38 Weeks!

Ken and I saw Dr. Claros on Wednesday and our little one is now 6 lbs 3 ozs and 20 inches long.  9 December still looks like the expected delivery date but it could happen any time :)  My mom and brother arrive Tuesday so we are getting the house ready for company.  Ken and I are hosting Thanksgiving dinner at the MILGP for the troops on Wednesday and will have about 20 people over for Thanksgiving Day.  This next week is going to be pretty busy so if I go into labor there will definitely be a lot of excitement.  We wish all of our friends and family back home a wonderful Thanksgiving and we miss you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Less Than 3 Weeks Until She Is Here........We Hope

37 weeks and counting. We saw the doctor last week and our little girl weighed 5 lbs 11 ozs and 19.6 inches long. Our next appt is Wednesday. Lately, I am feeling discomfort, especially at night. I woke up early this morning with a charley horse in my calf muscle. Ken being the great husband he is took excellent care of me. I have noticed swelling in both ankles when I am standing too long and some lower back pain. As for the decrease in baby movement - definitely not true in our case. Our little girl remains very active despite the lack of space. I told Ken a few days ago I think she is doing "cross overs" in my stomach. He laughed since I used an "ST" term.

Last week was very busy for Ken. He traveled to Puerto Lempira (a very remote region of Honduras) with Ambassador Llorens who inaugurated 3 schools the MILGP built using humanitarian assistance funds. Also, through the MILGP efforts, over $200,000 in humanitarian assistance funds was given to a local hospital in the same area for the purchase of a hyperbaric chamber. Even though this area is remote, it is on a beautiful coastline where many people suffer from sickness and even death due to the lack of education on diving. Now there is the ability to treat those suffering from the Bends and other dive related afflictions. I included part of the article with photos - you can't miss Ken. Just look for the "red beret." If you click on the image, you can see photos better.

Both of us seem to be on the go non-stop during the week and we take advantage of the weekends to relax. On Friday, about 20 of the Honduran military spouses hosted a baby shower for me. The nice part is the ladies from Ken's office were also able to attend. It was wonderful and very special! I have some wonderful keepsakes for our little girl. The shower was very similar to baby showers hosted in the states but it was very high energy. After 2 1/2 hours Ken arrived to pick me up so we could head to the Ambassadors house for dinner. By the time we arrived home we were exhausted and could not even open the gifts. The baby's room look like Santa came early to visit. We received some beautiful things, but most importantly we received DIAPERS!!!!!!!!!!! On Sunday, we invited the Honduran Navy Captain and his wife for dinner. Our Navy section chief also attended.

It is hard to believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner. We plan to have Thanksgiving at Ken's office. The nice part will be sharing it with my mom and brother who will arrive early next week. We are definitely looking forward to the visit and all the fun that is about to begin in the coming weeks.

On a good note, the senior defense attache's daughter gave birth to a healthy baby girl last week at the same hospital we go to along with the same doctor. We visited her, saw the baby and heard nothing but good words regarding the hospital, staff and care. Hearing this obviously increases our confidence when the time comes :)

Last week a friend came over to the house to take some photos of us and wanted to share.........

233rd Marine Corp Ball

Ken and I attended the Marine Ball last night which was held at the Marriott.  We had a wonderful time!!!!!!!  Around 250 people were in attendance and Ken was the keynote speaker. He gave an incredible speech despite losing power at our house yesterday for over 2 hrs while he was working on it on the computer.  It was very touching and I know the 9 young Marines stationed here truly appreciated what he had to say.  The Marine Corp Detach. Cdr totally hooked us up and we stayed in the Presidential Suite.........it was pretty swanky :)  Initially we were to stay in the VP Suite, but the US Ambassador declined to use it so we got the upgrade.  I attached some photos.  One includes the US Ambassador, Hugo Llorens, Ken and Ryan Ybarra, Marine Corp Detach. Cdr.  It was a long evening and hard to believe I made it til 11:30, but we were thrilled to be a part of it.

35 Weeks and counting...............

I can't believe today we are 35 weeks pregnant!  We are so excited and our little girl is doing so well.  We saw the doctor this past week and she is weighing around 5 lbs.  Her heartbeat is extremely strong and the doctor says everything is right on schedule.  We had a few more questions regarding the labor process and Dr. Claros (as always) is very supportive and encouraging.  One concern we had was if I needed blood could I use Ken's since we have the same blood type.  Dr. Claros was happy to hear it and said that would not be a problem and actually would be the best way to go.  We don't for see any problems but it was a question that I felt needed to be asked because we were unsure how the blood bank is handled here.  

The great news is we received the baby bedding/drapes this week.  I had so much fun putting everything together and her room is just beautiful.  A big THANK YOU goes to my cousins and my aunt & uncle for getting the bedding.  Also, to my cousin Tracy (who is more like my big sister) for reading my mind and finding exactly what we wanted.  We love you all very much and appreciate your generosity. There are a few more things that we have to put together such as the play yard, cradle swing and install the car seat.  I plan to paint some pictures for her room so I need to get started "soon."