...and here it is

The anxiousness has arrived. And it has brought boredom along with it. Not boredom because there is nothing to do... don't get me wrong, I could be vacuuming, cleaning, organizing, packing for the hospital, cleaning out my car, plucking my eyebrows, walking my dog, making a lasagna, an on and on. Boredom, because I am ready, again, for the next step and I am stuck waiting... again.

If you have read any of this blog.. you know I am no good at waiting.

Things I tend to do when I am bored...

lay on the couch and think about what I could eat.

eat.

think about some things I could be doing. but do nothing.

think about how I would like Vincenzo to be born, today. right now.

google labor signs. "How do I know when I am barely starting to go into labor?"

Sit in Vincenzo's room and daydream.

Write in my blog.

I am not sure I would want to be shooting at this point, but I certainly did not need to take a whole month off before the baby arrived like I had originally thought.. I am glad that those plans did not work out.

I wish Mario had spring break every week... then he could hang out with me. By the way, I am fully aware that those of you at work, especially my husband, would give anything to be "bored" at home and have no "9-5" job to go to every day. It doesn't make me any less bored.

Maybe if Micah was feeling better, I could hang with Tracey. Or... if I had some extra $, I could go shopping. Hmmm... that reminds me. I need to go get a nursing bra.

Check ya later! I found something fun to do.

P

12 days and counting....

This morning, I was thinking I should focus on trying to enjoy my last week or so of being pregnant, because even though I will be overwhelmed with joy when he is here, I am sure I will miss having the little guy inside of me. This option seems much better than just being anxious for him to "get out already!".

Turns out I am better at being anxious and impatient than just enjoying the moment.

It is now only noon and boy am I starting to feel some pressure. This must be what Tracey was talking about all those days we spent watching bad movies together before she gave birth to Micah. Not very enjoyable.

I still plan to try and hold back my impatient nature and appreciate the fact that I still have him all to myself. Twisting and turning inside of me.

Hopefully, when this is all over, I will remember the things I love about being pregnant, like feeling him move around inside of me; and my belly... yes, I love my pregnant belly. (not necessarily the fur it has decided to grow, which I assume will go away with the belly? Right?) I love daydreaming about what he will look like. And whenever I wonder why he is not moving around.. he gives a little kick to let me know he is still alive in there... getting ready to come out. It's like he knows what I am thinking.

Mario is getting very excited now too... I am loving it. I cannot wait to see him hold Vincenzo. It brings tears to my eyes just to think about it.

Our whole world is about to change. It could happen any day now.

Vincenzo's Room

Here it is! Vincenzo's nursery. We are just about finished. I am not quite done with the shelves.. just kind of threw things onto them for now. But it is pretty much finished! I am so happy with the way it turned out... even though I never had a "theme" like everyone kept asking about.

He will love it.

(I had trouble getting a pic of the "whole" room, but you can get the idea of it :)

Thank you to Mini and Louie for the crib... as soon as we fix the shelf, which could fall off of the wall at any moment, Vincenzo will rest safely inside it. Bridgette's mom also made Vincenzo the fabulous quilt hanging on the crib. THANK YOU! Handmade things are my favorite. He also has another quilt in the crib that Grandma Flo made for him. He is so luck to have so many people that love him.

My Ikea bouncy chair.. which I put together all on my own. My Grandma Flo made the blanked for me before we even made little Vincenzo.

Mario spent a lot of time putting together the dresser and bookshelf. Gotta love Ikea. And thank you to Tracey and Kathy for his name sign! It ended up working really well in the room.

The bottom picture on the wall in the above image is something we found that Mario drew in kindergarten and the other is from a painting that my niece Gabriela made for me. I will get right on filling those other frames. The yellow "may you always be happy" sign is my favorite. If only I could get it to stick to the wall!!

Thanks for coming over to help me put this all together yesterday Mini! Everything is perfect.

We are ready now Vincenzo... come whenever you are ready!

We are home!!!

Husband that loves me, makes me laugh every day and works hard to take care of our little family.... check

Job that I love and am grateful for every day... check

A beautiful house that we can finally call home... check

A baby to raise in that loving home... on his way!!!

Things are really happening. Our new house is coming together quite nicely. It already feels like home. It seemed so stressful getting here, but in the end, we ended up in the perfect place and we are very happy. very happy.

Vincenzo's room is almost done.. we just need to hang the decorations and do about a million loads of laundry! I will post pics as soon as we are finished.

I am now 37 weeks!! So close to delivery. I am hoping for Easter weekend, but I bet he makes me wait a little longer than that. I certainly don't feel like he is ready to join us just yet, but I have been informed that that means nothing.

Here is a shot of Mario and I in front of the house on move in day. I can't wait to frame it. Such a wonderful time in our lives :)

maternity picture

Here are a few maternity pictures from my shoot with Bridgette. I LOVE them.

Thank you Bridgette! I love the way they turned out.

dixie cups

I woke up quite early this morning, well, not early for some of you, but early for me. (Andrea reminded me not to complain just yet, as she had been up since 4am.. and was at work. I seem to lead quite the glorious life.

Anywho... I was seeing some flashing lights and could not seem to focus on my computer screen, and the Dr. suggested I come in for some tests. Once of which was peeing in a cup... a dixie cup. I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but my very strange Dr.'s office has their patients pee into tiny dixie cups. This may not seem so bad, until you get into the bathroom where the light is so dim, you can't see your hand when you are trying to pee into this tiny opening. Of course you get pee on the cup and your hands and then they want you to bring it out to them. So I try my best to clean off the cup and add a few more underneath it, you know, for padding. Then I always start to wonder if I was actually supposed to pee into the dixie cups. I look around for some plastic version of the the urine cup and find nothing. I wonder if everyone feels strange about this?

Tests were all clear. Nothing to worry about... and they always say, "if it happens again this weekend, we want you to go straight to the hospital," which makes me quite nervous. Do I really need to go to the emergency room if I see more flashing lights, even though it meant nothing this time?

Little Vincenzo is apparently in the perfect position and his heartbeat sounds great. This makes me feel good.

We should be moving next week... and I will certainly post some nursery pictures when it is all ready! I can't wait.

Have a wonderful weekend!

P

Shower Pics

Here are a few pics from the shower!

THANK YOU to Bridgette for taking the photos!

And to everyone who traveled from out of town to attend.

Not sure why we look soooo white in this photo... I may have washed it out a bit...

I can't wait to read all of the stars.

So many cute onesies!

Vincenzo will LOVE all of his books!

I assume this one was for Mario.. he loved it.

Lyla enjoying a deliciously sweet cookie.

Thank you to everyone for coming!

I had a fabulous time and am so grateful for all of the wonderful gifts.

loving my baby

I am really just bored and don't have much to say. Last night I wanted to post something about how in love I am with my little man. I truly am.

I was talking to Mario about how we are so anxious to get into this house.. so anxious for so many things. And in just a few short weeks, we will be these sleep deprived versions of ourselves, taking care of our child. our child. In our new home, a little family . It blows my mind. But it is helpful for me to know that, because it reminds me that things will come in good time. And if the house takes a few extra days, so be it.

That being said. I hope we get the keys this Friday!! (I have been told it may be early next week, but I am still keeping my hopes up!) Please keep your hopes up with me.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful day... I can't wait for my milkshake and fries lunch with Kristine and sweet Patty. Yum.

35 weeks!!

More bathroom mirror belly shots.

blogging is NOT on my list of things to do.....

I have recently developed a bad habit of buying new baby things online. It is bad. But how can I resist??

Poster for my little man's room - I will need to buy a frame :)

not really sure why I bought these... love the mushroom though. Rattles and teething toys.

interesting mobile. I hope I like it when it arrives :)

Oh... there is more. and possibly more to come...

Now that we are this much closer to actually buying a house I am getting more and more excited about decorating Vincenzo's room. I can't wait to get in there and set things up!!

I am hoping to be able to post some maternity photos soon.. I will let you know when I get them.

Have a wonderful day!

P

Oye vey....

So.. as I pop tiny chocolate egg after tiny chocolate egg into mouth... knowing that it will make me fill ill very soon, I am online researching diapers. Oye vey.

I had made a decision to use seventh generation diapers and decided I wanted to know why chlorine free diapers were the better choice. Not an easy find.

Most of what I find is environmental, and don't get me wrong, I do care about the environment, but that is not my reason for using them. What I am worried about is my little one and what I am putting on him day in and day out. The diapers will sit in a landfill for years to come no matter which disposable I choose.

The chlorine problem stems from the Dioxin, which is a byproduct of the paper-bleaching process used in manufacturing disposable diapers. It has also been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases. Chlorine-free disposable diapers, therefore, do not pose the same risk. I can't find evidence that this is a problem when touching babies skin or just during the manufacturing process??

I did come across the SAP "gel" issue. Apparently diapers use a gel, three layers into the diaper, to absorb the moisture. This gel is made of sodium polyacrylate which has been known to cause toxic shock syndrome and has been removed from tampons, but not diapers.

Also, TBT, or tributyl tin, is an environmental pollutant, believed to be one of the most toxic substances ever made, has a hormone-like effect; even small amounts can impair immune and hormonal systems. So I guess we don't want that....

Where does this leave me? Well.. I have found that seventh generation diapers use the SAP gel, and that they are not brown because they are "not bleached", but because they are died brown! Their website actually states that they die them brown to distinguish them from other diapers on the market. So what is the point of spending the extra money on them?

There are a couple diapers that are free of everything that could be unsafe, but there is no way I can afford them. Especially because they are so much more expensive and they all say you have to change them more often because they are not as absorbent.

I have decided to buy traditional diapers. Enough is enough. I can't afford the alternative and cloth diapers are not an option.

Vincenzo will thank me when I can afford to feed and shelter him.

Just a side note... I in no way intended to "inform" anyone about these issues... it is simply helpful for me to "write" things out in order to make these ridiculous decisions. It's just how I roll.