Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas was extra special this year as we celebrated Sophia's first Christmas. It is amazing how the meaning of the holidays change somewhat once you become a parent. We have so much to be thankful for this year. I really enjoyed sitting back and watching everyone open gifts, especially the kids. What a wonderful holiday it was!

Chase Ryan Hannon

Born 12/23/09

8lbs. 3oz.

20 1/2 inches long

Welcome to our new sweet nephew!!!

What a nightmare!

We brought Sophia home from the hospital on December 3rd. The nights were long and we were definitely in need of sleep! But it was amazing spending time with our new baby girl even if it was at 4 o'clock in the morning! On December 7th, I started feeling kind of strange. My friends Erin and Tiffany came over to meet Sophia. When they were leaving I stood up and got really dizzy. I immediately handed the baby to Domingo. I just thought my body was still recovering from childbirth. That night I felt really off. My heart was racing, I was sick to my stomach, and noticed that I had really dark stools. At 4a.m. we woke up to feed Sophia. Domingo looked at me and said that he couldn't even see my lips they were so pale. I was as white as a ghost. He wanted to take me to the hospital right then, but I insisted that I would call my OB in the morning. By morning I could tell that I was bleeding rectally. I call the OB and they told me to go to the ER right away. When we got to the hospital they checked me in immediately. My resting heart rate was 135 and a doctor verified that I was bleeding internally somewhere. My hemoglobin was a 6 which is apparently dangerously low. The doctor wanted to do an NG tube on me to see if I had blood in my stomach. That was awful!!! They stuck a tube down my nose into my stomach...while I was awake! At that time there was no blood in my stomach so they thought I was bleeding somewhere else. They sent me straight up to ICU. Later that afternoon I had an endoscopy done (while asleep thank God) and they found an Ulcer sitting on an artery at the top of my stomach. Apparently the ibuprofen that I was taking for pain after having Sophia caused it to bleed profusely. They burned it to help cauterize it. Afterwards I swore I was dying. I was throwing up blood and was in horrible pain. The gas that they fill you up with causes such horrible stomach and chest pains. They came in and did an EKG and chest x-rays just to make sure I was okay. But once the air got out of my stomach I was much better. That night in ICU I got 4 blood transfusions. My hemoglobin slowly started to rise. I spent a total of 4 days in the hospital. The worst part of it all was being away from my brand new baby girl. I cried so much because I just wanted to be home with her. It was the worst thing I have ever gone through. However, I'm very thankful that the GI bleed did not occur while I was pregnant. Thankfully I'm starting to feel much better. Although I still get weak towards the end of the day. It will be a magical holiday season for us as we have so much to be thankful for this year.

Welcome Sophia!

On December 1st Domingo and I checked into the hospital at 6:30 a.m. The nurses changed shifts at 7:00 so we just sat around and waited for awhile. Around 7:30 they started my IV fluids and at 9:00 they started the pitocin drip. Mom and Dad came up to the hospital and we walked the hallways for awhile to get things moving. At first the contractions just felt like small cramps. At 11:30 Dr. Rollins broke my water in hopes of getting things to progress. What a strange feeling! The contractions started getting stronger and stronger after my water broke. Around 12:30 I got my epidural. I was only 4 cm at that point. The epidural was wonderful!!! I didn't feel anything! It was fun to watch the contraction monitor and see how strong they were and know that I couldn't feel it. Dan and Amy came to the hospital and we all sat around laughing and joking. Around 4:00 the nurse, Janelle, checked me to see if there was any progress. I was 5cm at that point and thinking that it was going to be a long night. We continued to sit an wait, but around 5:30 I started to feel the contractions more and more. I also felt like I had to use the bathroom (#2 lol) so I called the nurse. Sure enough, I was 10 cm already!!! It was time to push! I couldn't believe that I went from 5 to 10 cm in an hour and a half! So at 5:55 we started pushing. The nurse did practice pushes with me. Dr. Rollins came in a little bit later and before I knew it...Sophia was here!!! She didn't cry when she was born so I kept asking if she was okay. But she was perfectly healthy! Born at 6:35p.m. weighing 6lbs. 14oz. and 19.75 inches long. She's absolutely amazing! Unfortunately it took them 4 hours to stitch me up because Dr. Rollins kept leaving to deliver other babies. I was not happy about that! And boy was my Mom mad! I had several 2nd degree tears, but it was all worth it. Domingo and I couldn't be more in love with our new budle of joy.

Tomorrow is the day!

I went to the doctors today for my 40 week visit. Sophia will be born tomorrow! Dr. Parks decided to go ahead and induce me tomorrow morning since I am already 3 cm dilated and my blood pressure is creeping up. I'm excited that Dr. Rollins is on call!!! She's my favorite. I'm very nervous, but so excited to meet my sweet Sophia. We check in at 6:30 a.m. I can't believe it's time!!!

Due Date and Still No Baby...

Well, Today is my official due date. Sophia has decided that she is comfortable and warm inside Mommy's tummy and doesn't want to come out. I go to the doctors tomorrow and will not leave until they give me an induction date! I am so ready to meet our baby girl! I have had a few contractions but nothing consistent. I'm worried that she is getting really big. My tummy is growing by the minute. At least we know the end (or just the beginning) is in sight!

My funny Dad

My Dad called me yesterday and said "Are you in labor?" I said, "No, not yet." And he said "Okay, I'll call you again in an hour." LOL I guess he wants to call every hour until this baby is born! Mom and Dad also gave me a panic button. You push it and it says "okay, stay calm...on second thought... PANIC!!! AHHHHHH!" lol When I go into labor I'm going to call them and not say anything...just push the button and hold it up to the phone!

T minus 168 hours and counting...

I'm amazed that I'm only one week away from my due date. Domingo and I are filled with a million different emotions right now...even though he'll tell you he's not nervous at all! At my last doctors appointment Sophia was definitely head down and I was 1 cm dilated. I'm trying not to get to anxious about having her and just be excited but the closer we get to the 29th the more anxious I get. I'm so ready to meet her! Her nursery is all ready as is the rest of the house. Nesting kicked in big time yesterday and I scrubbed and scrubbed. I felt like I ran a marathon afterwards! Now if we can just keep it clean! :)



Some things I want to remember:

*One of my students asked me the other day if I could see the baby through my belly button! Haha!

*Another student said "Mrs. Palos, When you eat does the food drop on the baby's head?" LOL TOO CUTE!

Dear Sophia...

Dear Sophia,

Mommy and Daddy are ready to meet you. Would you please come before Thanksgiving? We love you!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

So much for cleaning the house!

I just couldn't find the energy! Maybe on Wednesday...I have the day off! We shall see...

3 weeks and counting!

Only three weeks to go until Sophia's due date! Yesterday Domingo and I went to the doctors for a normal check up. I'm going every week now. I was 1/2 cm dilated and had lost 2 lbs. So I'm officially up only 6lbs the entire pregnancy! WOO HOO! I know that the 1/2 cm dilated means nothing, but I was happy to hear that!!! Only 9 1/2 cms to go! haha! I can't believe we're going to have a little girl in a matter of a few weeks. I can't wait to see what she looks like. I did the last of her laundry today and tomorrow I'm going to give the house a good cleaning for the last time...if I can find the energy that is. What's even more exciting...only 11 more days to work before maternity leave! YAY! :)

36 week check up

We went to the doctors today to check up on Sophia. She is growing perfectly, although she's a little on the small side. She is in the 38th percentile for her size. She was estimated at about 5 1/2 lbs. as of today. My due date is exactly one month away! I can't believe it! She wasn't head down...her head was kind of off to the side and her bottom was up near my ribs. Her heart rate was 156 and she was wide awake during the ultrasound. We even got to see her practicing her breathing! Everything just looks great! My blood pressure was 112/78 and I've gained a total of 8 lbs. my entire pregnancy. I can't wait to meet our little girl!!!

7 weeks and counting!

I can't believe I'm in the home stretch. Sophia is moving more and more lately. I know pretty soon she'll be running out of room and won't be able to kick and roll around as much so I'm trying to enjoy it now. I'm so excited to see what she looks like! I hope she looks like her Daddy, but gets my eye color! Although, we only have a 13 percent chance of her being blue eyed. I'm sure she'll be precious no matter what! Domingo and I are in the midst of taking a 6 week child birth class. We go every Tuesday from 7-9 p.m. So far it hasn't been anything too majorly exciting. Although they taught us some relaxation techniques last week and my favorite one was using 3 tennis balls in a sock and rolling it up and down your back. It feels great! We have almost everything we need for our little girl and can't wait for her to arrive!

Baby shower time!

My Mom and sister, Amy, threw me a wonderful baby shower on September 26th. I am starting to run out of time and energy hence the reason it took me so long to post about my fabulous baby shower! We had about 30 people show up and it was so nice to celebrate the pending arrival of our baby girl with all of my closest friends and family members. Domingo's mom and friend Sara even came all the way from Ohio to be here for the shower. Mom and Amy did a great job! The food was fabulous! Amy even made Cranberry Jello Surprise per my request which was super YUMMY! We got so much stuff for Sophia that we're not quite sure where we're going to put it all. She has a ton of clothes and will be very well dressed for the first 18 months of her life! My assistant Janet at work threw me a baby shower last week and it was great to celebrate with all my work friends as well. We still need to buy a few things for Sophia, but for the most part, we're ready when she is! Only 52 days to go! Domingo and I feel very lucky to have so many people who care about us and our daughter to be! :)

Mark carved a baby carriage out of a watermelon! It turned out too cute!


YUM!

A onsie that Amy bought for Sophia...how perfect!

Amy, Me (holy baby belly batman!), and Mom

The letters for Sophia's room that Amy made...LOVE them!

Sophia's nightlight that Aunt Sandy made!

Congratulations Jessica and Travis

This weekend we went to Charleston for Jessica and Travis' wedding. We had a lovely time other than the fact that our hotel was awful! Jessica looked lovely and seemed so happy. I can't believe we've been friend for 16 years. Domingo and I also got the opportunity to tour Charleston a little. We went on a historical carriage ride around town and tour the USS Yorktown. We also got to see Amy, Mark, Seth, Dan, Erika, and Molly for a bit. They were down in Charleston staying at Mark's Aunt's house. It was a nice little weekend getaway!

Eviction Notice!

Official Eviction Notice: Tenant, Sophia Grace, will have 80 days in which she must gather her belongings and promptly vacate the premises. After which, she will be physically removed from the property. She's being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made! Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances. After 80 days from this day, failure to comply with this notice will result in immediate removal at my doctor's discretion.

Baby Belly

Baby girl is growing!!!

20 Weeks

28 Weeks

28 week visit!

Today was my 28 week check up. I'm officially 27 weeks and 4 days, but Sophia was measuring 28 weeks and 2 days. Maybe she'll come a little earlier than expected!!!! I would love to have her the week before Thanksgiving! We got wonderful news at the doctors...the cysts that she had on her brain are completely gone! Also, my placenta has moved so there is no need to schedule a c-section! My blood pressure was 120/80 and I've officially gained 3 lbs since I have been pregnant. I can't believe I've only gained 3 lbs. in 28 weeks! I had lost some weight in my first trimester and now I'm up 3 lbs. from my 8 week visit. Not too shabby! :) Sophia weighs 2lbs. 8oz. so I've gained mostly just baby! She's in the 56th percentile for her weight. The doctor said if she continues this pattern she'll weigh about 7-7 1/2 lbs. when she is born...I can handle that! Only 12 weeks to go! I can't beleive it! Domingo worked so hard on her nursery. Here are the pictures of the finished product.

3 months and counting!!!

My due date is officially 3 months from today! I can't believe it! I'm 27 weeks pregnant! Next week we go for my 28 week ultrasound to check and see if my placenta has moved farther away from my cervix. I can't wait to see how big our baby girl has gotten! She should be around 2 1/2 lbs. by 28 weeks. Thursday is my ultrasound and doctors appointment! I can't wait! :)

School Days, School Days, Dear old golden rule days!

So, this was the first week of school. I'm actually thrilled to be back at work with the exception of already having the first cold of the year. I have an upper respiratory infection. It's been an interesting year so far. My class roster has bounced between 23 and 24 students...can you believe they put that many 5 year olds in a class with 1 teacher?!?! We were told we were getting another kindergarten teacher and now supposedly we're not. We will see what happens. Despite all the craziness, being back at work has helped the days pass by quickly! The last 2 weeks have flown by! :) I'm so happy about that!

Happy 3rd Birthday Seth!

Yesterday I went down to Columbia for Seth's 3rd birthday. He had a pool party at Judy's house. It was a great day! We went swimming and Mark grilled awesome burgers for dinner. Probably the best burger I've ever eaten. Happy Birthday Seth! We love you!

Fun Filled Weekend!

We were happy to get to spend the weekend with Mark, Ann, Luke, Andrew, and Morgan! They stop and visit us every summer on their way to Myrtle Beach. We wished we could have gone down to the beach for a few days with them, but Mingo has to work all week. We had a wonderful time as you can tell by the pictures and videos below.

Happy 37th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Dinner List

Okay, so I'm trying to start making dinner at home more frequently, and this is where I plan to keep my ongoing list of what we've eaten for future references. I feel like it's going to be difficult to balance things when the baby gets here so I want to have dinner ideas on hand. Here's what I've made recently:

Tacos (easy, I know, but a staple here)
Grilled Steak, Corn on the Cob, Salad
Turkey Breast, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans
Lasagne
Shake and Bake Pork Chops, Green Beans, Pickled Beets, Kraft Mac and Cheese
Burgers on the grill with baked fries


I plan to update each time I cook something new. Do you have any dinner suggestions that are easy to make?

A new nephew!

We're excited to announce that Dan and Erika will be welcoming a baby boy in December. I'm sure Sophia and their baby will be just as close as Molly and Seth. Domingo and I will have 8 nieces and nephews! :) Congrats Dan and Erika!

The Money Shot

So, Domingo and I started to get nervous about our ultrasound tech only being 95% sure that this baby is a girl. We decided to go to one of those 3D places where they will do a simple 2D ultrasound gender check as well. Again, our little one was being quite shy. She was laying on her side facing my spine with her legs shut! The tech at My Sunshine Baby made me drink some Sunny D and then we got THE MONEY SHOT! Bring on the pink clothes, ruffles, and hair bows!

Happy 3rd Birthday Molly!

Happy Birthday Molly! Yesterday, Dan and Erika had a birthday party for her and she seemed to have a wonderful time! I can't believe our little Molly is 3! Where does the time go?

It's our Peanut Anniversary!

Three years ago today we got our little dog Peanut! She has brought us so much happiness in the last 3 years. It makes me sad to think that she's already 6 1/2 years old! We love her so much! She is the best little doggy ever! Thank you for getting her for us Amy!