Did you miss me? I bet you did.

I'm back! Yay. It has been 3 months since the last time I wrote. I'm sure my "regulars" aren't regulars anymore - but I will just announce my return on facebook and all will likely be better.

So a lot has happened in 3 months. I've been kind of busy with a baby. And then work started. And I started grad school. So free time is at a premium. Other than that though...

Dominic is getting so big! He is going to be 4 months on Friday. It's crazy how fast it has gone by, but at the same time I really can't remember what life was like without him. I think the most frustrating thing about being a parent is listening to older adults in your life (parents, aunts, uncles, etc.) tell you things as if you are an idiot. It is especially frustrating when they think it's not them. Everyone does it. When I point it out too, they are always like I can't help it, it just happens, you'll understand when Dominic has a child. No apologies, no comment about how they know we are competent...just excuses. I am also pretty sure that happens to everyone that has a child so I can imagine you are feeling my pain right now.

The 3 month mark for Dom was where the fun really began. He is standing up now -he holds onto our fingers with his hands. It's wicked cute. Last night he stood up on his own - like used his own legs to push himself up. Usually we pick him up to standing position and he will stand. That was pretty exciting. I haven't actually caught him rolling over, but there are nights we put him in his crib facing one way and go in there later and he is facing the complete opposite direction. He has also found his voice over the last month. He "talks" like a maniac (must get it from his dad...). It is ridiculously cute. He really tries to have conversations with us. I am really enjoying parenthood right now.

Anyway, I will make an effort to write again. I promise. Maybe even this weekend!! if you want to see cute pictures of Dom go here: http://albums.phanfare.com/delbarone

Soccer...and the 4th

So I am completely crazy. I had a baby 4 weeks ago tomorrow. Dominic will be a month old on Thursday...time has flown. Anyway, I am completely crazy because I signed up to play soccer. It starts in 2 weeks. Ha. I can walk a mile right now and not collapse and die. I'm not sure what happens if I push too much past that. This is a good idea. Whatever, I need to get rid of this giant amount of baby fat and I hate the gym. Despite what people seem to tink, I actually like to do active things, but not at the gym. I need a purpose, like say scoring a goal, or trying to get the ball from someone that is trying to score a goal. We'll see how it goes. I am playing with Dennis, which is either going to be great or not. Probably nothing in between. I'm going to have to get better at listening to his constructive critiscms. He is excited, and has already scheduled a time for my mom to watch the baby so we can go kick the ball around and "run up and down the field passing the ball". Sounds great :) (I appreciate his enthusiasm...I really do, but running up and down a field when it is 90 out for no reason is really not all that exciting to me.) I am going to play one night a week and Dennis is going to play 2 nights a week. I am going to play on the team that has them most girls, because I need a sub. The league has rules that you have to have 3 girls playing at all times - and last season they only had 3 girls on the team and one isnt coming back. So, I am only going to play if they have more 3 girls since I really will die if I have to play an entire game. This should be interesting.

So Dennis set himself on fire on the 4th of July. Stone cold sober too. He is ok. He ended up with minor facial burns. We were at a cook out at our friend Beccy's (yes she spells it wierd) house. She has a charcoal grill and there were a few too many matchlight charcoals in it, so the flame was really high. Well, long story short, he went to open the grill after moving it away from the house, but didn't realize the front vent was closed and this giant flame came up in his face. He burnt his cheeks, nose and lips, and his eyebrows and beard caught on fire. Fortunately, he had pot holder in his hand and was able to snuff the beard fire out. All in all, it could have been much worse, but it still freaked us both out.

Stupid Hair

So a few weeks before Dominic was born, I decided I wanted my hair to be short. Specifically, like Jenny McCarthy. I saw her on some talk show preaching about not vaccinating your children because they will have autism, so it's better to risk them getting diseases that will definitely kill them, rather than have the remote possiblity they will get autism and have some barriers to overcome in life. Right. So anyway, back to my hair. Well sometime in the next few weeks following that, I was watching a makeover show and the lady said she wanted extensions because she hated her short hair. She said she cut it after her kiddo was born like every new mom does and regrets it every day. I laughed and said I won't be that woman. I will like my hair being short because Jenny McCarthy looks so cute. Well, big surprise...I hate my hair. I hate it with a passion. It is so unflattering I don't even like to go out. It's horrible. It really is. Now I have to wait forever for it to grow. To torture myself even more, I just looked at wedding pictures with Dennis - when I was much skinnier than my post baby body and when I had longer hair. That was a self esteem boost. Now I want lypo and hair extensions.

In other news, I want another baby. Shocking, I know. Especially after the post a few weeks ago where I was pissed at everyone for saying I would want another one. But I do. He is just so cute and fun that I can't imagine never making another one. We haven't sprung this news on my mom yet. She'll be pissed because of my health issues. She'll get over it. Who knows though, maybe I'll get over this want too - we'll see.

Dominic si doing great though. It's amazing how quickly babies change. They have such rapid development in the beginning of their lives. I love it. He is awake a lot more each day and reacting to things we do. He really enjoys his tummy time each day to practice lifting his little head. It's cute to what him try so hard to lift it up, only to get tired after a few seconds of looking around. Sometimes he even gets really frustrated and yells which is very distinct from crying.

I posted some pictures on a website. http://albums.phanfare.com/delbarone
They aren't spectacular, but they are better than nothing.

Babies don't smile my ass.

Dennis was being silly with him and he smiled. Don't try to tell me it is just gas, because it isn't. That is everyone's answer to everything, but he actually smiled. It was very exciting.

11 days later...

So it as been 11 days since Dominic made his appearance. Dennis and I can already see such a difference in him in such a short time. I think he is finally putting on some weight. We'll see if I'm right when we go to the doctor on Monday. So I know most of you that are reading this want me to write about how cute he is and all the different things he is doing and post lots of pictures. With time, I will do that, but today I feel like writing about me. (Big surprise...)

So I am not dumb. I was aware from the beginning of this journey that my body would never be the same. I knew that when I was leaving the hospital I wouldn't be back to how I was pre-pregnancy (which itself wasn't all that great) immediately. I am actually sorta surprised at how much has fallen off so quickly without really doing much other than watching what I eat. I am aware that some women never even lose the weight that they gained during pregnancy. This is what I think is crap. You endure 9 VERY LONG MONTHS of nastiness to your body. Then for the icing on the cake, you push a child out of an area that really isn't big enough for a child (hence the need for episiotomies). Then even after all that, you need to now take care of him. Although all they do at first is eat, sleep and poop it is a very tiring job trying to recover from child birth and care for a newborn. Really, that is all ok though. The kicker for me is that I did all this stuff - pregnancy, no work, boredom, childbirth, feedings, diaper changes, lack of sleep - and I can't even make myself feel cute to make up for it. (Obviously the child itself is a reward. I feel like that is implied, hence why I love him DESPITE all this. ) When we finally had an opportunity to go out, what happens? I spend 20 minutes crying because I have nothing to wear. And I really don't. It's not the usual closet full of clothes and you just don't like anything crying. I literally have no clothes that fit me, except sweatpants and tshirts. Sexy. Maternity clothes are already too big (which is a good thing) but regular clothes are not even close to fitting. Awesome.

So that is where I am right now. I think it is only fair, that after a pregnancy a women's body immediately be fixed. Not even to pre-pregnancy, to WHEREVER SHE WANTS IT TO BE. So, if I want my body to be the size it was when I graduated from high school, then that is what I should get. Without any work. Just as a reward for sacrificing my body for so long. I really think that is the cure to post partum depression.

5 days later...Happy Father's Day too.

(the post below this may say it was posted today (thank heaven for epidurals) but I actually wrote that a few days ago, and forgot to hit publish and just logged off. Oops)

I feel like I got hit by a bus. A really big bus that didn't even put its brakes on. From the front and the back. Parts of my body are sore that I didn't even realize could be sore. It really is great fun to recover from birth AND have a newborn to take care of. Good thing he is cute.

Now I need to vent a tiny little bit...

1. People are already asking us when we are having another child, which I expect. However, when we say we aren't, everyone says we will change our minds. We say that we won't and really don't get into it. Then when they push a little more, and make it seem like we are young and dumb, we tell them why. So here is why: The doctor's never wanted me to be pregnant in the first place. It was way too risky based upon my previous medical conditions. I was really very lucky to come out of this the way I did, as was Dominic. Dennis and I thought long and hard about the risks and benefits for ONE child...we decided before we were even pregnant with Dominic that the risks were way to high for me, and one successful pregnancy was more than we could ever ask for. The doctor's have advised that also. Especially with all the scares about Dominic at the end of the pregnancy. So the point, we are not having another child. If we decide the Dominic needs a brother or sister, we will adopt. So instead of pushing us that we only feel this way because we are tired, think about the fact that we already put my life on the line to have Dominic, and feel it was completely worth the risk, and be grateful that everything is as wonderful as it is and everyone is here to enjoy it.

2. Times have changed. Dad's stay in the room the whole birth, feed babies, change diapers, do laundry, etc. I'm not a bitch or lazy or bad wife, I am realistic. I gave birth 5 days ago, have battle scars that you don't want to know about and have every right to sit my ass down on the couch and have Dennis change a diaper or 2. We actually take turns! It really is a fascinating concept. Just because that isn't what happened in your relationship, whether you are 100 or 26, doesn't mean it isn't normal in others.

3. No he isn't going to fall. Yes I am being careful. His neck is supported just fine. It is ok to hold him this much. Yes, he is allowed to leave the house right away. He looks like both of us.
Just a few of the statements I say 300 times a day.

Ok, enough venting.

So today is Dennis' first father's day! I was changing Dominic's diaper this morning and had the news on. Dennis is in bed sleeping very peacefully. The lady on the news starts talking about the Newport Folk Festival, and how it isn't really a folk festival because most of the bands playing aren't folky. Then she says fronted by rock bands PHISH, The Black Crowes and Jimmy Buffet....blah blah blah. OMFG. I like jumped on Dennis and said Phish is playing at the folk festival and he freaked out and jumped out of bed and was like omg buy tickets and literally ran around the room. He had received a few email articles of the last weeks that phish was talking about a reunion...so it all made sense to us since Trey was signed up to play at the festival already. Turns out she read the copy wrong because she is a bitch. It is still just Trey scheduled to perform, not phish. What a way to break a guys heart on his first fathers day.

Thank heaven for epidurals...oh and little boys too.

It's official! I am a mommy. Dominic Charles DelBarone was born on June 10, 2008 at 6:07pm weighing in at 6lbs 7oz and is 19 inches long. I currently have no pictures to post. Not for lack of taking them, but because Dennis can't find the cord to hook the camera to the computer. So we can't take any of our pictures off yet. If he doesn't find it this morning, I am sending him to purchase a new one.



So let's talk labor. If you refer back to some previous posts, you will recall how I was in denial about labor. I never really came up with a "plan". My plan - get an epidural, have a baby, hold him. That is almost exactly what happened too!



So Tuesday morning, as I was writing my blog entry, Women and Infants called and said they were ready for me. So I finish the entry and Dennis and I head over. At this point, I am a bit nervous, but about trivial things - will the epidural hurt? I didn't shave for 2 days, will the nurses and doctors be grossed out? What if I poop during labor? - not serious things like, will everything be ok with Dominic. At that point, I had pretty much convinced myself that the doctors were being overly cautious and that Dominic was actually bigger and more normal than they predicted (I was right...as usual ). Anywho, we got to the hospital without incident...



So they take us to our room for Labor and Delivery. It was very weird walking into it, all I could think about was how that was the place that I would finally get to hold Dominic and see his little cheeks and kiss them. They have the little baby warmer thing all set up and ready for him from the moment you walk in. I stared at it from the bed for probably the first 2 hours, picturing what it would be like to see him in it. After about 45 minutes of paperwork talk and discussing with the doc and nurse what our plan was vs what their plan was (it was the same...healthy baby, healthy mom, how we got there didn't matter to me), we started the induction medicine.



So I was already 5 cm when they started the medicine. My doc thought that would mean this would go fast. It didn't. It took me almost all day to go from 5cm to 7cm. We were a little frustrated. More because we were so excited to meet Dominic, and the longer you take to dilate on the medicine, the more likely they are to give you a c-section, which honestly, I didn't want to recover from. I was definitely not in any pain. Fortunately, going from 7 to 10 took about an hour and we were all ready!! Yay!

I'll spare you the graphic details of what happened next. But let me tell you, I will never think of a vagina the same way again. Or a uterus. That is quite the organ.

It was the best feeling in the world when they held Dominic up and I heard him cry. It's one of the only times that hearing someone cry makes you happy. Unless you are a jerk. Anyway, I can honestly say that all this crap for the last 9 months was worth it. Every second. I still hated being pregnant. And do not ever want to do it again. But I am glad I did it once.

Holy Cow!

So this is my last blog entry as pregnant lady...which is surprisingly bittersweet. I am beyond excited to think about how I get to hold Dominic today. I get to FINALLY see what he looks like and kiss his little cheeks. But, it really is wierd to think that after today, I will likely never be pregnant again. All I ever did was complain about how horrible pregnancy is. And it really is horrible. Don't let people fool you when they say it is beautiful. They forget. As I am sure I will too. The baby is beautiful, even if they are ugly, the pregnancy sucks. But regardless, this has been my identity for 9 months, and today, that goes away. I swear it is so strange how for 25 years of my life I wasn't pregnant, but I honestly do not even remember what I am like not pregnant. I am almost a little nervous to find out. It will obviously be different than anything I ever was before, because now I will be a Mommy. A whole new identity. Just like that.

While I am sitting here thinking about this whole journey in my head, I am already forgetting all the sucky things. I guess it is just because this day is what you have been enduring all that for, and that is totally overwhelming.

You have hope when you get married that it will last forever. Why would you ever get married if you didn't think that was possible? But it isn't guarunteed. Becoming a parent is the only thing in life that lasts forever. Even in death, you are still someone's parent, and they are still your child. Although I have felt from the moment we found out we were having a baby that this was my child, there is really nothing like the feeling of today. Beginning today, I will no longer be simply Becky - I have some pretty important "titles" in my life right now - wife, teacher, friend, sister - but now I will add Mom, which is by far the most important one.

I know I usually try to keep my blog light hearted, maybe even throw in a few jokes to keep you laughing, so sorry for being serious. It is just such a crazy thing to feel right now and to really have no idea how to express it. I have no idea if I want to sit here and cry while I am writing this, maybe because I am sad that this is all over, and definitely because I am happy that this whole new thing is starting. Maybe I will just cry for both at the same time. :)

I will be back writing tomorrow probably. Women and Infants has wi fi. I can't promise though. I do promise that Dennis will send people pictures and I will do my best to update with pictures as soon as I can.

Until next time...with my new baby!

PS: Dennis, I love you.

The last days as a pregnant momma...

So today could officially be my last day as a pregnant lady. Hallelujah! I feel like I have been pregnant forever. I sort of have. If you count the miscarriage we had right before getting pregnant with Dominic, it really seems like I have been pregnant for 2 extra months. Still not as long as Leigh though...having 2 babies in like 20 months! :)

I go to the doctor at 1:30 today. Last time I was there, they had said that if I was not in labor before today, they would induce tomorrow night and the baby would be here by Wednesday. That is what I have my heart set on. If they change that, I will kill them. Seriously. Unless of course, it becomes earlier :) Then I will kiss them. I just feel like you can't tell a pregnant woman that she is going to have her baby on one day, and change your mind and make it later. It is mean. It is so annoying to be this pregnant that one day really does make a HUGE difference. I had such a hard time sleeping last night thinking about the possibility of meeting Dominic in the next few days..and then when Dennis left for work I tried to go back to sleep and made it for like an hour..and now I am just crazy with excitement and anticipation. This is going to be the longest morning..

A sigh of relief

This morning Dennis and I went in the for the super special ultrasound. So apparently they make all different kinds of ultrasound machines. Most regular ob offices have a regular ultrasound machine. It gets the job done, until they think something might be wrong, then they send you to the super expensive, crazy detailed ultrasound machine. This ultrasound machine is apparently made specifically for baby ultrasounds, as opposed to being used to detect problems in other organs or blood clots in regular people, etc. Anywho, we go...

The ultrasound tech was really nice and explained that she was going to keep the screen facing her while she took all the pictures for the test and after she was finished, she would show us the baby then have the specialist doctor come talk to us about the results. Since the baby is at full term, ultrasounds aren't as exciting as they used to be. Even as a small baby, he is so cramped, it is hard to get detailed images of him so we only looked at him for a minute or so. So the doctor comes in after and says "If your baby isn't too small raise your hand" and I just stared at him and he picked my arm up! Yay!!! Everything came back great for Dominic. He has no blood clots in him, or the placenta, or the umbilical cord. He is measuring in at a little over 5 lbs, which is still pretty small, but it is in the 14th percentile instead of the 10th...and based on observations from other babies, most babies over the 10th percentile still continue on with normal life, they just start out small. A huge sigh of relief. Like he said, this is just an estimate of his weight...so they could be a little off, but everything does look good for him. (Keep in mind that they told Kat Logan was going to weigh like 13 lbs when he was born...and he was like 7 and change) So sometimes they are wrong...but even if they are wrong and he is a little bit smaller, the point is that he is still getting all his nutrients and oxygen and all that because there are no blockages. That is way more important than a couple of ounces.

There was one part of the appointment that wasn't as successful. My amniotic fluid is really low. Basically an average preggo has 10-20 cm of amniotic fluid in her uterus. If it goes below 5cm, they automatically do a C-section and take out the baby because that isn't necessarily enough for him to breath with. I am at 5.9cm. Great. But I am also 4 cm dilated (woo hoo..exciting for the birth, not for walking around like a normal person) so if I am getting close to delivery, then that is ok. He seems to think that I should be ok as long as it is monitored. He was going to call my regular OB to see what they wanted to do. I am assuming since I haven't heard from them, I am ok for now. I am going in on Monday to get the full details of the induction anyway, so maybe that is enough to wait until then. My only concern now is that with a low amount of fluids, they usually feel more comfortable doing a c-section to get the baby out faster so he doesn't aspirate. But honestly, at this point ALL I care about is that he is out safely..and whatever way that has to happen is the way I want.

So overall, this was a day filled with good news. The baby is normal, and wonderful, and healthy and just tini tiny and will be extra fun to snuggle.

Very Quick Update

Doesn't look like I will have the special ultrasound today. Most likely tomorrow.

I'll let you know :)

I'm back :)

So I changed the name of my blog. I am totally copying the host of Chelsea Lately on E!. She wrote a book (#1 on the New York Times right now) called Are you there Vodka? It's me Chelsea. I don't even watch her show...and I haven't read the book. But I saw her on Jay Leno promoting the book and I laughed a lot at the title, because sometimes I really feel that way. Plus, it's fun to take something from your childhood (Are you there God? It's me Margaret.) and make it fun for your adulthood.

Anyway, I have been out of commission because I didn't feel like writing. That's really it. I didn't have anything I wanted to say so that the whole world (that of course reads MY blog) could comment about it. I'm feeling more open and social now.

So exciting news on the baby front: If I don't go into labor before next Tuesday (June 10th) they are going to induce and he will be here on Wednesday June 11!! AAAAAH! I am currently 3 centimeters dilated and the doc said that she would be surprised if I waited all the way til next Tuesday, so we'll see what happens.

The not so great news about this...it seems that the baby has basically stopped growing in the last few weeks. He is only measuring out at about 4.5 to 4.75lbs and should be measuring out at at least 6 to 8 at this point in the pregnancy. They don't know exactly why this is happening. The entire pregnancy I have been monitored extra because of all the blood clot history that I have. I have had ultrasounds at least once a month and sometimes more, and everything has been wonderful. He was growing really well. Basically measuring out in the 75th percentile. Then suddenly he stops, and is measuring out below the 10th percentile for his gestational age. This can be caused by a few things, but they are thinking it is either a blood clot in the umbilical cord or small once in the placenta. The weird thing is that I am on blood thinners to prevent blood clots, BUT the two types I have been taking are made so that they do not travel to the placenta. The placenta is a natural blood clot filter. If any blood clots try to get the baby, the placenta traps them so adding blood thinners that travel through the placenta can cause the baby to have blood that is too thin, which is very dangerous. Anyway, I was on fetal monitoring for a while yesterday and the baby is behaving normally. His heart rate is great and his activity level is high, which means he is not experiencing any kinds of stress from this potential problem. Since he is still behaving normally, they are going to try and wait that extra week to give him a little more time to develop his lungs. I am going for a specific kind of ultra sound tomorrow that also shows the blood flow through the placenta, umbilical cord and baby. I had one of these on my legs when they found the first blood clot I had a few years ago. Very helpful stuff. As long as everything looks normal, we will wait it out until next week. If they see anything that could even suggest potential harm to the baby, I will have him tomorrow. Instinct is telling me that nothing is majorly wrong and it would be much better for him to wait this extra week. But, take that with a grain of salt because I had no feelings that there was a problem to begin with. I swore up and down that I would go into labor on June 17. I was obviously wrong.

Dennis and I are actually dealing with the news really well. We have total faith in whatever higher being we decide to have faith in today, that everything will work out as it should. Stress will not help that. We are very excited to have the opportunity to have our baby, regardless of his size or the potential problems it can pose for his future. Right now, we just have to do our last minute preparations to make everything as comfy for everyone as possible. I know there are a few of you reading this and freaking out (probably Kat ;) ) but honestly it is ok. I'll let you know what happens with the test tomorrow.

Oh and by the way, in the middle of all this, we moved back to my parents. Awesome. Tell you about all that another time.

Blame Nicole

Becky --

[adjective]: Extremely extreme!

'How" will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Dennis --

[noun]: A beat poet working the streets

'How" will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Dominic --

[noun]: A real life terminator

'How" will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

blah.

Blah. I have been so not into blogging lately. I was thinking about making the blog private because of dumb people reading it that really have no reason to be...other than that they are trying to be a part of a life they aren't in. But to make it private, I have to list the email addresses of people who are allowed to read it and that is to much work. So I just have to accept that these people are reading and move on.

So we didn't get the house (another reason I didn't write...). I am sad about it. Well I was sad about it. I am pretty much over it now. Obviously it wasn't meant to be, but I had high hopes. So we are back to the search. Which is the worst part. It is fascinating how disgusting some houses are - and I don't mean messy, I mean like actually disgusting. You REALLY have to have an imagination to see the potential in some houses!

Yesterday was my birthday. Being 8 and half months pregnant you can imagine the rager that I had. I think Dennis and I were asleep before 9. I even missed American Idol. It really was extremely uneventful, but that was my choice. There were many people requesting a celebration of some sort, but I REALLY hate getting dressed and being out. I am so uncomfortable. The thing that makes me laugh the most is that people are like, wow you are so small for 8 months. Ha. It's all relative. I may be small compared to some one else, but I am not small compared to not being pregnant so it still sucks. Thanks though.

So I am totally addicted to Slurpees. It doesn't have to be an actual slurpee, but some kind of frozen juicey thing. It is my current craving. I had two yesterday! I think I could feel the sugar turning to fat in my ass and thighs. Oh well...Dominic needs sugar doesn't he?

Another exciting post for you...sorry I suck so much. I'm just not feelin it.

I think I am officially a grown up...

So I am officially a grown up. I guess I could have been officially considered a grown up a while ago, but it is really starting to set in now. I had my baby shower and now have an apartment full of baby stuff and we put an offer in on a house. It's kind of wierd that the house offer makes me feel more grown up than the baby. I guess because I have been pregnant for 8 months and only house shopping for one...so I have had less time to mentally prepare. :)

First lets talk about the baby shower. I actually can't believe that the baby shower is over. I remember when my mom booked the shower how it seemed so far away and I thought about what it would be like to be that pregnant. I was so crazy at one point (I still am crazy but in a different way) that I actually WANTED to be really pregnant and showing a lot. I thought it was so cute. Haha. I was so dumb. I am now that pregnant and feel very uncute. The shower was successful though. It was nice to see so many people that I haven't seen in a while and to get all sorts of baby stuff! I do have a mjor complaint though (you knew I would). My mom and her friends were very adament that I open my presents at the shower. I HATE opening presents in front of people..and I really don't enjoy watching people open presents. I am often so uncomfortable in chairs for an extended period of time that I get a bit cranky...and I had on a dress which made it awkward to sit while trying to open present and not flash everyone. But, my mom paid for the shower and wanted the presents opened there, so that is what I did. Well, it was definetly not as bad as I imagined it to be. We were able to set up an assembly line and go very fast..we were done with eating, dessert and presents within 2 hours. The complaint comes in regarding my mom's attention span during the present opening. She didn't even watch me open my presents!! She was sitting kinda in the back with her friends (the same ones that said I had to open them...) and they were talking, making all sorts of noise and not paying attention at all. Generally, this wouldn't bother me, but these are the people that said I had to open them. AND THEY DIDN'T WATCH! Halfway through, I yelled to my mom asking her what the last thing I opened was. She had no idea. Whatever.

I did get lots of really nice gifts and lots and lots of gift cards and money! We were able to basically buy everything we needed for the baby. We have a few things left - mostly odds and ends. We need more receiving blankets, socks, some lotions, sheets, etc. But all the big things are purchased. Which is a HUGE stress relief. However I am now trying to decide if I even set the stuff up since we have put an offer on a house.

The house is a foreclosure, so the process from if they accept the bid (think good thoughts about that..because its ALOT less than what the house is worth) to when we move in is fairly short. We don't have to wait for people to find a place to live or move out. There is definetly some work that needs to be done to the house. But since my stepdad is a contractor and has temporarily retired (he says he is really retired but I know he's lying) he has lots of time to work on it and is actually quite excited to. We probably have about a month or so worth of work before moving in. We want to put all new floors, a new bathroom, a semi-new kitchen and new paint. Sounds like a lot - but it actually isn't that much work. This is all for cosmetic purposes, so it's not like a gutting of each room, its more like an update. Anyway let me tell you a bit about the house. It is a 3 bedroom cape with a 2 car garage. There is one full bath upstairs and a half bath on the first floor. All 3 bedrooms are upstairs and are actually a nice size. There are like a million closets (which is HUGE for me - because all I ever complain about is how we have no closet space). The basement is almost fully finished. There is a family room area and a separate work room that has like a sink and cabinets. There is also a mud room in between the garage and the kitchen and a sunroom off the living room (which has a really nice fireplace). The house is on a nice sized corner lot with a fire place in the backyard. It also has a covered patio. I know it is impossible for you to picture but I am excited.

I'll keep you updated!

Nipple Stain Alert

So before I start I am adding a disclaimer. This post could potentially be too much information for some of you. I am giving you fair warning now.


So Dennis is on vacation this week. It's really nice to have some company around. He even actually responds to me, unlike Doozer who usually just licks my face. Anyway, this morning we are laying in bed, waking up and Dennis pokes my boob. I'm like seriously? It's 8 am. But then he says "You've got a stain." Confused, I look down at my shirt - and sure enough, I have a stain. Not just one stain, but TWO stains. A wet one and a dry one. And suddenly I realize where they came from - MY NIPPLE!

So my initial reaction is embarrassment. It doesn't matter that Dennis is my husband and has witnessed many embarrassing things in my life. This was completely embarrassing. But I quickly went from embarrassed to nervous - did this mean that Dominic was coming soon? I'm so not ready for that. So at 8am, I decide the best thing to do is call my mom. She immediately thinks something is wrong, who would call her at 8 am while she is on vacation? So I tell her what happens. And basically she laughs at me and tells my to buy some nipple pads. NIPPLE PADS?! Great.

Now I am aware this is normal during pregnancy. In fact, in a lot of women it happens much earlier in pregnancy. But that doesn't really matter. The point is that MY nipples are leaking. This is not something I was ready for. This is something that happens to women who have a baby and breastfeed. I am not that person yet. I still have about two months to prepare myself for this. I'm not even planning on breastfeeding. This is just ridiculous.

And too make things that much better, Dennis recommends we come up with some kind of nipple stain alert. That way he can tell me that I have leaky nipples in front of people without actually saying it. Right, because they won't notice the big wet spot over my boob. As if you don't feel uncomfortable enough being in your third trimester, this happens. You really can't even hide this one. I can hide stretch marks and the fear that if you laugh too hard you will pee a little, well most of the time you can hide that too. But nipple leakage? There really is no hiding this. My boobs attract enough attention with their current size, but now with little puddles on them? Sigh.

I didn't even really want to write this in my blog. But I know it's funny. Because it is. But now I have this fear that you will all stare at my chest and wait for them to leak so you can laugh at me. Thanks for being so supportive bitches.

Wow! It's been a while!

Hi Friends. I kind of got off the blog thing the past two weeks. I guess I kind of forgot about it. Ooops. :)

So last week I spent a day with Dennis in the emergency room at Women and Infants hospital. Fun. I had been having all those preterm labor symptoms again (no I didn't have to poop) and they had lasted for about 3 days. So I caved and called the doc - they wanted me to go to the emergency room right away because it was definitely concerning, especially since my blood clot problem causes some women to have their babies earlier. Awesome. So Dennis comes to get me from work and we head to the hospital. Although it is always scary to be sent by the doctors to the ER, I KNEW I wasn't having the baby. I don't know how to explain it. I am not a doctor and do not usually question what my doctors tell me, but I knew I wasn't having the baby. I went anyway though, because at the same time that I knew I wasn't having him, I also have never had a baby before...shocking I know...so I could have been wrong. Well, I wasn't. I did not have the baby and I was not in preterm labor. Although some of the symptoms I was having were also symptoms of preterm labor, the major one that signify labor (like dilated cervix etc.) I did not have. Here is their diagnosis: The baby is really low. He is down a bit lower than most babies at this point in the pregnancy and is causing a lot of pressure on my uterus, pelvis and the ligaments that hold them up. There is almost nothing I can do about it. Nice. So they basically told me to limit my activities. The more I walk around, the more this will bother me. Which is true. So it's not bed rest, it just more rest. This is of course much better than bed rest. But it is also annoying. Mostly because I am actually bothered when I walk around. It's not like I feel fine and have to sit around because the doc says so. I am actually extremely uncomfortable and can't do things that I want to do. Grrr.

So a week after this happened we were scheduled to go to the zoo for Karen's birthday. Not exactly the best place for someone who can't walk around. But, being the planner that I am, I had already requested the presence of a wheelchair, because before I even went to the ER, I knew I had trouble walking for extended periods. So Dennis got the pleasure of pushing me around in a wheelchair all day on Sunday. :) So I guess it isn't all bad.

So I'm hungry now, and am going to eat. Stayed tuned for stories about E and Nicole's wedding reception and the joy's of third trimester pregnancy.

Yay for new cars!

I bought a new car yesterday! Yay! Well, not new new, but new to me, which is new enough. It is a Ford Escape. It's black. I am excited. I'm even more excited that I convinced my hippy husband that it was ok to own an suv. When we went out to dinner last night, I let him drive, because I am so nice, and he was a little disturbed that he was driving an suv. It was pretty funny. Another exciting thing about this car is that it is actually mine. I have always had cars that either had someone else's name on them in addition to mine, or that were actually my parents. This one is all mine people. Which to some, isn't a big deal. But that was a very big deal to me. I actually almost cried. The sales guy laughed at him. If he only knew.

Anyway, Dennis and I were discussing last night how funny it is that we are so easily turning into parents. Even without trying. I drive a cute SUV so that I can fit all the multitudes of baby things that you need to travel with (I will not buy 5 strollers in a 7 month period like someone I know :) ) and Dennis drives a Subaru Forester, which is a wagon - very soccer dad. But when we bought these cars, neither one of us really discussed the parenting benefit of them. Actually, that is not entirely true - once I had my heart set on the Escape, I used the parenting card to get Dennis to agree to the SUV. But that was just a bonus :)

Only 10 more weeks til the induction. Wow! Time is flying by. I've started having Braxton Hicks contractions. They are annoying. Braxton Hicks contractions (BHC) are pretty much false alarm contractions. Your uterus is actually contracting, but it does not have anything to do with labor. Every pregnant woman's uterus contracts throughout their pregnancy, but not all women can feel the BHC. I can. They are annoying and make me more uncomfortable, but they really aren't that big of deal. I had a few nasty ones last nights before I fell asleep. Those pissed me off. They make you very uncomfortable and unable to fall asleep. I've noticed that I get them on the days that I have been out and about for most of the day. Maybe that is a sign that I shouldn't be out and about for most of the day :)

So I must be off - Dennis and I are visiting a friend from Florida who is in Boston. Very exciting!

I've had an uneventful week - sorry

So it's been about a week. And really not that much has happened. Hence the lack of writing. Here are a few highlights from the last week.

Friday night I went with my mom and sister to Bingo at Foxwoods Casino. Laugh all you want. It is actually really fun. For $15 you get to have an evening of entertainment and potentially win some money. I've never spent so little money at a casino. I didn't win. I would have written a lot sooner to rub it in all your faces if I had. It's funny though, because I said to my mom and sister that I didn't really care about winning, if I win, I win, but I'm not going to get all intense about it. The next game I was one number away from winning and some lady calls bingo. What a bitch. I was so mad. I yelled out a few choice curse words...probably too loud. My mom and sister were laughing so hard. I couldn't help but laugh too. So much for not being intense about winning. :) Upon my return home, Dennis had invited a few friends over. They were only there for about a half hour after I got home, but in that half hour, Steve brought up a trip to the wienie joint. For those no Rhode Island readers, wienies are these interesting hot dog type things that you always would eat after a night of drinking. A lot of times instead of stopping for breakfast after a long night out, people in RI will stop for wienies. Anyway, he's like, who's up for a trip to the wienie joint? Everyone laughs and I'm like sure. So they all start reminiscing about stopping at this one particular wienie joint after nights of drinking in high school and college vacations and I'm just sitting there because I was only in middle school at the time of these escapades... So story time ends and people start getting ready to leave...and no one even brings up the wienie joint again. Now people, I am pregnant. When I get an idea in my head about food, it is very difficult for it to pass without having it. But everyone just leaves. And I am standing there...wondering what happened. I guess they are too old for wienies at 1am. So I had no wienie joint excursion...and quietly and sadly went to bed.

Saturday night we had a gathering at our house. It was in honor of Steve and Vynessa traveling up from Baltimore for Easter. We tend to host a lot of gatherings at our house. I like that. It's nice being home...and I really like the whole entertaining thing. I just need a bigger place to have these gatherings. Anyway, I was excited for the blog material that would come from this party. But there really wasn't any. I'm a little disappointed. But I'll tell you about the party anyway.

First, I have decided that getting dressed in regular cute clothes is over rated in the third trimester. Since my tummy is getting a lot bigger, a lot of the shirts I have are getting to be too short and my jeans are actually shrinking also ( I think my belly is using more of the material...) So I staying in my pajamas for this party :) It was a wonderful idea. I was so comfy. I looked like a bum, but whatever.

Anyway, the other day we bought Super Smash Brothers for Wii. We had our friend bring two more controllers during the party and had an all out brawl during the party. It was almost too much fun. I had played with Dennis one time before the party, and kinda got the hang of it...mostly you just push buttons and hope your guy kills one of the other guys. The game has a neat feature that you can put the names of everyone that is playing in the game and they will randomly pick 4 people to play. We set it up so the top two players got to stay in and the other 2 rotated. Turns out I got the hang of the game better than I thought. I was kicking everyone's ass. Including Dennis' who plays often. It was fun for me...but after about 17 wins in a row they all decided to gang up on me. And I died. Sort of. There was a tie for second and the computer picked to throw me out instead of whoever I tied. Boo. I highly recommend the purchase of this game.

So there really wasn't much else to say about the party. No one did anything stupid....which I guess is good, but doesn't provide me with much to write about. Steve promised to bring out his alter ego - Drunk Steve - but he never got there. He was too busy being No Fun Steve and trying to keep Vynessa from drinking too much. Lame.

Maybe I will have more interesting things to write about tomorrow. I have another ultra sound today. Exciting.

Some Clarification...

After a conversation with my father in law the other day, there are a few things I would like to clarify regarding some previous posts :)

1. I believe in a God. Just not the version that most organized religions believe in. I don't like all the rules and stories...they seem too fake to me. I appreciate why people believe in them, and do not mean to offend anyone in anyway. It's just not for me :)

2. I was not talking about my mom in the last post. I love my mom, even if we fight sometimes.

3. I really didn't drink alot before I was pregnant. It just seems that most funny stories to write about happen to have alcohol present at the time. I don't think you guys really want to read about what I do all day. You want to hear stories..not things like, I watched Regis and Kelly, then that extra hour of Today and then I ate pudding. Etc. :)


So I am really getting into nesting mode. I NEED to have everything ready for Dominic. It is killing me. It stresses me out so much that I have nothing for him. Dennis made me promise I wouldn't buy anything until after the baby shower. Which makes perfect sense...to a normal, rational person. But to me, it's nuts! The baby shower is in a month! A MONTH! That means I have to wait another 30 days before I can even think about getting his room ready. AHHHH! Anyone who has been pregnant before understands the immense difficulty in this. I know that most of you who read this haven't...so I will try to explain.

Basically, at some point every pregnant woman gets into this stage of nesting. Everything has to be perfectly ready for the baby. Even things that don't make sense. For example: The shelves that we keep the DVDs on in the living room is on the wall. Dominic probably won't be able to reach the bottom shelf until he is like 3. And we won't live here then. BUT, one day I couldn't take it and made Dennis take all the DVDS and put them in a box in the basement. Just in case. Of what you ask? I have no idea. I can't explain it. It just wasn't right.

So now, all day I sit home and look around at everything that is wrong with where we live. And know that there really is nothing I can do about it, because I have this feeling that no matter how much I prepare, I will never feel like it is right.