One more week!

Stomp Out Loud is going on hiatus on January 4th.  We are currently searching for a new space somewhere on the strip that will become our new home.  I can't believe I only have one more week left!  I will be 19 weeks on Monday and by the time we finish I will be exactly 5 months.  It kinda worked out perfectly.   I definitely feel pregnant while performing.  Even though I am not doing a whole lot in the show, I can feel the weight of the baby in my belly.  I don't move so quickly and I am really being careful moving around the set.   My belly is popping out more which makes me extra sensitive while performing.  I still feel good.  I plan on finishing our last week.  Everybody in the cast has been great.  They all have been covering my parts that I can't do.  I feel like everyone is looking after me.  (And looking at my big boobs)   I'm really looking forward to the break we are going to have.  I'm kinda of nervous about what I'm going to do for income, but I can collect unemployment which is comforting.   Change is coming and I can feel it in my body and in my life.  I feel excited, nervous, anxious and calm all at the same time.  I look forward to this change.  Change is good. 

Drum roll please...

It's a boy!!!!   This past week has been such a roller coaster!!!  First off one of my pregnancy test called AFP came back "abnormal".  (Turns out that test usually comes back abnormal even though there is nothing wrong)  My OB suggested I see a perinatal specialist to possibly get an amniocentesis  since I was "high risk."  To make a loong story short I only had .25 percent chance of my baby having Down Syndrome, so I decided not to go ahead with the amnio. Why risk having a miscarriage when there is a 99.75 percent chance my baby is perfectly fine.  I feel so much better now that we saw the baby.  It was such a trip to see inside the boy!  His heart, his hands, his aorta, his hip bones, his brain, his lips and his pee pee ...it was soooo amazing. It's finally feeling real.  Eye was tripping out.  He said he was trying hard not to loose it in the room.  The ultrasound technician was great and she said our baby looks perfect.  Soooo relieved.  I am so thankful also for my wonderful girlfriends who calmed me down those 2 days.  Thank you Mish, Elo, and Birdie.  

Both Ivan and I had dreams that it was a boy.  I am just so thankful that he has all his parts and that so far he is healthy.  As for names we haven't even started.  Maybe we'll get inspired when we go to Hawaii in January! 

Check out the boy's hand on his forehead.  He looks like he's posing!

4 Months!

Can you see it?   Can you see my bump?    Okay if you need a magnifying glass to see my bump then look at the size of my rack!!   Well I can see a little bump....and so can Eye and my close friends at work who've seen me naked in the dressing room for the past 2 years.  I look at it about 100 times a day to see if it's getting bigger.  I WANT it to get bigger.   Come on you can see it right?????   

 Yesterday I went to the OB and he said that the reason I'm not showing yet is because my abs are strong.  (go pilates!)  I guess that's a good thing.  I've gained 2 pounds since my last visit so I now weigh 130 pounds.  Next week Wednesday I go for the big ultrasound where they take measurements of the fetus.   I have to drink 32 oz. of water an hour before and I can't pee!  That sounds like an eternity to me since I seem to pee every 5 minutes.  Hopefully if fetus is in a good position we can see the sex.   Wahine or Kane?  I really don't care.  I just want a healthy baby.

Speaking of healthy babies, my good friend just gave birth to a beautiful boy.  His name is Makai.  I loove that name and he is sooo precious.  I saw him for the first time yesterday and I kept saying, " I can't believe your in this world already!"   For me it seemed like just yesterday Birdie told me she was pregnant.   It seems so surreal that what's growing inside me is actually going to come out and be in this world!   

2006

I was looking at my screen saver photos and this one popped it.  It was taken March 2006 at Eye and I's bowling birthday party.   My friend in this photo is also 7 months pregnant.  I was a little intoxicated and I remember my then fiance's face when he saw us taking that photo.  You can actually see him in the background looking away!!!  HAHA!    So funny how things change in 4 years.  Now we are married and are really expecting!    Today I can finally see a little tiny bump and it makes me giggle.  I look at this picture trip out that that is what I'll look like next year!

Hormones

I think I experienced my real first hormonal incident.  My whole family came to visit me for Thanksgiving.  My Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister and her new beau.  It was so nice having all of us together.  We ate Mommy's food, we all went to the movies, we all talked in my Mom's thick Filipino accent.  I loved falling asleep on the couch with the dogs while my Dad stroked my hair.  It was awesome!  It reminded me of us growing up.  I didn't want it to end.  I didn't want my family to go away and leave me here in the desert.  But the end was near and I just couldn't stop bawling.  It was so crazy!  I usually never cry when my family leaves.  This time it was different.  I felt my heart break just thinking about them leaving.  When it was time to say good bye, forget about it.  I was a mess.  As soon as my sister said, "What's wrong? Were you crying?"  Niagra Falls.  It was full on... tears, sobbing,  words couldn't come out because I was crying so hard.  I couldn't stop either.  I had to go to work which was probably a good thing.   My sweet husband was trying to console me, but nothing worked.  I just cried all the way to work.  

15 Weeks!

Tomorrow I will be 15 weeks.   As you can still I'm not showing just yet.  I can tell that I have a small pouch, but most people can't see it.  My mom said she didn't start showing until 5 months with her first child.  My other girlfriend also didn't start showing until 5 months either.  As most of you know I am the most impatient person in the world so waiting another month to show seems so far.  I have spent all of my professional life trying not to have a belly and now that I can have one I don't just yet.   Having a belly is the most beautiful part of pregnancy to me.  To watch a woman's body expand, knowing the is a life force inside her body is so amazing to me.  My mommy/pregnant friends all have said..."Oh just you wait,"  or "Enjoy sleeping on your back while you can," or "You have plenty of time."  Waiting is not my specialty, but I'm learning that patience goes hand and hand in motherhood.   So I embrace it with open arms.

Tig o bitties

I can't even begin to explain how large my breasts have gotten.  It is extremely uncomfortable.  Now I know what my sister and my other large breasts friends must feel like!   I came from not ever wearing a bra to wearing a bra to sleep.   That was actually how people knew I was pregnant before I spilled the beans.  "Your boobs are huuuge....are you pregnant?  You better pee on a stick!"  Said my friend D who also told me I should do a photo shoot with the new additions.   Even my husband can't believe it.  "Jeeesh honey, they look fake!"  I guess that was a compliment?   Since I'm not showing yet, the size of my breasts are the only real tell tale sign that I am actually pregnant.  So until my belly size catches up with my breast size, I guess I have just have to deal with everyone looking at my boobs.  Fun times. 

The Hulk

My doctor said that when doing the show my heart rate shouldn't go above 140 for a sustained amount of time.  Dr. Bart also told me that I can do any physical activity that I did before I got pregnant.  Since my job is so physical I bought a heart rate monitor to see what my actual heart beat is while I perform.  My production manager set it up for me so that I when I go above 140 bpm, the alarm goes off.   I was so excited to find out at what point I would turn into the Hulk.  (If you haven't seen the 2nd movie, Bruce Banner wears a heart rate monitor because if he goes above a certain point he turns into the incredible Hulk)  I wasn't surprised to learn that I go over 140 in the show, but it's never for a really long time.  It kinda freaked me out the first time I heard it go off.  I felt like Bruce Banner trying to take deep breaths while I twirl my broom.   It's actually quite difficult to not Stomp like you use to.   But I know it' s best for the baby so I do a much less physical show these days.  Sometimes I feel bad asking people to cover me in certain places in the show, but in the same breath it feels really nice to sit off stage and watch the young ones work it out.    As long as I don't turn in to a green monster, I think I'll be able to do the show until it closes in January 4th.  

A My Name is Alice...

We saw The Donnie and Marie Show at the Flamingo tonight.  I LOVED IT!   I remember being a child and waiting for the Donnie & Marie show to come on.  I remember singing and dancing along.  My mom told me a story that when I was a kid I use to stand on top of my brother's bed that faced the street with my flashlight as my microphone and sing "A my name is Alice."  It's sounds corny but they really inspired me to sing and dance.  This has nothing to do with me being pregnant other than I had a really great night with my husband. 

Like Mother Like Daughter

" I can't swallow pills, I need a banana,"  is something I heard from my mother all my life.  Low and behold, I too have a problem with swallowing pills.  I use to be great at it.  I didn't need a banana or other food in my mouth to disguise the huge prenatal pills.  After all  I have been taken them for over a year with no problem.  But lately every time I go to take my pills, I gag, I throw up a little in my mouth (gross I know), or I end up spitting it out.  I have resorted to cutting my pills in half and then disguising them with food.   I don't what's wrong with me.   I use to hear my dad say to my mom, "Honey...it's all in your head."   My father is a wise man.

To Read or Not to Read

When your pregnant it seems that you inherit all the books that your friends who have had kids want to get rid of.  It's really great not to have to buy any of the standard books like, "What to Expect When Your Expecting."  I now have 2 of that same book.  I'm not much of a reader.  I do have my spurts of non stop reading.  But now I have a huge pile of books that stare at me and it is all sooooo overwhelming.  I don't know where to begin or which one to pick up first.   Some of my pregnant friends swear by some books, others tell me to stay away certain books and some books just make FREAK ME OUT!   So for now  I'll just take my time and if these pile of books collect dust I won't worry because I know that I can pick up the phone and call one of my friends for advice.

I WANT SOME!

So yesterday my husband was sweet enough to make me breakfast.  I wanted eggs and toast.   What I really wanted was a fried egg sandwich on toast, with mayo and a piece of cheese.  I wanted to taste the runny yolk that drips out of the sandwich when you take the first bite.   But since I can't have raw eggs, I just let it go.

I sit down to to eat my hard scrambled eggs and toast.  Food is always better when someone else makes it.   As I take my first bite my husband sits down with a juicy, delicious, savory fried egg sandwich!  I immediately start pouting as I see the runny yolk drip down my husbands fingers.  "What's a matter honey?,"  he asks.  "I want some," I reply as I longingly look at his yolky fingers.  "It's not that good, really, it's just messy."   Sigh, I'll guess I'll just have to wait until May.

Date Night

Tonight Eye and I went on a date to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua.  It was cute, but I must say my two chihuahuas are sooo much cuter.  I was really feeling ill and felt like lying on the couch instead of going out.  But as I was lying there watching terrible tv ( jLo's Dancerlife)  all I could hear is my BFF's voice, " Go out while you can.  Go to as many movies as you can while it's just the two of you."   So I grabbed my Trader Joe's bag of Ginger Snacks  and went on a date with my husband.   In the end I'm glad I went even though I felt like throwing up all over the nice comfy seats.  As I was thinking about puking I kept on hearing all my friends voices who have kids, "I don't even know when's the last time I saw a movie.   Movie?  Yea...right, try Netflix."    I know it will change once we have a baby but that seems so far away.  But I also know that I need to spend as much quality time with the love of my life before the other love comes into our lives. 

Honey...I had a dream.....

The morning of  August 18th, my clairvoyant husbands says to me, "Honey...I had a dream last night that I found a piece of paper and it had pink plus sign..."    My response of course, "Well I guess we should buy a test!"   Not only did I buy 1 test of course I bought 5.   The next morning I woke at 7:00 AM and sure enough there was a blue plus sign! (I couldn't find a test with a pink plus sign)  Five test later, I still couldn't believe that I was actually pregnant.   I am 11 weeks now and it's still very hard for me to believe that it finally has happened to me.   I've been to the doctor twice.  We saw the the little zygote at 7 weeks and heard the heartbeat.  That was so amazing...I can't describe in words what that experience was like.  I went back to the doctor and heard the heartbeat again last Wednesday.  I was soooo relieved.  I just want to make it 12 weeks and I am almost there.  Monday will be 12 weeks and I can't wait for that day.   I am the most impatient person in the world and time has been ticking so slow.   

Everyday I feel different.  Sometimes I can eat a house, sometimes I have no appetite.  Some days I just want to sleep for days, other days I have a lot of energy.  I haven't had terrible morning sickness but I do feel pretty nauseous more often than not.  I feel really lucky that my best friend has gone through this already and that I have two girlfriends close to my heart that are going through pregnancy as well.  One is 4 weeks away from delivery and the other one 2 months away.  

Due Date:  May 25