Full Term!

As of today, I'm officially full term. I've entered my 37th week!! Yesterday was my weekly trip to the doctor and all is well. I haven't started dilating, yet, but the doctor was able to feel the baby's head (weird, right?). I brought Dan with me because I was having a sonogram done. What's funny is that he says the baby is too big to get a whole picture of him. According to the measurements the technician took (I have no idea how this is done), the baby weighs 6 lbs. 13 ounces. I'm also up to 25 lbs. Hopefully that'll be all with my weight gain. I am swelling up a lot so that's why I think I've jumped in weight in the past two weeks.

Anyway, who cares about how much I weigh? My little guy is doing great! I was given my chart. Just in case I go into labor, I'm able to give it to the hospital when I show up. I can't believe William will make his presence very soon! I'm so excited about this. Let's see how much longer we have to wait.

Random Ramblings

We decided today to take it easy and go to the mall. We needed to grab some more stuff for my hospital bag like toiletries, petroleum jelly (for Will), and some other items that I can't remember of right now. We were having a nice time, but boy was I extremely tired. The swelling of my legs, combined with my sciatica kicking in, made walking around the mall absolutely painful. On top of that, I couldn't shake off my sleepiness. Actually, I fell asleep on a bench waiting for Dan to come back from a store (I must of looked like a crazy pregnant women). Who falls asleep at the mall?

So much for taking it easy! I couldn't even hang out and enjoy the day. We were even suppose to go grocery shopping, but I wouldn't have made it out of the car. Ahhhh..... and now tomorrow back to work. How will I make through the day? I did manage to fall asleep on our drive home and take a nap when we actually got home. Honestly, I could go back to sleep.

I find it amazing how quickly my energy level has diminished since I've hit my 36th week. I'm a mess. Granted, we've been actively searching for an apartment for the past two weeks, which has seriously added a great amount of stress besides the obvious upcoming birth of our son. Regardless, I just can't take it anymore. I looked like an old lady trying to walk through the mall today. I even need help getting up from my seat at times.

Are my energy levels going to get worse once Will is here and I'm feeding him every two to three hours? At least I'll be home for the first two months, which should ease my pain. I think I would feel better if I weren't running around all over the place. I need to scale back my activity levels because obviously I'm crashing.

Speaking of activity levels, (this will sound weird due to my lack of energy) but I'm dying to exercise. I really am! My legs and arms are looking flabby and I hate it. I also miss the energy levels I get from exercising. Hopefully, I'll be able to juggle a newborn, a job, and exercise. Why not? Other women do it all the time. In reality, it's been almost a year since I've worked out. I had messed up my knee around October of last year and stopped working because of it. Once it had healed, I was already pregnant. I could have worked out during the pregnancy, but that lack of energy has been a problem with me throughout my whole pregnancy.

The one thing that will be different once I get back into my exercise routine is the type of job I'll have. I'm no longer working nights or weekends. My jog is a straight up 8-4 gig, which makes planning an exercise regime easier (of course this doesn't include a newborn taking up most of my free time). Besides that, I think I'll be able to work something out. Having the weekends off will help out with my time. Let's see what happens.

Alright, I think I'm done with my rambling. There's more that I probably want to chat about, but I have to fix the hoody I'm knitting for little Will. I have a feeling tonight will be the only time I'll get to it. Chat with you soon!

Exhausted

If you read my blog, you'll know that I've been in a whirlwind. Between my apartment being filled with beautiful gifts that I can't open yet and apartment hunting, I'm utterly overwhelmed. The little hooded jacket has basically been on hold because I can't stay awake on the train. In fact, the other day I woke up at my stop while the doors were closing at my stop. I had to go to the next stop and take a train back. Of course, I was in a hurry because I was going to the doctor.

This past Tuesday, I had to call out of work. I'm just too exhausted. Practically every single evening, we've been driving to Jersey (remember, we live in the Bronx) to look at apartments. We end up getting home late as a result and it caught up to me. Honestly, I've entered my nine month and I'm just miserable. This weekend is filled up with more apartment hunting, but all I want to do is sleep.

Hopefully, we'll find a place soon, which will allow me to rest for about a second. Then comes the packing, but let's not forget, I'm full term as of Tuesday. Yeah, I'm looking forward to any of this moving. You ask why we're doing it now? Well, our lease is up on Sept. 30th. If we renew, we could get a 90-day rider, which doesn't work for us. My mom offered to babysit Will, which is why we're looking to move back to Jersey.

Alright, I'm going to get going. It is time for some breakfast. I'm making some pancakes for some sugar induced energy for our apartment hunting. Guys, send well wishes for us on our apartment hunting. Talk to you soon.

Way too Much Going on!

I would say since August 10th, my world has been nonstop. This is not because I've been having loads of fun, although this past Saturday we went to the Delaware Water Gap and had a wonderful day. Stress has been the keyword to my existence. Even though the shower was spectacular, we're are bombarded with gifts all over our living room/dining room (not that I'm complaining about that; trust me, I'm very grateful). What we're (and yes Dan is stressed, too) overwhelmed with is the fact that we're moving.

Yes, we're moving in the next few weeks with a newborn, a dog, and a whole bunch of stuff. Now you see where the stress is coming from? We're actively apartment hunting and we're doing it in Jersey. My mom offered to babysit William and it makes sense to move back to Jersey. Of course, our lease is up at the end of September, which is the reason why we're moving when Will is only a couple of weeks old.

We haven't stopped looking at places, driving back and forth to Jersey, and being utterly exhausted from all of this. Did I mention that I am now nine months pregnant? Well, it caught up to me today and I had to stay home from work. I hate doing that, but it had to be done. I did manage to wash all of Will's stuff and squeeze some hours of nap time. I'm also cooking a really nice dinner for Dan (poor guy, I've been lacking in that department lately). Not to mention, we've been searching for apartments and trying to make appointments to go see them.

The problem we're running into is our Louie. Jersey is not pet friendly, which is why we ended up in the Bronx to begin with. Fortunately, I have been finding places that do allow pets, but getting them is another question. I have faith that we'll find something soon (we're going to see a place tomorrow). We just have to start packing, which is why Will's stuff is still out and about. Aghhhh!

I will leave you with a picture of me lightly hiking at the Delaware Water Gap. We went with Dan's aunt, uncle, and cousin and had a blast. The day was perfect only going up into the 70's. We napped, hiked (it wasn't the usual hiking we do), and explored the area around us. Dan also played some ball with his cousin. We definitely ate plenty of food. It was great!

Now that the Pictures have been Uploaded!

Finally, after a week from hell (well practically, but that's another post), Dan was able to upload the pictures from the shower. I can't begin to tell you how beautiful and wonderful our shower was. So, I'll try to describe as much as I can.

For starters, Sal (the host) is very talented. I'm always amazed at her attention to detail and how creative she is. The place looked awesome and I know how hard she worked on it. There were fortune cookies that she ordered that read fortunes about Dan, me, and the baby. It was so cute! One of the fortunes said, "The baby's name will be William." I had no idea you could do this.

Every table had two piggy banks with pennies in them that everyone took home at the end of the day. I loved that! We decided on a seating chart to make it easier for everyone (no fighting on who is sitting next to who). When you went up to the table to grab your number, your name was attached to a blue pacifier. She also had boxes that included picture frames, Cadbury chocolate bar, fortune cookies, and some had piggies. Every table also had tones of mints for after dinner.

So Sal, I could never thank you enough for making that day as wonderful as it was. I love you a lot!

Now I have to go to my other friend, Andrea. She is also Miss Creative! Andrea is responsible for the invitations. She personally made them, which came out beautiful. Her creativity doesn't stop there.

The doll that Dan and I are holding is made up of blankets, cloth diapers, bibs, wrist rattlers, little toys, and other stuff that I know I'm leaving out. How adorable is that? She should definitely start making these and selling them. She'll make tons of money. I felt bad pulling it apart when I got home.

Andrea, went absolutely crazy with everything, too. She made a card box for us so that anyone who had gotten us gift cards, checks, or cash didn't have to worry about their money being lost. She also made a book box, which now stores all of Will's books that I'll be reading very happily. I love reading and the fact that Will already has a library of books, excites me to no end.

Andrea is another person that I have no idea how I would make this all up to, but somehow I will. I thank you very much for all of your hard work. I'll never forget this.

Now I have to go to the grandparents (all four of them). Between my parents and Dan's parents, they've spent a small fortune on their grandson. They've been very helpful and without them this shower would not have happened. They blindly trusted Sal to do all the preparations without any hesitation. They were all smiling ear to ear at the party. I could also never thank them enough for all they've done. I love them very much.



Last, but not least, I have to say that I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone. All of my friends and family have spent way too much money. The amount of gifts that we have is just astonishing. I don't know how we'll be able to repay each and every single person. I love everyone of you and I'll make sure that Will will always know how much he's loved by everyone.

Here's one last picture to show you what our apartment looks like after it's been filled up with gifts.
The funny thing is that there are more gifts that have arrived since this picture like the stroller/car seat set, my glider with the ottoman, a bathtub, and a few more items. You could only imagine how amazed Dan and I are. The following morning we stood in the living room just staring at everything, not sure of what to do. Dan turned to me and said "This is no longer our apartment, but the kid's apartment." He could not have said it better.

The Shower!

This had to have been the best shower in the world! We really haven't had a chance to upload all the pictures, but I got one. I have to post about this day and tell you how wonderful it was, but it will probably happen either later on today or tomorrow. It's been a hectic, nonstop weekend. I'm stealing a few minutes this morning to just make this little post. Enjoy the pic!

Today's My Shower!

I've been waiting for this day since I found out about it. My dear best friend Sal has been furiously working nonstop to make this the best shower in the world. The one thing about Sal that always amazes me is her attention to detail. For instance, yesterday she gave me a little sample of what to expect. She handed me fortune cookies. We open a few of them up and see little fortunes about me, Dan, and the baby. I would have never thought of that! How cute is that?

Poor thing looked exhausted last night when I saw her. I would have loved to help her with the preparations, but of course I'm not allowed to see anything. Today will probably be even more hectic than all the preparation she's been doing. She'll want to make sure everything looks perfect. I know she'll worry about every little detail to who shows up on time and doesn't. She's my greatest friend and I treasure her very much. We're going to have so much fun!

Well, I must go. Dan and I have loads of stuff still to do. We've been doing some major house cleaning. When I say major, I mean going through stuff we haven't looked at in years. We decided to throw away all (well almost all) the notebooks from college. The only things we kept were important papers. It was about time! We need to make room for the baby and we're also planning to move by the end of September (that's another post). The junk needs to go.

Besides cleaning, I need to get pretty! I need to wax, give myself a pedicure and manicure, and I have no idea what else. So now that I've had breakfast, I need to get my ass in gear. I'm letting Dan sleep in a bit because I zonked out on him last night at 10 pm. He did so much work. Well, off to my pedicure!

One of Them Days

It started off with a bowl of cereal on my lap, feet, and floor. After cleaning it off, I cried a bit to Dan about it and finished getting ready for work. Nothing spectacular happened throughout the workday. In that aspect, I can't complain.

I stayed at work until 5 (I need some overtime hours; I left early on Friday). I don't mind staying late because then I get to go home with Dan. We leave work about 10 minutes early. Our car is in the shop and it was ready to be picked up. The place closes at six, which doesn't leave much leeway on time. Anyway, we get into the train and it's packed to the point that I don't get pass the door much. It takes three stops for anyone to actually notice I'm pregnant and offer me a seat, which I greatly appreciated. My belly kept on hitting the lady in front of me. We all looked like sardines.

Once we enter the Bronx, the conductor announces that the train is going local. At which point Dan asks me if we should get off, but we couldn't. There was no way we would reach the door in time. Our train doesn't empty out until our stop, which is delayed right at the station. We're stuck for some unknown reason. Finally, the train moves and we get out.

We pick up the car and that works out just fine. Once home, I quickly start making dinner. There was nothing exciting about dinner. I cooked some sweet Italian sausages and rotelle pasta with store bought tomato sauce. I wasn't going to eat. I got stuffed from the ice cream cones we got from a Mr. Softee right before getting home. Anyway, I ask Dan to strain the pasta for me. We have one of those pots that you could strain from because the lid has little holes. He's done straining it and turns it over one more time to get the excess water out. The lid comes crashing off and the pasta goes all over the sink. He just walks out and gets really upset. I laugh it off.

If my day is going to finish with remaking pasta, so be it. I think the weird stuff stopped there. I don't feel anymore bad vibes. Even though I try not to focus on how bad my day starts, I do believe it lingers on throughout the rest of the day. Luckily, I keep a pretty optimistic outlook of life. If I had truly let that bowl of cereal get to me, my day would have been worse. I did also participate in some gossip, which I try not to do. It just brings bad stuff.

Anyway, that's how my day has been. How was yours?

What I Have a Knack for

The two things I've always had a knack for has been the bearer of bad news and knowing when I'm in danger. The first one happens because people seem to trust me or I happen to catch someone doing something they shouldn't be doing. Of course this talent I had was very big in high school where there was something always gone with one of my friends. I hated breaking this type of news to any of my friends. I always felt like a big turd doing so.

My other talent is knowing when I'm in trouble. There have been a few instances where my life has been in danger and luckily, I've gotten myself out of it. Two of these instances, my life was on the line and I thank the angels that protected me for getting me out of it. I've learned over the years to trust my instincts when it comes to thinking something may happen. I don't want to later regret it.

At around 7pm, I took out Louie for his walk. I left my keys and cell phone at home. When I got downstairs, I got that feeling that I shouldn't have done that. The minute I stepped out of the building, two men crossed my path. One of them stopped me and started asking me questions about Louie. He nervously looked at the other guy who had stepped into my building and had quickly come out. I had instantly gotten a bad vibe from these two and kept the conversation short.

I kept on walking and Louie did his thing. I picked up his poop, walked to the corner, and threw the poop out at the corner garbage can. When I turned around, I saw that these two guys were now standing in front of the door. Now, I'm totally regretting leaving my keys and phone upstairs. I couldn't call Dan and tell him what was going on. So, I decided to walk in front of the guys, turned the corner, and walked down the block. I wanted to see what these guys were going to do.

I stopped in front of our garage and turned to look up the street. The guy who had stepped into the building walked to the corner and looked to see where I was. He looked frustrated and turned around. I now knew that I couldn't go back to the front door. I stood in front of the garage and begged my runners (they are spiritual guides who help me out when I'm in need) to have the garage door open. About a few minutes later, maybe two or three, the garage door opens and my neighbor was pulling out. I happily waved at him, walked inside the garage, and profusely thanked my guides.

Listen, this could have all been a coincidence and I was just paranoid, but I rather be safe than sorry. I'm pregnant and I feel that I'm more vulnerable to stuff like this than normal. The guys acted strange and I had never seen them before in the area. I know I live in a city and there are many people who travel through the area. But I still know the owners of dogs that get walked around the area and see practically the same people walking in and out of the subway.

What freaked me out the most was the guy walking to the corner to see where I was and turning around, slapping his hand against his leg out of frustration. What if I hadn't followed my instincts and walked into my building and those guys followed me in? God knows what would have happened. I may not be posting this now.

Do yourself a favor and always trust your instincts when it comes to situations like these. It has saved my life. Always be aware of your surroundings. And if something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't. Trust me on this and you'll thank me. Also, always ask your spirit guides, God, or whoever you put your faith in to help you out. It's worked for me.