Benjamin's 1st Christmas

Pics of Benjamin's first Christmas!

Pics of Benjamin

Here's some more pics of Benjamin once we got home...

Benjamin Arrives

I haven't had much time to update the blog lately... but BENJAMIN JUAN ALBARRAN has arrived!!!! We checked into the hosiptal on Monday Dec. 15th at 10pm to induce labor. I was having contractions by 10:30-11:00pm. However by 7:30 Tues. morning, I was still only 1 cm dialated, so my doctor broke my water. And by 4:00 pm Tues. afternoon (almost 18 hours of labor) I was still only 1 cm. My doctor said for some reason the baby was not dropping past the pelvic bone, so we needed to do an emergency C-section.

Benjamin was born at 5:53 pm on Tues., Dec. 16th, weighing in at 7 lbs. and 2.2 oz. and 20.5 inches long. Here's some pics of the baby in the nursery while I was in recovery, and our first family photo once we were together in the room.

Benjamin Albarrán

It's been officially decided! The baby's name will be Benjamin Juan Albarrán! I had another ultrasound this afternoon, and little Benjamin is weighing in at 5 pounds and 10.5 ounces! The doctor was happy. She said for where I am at (a day over 36 weeks), he's not too small and he's not too giant! We also got the circumference of his head, which measured in at 12.8 inches around. That sounded big enough to me! His stomach was 12.2 inches around, so his head is bigger than his whole tummy! I guess his stomach / body will keep fattening up, where as his head will pretty much stay the same from here until delivery (hopefully it won't get much bigger)! We also got to see that he's already got hair. It was just floating around his head. :-) I guess we won't be having a bald baby. Here's some ultrasound pics... One is of the baby's face and body profile, and the other is the bottom of his foot and toes. The only semi-bad news from the doctor's visit, is that I have not started dialating at all. So, it does not look like the baby will be coming early. As long as it's not so late that he's born on Christmas day! Plus I don't really want to be pregnant for 42 weeks! 40 weeks sounds good enough to me! I guess we'll have to wait and see as time goes by. That's about all the news for this week. I go back again next Tuesday for another ultrasound and exam. I'll write more after that! :-)

Baby Albarrán - Week 34

Week 34... WOW!!! I can hardly believe it's getting so close! :-) We went to see the doctor this week, and I had a Bio Physical Profile (BPP) Ultrasound on the baby. It works on an 8 point system, and I’m happy to say Baby Albarrán scored an 8 out of 8! I don’t think we were in the ultrasound room 90 seconds, so we didn't get to see a whole lot. But here's what we did find out: The baby’s heart rate was 159, which was good, and we did confirm again that, yes, it is indeed a boy! :-) We also got to see him squirming around a lot! He’s definitely a little wiggle worm. He got 2 points for movement! And we also got to see him practice breathing! He takes little practice breaths of amniotic fluid. That was pretty cool! And the best thing we saw was that…drumroll.... He has finally flipped! He is now head down and getting ready for delivery. Whew… one less thing to worry about! Here’s a picture of the profile of his face. He's got his fist up by his mouth, so I think he is still sucking his thumb! Braces = $5,000 :-)

Shower Time!

This Sunday I had my baby shower from my side of the family. It was lot’s of fun! I even got to eat Petit Fours from Baum’s!!!!! Finally, I got to taste sugar! :-) Here’s a pic of my Mom and Camille getting ready for the party, and one of me and my Mom after the party.

I received all kinds of cool stuff. My Mom and Dad got us the Travel System (see pic)! Now we just have to read the manual so Juan can install the carseat part in the CR-V! Then we will be a little bit closer to being ready to bring home the baby. By the way, all is going well with baby Albarrán…

33 Weeks

Yesterday (Monday) was 7 weeks until my due date! It still seems like a long time from now, but when I think I've already done 33 weeks, then 7 doesn't seem like so many left! The baby should be weighing in around 4 pounds now, and I can definitely feel it. Lately he's been sticking something in my ribs. As of 2 weeks ago, he was still in the breech position (meaning his head is up by my ribs), and it definitely can make it uncomfortable to lean over or bend down. I'll have another ultrasound on Tuesday of next week. I can't wait to see how much he's grown. You'll have to check back later to see ultrasound snapshots! Until then, here's a pic of what the baby looks like at week 33. :-)

Baby Albarrán - Week 30

I’m now going to see Dr. H-P every 2 weeks. I’ve made the 30 week mark, which is very exciting. I’m ¾ of the way done, and I have less that 10 weeks to go!!! Still no progress on the Baby’s name. It’s up in the air: Benjamin or Joséf. Anyway, here’s a picture of what he would look like right now…

I’m starting to get fat! The baby is growing very fast now… Note that I did not include a picture of fat me this week. :-) Hah!

Baby Albarrán - Week 28

We’re back in B.R. just in time for my next Dr.’s appointment. I had an Ultrasound first, and here are some sneak peaks of the baby.

Dr. H-P says the baby is at about 45% (50%
being the average), which is very good. His
little head was over 25 cm (or about 10 in.) in circumference. His brain is getting big already! And he is weighing in at about 2-1/2 pounds!

Baby Albarrán - Week 27

Finally!!! All of the Hurricane drama is over! We finally have our power back after 14 days with no a/c. I’m so excited about air condition! :-) But we can’t stay home for long, because we are off to Rogers, Arkansas to see Juan’s family. And what a surprise... when we got there, the Albarrán family threw us a baby shower! It was lots of fun, and they sent us home with tons of wonderful gifts! Here’s a pic of us with J's parents and the cake, and one of me and Juan opening presents!

Baby Albarran - Week 26

Baby Albarrán is doing fine. We still haven't picked out his official name yet. Juan and I have knocked it down to just 2 options: Benjamin Juan Albarrán or Joséf Juan Albarrán. We're still looking though. I guess we'll have to decide eventually! :-) We go back to the doctor in a week and a half for the next ultrasound. We can't wait!

Here's a picture of what the baby looks like at 26 weeks. He weighs almost 2 pounds now!