The Best Baby...EVER!

Ok, for those of you reading this blog who have children...we have a proclamation to make...Kate is the best baby who ever walked the face of the earth. Your child doesn't even come close. In fact, if there was a bumper sticker out there that said..."my child made her first 5 hour car trip without uttering a peep"...well, we'd put 10 of those all over our car. That's right folks...almost 7 weeks old and she didn't utter a PEEP the ENTIRE way from Philadelphia to just west of Pittsburgh (which is where we are now...more on that later).

Here's how we did it in case you are too much in awe to ask: she was home all morning this morning with her daddy while mommy went to the gym and daddy packed his stuff (I packed all of the rest of the stuff ALL day yesterday..which is an entirely different blog subject in which I had no time to write). ANYWAY...I came home, packed our car food (sandwiches, apples and some damn good brownies I might add) and then fed Kate. We then got into the car, and off we went. She made it about 3 hours until we thought we should stop and feed her. It was only then that she started to stir. Jon parked the car in a far-away spot and I put the breast pillow on in the passenger side and then he handed her to me and I fed her quite comfortably. She ate a decent meal and we changed her with her on my lap on the breast pillow and Jon in the driver's seat doing the changing...and then off we went. She whimpered a bit being put back into her seat , but then as soon as the car started moving again, she was quiet until we reached the Cranberry exit which is where I'm writing this now.

We decided that on her first long road trip, that we'd split the drive. In our opinion...we didn't think it was fair to strap her into her seat for 9 straight hours. So, we're here now at the Holiday Inn Express and I'm writing to you via wifi and Jon's awesome new laptop that his station bought for him. Since I got to spend time at the gym this morning, Jon gets to do his thing tonight which is watch the Dallas Cowboys game. Only thing...the game is on the NFL network and the hotel doesn't get it. So, here's how we worked things out...since we really didn't think it was fair to put Kate in her car seat while we went out to dinner. There is a pretty nice restaurant right next to the hotel. So, after feeding Kate, I walked over there, ordered a glass of wine and my meal to go. I drank the wine while waiting for the meal, and then came back to the room. Jon had set up the pack-n-play while I was out and watched Kate. I got back, ate my yummy food and Jon left to go to a sports bar to watch the Cowboy game and to eat some food himself. It worked out pretty well, and our little darling baby is fast asleep on her play mat as we speak. So far so good.

But, I'm not a total idiot. I realize that since she slept pretty much all afternoon, she'll probably be up at full-tilt-boogie all night. We'll just have to see.

Tomorrow will be a very exciting day. We're stopping in Cleveland so she can meet her Great Aunt Carol and Great Uncle John. I'm so glad we are going to get to see them...they are awesome people. Then, it's on to Ann Arbor where she'll meet her cousins for the very first time....and she'll get to see her Gamma and Poppa. An exciting day indeed!

As for my blogging over the next week or so...I'll probably be able to keep up somewhat, so stay tuned if you want. Happy holidays to you all!

Lots of Stuff

First...look at this picture. Wouldn't it be great to sleep this soundly? This is her typical sleeping position. No wonder she hated the small bassinet!

Now that Kate is six weeks, I have started back to the gym. I went to kickboxing on Saturday (a few days shy of the six weeks...oh well) and it was AWESOME! But, I'm still feeling sore in places today. Ugh. Then yesterday (Monday) my friend with the baby near Kate's age Lauren and I took our babies to a trail and walked a FAST 5 miles. It was 65° and amazing out. Today, ice pellets were falling from the sky. Go figure. I also started lifting with Sue again today. I'm sure I'll feel that soon too. Tomorrow is my visit with the doctor, and I'm sure he'll be fine with what I've done already. Hopefully, my weight will be close to where it was in a few months. Ugh.

Kate has started a new game while she's eating. It's called "let's pull and twist and look around at all of the other more interesting stuff." While it is funny to watch, feeding now is taking longer and let's face it...the pulling doesn't feel so hot...but she's SO cute when she does it, that who can get mad? Not me. Speaking of feeding...she's getting more and more adapted to taking breast milk from a bottle. I try to give her one bottle a day or at least every other day, so that she's used to getting a bottle when I go back to work. Plus, it'll be fun for others to feed her when we're in Ann Arbor for Christmas. And yes...I'll post from there, because who can resist looking at cute baby's first Christmas pictures?

Tomorrow is a big day. Not only is it my doctor appointment, but Kate is making her CW 57 studio debut. See, my doctor is pretty close to the studio, so we're going there first. If she's on TV, I'll effort the clip to post on the blog. I have her outfit all picked out!

Other than that, not much else has been going on...we're just busy getting ready for the big trip. I'll post again soon...

New Pics

There are a few new pictures on the flickr link...

Christmas Jammies!!!!!

Hmmmm, not sure why this is vertical...we're not dropping her from a 10 story building for this picture, but you get the idea....

Kate got her first pair of Christmas jammies! They're actually 6 month size and while a little big, there's no way she would have fit into the smaller ones. How cute is she?



I actually wanted to blog yesterday, but got wrapped up in doing nothing, so it never happened. However, Wednesday night...we had an interesting evening...



We (Kate and I) were getting ready for our evening feed and so just before, I was giving her some tummy time. Thank GOD I was on the floor with her, because the power went out. It was pitch black in the house. Then about a minute later, the lights came back on, but were pulsing. So I ran to get the flashlight and just when that happened, the lights went out again...this time for good. After about 5 minutes I decided that they weren't coming back on soon, so I started looking for matches to light a candle or two. I had a crying (hungry) Kate in one arm and my flashlight in the other hand and I was looking for the only book of matches we have. Jon had moved them into a cupboard, so it took a phone call to him to find them. By this time, Katie was screaming for her dinner. I set her down and lit candles and she had her first candlelight dinner! It was actually very peaceful. During Kate's feed, my neighbor called and had learned that a transformer had blown...our entire neighborhood was out. So, Jon got home, we packed up the babe and went out to dinner. Lesson learned: always have emergency lighting handy!

Update: Growing Like a Weed

Today Kate had her one month doctor visit (a week late).

Just 2 1/2 weeks ago, she was 9 pounds 5 ounces. Today...a whopping 11 pounds 1 ounce! I'd say she's getting enough to eat. And...she's a full TWO inches taller than when she was born! She's now 23 1/2 inches! Our little weed! No wonder she's in 3-6 month onesies!

Dance Party USA

Question: When your non-fussy baby has a bit of a fussy period each evening around 5, what do you do to soothe her?

Answer: DANCE!

I'm not kidding...and I'm not sure what gave me the idea to do this (maybe Ellen Degeneres), but the last few days, Kate has been a tad fussy around 5, so I've put in a CD, cranked it up, picked her up and we dance! She....LOVES IT!!!!! She instantly stops fussing and looks right at me as I try to sing the lyrics to her. The first night...mambo cha-cha music. Last night, we did Motown. She lasts about 4 or 5 songs before she falls asleep. How anyone can fall asleep to someone belting Aretha's "Respect" in the face is beyond me...but I'll take it.

Plus, Mommy is doing squats while dancing...gotta get back into shape somehow!

So, for all you moms out there...the next time your baby has a clean diaper, a full belly and has had plenty of mommy time and still wants to fuss a bit...pick her up, crank the tunes and go for it. The best thing: she won't laugh at your singing (yet).

BLOWOUT!

Ok, some of you will think it's gross and wrong of me to post this on the blog...so a big raspberry to you, because we thought this was so funny and I thought I'd share.

Last night while eating dinner, Kate was in her swing...wide awake and looking around. All of a sudden we heard....the blowout. She seemed quite happy after (wouldn't you)? and so we decided to wait a few minutes in case there was more, and then change her. Jon's a slower eater (actually, I now gobble my food for some reason) so I got up to change her.

As you can see by the picture, a bath was needed IMMEDIATELY! Apparently, when one poops whilst in one's swing, the angle of projection directs the fired feces up the front of one's diaper as well as the back...yielding a sloppy mess all the way up to one's neck! She just looked around and grinned a bit and was happy to have a soak in a warm tub where mommy and daddy hosed her down.

About two seconds after the bath and after lotion and clean jammies, she was fast asleep. Imagine, a full belly, an empty bowel and a nice clean warm pair of jammies...you'd sleep too! Enjoy!

And oh yeah...for you cynics out there...we know this isn't the last time this will happen, but since it's the first, we thought we'd share!

Just Call Me Elsie

Not to be confused with Elise :-)

Seriously, I feel like Elsie the cow. I've been trying to build a milk supply for when I go back to work and using the pump is really funny...but it works so well. I've almost mastered the pumping and have reduced the time it takes to about 15 minutes, which will be great for work. However...feeding Kate the expressed milk is another story.

We started using a newborn feeding system for her and the difference between the breast and the bottle is HUGE. Poor little thing choked and choked as the milk from the bottle was coming out way too fast. So yesterday, I went to Target and bought another bottle system for her. We gave her a bottle last night and she seemed to do much better with it. She still choked a little, but it was nothing like the other bottle. It's hard to keep up with it...the bottle feeding, but she's got to get used to getting at least one to two bottles a day within the next six weeks. This week, I'm really going to stick to giving her a bottle every other day, then by next week, it'll have to go to once a day...ugh. It's so much easier to just pop her on the breast, but like any new experience, she needs time to adjust. It wouldn't be fair to leave Jon with her on my first morning back to work and have her not take the bottle.

Speaking of feeding...she's definitely getting her nutrients! Yesterday I had to go through her closet and fish out all of the 3-6 month outfits we were saving until she was..well...3-6 months. Not our Kate! Right now, she's wearing a little warm-up one piece suit that is 3-6 months, and it fits her perfectly! Our little weed!

Ooooo, I just noticed she's sleeping! That means I need to go so I can start to re-organize my closet and take out all the maternity clothes so I can send them to my friend Katie!

Have a great Monday!

Big Weekend

Wow...Kate had a big weekend. We took her out for the first time for dinner and we had a great time. She was EXCELLENT!

On Friday, actually, I took her to lunch with two of my girlfriends to celebrate a birthday. That was her first restaurant visit. She was awake for most of it and then fell asleep toward the end. We were celebrating my good friend, Sue's birthday. Sue is a very generous and thoughtful person and HATES fuss and gifts for her birthday. She LOVES, however, giving to people who are less fortunate. So, my friend Donna and I took her to lunch and presented her with two huge gift bags full of coats for needy children that we bought to donate in her name for her birthday gift. It was the perfect gift to give Sue and she loved it...but the funny thing happened as we were leaving the restaurant. As we were leaving, some jackass at the bar looked at the large gift bags and said to Sue "well...I guess it's not a recession for you..." She smiled and sweetly told him what was in the bags. Boy did he feel like an ass. It was funny!

Saturday night, Jon and I took Kate to The Lucky Dog. For those of you who don't know, that is the place where we usually go every weekend for either a meal or just a nightcap. It's less than a mile from our house and we know everyone in there...so it's like Cheers in a way. She was the hit of the night...although she slept for the entire meal. It was fun. Go to flickr for pictures.

I'd write more, but I've got to feed Kate and then dash off to Target to buy her larger onesies. She's now in the 3-6 month size. Eeeeek!

Big Girl!

The above picture is the bassinet where Kate slept...until last night.

Jon finally convinced me that she was getting too big for it and it was time for....THE CRIB! She did GREAT! She woke only to feed...I only wish I had slept that much...I was a bit nervous without her right next to our bed, but it was time.

Our little girl is growing so fast. All parents say "they grow-up so quickly" and now I know it's true. I hope she slows down a bit, because this is such fun, I never want it to end.

Sleeeeeeeeeeep!

Last night we decided to give Kate a bath after our dinner. She was a bit messy and still had ultrasound residue on her little hips from her appointment earlier in the day. So, since it was 9:00, we decided to use the "nighttime" bath soap. It's supposed to have aromatherapy to help her sleep. Well, I don't know what's in that stuff, but MAN does it work! She had a feeding at 8:30 before her bath, then she cuddled for a while with Jon and then we put her in her bassinet. She slept from about 11 (when I was preparing to give her another feeding) until 2:20!!!! Then she had a good eat and went back to bed at around 3:15 until 6:20! This is an hour more than usual, people!!!! Mommy was VERY happy. I put her back down at 7:15, but plan to get her up around 9. This is great...and why I'm able to update the blog....WITH NEW PICTURES!!! Just click on the flickr site!

Have a great day!

She's A-OK

First let me please apologize for not posting for a while...but as I'm sure lots of you know, it isn't exactly easy to sit down at the computer each day. I promise I'll try to be better.

Second, Kate had her infant hip ultrasound appointment today. The doctor wanted to just double check that her hips were in the socket correctly as sometimes breech babies have an issue with that. So, off we went to yet another hospital today and our little trooper did so well! She squirmed a little, but was a champ and the best news is, the results were perfect! Her hips are fine and so there will be no need for any follow-up. The people at the hospital were really nice, too!

Now for what we've been up to since last week. Really, not all that much, just living life, which is busy! My parents left on Thanksgiving morning...God love my mom for staying so long and for filling our freezer! As I write this, I'm smelling the lasagna she left for us! Mmmmm, can't wait! Jon and I had our first several days with just the 3 of us. It's truly great to have a family. Before it was just us, now we are 3 and I know it's cliche, but I can't imagine what life was like before Kate. She's our little ray of sunshine.

We took Kate for a walk on Saturday in the jogging stroller with the car seat attachment. It really was great...in fact so great, that I took her out for a few miles (yes...just walking) on Monday and I'm meeting a friend (the play date friend) for a long walk tomorrow...it's supposed to be a beautiful day. I got the Baby Bjorn all set up and adjusted to fit me, so maybe I'll use that on the walk tomorrow...we'll see what Kate prefers. Right now, she's just happy as a clam in her little seat watching me type!

I gotta say...this is the life. I love going about my day, and then having a nice dinner with my husband when he gets home and then snuggling with him and the baby after dinner. It's so hard to imagine that in 7 1/2 weeks, I'll be back to the grind of going to work at 2 a.m. everyday. Oh how I wish I didn't have to work. Maybe someday. I am, however, grateful for my job and all it provides for us...I'll never lose sight of that...especially in today's economy.

Border Battle

Ok, so the border battle rages on in the Ganas household...only now, we have a little cutie who sits squarely in neutral territory. The first half of the OSU/Michigan game, she wore her little Michigan cheerleader outfit...the second half, she wore buckeye stuff her daddy bought for her. Needless to say, she's still in the buckeye gear as it was a blowout 42-7. Ugh. Check flickr for the pics.

First Play Date!

Kate had her first play date yesterday! A woman I met at the gym had a baby girl about two weeks before we had Kate. So yesterday, she came over for lunch with her baby and the two little ones got to meet. Kate slept through most of it, but it was still fun! Enjoy the pictures. The mom is Lauren and her baby is Libby (Elizabeth Audrey). Libby is older than Kate but weighs a full pound less than our little chunker! Libby was very cute!

TV Debut

My co-anchors did this on the morning show when little Kate was born...check it out!

Gaining

Today we went to the doctor for our 2 week check-up. Kate is gaining a little of her weight back...she's now at 9 pounds even. We're really hoping for her birth weight by Friday, so we'll go back then to make sure she's there.

She seems to have her nights and days mixed up, so she's taking some very peaceful and hefty naps in the afternoon. I try to take advantage and sleep then too, but it doesn't always work-out that way. Then she's up about every 2 hours at night. Kinda tough for sure. But it's a labor of love. Her little faces when she is finished feeding are priceless...something that we share together...and it lasts just a fleeting moment and I crack up every time! What fun she is.

Click on the flickr link for more updated photos.

Rocket (Wo)Man

Last night was the first night that seemed to drag on forever. And it was my fault. See, I was tired, so when she fed on one side and fell asleep, I decided not to wake her for the second side. BIG MISTAKE. She then fell into a pattern of waking every 1 1/2 hours to feed. All.... Night.... Long....

So, finally at 6, I decided that she should have both sides. In order to wake her for the second side I changed her diaper. Bleary eyed, I got her dirty diaper off and was cleaning her precious little bottom....when all of a sudden...she shot poo about two feet across the room. It was HILARIOUS! Who knew such a little bottom had so much fire power?! If we ever have someone break into the house, I'm just going to un-diaper her and aim her little butt at the prowler...what a great (and cute) little weapon!

So, after a quick clean-up of her and most of her room, we got back to the feed and all was well. She even went back to sleep from 7:30 until 9:30...and so did I. I should've taken a picture of it all...it was that funny. I'm sure, however, there will be a next time, so I'll snap the photo then.

Have a good day, and I'll write more when I can!

First Doctor Appointment

Ok...as you all know, this will be brief. It's almost 11:30 a.m. and I haven't showered yet...but...little Kate had her first visit at the pediatrician yesterday. She passed with flying colors! She is in the 95th percentile for height and the 75% percentile for weight. She's gaining nicely and thankfully mommy is losing nicely too! I cried more than she did when she got her first shot, though. Ugh...what a traumatic experience that was! The doctor said she is doing fine but they want to check her weight next week, so we'll have another outing then. Hopefully, it will warm up a bit so that we can take our first walk outside. Ok, I hear the cries of a hungry baby...gotta run.

New Pictures

Ok, this will be brief...but. First night home was actually better than expected. Mommy was EXHAUSTED from literally no sleep during the week. Kate cried for a while at night, but finally fell asleep at 2:15 and slept until 5 (so did mommy...and daddy)! She was up at 5 and we had some breakfast and then some playtime, and then Kate and Mommy went back to bed from 7 until 9! Mommy even got a nap this afternoon...so all is much better. The excitement of the day? Our first bath! Pictures are to come. They were taken on Gamma's camera, so we'll need to go to Rite Aid to get them on a disk, but we'll do that in the next few days. Otherwise, I've uploaded some other pictures on the Flickr link, so go check out our beautiful little girl.

Here She Is!

Here she is! Kate Elise Ganas....born November 3, 2008 at 12:24 p.m. She weighed 9 pounds, 4 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long. She is very happy and healthy and is a good eater and pooper! I'm posting this from the hospital so it will be brief...but oh man, what a feeling this is! She is truly amazing. Enjoy!

Awesome Timing

After a MARATHON week for Jon, he finally met me at our favorite local haunt (get it...it was Halloween) at 10:30 for dinner last night. We talked for really the first time all week...he was so busy with the Phillies coverage, etc. We got home about midnight and as I was washing my face, I noticed that the water wasn't getting hot.

Our hot water heater went out.

On the Friday night before the baby.

Luckily, we got a crew to come out today, and he was able to fix it (for a VERY pretty penny I might add), but still...with a houseful of people coming this weekend, we're relieved that we didn't have to replace the damn thing.

Awesome timing, don't you think?

Last Day!

Today is my last day at work...YAY!

Just to let you all know out there in blogland...I usually blog from work. That's why you usually get an entry Monday-Friday. However, the blog schedule will change. First of all, I'll try to blog from the hospital, but that's only if Jon gets his laptop from work in time (they've been promising him one since MAY). Otherwise, those of you (most of you) are on an e-mail list and will get news of the baby that way. I will blog from home over the next 12 weeks as much as I can, but you know I'll be busy.

So, hope you all are happy and healthy, and if you don't have it, here's my e-mail....
cganas107@comcast.net

Peace out!

Baby Update

Ok, so in the excitement of the Phillies victory last night, I neglected to update you on the doctor visit from yesterday.

Basically, all is normal. Baby checked out fine. Mommy checked out fine (not dilating yet). However, something odd happened right after. The baby has definitely descended further south. Everything all of a sudden feels VERY different. Each move she makes almost takes my breath away. I think she knows it's a matter of days now.

Also, last night as I was watching all of the Phillies hoopla I started getting contractions. Not painful ones, just the annoying braxton hicks ones. They were fairly frequent so I decided to time them. They had some regularity for a while, but then they slowed down. I came VERY close to heading to the hospital. This all happened at about 10:30 last night which would have put it at the exact WORST time for me to call Jon and say "honey...guess what." Anyway, since they slowed, I decided to stay home. Good thing. I think they were just brought on by excitement for the PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's a huge parade on Broad Street on Friday...I can't wait! Just kidding....I'm not going :-)

WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!!!!!!

Countdown is On!

T-minus 5 days until the big day. O...M...G! We are so excited!

I'm just hoping that she stays put until then so that daddy can finish up his work obligations with the Phillies :-)

I have another doctor appointment after work today. I'm not expecting much to happen, but I'll still post what happens tomorrow.

Weather or Not

Ugh. What a crappy night last night. Basically, what started off as a "chance" for drizzle to light rain turned into a wind-driven deluge at the ball park last night causing MLB to postpone game 5 of the World Series for the first time in HISTORY! Leave it to Philadelphia.

This morning, it's worse. Windy, rainy and several inches of snow in the Pocono Mountains. The rest of the nation's weather today? Perfect...

It's just not fair.

Oh yeah...and all, and I mean ALL of the meteorologists in this city missed this storm by a MILE (myself included), so we're all wearing a lot of egg on our faces this morning. I hate that feeling, but at least everyone else missed it. Misery loves company.

Great Weekend

We had a great weekend. It just POURED on Saturday from the afternoon until late into the evening. The Phillies World Series game was delayed. I, however, loved it. We ran errands and got home around 5 and we were soaked. I took a hot shower, got into my PJs and took a nap. Then gathered all of the pillows in the house and stacked them on the couch where we ordered in pizza by delivery and watched football. What a great night! I was out by 11. Jon, however, stayed up to watch the Phillies win game 3 at almost 2 a.m.! They took game 4 last night and could clinch the series tonight....GO PHILS! What an exciting time to be in Philadelphia!

Oh, and I just realized something. Today is the last Monday I'll have to work for 13 blissful weeks! YAY!

Hitting the Wall

It's official: I've hit the wall.

I am not comfortable in ANY position, sitting, standing or lying in bed. Getting up for work sucks, and actually doing make-up and hair? Well, that sucks more than getting up for work. Our poor daughter is very cramped inside mommy and mommy feels really badly for that and well, badly because of that. So, we're both miserable I'm sure.

Since I can't find a comfortable position sleeping, I've been up since 10 last night and am counting the minutes until I can go home and sleep the rest of the day away. Sure I have lots of things to do, but sleep....sweet beautiful sleep will take precedence over anything else.

I've also noticed lots of other changes in my body in the last 5 days. I drink LOTS of water and hardly ever have to pee. Instead, everything I drink winds up in my ankles and lower legs. Let me tell you, it looks smokin' hot!

WARNING: TMI (too much information) ALERT!
Another sign the baby is getting bigger and pressing on everything inside? Well, let's just say that I've increased my fiber intake. Sheesh. I've NEVER had a problem in that department before! So, this morning I had a double fiber muffin made by my friend Sue. Then for my big breakfast, I had a brown rice, spinach and egg scramble that I made here at work. I added a pinch of cheese and some salsa and it was slammin'! We'll see if I can fix my "little problem" with that. Ugh.

Finally, the Phillies lost in game 2 of the World Series. Sad, but it's a 7 game series. I hope they can pull it off! And...for all of the family out there, please understand this next statement...GO BUCKS! Yes, I am cheering for OSU this weekend. They are playing Penn State and I detest the dumb Nittany Lions more than I can say. If Michigan can't get it done this year against the Lions, somebody has to. They can't have an undefeated season...they just can't. So, tomorrow night, we're getting a pizza, staying home, and watching the game while flipping during commercials to see the Phillies score. Again, GO BUCKS!

Poor Little Thing

Poor thing...the baby seems to be trying DESPERATELY to move into the head-down position. She is trying so hard to make her mommy happy, and she just can't move. Yesterday I was sitting on the couch (which, by the way is NOT comfortable at ALL) and she brought her head all the way down my side and was kicking her little feet like mad, just trying to do what's natural...trying to get in that head-down position. She just can't. Something is keeping her from totally turning and I feel so badly that she's trying so hard and just can't do it. So, I told her that it was o.k. Mommy is fine with getting an operation to get her out, so she can just relax and try to be comfortable these last 10 days. She's got to be so cramped in there.

Man, I can't believe it was just a week ago that we found out that she is breech. I've really come around emotionally, and I have two people to thank for starting me on the road to feeling better...my aunt and uncle (Phyllis and Preston). Last Wednesday, while visiting their son (my cousin) Ben in New York City (they live in California), they took the train to Philly just to have lunch with me and to see the baby's room. How nice was that?! It was so nice to have close family members there to talk to about this news as soon as I heard it. Poor Jon wanted to help, but had to go to work (he has to save his days), so it was so nice to not be alone during the day and to talk to people whom I love. Thanks, you two. You helped soooo much!

On a funny note: I decided this morning on the way to work that since I have only 10 days left of pregnancy, I can really milk this pregnant thing. That philosophy really came in handy as I got pulled over for blowing a stop sign at the top of the exit ramp off the highway. The kind officer followed me into the work parking lot before he actually turned his lights on. I parked my car and got out and he rolled down his window and you should've seen his face when he noticed the pregnant belly. I said "I'm so sorry, officer...I know I blew that stop sign...I'm just in a hurry to get inside because I'm 9 months pregnant and I really have to pee." He just smiled and told me to go ahead, and just to please remember to stop next time. Tee hee!

Never Again

Never again will I wear pregnancy stockings. Never.

We got dressed up for Jon's birthday dinner on Saturday, and I decided to ditch my flip-flops for some tall boots. Soooo, I had to buy some maternity tights. I never even thought that they would be hard to put on. Let's just say it took about ten minutes with both of us trying, and me crying.

We got them on, and then Jon had to zip my tall boots (which he could barely do) because my ankles were so swollen.

Needless to say, we were a tad late for our reservation, but it was worth it...we had a nice night out....

And I'll never wear stockings pregnant again. NEVER!

The Girls

I'm slowly getting over the fact that I'm going to have a C-section, in fact I'm feeling better and better about it each day. Maybe it's because our little girl keeps moving inside me reminding me that she is the prize...not just the way she gets to us.

As usual, Jon has been amazing and so very understanding with my feelings and he even agrees that he'd rather have me go through things naturally, but this is just the way it is.

With that said, I have to shout out "the girls" for this blog. See, there's a group of about 8 girls whom I've gotten to know quite well from the gym. We all kickbox together every Saturday and have become friends. They were all at the shower. Well, Saturday morning, I really didn't feel like going to kickboxing (yes, two weeks from delivery, I'm still kickboxing)...but I went anyway. I told them before class and within seconds, they all surrounded me with love and support and all had words of wisdom to share (they've all had their babies). I didn't feel so alone and it was so nice to share my feelings with women who have been through this before. So, Denise, Bonnie, Robin, Wendy, Stephie, Donna and Sue...this blog is for you.

As for the kickboxing, provided the doctor says it's o.k., I'm going to kickbox even up until the 1st of November! It's too much fun and WAY to social to miss!

And I'm The One Complaining

About five minutes ago, our live reporter interviewed a woman at the starting line of the Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-day walk. She is 30 years old. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at 24. She was in perfect health. She went through numerous surgeries, chemo and radiation treatments and made it to her five year mark. She then learned that the cancer had spread into her sternum and is now in her liver. She was out there with a smile on her face as she was the leading fund-raiser for this event. She alone raised over $17,000. She has no idea if she'll even survive, but there she was surrounded by loving family and friends with a huge smile on her face. She had an amazing positive attitude.

Then I thought of how I've been feeling because my perfect and healthy baby created with love with my amazing husband has to be delivered via c-section.

I have nothing to complain about.

Mind of Her Own

Our daughter has a mind of her own. We knew this was the case, but it was confirmed yesterday (so was the fact that she is indeed a girl).

Yesterday was the big ultrasound to confirm her position for birth, check her fluid, estimate her weight, etc. We learned she is breech. Many people have different reactions to this but this is my blog and I'd like to express how I feel.

First of all, let me express how lucky we are to have a healthy baby. She is doing fine and really, when you think of it, of ALL of the problems that can happen during pregnancy, if this is the only one we'll face, well that's pretty darn great. Some women go into labor at 20 weeks and need to be on bedrest for the duration of pregnancy...and some women never even get the chance to get this far. I know I am lucky to have a healthy and active little girl.

There's a flip side to all of this feeling lucky, though...I am very, very upset about this. I was very much looking forward to the uncertainty of going into labor. That excitement felt with the first contraction or the water breaking was to me, an entrance into a part of womanhood that I was excited to join. I wanted to arrive at the hospital in a panic and have Jon coach me on to what would be the greatest thing I could ever do as a woman. I wanted to earn this baby, and now, with a planned C-section, I feel like she'll just be given to me. I know I went through nine months of growing and loving her and believe me, I know that was work. But I wanted the sweat and tears that went along with a vaginal birth. I wanted to prove to myself that I could bring a human into the world using my body. I just feel like I've failed in some way.

I'm also not too happy about recovering from this major abdominal surgery. Will I get to have skin to skin contact with the baby right after birth? Will I get to breast feed in recovery? These are all questions I'll have until it happens. It is so important to me to do those things right away, I just hope they will happen.

On a much lighter note...the baby is anything but light. She tipped the scales yesterday at an estimated 7 1/2 pounds putting her in the 90th percentile for this stage in pregnancy. The doctor said that even if she wasn't breech, he'd have talked to me about a C-section just based on her potential weight at 40 weeks alone...which he said could be nearing 9 pounds! I told him that I would have still liked to try.

Now to the basics of this whole situation: provided I don't go into labor before, the C-section has been scheduled for November 3 at noon. Yes, the day before election day. No worries, I have already voted absentee. For Jon, it's not the best timing for work, but he is not even considering that right now...his thoughts are about me and the baby. A couple of things could happen between now and then. First, the baby could still flip on her own. They will do an ultrasound the day of the C-section to make sure she's still breech. If she's flipped to head down, they will send me home and I can wait for labor. Also, like I said above, I could go into labor naturally before the 3rd. This would prompt an emergency C-section...a situation nobody wants including me. That is why they are scheduling the procedure for a week before her due date.

There is a procedure called an external version where the doctor physically turns the baby from the outside. This is a risky procedure and has a high chance of leading to an emergency C-section and/or harming the baby. I feel that if I chose to do this, it would be for selfish reasons...and not in the best interest of the baby...just so I could have my vaginal birth. So we've elected not to try that method. And oh yeah, my doctor doesn't do those because of the risks anyway.

So there you have it. This is it. My total raw feelings holding nothing back. Do other women feel this way with the same news? I'm not sure, but this is how I feel and I thank you for listening.

Exciting Day!

Today's the day we've been waiting for...no...not birthing day, but we do get to see the baby today!!!

Jon is meeting me here at work and then we're off to the hospital (which is REALLY close to my work) for the ultrasound. They are going to check three things: the baby's position (they've been telling me she's head down, but just to make sure they check), the level of amniotic fluid (to make sure she's got enough in the pool to keep swimming for a couple more weeks) and finally (and most important to me) an estimate of her birth weight.

Then I head down the hall and the doctor will examine me to see if I have started to dilate. Wow. It's all really happening! Some days I feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever, but then appointments like today's make me realize that it's about to end.

On a comfort scale I'm about a 9 out of 10 which isn't bad. I've started to have some pretty significant foot pain which I learned is another symptom of "lightening" (baby dropping). No pair of shoes is comfortable and barefoot stinks too (no pun intended). I just need a permanent foot massage dude to follow me around all day and I'll be all set. Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good despite the slight swelling in my sore little (big) feet.

And just think: as of Saturday, I'll be full term! That's right...37 weeks!

Productive Weekend!

Well, we're all set for the baby. Now, we just wait.

The bags are packed and in the car. The car seat is installed in my car (complete with a bear so the seat doesn't look so sad and empty). The stroller is assembled, the swing put together and the pack-n-play is all set and ready to go.

I still have a feeling that the baby will come early. I'm pretty sure she's started her drop as I've explained in other posts. This weekend, it was pretty evident as more and more pressure is being felt on my pelvic floor and my bladder. The books (and my doctors) all say that this dropping is happening right on time and she could very well spend up to three weeks in her current position, so no need to open the champagne yet...just make sure it's chilling.

Speaking of booze...the dude who sells our beer is a friend. See, here in Pennsylvania, you can only buy beer by the case and only at a distributor...so....the owner is cool and he set aside a case for me earlier in the summer of Bell's Oberon (a Michigan beer only available in the summer). On Saturday, he told me that it was for me for after the baby, and since I'm so close, we got it Saturday. Soooo cool! I can't wait to have one! It's now just sitting in the garage fridge looking at me. Torture. Pure torture...but well worth it!

Let the Discomfort Begin

For 99.99% of this pregnancy, I have felt great. I've been very lucky to not have had most of the bad pregnancy symptoms. However, last night I was truly uncomfortable. I woke up twice to go to the potty, and the second time was about 9 p.m. My lower back was throbbing and when I went back to bed, I just couldn't get comfortable. Every time I tried to roll from one side to the other, I'd have a braxton-hicks contraction, and then the baby would press on my bladder. Needless to say, I've been up since then. Normally, I'd get to leave work in 45 minutes and be done for the day, but not today: today I have to do the noon for CBS, so no sleep for me until at least 1. Awesome.

Oh well, at least the Phillies won last night! Yay! Go Phills!

Move, Shake, Now Drop

This is too funny...but there is a song by DJLaz Feat Pitbull (yo yo) that is played in kickboxing every week that TOTALLY describes our little peanut...take a listen...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUC66G5qmg4&feature=related.

No, I'm not a DJLaz Feat Pitbull fan, in fact I had to look them up on the internet this morning...but the song is hilarious. The words go: "I wanna see you move move, shake shake now drop what yo mama said..." which is just what the baby is doing. See since about week 2o, she's been doing the move move, shake shake part, and now, according to the doctor yesterday, she's starting to drop. So, an appropriate song indeed!

I went yesterday, and everything checks out fine so far. The doctor said she's beginning to drop and I can totally tell. She just feels a lot lower in my tummy. Cool! He did a routine test for Strep B which I won't describe but it was AW-FUL and then he told me he wants to see the baby again on an ultrasound...COOL! They just want to check her amniotic fluid level, make sure she's facing the way they say she is, and finally predict her birth weight. Apparently the ultrasound tech they have at the hospital has a very good track record in predicting birth weight, so he says her prediction should be fairly accurate. This will be such fun! I'm trying to get in Friday, but may have to wait until Wednesday...either way, I'm soooo excited!

Kudos to Ikea

I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed with Ikea. See, when you buy something there and you have to put it together, most would be discouraged by looking at their wordless directions. I was too...at first. But, the drawings are so detailed that it really isn't that tough to put things together.

Imagine my relief then yesterday when I opened the box to our Graco infant swing. The directions had WORDS! I thought for sure it would be a snap to put together. Nope. See, Graco needs to take drawing lessons from Ikea. Despite the fact that there are words (albeit very few) on the directions, the tiny and un-detailed drawings made putting the swing together a very LONG and frustrating task. I finally (after about 2 and a half hours) got it together and have just the mobile that attaches to the top to do.

Good thing Jon is putting together the rest of the stuff. I'll keep a stock of his favorite beer on hand for the weekend when he attempts it all. Heh heh heh!

TMI

This post is going to be TMI...but it's my blog and I want to write about it, so if you don't want to read TMI, then don't go any further.

Yesterday, I took the plunge into the world of granny panties. I had to buy them for after the baby is born and I want to wear something comfortable. They're lovely, let me tell you. I also bought a nursing bra. What a clever contraption...I must say. I've been told to buy only one now and then wait to see what "the girls" do after the baby is born. So wait I will, although I can't imagine them bigger....eee gads!

Finally, I had to buy breast pads. They're like maxi pads for your boobs. Kinda gross if you ask me, but apparently, sometimes milk just wants to come out. Ewww. Anyway, why is it that when you go to a store (Motherhood Maternity) to buy something specific (breast pads only) does the clerk think you are there to buy the ENTIRE store? I walked in yesterday and picked up the box of pads and the clerk asked..."is this your first baby?" Dumb me said yes. She then asked (in a very condescending tone, I might add) if I had my nursing bras. Pleased that I was prepared with a well-researched answer, I told her I bought one for the reason stated above. She then said..."well, do you have your sleep bra? How about nipple cream." O.k. wait a minute. Some total stranger is trying to sell me cream for my nipples? First of all, I don't even know what the hell that crap is, second...I don't even know if I'll need such a product. She then went on (in her still condescending tone) to tell me basically that I would have nothing I needed if I didn't buy it all right now. I ignored her, bought the pads, ignored the offers of credit cards, joining dumb birth clubs, etc. and went on my way.

Oh yeah, I also made a vow to myself. The next time a store clerk asks me if it's my first baby, I'll say no.

Nesting...It is REAL!

For those of you skeptics out there...the nesting thing with pregnant women...IS REAL!

I am unable to function until EVERY aspect of my life is in order. Now that the baby's room is almost done, I'm tackling my file drawers and desk at work. I want everything in order for the woman who is taking over for me. There's no reason why she has to sort through papers for three months...now it's all nice and neat for her.

Next on the list: the kitchen. This weekend, I plan on cooking ALL weekend long. I'll freeze sauces, soups and other stuff for the dreaded time after my mom leaves. I've also been stocking up at the grocery store...yesterday, I bought six boxes of spaghetti...lots of chicken stock and canned tomatoes...and other staples for the pantry.

Then I'll buy the final things I still need for me for the hospital and we're packing our bags this weekend...and then we're all set.

Now watch her come tomorrow. Eeeeek!

98% Done!

It's been a VERY productive weekend, and I'm happy to report that the baby's room is 98% done. There are just a couple of little things left to do. The shot above is of course the widest shot I can get of the room, so click on my flikr link to see the rest.

On Saturday, Jon and I spent the ENTIRE day working on the room. We went to Lowe's for closet shelf hardware and to Babies R Us for little stuff we still needed. Then when we got home, Jon hung the shelves and I did what seemed like 500 loads of baby laundry. It was so fun hanging all of her little clothes and putting everything away in her new little room.

Today I was up early again to finish what I didn't get done yesterday. I ran over to Ikea and bought (and then put together) the little table you see next to the chair. It is a perfect size...and it holds our favorite book "On the Night You Were Born." I can't get through it without bawling...which is exactly what happened this afternoon. How can you blame me? It has polar bears on it! And the book says that on the night the baby was born, the polar bears danced in celebration. Wouldn't you cry too? Jon had to bring me a whole box of kleenex.

We're all ready for you, little one. Five weeks to go!

Weekend Eve

Happy Weekend Eve....sorry I didn't blog yesterday...I've been having some trouble sleeping so I was pretty dog tired yesterday.

I did, however, want to post what my sister wrote to me for the gift. Follow this text. For each word in bold there was a coordinating gift. I'll put what she got us in parentheses:

Dear Christa and Jon,

As you prepare to have your first baby, I would like to present you with some advice. As I read, please open these bags and pull from them things that will help you during the first months of parenthood (an issue of parenting magazine) bliss.

First of all, Christa and Jon, I will start with your daughter's birth. What you are about to experience is a true miracle (a picture frame with the word miracle on the bottom). The feeling of childbirth cannot be described no matter how much you have learned or how much preparation (a tube of preparation-H) you have done. Once your daughter enters the world, everything and everyone else will pail (a diaper genie) in comparison to her beauty and the love in your heart will be filled and refilled (diaper genie refills) every moment of every day from no on.

The countless hours you have spent getting ready for your baby's arrival show that the two of you are desitined (desitin diaper cream) to be great parents. As you leave the hospital with your new Michigan Fan (a Michigan cheer leading outfit) in two, you will realize that her birth wasn't the only avent (baby bottles) you have been anticipating for nine months, so is the beginning of you life as a family of three!

Now comes the hard work! She's home, now what? Well, the keys (toy keys) to raising your daughter so that she will be successful and hopefully graduate (baby food bowls) are simple:

1. Learn her cries: Her first sweet cries will be music to your ears. After a while, though, in order to keep sane, you will need to learn to pacify (pacifiers) her and keep her happy. You will soon learn her cries and what they mean. Each different sound is her way of telling you what she needs. You really only need to know the basics for no more tears: (baby shampoo) A shout-like loud cry means I'm hungry, please feed me. An annoying continuous cry means I have a wet one (travel packs of wet ones), please get me a clean pamper (a box of diapers)! A red-faced grunting cry means gas bubble, please burp me! And a soft whimpering wine (a bottle of red wine) means I'm tired, put me to bed so I can sleep and you can unwind!

2. Love, Kindness and Affection: This one is especially for Jon. You have no idea how much a daughter loves daddy hugs (a book called Daddy Hugs)! You will melt at the sight of her and you will feel like you can't possibly hug her and love her more. The hugs Christa and I received from our dad are still with us every moment of every day. Also, Jon, you are such a loving guy, you will have no problem catering to all the needs of mom and baby (an issue of mom and baby magazine)! I have such confidence in you! Girls Rock (a bib with that saying on it), don't they?

3. Keep her Clean, Healthy and Safe: You will have fun listening to her screams as you give her a first bath and brush (a baby grooming kit) her first hair and trim her first nail. Her beauty will shine through!! She will look pretty in pink (a pink outfit) and perfect in purple a purple outfit), but I can already tell that Red and Grey (an Ohio State hat) are not her colors (so you better give this to Jon). Take care of her little sniffles and keep her updated on all of her shots (mini bottles of booze for mommy and daddy)!! Believe me, they are far worse for the parents-you'll need these when you get home from well child checks. And remember, it's always Safety First (outlet covers). You will be an expert (like our mom) at crawling around at baby level to find hazards to fix.

In conclusion Jon and Christa, I am so proud of you ! Your life is about to change and we could not be more excited to become an Aunt and Uncle (more bibs) and cousins for the first time. Thank you for that gift, finally! I hope these tips (Q-tips) will help. We are always here for you and can't wait to meet our new little niece.

Guess how much we love you? (the book by the same title)

Stacey, Dave, Erin and Emily

Shower Weekend

What a great weekend I just had, but it started off on a rather bumpy note....

I flew to Michigan on Friday. I was supposed to arrive into Detroit at 6:18, but was delayed in Philly for most of the afternoon and didn't wind up getting into Detroit until about 9. I was exhausted. But at least I arrived safely. Also, for the first time, a stranger put her hands on my belly without asking. It was the flight attendant and she was being really nice, so I didn't bat her hand away, but I'm surprised that this was only the first time. I had heard that it happened a lot to other mothers.

Saturday we did our traditional trip to the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market and then breakfast at Zingerman's. Mmmmm, delicious! On Saturday afternoon, my sister and the girls came in and we went to a little fall festival close to my parents' house. See the flickr page for pictures of that...it was really cute.

Sunday was the shower. Stacey left to go to the shower quite early with no explanation...more on that later. It was SUCH a nice shower. It was a brunch and the three women who hosted it made it just perfect! We got such lovely and thoughtful gifts from everyone. My aunt and cousin even drove in from Troy...which was awesome. There were friends from all different times in my life. It was a very special day.

Now onto the reason why Stacey arrived at the shower early. She created the most amazing gift that any sister could give. She printed my registry and walked through Babies R Us and chose a bunch of stuff. She then went home and wrote a little speech of advise for her little sister. To present this all, she had about a 10 foot piece of PVC pipe (see flickr picture) with 32 hangers on it all with a little paper bag hanging from it. Each bag was hand stamped (with loving help from Erin and Emily) with a little pink teddy bear...so cute. Anyway, as she read the words of advice, she had correlated the script with the items in each bag. I will post the script and describe what she got me for each one in a day or so...it'll take me some time to type it in. At any rate, it was the coolest thing...EVER!

Of course as soon as I got home yesterday (late), I tried to get back on track with my sleep schedule, only to wake up at 7:45 worrying about all that we had to do for the baby's room and I ended up getting up and taking all the tags off of her clothes and sorting them into piles for the wash. I then slept from 11:15-1. I am so tired right now I can't see straight. Ugh. Back to reality.

Hefty Little Turkey

As you saw in yesterday's update, the furniture is here and set-up, so I won't blog about that today.

Yesterday was also my now bi-monthly visit to the doctor. I saw Dr. Russino...the "coolest" doc in the group. He's a great guy, but like the rest of them...always in a rush, so I come armed with questions for him just to get him to stay in the room and talk for a second.

Baby's heart rate was great, my blood pressure was perfect and so I was cleared to fly home for the weekend today. He wrote me a prescription to fly...kinda funny. He has the WORST doctor's handwriting I've ever seen, by the way.

He said my belly was measuring right where it should for 33 1/2 weeks. He felt around my belly mushing it here and there and he determined that her head is for sure down (YAY!) and those are indeed her hands that I feel punching me in my bladder. Her little tushy is just up under my ribs so she's a good size so far. He estimated her weight at just a little over 5 pounds. So, if you do the math, I have six weeks to go and babies gain about 1/2 pound per week at this point, so that would equal 3 pounds. So at this rate, she'll be at least 8 pounds. Can you say epidural?

It's Here!!!!!!

Click on the cloud picture on the right to go to my flickr photostream....the furniture is here, it's assembled and it looks better than I could ever imagine! Can't wait to get the rest of the stuff in...but just wanted to show you the look so far! YAY!

A First

I woke up to the alarm clock today.

That's right....I woke up to the alarm clock today! Not at 9 p.m., not at midnight...but right on time at 1:15....WITH THE ALARM!

It's the first night in I don't know when that I have slept all night long without getting up to go pee. I think it's because I didn't drink much water after about noon yesterday. It was WONDERFUL! I was also exhausted from a crappy night of sleep Tuesday night so that may have helped too.

Exciting stuff today...the baby's furniture will be delivered at 11 a.m.!!!! I am so excited I can't even express it! Of course, you know me...I'll take pictures of the delivery and set-up and I'll try to post them today before I go to the doctor. I have a regular appointment today and I will be getting either the red or green light from the doctor for travel tomorrow. Cross your fingers...I really want to go. Of course, there's a massive coastal storm approaching for late tonight and tomorrow so even if the doc clears me to fly, let's be real, this is Philadelphia and I'll for sure be sitting in the airport for at least 5 hours for a delay. Good thing there's food there...can you say Chickie's and Pete's Crab Fries? Mmmmm. Of course, I probably won't get them because they're soooo salty and I'll already blow up like a balloon on the flight, so maybe I'll just walk by and smell them.

Amazing

This is the little blanket my mother-in-law gave to me at the shower last weekend. I thought it was so cute and so soft. When I spoke to her on the phone a few days later...she told me that she made it. She MADE it! This little blanket will be carried by our daughter for many, many years and it is so special because Grandma made it. How cool is that?

Just thought I'd share.

Why is this News?

So, Clay Aiken and Lindsay Lohan are admitting that they are gay. WHO CARES????? Clay, we kinda knew all along. Lindsay is probably just doing it for the publicity. It's just too bad that we are in a society where people are so eager to "out" those who really don't want to be "outed." Is it really our business in the first place?

I'm in a grumpy mood today (work issues) so I really don't feel much like blogging. However, I do find it quite interesting that my mood has affected the baby's mood. She doesn't feel much like dancing today either...unless I'm eating my favorite organic vanilla yogurt...that really caused her to jump. She loves that stuff!

Blissful Birthday

Yesterday was great. What's a better way to ring in your 37th than by getting a massage and a pedicure and then topping it all off with a hot fudge sundae?

I don't know, but it was fantastic!

Birth(ing) Day

Today is my birthday, and this is the first year I really don't care that it's my birthday...all I care about is someone else's birthday coming up in November! However, Jon, the amazing husband that he is, made sure I had a nice day on Saturday (the day we celebrated my birthday). We had our birthing class all day and I'll write more about that in a second, but after class (it was ALL day) we came home and I fell asleep. The LAST thing I wanted to do was to go into the city for a fancy dinner. So, Jon plopped me on the couch and heated up the veal that my mom made when she was here and made a salad and served me my birthday dinner...just as I wanted it...at home. He also gave me two presents. One for the baby and me, and the other just for me for having the baby (aka...push present). For the baby and me he bought us a sterling silver picture frame with bunnies on it from Tiffany. It's beautiful and we'll put the baby's picture in it for her room. So very sweet. The mommy gift was amazing....a very delicate diamond necklace which also came in a little blue box. He is incredible. It is beautiful!

Now, on to the birthing class. Class was 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Paoli Hospital...which is where we're giving birth. Jon wanted to get a haircut before class, so we were at the barber promptly at 8. All was going well, I had a cute outfit on that actually fit and Jon was on time, so the morning was going great. The barber was on time and didn't go over and so we went on our merry way with plenty of time to get up to the hospital. About two minutes after leaving the barber shop, I took a sip of my yummy Dunkin' Donuts decaf coffee...my favorite and half of it spilled all down my front all over my cute shirt. INSTANTLY, I started hysterical crying. We had NO time to go home and change and I didn't want to show up late with a huge spot on my shirt. So, I got creative after I stopped crying. We pulled into a gas station and I used my bottled water to get the coffee stain out...and then walked into quite possibly the most disgusting gas station bathroom on the planet looking for a hand dryer. No dice. So, 75 cents later, we were standing at the air hose. Jon held my shirt out and I dried it with the air hose with my belly exposed for all of Lancaster Avenue to see. It was hilarious. We finally made it to class...about 5 minutes late. I learned one thing: just like spilled milk, it's no use crying over spilled coffee.

The class was great. There were 12 other couples there and we learned a TON! What to expect in labor...what the signs are, when to call the doctor and of course, we saw "the movie." Now, most people who have attended these classes have said that "the movie" usually causes at least one person to faint or get sick. Ok, basically "the movie" is a woman giving birth. You see everything...vajayjay, blood, baby and placenta. It's not gross, though. Even Jon was like "that's it?" when it was done. He also was told it was awful, and we're both pleased to report that it was fine. And, nobody wussed out and fainted.

The day ended with a tour of the labor and delivery wing of the hospital. It was so cool seeing where we're going to be for a few days and it looks comfortable and nice and the nurses all seemed very very cool.

We left the hospital with a great feeling and we feel like we're ready for the birth and MORE than ready to meet our little girl.

All Tuckered Out

After the minor earthquakes on Wednesday and Wednesday night, I awoke again last night. Only this time I didn't feel the earthquake...just sheer panic. I didn't feel her at all. So I just sat there awake, willing her to move so I knew she was o.k. A hour passed...and nothing. I finally got up and joined Jon downstairs on the couch...and I told him I was worried.

Nothing to worry about....she was just sleeping. Probably tuckered out from all of her activity the last few days. She started movin' and shakin' right after I was up for the day.

My mom told me that I probably wouldn't ever sleep soundly for about the next 18 years, and now I believe it. I mean, I feel her every move and I know her patterns by now. I'm responsible for another human life for God's sake and that scares the hell out of me. But, it also makes me smile...even if it is a sleepless smile.

Minor Earthquake

This actually brought on some concern. Last night, about an hour into my sleep, I woke up to seriously VIOLENT shaking in my belly. It was so strong that I got concerned that she was going to rip the placenta out of place or worse, punch her way right out of there. She had both arms and both legs going all at once...something I haven't felt much before and it was a VERY strong hitting and kicking. It was cute for about 2 seconds, then I was worried. Anyone out there in blogland have this happen so strong? I've really noticed that her activity has increased in the past two weeks and I've read that this is the peak time, but I think I'm going to talk to my doctor about this next week at my visit just to make sure it's ok. Let's just hope she's a little more mellow when she's born!

I also had my first childbirth dream last night. I dreamt that I had been in some small hospital down the shore and that the baby just came right out with no pushing or effort. I asked the nurse why I had such an easy birth and she said that I had been there for two days in excruciating labor but must have blocked it out of my memory. Odd. Dreams are odd.

Finally, the picture at the top is of the moms and me. Mother-in-law is on the left, mother is on the right. This was snapped right before the shower.

Do You Think She'll Care?

Do you think she'll care to know that she was a VERY active baby in utero?

I'm not kidding you. See, I'm partially writing this blog so far away friends and family can keep up on the pregnancy, but I'm also writing it so that I can print it out and save it for our little girl to read when she's older. I want her to know that right now, at almost 32 weeks of pregnancy, I'm convinced that she's going to be a professional soccer player. It's so cool, the motion in my belly can now be seen on the outside. Every roll, turn and kick she does, you can see it as plain as day. I'm also feeling her movement up by my ribs right at the top, and also down low by my bladder where I'm told her hands are all on my right side...so she is very active indeed. Sometimes I feel a roll and then a jump, and sometimes, she gets both her arms and legs going at the same time and it's a trip! However, when I'm in the middle of the show and have to pee and she pulls that, it isn't funny.

So, those of you who are reading this who are also pregnant (I know of at least two of you), this is what you can look forward to. It's an amazing feeling and not for one minute do I get tired of it. I'll miss it when she's out, but I'll have the bonus of holding her in my arms. I can't wait.

The Shower

While I'm still waiting for pictures, I'll post about the shower because it was JUST SO FANTASTIC!

First, I'm honored that both of our sets of parents traveled here for the weekend. It was so nice of them to come and the weekend wouldn't have been nearly as special had they all not been here. Jon's parents flew in from Atlanta, while mine drove in from Ann Arbor.

The shower was...in a word...amazing.

First of all, it was 91° and VERY humid, so the little summer strapless dress I bought for the occasion was perfect! Thankfully, our gracious hostess and my dear friend Sue had the shower INSIDE so we didn't all melt!

Sue thought of EVERYTHING! She used to be a caterer, so the table was filled with a full spread of food. She had made EVERYTHING by herself...chicken marsala, rice, salad, spinach casserole, tomato salad from her garden AND she marinated and grilled a WHOLE salmon which she served at room temperature and it was AMAZING! So, after we all chatted and ate, it was present time! There were tons and the baby got some incredible stuff. Everyone was so generous...I was truly overwhelmed.

It was neat, there were friends from different aspects of my life here in Philly at the shower and they all mixed and mingled so well.

After the presents, the desserts were all out on the table...yes, I said desserts with an S. Sue made...from scratch, brownies, peanut-butter bites and apricot bars all cut into little pieces...and then she ordered a cake from a fantastic bakery in the area....the only thing she didn't make. It was all incredible and we all had such fun.

So, this blog is for Sue. I can't even begin to thank her enough as she is such a dear friend and an amazing woman.

Pictures will come within the next few days, I'll let you know when to look!

Quickie

No time to post a lot now, but click on the photo under flickr and you'll see a few new pics from the shower and other stuff.

The shower was AMAZING. I'll write more tomorrow morning...but now, I've got to get to bed.

Mahler Fan

So, the baby is apparently a fan of my favorite composer, Gustav Mahler. This morning at work I called up Mahler's first symphony on youtube and put the headphones on my belly. She started kicking immediately! I was surprised because she had been quite active since 10 last night which is yes, when I woke up...never got back to sleep either.

The good news about the sleep is that I have a free morning so I'm going to sleep until noon. Can't wait! Then, our little miss has some important visitors this weekend. BOTH sets of grandparents are coming to see her, so maybe that's why she's so active...she's excited! Also, my dear friend Sue is having a shower for us on Sunday, so we're all jazzed up!

As a result of the weekend festivities, I won't be posting for the weekend, so have a nice one!

Worst. Day. Ever.

You are NEVER going to believe the day I had yesterday...and all before 9 a.m.

So I'm at work and I was in a bit of a mood because our regular traffic guy wasn't here and we had a fill-in who is a tad annoying. She tries, but she's just one of those people, sorry to say. Anyway, about 6:15 I felt something I hadn't felt in the pregnancy and it was odd enough that I was a bit alarmed. I decided I'd call the doctor at 9 when the show ended. More on that in a bit.

I then took my cell phone out to text Jon that I was going to call the doctor and my phone read "check SIM" which means basically that the SIM card was fried. Dead. No mas. Which means that all of my contact information was lost. AWESOME! So, on a day when I knew I needed to possibly be seen by the doctor, I had that to deal with too...no way of calling Jon on the way to the doctor, etc. Again, it was AWESOME.

Then, about a half hour before the show ended, we got a rare morning line of severe thunderstorms and at that precise moment, my weather computer crashed. I had no way of showing radar, the warnings, or anything else. It was again, AWESOME!

By the time the show ended and I took off my microphone, all I could do was cry. Then I called the doctor. Here's the deal with that: they listened to my symptom and decided it'd be best to have me come in. They fit me in and I had a full exam and am pleased to report that nothing is wrong. They never made me feel badly for coming in, they just said that whenever I had something odd going on that I should call at all times. So they turned that visit into my regular appointment which I was supposed to have next week. No weight gain, low blood pressure (a miracle considering the day I'd had), and a very, very active baby. The doctor said she is head down and in the correct position so all systems are still go for the last 8 1/2 weeks. Whew!

After that I went to the Cingular store where the dude there confirmed that my SIM card was dead and I had to get a new one...a blank one...with no contacts. So, if you want me to have your cell number, please e-mail it to me at cganas107@comcast.net. This is my home e-mail and if you've been using a work e-mail, please switch to this one now as I will not be allowed to access my work e-mail once I am on maternity leave.

SO, today is a much better and brighter day...but boy was it tough getting here...and I didn't even have cake at home to make me feel better.

An Open Letter

Dear Person Who Suggested This (who shall remain nameless),

Cloth diapers are NEVER going to happen at our house. Yes, I know it's the "green" thing to do, but swishing poo up to twenty times a day out of some over-priced boutique diaper while the baby hangs off a breast about a dozen times a day isn't happening.

But thanks for the suggestion.

Love,
CQG

Village Idiot

I felt like the village idiot yesterday while taking my first prenatal yoga class. Why'd I feel so dumb, you ask? Well, it was my first yoga class....EVER and the instructor seemed a bit horrified that it was.

First let me start by saying that I work out about 5 days a week (give or take a day)...elliptical machine, treadmill, lifting weights and I'm still going to kickboxing class once a week. It's all quite simple and relaxing for me and I'm told that my exercise now will help with labor. I've been having some baby-related back issues, so it was suggested that I take a prenatal yoga class. I thought it'd be no problem considering how much I still exercise...plus, there just happens to be the best yoga studio in the Philadelphia area about 5 minutes from our house, so I signed up.

Let me just say that yoga is hard. People who do yoga on a regular basis are my new heroes. It looks so easy, but when you're pregnant, the room is hot and you've never contorted your body into so many odd positions, it's the hardest thing in the world...well, that and trying not to fart while doing it.

The teacher pointed out that "since I was the biggest one there" she'd help me the most. Ok, lady, first of all, the proper words would be "furthest along" and second, you grow a human inside and try to bend like a damn Cirque du Soliel acrobat for the first time and not fart and we'll see how you do. Oh, and apparently gum isn't allowed whilst doing yoga. Maybe that interferes with my connection to the mother planet? I don't know, but she stopped her introduction to the class to ask me to spit out my gum. Ok, that hasn't happened since third grade....I felt like a total moron.

All in all, it was fun and I'll go back next week (without my gum) and for the rest of the session package I bought. It was nice being in a room of other women who are experiencing what I am. The earliest pregnant woman (or "smallest: as the mean instructor would say) was 16 weeks and the latest was a woman who is due 5 days before me, so a wide span for sure. It ended up being fun...but I am sore today :-)

Oops

I think I just gave the baby ADHD.

Remember yesterday when I was telling you about the cake at the party yesterday? Well, in case you were wondering, it was DEEEE-VINE! Oooo it was so good. The frosting was that pure sugar yummy butter cream. Oooo, yum!

But an odd thing happened after I downed a fairly large hunk of the sweet goodness: the baby went nuts. Not just regular nuts, but berserk nuts. She was literally jumping after the cake. See, I don't eat a lot of high sugar stuff so that sugar spike really sent her every which way. It was like a mini-earthquake going on in my belly. Poor little thing. I think she crashed by the evening, because I didn't feel much movement until this morning. She's back to her gymnastics again.

My friend who we had the party for yesterday told me that babies tend to keep the same schedule as newborns as they did in the womb. If that's the case, our little one is going to be rearin' to go from 4-8 every morning. Poor Jon. I'll be at work, so it'll be daddy duty VERY early each day.

Unbelieveable News!

I can't tell you who cuz I don't think they've announced yet, but...literally my oldest friend (well, the first friend I ever made...we grew up across the street from one another...he's like a brother to me) is going to be a daddy! I am beyond excited for him and his amazing wife.

They are the only couple we know who waited longer than we did :-)

Congrats you guys, we couldn't be more excited and can't WAIT to see you at Christmas!

Random Thoughts

-The Phillies now suck. They blew 2 games against the Washington Nationals and are now 3 games out of 1st place in the division. They head tomorrow to face the Mets for 3 games and at this point, the season is a loss. Way to go. They were doing so well.

-The Phillies now suck...so why did the seller from Stubhub decide to not sell his tickets to me when I secured them? I had 3 sweet seats for my dad, father-in-law and Jon so they could go to the game while the ladies were at my baby shower next weekend....now they've got to watch it on TV. I'll still try to get tickets, but it doesn't look good. Did I mention that the Phillies now suck?

-Baby brain is now spreading to my job. I just boobed up a weather hit because I thought we were at a different point in the show. My director had to save my butt. Funny.

-We're finally about to get some rain. Tropical Storm Hanna is coming and our brittle grass is about to turn into a swamp. Hope the basement doesn't flood.

-Pro football starts this weekend. So long Jon....see you in January.

-The baby went through her seemingly monthly slow down in activity. I still felt her (the last two days) but the movement was less than usual. Slow enough to make me notice, but not slow enough for me to panic like I did last month around this time. She is back to normal activity this morning. Little turkey...she's just trying to keep her mommy on her toes...and it's working.

-How pathetic am I? There is a party for a friend and co-worker down at CBS today, and while I love her dearly and want to go for her, I'm also really excited that there will be cake served. Honestly, that's more than half the draw. To be fair, I've been jonesing for a piece of cake for the last two weeks...really...you can ask Jon. Mmmmmm, cake.

Out.....Of.....Breath!

I didn't post yesterday because I was really busy with the coverage of Hurricane Gustav, but I felt it then too. Man, I am WINDED when doing the weather each day. Ugh. It's a struggle getting through an entire weathercast (which happen to be every 5 minutes for 4 straight hours). This feeling has really started to kick in this week and I hope it's temporary, but I'm thinking I'll feel this way to the end. The little muffin is growing....so my organs inside are getting squished...thus making it hard to breathe. Oh well.

In fact...this morning I learned that she is over 3 pounds (or at least the average baby at 30 weeks is), and is 17 inches long. If born now (God forbid) she would have an excellent chance at survival. However, I'd much rather keep her here for 10 more weeks. I need the time to get everything ready, plus I like feeling her every move and I know I'll miss that when she's born :-)

Wacca Wacca Wacca

I just had to post this picture.

See, yesterday, we were both very excited for the college football season to begin. So, I donned my only Michigan t-shirt to root on my losing team as we ran errands before the game began. The shirt doesn't fit so much right now, so I had to put a white tank under it.

Jon told me I looked like a pacman. Then when I put on my new classy sunglasses, he called me Victoria Pacman Beckham.

Silly guy.

It's Finally Here!

Football season...or better known as Jon's favorite time of year. College football starts tonight and Michigan plays its first game on Saturday at 3:30 against Utah. Let's hope Utah doesn't act like Appalachian State did last year. I'm still reeling from that. As usual, Jon and I have been busy making plans to do absolutely nothing on Saturday but to watch college football. I'm actually really excited about it this year...cuz I'll be on maternity leave for all of the bowl games and won't have to go to bed early for work....yee ha!

I'm posting late today because I didn't have the chance to post at work. I had a candidate in for a potential back-up for me for my leave. The girl was nice and smart but she's fresh out of college and has no real experience and it really showed. Ugh. Thankfully, management saw that as well, so it doesn't look like she'll get the gig. They want to have two back-ups for my leave so in case the one girl who is my regular fill-in gets sick, they'll have someone else to call. The tough thing about finding a back-up is that the really talented people who are young and cheap all have jobs and aren't looking for a once in a while gig. So, back to the drawing board. Tomorrow I've got some other kid coming in so a post is unlikely as well.

And...baby brain is TOTALLY kicking in. Yesterday as I was in bed and ready to fall asleep I bolted awake thinking I had sent an e-mail intended for Jon and Jon only to someone else....so I had to get up, log onto our dinosaur computer and double check that I indeed sent it to Jon. I did...luckily. Then at work this morning, I got up to tape my pre-show hit with no microphone even on my body...it was clear across the room at my desk. Sweet. And so it begins.