet mixture of feelings for me. I am happy that I can be on unemployment and spend extra time with the baby. But I am also nervous about our financial situation. My last day is Sept 14th (I finally got a set date!) The majority of our site was given their last day notice for August 10th sooo on Friday the 3rd our work had a Bon Voyage party. They let everyone off the phones for 2 hours to eat a catered lunch and have awards. It was really a nice setting and it was good to get to say goodbye to come people that I don’t see on a regular basis. I have been with this company for 2 years and a lot of these people have been very involved with my life so it will be hard to not see them all on a daily basis. But we plan to keep in touch!
On Saturday I went to Nissa’s going away party and also Lorie’s daughter Hailey’s 6th Birthday party. By Saturday night I was wiped out and ready for a good nights sleep.
The baby has been moving a lot now. I feel her the most in the early morning (around 5:00 when I am at work) and then in the evening when I am relaxing with Edwin watching TV or going to bed. Watermelon is still my favorite! I think we go through at least 3 watermelons a week. I also love fresh fruit so farmers market has been my friend. It is definitely getting harder and harder to find a comfortable position when I am sleeping. My belly is seems to be the hardest at night. I also have to get up at least 4 times a night to go to the bathroom. Oh the joys of pregnancy! But I love every minute of it! Well that is about it! I have my next doctor appointment on Friday the 10th and they are going to do the blood sugar test on me so wish me luck!

Ultrasound

2007-07-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Friday July 27) I was scheduled for another ultrasound. This time they wanted me to do the ultrasound at Emmanuel Hospital because they have better equiptment. I was a little nervous going in because there are two reasons why they send people to Emmanuel (or this is what I was told) #1. they send you there if you have multiples and #2 if you are a high risk pregnancy. Soooo with me being a worry wart I was a little nervous. The sonographer was a really nice guy. He made sure to explain everything to us and wanted to make sure I was really comfortable. He zoomed in on Malaika and the first thing he said was, "Well if this is not a girl then I should not be a sonographer." LOL He took some really great picks of her feet and hands. When he was finished the Doctor came in and he did his own check. It was so cool because as soon as he finished he grabbed a different wand (or probe whatever you call those) and he zoomed right in on the baby's face it was SOOO COOL! He was using a 4D ultrasound wand and the baby's face was so clear. He even printed us a picture (which was not as good as seeing it in person but SO CUTE) He said that the baby is fine from head to toe and that my due date was November 4th. So everything is on track and going smoothly. My next appointment is August 10th and they wil be doing my diabetes test at that appointment.
So there is the update... I will TRY to be better about this blog in the weeks to come.

Week 25- kicks!

2007-07-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I was going to write about week 25 tonight after my ultrasound (and I still will) But there was a part I did not want to forget about. This week was so exciting! Sunday was the first day that Edwin has felt the baby move. It was actually the first day that I felt the movement on the outside of my belly. We were in bed Sunday morning watching TV and I had my hand on my stomach. All of a sudden I felt a ball in my hand.. LOL I actually jumped because it felt so weird. So Of course I was like, "EDWIN!!!!" He came and put his hand on my stomach and after a few minutes he felt a little kick! He was excited and kept his hand there for a few more rounds. Monday and tuesday I started being a worry wart because I did not feel the baby move. I try to not get worried or paranoid but it is hard sometimes. I also scheduled my ultrasound appointment at Emmanual hospital for Friday at 1:00. They said I would not have to drink any water so I was SOO thankful for that. Wed was my 22nd Birthday and it was such a nice day! Edwin got me some flowers and promised we would go get pedicures together this weekend. He is also going to get me some maternity clothes but he knows that I am picky so he is going to take me with him.. hehe
My mom got me the new Mama Bee stuff from burts bee that is supposed to be good for stretching and leg cramps. she also got me shampoo and a tank top which I LOVE! Then Susanna and Her boyfriend Vu came over for dinner and they got me a candle and chapstick and CHOCOLATE!!! I think I ate to much sugar that day and the baby was moving around like crazy.. so that took away any fears I had the previous 2 days.
THEN.. yesterday we were watching TV and I was laying on my side on the couch. All of a sudden I saw my stomach jump! LOL it is the weirdest feeling especially when you feel it and see it! Of course I called for edwin to come over and sure enough she did it for him too! He thought it was cool. LOl Then mom came over to look and .. NOTHING .. HAHAH Mom has yet to feel her move. She seems to calm down whenever Grandma walks by. hehe
Today is my ultrasound and my mom is going with me because edwin wants to save his time off for when the baby is here. Sooo I will post more tonight or this weekend about what the ultrasound was like.

JULY

2007-07-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

The month of July
A lot has happened this month and when I came back to see how far behind I had got on my blog I was surprised to see how many weeks had passed. BUT at least I will have a lot of stuff to share with you.

WEEK 22 - The first week of July was my 22nd week in pregnancy… CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!! This week was very busy but so much fun! We did not do much for the fourth of July. Edwin and I both had the day off and were pretty exhausted from work and we had a big weekend ahead of us… so we decided to just spend the day at home BBQ’ing and watching movies. The next day I worked from 5:00 am to 1:30 and then went home and packed and picked up Edwin from work downtown. We Hit the road! July 7th was one of my best friend’s weddings!!! We were so excited to go see Shanti and Darren get married and catch up with them. (As much as you can catch up with the bride and groom) Edwin and I stayed in LaGrande on Thursday night with my dad (which was my last night to spend in the house in union... *Tear* my dad has sold the house) and then we headed to Boise on Friday. We stopped at my grandparent’s house in Vale and had lunch with them and then headed off to Boise. It was a lot of fun to go there because Edwin had never been to Idaho. He did however cross it off of his list of places to live. It was WAY TO HOT for us. It was 110! The next day was Shanti and Darren’s wedding and it was BEAUTIFUL! They make such a cute couple and you can tell they are VERY much in love with each other. We had to leave the reception a little early because we had to get back to lagrande for another wedding by 6:00. My dad’s girlfriends daughter (bear with me lol) was getting married in Cove. Their wedding was also beautiful and it was so relaxing to sit up on the mountain with the nice COOL air and the mountain views. I miss Union county! I was surprised how easy it was to do all the traveling I only had to pee a couple of times! LOL
As far as the baby goes this week I have a little more movement but not anything I can feel on the outside yet. Edwin is waiting for the day when he can feel the baby move. No big cravings this week.

Week 23-
We got back on Sunday night from LaGrande and I slept SOOO good that night! We cranked up the air conditioner and had a nice dinner and went to bed. Monday July 9th was our big ULTRASOUND to find out the sex of the baby. I made the appointment at 6:00 PM so Edwin could be there and I was sooo excited! We both made bets on what we thought it would be and as always Edwin was right! We are having a GIRL!!! The ultrasound tech was very nice and explained each step to us. The baby was breech so she was having a VERY hard time getting any pictures. After an hour and a half she decided to call it quits and see if we could re-schedule. The ultrasound images we got to take home are VERY hard to see what it is we are looking at. ( I will try to post them this week) But the image that you get on the TV Monitor is so amazing! The baby was wiggling around and flipping over. It is so weird to think that you and your husband created this little living thing. My next appt was scheduled for the 20th so I would have to wait a week and see what the doctor thought of the pictures.
After I found out we were having a girl I was sooo excited to go SHOPPING! I went on craigslist and found a lady who was selling her lil girls baby clothes. She had the CUTEST outfits from Gap and Old navy and polo. A lot of them still had the tags on them! She sold each piece at 1.00 each. I was so excited! When I brought all the clothes home Edwin looked at me and laughed ( he thought I had bought out a store) But it was so fun to buy lil pink things and picture the baby in them. We also found a changing table on craigslist and went to pick that up. Edwin sanded it and stained it the same color as the crib and cradle. The baby room is slowly coming together!
Also the name we have picked out is MALAIKA.. you will have to stay tuned for the middle name.

Week 24-
I am now at 6 months! I cannot believe how fast this summer is going by... The baby is moving a lot more in the early morning. I work at 5:00 am every morning and I am usually at work by myself until about 7:00 so during this time I am relaxed and not pre-occupied. The baby moves a lot and I am able to feel it a little on the outside now. The biggest craving I have is WATERMELON! I can eat a whole watermelon and not think twice about it! Edwin laughed at me the other day because I took this HUGE watermelon and cut it in half. He thought I was going to cut it into smaller pieces but instead I grabbed a spoon and stuck it in the center and carted it to the living room with me... hehe sometimes that is all I will eat for dinner because it sounds so good!
On Friday July 20th was my doctor’s appt and I was a little nervous to get on the scale… BUT I have only gained 10 pounds so far! HOORAY! The doctor was proud of me and told me to keep doing what I am doing... LOL I guess the watermelon is working out. She told me that she needed me to go back to the ultrasound tech and get some more photos taken. But she is sending me to another hospital because they have better equipment. So I am excited about that because I will get to see the baby again AND we will get better pictures! The doctor also said my Uterus is growing very fast so she will re-evaluate my due date. My mom said she thinks I am going to be having twins and that is why they are sending me back… I SAY NO! LOL
So I just need to wait until Monday and if the ultrasound dept doesn’t call I am supposed to call them to schedule my appt. So I will keep you all posted!
Edwin felt the baby move this weekend!!!!!!!! YAY! SHE (not THEY MOM!!) is finally kicking hard enough for him to feel! It was so cool to see his expression and he kept his hand on my tummy for awhile just to see if he would feel it again.
My friend Maria and my mom are busy planning the baby shower! It is going to be August 5th (before my work place closes so that all my co-workers can get together) it was fun to register and picture the baby room all set up! And I know Maria and my mom will have an AWESOME party for me! I want to have one in LaGrande as well so I can see all my old friends and church family but I am not sure I can plan one so far away. But if not I will have to bring the baby over so they can see her.
Well that is an up to date blog for you all! I hope you didn’t get too bored. I will post next week and let you know how the ultrasound appt goes. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Playing Catch up

2007-06-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

WOWZER!!! So I have left you all in suspense.... I am now in week 21 and let me tell you I have not even see the weeks pass by. It would be a lie to tell you that I remember everything about the last couple of weeks but I will get you updated on what I can remember.
I have just finished up school and let me tell you that has been such a relief. My anatomy class was one of the most challenging classes I have taken and I am proud to say I have passed it!!! (One down 2 more to go) I am also happy the baby is still healthy after all the Disecting and chemicals I played around with. I only have 2 more classes to take and I will have completed my pre-requisites for nursing school. I am ALMOST THERE!!!
Another big thing that has happened to me is.... I finally got my 60 day notice at work. For those of you that didn't know about a year ago our company was advised that they were outsourcing our jobs over seas. We have been waiting for a whole year for a set date and I finally got it. My last day at convergys will be Sept 1st! I was a little nervous at first because that is right before ehave the baby. But my work is not going to dispute unemployment and they are giving us a retention bonus so I think we will be okay. Plue I will get to be home for at least 6 months with the baby! That will be exciting.
So as you can see life has been hectic. The baby is doing great and squirming around like crazy. I just had my doctors appointment On friday June 22nd and we scheduled my ultrasound for July 9th. I was a little surprised that my doctor wanted to do it so late ( I will be almost 24 weeks by then) But she told me I will appreciate it because the baby will be bigger and I will see more. She also gave us the paperwork for a 4D ultrasound. They wil make a 30 minute video and you will be able to see facial expressions and everything. I would love to get this done so we can send it to edwin's family. She also said our insurance would cover it so that is GREAT! We have purchased a crib and a bunch of baby things and the baby room is looking more and more like a reality. I can't wait to find out what the sex is so we can start buying pink or blue clothes.
The only symptoms I have been experiencing are MAJOR Allergies... my doctor told me I can take sudafed and benadryl ( spelling) but I am popping those things like Candy and I think I am becoming immune... UGH! Edwin just tells me that it is God's way of teaching me to be mad at my kids. ( I guess it will give me leverage when they are teens.. hehe) Other than that I have been blessed with this pregnancy.

Thank you LORD for everything you are dong in our little family here. I could not be any more blessed right now. Thank you for the time that you are giving edwin and I together and for the Love that we have. We can't wait for the miracles you have in store for us!

Week 15 &16

2007-05-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

Week 15 & 16 have been kindof a blur for me. I have been soooo busy at times I forgot I was even pregnant. I am taking anatomy and Physiology and I have never worked so hard on a class in my life. I had a test during week 15 and had to know all the bones of the body. I never realized how many bones we have. God is so creative! I spent my entire weekend reading and memorizing (trying to remember to eat and drink in between chapters) so all in all it was worth it! I got a B on my comprehensive exam! Whoo hoo!
I felt the baby move more during week 15 edwin thinks he felt it too! He was so cute! We were laying in bed watching TV and he had his hand on my stomach all of a sudden he jumped and his eyes got realy big. He muted the TV and put his ear on my stomach. He was like, "did you feel that?" LOL I didn't really notice anything but he knows he felt something. It was great to see him excited like that I can't wait until he feels it and KNOWS that is the baby moving.
As far as cravings go I have had two inthe past 2 weeks, Cheesburgers and DQ Ice cream cake. I have a rule for my self though I have to be consistantly craving this for more than a week then I must really want it. But I have been trying to be good. The doctor told me that I should only gain 15 to 20 pounds. I had my appointment this last friday on May 25th and I have gained 3 pounds so far. Not to bad! She listened for the heartbeat and it was there beating as fast as ever. I asked about the ultrasound but she wanted to wait until my next visit which is June 22. So I guess I have to wait. I am so excited to find out the sex of the baby! I want to go out and by lil girl or lil boy clothes! Well thats it for now stay tuned for more.

Week 14 - strollers, playpens, and car seats OH MY

2007-05-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Week 14 has been amazing! I am feeling better and I have a LOT more energy. I have been so worn out with work and school I would just come home and crash. I felt like I was neglecting my husband and my home. But I felt a slight burst of energy this week and I am soaking up every minute of it.
Edwin's friend Jones (from Zambia) has just started at Multnomah Bible College. We have had him over a couple of times an it has been great to hear stories from back home and great to see edwin interact with someone from back home. Jones Family (His Wife bwalika and 2 daughters brooke-2 and maggie -10 months) arrived on Tuesday and we were SOO excited to see them. On Friday we decided we should have them over for a BBQ along with edwins brother and girlfriend (who is also prego!! YAY) So we arranged to pick them up on Friday afternoon and have them over. While edwin and I were talking a lightbulb went on in my head.... a 10 month old will need to ride in a car seat! We had not bought any baby stuff yet because Edwin wanted to wait until I was 7 months. (if you can believe it I had not complained to much) Soooo we knew they would not have a carseat yet since they just flew in and were getting situated. My heart started fluttering! BABY SHOPPING! YIPPIE!!!
We went to target and found the matching car seat /stroller that we liked. It has a little baby elephant and giraffe on it. so cute! then of course we had to get the matching playpen! LOL! It was so fun to buy the stuff and I think Edwn was excited.
The evening was so fun we talked and laughed and Musnda played guitar and we sang worship songs. It was a really great evening. I loved playing with the girls it reminded me of when I was at Newsong. I love kids! Up here people are not as trusting with their kids so I forgot how fun it is to get on your knees and play! As far as the pregnancy goes I felt the baby move this week! It was a weird feeling like butterflies. It was quick .. I wanted to feel it again right after but of course I didn't. I am sure I will feel it more in the weeks to come.

Week 13- a little bit more

2007-05-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

This week was a great week! On Friday I had my Dr. apt and everything as A-OK! They don't want to see me now until May 25th. After my apt. we drove to LaGrande. My mom is finally moving in with us!! HOORAY! I was excited to see my dad too, I really miss him a lot. I always feel so worn out when I come back from LaGrande. There are so many people I want to see and catch up with and never enough time or day light to do it all. We got in around 10 pm on Friday night and visited with my dad. this is the first time we saw each other since he found out I was pregnant. So we got to talk about that and I got to make fun of him because he is old and becoming a grandpa. I think my favorite thing to do is make up crazy names that our kids will call him. He gets so flustered! haha
On Friday we woke up early and went to help mom. Well... I sat there since they seem to think I can't even lift a feather. My friend Jana came to see me and it was SOOOOOO good to see her. I miss her so much! We decided to go to cock and bull for lunch. (I had forgotten how GOOD their food is) Her roomie Jolene (sorry if I spelled that wrong) went with us and she is such a sweet girl! I hope they come visit me soon! (they better!) After that I went back to moms apartment and stood around some more LOL. then I convinced mom we NEEDED to go to maurices. I LOVE MAURICES. I can't fit into much of their clothes anymore since I have become a curvaceous beauty..hehe but I love the jewelry and the T-shirts are longer so I like to get a couple of those. And of course the beautiful miss Jana was working and she always hooks me up!
Then we ent back and picked up Edwin and Edwin and I went back to dads for a BBQ. YUM! My dad and his girlfriend Cindy and her son Cody were there. It was great to sit in the back yard n union and eat my dads burgers. The baby didn't really like G-pa's burgers though. I had the worst indigestion all night. the next morning it was off to church. It was my moms last Sunday there and it was nice to see how much she was appreciated. My mom is such a caring person and t really showed how much she had poured into people in hat church.
I was so excited to see my friend Kylee who is also pregnant. We were able to share some of our stories. I felt like we could have talked for hours! She looks great and I think her and Matt are going to be wonderful parents. I also got to talk to Kathleen (the baby pro) She is pregnant with her fourth. I am not sure if I want to be pregnant 4 times. this pregnancy has been a whirlwind. But she also looks happy and great!
towards the end of this week I have been feeling a little more pregnant. All of my old pants still fit but they are definitely tighter and not something I want to lounge around the house in. I have had back pain this week for some reason. I think it is sympathy pains for everyone who was helping my mom move..hehe
Food aversions this week.... PORK.. it does not sound , look, or taste good! I also don't like to look at meat before it is cooked.
Cravings........MILK! I have never liked milk but I have been drinking soo much of it this week. I guess that is good since it will help the baby.
Thanks for listening and I hope everyone has a great week!

Week 10,11,12

2007-05-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hey all~
Did I mention that I am horrible at blogging on time. Sheesh! Well I am going to try to remember eerything and keep you up to date on what has happened (I am writing this when I am now 14 weeks a long but bear with me)
Soooooo... We left off at the complications I was having in week nine. I had called the doctor because I had some more bleeding. The next morning I went in to see the doctor and she checked everything out and told me I was fine. She said she wanted to do an ultrasound just to make sure the blood was not coming from the uterus. So they sent me off and gave me the number to make an appointment with a sonographer. The said they could get me on Tuesday which worked out perfect because my actual FIRST pre-natal appointment was scheduled for Tuesday. I begged and pleaded for Edwin to take time off work so he could be there for the appointment and I think he was really glad he took the time off. The ultrasound was so amazing! They have this big TV that they project the image on and they have it in color. The baby was wiggling around like crazy. It was soo weird to see it in there and know that this is something inside of me that is alive! We got to see the spine and each individual toe! It was so amazing!!! After that we went over to the OB dept to get my check up. I didn't have the check-up with my regular doctor but we met a really nice nurse who was a christian and she was sooo awesome. She really made us feel at ease and I thought it was really cool that she wasn't scared to share her faith with her patients. I told her that I thought that was really cool and she said.. "what are they gonna do fire me?" LOL You gotta love her perception! They told me that everything looked good and they wanted to see me in a month.
I was feeling so refreshed after seeing the baby and knowing that it was really in there and it was healthy and strong. I think edwin also felt a little different.
The next day I went to class and was in my A&P lab when I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. Soooo naturally I found the closest one. I had started bleeding again.. UGH! But this time it was much worse it was bright red and it felt more like a period. I had thought for sure that I was mis-carrying and so immediately I started to panic. I ent back to class and grabed my phone and called my doctor. They told me they thought it was hemroids an I should go buy the medication and rest and see if it clears up. That made me mad because I knew that this blood was not coming from hemmroids. (you would think a person would know if they had hemmroids) then I had to walk back into class and let my teacher know I needed to leave and I immediatly started crying. I got to my car and felt so defeated. It was weird to see the image of the baby and feel refreshed and okay about the pregnancy only to feel worried and scared the next. I called my mom and she told me to go home and check everything out. she told me to rest and said that even if I was going to have a mis carriage there was nohing Icould do about it. I got home and felt a little more relaxed. I checked for more bleeding and did not find any. So I called my doctor back and told them I needed to be seen.
the next morning I went in and they checked me out and did another ultrasound and the baby was fine. They put me on bed rest and told me to take it east and they wanted to see me in 2 weeks.
Soooo I waited for two weeks... no bleeding YAY! until 2 days before my next appt. UGH!
But the doctor told me not to worry and I am not going to! They did another ultrasound at my last appointment and everything looked great. so that takes you through weeks 10,11,12. I hope you are not to bored. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Week 9 - complicated

2007-04-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up around 4:20 to get ready for work and I went into the bathroom. I discovered that I was bleeding. Not a lot of blood just spotting like at the beginning or end of your period. Kindof pinkish brown. So I got scared and called for edwin. Luckily my mom is here and she was able to calm me down. So we went to the emergency room and they saw me right away. They looked at my cervix and said that the blood was just below it. It was a tiny little blood clot that she was able to clean up with just one q-tip. She said that there was no sign that the cervix was open and they put a catheder in and tested my urine. everything came out okay. They also did a blood test and found that I have an RH negative factor in my blood which meant that I had to get a shot (of something I do not know the name of but you can look it up online) I guess what this blood factor does is if crossed with the RH plus (which the baby might have) Then your body could start poducing antibodies against furture babies. It will not efect this pregnancy but i would effect furture pregnancies. So I have to have a shot now and then when I deliver. this shot is supposed to stop the signal to your body to create anti-bodies. So I came home and did not go to work and laid down all day. Then around 5:30 this evening I started to bleed again. UGH! So I called the OB dept and the doctor said this is normal and I should relax and come in first thing in the morning. she told me if I start to bleed heavy with clots then I should come to the emergency room ASAP.. SO I am siting here trying to keep my mind off of it but I decided I would Blog so that I would have this to remember.
Please pray for us!

Thank you Lord for this day and for everything you are doing in me. Lord I pray that you would prepare me for whatever your ultimate plan is. I pray that I would have a healthy pregnancy and that my health will stay strong. I thank you for this blessing of life and I pray that you would keep me strong during his hard time. Love you Lord

Getting started

2007-04-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well I decided after reading Kylee's blog today that I needed to start keeping track of my pregnancy. I don't want to forget these precious moments! So let me start off by getting you caught up to where I am today.

Finding out~
I had promised Edwin that I would stop buying pregnancy test because they were getting too expensive and I would always get my hopes up and then they would come crashing down. We had been trying for a baby since mid December and I was to the point where I wanted to stop thinking about trying and just let life happen naturally without the stress of waiting until the end of the month to find out if it was a yes or a no.
I was heading home from work and I was thinking about hen my last period was... I was about 3 days late from my quick calculation. I decided o pull into Fred meyer and buy just 1 box of tests. Then I could stop thinking about it and focus on finals and life that was happening around me. I went home and opened the box and waited for what seemed like a lifetime for the little lines to show up. I had bough a test that I had never used before and this one showed a plus sign if pregnant or a negative sign if not. I saw the plus and about fainted. My heart started racing and all of these questions rose in my mind. Am I really ready for this? ( like if I wasn't I could take it back..LOL) Edwin was still at work and I was panicked. I had no one else to look at the test and confirm and I could not wait for another hour for him to get home and look at it. So I called my friend Sarah St. John from work and I was like, "Uh Sarah, If there is a plus sign am I prego?" She was so calm and was like, "Well, depending on the test YES!!" I started freaking out...LOL So she calmed me down and said to take another test when I could and then let her know.
When Edwin got home I showed him he test and he of course asked me if I was sure and if I read he box right. hehe.. I had made sure to drink lots and lots of water and we took another test. This also had a plus but one line was very faint. So off to the store we went to get the tests I was used to, first response, I took another test and BAM 2 lines like magic appeared in the little box. At that point I called the local urgent care and they told me that since I had three positive test there would be no need for me to come in and confirm.
I had such a hard time concentrating that night (Wednesday, February 28th 2007) is the day I found out I was about 5 weeks pregnant. (My last period started on Saturday, January 27th 2007)
the next morning I woke up and took the last test I had left in the box and o course it was positive. I have not taken one since.. surprisingly LOL

Week 6~
I had a lot of cramping this week. My mom said that was normal and I shouldn't worry unless I start to bleed. It is ironic that something is growing inside of me. I am having such an out of body experience. I have not experienced any morning sickness, however, DO NOT bring tuna around me. I can't stand it. I also could not eat eggs this week.

Week 7~
This week I made my first doctors appointment. It is April 10th @ 2:15. I m so excited!!! It is going o be my 11th week so I should be able to hear the heartbeat. This week went by so fast. I had finals and we moved to our new apartment. I tried to not lift to much and with the "General" AKA My mama around she wasn't letting me do anything. I am soooo thankful for the people that helped us out. We had about 13 people help us and I could not have done it without them!
This week edwin put his head on my stomach and started talking to the baby. It was cute! He claims they have a special cell phone that they can use and he always uses the saying "The network with the fewest dropped calls." This makes me laugh so hard which obviously makes him and he baby lose connection. I love it! I am feeling so tired this week and a little emotional. No sickness YET HOORAY!

Week 8~
This week was a rough one I had a little bit of morning sickness (no throwing up) But I felt like it. I also had MAJOR hunger growls in my stomach. I am so sick of food though. I try not to think about what I am going to eat because that usually makes me feel sick. I also am trying to eat 5 small meals a day.. which I find hard to do but I am trying to eat healthy. Edwin and I have also been going on a lot of walks and I am trying to make a point to stay as active as possible.
I am still tired but Edwin has been VERY understanding and letting me take naps and relax. He also gives the BEST back massages EVER!

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
This catches us up to WEEK 9 Which is the week I am currently in. I will post later on this since I have not had a chance to experience how I am feeling this week. I will close by saying this has been the most amazing experience. I love the thought that I am going to have a child. A precious baby that will look up to me and Love us. I hope and pray that Edwin and I will be great parents!

Thank you Jesus for this Blessing. I Pray that you would make me strong I pray that mine and Edwin's relationship will only get better from here and that we can share your love with our precious baby. We submit to you Jesus and thank you for all you have done for us in our lives. We love you and can't wait to see what you have in store for us next!