"Three" was Meant to Be!

May 3rd was the 3rd anniversary of our first date and on Saturday, May 5th, Anthony and I went to the same Cinco de Mayo party at which we met 3 years ago.  May 5th also marked the start of the 3rd trimester...only 3 more months until Anthony and me plus Baby makes 3!  Oh, and did I mention that I married Anthony Jerry Malizia, the 3rd?!  AND I was 33 when I got married and pregnant!  Also, I was the 3rd child born in my family (the youngest) in the 3rd month of the year.  I always had an affinity to the number 3 and now I think I'm starting to understand why. 

At Baggataway Tavern's annual Cinco de Mayo party last weekend;
a bit different than 3 yrs ago!

With Flagg, the one who *thankfully* 'dragged' me
to the party 3 yrs ago! 


Alright, so I'm going to reveal something that many of you will surely think I made up, but I assure you it's absolutely true!  I only ever told Anthony this.  When I was a sophomore in college, I had my palm read for fun with some friends during this social event held at my on-campus apartment complex.  I never had it read before and obviously was skeptical and not hopeful for any major revelations.  Well, during this palm reading, I was told at the time that "Florida" was showing significance for me as was the letter "M".  I swear I'm not making this up!  At the time, I had no reason to make any sense of this, and just laughed it off, but now the coincidence of this is just so crazy!  Several numbers were also highlighted as being meaningful for me and I can't recall now if 3 was one of them, but I was also told at the time that I would have 3 kids.  We'll see how we do with the first one before we jump to any conclusions there!  Lol!

We had our ultrasound last week to assess the growth percentile that Baby M is currently in.  We were told that he is growing slightly above average in the 62nd percentile, but not to worry.  Baby M was weighing just shy of 3 lbs (there's that "3" again!).  The Dr. also told me to just ignore everyone who has been telling me I'm huge, saying we're right on track and I look perfectly fine for how far along I am.   I'm just very front-loaded!  Oh and we are now very certain we have a boy in there with pics to prove it!  The Dr. joked that we could share these pics at Baby M's wedding rehearsal dinner someday. Lol!

The Dr. was VERY generous this time with
the ultrasound pics.  He gave us 3 times as many
as the technician did.  We have two big reels of pics!

Too bad Baby M wasn't feeling very photogenic that day.
He had his hands in front of his face so it was
tough to get a good shot of that adorable face! 
 But I think I spy a Chabon nose!

We'll likely have another ultrasound later in the 3rd trimester to check on the growth again, which is great because we'll have a much better idea what to expect at delivery. 

In my routine Dr.'s appointment yesterday, I was measuring only a week ahead now (i.e. 30 wks vs. 29 wks).  I'm a little suspect of the belly measurement at this point, so I won't read too much into it.  The baby's heart beat was great at 140 bpm and my weight and blood pressure were good too! 


28 wk profile shot (start of 3rd trimester)


I discussed with the Dr. yesterday all of the "practice contractions" (aka Braxton Hicks contractions) I've been having, which is completely normal to be having at this point.  They don't hurt, but are very weird.  They feel like my stomach is making a fist and then accompanied by a rock-hard protrusion from my belly.  At first I didn't know what they were and just thought it was the baby repositioning or something, but now I clearly can distinguish these contractions from the baby movements.  I just have to keep an eye on them so they don't become too frequent (i.e. ~6 per hour) as this could be a sign of preterm labor.

Speaking of baby movements, our little guy is kicking and punching up a storm and our nightly routine involves me trying to pinpoint on my belly where to anticipate the next blow for Anthony to feel them too!  It never gets old!

This past week we picked up some baby items again that were just too cute not to share...


Sock-T-Pus!



Little Golf get-up...as if the outfit wasn't adorable enough,
the packaging is so cute!

And Daddy picked up this book, but I honestly don't think Anthony needs a book for this; he could probably write one himself! 

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I'm looking forward to spending the day with some pretty special Mothers in my life, including my amazing Mom.  (Thinking of you too, + Baba.  Miss you!) 

I hope all the Mamas out there have a great day...Happy Mother's Day!  XOXO

Love,
Ulana & Anthony

He-He-He-Hoo, He-He-He-Hoo

This past weekend, Anthony and I took part in an all-day childbirth class, fittingly called "A Labor of Love".  It was facilitated by Laura Horan, a Nurse Practitioner for Women's Healthcare Specialists in King of Prussia, PA.  Our Obstetricians recommended it to us and we recommend it as well (that is, if you are planning to deliver at Bryn Mawr Hospital).  It was very informative and the all-day format worked well.  It finished nicely with a tour of the hospital, including the all important explanation of the parking/drop-off situation for when it's "go time".

She recommended that you take this class about 1-2 months before your due date, but with our crazy schedules, this was the only Saturday class offered between now and our due date that we could make work.  I'm happy we took it when we did because it gave us some more time to follow-up on some suggestions she had and prepare a bit more, not that we will ever be prepared enough for what's in store for us!  I'm sure we'll forget a lot of the stuff we went through, but I was the only nerd in the class taking notes, so we should be good!  Lol!

The class also had some interesting videos that we honestly weren't prepared for.  I looked over at Anthony a few times to see him grimacing a bit, as was I for several of the parts.  Well hopefully now he won't be completely shocked during the real deal and his chances for passing out will be signficantly reduced!  What did I learn from the videos? Well, for one, I'm all for the epidural drip! It's admirable still I suppose for those that choose the "natural" route, but give me the drugs!  When I was first looking into childbirth class offerings, I mistakenly reached out to a birth doula who was all about the natural birth approach.  Her philosophy:  "My view is Zen...pain may be present, but suffering is optional".  Yes, there is something to be said about the ol' "no pain, no gain" and "mind over matter" concepts, blah, blah, blah, but my view is, why put yourself through so much pain when science and medicine have evolved to not have to endure that! 

In the last section of the class, we got to the relaxation/lamaze exercises that I'm sure many of you are familiar with.  Since I was sitting closest to the instructor, I was asked to help demonstrate some of the relaxation/massage techniques with her for the rest of the class.  This is supposed to be something our partners are to practice to help us get through the pain, which I hope is significantly reduced for me with the blessed meds! 

I was happy to get the free massage from the instructor! The girl sitting behind us in this pic has only a little more than a month to go until her due date; I technically have 3.  Could you tell she was further along than me?  Yea, I didn't think so.  And I think I actually looked a bit bigger!  In fact, all the other expectant mothers there had due dates much earlier than me and I looked the same if not bigger than all of them.

Anthony's Dad recently revealed that he was a 10 lb, 2 oz baby and Anthony was between 8-9 lbs, so possibly more evidence that our little one may not be so little when he enters this world.  I'm happy to report that I passed my glucose test, so that rules out gestational diabetes as a possible reason for potentially having a bigger baby.  Again, we'll hopefully know more after our ultrasound this Thursday.  Can't wait to see Baby M again!

We start the 3rd trimester technically this weekend (or was it last weekend since you can't divide 40 evenly by 3?), so we are on the home stretch!  I'm trying to take advantage of my energy level now so am constantly "feathering my nest"!  I have a slight obsession with picture frames these days and guess I'm preparing to be surrounded by things that make me happy and comfortable when I'm home on maternity leave.  And I'm happy and relieved that we made good progress on the nursery before I get even bigger and less energetic.  For those that know me well, you can be assured that I have several craft projects up my sleeve for this room, including paintings and some other fun DIY projects.  So fun!   I've also been perusing Etsy a lot and was happy to come across this cute mobile...one of a few things that will be hanging from the ceiling in the nursery.

One-of-a-kind handmade mobile by lollipopmoon on Etsy! 
This will be hanging over the changing table.

Here are some other sneak peaks of the nursery we've been busy working on.  First, let's see the evolution of the room that will soon become the nursery...

The room in Oct 2006 during the home inspection; ~2.5 yrs before
I'd meet the one who would turn this house into a home. 
Lovely color, huh?

It evolved a little bit over the next few years, becoming a multi-purpose room for art supplies and MBA stuff.  After meeting Anthony, a seemingly simple conversion of the room to an office turned into an extensive project due to structural/mold issues we exposed in the ceiling near the chimney...thanks goodness his Dad, a general contractor, was there!  Not sure what we would have done without him!


In the summer of 2010, Anthony, his Dad, and his friend Robby
helped to convert the room into an office.  I just had to show the
boys how to do a thing or two.  Lol!

 

Anthony and his first tool belt.




Anthony and the soon to be Papa.

 


our first project!



The finished office (well a corner of it) and the awesome bed my Dad made!

When the office was finished, Anthony and I looked at each other and both agreed this would make a nice nursery someday, but, at that time, we had no idea where in the world we would end up living!  So, we put that thought aside.  Now, ~2 yrs later, it's time to turn that office into a nursery!

@ ~26 wks

A sneak peak at part of the nursery...before the fun of
finishing touches began!  Stay tuned...

More pics to come when it's all pulled together!

Daddy also made a special purchase this week...Baby M's first pair of Air Jordans.  How cute are these?!

Tomorrow not only is Anthony's bday, but it is also the 3 yr anniversary of the day we met!  A lot sure has happened in 3 yrs and we feel very blessed.

And Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone...one of my favorite holidays.  XOXO

Love,
Ulana & Anthony