38 weeks!

this past weekend we took a childbirth class at long island jewish hospital that ran from 10am to 3pm. it was a long, long day for us and i was extremely exhausted by the time we were done and headed home, but we did learn a lot of useful things as well as brought up a few questions that i'd need to ask the doc about.

i think k was a bit freaked out with all the live birth clips, and frankly so was i. additionally, the nurse described basically all that can possibly ever go wrong and it just makes childbirth seem so unpredictable and dangerous and worrisome!

we got back our maternity shoot pictures a few weeks ago, and i absolutely love them. i'm so glad i decided to do this and cannot wait for the newborn shoot when baby l gets here! i highly recommend any first time mom look into a maternity/newborn shoot if finances allow it; you will not regret it.

after i came back from my doctor's appointment yesterday, i notified my manager of my condition. we've decided that i will continue to work, but from home, for the rest of the time. commuting back and forth to work is starting to take a toll on me, especially since its the holiday season. it took me almost 2 hours to get home on tuesday night! that is not gonna fly if i go into labor suddenly! not only that, but the ride is becoming quite uncomfortable, having to sit for so long without moving. the anxiety/stress that it gives me is probably not good neither.

currently: 38 weeks
weight gained: approximately 26lbs

stats: 60% effaced, 1cm dilated

baby stuff: graco pack and play in laguna bay

as a first time mommy, i didn't realize the abundance of things that a baby could possibly need (or not need). we live in a one bedroom co-op on the outer boroughs so space is a big issue for us. i decided very early on that we would not be getting a crib and that baby would actually be sleeping in a pack and play, also known as playards.

what's a pack and play? it's really just a portable crib. i remember when my brother was young he had one of these and it worked as his full-time crib as well as his daytime play area for when my mom wasn't able to watch him at all times. they are portable, foldable and smaller than a crib. with that said, it's not a perfect product; most have weight limits and depending on the one you pick, may not fully support the baby even under that weight limit.

the one on the right is the pack and play i ended up selecting - graco pack and play in laguna bay with infant napper and changing station. when picking pack and plays, there are many "additions" to choose from and it's not just the color of the pack and play. some come with nappers, others with mobiles and yet others come with full service organizing stations. i did a lot of research and felt that the newborn napper would be the most useful for us and thought that the laguna bay collection was a design that was neutral and pleasing to the eye.

we (or rather, k) spent about an hour or so setting up the pack and play the other day. and although it came with instructions, it's not super user friendly. it felt like ikea instructions, as in, there were a bunch of pictures that didn't always make sense.

in reading some of the reviews on the pack and plays, most parents noted that the mattresses were flimsy and not suitable for long-term sleeping arrangements, so i did some google searches and we also registered for the mamadoo mattress topper, which adds a few inches of firm support to the pack and play. it looks and feels great and i'm sure baby l will enjoy it, or at the very least, i'll feel better that he's sleeping on something with a lot more support.

up next, graco snugride 35 in laguna bay.

baby shower.

after almost two months of planning, our shower took place on november 13th. i spent all of saturday preparing food and most of sunday morning organize; i was super exhausted by the time it was even time for the shower, but it was definitely something that we really enjoyed.

everything came together beautifully in the end and the things that didn't, nobody knew about. as k noted, it really was like planning for a mini wedding!

my inspiration/theme for the shower was the favor i chose; when i first saw this, i knew immediately it was what i wanted to give our guests. it's a cute little caterpillar salt and pepper shaker. i looked all over the web for a few days and did a lot of comparison shopping to get the best price available since these little babies were around $4 each.

we decided to stick with green and blue colors in addition to the caterpillar theme. the food came out great; we had so much leftover that we didn't know what to do with it. the menu consisted of pigs in a blanket, pepperoni pinwheels, fried noodles, fried rice, potstickers (fried dumplings) and pork belly buns (gua bao). for dessert there was a green tea cheesecake, green tea cupcakes as well as homemade bottle and carriage shaped sugar cookies made by kenndy, which came out even better than i originally envisioned.

we played a few games and awarded some prizes. towards the end, we opened presents and all in all it was an absolutely exhausting but still extremely satisfying day.

the one big thing? WE FORGOT TO PASS OUT THE FAVORS BEFORE EVERYONE LEFT!!!! ugh. i spent a couple of days writing out my thank you cards and sending out the favors via fedex. i hope everyone got their favors in the mail!

currently: 33 weeks and 5 days
weight gained: approximately 20lbs

maternity shoot. maternity leave.

i had my maternity shoot two weeks ago and interestingly enough, one week to the next makes a huge difference in the third trimester. i wasn't showing a lot during that time, but now i'm like a washing machine. sleeping has been quite an ordeal with not being able to get into a comfortable spot, even with 4 pillows :( i've had to buy a new coat since most of my coats are just way too tight around the tummy area and i end up looking like a stuffed sausage. i guess if i had waited two more weeks i would've had a bigger belly in the pictures, but the photographer had suggested perhaps another shoot in a few weeks when he is in the area so i'm just waiting for him to get back to me on possible dates.

work has been relatively stressfree these couple of days. my maternity leave is already being discussed in earnest and a plan is forming for when i'm out. i'm a bit worried about when i come back and how things will be... i guess there is always job stability, plus whether or not i'll be able to keep my position as the lead once i'm back.

currently: 31 weeks
weight gained: approximately 18lbs

babymoon.

we just came back from gorgeous cabo san lucas this last thursday. originally i had wanted to plan a last getaway somewhere in europe... was looking into madrid or barcelona but the air tickets were just outrageous. i was able to use our points and get us business class tickets (going and econ back) for only $150/pp... and with the all-inclusive costing us $400/pp, the trip was in short, extremely affordable for 6 days.

we weren't able to do any of the "exciting" and "cool" things that cabo had to offer such as ATVing in the dunes or riding camels, but we did partake in an awesome once in a lifetime experience -- we helped release baby sea turtles back into the ocean. i was also able to get discounted vouchers from los cabos guide, which helped us save 50% off the price. at first, k was skeptical about the experience but relented because it was one of the tamer things we could do. when we were finally on the beach with the huge box full of baby turtles, he was simply speechless. it was a great experience, especially considering that we will be having a little one of our own pretty soon.

we spent most of the trip sunbathing and hanging out in the pool, which was really nice, plus it made the trip so much more longer (as opposed to doing so many activities that the days just fly by). it was a nice time and we absolutely loved cabo and can't wait to go back when baby l is big enough. as always, we missed domo terribly and was very happy to land and pick him up to go home.

currently: 28 weeks and 5 days
weight gained: approximately 15lbs

finally showing... sort of.

so for the past few weeks i've been wondering why i haven't been showing, especially since i was nearing the 6 month mark.  plus since i had only gained approximately 9lbs i'm just a tad bit worried.  however, after speaking to so many friends who've noted the same and then suddenly blowing up during the third trimester/last month, it has gotten me really worried/scared.  granted i want baby l to be as healthy as can be but i also don't want to be a fat cow!

i've finally started showing although most of the "showing" begins after i've had lunch.  most mornings i just wake up with a slight belly that's easily camouflaged in baggy clothing.  most people can't even tell that i'm pregnant, which is a good/bad thing.  case in point: yesterday i was at the ob office and this rudeass mofo'er asked me to get up and move to another seat so that he could sit next to his girlfriend who was sitting next to me.  when i got up and he noticed the bump, he sheepishly tried to joke, "hey you got something in your shirt."  uh dude, not funny.  and you're a douchebag for making a preggo move so you can be more convenient, you POS.  but i digress.

3 more weeks until our babymoon/cabo trip, can't wait.  although i'm a bit apprehensive since this will be the first trip we've ever taken where there was practically nothing planned, since i can't exactly do many of the water activities :(  we'll see how it goes!

currently: 24 weeks and 5 days
weight gained: approximately 9lbs

oh, boy!

so we found out 2 weeks ago today that we will be having a boy.  we didn't have any strong preferences for either gender, but after a few days i started to think about things like, who am i gonna pass my chanels on to... and, what about my re-ment collection... and, who am i gonna buy an american girl doll for?!  but i also thought about things like, not having to worry about over-protective daddy k, dating and all the things that go along with that, their body image and other things i had to deal with while growing up.  i guess all the pros and cons balance out.

i did remind k that when it comes time for the birds and the bees talk, it would be allll his.  hehehehe.

we didn't want to start thinking about names until we were sure about the gender, so after a few days, i started looking into possible names.  i picked a list of about 15 names and k basically just picked 1 from it and that was that.  easy peasy.

i did start a little shopping already.  i love how little boy clothes look like exact replicas of adult men clothes but at a teeny tiny size!  i can't wait to buy matching puma sneakers for both baby l and daddy k.

currently: 21 weeks and 6 days
weight gained: approximately 6lbs