Happy Birthday Baby David

Born: August 9, 2006 at 7:25am
8lbs 2oz and 20 inches long

Today's the Day!

Ok so it's 4am. I know what you're thinking - WTF are you doing up at 4am? Well I can't exactly sleep. I can't say that I even slept much at all. I know that right now I am wide awake and its 2 hours before we even call the hospital to find out if they can take us at 7:30 or if we should wait until noon. I think I will die from anxiety if I have to wait until noon.

In any case - with great anticipation we should have a baby by the end of the day today! I will be interested to see how much further along we are from our last appointment a week ago. I am at least hoping that all the walking we did paid off a little.

Since there is no internet access at the hospital we will post the big news as soon as we are back home - probably by Thursday night - Friday at the latest. Not sure how I will survive without the internet for two days...but I suppose I will be occupied by other things (wink).

Just for fun - the Doc and I think that he'll be born at 3:30pm today and that he'll be 8lbs 6oz (and I have stuck by my 8lbs even - no 9 pounder please!). I only hope that the induction will work that fast!! And can you say EPIDURAL?!

Wish us luck and send many happy thoughts our way as we get ready to welcome the little guy into the world!

*6:30 edit: I just called the hospital and they're busy and told me to call back at 8am to see how they're doing then...not sure if I can keep up with all this waiting, waiting waiting.....

*8:00 edit: Called again - was told to come in at 9am!! Hooray! Perhaps I will take a quick cat nap for strength!

Going for a Long Walk!

So last night the Doc and I went to the local mall to walk around. We walked for an hour and a half before heading back home. It obviously didn't work so we're off to do it again today! We need labor inducing vibes! Get this thing out of me!!! ARGH!

Celebrating Four Years:

Today the Doc and I celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it has already been that long. We have been together for 10-1/2 years as you can see from the pictures above. The first picture is our Semi-Formal junior year of high school, which I suppose you could say started it all. Next picture is our Prom - which coincidently was held at the same function hall that we had our wedding reception. And the last picture is our wedding four years ago today!

So far in four years of marriage we have survived: Four years of Medical School, a big move to a new city, a year of residency and hopefully in the next couple days we'll add a baby to that list! Although it's not looking like he's ready to join us in the real world. He has decided to start the not listening to his parents routine a little too early for my liking.

The Doc yells at my belly every night "get out!" and it obviously isn't working. But little does he know - his eviction notice has been signed for Tuesday August 8th. We will go in at 7:30am and start smoking him out! So there you have it. We're still hoping he will decide to arrive on his own but it's not looking very likely.

Today is my birthday pick – maybe he’ll surprise us all and labor will begin.

A Baby Story: Still No Baby...

So...here we are 39 weeks - and all I have to show for it is fat swollen feet/ankles, fat belly, fat fingers, fat pretty much everything. The forecast for tomorrow in Sunny Philadelphia - 100 degrees, hazy, hot and humid. You've got to me effin' kidding me.

Today's appointment went well. No contractions, no signs that this baby is ever going to leave so I had no choice but to sign the eviction notice for this weekend. Just waiting for a call from the doctor to confirm an exact date and time. David seems all too comfortable right where he is so induction it is. Unless he decides to change his mind and arrive on his own beforehand.

I thought my luck had changed when my blood pressure sky rocketed to 138/80. As a precaution I was sent over to Labor & Delivery to be monitored in the PEC (Perinatal evaluation Center). I was hooked up to a high tech BP monitor and I sat there for two hours so they could tell me - OK you can go now. What?!! Are you sure I don't have pre-eclampsia??! Anything to get this baby out of me!! So not only is David not cooperating but neither is my BP. So unfair!

Tomorrow is my last day at work for a while and I will enjoy my last couple of days by sleeping. I plan to sleep as much as I can so that come baby day - I won't be exhausted. More updates to follow...sorry to those who have lost the baby pool - I was REALLY pulling for you!!

The Nursery 360 Degrees:

So as you can see from the counter on the side - we have 13 days left before the arrival of Baby David. I can honestly say that I hope it isn't that long! I wouldn't mind if Brian won the baby pool. Which you can still make a guess on if you haven't already!

Brian has been using a video on his blog lately and it's pretty cool (aside from there being no sound - not sure what's up with that) and I wanted to check it out for myself because I know that everyone is going to want to see the "LIVE BIRTH" that the Doc is gonna tape...Uh Yeah Right....you know I was totally joking...and if you thought that I was actually serious about that well then you're just plain crazy! But we do plan on using our brand new video camera AFTER the baby has come out and I have at least had a chance to take a shower!

So this was a test - using my video sharing website Photobucket - I highly recommend it. Just click on the picture above and it will bring you to a new window to see our nursery in a 360 degree view (ala the hotel websites) and there is some sound. The sound would be the Doc on the phone with a fellow resident going over the patient list he was about to take over for his rotation at Penn Presbyterian.

Brian - I would switch if I were you!

Tummy Time - I'm So Jealous:

It has been a long time since I have been able to lay on my tummy. It wasn't until I saw this cute picture of Miss Maddie enjoying some quality tummy time that I started to reflect on just how much I miss my own tummy time!

It used to be how I slept at night. I am a tummy sleeper and I can't even remember the last time I was able to lay flat on my tummy. Maddie you have no idea how good you have it! Enjoy all your tummy time while you still can.

Can you believe she is already three months old!

A Baby Story: Down to the Wire

15 days and counting. I have a week left of work before I start my maternity leave. I can't believe it is almost here. We had a fabulous weekend starting with the arrival of Stephie late afternoon on Friday. We went to Pizzeria Uno for dinner and then to pick up our brand new coffee table!

Being pregnant has had it's perks such as getting things that you want. I told the Doc that since I had to carry this baby for 40 weeks and get fat and swollen and have a gazillion stretch marks that I am entitled to a new coffee table. It's awesome. It's shorter than the old one but taller and it lifts up to become a table.

The fun part was getting out of Stephie's rental car and into our house. We had good timing because a guy saw us from down the street and came to help Charlie. Stephie and I weren't much help so we went to pick up some ice cream and left the Doc to put the table together!

Then on Saturday Stephie treated me to a wonderful morning of a pedicure and manicure at a salon in center city. It was nice and relaxing and just what my big fat swollen feet needed. I decided to paint my toes blue for the upcoming arrival of our little guy. You can see below how cute my toes are. At least that is something! After the spa treatment we did some shopping and then lunch at El Azteca (our favorite restaurant). It was a wonderful way to spend the weekend.

It's kinda weird to think that we really only have one more free weekend before we have to be responsible, mature, grown-up people.

A Baby Story: A Retrospective

We are now full term at 37 weeks. I thought it would be fun to go back to the old pictures I have taken and do a pregnancy retrospective. The first picture on the left is me at 17 weeks. It seems like so long ago. I can't believe how short my hair was. That was also back when being pregnant was cute and fun!



The next picture on the right is me at 24 weeks. I was still not too big! I still enjoyed being pregnant and even started to feel him moving around. It was when there was plenty of room for him to move so he was able to play gymboree using my bladder as a trampoline!




Moving on to 27 weeks the picture to the left. At this point I was starting to feel more and more uncomfortable. I was getting bigger and swollen. I stopped wearing my wedding ring at this point because some days it was too tight. We started working on the nursery assembling some of the furniture.



Moving on to the picture on the right is me at 30 weeks. This is when the nice doctor kindly told me to switch to carrot sticks instead of the sweets I craved so much. I decided that I wasn't going to listen to the nice doctor and continue to eat my candy, chocolate cake and ice cream! The time to eat healthy will come after the baby is born. I mean what other time in life do you have an excuse to eat as much as you want and gain this much weight. So I say - ice cream it is!


Last we have the 36 week picture or as I like to refer to as - the Shamu picture. Pregnancy is no longer cute or fun. I am too big to do anything. I get winded from moving across the room into the kitchen. I do not feel bad when I whine to the Doc that I need another soda or glass of water. I am going to enjoy being lazy until this baby comes out and I don't feel guilty at all because we both know who will be the one getting up to feed the baby and change the baby and rock the baby back to sleep. Me. So in return I get to enjoy these last few weeks being a spoiled pampered princess who gets rides to work and back rubs!

Today at our appointment we found out that David is in the head down position and so hopefully he won't turn back! I have yet to feel even a single Braxton Hicks contraction at this point but he has dropped so who knows what nature will decide for our little guy. Will we have a July baby or an August baby! We know that we would like him to come no later than August 5th. The issue is that our doctors are very conservative when it comes to inducing and they won't unless they see some changes. Which they may or may not check next week. So your guess is as good as mine. We do know that they don't let you go past 41 weeks. Until next time!

A Baby Story: 24 Days to Go!

Here are a few things that I would like to share as we near being considered full term:

(1) Movement - Function: noun

The act or an instance of moving; a change in place or position.

A particular manner of moving.

Something that I will NEVER take for granted again. You don't realize how easy it is to sit up from a lying down position or stand from a sitting position until your belly has taken over and your girth is massive and cumbersome. Or when walking (or should I say waddling) has become so arduous that people stare and laugh at you as you make your way across a street (I won't mention any names...eh-hem the Doc) because you look like a penguin. And forget about bending over to pick something up off the floor. If the Doc isn't around and it's not important - it stays right where it is. Unfortunately it does me no good when it's my work ID badge that I dropped on the elevator floor while making my way to my office yesterday morning. Thankfully I wasn't alone and the nice lady riding with me took pity on my gargantuan size and picked it up for me.

(2) 90+ degrees, six blocks of walking to meet the Doc so I don't have to ride the bus home (yeah I know it makes no sense - but that's how much I HATE riding the bus) and no shade equals jumbo ankles; the biggest the world has ever seen. Unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture until a couple hours later when most of the swelling had subsided but let me assure you (and you can ask the Doc to prove it - he loves making fun of my "kankles") they were impressive.

(3) Just when I thought that I couldn't get any bigger - well check out this belly. It's as if I grew bigger overnight. More stretch marks have emerged. I could knock someone out by just using my belly. Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light - Chuck Norris tried to roundhouse kick me in the belly and his foot was sucked in and lost for all eternity - he is no match for my pregnant belly.

You can also see how much it's dropped since the last belly picture at 34 weeks. That is a good sign - maybe we'll have a July baby instead of an August baby. Random people at my work say that I am going to "drop" this baby any minute now. They also can't believe I have three weeks to go, although I have been listening to this for about two months now. People just look at me and say "Wow" - Yeah I get it I look like Shamu - we already established that from the last post.

(4) To Pee or not to Pee - I pee at least 10 times a day and that's no lie. Sometimes I just feel like I have to pee but there is no pee. They say that getting up three to four times a night to pee is natures way of preparing you for when the baby arrives. You know, because instead of peeing you'll be attending to the baby. You know what I have to say about that....well let's just say it's not appropriate for this blog.

(5) I am feisty these days. I have an extremely low tolerance for stupid people. I have an extremely low tolerance for the heat. I have an extremely low tolerance for just about anything. The Doc thinks it's funny so he likes to push my buttons. He will pay once I have the energy.

(6) The cats got a sneak peek at what it is like to have a baby in the house but I am sure they have already forgotten the scary "creature". In the meanwhile they have called dibs on the Pack N' Play. Oh silly cats - you have no idea that your world is going to change. Run to your hiding places now and don't come out for at least three years.

Well those are my latest updates. Our next appointment is on Monday when we will officially be full term!

The Nursery: It's Done!

I am happy to say that our little guy's room is all ready. If you can't remember what it used to look like see the pictures to the left and right. It was white with a silver rug. It used to be the "computer room" and so now the computer is now in the guest room.

To recap the making of the nursery we started with paint. We chose a color by Behr paints called Scotland Road. Once the walls were painted with the green paint we repainted the trim using a white satin finish. Then in the next phase we tore up the carpet and had a pergo floor installed. It was expensive but worth every penny! The Doc and I would highly recommend pergo! If we could afford it and were planning on staying here longer we'd do our bedroom too!

Next was to add the furniture. We put together the crib and changing table and then we added the armoire. The last piece of furniture we got was the glider which came last week. The Doc was on a mini vacation and put it together while I was at work. It was a nice surprise and very comfortable. He also installed some new shelving in the closet. It's set up so that there is a hanging rod with a shelf above and then another shelf towards the bottom. We added some rubbermaid bins for storage. Hey at least one room in our house will be clean and organized! We're hopeful this whole organization thing will rub off on us and we can keep the rest of the house that nice!

Add some finishing touches like the shelf on the wall over the changing table and the Finding Nemo picture over the crib and we have ourselves a finished Nursery!!

I want Cheesy Poofs!

Here I am at 36 weeks...the Doc and I came up with some adjectives to describe my size: voluminous, hefty, king sized, packed, prodigious, vast & heavy duty. These days I refer to myself as the Hungry Hungry Hippo. You can see the comparison from the picture below.

I can't stop eating. Let me give you an example of how much I can eat these days! Today for breakfast I had two eggs over easy and an english muffin. Then we decided to go see a movie and on the way we went to Wendy's and I had a Jr. Cheeseburger and a medium fry.

We saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and we got a large popcorn which is a tub at this theater. Then we walked around the mall and went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and you can bet there was cheesecake involved and no I didn't share. I have never been so hungry in all my life. All I want to do is eat. At this rate you can just start calling me Shamu...

Four more weeks to go!

Happy Birthday Stephie!

Wishing you a very Happy 27th Birthday. We've come a long way since kindergarten! We were so cool in our saddle shoes and tights!

A Baby Story: 35 Weeks

35 weeks! I can't believe that it's almost here! 37 Days to go! This weekend we had Benny, Robyn (not to be confused with my sister) & Maddie over. They arrived Friday night and we got a sneak peek at how Trot and Drew would react to a baby in the house. Let's just say they FAILED!!

At first they were very curious walking around smelling all the baby stuff that they brought and then slinking close to get a sniff of this foreign "creature" but then the "creature" cried. They didn't know what to think. Trot hissed at the "creature" and Drew hid from the "creature" - make it stop!! I am not sure if it was jealousy or anger but Trot bit Robyn in the leg. Yup...those are my boys for you. The little brats. Last night they just hid until the "creature" went to sleep!

Yesterday we took a trip to Atlantic City. We walked the boardwalk and then walked the beach. Baby strollers and beach sand don't go well together. The Doc and Benny had to carry the stroller until we got down by the water and then it was fine! The water was very cold so Maddie didn't get her first experience of sticking her toes in the Atlantic Ocean maybe next time! It was really nice down by the water but very hot on the boardwalk. After that the beach we headed back to Philly to El Azteca our favorite Mexican restaurant and then to get water ice! After all that walking around and being out in the sun I was beat so I left the boys to the x-box 360 and went to bed!

We had a blast! It was fun being with Maddie and seeing what the we have to look forward to in five weeks! Here are some things that we learned:
(1) The Doc's goofy looking face can turn a fussy baby into a giggly baby.
(2) Never underestimate the power of singing 80's songs to stop a fussy baby!
(3) It takes a little bit longer to get ready when you're carrying the baby outside your belly!
(4) Babies can sleep through an incredible amount of noise!

We're ready, REALLY ready! If my belly gets any more humungous, well I am not sure I will be able to move! Let the countdown to baby day begin!

To the Dread Pirate Roberts:

Happy Birthday Dread Pirate Roberts - the other half to the P. Bride. He's another year older and so maybe wiser too? Nah! Happy Birthday - hope it's fun!

Stretch Marks and Stupid People

Magically overnight stretch marks have appeared on my belly. I was so excited that this "symptom" had passed me by and thought with 6 weeks to go I was off the hook...WRONG! One day there was nothing and now lines everywhere! Like the Doc took a red marker and drew squiggly lines...if only he did...I tried to "wipe" them away but they're real and here to stay.

Moving onto my rant about stupid people. I don't know if it’s that people really ARE that stupid or I am over sensitive because I am really pregnant, have new stretch marks, eating like “Hungry, Hungry Hippo” in freakin' 2000% humidity...I don't know. You know that saying that stupid people should have to wear a sign…I have never agreed more with that statement.

Stupid Person #1:
After work the Doc and I head over to the grocery store. We're ready to check out head over to the register with no line – just a lady finishing up...or so we thought. She had issues with Hi-C that she thought was on special - it wasn't and so she bitched and we waited while someone went on an expedition to find this so called special. You would think the cashier (a 17 year old girl - super uninterested in working) would say to us “it will just be a minute” or “sorry for the wait”...nothing. Finally it’s our turn…she beings checking us out and in the process she keeps looking over at the other cashier paying no attention to bagging our groceries or sending them down the belt so I could bag them. At one point stopping her scanning and asking the other girl “What just happened, what’s going on?” She wants to know the gossip that is happening two registers over. ARGH. I swear we were there for 10 minutes.

Stupid Person #2:
In the great city of Philadelphia they don’t let you take shopping carts into the parking lots so you have to pull your car to the curb and load the groceries. While we are loading them some kid on a bike pulls up next to our car (which is pretty close to the curb) and sits there. Once we are done I say to him “excuse me” so I can get into the car and he stands there in the same spot but moves his bike a smidgen. Completely in my way, I literally have to squeeze my fat pregnant ass into the Docs Toyota Celica while the kid just stands there watching…as if I will magically turn into a size two in order to fit in the car. Are you kidding me? WTF?

Stupid Person #3:
The Doc wants coffee and being so hot lately I feel like an iced coffee too. We go to the drive thru and order (1) small iced coffee with milk and one equal and (1) medium hot coffee with milk and two equals – a pretty simple order. We drive around as instructed and wait for a few minutes and she opens the window hands us the coffees and says $3.95. We’re like what??!! The Doc asks “Are you sure, because it’s only a small iced and medium hot?” She says “Yup - $3.95”. So we give her four dollars and she hands him a nickel. Meanwhile the Doc says to the lady “my hot coffee is $1.49. You mean to tell me that the small iced coffee is $2.46??” She says “Yup” and the Doc again says “Are you sure – that seems like an awful lot?” She says with tone “YEAH I’m sure.” She then turns to her co-worker and says “A small iced is $2.50, right?” and he says “No, it’s $1.89”. She apologizes and as she walked back to the register we overheard the co-worker say with a chuckle “how long have you been working here?” I apparently missed that comment because I was too busy bitching that I could’ve gotten a tall frappaccino at Starbuck for that price. The Doc’s next comment is “I should’ve given her the nickel back because she’ll never figure the change out”. And so we waited. And waited. And the person behind us made faces. She hands the Doc a stack of change and at this point were not even sure if it was correct but we had been there for what seemed like a millennia and didn’t give a damn.

So you be the judge – am I just super sensitive to peoples stupidity or are these three people really that effin’ stupid?

P. Sophie's A Baby Story: Will This Ever End?!

Ok so almost 34 weeks now and I'm tired of this. It feels like I have been pregnant FOREVER!! Will this ever end? I have about 6 weeks left and I am tired, hot, achy, fat, swollen, peeing more than ever & my back hurts. As you can see from the picture my feet are swollen and they have been much worse lately, can't fit in my shoes by the end of the day.

The weather here doesn't help either - today it hit 91 degrees and the humidity was oppressive. I pretty much have the central air cranked 24/7. The Doc joked the other night that it was so cold in our house he thought about going down to the basement and putting on his snowpants. Meanwhile - I am sweating so bad I sit in a tank top and underwear.

If I have one more person look at me and say "Are you sure there is only ONE baby in there?" or "Really, you still have until August?" I may have to hurt someone...and it won't be pretty!! I get it, I have a big giant belly. It's so big now I now have some nice stretch marks. If I am that big and look as though I am going to "pop" any moment then why don't any of you offer me a seat on the train?! Yeah that's right - no one offers me there seat on the train and so I end up standing for six stops. I HATE the bus! The Doc is a saint and will give me a ride whenever he can. Unfortunately for me that isn't very often...so the bus it is until I go out on maternity leave.

I don't want to be pregnant anymore...anyone who says that this is such a magical, womanly, beautiful time in my life can kiss my big fat behind. The last thing that I am feeling right now is beautiful. Nine months is too long - why can't babies cook in 6 months. I felt great then! Eight weeks ago you could've told me that this is a beautiful time in my life without getting the right hook to the face!

Well there is my rant for the day...but I suppose if this is what I have to go through in order to finally meet the little guy...well then it will all be worth it!

The Nursery: Phase 3

Well it is coming along more slowly than I had hoped but not only do we have a changing table and a crib, but now we have an armoire. All we need is the glider. The glider we want is out of stock at the warehouse and none of the local Babies "R" Us stores had it. I guess that means it's popular.

We almost didn't get the armoire we wanted either. It has since been discontinued and no one seemed to have it in stock. In two days we had been to three of the four Babies 'R' Us stores that are local to us. We ended up getting it at the Cherry Hill, NJ store. We were hoping to get it in tax free Delaware (which is where we bought the stroller) but no such luck. We came home and the Doc began assembling the unit. While he worked on that I began the unpacking/organizing of all the great baby items we received at our baby shower.

I took all the baby clothes, sheets and receiving blankets and washed them with Dreft the baby laundry detergent and then proceeded to fold and put them away. All of the onesies were folded and put in the drawer directly below the changing table I figured that since that is what he'll be wearing most of the time I should have them in a convenient location. The armoire has a hanging feature and some of the clothes were hung up. Pajamas and T-shirts were placed in the armoires drawers. It's not as anally color coordinated as Brian's but at least they're hung up, put away and sort of organized. At least that makes one room in the house!

As you can see from the pictures we have a nursery in progress. We still have some work to do. We (well mostly the Doc) are currently working on fixing up the closet so that it can be used for toy storage and more clothes and odds and ends. We bought some rubbermaid tubs and the Doc put up a new hanging rack with a shelf and then another shelf below. It isn't quite finished yet which is why there is no picture. It looks nice so far and we are looking forward to finishing the room in time for the arrival of the little guy. More updates to come.

Next Update - attack of the swollen ankles!

Happy Parents to Be:

So the Baby Shower was a great success even with the rain. It was cozy to say the least. Mom and MIL did a fantastic job and it was everything I was hoping for! And even though I knew the date they managed to squeeze in some surprises for me.

The day started off great I got pampered at the Soleil Salon in Windham, NH. My cousin and I went for pedicures and then I got my hair done. After that she took me to the mall to visit my Aunt who works at Clinique and couldn't make it to the shower. So while we were visiting I asked her if she would mind doing my make up! I felt like a million bucks which is hard when you're 31 weeks pregnant and your ankles are the size of apples.

Once I was pampered it was time to get to the shower and since it wasn't a surprise I just had to show up. With the rain everyone we all got cozy in my parents living room and it was actually quite nice. Thanks to all the lovely gifts from all of our friends and family we got everything that we needed!

The fun part was packing it into the car and getting it all back to Philly. Thanks to some consolidating by my SIL, the Doc and me we managed to pack pretty much everything. We still have some items to pick up at the store which we have gift card for and that was probably what saved us the most space in our car!

We started to put some of the items together and once we get the rest of the furniture we will be able to start organizing and finishing the nursery! 63 days left before Baby David will make his entrance into the world! Thanks everyone for all the wonderful stuff.

A Baby "Shower"

So today is our Baby Shower! Hooray! I can't wait to see everyone - but most important than that is I can't wait to see what presents they bring!! (wink). Oh you know I am just kidding about that!

The shower is all thanks to my mom and MIL. They have been working really hard with all the planning and keeping me out of the loop as much as they can. Apparently the fact that I even know it is today (because this was the Doc's only free weekend) is too much information that I have.

The bummer - the forecast in NH is for 57 degrees - rain heavy at times (possible accumulation 1 inch) - and wind upto 15mph. So much for that nice cookout weather from last weekend. It's like a shock to the system considering the hot, sticky, steamy, wicked humid 90 degree weather we have in Philly (today in Philly it will be 70 and cloudy and maybe an afternoon shower).

I suppose it's called a Baby "Shower" for a reason, right!