34 weeks/ Final Baby Shower/Ocean City Birthday Fun!

34 weeks! EH and I are looking sharp and I'm wearing some wedges that didn't last the day.

I'm totally behind in my posts, ya'll! But to be fair, we were pretty busy this week. Warning: this will be a photo heavy post because of the sheer number of things that were done this past week.

Baby Shower

EH and I rode up to Westchester for our final baby shower. It really was a great time. The best part was being able to see a good amount of my family members and laughing at their Jamaican antics, which EH and I love to do :-)

My family was determined to stuff me full of food during this event. I indulged in as much as I could, roast breadfruit, Ackee and Saltfish (the Jamaican national dish), Ox-tail, rice and peas, potato salad, escoveitch fish (seasoned fried fish with peppers and onions) and some slamming ginger lemonade that my mother's boyfriend made.

I sat for so many pictures for my dad and my mother's boyfriend(who have the same name by the way...) I felt like a model. I got all of these pics from my mother's boyfriend because though my dad takes a billion pictures at every event....no one ever sees them because he doesn't know how to upload them to the computer and send them out.

EH is quite happy in this pic! This is the perfect example of his "gleeful" face.

My lil bro Chris made me this cool photo collage of my childhood that now hangs in our entryway. I love it!! The little baby pic in the middle looks just like Miss W.

Here's my mom cutting the cake and taking it very seriously...she gave me some parenting books as part of my shower gifts, which I thought was ironic but que sera sera, forgiveness is on the agenda these days.

This cake was absolutely delicious and gorgeous!!

This is about 1/4 of the whole family and it's a bunch of folks. This is the first time all my brothers have been in the same place at the same time. I love these people!!

Ocean City

A few days later, EH and I hopped in the car and drove to Ocean City, MD for some much needed rest and relaxation! We were also celebrating my 33rd birthday. It made me all kinds of reflective considering what a low place we were in just a year ago. Oh, and we finally bought a camera so we could take decent pictures!!

We went to an awesome local restaurant where I stuffed my face with grilled scallops and cheese grits...yeah buddy! This restaurant had the best water I've ever tasted or maybe it was the jar I was drinking it out of. I'm convinced that we have to own a few of these jars.

Blowing out the candles on my "surprise" birthday slice of cookie dough cheesecake. I was so stuffed I couldn't really finish it.

Our room had a great view of the beach and the boardwalk from our balcony. I rarely went out on it because I'm not a big fan of heights. That is a beach cover up I'm wearing, not a moo-moo as it appears to be. LOL! I've started to wear my rings around my neck since my fingers and feet have been swelling lately. It feels very strange not having them on my fingers to the point where I have a mini-freakout at least once a week thinking I've lost them.

Another goal of the trip was to take some halfway decent maternity photos! We never got around to getting professional pictures taken and decided that we would save that cash to have professional pics taken of Miss W after she's born. EH played photographer and boy did he do an excellent job. We were both a little iffy about how they would turn out but there were so many beautiful shots and I can't wait to hang them up in the nook.

We spent most of the mini-vacation eating, drinking fruity non-alcoholic beverages and lazing around on the beach...which is basically bliss to me.

We took a little time to visit Assateague Island national park /nature preserve where we were told we could see some wild horses but we didn't see them until we were driving home so , whomp-whomp, no pics of the wild horses.

We walked by this touch and see exhibit inside the visitor's center and I dared EH to pick up this wild crab. He totally took me up on it but then promptly dropped it. Good times!!

The preserve was really just amazingly beautiful...

How cute is this little cabin??

Ocean City has like a gazillion mini-golf courses and we knew we couldn't leave without playing through at least one. EH has mini-golfed before but this was my first time doing it and we have never had so much fun.

We totally spanked this course!

We had an awesome time this past week..so much in fact that we've decided to go back every summer! It's relatively inexpensive and there are so many things to do for adults and kids..two thumbs way up!

33 Weeks/ Love in Toronto

33 weeks!! 4 weeks till D-day!!

EH and I made it back safely from Toronto on Sunday night and we are so happy to be home. This was one of those trips that was too short to do any sightseeing or really take in the city. We were there solely to celebrate the love of these two special people:

Looking sharp and in looooveeeee!

It amazes me that, given the small amount of time I spent at Spelman College, I could make such a lasting friendship (10 years and counting!!) that has transcended distance and time. My girl walked down the aisle wearing a beautiful Mermaid dress that showed off all the, ahem, assets and her husband was cool and calm during the whole day.

I'll say this: I Love Weddings! especially when they are not mine.

EH and I left home at around 5:30 in the morning and had a fun road trip all the way up to and across Canada. Along the way we stopped to visit some friends from our old church who moved up to Canandaigua, NY. It was a great little breather and we got soooooo many clothes and toys for Ms. W because our friends had just had twins about nine months ago. We even got a present from our friend's mom, which was so thoughtful and unexpected. And of course I forgot to take pics of the visit. I'm still kicking myself for that one but I'm sure it won't be the last time we visit them.

The hotel was nice and comfortable, food was great. The ceremony took place in a historic church in Downtown Toronto that was right down the street from our hotel, which made it super convenient for us. The wedding was so beautiful and the reception was awesome, even though we didn't get to stay until the very end because of our early departure time the next day.

See how she's bending down for the pic?? Yep, I'm that short! And I was wearing short heels. Ha!

My dress for the wedding was actually a little too big for me and ended up looking very blousy on top but it was super comfortable. I ended up changing into sandals for the reception because my feet were already swelling.

EH was looking sharp too!

EH and I stuffed ourselves silly at the reception. I was determined to eat at least a little of everything even though my stomach capacity isn't what it used to be because I hate when folks waste food at a wedding. EH and I rolled ourselves back to the hotel, packed and promptly passed out. We toyed with the idea of visiting Niagara Falls on the way back home but nixed it because we didn't leave Canada as early as we needed to.

Now that we're back home, we can't believe that in four weeks, God willing, we're going to be holding a little mamasita in our arms. It's kind of mind blowing. Tonight, EH and I are going to a breastfeeding class at the hospital where we'll be delivering. I feel like I need a million distractions just to make the time go by faster. This weekend we have our third and FINAL baby shower and then ,the weekend after that, we're off to Ocean City, Maryland for my birthday/Mommymoon.

Soooooooo excited to lay on the beach!!

32 Weeks/Baby Shower #2

32 weeks!! 5 weeks till D-day!

Cutting the cake....My dress still fits! but the tatas were looking a little...wide..HA!!

EH and I celebrated our second Baby Shower over the Memorial Day Weekend and it definitely was not what we expected. It turned out to be a very small gathering of close friends. I'd invited almost 30 people and I would say about 6-10 actually showed up!

EH was very upset about the turnout because he wanted it to be a nice time for me and because we had spent so much money reserving the space and getting food for the event. He was listening to some serious LA gangsta rap the night before and railing against humanity...LOL. I still had a great time with the few friends that were there and I especially got a kick out of EH's reactions when we opened the presents. My hard husband suddenly turned into a teddy bear!

colorful hats

I'm chalking up our low turnout to the fact that our shower was held in the Bronx where we live and folks just didn't want to travel. I have to keep reminding myself that I wanted NO shower in the first place so even having one (or three) is a blessing.

cakes

measuring the bump

My bestie and her sisters decorated the space so nicely and everyone enjoyed the food that we ordered and took some home. We're still noshing on leftover food at home! We got to catch up with some friends we hadn't seen in a while and got a bunch of really sweet presents for Ms. W.

EH was soooo excited about the onesies!

After we got home, EH and I laughed and joked about the turnout, including one guest who texted my bestie at 3 in the morning to say they weren't coming. I'm extremely thankful for my bestie who went above and beyond to make the shower fun. We're probably going to send her and her sisters a big bunch of flowers to thank them.

Me and my bestie! Born only two days apart :-)

My Godson M...he's growing up way too fast!

Meanwhile, EH and I are gearing up for yet another trip to Canada this weekend!

Woohooo!! We're headed to Toronto this time to attend the wedding of one of my friends from college. I can't express how excited we are to get outta town for a few days. We're making the 10-hour drive up, with many stops along the way, and also plan to stop by and visit with some friends who live in Canandaigua, NY. We're trying to get as much fun in as we can before Ms. W comes along!

31 Weeks/ Sleep, Where Art Thou??

31 weeks!! 6 weeks till D-day!!

I've had a rough couple of days sleep wise. It's like I hit 30 weeks and my body said...no more good sleep for you!! Just like the soup Nazi on that famous episode of Seinfeld. Last week, it was super difficult getting comfortable in the bed, my post nasal drip was acting up again, after a short reprieve, and EH's snoring was annoying me. Sleep was fleeting but I put on my nose strip, banished the hubby to the living room, propped myself up with the snoogle and was able to get a few winks in.

On Sunday night my mind was racing; thoughts going a mile a minute. I'm a serious list maker so usually I can just do a brain dump of things using the list app on my phone just so it's not rattling around in my head. This was also NOT the best night to not get sleep! Remember that social work licensing exam I've been talking about forever?? Well, Monday was test day. You can imagine how stressed I was looking at the clock and knowing that in a few hours I would have to take one of the biggest exams of my, dormant, career. I rested and rested and rested but actual, physical sleep...NEVER CAME!!! Meanwhile, Ms. W was having the time of her life...kicking and punching and moving her head all around my hoo hah. At least one of us had a good night.

I very groggily got myself up the next morning took the exam and PASSED!!! I do have to give all the credit to God because at around question 100 of the 170 question exam...I was ready to cry out of sheer exhaustion. Several times I caught myself doing the drowzy droop and had to snap back to attention. By question 130, I was shaking my head and saying 'I don't know' in my head as I made my guesses to some of the questions. My only motivation at this point was just to finish so that I could go home and sleep. I got my score report and did a little internal happy dance that I had checked this important life goal off my list, called EH to let him know how it went and then hightailed it out of the city.

I arrived home, dropped everything and laid down on the couch for some serious shut eye...only to be thwarted once again. No sleep for you!! I didn't sweat it though because at least I knew I would be able to sleep that night, right???!! Wrong!!!

I went to bed early around 10:30pm hoping to have a marathon of sleep before our Peri appointment this morning. I read a little, put on my nose strip, banished the hubby, fired up the sound machine and waited for sweet relief, which did not come. So, at around 3am I had a full on meltdown, complete with ugly cry. I was so frustrated that all I could do was bawl for like 10 minutes straight. It was by far the craziest moment of my pregnancy. EH came rushing in to see what happened and all I could babble between my sobs was, "I'M SOOOOOOO TIRED. I CAN'T SL-SLEEP!" Over and over again.
My poor hubby didn't know what to do and after I calmed down a bit I asked him to make me some hot milk...on the off chance that it would work. Miracles of miracles, it WORKED!! I was able to get a couple of hours in before our appt this morning, where I was rewarded with a new pic of Ms. W!

"Oh, you can't sleep!?...sucks for you...

I know that I was just in the midst of a perfect storm of hormones and general anxiety. Getting ready to take that big exam, W's increased activity, worrying about the upcoming 2nd baby shower (this weekend!) and all the things still left to do before W gets here was just too much for my poor brain and body to handle. I'm determined that this will not happen again! I'm armed with chamomile tea to combine with my hot milk tonight in hopes of duplicating my previous success. Even if I just get two hours of shut eye out of it, it'll be worth it. I might even let EH back in the bedroom!

Wish me luck!!

P.S. Have you seen this commercial for Planters "cocoa" peanuts!?? It's like my favorite commercial on TV right now. Every time I see it I think of EH! LMAO!! The things these guys put up with from us....SMH

30 weeks/Nursery Nook Changes

30 weeks!! Can you tell I had 2 hours of sleep last night??

EH and I visited with our alternate Ob/Gyn today and she seemed nice. We'll probably be seeing her a few more times before D-day so I'm hoping I'll get more comfortable with the idea of her cutting into me in 7 weeks.

Meanwhile, yours truly was up most of the night because W decided she wanted to do a Tae Bo class in my uterus. My best friend talked about this happening with my godson but I don't think I really believed that a child moving around could keep you up at night. Needless to say, I was WRONG!

Nursery Nook Redux

Sooooooo...I was taking a look at my rather ambitious plans for the nursery nook and decided to scrap some of it. I'm getting bigger and slower and I don't think I have the patience to cut out all those pieces to make the garland. I was snooping around Pinterest and came across this cool idea:

It goes with my original light blue and gold color scheme, it's removable and it's super cheap! I'm thinking of just getting some gold contact paper from amazon and doing this treatment on the wall area next to our bed. I think it'll add some fun to the nook without going totally overboard. I 'm also going to add some wooden initials for W's "real" name on that wall as well. I worked on some new beachy blue and gold art that is living on the adjacent wall:

These were 11 x 14 canvases from an Art store that were on sale. I reused the same colors I used for the art in the living room.

So my newest version of the nursery nook will end up looking something like this:

I ended up placing my large scale art over the changing table. It's lighter than a mirror and I made sure it was secure to the wall so I feel safe with it there.

I wish the pictures came out a little better so I could show how happy the wall is! It was a gloomy day :-(
 
So.....W's nook is coming along well but sadly the space above our bed is very, very sad. I'm thinking of getting some kind of cheap mirror at ikea or somewhere to add above it with some black and white wedding pictures of us alongside.

Pinterest.com; Something like this but I'm not married to this particular mirror...

 I don't know when this will actually happen...maybe sometime in June?? Ha!

29 weeks/Picking the Pediatrician/Making Art

29 weeks! Pajama chic...

EH and I had a total win this week! I've been stressing out about finding a pediatrician for W for a while now. We definitely didn't want to go with a doctor in the Bronx and we didn't want to trek to Manhattan for what could be a bunch of appointments when W gets here. I also wasn't too keen on driving long distances with W so soon.

I discovered that the cool mall we visit from time to time in Westchester also has a pediatrician's office so we decided to check it out yesterday. We sat with the doctor and she answered all of our questions and put us at ease. I never knew I could feel so happy and excited about deciding on a pediatrician...my, how times have changed! The absolute best part is that the office is only 8 minutes away by car. Score!!

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This week, I also had an interesting conversation with a mutual friend of ours. She and her husband are a few years older than us and she confided in me that they were trying for a baby. A while ago I put up a few Facebook posts on infertility, basically outing myself about our struggle to conceive. She saw the articles and thanked me for sharing what we were going through because she and her husband were now fully in the infertility process. That she felt comfortable enough to confide in me was reward enough. She said it was nice to hear from someone who had been through it and come out the other side.

I was grateful for her words but I also felt the need to tell her that I hadn't come out the other side....not really. In my mind I'm not really out of the woods yet. I can't say that I'll feel totally comfortable until I'm holding W in my arms. I haven't shared about our miscarriages with her, which I think is the driving force behind why I still don't identify as someone whose "come out the other side." The fact that I will need some kind of assistance going forward if we choose to have another child also makes me feel like I'm still a part of the IF tribe. I realized that I didn't want to have that status taken away from me or diminished. Yeah, it was hell going through it but I wear our struggle like a badge of honor now. The process changed me so completely. I'm better and stronger for it.

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We had an appointment with our OB/GYN recently and she let us know that we may have to deliver earlier than we thought. Apparently, there is some concern about whether my uterine scar from the myomectomy will hold as the baby gets bigger. To be on the safe side, they're thinking of getting W out at 37 weeks! Folks, that's like 8 weeks away!! Cue the nesting thoughts in my brain running around and knocking into each other. We'll have to undergo an amniocentesis to check W's lungs and make sure she's actually ready to come out at that time. I'm not too thrilled about this but the doctor assures us that an amnio at 37 weeks is very different from an amnio at 6 weeks. I'm really putting my faith to work for this one. Then she tells us that she might not be the one delivering our baby. I was totally surprised by this one. In my extreme naivete I thought that since we were having a planned c-section, our doctor would just be available on that day to deliver us! At our next appointment we're going to meet this other doctor that we've never met before who might be delivering our baby...in 8 WEEKS!

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I've made some progress on my "before the baby comes" list! I took a trip to Michaels and picked up some materials to make a paper garland for W's nook and some wooden letters to hang her initials. I also got some paint and canvases to finally paint that living room art I've been talking about forever.

I really dig abstract expressionist art. I like its simplicity and its ease of duplication! This time around my art was inspired by Mark Rothko:

Number 12, Mark Rothko 1951

and a piece of art I saw online on Pinterest:

zazzle.com

Here's the end result:

I love them!! I went with my official color scheme of gold, blue and white. I started by outlining the shapes lightly with a pencil and then I filled them in with the color of my choice. The whole thing took about an hour and a half but that was only because I took a break to eat. Unfortunately, It's made me want to repaint the walls to a warm beige so that they won't look so out of place. Right now they have two black frames flanking them that I'll probably spray paint white in a few days. I really want to repaint the living room but that might be pushing my nesting instinct, and EH, a little too far. Ever do a home improvement project and realize that everything else around it looks wack??

My next step is to try to get some cheapo white frames to hang some artwork for W's nook. The area is seriously looking empty! Our co-sleeper has arrived and is at my mother's house so we won't be setting that up until after the family shower in June. I'd also love to get some kind of wall art/mirror for above our bed. I found these cute coastal printables on Etsy.

NauticalDecorShop

I love printables because they provide instant gratification! Print, frame, hang! These come as an electronic file set of 3 8 x 10s and cost $8.95. You can't beat that...I'm still debating. I may just end up flanking our bed with black and white photos of us from our wedding, which would be free except for the purchase of some nice frames.