Monday, August 15, 2011

House and Baby

HI!

I have so enjoyed this summer 2011. Thinsg are wonderful! Work has been so laid back, I've never felt better, and living with my Mom definitely has its perks! (no rent to pay, always good food & ice cream to eat, plenty of great company... sometimes). We could live here forever! (Just kidding Mom).

Actually we're really anxious to be in our own house before the baby comes in December. Qualifying for a mortgage loan isn't an easy process though. Well, it might be easy for most folks, but, for Jorge and I, seems like nothing comes easy. Because of a few "blemishes" on my credit history, my credit score is only considered "fair". And with Jorge being new in the country, he has NO credit score which doesn't help our situation at all. Our income alone won't qualify us for a mortgage loan eiether. So what does that mean? We have to wait to improve my score by cleaning some of the bad credit and obtain Jorge a credit score by getting him a... credit card. It seems so silly and backwards that to have a credit score you need to acquire debt? The idea is to not have debt or get OUT of debt as soon as possible, right? But I'm learning more and more that the creditors lending us the $100,000+ don't see it that way. They want to make sure we're responsible with the debt and loan they give us, so we have to prove to them we can handle it. Which means... credit card land, here comes Jorge!! (He LOVES to spend. L-O-V-E-S it!!!) LOL. However, we decided he will only use his card to buy gasoline, and will pay 85% of it off every month (heaven forbid we pay it off in FULL every month, which would be the responsible thing to do... but, not to the creditors who we want to give us money). In a couple months, it should be enough to earn Jorge a "GOOD" credit score, which will help us out immensely. So, my little house, wherever you are, wait for me! We'll be in touch soon where we can live happily ever after! (I hope!!!) The hardest part of this all is to NOT get excited about the extraordinary deals on some amazing homes. And sighing as I watch them get snatched up by some lucky, prepared and financially responsible with good- credit- score -person as soon as they go on the market. I just keep telling myself it will happen for us when it's meant to happen. I just hope it's sooner than later, but I trust that Heavenly Father will lead us to the perfect house to raise our little family in when the time is right.


Speaking of our little family, on July 13 (@19 weeks) we had our first (and probably only) ultrasound. I was SOO looking forward to see the baby moving, see the heartbeat beating and find out the gender of the baby. But when I went in there and laid on the table, I couldn't believe how UNCOMFORTABLE it was to have an ultrasound. They asked me to drink a lot of water (I can't even remember the quantity now) 2 hours beforehand so my bladder would be full, which would raise the uterus to take better pictures. But man, I couldn't stand it! I was practically in tears of pain as the sonographer, who showed little sympathy to my pain, jabbed the little wand thing over my belly taking measurements. It was hurting my back laying there holding my breath, and I could barely enjoy the process, which I had SO looked forward to. I didn't even care when she said that she said it was a GIRL (yay!). I was just wanting it to be done so I could pee. And boy did I. Luckily I made it to the bathroom, but went like a race horse three times before even leaving the imaging place. Oh the joys of pregnancy!
One special thing I do remember though was when the tech was measuring the the baby's femur bone and commented, "Wow, this little one has long legs!" Just as she said that, we watched as the baby started kicking upward in my belly with both of her long legs. haha. It was an adorable response! She'll probably take after her daddy. :)
The pregnancy is going well. She's growing more and more every day, and in fact is measuring 5 cm's bigger than average. Although looking at my belly you wouldn't think I was almost 6 months. I barely show. She loves to kick and squirm and roll and make waves through the majority of the day. She also seems to love the hiccups because of how often she gets them. Mom does not like to feel them however, what an annoying sensation! lol. I know she can't help it though. I've been keeping track of her heartbeat through the doctor visits. So far they've been:
6/6 - 14 weeks - 164 bpm
7/5 - 18 weeks - 147 bpm
7/13 - 19 weeks - 141 bpm (ultrasound)
8/1 - 22 weeks - 157 bpm
8/26 - 26 weeks - 152 bpm
9/26 - 30 weeks - 142 bpm
10/10 -32 weeks - 162 bpm
10/24 - 34 weeks - 139 bpm
11/7 - 36 weeks - 158 bpm
11/14 - 37 weeks - n/a
11/21 - 38 weeks - 138 bpm
11/28 - 39 weeks -
12/5- 40 weeks -
* sigh* Her heartbeat is the best sound in the world. :)

Here's a picture of the picture of her little profile. How cute is my little alien. LOL.