24 weeks

I haven't had too many symptoms, and everybody says that I'm lucky! I feel lucky. All I really get is heartburn, hip pain late at night, and the moody blues.

I think this is what concerns me the most are the bouts of sadness that come and go in seconds. It took me a long time to figure out what makes me sad, but I think Anthony and I figured out what it is. I am not adjusting to change very well. I know I can handle taking care of a newborn and being a mom..it's not that I regret anything (I definitely don't-we've wanted the baby for so long now!)...it's more that my life is changing. The strong voice inside me says that it's changing for the better, but the little whiny voice is what is taking over my feelings. This is now my family, and there is a new life that Anthony and I have created. It's just a wierd feeling that is hard to put into words. But the feeling goes away pretty fast, and I keep reading that this is normal, so I won't worry. I'd say 95% of the time, I am in a fabulous mood! I'm having the best pregnancy anyone could ask for, I seriously am. Very blessed.

So what else is new? Anthony and I went on a nice weekend getaway to the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego to see the musical, Spring Awakening. We have been so freakin' excited about seeing this play since we found out it is touring on the West Coast. Anthony heard about it a while ago, and we've been listening to the soundtrack for a while now. People are comparing it to Rent, which drew us in, but it's really nothing like it. There's lots going on, like teenage pregnancy and suicide, all sent in Germany in the 1900's. We had great seats, with no one in front of me (I can never see). I loved it and loved the songs and can't wait to see it again!

Our hotel was about 1 minute walking distance to the theater, and 5-10 minutes walking distance to everything else: a mall, a Longs Drugs, restaurants, a Church-everything we needed! After the play, we had dinner at our favorite Spanish tapas restaurant (no Sangria for Annie *sniff sniff*), and for some reason, got the same table we had the last time we were in San Diego! It was a great night and a great weekend of relaxing, watching the Olympics, eating, and just enjoying each other's company.

Speaking of the Olympics, we are going through withdrawls still. Anthony is a huge fan of the Olympics and I just love to have something to watch for 24 hours straight. Now, we have nothing to watch. The Hills are back on, but it's beginning to piss me off (I hate She-Pratt and Lo) and other than that, TV is just not the same.

Anthony took the biggest test of his life yesterday-his cumulative exam for his whole Educational Counseling program that gets him his credentials-and even though he says he's not confident that he aced it, I know he did well because he put in a lot of time studying and reading. He'll get his results in a few weeks. He also goes back to work for the new school year at St. George beginning the day after Labor Day. I'm brief because I'm hoping Anthony will elaborate on his accomplishments and the goings-on in his life in his own entry!

The baby is kicking up a storm. He reacts to Anthony's voice by kicking or moving towards the sound of his voice, as indicated by my baby heart monitor and me feeling him moving around. He seems to be active in the early afternoon, early evening (when I'm on the train going home...I know Ziggy will love train rides), and then again at midnight. I can't wait to schedule the 3D/4D ultrasound because I am anxious to have a glimpse of what he looks like! We'll be taking a tour of the Maternity wing next week, and starting Lamaze classes soon after. The baby shower is in the planning stages; looks like we'll be having the party in October. Lots going on in the next couple of months and I'm so excited!

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Ziggy Stardust is a boy!

Whenever someone would ask me what I want to have, I would reply that I want both for different reasons. I want a girl who I can hold and love as my little princess. I’m a sucker for adorable baby girls. However, I want a boy for one reason only…to carry on the Valtier name!

Being that my brother, Mike and sis-in-law, Kerri, are just about done having kids of their own, I knew it was up to me to have the boy in the family. My sister, Rosie may have a boy one day but if everything goes the way things are shaping up, Rosie will be a Martin and no longer a Valtier.

It was never a “macho” male thing for me to have a boy. I’ve been attacked by people who really don’t know me at all and think I only want a boy to fulfill my life and give me a sense of “machismo” pride. I simply wanted a boy to honor my dad and my family. I want my boy to grow up being proud of his last name and remember all the other great Valtier men before him, including my dad, his “papa”. Valtier isn’t the most common last name out there and in the most serious scenario the Valtier name could die out if future generations aren’t brought into this world.

Annie and I are so blessed just to have a healthy baby. Gender was never a concern for us. I believe if it’s God’s will, he will give us our baby girl next time. This way our daughter could have an older brother to protect her!

Listening to our baby boy at night has taken on a whole new meaning for me. I feel more connected to our baby now knowing the sex. Our boy moves around like crazy and makes weird noises on the heart monitor when I speak into Annie’s tummy.



Annie continues to make a beautiful pregnant wife. She glows more and more everyday and I can’t help but want to do everything there is to make her life a little easier. She’s amazing and I know our son will look at her the same way. Suddenly I see a great relationship building between our son and his mom. Much like my relationship with my “super” mom and DJ’s with his mom.

Time to pick a name!

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We found out!

Today I had my third ultrasound and we were hoping that we would find out the sex of the baby. I kept hearing advice to drink juice right before the ultrasound , and that makes the baby turn in the right position to see their private partisans enough to guess the gender.

Well, the baby was turned in the right position and we found out and we are so thrilled! But now we are faced with the task of telling everyone. We have been able to tell my mom and dad and Anthony's mom and dad, but we don't know how we should tell everyone else. My main thing is to be able to tell our loved ones in person rather than as a text message or a Myspace headline, which all seems so impersonal. Another reason is that we're already getting a kick out of asking people to guess just based on the ultrasound pics, which are always blurry and unrecognizable.

First up, my mom. Since my doctor is close to the hospital where my mom works, we stopped by and she was the first one to know. It made me feel proud and excited when I felt my mom shaking as she hugged me after she found out.

Next, Anthony's parents, which is also on the way home. We again had them guess, and they both guessed correctly. Anthony's dad is always up for a challenge, so he really got into looking at all the pics carefully. Anthony's mom said her heart was beating so hard, and when we confirmed the news, the tears came! That made us happy. Hugs all around.

Last for the day were my dad and brother. My dad was just like Anthony's dad, looking carefully at each picture. DJ was less patient, just scratching his head and telling us to hurry up already and just tell them. When we told them, my dad was wiping his face...I said, "Dad, are you crying?" and he said, "No. I'm just happy." And then he gave Anthony one of those cool guy handshakes and slapped my cheek as always, his sign of affection.

So next up, I need to call my sister, because who knows when I'll see her in person again, since she lives far away. I don't want everyone to know and not her! After that, we see the rest of the Valtier clan and we'll tell all of them at the same time. And whenever we see Oscar and Leana in person, they are next up, too!

So please keep praying for a healthy baby and for Anthony and I, that we will become good parents.

Now we can plan the room colors and a name for our baby Ziggy! Yay!!!!!

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Live Mega Doppler 7000 HD

As I've stated before, I've been kinda neurotic about wanting the worst pregnancy symptoms; any sign that the baby continues to be healthy and growing. And for the past few weeks, I've been feeling lots of movement and that gives me the peace of mind that I need. At work, man, our baby goes to town, kicking me and moving around like it's redecorating. At home, from 7:00 PM on until 12:30 am-ish, that baby is already warning us that he/she will be entertaining us late into the evening/early morning.

But there are days when I DON'T feel any movement, and I understand that it may be because the baby is sleeping or just not at a place where I can feel it moving. If any of you have seen the ultrasound, though, you will see that this baby does not sit still.

Needless to say, I remain neurotic and try to find new ways to ease my worries. So I came across the perfect solution: a fetal doppler!

This is the same device that doctors use to hear the baby's heartbeat. It's pretty much a microphone and speakers, but it's the best thing ever to us! We have been renting one for the past month and will continue to rent it until a) I can physically see and feel kicking and b) my mom decides she will not fund this anymore, although she finds it very necessary for us to keep it through the whole term and has offered to pay for the remaining months. Like mother, like daughter, she is as obsessive about this as I am.

The first few days we rented it, we brought it over for the families to hear. It didn't work so well at the Valtier house, and as the minutes passed, the fam lost interest. But I hope to bring it over again soon so they can hear how strong our little Ziggy's heartbeat is! Emily, our youngest niece, seems to be most fascinated by her Auntie Annie being pregnant and I want her to be able to hear it. Then we went over to the Paraiso household, and lucky for us, Ziggy was ready to entertain! The heart beat loud and strong.

So you can't give Anthony and I a new toy for long until we abuse it and find other uses for it. Aside from turning off the lights at night and listening to our baby's heartbeat in the dark, we also use it to check if Anthony's alive and if I'm alive. We have yet to put it on Bennie, but that will be our next activity for sure!

So every day, our baby continues to grow and I am comforted by the fact that I am able to hear he/she whenever I want to. I love that Anthony amuses me and wants me to have everything I need so I can feel comfortable that we have a healthy pregnancy. And I love our new tradition of listening to our baby before we go to sleep. :)

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