Our First (Super Official) Doctor's Visit

FINALLY! It seemed as if this day would never arrive! My insurance officially kicked in on November 1st and I was able to get an appointment with Dr. Tiffany Tarrant over the the Houston Women's Care Associates. A million thanks to Tony and Liz, Johnny's bro and sis-in-law, who recommended them!

Without this sounding too much like a Yelp review, Dr. Tarrant is AWESOME! She is just so nice and as odd as it may sound, a breath of fresh air! Anyhooooo, We had our appointment last Monday, November 7th... the staff was super helpful and extremely kind. I got some vitals checked... all normal. Pee'd in a cup, yet again, and despite frequently peeing on sticks and in cups, I still manage to pee on my hand. Jeezus! The doctor came and asked us a few questions about family history. We chose to take a few genetic blood tests and I had a pap smear done since it had been a few years since my previous one. Then Dr. Tarrant offered to do an ultra sound to give us a better idea of how far along I am. It seems I'm a bit behind but only by two weeks... which puts my due date at around April 14th, 2012. She also asked if we wanted to know the sex... DUH, lady! She thinks its a girl because we saw a lot of "taco" and no "hot dog." My words, not hers. Hee, hee, hee. We'll get confirmation when the blood work comes back and another ultrasound this week. Speaking of blood work, I had to give eight vials of blood! They couldn't find my vein for a while and eventually, the technician just guessed and pricked... lucky for me, she hit the vein.

So, drum roll please! Meet the future addition to the Santillán/Salinas family!

Don't wanna say if it's a little lady or a little gent just yet, but we're excited with either!

In case you're not sure what you're looking at, the spine is up top and the head to the right of the sonogram. Still kinda looks like a little alien, to be honest, but an adorable little alien, no?


Anyway, I'll keep up with future updates as soon as I can! Work is kicking my butt and I find myself not wanting to be in front of a screen outside of the office. Bear with me!

No news is good news...

I am 15 weeks along which means I'm officially in my second trimester! Holy moly, batman!

Jeez Louise! Work has been crazy busy with so many volunteer projects and Christmas in full swing. I come home so tired and not wanting to do much, which is a main reason I've neglected the blog. I also haven't gotten insurance yet (November 1st, I've been reassured!) so I haven't been able to schedule or go to my first OB appointment. I thought I would just update everyone on the past month with some happenings that have been going on with me and Johnny...

- My grandmother (mom's mom) passed away at the age of 83 in Mexico about two weeks ago... my mom took it pretty hard but has accepted that she is now resting and free of any pain.

- Today marks the one-year anniversary of the day Jonathan passed away. Jonathan had been Johnny's best friend since childhood. He had been "sick" since he was an infant but that never stopped Jonathan from enjoying life.We visited his grave, cleaned the dirt and mud that accumulated from the weekend rain and left him some yellow, teacup roses. Yellow was his favorite color and it symbolizes joy and friendship. Even though it saddens me to think that his life was cut so short but I know Jonathan wouldn't want us to grieve over him.  I remember the first time I ever met him, he approached me with a full-on bear hug and a kiss on the cheek. I thought it was so funny because only Hispanics ever greet each other like this. From then on, each and every time we said our "Hi's" and "Byes," I was always given a bear hug and kiss on the cheek. Although I knew Jonathan for a mere four months, I'm very thankful to call him my friend. Johnny and I have made many memories in the past year but not without one of us mentioning, "Jonathan would have loved this... This reminds us of Jonathan... Jonathan would have laughed so hard about this..." and so on. We'll continue to do this and remember what an amazing human being he was. Since we found out we were expecting, Johnny and I want to give Jonathan's name to our baby if it's a boy...

- Johnny and I have been looking into renting or buying a house. Exciting stuff!

- Johnny started working giving sax lesson after-school at several area middle schools and high schools. He will also be auditioning to be in the Air Force premier band. If he gets it, we could be moving to Virginia! We'll keep everyone updated about our plans!

- My 28th birthday is coming up at the end of the month! I would really love to plan something with friends but I've been feeling so lazy! I have to get to it though... this will be my last birthday before becoming a mom! Also, since my birthday is on Halloween, I would like to dress up... I have a few ideas but again, laziness and tiredness prevails... By the way, does anyone else get annoyed with people who dress as a "sexy" something for Halloween. How lame are you that you have no creativity and end up sexualizing a kiddie holiday. Ugh... sorry, had to vent for a minute.

- I'm not too sure if it's too early to have cravings or not... but I didn't start having them until last weekend when my friend Jessica introduced me to Yogurtland. OMG... I seriously want dutch chocolate and fresh strawberry yogurt with strawberries, chocolate chips and peanuts on top ALL THE DAMN TIME.

- Since I haven't been to an OB yet, and my pregnancy symptoms have been weak sauce, I took another pee test to triple check there's a bun in the oven. I felt super silly but I had to reassure myself.

- Johnny and I will be going to Dripping Springs, Texas this weekend. I'll be meeting his godfather who also happens to be a Catholic priest. We might be doing some Pre-Cana with him even though the idea of  godfather kind of freaks me out.

I think that's about it for now... I hope to share the story of how I told my parents on the next blog!

Baby's First Gifts

We still don't know the sex of the baby but that's not stopping certain family members from buying our mini me it's first baby gifts. 


My mom has been trying to hide her excitement but every once in a while, she'll make silly little comments about finally having a grand-baby. One evening, Johnny came over and my mom brought in these two little stuffed animals in clear cellophane packaging. I was completely surprised even though I know my mom has always been a very thoughtful person. No joke, salty liquid came out of my eye!  

Can you see the baby names we've picked out? More on that later...

Last Friday, I took Johnny out on Date Night. I thought it would be fun to go and paint at The Mad Potter. I wanted to paint a Texas jewelry box and Johnny had high hopes of painting a cookie jar... but since it was his first time, I suggested he start small. He decided to paint a rubber duckie and place it in the baby's room when the time comes. How sweet! 

These are the unglazed pieces we painted. I'll update once I get them back! 

And finally, my Tia Maria gave the baby it's first piggy bank... I forgot to take a photo of it but I found on the internets! Since the weather was AMAZING on Labor Day, my family decided to have a cook out and play Lotería outside. Every time, Johnny and I won, we put our winnings in the bank! There has to be a good $15 bucks in there!

I have a feeling this baby is going to spoiled rotten! ;)

Our First Doctor's Visit

So after our initial verification of my pregnancy via peeing on a stick, I was advised by Jackie and Liz to promptly make an appointment to see a doctor. I haven't been to a doctor since 2009 if I remember correctly. And it hasn't been because I dislike doctor visits but because I have not had an official full-time job with benefits since then. I was lucky enough to get free flu shots though employers at the time but that's about it.


I decided to call my general practioner, Dr. Knafo, since I'd been going to her as long as I've been taking care of my own health. They were able to fit me in the following Tuesday and understood I currently did not have insurance. Johnny was adamant about going with me which was nice. For some reason, the thought never occurred to me that he might want to be there.


So we show up, I sign in and paid up front... $139 for being uninsured. We were called in quickly and I was asked to pee in a cup. This time I did not pee on my hand but rather all over the toilet seat. How embarrassing! The doctor saw us almost immediately (She's always been very prompt!) and confirmed what we already knew. She reassured me that my blood pressure was under control and that I've been maintaining my weight so there was no need for concern. She also put my due date at April 4th, 2012! (Although I'm secretly hoping for an April Fool's baby!)


My main concern was that I wouldn't be insured until Mid-October at the earliest  Dr. Knafo was very confident in telling us there was no need to go to an OB/GYN this early. She said everything seems to be fine and that if I can wait until then, I should. She also offered that if anything came up to call her directly that way I wouldn't have to worry about out-of-pocket costs. That was very nice of her. Along with her prescription of prenatal vitamins slash suggestion of which OTC prenatals she approves of, she also gave us a list of OBs she normally refers her patients to. 


Basically, I paid $139 to pee in cup and find out what I already knew. Oh well. You live and you learn.


On the topic of being uninsured... it's so sad to know that there are so many Americans struggling to make ends meet and still not be able to afford basic health care for their families. It's something that should be a priority and not a privilege. Unfortunately, that also something that is left up to our government to change... 

As soon as we have an official OB visit, I'll blog about that experience! :)

Next post... Baby's first gifts!

How We Found Out We're Expecting

My period is like clockwork... well was like clockwork. On August 3rd, Johnny and I went over to his brother David and sister-in-law Jackie's house to hang out. Johnny's other SIL, Liz came over and we were just catching up. Somehow or another, Johnny asked me if I'd had my period yet. I thought about it and realized I hadn't. I brushed it off mainly because in the past few weeks I had been extremely stressed. Moving back home, living with my parents, never really unpacking, starting a new job, and recent arguments with Johnny had my mind clouded. 


We eventually decided to ask Jackie and Liz what they thought... And the questions where being spit out quicker than I could answer... here's the few I do remember...


-Have you been more tired than usual? Yeah, but I love naps...
-Do your boobs hurt? Sure, but their itchy, too. 
-Have you been peeing a lot? Oh yeah, but I've been drinking a lot of water so it evens out, right?
-Oh, no... when was your last period? I dunno... end of June?


That's when my head starting to spin. They encouraged us to make a drug store run, which we did at 10pm. I think my brain blacked out from all the commotion because I can't remember the ride to the drugstore, looking at the different kinds of tests you can take, the ride back or making my way to the bathroom. I do, however, the girls telling me how to pee on the stick and thinking, "No way it can be that fucking complicated." Sure enough, I ended up peeing on my hand. 


Johnny and I waited in another room while the stick foretold our future. I was ridiculously scared... I felt hot, cold, dizzy, pukey, along with a hundred other emotions and bodily functions at the same time. Johnny sat down next to me and told me no matter what happens, the important thing is we'll work through this together and we'll always love each other. At that very moment, I knew no matter what was thrown our way, we would be fine because we had each other. 


After what seemed an eternity of waiting, it was time. We walked into the bathroom and I made Johnny look. He nodded and I knew exactly what he meant. He walked me to the living room where Jackie and Liz were waiting. I vaguely remember what was going on but got some flashes of laughter, happiness and still some shock.

Those two pesky lines

Over the next few days, Johnny and I discussed our upcoming doctor visit and telling our folks. More on both later...


So here we are... week 9 of 40... and with each day that passes, we are more thrilled and excited about our little mini me. We talk about what sex the baby might be, what he or she will look like, baby names (already picked out!) and our new plans in hopes God will work with us this time. :)


-Mónica


Up next... the First Doctor's Visit!

They say if you want to make God laugh...

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." 




I can't exactly remember where I read this quote by Woody Allen but now more than ever it makes sense. A little over three weeks ago, my boyfriend Johnny and I found out we were expecting. Needless to say, we were surprised as I'd been taking a generic Ortho Tri-Cyclen birth control pill for over a year and a half. So, I guess this was a "happy accident."


Let me fill you in on me and Johnny's plans before God thought it would be funny to through a baby in the mix. Our plans were to:


-move back to Houston
-find full-time jobs
-have Johnny finish his doctorate
-get engaged
-have Johnny graduate in December 2011 or June 2012
-get married
-get a house
-have a baby


Of course, God found out we had our plans set and decided to have us do things ass-backwards. As soon as we moved back to Houston from Kentucky, we conceived. One thing in our plan did work out... my former employer found out I moved back and offered me a full-time job. Thank goodness! More on Kentucky and jobs later on...


Sooooo... idea behind the blog? My very dear and best-est friend Jessica started a blog not too long ago which inspired me to start my own about my adventures in being an unwed, 27 year old, Hispanic first time mom. Just because my situation is not ideal, it shouldn't mean I can't take joy in knowing I'm going to be a mom soon! I want to share my excitement and naturally, nervousness in this amazing journey!


Over the next 7 months and hopefully beyond, I would like to write about my experiences as well as general maternity/pregnancy/baby stuff. I hope you get a kick out of this as much as I do! :)


-Mónica aka First Time Mamacita


On the next post... how we found out were expecting!