My Top 5 Must Have Items for a Newborn

When you're a new mom, you receive tons of items that sometimes don't necessarily work for you. I'm glad that my little blueberry isn't entirely picky and she didn't have a problem being comfy or sleeping anywhere, but I decided to list a few of the baby items that made a huge difference for us.

5 Baby Products that worked for me by hurrayimamommy on Polyvore

1. The Summer Infants Swaddle Me Swaddle- These  have helped me immensely. Not only do I not have to worry about swaddling my baby the right way but I don't have to worry about her getting loose from the blankets and the blankets covering her face at night. It's simple and keeps my baby calm.
2. Boppy Designer Nursing Pillow & Slip Cover Owl Forest- This was a great help when I was struggling with breastfeeding my baby, then it was still great support when giving my baby her bottle. Additionally we have been able to use it to prop her up a little bit, for tummy time and even as neck support for my husband.
3. Lansinoh mOmma feeding bottle- Since my baby didn't breastfeed, we were able to pump and feed it to her in a bottle. We struggled with finding the perfect bottle that would help her stay latched on, reduce colic and reduce any milk spilling out while she was drinking it. Funny enough, I had received one of these bottles as a gift from Target for signing up for my gift registry there. We ended it buying way more because these really worked best for us, by a long-shot.
4. Bright Starts Portable Swing- This was a gift from my mom and has really been a blessing. We had other swings but strangely enough, I felt like they went way too fast to the point where I felt like my baby was going to blast into orbit! This has 7 speed settings and is super light weight, which makes it easy to transport. The only thing I would have loved would be for it to have a reset button to re-inciate the swinging motion without turning it off and on again.
5. Taggies Soothe and Snuggle Me Sleeper- This sleeper has been a perfect place for my baby to nap during the day. Although it doesn't rock, it still is super comfortable and snug for her. It also has the availability of vibration but my baby for some reason doesn't really care for any of that. This is also super lightweight and easy to store which is great for someone (like me), who has a smaller space.

Of course there are many items that have worked for us but these are the ones that have made a huge difference and well they made these first time parents a tiny bit more comfortable when it came to bringing home a newborn.

Story Time + Children's Christmas Book Bundle Giveaway

My husband and I both really enjoy to read. He is currently finishing 3 majors so his books are a little different than what I enjoy, but nonetheless you can usually find us reading. We spend much time reading on our phones, computers or with an actual book in hand. Reading was a pretty big thing that we wanted to make sure and incorporate when it came to raising our baby girl. Though she is only 3 months old, we are already creating little habits, besides the fact that the more you speak to babies, the faster they learn and speak themselves. So almost every night and as often as possible, my hubby takes the time to create some daddy-daughter reading time. We are currently reading just a few pages to our baby girl from a gift given to us from our church but soon enough we will move up to bigger books!

Thinking back on my childhood book memories, I remember my parents always took the time to read to me and I really do cherish and appreciate those memories. Once I began to read on my own, one of my favorite books was Corduroy by Don Freeman. I loved the fact that he was a bear, (because I love cuddly teddy bears). I also loved the rest of the stories and cannot remember the number of times I read this book.

My mom & dad reading to me as a child!

Reading is definitely a great hobby and something great to teach to your children.

GIVEAWAY TIME

I have teamed up with a great group ladies to give away a bundle of Christmas children's books. Enter below to win the bundle of 8 lovely books for you to have just in time for Christmas. You can keep these for yourself or have them as gifts. Either way, reading is always a great tradition and books will always be great gifts! The giveaway will close Monday, November 17th.

LeeAnn is giving away: A Donkey's Little Tale, The Manger Mouse, and Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands
Gennie is giving away: The Polar Express
Ashley is giving away: The Berenstain Bears - The Joy of Giving
Susana is giving away: What is Christmas?
Britta is giving away: The Adventure of Christmas - Helping Children Find Jesus in Our Holiday Traditions
Nelle is giving away: The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet


One lucky person will win them all! To have a chance to win, enter using the rafflecopter widget below. (Click here to enter if you can’t see the widget.) a Rafflecopter giveaway

Having a baby vs owning a puppy

Recently my husband mentioned to me how a mutual friend of ours tried to compare and relate owning a puppy to having a baby. Keep in mind this friend is married but does not yet have children. I still remember the face I made when my husband began to tell me about the conversation, (I'm sure I have pretty prominent frown lines now).

His friend owns a puppy
We have (parent) a baby

The conversation came about when my husband mentioned that many new fatherly duties have made him extremely tired yet incredibly happy, to which his friend responded that he could relate (you know, with his puppy and all). My husband tried to explain how the two didn't compare, but his friend insisted that the two are quite alike...

*Full Disclosure*

I own a very very spoiled Yorkie whom I had since she was 6 weeks old, so I am definitely not hating on puppies here.

How can the comparison exist?

• You CAN leave to work and leave your puppy at home with a bowl of food and pee pad.
• You CAN'T leave a baby unattended...ever! Not to mention that babies need to eat every 2 hours, more or less. 

• You CAN leave a pee pad for your dog to pee on periodically throughout the day.
• You CAN'T leave a baby sitting in their own pee or poo. Not to mention that the cost of diapers is it's own conversation considering that on occasions our baby will go through a little less than 100 diapers in one week.

• You CAN indulge in at least 5 hours of interrupted sleep while your puppy sleeps comfortably on their own bed. If you are unlucky, you might have the OCCASIONAL puppy crier who just want to come on the bed, but once they're up on the bed...all is well.
• You CAN'T always have 4 hours of straight sleep. Babies wake up because they're hungry and well I'm the pumping food supply. My husband warms and prepares a bottle and I get to pump...at any given hour of the night. Baby's diaper also needs to be changed at this time and calming songs may come in handy while she waits (cries hysterically) for her milk to come. 

I could really go on and on, but instead, I'll highlight a few of the perks of being a parent (even with bags under my eyes)

• Our daughter is the result of the love between my husband and I.
• It is incredible to realize that this being grew within me and now as she is before our eyes, we can see little characteristics that completely resemble both my husband and I.
• I went through a rough pregnancy, labor and delivery just to be able to hold this miracle and that's only the beginning of things I would do for her. 
• I praise God for the gift of being a Mommy and accept the huge responsibility of shaping this tiny human into a warrior, teaching her to take on life and fulfill her dreams.

All in all, there is just no comparison and I know that when this friend decides to start a family...He too will realize why I would take offense to his comment.

My heart is outside my body

I read the above quote once or twice before I had my daughter. I connected with it then. I continue to connect with it now...but things are different now.

Don't get me wrong...the feeling of life growing within you is intensely incredible and sometimes even unexplainable. But having your child before your eyes and between your arms completely knocks the pregnancy away.

“Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ”- Elizabeth Stone

I understand this quote now. I don't only sympathize with it like I did before, or think it's beautiful. I feel it. This feeling is way more intense than feeling her kicks in my belly. This feeling is terrifying!

As I sit here and type away with my baby sound asleep in her bassinet, I look over to her and just feel....VULNERABLE.

I am so scared. You love something so small, so much, yet you have no control of many things that affect her. If she were to cry, she wouldn't be able to talk to me and tell me what is wrong. I have so many hopes of happiness for her life but all in all, I can only do so much. I can pray, wait and see what decisions she makes on her own throughout life.

It makes you reflect.

We are so selfish, we always want to be in control. Parenthood has brought me back to the thought and fact that I am nothing without God. I won't always be able to protect her in the way I'd like or follow her everywhere she goes.

She is me, my blood, my tears, my love.

I doubt this feeling of vulnerability will go away so this is where true faith and trust comes in....

Lord,

Please watch over her. Your reach is beyond mine and your strength surpasses all strength.
From her baby feet, to tiny steps to adult leaps...stay by her side.

It's true, you don't understand what it feels like to be a parent until your flesh and blood is in your arms and you feel vulnerable, scared, in love, amazed and happy all at once.

Why I Chose NOT to Read Pregnancy Books

I did a quick search on an online retailer and found roughly 49,000 pregnancy books and I read 0.

It's been 2 months now since I delivered my precious bundle of joy and as I look back, I do not regret the decision I made early on to not read any pregnancy books. The reason I chose to do this is really quite simple.

Early on in my pregnancy it was determined that my pregnancy would be considered "High Risk" due to the fact that I have a history of high blood pressure and after running some early blood tests, this was further confirmed. The results of the blood test showed that I was at a risk of pre-eclampsia.

time 18830944 of being admitted into Labor & Delivery

Being that this was my first pregnancy, everything was completely new to me. I must admit, it was also pretty terrifying to be told that you we're already at risks and would need to come to twice as many check-ups as other pregnant women.

I've heard that many pregnancy books touch base on things that "might" occur to you while you are pregnant and things that might not. You know, how to prepare for this and that.

I had a fear of literally not only having an even worse pregnancy because of the fears of thinking "what if this happens to me next " - but also fear of fearing my child. I mean, really, besides the first night home from the hospital, she hasn't been bad at all (do all parents say that?). Some books literally scare the life out of you with things your baby might do, or additionally side effects of the pregnancy and I wanted to hear none of it.

Unless my doctor told me it was something to worry about, I tried to just go with the flow.

I am an incredible over thinker. Is it a woman thing? You can sit there with one idea and literally overthink it in every way possible. I mean, when it comes to DIY projects and things such as that, it isn't that bad. But when it comes to overthinking something like an itch in my throat or the hiccups while pregnant, you can get weird and crazy ideas in your mind.

I mean, when it came to delivering my daughter, I felt mentally prepared and ready. Even with the almost emergency C-section scare, I remained calm. I really have to give all the credit to the fact that I was sure that God was taking care of me and his will was what was to happen. I knew he sent angels to watch over me and I had no need for a book (besides the Bible) to keep my A-game strong.

For my next pregnancy, I doubt that I'll read these books either. But for now, it's too early to tell...you know since you have all these intricate plans and well, babies just kind of show up and do what they want lol

Til next time :)

The Most Important Audition of My Life

My audition began the day my daughter was born.

I am auditioning for the role of my daughters’ best friend. Now that seems a little odd and some might throw the “You need to be the mom not the friend” stone at me. But truth is you can be both. 

My mother is my best friend. She has been an incredible example of an amazing and strong woman and I am incredibly grateful for her life. I have such an incredible relationship with my mom. As years have passed and as I changed from child to young adult to a wife and mommy, I have grown closer and closer to my mother and have realized how all along, she has been my one true friend. My mother always listened without judgment, but the Mexican mother that she is; she always had some good and strong advice to give me. Maybe during my teenage years, I might have been bothered by her opinion or advice but still I came to her whenever I needed guidance. I have such great memories of hanging out with my mom and to this day, I enjoy going out to a mall day with her or just hanging out at her house.

My amazing mommy and I on my wedding day.

 I pray and hope that my daughter considers me for the role of best friend. It would mean the world to me. And though I might not seem like the coolest person at the time, I will always make her my #1 priority. I will wipe every tear and cherish every smile. I will always have her best interest at heart. 

So to my daughter:

I promise to always be there
I promise to take you to swim, piano, voice, ballet and dance class and sit there through the whole class cheering you on.
I promise to drop you off at school and help you with your homework
I promise to kiss your boo boos when you fall and hold you tight when your heart is sad
I promise to teach you everything I know
I PROMISE TO ENCOURAGE YOUR CREATIVITY AND SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR DREAMS
I promise to love you more and more each day
I promise to be here to listen even when you don’t want to talk
I promise to strive to be the best mother possible and above all else, In a time when it has become harder and harder for parents, I PROMISE TO BE PRESENT.

 Te amo mi princesa.

Gaining self confidence & Believing in yourself

I really really enjoy social media! I love to post pictures on instagram (@hurrayimamommy). I love youtube and I enjoy Facebook.

I must admit that the only one I had stayed away from for all these years was Twitter but...now you can find me under @hurrayimamommy  lol, anyway I do love me some social apps.

If you know me, then you also know that I enjoy anything related to beauty and hair, for goodness sake, I worked for a cosmetics company for 6 years! I've actually have been asked by friends and co-workers in the past, to create a youtube channel and start posting tutorials.

I never gathered up enough confidence to do it (start a blog and youtube channel) though and recently I figured out why.

I was afraid of what people would say. Specifically some friends. Its hard to admit but sometimes your "closest" friends and family are the ones who search to put you down the most. As if they don't want you to succeed. These friends and family are the ones that through the years, I have noticed only choose to include me or my family if it is to their benefit. I'm pretty sure that isn't the way its supposed to work out.

In the past I have had a lack of confidence because I have been judged for posting anything good that happens to me. For example, if my husband manages to buy me a purse for my birthday and I share this with "friends" then I get basically electronically stoned for bragging. If I share a make-up look I enjoy or fashion statement, then words are said behind my back. I've even been judged for showing too much Facebook love to my husband...are you serious?!?

As an adult and a mom, I now have come to realize that I have allowed people around me to dictate my happiness and success. I could have started doing what I enjoy so long ago, but I won't dwell in the past. This new version of me doesn't care for any Negative Nancys', Party Poopers' or Doubting Debbies'. This new version is going to give this a shot.

Years ago, I took private vocal lessons with an extraordinary woman whom I greatly admire, not only as professional but as a teacher and friend. During her class, she would do an exercise where you had to sing with your "big girl voice". If you did not manage to lose your shyness and bring this voice out, then she would help you feel like that "big girl" by putting a viking hat on your head. Yup, a Viking hat!

I encourage you to branch out and do what you've had in the back of your mind to do for so long. Be it create a Youtube video, take a class, teach a class, learn to dance, sing, etc. Don't let other people have control over YOUR life. Its yours and you CAN do it.

As long as I make my family proud, then I will continue to believe in myself and from this day forward, THE VIKING HAT IS ON!

(Thank you T!)

Breastfeeding & Pumping Struggles

This is a post to continue to encourage myself and hopefully encourage anyone who is having struggles similar to mine.

I decided I wanted to breastfeed Ariana from the moment I found out I was pregnant. Actually, it was never really an option as much as a given. You have a baby, so you breastfeed (or so I thought). I went throughout my pregnancy just having that in mind.

With the precious arrival of my baby, I did not expect to have issues with breastfeeding.

While in the hospital, all was well. My baby only needed very little amount of colostrum at that time and I managed to squeeze and hold on tight while she latched on. At this point, baby seemed to be content. It's as if she was waiting for us to leave the hospital to really express how hungry she was.

The first night home was incredibly insane!
She cried a cry that was quite terrifying and she wouldn't latch properly! I could tell she was hungry by the way she would try to find the source of milk (colostrum) at any cost but it wasn't good enough. I believe the term is hangry (lol). We finally gave up and called the helpline from the hospital and they ok'd for us to give her formula. My hubby rushed to buy her formula before the sun was even out and she finally calmed down once she ate.

Then 2 days later my milk supply came in, which was quite unpleasant. If I ever had a thought in my mind to get breast implants, that pain quickly got those thoughts way out and to never be brought up again. Anyway, I thought once my milk supply came in that all would be well with the world. Nope, baby was still quite unhappy and I was engorged and in pain.

We went to her doctors appointment and there I found out that indeed a mix of my breast/nipples and her mouth were having a misunderstanding when it came to latching. This was quite devastating due to the fact that It's a big deal for myself as a woman to be able to provide for my baby and for someone to tell me that it might look like it won't happen unless I just sit there in pain and almost bleeding every time. Gladly I decided to look at my options and try the next best thing, pumping.

Pumping was like magic to me. No pain, super quick and you can store it for later. Now that I have been pumping for almost 2 months I must admit, I have lost the momentum! It's pretty exhausting to wash everything every 2-4 hours and sterilize it, store it, freeze it (milk), warm it up, on and on. I see why the people that choose to give formula decide on it. Its much easier (in my opinion).

I mentioned a thing or two to my lactation consultant at my last appointment with her and she said something to me that really stayed with me. It's also very true:

 If I haven't done anything else in my life to be considered "an achievement", with this, I think I'm doing pretty well!

Hang in there!

-Susana

Ariana's Birth Story

Lets begin by saying that my original due date was August 16, 2014.

Ariana was born August 8, 2014
I was at risk of pre-eclampsia throughout this whole process

Ok now that we know that...

Two weeks prior to giving birth I was doing a routine of going in to get Non Stress Testing to check on both baby and I.  During those two weeks, I would literally get sent to Labor & Delivery EVERY SINGLE TIME I had an appointment. It was a mix of having contractions, extremely high blood pressure and the baby's heart rate unexpectedly dropping. This mix was a big no-no but they still kept me as an "observation" case. Finally on Tuesday August 5th, I was held for 24hrs to make sure that we we're both ok and that I didn't need special attention. After being released on Wednesday August 6th, I was ordered to go home and get some rest with my feet up (aren't all pregnant women ordered the same?) I still had an appointment the following day.

I went in to my regular appointment on August 7th, 2014 and as usual I got sent to L&D. (Luckily) My OB was the on call doctor that day in L&D and as soon as she saw me she said "I am so over you being in here and getting released over and over again. I'm just going to go ahead and induce you today."

Yup, as easy as that! Let me just say that my OB is pretty awesome, which is why she just makes decisions as easy as that lol.

Then the (long but short) process began at 11am. I was advised that this could take 2-3 days so there was no need to get all my family in a craze. I called my husband to let him know that I was going to be induced but it would take a while. I encouraged him to still make his way to school and that he would still be able to come back with plenty of time.

I was dilated to 1cm at this point so they wanted to get the process going. In comes "the balloon" or balloons I should say. This is a little tube that has 2 deflated balloons attached to them. One balloon gets placed under baby and the other in the middle of your cervix. Once placed inside, they fill the balloons with liquid. This in theory makes your cervix forcibly dilate. This process can take anywhere from 8-12 hours, so it was going to be a while.

During the time I had the balloon in, I began feeling much stronger contractions and I was encouraged to do much walking in order to help the baby really push herself down. During the hours I had the balloon in, I walked and showered with hot water and walked and walked. The pain was obviously like nothing I had felt before but also I didn't feel a need to scream or hurt anyone. I guess I must not be THAT dramatic.

After a while the midwife advised that it would still be a while and suggested my parents head home and get some rest, which they did. Shortly after my parents left, the midwife came back in to check on the balloon and, well it was ready to slip out. The balloons have the capability of making you dilate to 5cm and once you've reached that goal, they slip out. After taking it out, she checked me and advised that they would wait a tiny bit to see if I would continue contracting on my own.

After less than an hour, the midwife came and let me know that it didn't look like much was happening and that they would be breaking my water shortly. My nurse came in and let me know to go ahead and call my parents (whom were just getting into bed) and let them know to head back. My nurse also suggested that I get the epidural now before they break my water. I had nothing to prove, I'm not the woman warrior so....bring on the epidural.

The tech put the catheter in for the epidural and it felt like heaven, I couldn't feel a thing aaaand I even managed to play a joke on him before he left the room. Shortly after, the midwife came in, broke my water and placed pitocin in my I.V. My parents made their way back but still no baby. After a while of tons of contractions and no more dilating doctors were panicked because Ariana's heart was STILL dropping. They connected me to the oxygen and let me know that they did not like how things were looking and that it was very likely that I would have to deliver via C-section. They set a countdown of one hour, within this hour my blood pressure would need to drop enough to be considered normal and Ariana's heart would need to remain stabilized with every contraction.

This hour was the worst by far! In this final hour I began feeling strong contractions. They were so strong that I could feel them at equal intensity as the first 5cm. Keep in mind that I already had the epidural and this pain was surpassing all the anesthesia. I noticed that the baby's heart would continue to drop dramatically so I would breathe frantically in order to find a way for her heart to stay up during every contraction. The hour felt like 5 minutes! Finally my OB (I was surprised she was still on call) rushed in with the midwife and about 6 or 7 nurses. They quickly turned the lights on and began unplugging everything. My OB looked genuinely worried and she stated that I was being rushed for an emergency C-section. She decided to check me before moving me over to the operating room and noticed there was a large amount of bleeding and stated that I was already dilated to 10cm! She also mentioned that the baby had turned away from the proper position for birth so...she began turning the baby! Yup, I didn't feel anything because of the epidural but I imagine it would have felt as crazy as it looked. One hand inside manipulating the baby and the other pushing my stomach!

Once she determined the baby was fine, they rushed me to the operating room. At this point only my husband could accompany me. My parents stayed behind supporting me in prayer. They took me to the O.R. and explained the risks of a C-section surgery and had me sign my life away (pretty much thats what I understood). I tried as much as possible to remain calm but the nurse had given me medicine to stop my contractions--the side effects were shakiness so it was hard to stay calm while your body is shaking uncontrollably. They left only my I.V. fluids, oxygen and baby monitor for a total of 2 minutes. During this time my OB determined that the baby was stable enough and gave me the option to try for natural delivery.

The option was given this way-

• I will give you one chance to push
• People are scared of pooping, I guarantee you won't poop and if you do, we don't care
• If you push and the baby gets stuck halfway, we will use the vacuum to get her out
• If you can't get the baby out we will do surgery here

That was enough of an incentive for me to push with all my might. OB told me to let her know when I felt a contraction and when I was ready to push. I completed a total of 3 pushes and Ariana Raquel was born. 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to put her on my chest at that time because they needed to check her in under the NICU to make sure she was fine and daddy got to spend that time with her. I had to...well get put back together and that took about 40 minutes. Once the baby was labeled as "in great health" the whole staff in the operating room sang "Happy Birthday" to her! That was such an awesome and unexpected gesture. 

All in all the pregnancy,labor,delivery and recovery was tough but I thank God for keeping the baby and I safe. The staff at the hospital was nothing short of amazing with me throughout the whole process! I was afraid that the horror stories of nurses being rude or inattentive would happen to me but thankfully we had none of that. I was able to pass out cookies to all the staff and a special gift to my OB who is also pregnant and having a baby girl!

I love my little miracle more than anything and hubby is such a great daddy to her, you can tell she's gonna have him wrapped around her fingers!

After my 6 week check-up, I am more thankful than before. My OB explained the fear all the staff was going through during my labor and how serious things really were. She congratulated me on how strong and calm I remained and said that patients like me are the reason why she keeps doing what she does.

I thank God for any strength I gathered and I thank him again for the little princess he gifted us.

 with grandpa

wearing daddy's glasses

-Susana

3rd Trimester & Pre-Eclampsia

Ok so the 3rd trimester was deffinately the toughest! First I had to take the gestational diabetes test again and failed. This meant that I had to take a longer 3 hour test which consisted of me drinking a heavily sugary drink and having my blood drawn 4 times in those 3 hours. Thankfully I passed this time which meant I did not have diabetes.

I continued to pack on the pounds and heavily! Because I was at risk for pre-eclampsia, I began to see many signs that this was coming true. I would gain about 8 pounds a week of water weight. My legs became so huge it was hard to walk. Although I had a very lovely baby shower, that was about all the fun I had this close to my due date. My blood pressure started going through the roof and I began having contractions at week 30. Baby was positioned as well and I was dilated to 1cm for the majority of my last trimester. I will share the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy on an upcoming post. For now, I'll share a couple of nice shots from the baby shower.

Most of the baby shower was DIY

Burlap banner with baby's name is DIY as well as the ruffle garland in the back!

Drinking from Mason jars

Baby shower favors are candy filled painted baby food jars. Super easy and inexpensive!

2nd Trimester & High Risk

The second trimester is supposed to be when the morning sickness gets kicked to the curb.

Not so much in my case. I was still having regular visits to the E.R. and it was still hard to keep anything down. 

They recommended I take a test that would allow my OB to see if I or the baby we're at risk of any other problems. Due to the fact that I have a history of high blood pressure, I was already predisposed to having something else attached to it. 

Sure enough, test results showed that I was at risk of Pre-Eclampsia. My pregnancy was already labeled as high risk, but this just pushed that title further. 

Work became more and more difficult as I had more doctors appointments and I still felt quite ill. Although my boss was quite understanding, his patience grew thin and he began to show his annoyance of my situation. As my stress level from work and the pregnancy grew higher, my husband and I made the decision that it was time for me to leave work. Our baby was always priority #1 and there was no reason to continue having the stress of work on my shoulders. I had a fear of realizing too late that I could have done something to reduce any stress I had, (at least the ones I could actually do something about).

On a positive note, during my 2nd trimester, we found out we were having a baby girl!

I finally began to show a little more!

Quick! Bun in the oven!

So we wasted no time to start a family. Well in all reality, I believe we waited 6 weeks, not bad!

We had talked about having a family and decided that we would put it in God's hands when he would allow us to be parents. That turned out to be rather soon. 

I knew I was pregnant mainly because I got sleepy! I don't mean regular sleepy when you stayed up late and could use a nap. I mean like I would get home from work and fall asleep until 9pm, wake up use the bathroom and go back down! That seemed a little odd but we hadn't taken a test yet.

We finally took a pregnancy test and it came back negative...I guess it was too early to be read on the test. That same week I got hired in as permanent to the job I was working. Part of the deal was that I needed to go get a physical in order to complete the hiring process. At the physical exam they mentioned that they needed to do a chest x-ray----no! I mentioned that although I was unsure if I was pregnant, I felt uneasy about having an x-ray until I was positive that I wasn't. They understood and mentioned that I can come back in a few days once I was sure.

Thank God I waited! I took another pregnancy test that same day and sure enough...PREGO!

We really were sooooo excited!

Here is my hubby being silly with the positive pregnancy test!

We obviously waited until the 1st trimester was complete before we shared the news with anyone other than close friends and family. 

We had Lindsey Lane Photography help us with our pregnancy announcement pictures!

Welcome to my life!

Recap of the whirlwind I went into...

Met Marvin (my now husband) September of 2008
Marvin and I began dating November 29, 2009
Engaged on January 1, 2013
Married September 28, 2013
Found out we were expecting a little blueberry December 2013
Ariana Raquel was born August 2014


To say the least the year went by super quick!
I have decided to blog about my experience to help myself keep these memories and to encourage anyone that might be going through the same situations as I.

I'll begin by showing a few of our engagement pictures to lighten the mood and will touch on my pregnancy later on.

Lindsey Lane Photography

Paramount Ranch- CA