Homebound and on the Home Stretch!

Only 10 DAYS to go until our due date!  I can't believe it!

Here are some recent belly shots...

38 wk profile shot

During our little weekend getaway in Philly (@ 36/37 wks). 
Hanging out at the pool was absolute heaven!

At the fireworks in Conshy (@ 36/37 wks).

I've been anxiously watching for any and all signs that labor may be near, but honestly some of those seem to be misleading.  For example, one of the signs I've read about is a sudden burst of energy and urge to nest.  Well, that has been a non-stop occurrence for me throughout this whole pregnancy, so not sure that will be a good indicator.  I may have possibly reached a new level with that though this week.  After the cleaning ladies left on Monday (by the way, our recent hiring of cleaners was quite possibly the BEST decision ever!), I actually went around and cleaned a bit more behind them!  I had to point out some 'cleaning deficiencies' to them.  Sorry, but they should understand that they are dealing with a full-on nesting, VERY pregnant client who is confined to home right now with the time and energy still to scrutinize their work.  Lol!  The baby will likely be here by the next time they come, so they may get off easy then.

This week was my first week away from the office.  I technically am still working remotely, as my boss reiterated was our arrangement on Friday, with a wink.  I'm so lucky to have such a cool boss!  (My actual 6-month maternity leave won't start until I actually deliver.)  And despite my eagerness to leave the office and come home to mentally prep for the birth of our little guy, I actually already miss some of my work colleagues, or at the very least the human interaction.  I thought I would have been happily skipping out of work last Friday, but it was rather kind of emotional--damn pregnancy hormones!  I have been at the company for 11 years, about 6 of which have been spent in the same building and on the same floor, so it was a bit weird for me to be leaving such a familiar place for a rather extended period of time. 

With hugs all around, I bid 'farewell for now' to the cafeteria workers--particularly Jen at the register, Carson at the deli, and Dwayne at the grill who really hooked me up throughout my pregnancy by sneaking me extras like pickles and carrots all the time.  When it came time to say good-bye to my boss, I went into his office with a chipper "the next time you see me I'm gonna be a Mama"!  To my surprise, my boss, who's been at the company for 26 yrs and is your typical hard-headed, no fuss type, got up from his desk slowly, approached me with his arms open, and gave me a big hug.  I felt myself starting to get emotional and couldn't look at him!  We chatted very briefly then and I said the rest of my farewells to my other colleagues.  I managed to make my way out of the building and actually shed a couple of tears as I drove away. 

My spirits shifted quickly though because I was on my way to pick up my, sorry, our, new car! 

Mama's new wheels!   The carseat is all locked and loaded
now in the new ride.

Anthony had been searching for months!  He did a great job finding this certified pre-owned car and negotiating a great deal on it, and all in time to get the paperwork all straightened out and the car seat installed before the baby arrives!  We had a great experience with the Acura/VW dealership in Ardmore, PA if anyone is looking for a new car.  They even provided me an overnight test drive, which I had never been offered before. 

The good thing is I guess I won't really be putting a lot of miles on it for a while at least.  My daily 'routine' now consists of me waking Anthony up at the crack of dawn (I'm his human alarm clock--that will certainly be changing soon!), then sleeping in a bit, cranking up the air conditioning, having a big bowl of honey nut cheerios with bananas (I need this to get going in the morning as much as others need coffee!), getting online sometime around 9:00 am to fire off some emails and attend some meetings, taking breaks to rest and put up my feet, and hopefully showering at some point.  HGTV, Bravo, or some morning show is usually on in the background, although I can only take Kelly Ripa in very small doses and need to completely avoid Rachel Rae and The View at all costs. 

The rest of my day involves a nap around lunchtime, little trips here and there to avoid cabin fever, and about a thousand trips in and out of the nursery to see if there is anything that needs organizing or that I should pick up for those early days with the baby.  When I do step outside to water the plants or something, I feel like I'm going to combust--it is so unbearably hot out right now!  So I've been trying to avoid being outside right now. 

Took about a day for these
 'sausage feet' to recover!

Then I figure out dinner and anxiously wait for Anthony to get home.  Exciting, I know, but I'm actually enjoying the precious R&R right now and the chance to decompress a bit before our little one arrives.  And it is nice to be home to ensure I'm drinking lots of water and putting my feet up regularly to avoid the 'sausage feet' I experienced this past weekend!




I'm also enjoying a bit of online shopping lately.  I love searching for deals and I LOVE getting packages in the mail!  I get almost instant gratification from Diapers.com, who deliver next-day, and I'm rather addicted to perusing Etsy for unique, handmade finds.  I ordered something recently from Etsy for my friend Lauren Y's baby girl and when it arrived, it was so adorable I had to order it for our little guy.  These handmade hooded towels are the first things that I have ordered with Baby M's actual name on it.  I loved seeing his name on them when they arrived in the mail!

Love these!  Adorable dino and shark hooded towels
(strategically positioned to not reveal his name)!

We have another Dr's appointment tomorrow during which we hopefully will receive some news that I am progessing towards labor.  In our appointment last week, I was measuring right on at about 37-38 wks, but no dilation or effacement yet.  The Dr. indicated she could feel his little head, which is great, but that I hadn't really dropped yet.  She estimated that the baby was about 7.5 lbs at that time and that he likely would end up being 8.5 lbs if I deliver on or about my due date.  I feel like I have since "dropped" because I have much more pressure on my pelvis and seem to be breathing a bit easier.  We'll see what she says!  In the meantime, we'll continue to marvel at the crazy shapes my belly has been taking lately as our 'little' guy continues to shift around in there...

"Alien belly"!  That's his butt.

Stay tuned!  Perhaps the next post will be to introduce our precious baby boy to the world! 

Love,
Ulana & Anthony

Waiting on an Angel

We are on the home stretch now and anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little guy...any day now! 

My calendar at work...a simply circled date never meant so much.
We're officially becoming a little family this month!

And, pretty soon, this will be us...

One of Anthony's Father's Day cards...really does kinda resemble us!  Lol!

Profile shot @ 36 wks

Technically, I am 36 wks as of yesterday.  At my last Dr's visit, when I was 34.5 wks, they claimed I was already measuring at 36 wks and strongly recommended that I limit my travel to within a 1 hr radius.  (However, they still maintained my due date as July 28th.)  This travel restriction ultimately changed my plans for this weekend, which Anthony and I were planning to head to the beach with my sisters and their families.  We felt at this point, it was probably wise to heed the Dr's recommendations and not take any chances, but I'm bummed!   Instead, Anthony and I opted for a local alternative and have a little overnight getaway planned in Philly, which could possibly be our last mini-getaway as a twosome.  My only request for this overnight was that the place had an outdoor pool and as always, Anthony delivered!  I am so excited!

Needless to say, the hospital bag is coming with us on our little overnight...

Future diaper bag getting broken in as my hospital bag! 
Loving all the compartments!

At our last 'fancy' wedding as
a twosome! (35/36 wks)

Almost everyone I run into now is skeptical of my professed due date and claim I have to be going early as if there is absolutely no conceivable way I have another month to go.  My friend Kelly A. swears I'm going into labor with the full moon on July 3rd.   Even my colleagues at work are basically counting me out after next week, even though my current arrangement is to come to the office through July 13th and then work from home thereafter.  Speaking of my colleagues, they threw a surprise shower for me this past Thursday...so sweet of them!  I honestly was not expecting it, but Anthony and I are so appreciative of their generosity and all the wonderful baby gifts they gave us.

Also, the most common question I get lately from people is, "Are you ready?"  My typical response is, "I think."  Not sure we can ever really be ready for what's in store for us!  We think we have most things, at least the basic things, in place for his arrival...

Carseat is officially installed and inspected! The one thing for sure

we needed for them to release the baby to us at the hospital. 

Our version of a bassinet is ready for him in our bedroom!

And the nursery is pretty much finished!

(Mama is still working on some paintings for the wall in the last pic.)

I have to admit, the unknown of how the whole labor process will start is a bit unnerving! I've heard so many others' stories and they are so varied! Will I have a hollywood-type water breaking episode at the office with my boss freaking out? Will it come on me quickly with just enough time to grab the good ol' hospital bag and have our neighbor, Roberta, or our friend, Flagg, or some other "back-up" rush me to the hospital? Will I closely approach or even pass my due date and beg to be induced? Or will I wait out hours of contractions at home with enough time for Anthony to get home from Wilmington or wherever to 'wait it out' with me until we have to head to the hospital? Who knows?! But I'm hoping for something similar to the last scenario.

Yes, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little angel, but I'm sure many of you recognize the title of this post from elsewhere.  It happens to be the title of one of my favorite songs written and performed by Ben Harper.  We even incorporated this song in our wedding video and now it is one that I play for Baby M often.  I'm rarely doing anything without music playing.  We have iPod docking stations throughout the house and I even listen to music at work, well when not in meetings of course.  Over the past several months, part of my evening routine during the week involved me coming home from work, putting my feet up, and reading a book on my iPad that was propped up on my belly and playing tunes from Pandora, etc. We typically had an hour or sometimes two of R&R together while we waited for Anthony to get home from work.

So I suppose I wasn't entirely surprised by some of the feedback I received after my first Reiki treatment.  Kristin, the 'Reiki Master', asked if I played music for Baby M, because apparently he was "communicating" that he loves it!  Also, she indicated that he "said" that I'm very particular about the music I play for him.  I found that amusing because when I would read, I would only play one particular Pandora station (Beethoven, Chopin, and Bach piano radio).  And Anthony and I typically only play 3 different other Pandora stations when we're home: David Gray radio (1st concert we went to), The Fray radio (1st CD we made out to, Lol!), and Michael Buble radio (we love him and Sinatra, etc.).  I do also sneak in my beloved Usher radio from time to time (just because...he's awesome!).   At work, I typically only play Coldplay and Dave Matthews Band.

During additional Reiki sessions, Kristin said she continues to see music surrounding Baby M when she puts her hands on my belly and she insists we are going to have a little musician, apparently also with a BIG personality, on our hands.  Whether you buy into the whole Reiki thing or not, that was pretty intriguing to me!  Who knows, maybe we have a future rock star or American Idol in there.  Lol!

So fittingly, Mama ordered these little lullabye CDs for him...

All I know is, when we hear his first scream in the delivery room, that will definitely be music to our ears!  Can't wait!

Happy 4th everyone and be safe!

Love,
Ulana & Anthony