Hau'Oli Makahiki Hou!

Wishing Family and Friends a beautiful, happy & healthy 2006!

With love,

The Dagupion's

Really? The size of a cantelope?

I read online that my uterus is now the size of a cantelope. No wonder it feels so darn heavy! hahaha

It's been a busy week! Lots of portraits and a few weddings and I'm definitely TIRED! I am not done with weddings/portraits until our Big Island wedding on the 7th. Then I can take a breather. Wait. No I can't. We're moving to Haiku! Ok... so I can take a breather in FEBRUARY! *LOL*

Definitely feel a lot better recently. Only small bouts of morning sickness sneak up on me every now and then, but I'm still very tired a lot. Still having strange cravings too. After my portrait session today I had to go to the store to buy green spanish olives. I ate a few and they were SO GOOD! I'm sure the jar will be empty by the end of the week.

The only thing happening right now that I don't like is I'm having really bad dreams at night. Nothing to do with baby - just scary monster kine dreams that freak me out and I wake up and can't go back to sleep. Argh.

Anyhow... things are going great and I can't wait to wake up tomorrow morning and say, "Yay! I'm 17 weeks hapai! Yahoo!". Speaking of the word Hapai... I was at Walmart the other day and bought a shirt that says "Hapai" on it. It's so cute. I'll probably wear it everywhere!

Merry Christmas Eve!

I woke up today in such the holiday mood. Christmas music has been playing all day, and even though I'm home by myself (Peter's working) I can feel the holidays.

I can't believe that six years ago today Peter proposed. I still remember him on one knee, tears running down his face, and all he could muster to say was "Will You?" in a shaky voice.

We're going to Eugene & Marissa's tonight to celebrate Christmas and eat and open presents. Tomorrow will be a quiet day (home alone again!) where I can catch up on some wedding editing and things.

We're postponing Christmas at my house until January when my mom comes back from the mainland and the whole family is together. Which is nice for me, because I have more time to prepare! I haven't finished shopping yet! haha

This will be our last Christmas as just a couple. It's so cool that next year at this time, we'll have a six month old baby! Wow!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FRIENDS & FAMILY!

With love,
The Dagupion 'Ohana

16 Week Doc Apt.

YAY! We got to hear Pepper's heartbeat today for the very first time! It kinda sounds like a horse galloping. =)

The only sucky part was that it was the doctor that I HATE WITH A PASSION. Ugh... can't stand her. Luckily the apt. was quick and we didn't have to spend too much time with her. I hope she's not the one who's on-call at the hospital when Pepper is born. ugh.

Pepper is still sitting really low so it took a while to find the hearbeat (that was scary waiting) but then when we heard it I think we both let out a sigh of relief!

Avocado Baby

We're 16 Weeks along now already. It's definitely passing quick! Here's some info on what's happening with the little Pepper:

How your baby's growing: At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.

We have a Dr. appointment tomorrow morning at Kaiser Lahaina - so hopefully *fingers crossed* we'll get to hear the heartbeat and maybe have an ultrasound. I am officially four and a half months pregnant now! WooHoo!

15 Weeks, 15 Weeks!

Today is our 15 week milestone! 5 more weeks and we are halfway there! It's going pretty quick, isn't it?

I've been feeling SO MUCH better. Still sleepy, but that's to be expected. Pepper is a health food nut, which is great, so I am eating good stuff and avoiding bad things. I guess the only thing that I absolutely must have is deep, dark chocolate! Other than that, no junk foods to speak of.

We have an appointment on January 18th with the ultrasound specialist from Oahu and we'll get to find out if our Pepper is a Ryenne (girl) or Jalen (boy) !!! Can't wait... so excited.

Our cottage in Haiku is ready for us, so I'm just waiting for Peter to bring home boxes so I can start packing things. I figure I'll start with the things that need to go into storage and then we can start moving the things we use.

Of course the challenge is that the move also coincides with the busy holiday season and I have weddings and portraits at least four a week for the next three weeks. Wow!

Well... that's it for this week's update. Our next doc apt is on the 23rd - one week from today!

Elf Names

Found this hilarious site: http://www.jokesunlimited.com/christmas_elf_name.php that tells you what your elf name is! haha

Here's the run-down:

Peter: Blissful MonkeyBuns
Mariah: Goofy MonkeyBuns
Chico: Peppy MonkeyBuns
Dexter: Wacky MonkeyBuns

And just for fun we tested out our chosen baby names!

Ryenne: Lucky MonkeyBuns
Jalen: Nipper MonkeyBuns

Enjoy!!!

Goofballs

Peter and I had so much fun today. We started our Christmas shopping (late, I know) and then went to the beach for sunset to take our Christmas card picture.

It was so much fun being goofballs and running around in the sand. And of course, pretty comical putting the camera on timer and trying to run into place in time.

Anyhow, after we got our shots, I had Peter take a couple shots of me sideways so we can put it in Pepper's book and he/she can hopefully see the tummy growing over time.

14 Weeks and an Infection

I meant to post yesterday, but I wasn't feeling good. Seems I've developed an infection in my right breast and I needed to go to the doctor. I had to get some antibiotics and it's helping a lot. So I'm just taking it easy and hopefully it will heal fully soon!

Pepper is doing great. I think my belly popped out a little bit yesterday. When Peter came home from work he was like "Oh! Your belly grew today!". It's just nice to know that Pepper is doing well and growing. Just about 3 and a half inches according to online sources. I think over the coming weeks it's half an inch per week. So we're getting close to 4" and will be at over 5" by the end of December.

I still haven't started Christmas shopping. So bad. But I think Peter and I will go out shopping this week and find some cool stuff and hopefully get it all done.

Can You See Me?

I felt Pepper move!

Hi everyone! Thanks to all who continue to check out this blog. =)

On Monday we had a doctor appointment, and thanks to my belly flab, we got another ultrasound of our beautiful Pepper. My oh my has he/she grown! Now almost 3.5 inches long and moving around like crazy!

Today while on the computer I felt the first movements - well I'm pretty darn sure it's Pepper anyway! Right around 5pm and then more at 8pm. Definitely an active Pepper tonight!

I'm starting to get more of an appetite for some regular foods. I had chicken today. This has been my first meat in a while. This is good because the Westin's Christmas party is tomorrow and I was hoping I'd be able to eat something!

Pepper's 13 Week Update

From Babyfit.com

Age of Fetus—11 weeks

The growth of your baby is rapid and the head to rump length will double in the next 3 weeks. The baby's vocal cords are developing in the larynx but the baby will not make sounds until birth. This week all of the baby's twenty baby teeth have formed in the gums!

Other changes that are happening:

Your baby's external genitalia are starting to show distinguishing characteristics.
The baby's intestines are moving from the umbilical cord to the abdomen.
The baby's pancreas is now producing insulin.
Baby's Size and Weight this week: About 2 1/2 to 3 inches.

Right now your baby is about the size of a nectarine.

So interesting yeah??? I'm still waiting for the morning sickness to go away - even just a little bit. I did go swimming the other day which was awesome. I'll need to do that more often. It was so great.

I'm off to take a nap and then I'll be heading over to the Ritz-Carlton to take a holiday picture of all the Concierge ladies. Can't wait to see them all!

When Will It End?

I don't mean to be a whiner, but I'm so ready to feel better soon! It seems like it's getting better and then BOOM! Sick again.

I'm back to my morning sickness diet of milk, english muffin, and popcorn. That's about it for me! And some water and juice of course. Smells just irritate me and I can't be anywhere around meat. Isn't that so weird?

Anyways, just needed to vent!!! Thanks for listening!

12 Weeks = 3 Months! =)

Info on what's happening with Pepper:

Baby can now experience many sensations and is now able to begin communicating with mom. She/he has immense potential waiting to be stimulated and developed.

Baby is intimately connected to mom emotionally as well as physically. Not only are the substances you intake transmitted to the baby, but your emotions and feelings are transmitted to her/him as well. Since she/he shares your endorphins, which are chemical substances that produce an enormous sense of well-being, your child can also sense and share your emotional sensations. It is therefore very important to be happy, peaceful and serene. Your happiness and positive feelings can induce equally pleasant feelings in your child. By the end of the third month the fetus is 4 inches long and from now on, the organs will mature and the fetus will gain weight.

I'm very excited to be beginning the fourth month now (measuring 4 weeks = 1 month). I'm still having huge issues with food. Definitely able to eat a little more variety, but sometimes it just doesn't stay down. I want to make sure that Pepper is getting everything he/she needs but at the same time I can't force myself to eat! I'm also still extremely tired and nap almost daily. I think this is all pretty normal though. Next doctor apt. is in about a week and a half so I'll talk to doc about all this. It's a doc I've never seen before so maybe I can convince her to give me an ultrasound. hehehe - I'm sneaky.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has special meaning this year. Peter and I are thankful for so many things, and of course, so many people that are so important in our lives.

Our parents, family, friends, and even clients have been such a blessing this year. Thank you all for your support and love.

Another thank you to Aris and Heidi for putting together our pre-thanksgiving dinner and having us all over at your house. That was so nice of you guys!

Mom and Dad, Thanksgiving was awesome. Thanks for making everything that me and Pepper wanted! It was so nice to have everyone at the table together and it was so much fun. Love you guys bunches!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Let the holidays begin...

Yay for regular food!

I've had a really good couple of days! I'm starting to eat more regular foods and I'm so happy about that. I was really getting tired of just having bagels and cream cheese!

I had dinner with my mom the other night and had salad and clam chowder. It was great! Then last night I had a great reunion with Leizl, a friend of mine since high school, and we had wonderful Italian at Basil Tomato. I had Eggplant Parmesan and it was SO good! Today Peter and I went to Sam Sato's and I had a bowl of noodles and a BBQ stick. So it seams that my tastes are finally expanding and I'm able to eat more. I know Peter will be happy about that too, as so many foods have 'stunk up the house' and I didn't like it. I still think the dried aku smells nasty though.

I still don't like soda and sweet stuff. Which is a great thing since I'm at risk for gestational diabetes due to my weight. So that's just my body's way of looking out for itself I think.

On another note, we saw baby Landon today and I got to feed him and rock him to sleep. He's just so precious and I'm sure I could just stare at him for hours! I also hung out a bit with Nana and talked story with her.

I have two due dates.... the IVF due date says June 9 and Kaiser says June 8... so I guess it's safe to say that I am 11 weeks along right now. I'm starting to feel a little more weight/pressure in the abdomen and it's not comfortable to lay on my back for very long, so I'm mostly sleeping on my sides already. Regular pants are just too tight so I've moved on to stretchy pants and even bought a couple maternity ones (which are super comfy by the way).

So that's my update for now! I'm excited that Thanksgiving is next week, and then I have another doc apt in early December to check up on things. One more week until I'm done with the first trimester! WooHoo!

Pepper's Doing Great!

We had our first Kaiser appointment today and it went really well. We got to see an ultrasound of "Pepper" and it's so neat how it's growing. I think he/she was sleeping because there wasn't much movement, but we could see the heart beating...

They took lots of blood, which I'm used to the needles already, and I got a flu shot. I'll be going back in three weeks for a checkup, but I don't get another ultrasound until I'm about 20 weeks along. They said I might get one at 28 weeks, but that will be all (I don't understand why they can't just do an ultrasound everytime. It would make everyone happier).

We stopped by Maui Medical Group afterward to show the picture to all of Peter's old co-workers. We got lots and lots of hugs and congratulations, and then we went and had lunch at Penne Pasta. Pepper liked it. =)

We Have a Nephew!!!

Beautiful baby Landon Jacob Leano Dagupion made his first appearance last night at 8:23pm. He weighs just over 7lbs and is 23.5 inches long!!!

We were so glad we could be there and hold him when he was just 45 minutes old. Pat & Lisa are doing great.

10 Weeks & Waiting...

Yippee!!! We're 10 weeks along today. Hard to believe that means we are 1/4 of the way already. So amazing how time can fly (even when you don't feel that great). I bought the Disney gummy vitamins because I can't handle the pre-natals and there was a coupon for a free Pooh book. I ordered it and put "Pepper Dagupion" as the recipient.

We are on pins and needles right now as today is Lisa & Pat's due date for baby Landon to arrive. It's so awesome I'm going to be an auntie and get a little "practice" in. Hopefully he'll make an appearance today or sometime very soon.

The Urpies are Back... urgh

Ah man, just when I thought morning sickness was getting better - it decided to come back! I was doing good with eating more foods and feeling, for the most part, pretty good the past week or two.

The past three days have all been pretty crappy as far as how I feel. And I keep throwing up (sorry if that's too much information) and it sucks!

I've read all the old wives tales online that if you have really bad morning sickness that it's a girl (are girls supposed to be troublemakers?). And also that girls are supposed to steal their mom's looks, and my hair has already gone flacid. *LOL* So we'll see!!!

I made my first appointment at Kaiser for Monday the 14th. I hope that we get another ultrasound!