It's hot. I'm big. Waa.

The past week has been chock full of activities, fun with friends, and of course, two very news-worthy events: the Royal Wedding, and the announcement of Osama Bin Laden's death (in yo face).

Being the angel child that I am, I went over to Mom's house Thursday night around midnight to join in the Royal Wedding festivities from across the pond. Toting hand-made British flags and eating biscotti (I know, not English fare, but at least the right continent), we watched history take place (and simultaneously judged each church hat with the propriety of the Housewives of Atlanta). Mom and I watched the affair from 12:15am - 4:05am, when my eyes finally rolled into the back of my skull and I couldn't shake the concept that if I was sleep deprived, then somehow, so must be the baby. Who needs Benadryl when a heaping teaspoon of maternal guilt can do the trick?

It was during the ceremony - I think just before William smushed the ring on Kate's finger and after Harry stared down his future sister-in-law as she walked down the aisle - that my mom realized something pretty spectacular: in 1981, my parents watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana as it happened, just as we were now, on this early morning (adorable, I know, but that's not the spectacular part). What's amazing is that at that moment, my mom was as far along in her first pregnancy as I was while watching this wedding with her. Like, to the day. First pregnancy, having a boy (my brother, Andy), and watching the Royal wedding. And there we were, fast-forward almost 30 years later. A very special occasion, indeed.

In other news, it's hot out. Temperature has taken on an entirely new importance now that I'm carrying a person. I have gotten mixed reactions from other desert dwellers when they find out my due date: "August, eh? Wow, that wasn't planned very well"; "Oh August, that's perfect because it won't quite be that hot yet" (HUH?); "August? Well you won't be leaving the house at all for the first three months, anyway";  "August is a great month because I was born in August."

After some hearty and time-consuming research, I have found that the most effective way to combat the Arizona heat is by way of frozen yogurt. I take the responsibility very seriously, so as to not go into heat stroke and scare the baby. Weekly self-serves to replenish my inner cooling system seem to help reduc- aw hell. The fact is, I loves me some ice cream.

Josh and I have had a full and fun week. In addition to a book reading by David Sedaris, seeing the movie The Conspirator (pass), and a Diamondbacks-Cubs game, this weekend we went to ASU's Gammage Auditorium to see Billy Elliott, which was ranked one of the top - if not the top - musical of the year (or so said the "Billy Elliott" trailer parked outside the auditorium entrance). The show was very good, but slow at parts. By and large, the true redeeming quality of this show was the child actors, who were nothing short of brilliant in their dancing and overall performance.

As I watched Billy twirl and leap around the stage like he was born to do nothing but, I couldn't help but think about my sweet bundle. Who will he be? What will he like, what will he try, and what will be his calling in life?

Before I was pregnant, I never really understood when mothers-to-be said that they couldn't wait to "meet the baby". Meet the baby? For God's sake, you're creating him as we speak, he's IN your BELLY. Isn't meeting him a bit of a rewind from where you're at already with the booger? Now I get it. He is his own entity just as much as he is a part of me right now. His development is God's handywork. His spirit is his own, and that concept both boggles my mind and excites me beyond belief.

And I just CAN'T WAIT to meet him.

Yes, please.

All Aboard!

Today marks 24 weeks and 1 day along in the pregnancy. That's like, over 6 months, ya'll. And if I had ever been guilty of being too caught up in the process of pregnancy, in the magic of the journey of it all, my doctor redeemed me at my latest OB appointment:

"So, what are we thinking - vaginal or C-section?"

Whoa. Hold on here, I'm 6 months along...shouldn't we still be stroking my arm and telling me how much of a glow I emit,  or keeping tabs on my cravings and thoughfully poking fun at my mood swings? Is it really THAT time, to start considering the actual.....birth? I felt the dynamic shift at this appointment; sleeves were being rolled up and plans were being made. Everything up until now was like carefully house-hunting, and now we were ready to buckle down and put in an offer.

"So, what are we thinking - the tuscan ranch, or the tudor on the cul-de-sac?"

Things reached a new level of "real" at my last appointment - I was strongly encouraged to register for prenatal classes at the hospital, "just in case you hadn't already" (oops), and was handed a lovely parting gift of sugar bomb juice for my glucose testing in a few weeks. My belly was measured for the first time. The train for the last stretch of pregnancy was leaving the station, and I hopped on with all the other freaked out preggos.

It wasn't too long after my appointment that I contacted my friend Shannon, an employee and former co-worker of mine at the hospital where I plan to deliver the little booger. She has been so insrumental in helping me through the logistics of my pregnancy, and her knowledge and willingness to support Josh and I has been palpable. I was no less thankful when she offered to give Josh and I our own, private OB tour at the hospital, as she often runs these tours for larger groups of expectant couples. We were so grateful - touring labor and delivery, seeing the waiting rooms, looking at the little sink in each room where baby gets his first bath - really brought it home for us that we are to be parents in less than 4 months.

We continue to nest of course, too - the nursery is almost done and looks beautiful. I hope that in between burps and poops and feedings and snoozing and poops and poops, he will actually be able to notice and enjoy the room that was created for him. Josh and I also sold our beautiful baby grand piano, which was gifted to us from my brother Andy. With his blessing, we put it up for sale and subsequently have made a lot more space in our front room for a future play area. It was genuinely difficult watching the piano be packed up and wheeled out the front door, but it's a small sacrafice to make room for the incredible journey that lies ahead.

Speaking of incredible journeys, Happy Passover everyone! On Monday, Josh and I and my side of the family went to our annual Passover dinner at my second cousin's home in Scottsdale. It was wonderful to see everyone, and it dawned on me that next year at this time, we will have a little additon to bring with us to the seder. Josh and I left after cocktail hour to attend Josh's mom and stepdad's seder, which was fabulous as well. Tradition is very important to us, and we love making memories year after year at these types of gatherings. They are always such fun!

I have been getting charlie horse cramps in my calf muscles (muscles which, in 28 years, have yet to make an appearance) that send me through to roof, but I'll leave the lamenting for another post.

:)



I blame the baby

Friends! Family! I've been told the past few weeks that many of you have tried to leave comments on blog postings, but were unable to do so or they never show up. You'll only hear me say this once, so get ready: this is my fault. I accidentally had the settings on my blog to not allow comments. The error has been fixed and I invite any and all words of encouragement, opinions about the blog, and most importantly, just how gosh darn cute I am.

23 Weeks: Me. 0 Weeks= Josh.

22 weeks

      
  

Trippy , man

Josh and I just got back a couple days ago from our trip to NY/NJ, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be! We started out going to Staten Island for Josh's cousin's wedding, which was beautiful, followed by the reception in New Jersey. The entire affair was elegant, fun, and romantic! Plus it was my first time wearing a legit maternity dress, so that's always fun.

Next up was heading into Manhattan, where Josh, my in-laws and I stayed in a browstone on the upper east side. We were lucky enough to see the Broadway shows La Cage and Jersey Boys, which were both phenomenal. Baby K did a little mixed martial arts on my insides during both shows. Already a critic.
Also on the agenda was a ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Ground Zero, The Museum of Natural History, Carmine's (YUM!), and Times Square. Josh and I also had a dinner out with his friend and his fiance, at a restaurant he owns in the west village, and it was FAB. Had it not been for the miles of walking done each day, I'd have surely gained my own weight twice over with all the food I consumed.

Travelling has proven to be a little demanding now that I am almost 6 months along, which I realized after climbing flight after flight of stairs and my kneecaps subsequently feeling like dusty artifacts. My Carrie Bradshaw dreams were dashed when I spent more time walking like a hip replacement recipient than a girl about town. This trip was my last air travel until after our little bundle comes, but what a way to go!
I will leave you with the names the baby has been referred to by our family, as we will not tell anyone his name until he is born:

Futzcu
Bupke
Jeeeezus
Ulysses
Ishmael
Moishe
Baby K

A Spaghetti Squash and an Apple.

In approximately 9 hours, Josh and I will be rolling out of bed to get ready for our flight to New York City! The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. I'm as excited as someone who's never been east of the Mississippi. We are going with my father-in-law's side of the family for our cousin Lee's wedding, then extending the trip a few extra days to take in all that NYC has to offer. I keep imagining myself spinning around in the middle of 5th Avenue, shopping bags busting at the seams a-la Carrie Bradshaw. Only with a spaghetti squash-sized bundle of fun in my belly.

Yes people, the word is, at least according to my baby books, that our little man is now the size of a spaghetti squash, which I'm guessing is the Italian version of a regular squash.

His kicks have become so strong in the past few days, so purposeful. If this is what he's up to now, I wonder if the NYC vibe is going to transcend my tummy; if he's going to blend in with the locals' mentality and really bust me up this week.

I need to get out more.

Anyway, pictures to come, and thanks for stopping by :)

Zoink! Pow! Kaboom!

The last month or so has been a pretty steady ride in terms of symptoms, and since about 18 weeks I have been blessed with one huge additional milestone: the kid can kick.

It's the best kind of abuse - swatting, jabbing, the occasional uppercut. The doctors were right, too - he is an ACTIVE one! At first I thought that's what they tell all mothers-to-be, a cute little footnote they squeeze in to each ultrasound appointment to give mommies an additional rush of my-baby's-so-unique! But upon asking my OB to just level with me, she insisted that our little guy is more active than most. He's been kung-fu-ing his way throughout my uterus, typically at night, when he probably senses mommy's eyelids getting heavy.

During our 20 week ultrasound (the biggie - when they measure baby's everything to make sure all is well), our ultrasound technician delicately informed us that it looked like our baby had what's called a "two vessel cord". Most babies have three vessels within their umbilical cords as passageways of sorts to help baby receive nutrients and expel waste. Rarely, a baby will only have two of these vessels, making it harder for the process to take place and can thus affect his fetal growth. The doctors assured me that most of the time, this does not present any sort of a problem. True to form, I left the appointment with every ounce of consciousness hinged on the phrase, "most of the time". The OB referred me to another prenatal care facility to keep track of our bundle's growth. Josh and I banded together and processed our emotions while striving to just stay positive. A week later, I was getting my next ultrasound to track things.

"Well.......I'm seeing three."

These were the words that lifted my spirit to the highest high. Within the first 30 seconds of ooey-gooey running over my belly, the tech noticed that the baby actually has his three vessels! I was so filled with emotions at that moment - gratitude, relief, love for our baby, and an intense desire to buy this woman a gift card to her steakhouse of choice. The bearer of good news has got to be the sweetest gig on the planet.

Life will present obstacles and opportunities to exercise your faith and inner strength. I feel lucky every minute of the day to be growing this little one, however nature intended him, and this mini-blip gifted us with the chance to truly realize it.

In nursery news, we have gotten it painted, and in the room sits the crib, changing table, and glider. The nursery is still in its infancy (oooh, PUNS!), and it's been such a thrill for Josh and I to watch it go from an empty space to the IHOD (International House Of Drooling). Josh and I had briefly considered painting the nursery and assembling everything ourselves, but then we remembered we are Jewish and proudly dialed up our favorite handyman.

More to come :)