Solid foundations

ive been negligent on my blog again. Two weeks has brought on so many new things! Fevers. colds. head bangs. 5am wake ups. splish splashing in the tub. trips to see Great Grandma. And so much more. But most of all, i love being a mommy. Its the hardest, most tiring, exhausting, draining, mind-boggling job i have ever had. And yet... the most rewarding! Love my little squirt!

I think one of the most important things I would want you to understand is the fact that it's so hard to raise a child without a solid, loving marriage. If there is no strong foundation, the 'building' will come tumbling down. Its so hard to see when you've never been through it. My hope for you is to find someone who fits you... who strengthens you... loves you... pushes you in all the right ways... your daddy is that person for me... He's an awesome man!

growing up

Last night was the second night my little boy slept in his own room down the hall. We all did really well. I only got up to check on him one time the first night and not at all the second. He sleeps 8 hours on the dot every night now. What a relief not to have to get up 1-2-3-4 times a night...

He's also starting to sit up with just a little help. He tends to fall sideways when you let him go for more than a second or two. Its pretty funny to watch. The transformations go goes through on a daily basis is utterly amazing.

He's quite the little giggler. LOVES Chase, our dog and Chase loves him back! He loves to be outdoors. Loves camping. We went camping two weeks ago up in the catskills. He slept through both nights without even batting an eye. We're going camping again in about 3 weeks.

Time is flying by and i'm loving every second of it...

mommy log - June 27th

found you on your belly in your crib the other morning. Shocked me a little but i was so proud. I did however leave you that way for a little while to see if you could roll back. Not yet i guess.

Aunt Christy also gave us her exersaucer. You seem to like it and your ability to maneuver around in it surprises us. You seem to LOVE peaches but only when daddy feeds them to you LOL. Go figure. Tomorrow starts apple. Then in a few days, pear. I love making baby food for you, but i dont love the big fat burn i have on my arm from doing it! ::: sigh ::: The pains of loving your child!


We also went to visit your great-grandma today and finally had a pleasant hour or so with her before she started getting anxious. She kissed your cheek, your feet, and your hands several times. She LOVED seeing you smile and laugh. And i was thankful for the exchange between all three of us after a few not so great visits.


I miss grandma... i miss the woman she used to be. I miss our walks... our bread baking... our chats about "my happiness". "Are you happy?", she always asked. It was always her sincerest desire for her children and grandchildren to be happy.

mommy's log - June 14, 2009

You squeeled like a happy little baby last night and your daddy and I were so elated! It couldnt have come at a better time. Your great-grandpa is going to heaven. Its been a hard year for everyone, but he is ready and at peace. He saw you smile last week and i could see how happy it made him. He's so proud of his status as a grandfather! I have so many stories to tell you about him! Remind me to tell you about the time he wanted to teach us good business skills when we sold lemonade on Montauk Hwy so many years ago!

mommy's log - June 11, 2009

Started making baby food for you today! Lots of yummy colors and flavors. My goal is to see that you arent as picky of an eater as I was (and still am). We started giving you a little rice cereal and, this week, oatmeal. So far you love oatmeal. Rice cereal.. not so much.

its been a busy week for us, little man! so many photoshoots and now you have taken to crying for a couple of hours almost every night. Not sure what this is about but i had to reposition a comfortable chair under the ceiling fan because that is the only thing that calms you down. I'm thinking you actually might be teething... you chew on your fingers and make a big frown on your face and sad noises. The wash cloth thing seems to help too. I decided to give you tylenol as well when you start crying. I feel so bad for you!

mommy's log - June 4, 2009

well, so much for the sleeping through the night. I fed you at midnight last night and you still found the need to wake at 430am for a diaper change and a bottle! I dont mind. You're still really little so its expected that your schedule is somewhat erratic!

We're sitting on the bed today. Its kinda rainy and chilly (at least for June) and so we are both in PJs. I am folding laundry and watching a special on the Obama's.

You're such a funny little guy... you freak out when i sneeze so i really have to becareful when i let it loose! Just this morning, I had to blow my nose and it scared the daylights out of you. You make such a cute little pouty face that all i can do is giggle as you scream in my arms.

Of course right now, you're all smiles! And that makes me very happy!

mommy's log - May 30th

milestone today!

You slept through the whole night last night... 930pm to 5:30am. Im still in shock and anxiously waiting to see if we'll have a repeat session tonight.

I think i was only slightly more excited when i found i was pregnant!

baby blues

baby blues...

We are hoping he will keep his blue eyes... its fairly likely since we both have blue eyes as well.

He'll be three months this week. Where has time gone? He came down with a cold this weekend. Poor thing. Its not too bad and he's mostly in good spirits.... just stuffy and coughing a little. He should be fine in a few days im sure!

Motherhood agrees with me. I love being a mom. Of course there are good days and bad days but I love knowing the intimate details of what makes my boy cry, talk, coo... what comforts him when he's sad or mad. He and i are still getting to know each other but the last week or so has been so awesome. He's started smiling and cooing so much. He recognizes my voice and looks for me in the room when he hears me. Same with his daddy. I guess that's a good sign that we are doing something right!

tender moments

Is there anything more precious in the whole world than the man you love comforting your child? My little man just wasnt having anything to do with me last night. He was cranky and tired but mommy couldnt hold him right. Five minutes in daddy's arms and he stopped crying and fell fast asleep. I had to capture the moment. It was so tender, i almost cried.

family

I'm having a great time here in Maryland with my aunts and cousins. My cousin melissa, mother to three girls (5,4,and 7 months) opened up her home to me and we fit right in.... yours, mine and ours. She and I are enjoying our time together and i am learning lot about her photography business while im down here. She's taken a few shots of my little one and im hoping to get some of the two of us together this week before we head home.

I've been picking up my camera a bit more down here and taking shots of her and her family. When youre the photographer, you're never in the picture, so i told her i would snap some for her.
















I also took this one of my little boy after he fell asleep on the couch next to me last night.

my visit to maryland... so far

snapped some shots while visiting my cousin and her three beautiful daughters this week. I also had a chance to see my grandparents. My grandmother has alzheimers so 99% of the time she doesnt even know who i am or who my baby is, but it was so nice to see how big of a smile she had when she held him. my cousin took the picture of me with Grandma.

Things I learned as a new mommy:

our little boy is growing so fast! Where does the time go?

Things I learned as a new mommy:

1. to eat a meal with my right hand (when im left handed)
2. to change a diaper quick enough before getting christened
3. I married the greatest man on earth.
4. i never thought i could love my husband more than i already did... but i do.
5. to use all the newborn clothes you possibly can because they grow out of them before you can blink!
6. baby blues SUCK but it DOES eventually go away!
7. being a stay at home mommy ROCKS!
8. advice from family and friends is priceless, but in the end you must do what you feel is right for your family.
9. that five minutes of quality time with your baby out weighs a clean house, finished laundry and paid bills any day of the week and twice on sunday!
10. nothing... and i mean nothing... gives you a warm tingly feeling inside like the first time your child looks at you and smiles.

pictures

i started writing about my whole birthing experience and i dont know if im going to share it yet, but its still a work in progress. Until then... here's some new pictures i took today.

New Arrival

our boy has arrived. I havent posted much on here but will be writing about the whole experience soon when my husband goes back to work on Thursday. I have alot to say.

The Grand Finale

Well, it looks like the grand finale of this 9 month fiasco is going to planned out (pending i last the weekend). The doctor scheduled me for induction on Tuesday evening with a projected birth of Wednesday. We're looking forward to the big day and will probably spend the weekend cleaning and preparing for our little one's arrival.

At the appt today, the sonogram estimated baby's weight at 8lbs 6oz. His head is nearly 10cm. Is anyone cringing yet? I am! my blood pressure is with in range but they are still keeping me under close watch. All the tests i have taken in the last few weeks have shown no signs of stress for me or the baby. All great news.

Im fortunate in that Rob will be home with me for 2 weeks, not including hospital time. It will be a wonderful asset to have him around. He's going to be a wonderful daddy. He's proven himself worthy in the way he has provided for his family on a daily basis in the last months.

Rob's parents have been in South Carolina for the last two weeks and their arrival home will be timed perfectly on Sunday afternoon. My parents are still in florida, but my mom will arrive home just in time on Wednesday to shoot home and then head to the hospital to visit. My dad will be following a couple of days later I assume.

We are super excited that we finally have an end to this stage and moving into the next one with open arms and much anticipation. We look forward to meeting this little one who has slowly and surely tortured me over the last several months.

I still feel like this is all a dream. someone pinch me please.

endless dreams

you know how they say if you die in your dreams, you die in real life? I dont know if it's really true but i can say that something similar has happened to me (sans death).

I often have these recurring theme dreams where i am running from building to building or house to house looking for a bathroom. My bladder is almost always full and i'm pretty darn desperate to relieve myself. Sometimes i even find a stall where the door is intact, the seat isnt gross and the plumbing is actually working and when i go to try and relieve myself, it just WONT come out....

....except this one time.

I swear its only ever happened once where began to actually "go". Well, at least in my adult life. I was in my early 20s at the time and man was it embarrassing.

Well, today, i feel like im having a similar dream, but thank god, no bathroom necessary for this dream.

You see, I've always wanted to have a baby and so, this being part of my dream, I have endured a tough pregnancy and now coming to the end, i feel like it's just never going to happen. I seek the end of this chapter with eagerness and anxiously await to start the next. I'm in my bathroom nightmare again, no end in sight...no relief from this constant pressure and discomfort..

....and yet, ironically enough, I visit the bathroom 3-4 times a night these days! Go figure!

Maybe i really am dreaming? Maybe i'm not really pregnant and i'm just waiting to "wake up" only to discover my life is dismal and empty with no husband, no bulging belly, no overwhelming happiness in my heart. I fear the worst, that the climax of this dream will be me holding my child in my arms only to be woken by some strange noise in my lonely house and empty bed.

I know it sounds sad, but i'm hormonal and i cant really help it.

Capturing history

One last picture of me before my belly disappears (we hope!).

update

I have not written in quite some time but most of my blog readers get updates on facebook. Im still pregnant!! What fun this has turned out to be. I have been taken out of work however, due to some blood pressure issues. I was on bedrest all week last week but not I have been given the blessing of the doctors to "walk the baby out". And so i am trying to remain as active as i can these days.

Im having contractions now and then and I even ended up at the hospital a couple of times last week for labor checks with no luck. I was there all day on Monday, and somehow three women had their babies and I went home pregnant. UGH!

Anyway, I was given a wonderful baby shower about three weeks ago. It was so relaxed and so nice. Rob and I are pretty much set with everything... the nursery is complete. The carseat is installed. We are READY but this little boogerhead is not. So we will let him cook a little longer. I just hope he knows he's coming out whether he likes it or not in the next couple of weeks. We are very eager to meet him as is the rest of the world.

belly shot - almost 26 weeks

well..here it is... i feel like a bowling ball! LOL

The ultimate vacation...unless your pregnant!

The world isn’t coming to an end. The election is done. My life isn't in shambles. And even the pregnancy, as much pain as I am in, is tolerable. I see an end in sight which is comforting. But what i am a little disappointed in is the fact that I am leaving for vacation this weekend. No, not about the vacation itself, but more of the fact that my activities are limited.

For one, I’m going to Florida, where there will be swimming and pool lounging throughout the week. (Ahhhh sunshine!!!)I'm hoping the bathing suit I bought earlier this summer (slightly bigger than necessary) will fit me. I only bought it earlier because i needed a new one desparately before i went to Tampa with my mom for a weekend. Certain areas on my body have "ballooned" into maddness...both upper and lower areas. I'll probably be busting out on top and hoping my lower half only FEELS bigger from the front (and not the back). But that aside, I wont be able to do one of my favorite all time things: hot-tubbing!! Apparently it's bad for the baby to wade in scolding hot water until you pass out. Go figure! :)

Second, Rob and I are heading to Disney for two days on our own (the rest of my family will be in Tampa) and there will be certain rides I will have to forego. Rides i love to go on... like Mission Space or the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Rides that i would love to share with my new husband since we haven’t been to Disney together yet. But I’ll probably end up waiting online with him and slipping through the “I’m too scared (or pregnant in my case)” door to meet him on the other side. He’s actually been supportive of this and has offered that we stick to MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom this year where there are more “pregnant speed” rides and shows that we can both enjoy. Of course the next time we head back, We'll have a 1 1/2 year old to contend with, but "doing disney" through the eyes of a child is SOOO much fun!

In addition to that, my ability to walk for more than an hour has deteriorated to just about NADA! My feet swell. My hands swell. And my back…oh my back…. Some nights I get out of bed to take one of my many trips to the bathroom and I can barely stand on one leg my back hurts so much. Not cool. Trust me. So, I’ll end up looking like some fat chick who has never done a day of exercise in her life who relies on a wheel chair to get her around because she’s too lazy to walk. LOVELY! I was thinking about making up some T-shirts that say “1.5 humans on board this motorized vehicle”. It’s all in fun and somewhat amusing .... but it's not, if you know what I mean.

Se La Vie!

Happy Turkey day to all incase I don’t talk to you!