Week 21: Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, O!!!

Do you know where we are? Our new apartment! We still have the entire UHaul to unload but at least we're sleeping our first night in our new apartment. This will be your first home, we hope you like it! Love you sweetie!

2007 is your year and we're so excited to see you.

-Mommie & Daddy
(21 weeks, 6 days)

Week 21: Lela Carmen!

Guest Post from Lela Carmen:

My Dear Grandchild,

Hi wonderful baby, how are you! I tried to send you and your parents an e-card, but I wasn't successful, so I'm writing you today. Well, this the last day of year 2006. Many people will be celebrating the start of New Year 2007. I know how special 2007 will be with your arrival.

I went with mommie and daddy to the clinic to see your ultrasound. I got teary-eyed as I saw God's small miracle-you. It's amazing to see my baby, your mommie, expecting her own child. Your parents are so happy and blessed.

Tomorrow they will be moving into their own apartment. They'll be getting things ready for you.

I wish you a restful night.

Love,
Lela Carmen

Lela Carmen & Titi Jomaira

Week 21: The Trip

Hello O,

It's daddy. Sorry if I haven't written in a while, still recovering from "The Trip." "The Trip" was the drive from North Carolina to Massachusetts. It was so tough I can't begin to tell you. For starters we had planned to get the UHaul truck on Christmas Eve, pack that day and drive the next day. Well, we started packing, and more packing, and more packing, it was too much stuff to finish packing in one day. Then by the time we finished the following day it was too late to leave because we still had to clean the apartment! So we ended up leaving two days after getting the truck.

Titi Jomaira the night before the Trip

Then came the real fun! We had rented a tow dolly to tow my car in back of the truck and now had to get the car on the tow dolly. That was no easy task. I was so scared driving my car on the dolly, it took forever.

Daddy with the UHaul

But nothing could compare to driving the truck, with the tow dolly, and my car on the tow dolly. That was an adventure! You see we couldn't drive too fast because the truck wouldn't feel secure while driving. And every time we had to get something to eat or put gas in the truck it was another stressful task because I couldn't back up driving the truck, so unless we were stopping at a place right off the highway any time we had to get off the highway and drive through a town I was scared I would drive somewhere that couldn't get out of.

Mommie & Daddy putting on the tow dolly

Mommie reading the tow dolly directions that said in bold face type that the tow dolly should only be put on by a UHaul representative

And did I mention the drive took over 15 hours! Your mommy was a soldier and stayed up the whole ride helping me stay up for the drive. She would talk to me, put music I liked, and put the air conditioning in the truck to keep me up. The reason we made the ride was largely because of your mommy, she's amazing, and the whole trip from NC and how she acted before, during, and after, showed me why I love her so much. I think O, your mommy and I will be able to handle any challenge you present to us, because your parents can do anything together!

On the Road!

Daddy in the UHaul

Titi Jomaira bundled up in the UHaul (we had to keep the AC on to keep Daddy awake)

Enough about the trip, I'm so excited to be with your mommy now, and to be real close to moving in to our apartment. It was nice reading stories to you O the other night, only I got a little sad because one was about migrant workers and how a family deals with challenges together, and it reminded me of my mother's family and what they went through growing up in Costa Rica. My mother picked coffee from a young age in Costa Rica. Her and her siblings all had to work to help the family and because of what she did I had a better life and I hope I do enough to make your life even better. Love you O.

Pa
(21 weeks, 4 days)

Week 21: Reading

Hi sweetie :)

We read you these books tonight. I think you might have been sleeping because you weren't moving around but you started moving around a lot when we were finished so maybe you were just listening very intently. Your Daddy picked out all these books at the library today.

Alejandro's Gift by Richard Albert


This is about an older man who lives on a finca and is lonely until all these animals come to drink water in his watering hole.



A Gift of Gracias: The Legend of Altagracia by Julia Alvarez


This is the legend of Altagracia, a saint celebrated in the Dominican Republic on January 21st. She is the saint of thanks and blessed a family with a crop of oranges.



Amelia's Road by Linda Jacobs Altman


This is about a child of a migrant farm worker who has to move all the time depending on the harvest. She's sad that she never gets to stay in one place but finds a tree that makes her feel better.


They were all kind of sad to start out with but ended well. We'll get you more books soon.

Love you!

Week 21: 5 month Ultrasound

Hi Little O. :)

Here are the photos from your five month ultrasound. The first photo was really hard to get because you didn't want to lay on your back for most of the ultrasound. You were moving around so much. :)




Here is your heartbeat a little bit after the ultrasound. The midwife said, "you already saw the baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound so I don't need to listen to it" and I made a sad face and showed her my recorder so she said she would use the heart doppler afterall. You moved around a few times so that's why parts of it sound different.

O's heartbeat at 21 weeks, 1 day



We interviewed another doula last night, Jennifer Mason-Black. We were supposed to meet with her last week but her husband had a slight accident so she couldn't make it. We met with her for about an hour at Woodstar Cafe in Northampton. She was so nice! She asked a lot of questions about us and you and told us why she became a doula. We both really liked her so she's going to be our doula. You were moving around a lot during the interview so I think you liked her as well. We're going to start meeting with her in February.

We got you a few books from the library today and we're going to read them to you in a little bit. We figured you might be getting tired of Goodnight Little Mouse and Corduroy.

Love you!

-Mommie
(21 weeks, 3 days)

Week 21: Happy Cumplesemana! (belated)

Good Morning O. :)

Happy 21st week birthday!

Sorry it's a little late but your Daddy and I have been busy moving. We're now in Massachussetts after a pretty stressful 15 hour trip up from North Carolina. Daddy will tell you more about that later.

You had an ultrasound yesterday. You're so cute sweetie! You were laying on your tummie for a lot of the ultrasound so the technician was having some trouble getting photos of you. Right at the end though you turned around and we got to see a profile of you. The tech said that you are dating perfectly and that everything is good with you. She said you're average sized and 15 ounces. Mommie's placenta also moved up so I no longer have placenta previa which makes me very happy because if it hadn't moved up then we'd have to have a c-section for sure. We'll post scans of your ultrasound soon.

Oh and we felt you kick on Tuesday night! You kicked Daddy's hand really hard when he was rubbing my tummie. I've feeling you move around all the time now...hope you're comfy in there. Love you!

-Mommie
(21 weeks, 2 days)

Week 20: Keeping yourself busy?

Hi again O. :)

We've decided to stay for another day here in Chapel Hill so you get to hear from me again.
At Target the other day we saw this:

It looks like a regular teddy bear, right? But it makes the sound of a Mommie's womb, what you hear all the time. I turned it on and listened to it and it sounded so sweet and loud. I hope you can hear me when I'm talking to you over my heartbeat and everything else going on in your little abode. I've been thinking about you being born a lot lately. I wonder if you'll be scared to be out in the world. If you'll wish you were back in Mommie's belly where you got everything you needed. I also wonder how you keep yourself busy in there. What do you do with all of your time? My baby newsletters say that you sleep and are awake for long periods of time now. Do you sing yourself little songs to put yourself to sleep? Do you play little games in there? Do you laugh at Mommie's jokes? I can't imagine what I would do in my uterus 24/7. Your Daddy and I think that you dance a lot in there. Your Daddy wants to play on his computer now (probably to check sports news) so I'll say bye to you now. I love you sweetie.

-Mommie

Week 20: Merry Christmas!!

Good morning, O. :)

Merry Christmas!!

We all took a picture with Santa Claus a few days ago. Santa said he had been talking to the stork and that you would be coming soon. Why are we all holding hands with Santa, you ask? Well, Daddy said to Mommie, we should hold hands in the picture and Santa thought he meant all of us so he held our hands. Daddy felt bad saying anything so that's how we took the picture.


We're still at your Daddy's apartment packing things up. We picked up a 17 foot U-Haul truck and car dolly in Durham yesterday. It's sitting in Daddy's parking lot right now. It's huge! Titi Jomaira and Daddy loaded a lot of heavy things into the trucky yesterday. Your Mommie is not supposed to lift heavy things so she only helped a little bit with that. We were planning on leaving today to Massachusetts but we were all tired last night and then the power went out so we went to have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. When we came back to your Daddy's the power was still out so we put Daddy's mattress on the floor and watched a few episodes of the L Word and went to sleep. Today it's raining pretty hard and we haven't finished packing yet so we'll probably leave tomorrow. I hope you enjoy your first Christmas, O. Oh, and sorry if the caffeine has been bothering you. Maybe that's why you were squirming in my belly so much last night. Mommie doesn't usually drink caffeine but all that is left in the house is Coke and Diet Pepsi to drink and I've been very thristy lately and I was having a little heartburn yesterday. We'll be back to drinking juice and water tomorrow, sweetie. Love you!

Oh by the way O, Daddy's been thinking about you nonstop. Your Mommy and I both know how blessed we are to be having you, well Mommy is having you, I'm kinda on the sidelines, but I'm there for her every step of the way. I can't wait until next Christmas, when you'll be around to play with little toys and get more little clothes. Love you O.

-Mommie & Daddy
(20 weeks, 6 days)

Week 20: What are you doing in there?

Hi sweet pea,

I'm sitting in your Daddy's living room with your Daddy & Titi Jomaira. They're watching a Brazilian movie but I don't really know what's going on in it so I'm writing you instead. I don't really like movies very much. I have a hard time paying attention to the same thing for an hour and half. Your Daddy on the other hand really likes movies so if you do as well you'll have someone to watch them with.

We've already decided that you won't be able to watch R rated movies or PG-13 movies until you're old enough. My parents (Lela Carmen & Papa Cesar) were very strict about that and I think it was a good thing. I still can't watch scary or violent movies. Do you know that if you watch something violent on TV or in a movie your body reacts the same way it would if the violence was real? Your body can't tell the difference and it starts releasing all these crazy hormones as a response. So yea, O, no violent movies or scary movies for you until you're old enough to decide for yourself. I hope this won't bother you too much.

It has been so nice to have your Titi Jomaira around. She's really funny. She hasn't been feeling so well because she has some sort of virus but she came all the way from Connecticut to help us anyway. She stayed up late last night because she had taken a nap during the day and watched some of Daddy's Seinfeld episodes. She also washed all the dishes and put them away. Isn't that a nice Titi?

This morning your Daddy and I got up around 8am. We took a shower and had breakfast. He had pancakes which he loves and I had some pasta and salad from last night's dinner. Then we went on a walk to the supermarket, Harris Teeter. Your Daddy buys his milk in a glass container which has a deposit $1.30 so if you return it you get that money back. The supermarket is next to a small mall so we walked around there to get some exercise. We saw some very pretty art in an art gallery and got a weird Australian chocolate bar called a Violet Crumble. We started to walk back to Daddy's apartment but I was getting a bit tired so Daddy found a shortcut and we got home really quickly.

When we got home your Titi was still sleeping so we watched another episode of the L Word on Daddy's balcony. It's so warm here, O. It's weird. It was in the mid 60s today. After that I woke your Titi up and made her a sandwich. Then we went together to Target to get your cousins their Christmas presents. Your Daddy was helping us get the gifts for your cousin Jalil because what he wanted wasn't there. Your Daddy showed us things he liked/would have liked when he was 5 years old (that's how old your cousin is going to be on January 1st). He really liked this battleship that made all these noises and had little aircraft on it. I thought it was a little too much and I didn't like the connection to the military so we didn't get that for him. I don't know if your cousins read this journal so I won't say what we got them but I hope they like it.

After that we came home and were starving so Titi Jomaira and I wrapped your cousins presents while your Daddy cooked dinner for us, pizza and chicken tenders. We're trying to eat all of Daddy's food before our big move on Monday so we don't have to waste much. It's really important that we don't waste food because a lot of people in the world don't have enough to eat. Hopefully by the time you're my age that won't be a problem anymore.

Do you know how old I am, O? Your Mommie is 26 and your Daddy is 28. If you're born on your due date, your Daddy will be 29 and I will be turning 27 the next month. If you're born on your due date, you'll also be a Taurus, like your Daddy. I was born in the 80s and Daddy was born in the 70s. I can't believe you're going to be born in 2007. When the year 2000 came it was a really big deal. Some people thought the world was going to end and there were supposed to be a lot of computer glitches because many computer systems couldn't read the date as 2000. Not much happened and it came and went.

We are going to watch more of the L Word now but I hope you know how much I love you. You have definitely been doing stuff in my tummie lately. It's probably you moving around but I still can't tell for sure. I can't wait to see you on the ultrasound in 4 days!

Take care my sweetie.
-Mommie
(20 weeks, 4 days)

Week 20: Lela Carmen!

Guest Post from Lela Carmen:

Buenas tardes bebe,

Helloooo! how's my precious grandson/daughter? another week has passed and it's our time to get to know one another. let's see, i am officially on vacation so i get to rest a little, something you're very familiar with. last night i went to visit your cousins yasmin, and jalil. we completed a 100 piece puzzle together. they are very funny and make me laugh a lot. i can't wait for the three of you to meet each other. your uncle jonathan(jon) was just here fixing the computers -he's real savvy with technology. he lives 20 minutes from here which makes it nice.

Your mommie is really starting to show, and you're getting so much attention. i'll write soon. i need to take a little nap, too.

Dios te bendiga!
Lela

Week 20: North Carolina!

Hi Octavio,

We're back in North Carolina at your Daddy's place in Chapel Hill!



We were supposed to be on a flight today from Hartford at 12:40pm but the flight was overbooked and they asked for volunteers to be bumped from the plane. Your Daddy and I went up to the counter right away and volunteered so they put us on a later flight and gave us $250 airfare vouchers each. Yay! Now we can go on a vacation with you somewhere. We're thinking somewhere in the Southwest USA. We'll let you know once we've decided.

Daddy & Mommie at Uno's

Your Daddy just finished balancing his checkbook -- he looks so cute when he does it and I was reading my work email. Your Mommie is on vacation until January 2nd so hopefully we'll have a lot of relaxation time. We're going to watch another episode of the L Word now. Your Daddy has to be all caught up by the time the new season starts on January 7th.


Love you sweet pea!
-Mommie
(20 weeks, 2 days)

Week 20: Visit to the Fernandez Familia

Our visit to the Fernandez familia on Saturday was great! The Fernandez familia live in Brookline, Massachusetts where your Daddy grew up.

Titi Tatiana getting her grub on

Titi Tatiana and Titi Lucy (AKA Lucy)

Abuelita Mayela, Daddy, Mommie and Abuelito Jorgensen

Titi Mia Pia

Abuelita Mayela and Daddy

Abuelito Jorgensen & Daddy

Tio Toti, Daddy, Titi Lucy, Titi Krysten

Titi Lucy

Mommie

Abuelita Mayela

Daddy happy to be eating

Abuelito Jorgensen

Tio Toti and Titi Krysten

Titi Krysten

Titi Krysten and Titi Lucy

Abuelita Mayela

Abuelita Mayela and Abuelito Jorgensen

Mommie & Daddy

Week 20: A New Life is Born

O, in case you didn't know it I'm finally here with you, and your mommy. Excited about you and about having a family that I think is going to be great! You know beside you, a "new life is born" for me also means a "new life" where I'm physically here with you. Being so far away from you and your mommy was tough on both of us, and I hope we never experience that again. And to think, there were thoughts of me not being here for another 5 months! Crazy huh?

Anyhow, looking forward, the fun we'll have O is something I can't imagine. I remember when I was little taking family trips are the memories that most stayed in my mind as a kid, so trust me we'll do our share of family trips! For starters there's a park right near our new house that I envision your mommy and I taking you to plenty of times this summer. Speaking of summer, can't wait to see you in cute little summer outfits! Thankfully your Titi Jomaira is going to be done with school shortly after you join us in this crazy world and I'm sure is going to have plenty of fun with you in your first months with us. Don't give her too much trouble O, we need her to want to come back and take care of you plenty of times in the future you know?

I wonder how soon after you're born you'll have younger cousins to play with. No pressure on your aunts or uncles, just wondering.

Until later O, take care and can't wait to see you next week in the last ultrasound. Who knows whether this might be last time I call you O, and start calling you Bella from now on. Love you.

Pa

Week 20: Happy Cumplesemana!

Happy 20th week birthday!!

I had another dream about you last night. Your Daddy and I got you all dressed up and then we went for a walk with you in your stroller. You were so cute but I can't remember what you looked like.

I can't believe you're 5 months old, O. If time goes by as fast when you're born I don't know what I'll do. This is what you look like inside of Mommie's body right now:

We're halfway there, only 20 more weeks to go. My baby newsletter doesn't say what kind of fruit or vegetable you look like this week so maybe you still look like a small zucchini. You're about 10 inches long from head to heel and 10 1/2 ounces.

Love you sweetie!

Week 19: Titi Jomaira!

Guest Post from Titi Jomaira:

Dear Octorisa,

Hello baby! I felt it was about time that I write in your journal. First let me tell you that I am VERY excited about your arrival. Your parents and everyone else is very excited as well. Your mom (my sister) lets everyone know she is pregnant by saying "I don't know if you know this, but I'm carrying a child" after everything. I've heard that about 50 times. She never lets you forget it! And she always is keeping us up to date on what fruit or vegetable you resemble.

Your dad is a wonderful person and I am glad that the both of them found one another. You are coming into a very loving family. In August, I will be babysitting you while the folks are working and I can't wait! We'll do a lot of fun things together.

Now that I'm out of school, I'll have plenty of time to write to you! Give mommie a few kicks :)

See you soon.

Love,
Titi Jomaira

Week 19: Auntie Lisa!

Guest Post from Auntie Lisa:

Hello Baby Octorisa!

I am Lisa and I am your Auntie... I am married to your Uncle Jonathan and am the mother of your two cousins, Yasmin and Jalil. We are all excited about you and can't wait to meet you! I know that when you come into this world you will be cherished and love, especially because you are blessed with two wonderful parents and family who adore you.

Baby O, as your mommie and papi call you, it is a new thing for me to be an Auntie, however, I am looking forward to becoming one. I hope you will be around your cousins, uncle, and I a lot, so that I can get the practice that I need to be a GREAT Aunt. I am here for ya O... Always. So don't forget it. Whatever you need, I am here. For mommy and daddy as well. I just wanted to introduce myself to you and I will write again, so, in the mean time, keep growing and be safe.

I can't wait to meet you :)

Lots of Love,
Auntie Lisa

Week 19: Reunited and it feels so good

Good morning O,

You got to meet all of the Fernandez familia last night! Everyone was there, Abuelito Jorgensen, Abuelita Mayela, Titi Lucy (AKA Lucy), Tio Toti, Titi Tatiana, Titi Krysten and Mia Pia the cat. We took lots of photos and we'll post them soon. Your Abuelita and Titi Lucy made lots of yummie food. We had rice and beans, chicken, pasta with pesto, ravioli, salad, yuca and cheesecake, apple pie and mini eclairs for dessert. Your Daddy ate a lot of apple pie and learned the correct way to say chimpanzee. We're going to go run some errands now but we will read you a bedtime story tonight. Love you!

O, I was sooo tired yesterday. I hadn't slept well for the last couple days, while I was counting down the hours to be reunited with you and mommy. But my first night with the two of you I slept great! Much easier to sleep knowing you and mommy are right next to me. Hope you kick soon, daddy is here O you can kick now. Can't wait to read you a story tonight. Hope your day in mommy's belly is good. Love you!

-Mommie & Daddy
(19 weeks, 5 days)

Week 19: Lela Carmen!

Guest Post from Lela Carmen:

Precious Baby,

Good morning! It's been a week since I last wrote to you. There's a lot of excitement about daddy's homecoming and your visit to see your paternal grandparents and aunts and uncles. You'll get to taste a savory meal prepared by your Grandma Mayela. I hope to meet her soon so we can compare notes about you.

I am so happy that mommie will have daddy to keep her company. Now they will get to see as you stretch and get comfy. May God continue to bless you all!

With much love,
Lela Carmen
(19 weeks, 4 days)

Week 19: Is this for real?

Ok, finished school, and you know what O? Daddy feels proud of himself. It wasn't easy making it through a semester of law school, but I did it. I hope some day you'll be proud of me too, and hope you'll do plenty yourself to make your mommy and I proud of YOU. No pressure, although did I mention your aunts and uncles on both sides of the family are REAL smart? Got big plans for you, daddy wants to retire early, just kidding. Tomorrow I see you and mommy and si Dios quiere it will be a long time before I have to be away from either of you again. Esta manana.

Pa

Week 19: Predictions

Someone on the baby boards I'm on posted a link to Madame Zaritska, a psychic who will predict your birth experience.

Here is what I got:

What she senses for you
The day you deliver, outside will be rainy. Your baby will arrive in wee hours of the morning .

After a labor lasting approximately 3 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and will be 19 inches long. This child will have blue eyes and some very fine hair.

But there is more. I sense that you are feeling some stress. This is very normal. However, I would like to suggest that you try some of these methods to pamper yourself a bit.

3 hour labor does not sound bad at all. I've been having nightmares that the baby will be 12 pounds so 7 pounds sounds good as well. We'll see how much of it comes true. :)

Week 19: Daddy!

Hi O,

Your Daddy is coming tomorrow! Yay! I'm sure you're as excited as I am. Tomorrow night we're going to read you bedtime stories after we visit Daddy's familia. Love you!

-Mommie
(19 weeks, 3 days)

Week 19: Dreams of You

Good afternoon sweetie,

I had my first dream of you last night--in the flesh! I've had a lot of dreams where I'm pregnant with you but last night I had a dream that you were born and I was holding you. Your Daddy and I were somewhere in Boston, close to Fenway Park. We were waiting for our bus at this packed bus station. You were tiny tiny and wearing a red onesie and you were crying and I couldn't figure out what you were trying to tell me. I checked your diaper and you were fine and you had just had something to eat so I started gently hopping you around the terminal and you immediately began smiling and stopped crying. I loved you so much O and was so happy to see you smiling. I hope that you will continue making cameos in my dreams sweetie. Love you!

-Mommie
(19 weeks, 2 days)

Week 19: Picture Post

Hi Little O,

A few more days until your Daddy gets here. I can't wait. I also can't wait to meet all of your Daddy's family members on Saturday. Everyone is so excited about you!

I want to share some pictures with you today so you can see what's been going on with your crazy parents lately...


Mommie in her gym clothes...you like to say hi when I'm on the treadmill so I have to pull down my shirt a lot.

Mommie's favorite pregnacy breakfast. The prenatal vitamins are for dessert.

The power went out in Mommie's apartment a few weeks ago for a few hours so Daddy and I went to buy candles and a flashlight so now we have all these little tea lights. Daddy wanted to blow them all out at one time. Here he is centering himself before the big blow.

He blew almost all of them off except for the last two. Good job Daddy!

I tried to blow the candles out but didn't get many which is sad because I used to play the flute so you'd think I'd be able to blow air for a long period of time and forcefully, at that. I hope it's because you're using up a lot of my oxygen.

Your Daddy and I go to this little Polish Deli in Northampton. We always get the same thing, egg and cheese on a portuguese roll with a side of homefries. Your Daddy uses a lot of ketchup, O! I hope you don't inherit that because we'll end up spending your college fund on ketchup.

Your Daddy trying on a winter hat...

And another one...

Your Daddy looking mad shady...

We go to this little cafe nearby that we love called the Lady Killigrew. There are usually lots of babies there so we'll take you there sometime. Last time we went, we played Connect Four and then cards. I beat your Daddy every time!

Our cheese plate...yum!

While your Daddy is away, Mr. Snoogle keeps me company and we read you bedtime stories together.

That's it for now. Mommie has to go eat something. Love you!
-Mommie
(19 weeks, 1 day)