Photos: 39 weeks

I just had my last hot fudge sundae and some water before I have to give everything up until after surgery. I'm having a baby tomorrow! Wow! I don't know how we are supposed to be expected to sleep tonight knowing what lies ahead in just about 12 hours from now, but whatever the amount, it'll be more sleep than either of us had the last time. We had a wonderful Easter celebration with both sides of our familes today and then Jeff and I were able to spend the rest of the day and night alone with Mirabella. We read her big sister book to her before bed and then we put her down together for the last time as an only child. I didn't know it was possible, but I know I held her just a little tighter today.

Thanks for all of the unbelievably kind well wishes and prayers we received today and previously. Your thoughts mean a lot to us and we're excited to share the news with everyone tomorrow!

Study time for the soon to be big sis

Mirabella is fine tuning her big sister skills, and thanks to this book from the Levys that she received soon after I found out I was pregnant, she is sure to be in good shape come Monday.

At just 13 months old as of Thursday (Thursday, April 1st), Mirabella is getting so big, yet she is still just a baby in our eyes. She is bound to look like a giant next to our newborn though. We are getting so excited to see how she interacts with her sibling. She has been such a lover to him or her in my belly, lifting up my shirt to get to the baby/belly and kissing it without any prompting at all now. We joke that Mirabella won't even recognize her mama without this basketball attached to her!




The last pages in the book read, "Our baby is so lucky Mirabella," her mommy says with pride, "To have a big sister like you"...as she begins to cry. She's crying because she's happy, not because she's sad. Sometimes mommies cry when they are feeling extra glad. I want you to remember Mirabella, one thing that's always true...that nobody can ever, ever take the place of you.

I'm sobbing even as I type it out. Just sobbing. I can't get through reading it without doing so! I'm so unbelievably happy to be welcoming our new child in just two days, but I can't help but to wonder what all this addition will mean to Mirabella. My heightened emotions are getting the better of me, but deep down I know that once we all get settled, Mirabella will be just fine and what we hope will be even better is that she will love having a playmate all to herself so close to her age. The words of the book ring true, nobody will ever take the place of you, dear Mirabella. And to our new baby cakes, of course nobody will ever take place of you either! We know there will be plenty of love to go around, and we just cannot wait to have two kiddos to share it all with.

Photos and doctor appointment: 38 weeks

Wife: Do you think for my size and for having a single baby that I have the biggest belly Dr. Chow has seen?

Husband: (pause) No (uncertain)...but you're definitely right up there (in all seriousness).

Wife: (succumbs to the truth unconcerned. chuckles. thinks about hot fudge sundae.)




Five pounds. In one week I've gained five pounds! The news was broken at my doctor appointment today. My weight gain had been fairly gradual, especially in the last several weeks, so today I was not expecting what the scale read. I'm blaming it on the fact my doctor was running late which caused me to swell in my waiting room chair. That, and the scarf I was wearing. Although it was silk, it was very large and flowy and quite obviously weighed me down some. Surely it had nothing to do with the breakfast from McDonald's this morning, or the chocolate cake right after (and yesterday), or the Mexican feast, or...

Seriously though, I can feel myself swelling and I swear I feel it more and it has gotten worse since my appointment. There isn't much concern about it right now because as with my first pregnancy, my blood pressure is good. My legs are heavier, but the swelling still is not as bad as it was in the last couple of weeks with Mirabella. I'm catching up quickly now to the weight gain that time around, however.

My doctor let me know which doctor would be on call this weekend. If I have any signs of labor, or if my swelling gets worse, I am to call right away. We talked about any questions I had, which weren't many. He went to do my exam and before he told me anything else while he was checking me out, he again mentioned which doctor would be on call. This made me nervous---what did he know? I was able to breathe a little easier when he said I was dilated to one and a half centimeters, versus one a couple weeks ago. My nerves kicked in a bit more though when he said it wasn't out of the question that I could go into labor before Monday, but what's that mean really? 10% chance? 30%? Whatever the odds were, I felt they were pretty much the same as before he did the exam, so all was decent again in my mind.

I asked him very nicely to use caution about having too many mimosas the day before my c-section, Easter Sunday, to which he obliged. I expressed my concerns about a shaky handed doctor if he were to overindulge; I'm his first surgery of the day on Monday, of the last week at a minimum I think since besides his day in the office today, he has been off to spend time with his kids while on spring break for the week. Hopefully that means he'll be very well rested...not rusty. I suggested a two mimosa limit, but he impressed me by saying there would be no alcohol for him that Sunday. Good man...until he asked Jeff on his way out what time they should meet at the bar that day. Then he reiterated his commitment, "Wait, I guess it'll have to be Saturday since there'll be no alcohol on Sunday." Good, good man. A touch of a smart ass, but a good man nonetheless. Ha!

Ever since I left my appointment, I've felt different. Monday seems so far away and I'm questioning whether I'll make it. I know I've questioned that before, but this questioning is based on how I'm feeling physically and not emotionally, as it has always been before. My body is tingly, my feet need propping, my belly is even more sore and it's been really tough to walk and move around easily (or comfortably). Our little precious is antsy, moving a ton and feels like he or she is coming on down faster than the next contestant on The Price is Right. Could it be that baby #2 wants out and Monday is just not going to fit into his or her plan?

Adios compañeros de trabajo: the first goodbye to my coworkers

Today my office hosted a taco bar lunch in my honor catered in from Qdoba (and bagels were brought in this morning too!)! It was so nice. The way to this girl's heart is food-an added bonus that it was Mexican food too-which most people seem to know by now, so it was probably obvious that it would make my day. It totally did, and although it was delicious, the thought of them putting it together for me was the best part.

When the Adios subject line for the meeting request came into my inbox last week, I should have immediately suspected the Mexican theme, but wasn't so sure if I should take it more like, "Sayonara! See ya when we see ya! Beat it, chica!" Yesterday the black beans were spilled and I knew to get my palate ready for a cilantro sprinkled feast today. Oh, and what a feast it was and they topped it off with a chocolate cake to boot!

I think with any job that you work at for a significant period of time, there are bound to be roller coaster moments; there are highs and lows. It's been the case in every job for me at least, and this one was no different. With this organization, when there were highs, they were great and closing this chapter has been tougher than I thought it would be.

I got married, moved into a new house and had two babies (well, almost two...two pregnancies at least) while working with this company, major life changes. Through all of them, the flexibility, understanding and support I received from my employers to my managers to my co-workers was fantastic. I have come to know many exceptional people; I've worked with everyone in my department in particular since the day I started, five and a half years ago. We've had a lot of fun together. There's a lot to miss, but knowing that I'm making the best decision possible for my family helps to keep the tears at bay. We'll see what happens on Friday, my last day. I was able to stifle them during my little speech at lunch today, but it helped that I chose to read the card they had all signed until I was on my own. When I opened it and read the first passage, I knew my emotions would get the better of me and it would be a good idea to wait.

Thanks for the send off, amigos! Who knows what my future holds exactly, but two things are for certain: tacos will be a part of it and I will walk away from my time at AMI with many fond memories of the highs.

Tick tock

In just one week from today, we will become a family of four! The countdown is on. I am consumed by thoughts of...this is the last Monday before the baby comes, the last one just the three of us; tomorrow will be...this is the last Tuesday before the baby comes, and so on and so on. Coupled with that, it was my last Monday at work...and tomorrow will be my last Tuesday at work, and so on and so on. It's all very surreal.

Yesterday (Sunday, March 28th) marked 38 weeks of pregnancy for me. My last doctor appointment on Thursday, March 25th was short and sweet. The baby's heart beat sounded good and there was no further dilation news after hearing I was dilated to a one the appointment a week prior. It's not that there wasn't any news, but we just didn't find out any since my doctor opted not to do an exam. He gave me the option and I told him whatever he thought was fine by me and he said, "Let's wait until next week then."

Waiting was fine by me since I trusted that if he thought I had progressed enough to make any difference, he would have done the exam. Well, waiting was fine except for one little thing. I had forgotten to leave my house wearing socks that day and leather shoes with no socks doesn't always equal feet that smell like roses. I should say that not wearing socks has become virtually a habit since it's way more comfortable than the tops of them digging into my ankles leaving marks looking like someone is trying to choke them. But on doctor appointment days, I try to remember to at least sport some ankle socks so as to spare myself from the embarrassment of my doctor gagging on the stench of sweaty feet. I did remember to bring socks with though, knee high dress stockings this time, but they'd do the trick. However, it had slipped my mind all six plus hours before my appointment to actually put them on. So there I find myself in my office bathroom washing my feet (clumsily I might add, trying not to topple over) with paper towels and hand soap before heading out the door to the clinic! Yep, I did it, yes, I'm actually admitting it and yeah, gross.

All that work and no exam so it didn't really matter anyway, but hey, at least my feet smelled nice (as nice as soft pink commercial hand soap can smell---or is it the foamy white soap at my office?) underneath the socks that I adorned them with for no more than an hour. I gained one pound since the last week's appointment, slightly less than what I weighed at this time in my pregnancy with Mirabella according to my doctor. Cool! My next, and final, appointment is on Thursday (Thursday, April 1st).

This is the last Monday with aforementioned stinky shoes, and tomorrow will be the last Tuesday with aforementioned stinky shoes, and Wednesday will be the last...

Photos: 37 weeks

Brace yourselves...




Compliments of Tricia


Here's one I forgot to post at 36 weeks, also compliments of Tricia

Full term

At 37 weeks as of Sunday (Sunday, March 21st), I am officially considered full term, or my baby is, I should say. So, if I went into labor today, chances are that he or she would be just as healthy as if I gave birth on my original due date. I get butterflies in my stomach every time I think about how close our baby’s birth day is!

It’s funny because at my last appointment with the doctor, exactly a week ago, I was proudly declaring how fantastic I felt. I was wearing regular shoes (with heels even), in my size, versus the last time when I was wearing slippers around my office and fuzzy boots around town by now. There was no swelling anywhere. Yes, my stomach was gigantic, but I was still able to walk fairly normally. The very next day, it was like my stomach got even bigger and the waddle appeared more often than not while I was walking. And for the last two days, my legs, ankles and feet have become tingly and have started showing the initial stages of swelling (although to most people, it's not real apparent, so maybe I'll get lucky and the swelling won't progress). The movie title Big Momma’s House comes to mind every time I look in a mirror or look down. My belly is in more pain too, not only from the protruding body parts poking me on the inside, but I am feeling it from the outside as well. Sometimes it feels like a really bad sunburn and sometimes it’s like my belly is splitting open, ripping apart underneath my clothes. Ouch! I keep thinking the feeling surely means some stretch marks are going to appear, but I’m glad that nothing resembling one has appeared just yet.

Jeff called me into Mirabella’s room the other night when he was changing her diaper to look at something strange, and comical. There were smashed up crackers submerged in her butt crack! It was so funny, until I saw the front of her and all the red marks and scratches. Poor girl had been eating crackers and they must have gone down her shirt and into her diaper…how uncomfortable! Then it came to me. That’s kind of how this feels on my stomach, like there are sharp, jagged edges of broken crackers (dipped in flames at their worst) stabbing into my belly sometimes. It hurts! Most times when I feel it, which is often, I find myself checking to see if finally a sign of a stretch mark has appeared. Still nothing, so that makes me happy and I think maybe the pain even subsides some! OK, doubtful, but I can stand it a little easier.

Sleeping is proving to be more difficult too and getting comfortable at night is nearly impossible. Trying to flip my enormous belly from one side to the other after my entire side has fallen asleep actually takes my breath away at times. I need a hoist. Why hasn’t someone invented a pregnancy hoist, a crane or something? Luckily I have a husband to pull me up from the sofa or push me off the sofa when I need it, which is regularly now, but what’s a girl to do when he’s out cold in a peaceful slumber (jerk!)? Right now when I lay down, I settle in on my left side with a pillow in between my legs (because why is it that the weight of one leg on the other now feels like Chris Farley found his final resting place?), a pillow or two to prop up my feet (since the swelling seems to be coming on) and a pillow to try and rest my belly on (which only makes me feel like I’m smothering my baby without giving me any comfort anyway so it usually ends up just being something I hold onto). The worst is when I finally get “comfortable”, it’s time for another bathroom break.

Plus, I’m convinced that I have no less than 50 dreams a night. Some are just totally crazy and off the wall, others are all too realistic, but both leave me waking up feeling like I haven’t slept. I always remember them when they wake me, but in the morning, most of the details that made them make some sense so I can explain them to Jeff have been completely erased from my memory, which I’m sure he is thankful for. We all know how fun it is to listen to someone else’s explanation of their dreams.

I’m getting sleepy again at this stage and I’m still annoyed with all the bloody noses I’ve been getting. There have been no migraines though for a long time, since whenever I last wrote about it, which has been awesome. I’ve been having Braxton Hicks contractions for quite a while, but they have been getting progressively more prominent the last couple weeks, sometimes stopping me in my tracks.

As anyone who has ever been pregnant can tell though, these things I’ve mentioned above are all extremely tolerable, especially considering what many have to go through. The last few weeks can definitely be the toughest, as is the case for me, but I’ve been so fortunate to have great experiences with my two pregnancies. I really enjoy being pregnant and I’ll very much miss many parts of it (even my mammoth belly…and even more so when my mammoth belly turns to mush!). Someone please remind me I said all this when my ankles become unrecognizable or when some stranger is forced to pull me out of a booth at Taco Bell.