There is a FIRST time for Everything

Lorenzo was programmed to do things "his" way from day one. One would say that he is a carbon copy of his mother (but I beg to differ haha). From the beginning, Lorenzo would not cooperate. We had to repeat a few ultrasounds because mister simply would not turn around to be seen on camera. When he arrived (after only a few pushes I might add), I recognized the temperament right away. He was very independent from day one. When it came to baby milestones he surely was not going to comply. Each doctor visit was the same. "Does Lorenzo lift his head? sit by himself? clap his hands, etc?" Each time I would say no and the pediatrician would check the "x" box. Sure enough I would come home a bit sad and days later he would meet the milestone. It was if he knew what we wanted from him and simply refused to perform on cue.

Lorenzo sat for the first time right before the Christmas holidays. It was his 6 month check-up days before he decided to sit solo. He cut his first tooth on East morning (after the 9 month check-up). He pulled up to standing position and pulled to a sitting position on our trip to Argentina in March. Once again literally  days after the 9 month visit. He also decided to stop army crawling and crawl on all fours right we we got back from Argentina.

This weekend we have two more "Firsts". Lorenzo now claps his hands, has taken his first steps, and went swimming for the first time (well at least he wore a swim diaper).

Even though I hate receiving an "x" on his milestone report card every time we go to the pediatrician, I wouldn't change his "firsts" for anything in the world. After all there is a first time for everything!

Miracles Really Do Come True!

It is hard to imagine that 11 months have gone by since I had my miracle Lorenzo Nicolas. Three years ago I remember sitting in the Xray/scan wing of Memorial Herman Hospital and being told that it was impossible for me to conceive. I was such a wreck I had to call Edgardo to come pick me up from the hospital (even though my sister was waiting for me). Diagnosis: Both of my tubes were blocked. It was as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest. I cried for weeks. Edgardo assured me that we would move forward with other medical options. I immediately sought the help of Houston IVF and we moved forward with the testing and probing. We were at the final stages of the evaluation and we could have scheduled our invitro fertilization for Spring Break 2007. I just couldn't go through with it though. For some reason I felt as if we skipped right to the most invasive form of infertility treatment. I decided to hold off and try other natural infertility treatments.

Let's see there was acupuncture, feng shui, massage, and most of all...prayer. One day my mom took me to the brand new Catholic Cathedral downtown. It was AMAZING! I remember sitting there staring at the Sacred Heart statue with amazement and disbelief and I went ahead and asked for my baby. Afterwards, I thought nothing about it and went on my hopeless way. Edgardo left to Argentina December 26th and went in search of Invitro options in Argentina. The plan was for me to go to Argentina in the summer and undergo IVF and come home before the beginning of the next school year. We finally had a plan and things seemed to be falling into place. Or so we thought...

Summer was here before we knew it and of course I backed out again. I had this strange feeling that I was trying to force something that just wasn't meant to be. Towards the end of the summer, Hurricane Ike came and destroyed Houston. We had a trip planned to Las Vegas for the very next weekend and after much thought we decided to anyway. The entire trip I was EXHAUSTED, and felt fluish. I loaded up on the vitamin C and thought for sure I was just coming down with something. Each night we were in bed by 10 pm (not normal for Las Vegas and definately not normal behavior for me). When we got home and my cycle didn't come I thought for sure something "else" was wrong with me. I thought for sure the tiredness was my thyroid . Pregnancy NEVER crossed my mind. Hahaha...It turns out that I in fact was pregnant and it was a MIRACLE.

Once the state of shock wore off, I had a wonderful pregnancy. Of course I was tired and swollen and moody but overall it was great. I had a few minor complications like two visits to LDR one for early contractions and another for high blood pressure. Some of my crazy cravings were bologna sandwiches (with miracle whip) and hot Cheetos. GROSS! I know. I had to have ice cream daily (blizzards yum yum) and towards the end I ate fried shrimp every week. I only gained 28 lbs over all (couldn't afford anymore than that). I survived my first year at Cardiff JH being pregnant (not sure how) and I managed to work all the way up to my due date.

I will never stop thanking God for my miracle Lorenzo. I am so blessed to be his mother and even more so blessed to have Edgardo by my side. He has been such a rock for me through all the years of infertility and uncertainty. I love my life and I couldn't imagine anything more wonderful than having my son by my side. You see...Miracles really do come true!