Baby Calender and Firsts

Another thing that is making my August miserable is getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and then not being able to get back to sleep. It happens almost every night now usually between the hours of 4 and 6am. One positive that has come out of this is while my mind was racing this this morning, I made a mental list of all the fun things that that have happened since March and now have listed them here. Check it out!

March 5th - Our baby was conceived :-)
March 13th - Boobs feel tender
March 17th - Positive pregnancy test
March 25th - First doctor's appointment, def prego!
April 16th - Baby's first Yankee game
April 17th - Start telling friends we are having a baby!
May 2nd - New bra size for mom
May 15th - First ultrasound, amazing!
May 19th - End of first trimester
May 22nd - First pair of maternity jeans
June 16th - It's a girl!!!!
June 20th - Babymoon in the Hamptons
July 9th - Up another cup size
July 11th - Baby's first kick
July 13th - Jeff feels the baby for the first time
July 17th - 3D sonogram and she is a beauty already!
July 25th - Move into our new home
August 25th - End of second trimester
August 27th - Baby's first bout of hiccups

I will try and keep this updated as much as possible but I think that is it for now. It's been quite a ride so far...

Oh What A Month...

The month of August hasn't exactly been ideal for me. On top of getting much bigger and feeling even more hormonal than usual, things have not gone smoothly. Earlier in the month my husband had a sales conference in Chicago for 4 days and his absence left me in a serious depression :-( He used to travel a nice amount and I had become somewhat used to it but he hasn't had to in a while and this was his first trip since the pregnancy. Let's just say I didn't take it well...at all. Not only was I convinced he was going to die in a plane crash but I truly missed him being with me. This combination of fear and loneliness stemmed long, continuous bouts of sobbing. Jeff is my favorite person on this earth (baby in belly excluded) and I just don't seem to work without him. Thankfully he came home safe and sound but just as I was coming out of my funk I had a little fall, literally.

My pregnancy so far has been wonderful and I feel lucky that it has gone this great but feeling so good has messed up my head in that I think I am normal but clearly am not. During my commute home from work I took a tumble on 57th Street and 5th Avenue. It was pouring out and I was carrying my normal two bags plus two bags of groceries and I may have put a little pep in my step upon seeing my bus pull up (I can't help it!). I spilled right there in front of Tiffany's, umbrella went flying, bags and groceries scattered and again more sobbing. About 10 people helped me up and I rushed to Bergdorf's to find my mom who I missed by minutes. Her poor coworker Alisa got stuck with me for about 20 minutes and finally her and the lovely doorman James put me in a cab. Physically my knees took the brunt of the fall and are still pretty bruised up but mentally I don't think I will ever fully recover. We have not had any scares these past 27 weeks (thank god)and this frightened me to no end and has taught me to slow down. My sister told me how she fell with her second child Jack and said that it would be fine but to make sure that I felt the baby soon. As soon as she said this, I hung up the phone and started talking to my baby girl and just like always she responded instantly. Instances like that make me believe that she will hopefully be nothing like the big mush I am in that she always seems to step up when I need her most.

I just love that little girl and am so anxious to meet her although we definitely need more time to get settled which brings me to my next point, do not move while pregnant! As I have stated before, our actual move went great but getting our apartment in order is taking me a lot longer than I thought it would and we haven't even begun the nursery. I know, I know, things don't have to be perfect but I do want to have as much done before her arrival so that I am comfortable when she gets here. Finally this week the apartment is starting to come together and luckily for us we are headed to the Hamptons for Labor Day weekend so August will hopefully end on a high note.

Our Trip to Baltimore

As I have written before, one of my closest friends Cristina is also pregnant. She is about 4 weeks ahead of me and is expecting a baby boy. Having Cristina along for the most exciting ride of my life is priceless and I wouldn't trade it for anything. We give each other advice on nursery furniture and the latest strollers, figure out the best way to cover up our big bodies this fall and most importantly discuss which overpriced diaper bag are we going to carry! You also get to marry off your daughter before she is even born knowing that she will have the coolest mother-in-law ever and that we will throw the sickest wedding together for our children! Let's bring arranged marriages back!

These are all great but the biggest benefit is being able to bitch freely about how you feel on the not so hot days like when you have gained 4 lbs in a week and can't even bare to admit the numbers you are seeing on the scale or when you all of sudden have stretch marks and cellulite on your ass or maybe how you have strange skin tabs growing out of random places. You know, the fun stuff that no one really talks about ;-)

This past weekend we headed down to Baltimore and finally got to see each other pregnant. During the day the prego ladies weren't up for much other than eating and chatting but on Saturday night we had a super fun dinner out with another college friend Katie and her husband Tony. If I had my way, these two wonderful couples would be living up here near us!!

Please take a look at these pictures of my beautiful 7 months pregnant friend Cristina...

Cristina, me and her handsome husband Michael


Just Us :-)


Our Big Bellies!

Updates and Pictures

I am sorry for ignoring the blog these past few weeks but we have been so busy!! Where shall I begin...ah, my birthday :-)

My Birthday
Jeff and I celebrated my birthday in style being that it's the last one where its just the two of us. He took me to see Gypsy on Broadway which we both thought was okay and then to a fabulous dinner at Craft. It was a lovely day but the biggest surprise were the beautiful diamond and sapphire earrings he had made for me as a birthday/baby gift. Now I am not the easiest person to surprise AT ALL but he really got me with these. The words oh, my, god, came out of my mouth like 20 times! They are stunning and were made by our wonderful jeweler Sarkis who is just a doll and makes all of my jewelry with a ton of care and love.

The New Diggs
Friday July 25th we left our first home 211 East 73rd Street and moved into 389 East 89th Street. Now moving is obviously always a hassle and being over 5 months pregnant is not exactly ideal but I must say that it all went remarkably well. We used Flat Rate Movers who were excellent and we had them do all the packing which was the best idea ever!!! There actually are some benefits to moving while prego a) everyone wants to help you and b) no one wants to piss you off so when things got complicated with the move or the cable guy had to wait around for an extra 30 minutes while they located our cable box, every person did so with a smile :-)

Our Baby Girl
Our baby girl is doing amazing! She is super active and not only can I feel her movements but now we can watch my stomach and actually see them - crazy stuff! She is kind of quiet during the day but early in the morning and late at night (I hope this isn't a preview for how it will be when she is here) it's like there is a party in my belly. Sometimes she is tap dancing, others times kickboxing and then there are situations like yesterday where I don't even know what she is doing because there is an explosion of movement!! Anyway, we are all doing well and I am still feeling great which is perfect since I have lots to do before her arrival. 16 more weeks - yikes!

Birthday dinner


Moving day




The latest belly shot (in fab dress from Kristin)


Christina (one of my oldest and dearest friends) and me :-)


My husband and I all dressed up, we still got it!

Family Portrait

Here are some baby updates...

- Jeff and I are getting ready for our big move and have begun shopping for the nursery.
- We had a sonogram yesterday and our baby girl weighs 14 ounces (almost a pound which I will soon be knocking off my total weight), has long beautiful fingers and is very active.
- All the tests came back perfect and the baby is progressing wonderfully!
- As we were looking at her lovely dancer legs and cute baby toes Jeff shouted out that it appears she has big feet! MEAN!!!
- My mom and sister came to the sonogram and got to see her live up on the big screen ;-)
- David, Paula, my mom, Jeff and I all celebrated my birthday at Cafe D'Alsace and then showed everyone our new apartment.
- We took our first family portrait :-)

Check out the pics...

An excited Mom-to-be


Make that bloody mary a double ;-)



Just the girls


Our Family

A Baby's Intuition?

Last week let's just say I was having a rough one! Between my recent weight gain, new bra size and the realization that I really can't do a lot of my favorite things (like take my awesome yoga class or enjoy a cocktail on a beautiful summer Thursday) I had what some may call a mini-breakdown :-) I just was hit hard with the fact that my body no longer belongs to me and now my main purpose is to make babies which is kind of a weird concept. Plus at this point I wasn't feeling the baby and hadn't had a doctor's appointment in a while so I didn't have any recent reminders of this miracle. Well, I have heard of mother's intuition but never a word about baby's intuition and I have to say that it too exists. After sobbing in my dear husband's arms for about 30 minutes all the while blurting out the words "I feel so big. I am so disgusting" I finally calmed down and guess what happened? I felt my little girl for the very first time! I had literally sent an email to Cristina asking her to pray that I would feel her because I was totally losing it and it happened! My sweet girl came and saved her crazy mother in utero. Pretty amazing! Now I feel her all the time and my excitement is beyond words. We talk all day long (to the point where Jeff may be starting to feel left out and people on the bus think I am crazy), I can rub my belly and coax her into kicking, I like to wake her up when I get up and I am truly obsessed with my daughter. Today we have a sonogram and I am SO EXCITED to see her little face!!!! She is just the best thing in life (already) and I am back to enjoying this special time with her in my belly.

E is for Elephant

Next weekend we have a black tie wedding and although I am usually very excited for formal events, I have been dreading this one since nothing in my closet fits me and it seemed silly to purchase a maternity black tie dress. Kristin to the rescue!! My friend Kristin works for Calvin Klein and was generous and patient enough to take on the challenge of having me come to her showroom to pick out a dress. After unsuccessfully attempting to squeeze my new large bod into about 10 dresses (which was like a workout and has left me a bit sore) we finally found this adorable dress that not only fits me but is comfortable and flattering. Kristin, you are the best!! Anyway, the only thing I needed now was a new bra that could be converted to a halter so I headed up to my favorite bra store Intimacy on Madison for a fitting. After waiting about 40 minutes a lovely fitter named Samantha was ready for me. If you have never been to Intimacy be warned that the name is quite appropriate because you literally stand there topless and bra less while they access your boobs. Samantha informed me that I am still a 34 which was nice to hear but unfortunately my cup size has gone up a bit...to an E. WHAT!! I asked her to repeat herself a couple times because there is no way I could be an E. Normally I am a full C, small D and with the pregnancy I had purchased a few full D cups after the first trimester but E cup is really not any option. I finally succumbed to Sam's advice, asked her to please stop saying E and we moved on. Of course she was right and the bra fit perfectly so the moral of the story is, as my friend Nicole so delicately said to me last night, E is for Elephant. Somebody please shoot me or at least get me a martini ;-)

4th of July Fireworks Update

It's Pretty in PINK and we are having a baby girl :-)

Bullet point list of activity here in NYC:

1) Mom is 20 weeks prego (see picture)

2) Dad has a new job as Director of East Coast Sales for Specific Media (http://www.specificmedia.com/)

3) We are moving to 389 East 89th street, Post Toscana building on 7/25

4) Dad has a new injury (see picture)

5) Hamptons vacation was amazing, thank you to the Kunzocci's!

6) Yanks are still chasing the f%$#@** red sox

We are halfway through the pregnancy and we are surviving as always. I think Jill is surprised each morning when she awakes. To clarify that, it's that extra .25 lb or the extra .25 centimeter she has grown each night while she sleeps that really gets her ;-)

I couldn't be more thrilled and proud of the job she is doing.

The NYC Valente's are going to be some crew one way or another.

Here are a few photos guys:


East Hampton, The Springs - June 08 - 54 Harbor View Drive



Anthony, Kristin, Dave, Nicole, Molly, Jill and Kensy enjoying a homecooked meal :-)

Double Whammy...a bum wheel (not sure yet so don't ask) and the Yanks just lost to the sox on the 4th!

Can you notice a difference? Um, yea...Beautiful Mom :-)

Rock on Friends and Family.

Last Minute Guesses

We are finding out the sex of the baby on Monday which kind of ruins the intrigue of the blog name but I think it's okay :-) Although I am super excited to find out, I am actually enjoying these last few days of not knowing. We originally were going to wait but seeing my reaction to the first sonogram and knowing how emotional I am we figured it would be best to kind of spread out all the joy. Find out sex now, meet baby later. Also between Jeff's job change and our own personal housing crisis it feels like everything is up in the air so I am excited to actually know one thing. Plus I am an incessant planner (did I forget to mention that? ha) and really need to have a color scheme for the nursery etc. Jeff's mom Charlotte sent me info on Restoration Hardware's new baby collection and I am obsessed with all of it. Take a look at the pics...pink with brown or blue with brown - I will take either!

Belly Photos especially for Florida Mom and gang

Well now that I have some free time for a couple of weeks I am going to be a good Dad! I have just taken and will now upload some photos of my beautiful wife and mom-to-be for you all to see. It is challenging to say the least when you are all so far away so maybe this will be a quick shortcut we can work to keep in real time. Please feel free to call, write and send love and money at anytime :-) We love you all more. Enjoy the photos. Love Dad.

Look at that big belly on a little girl...healthy and beautiful

Another look at the big belly on a little girl...healthy and beautiful

Profile shot, make sure to view the shots below from a month ago too.

Baby bubbles

I think I felt the baby on Tuesday night. It's a little on the early side and I don't really know what it feels like but I def felt something new and it was the sweetest little thing ever, made my eyes instantly tear up. When the books and websites describe those first feelings they use words like flutters or butterflies but my friend Cristina said they describe it as bubbles and I like that best. Soft and whimsical little bubbles from my baby
:-) Oh and our little baby has ears now so I am trying to cut back on all the f-bombs - ha!

May 15th Doctor Appointment

Our first real sonogram was on Thursday May 15th and I sobbed like a baby the entire time. I went with my sister once to her sonogram so it's not like I didn't know what to expect but for some reason when they put the machine on my belly and all of sudden there was a little baby up on the screen I could not control myself. My stomach was shaking so hard from crying that the technician could barely keep the thing on there - crazy!!! Anyway all of the tests came back great and we are good to go...again! Here's until waiting for the next appt!! Oh and during the sonogram I instantly starting referring to the baby as "he" for some reason...weird!! My sister Paula is actually convinced I am having a boy, hopefully a little blond baby boy like my husband!

Picture Time

Here are some great photos from the past few months...as long as my weight doesn't get too out of control we will keep you updated with Belly Shots. I think this one is only from week 7 but I will take some more this weekend as things have certainly changed ;-)

Where it all started...


Happy Girl!


Jeff catching up on some very important reading (who is that peaking over his shoulder?)


My Belly


Another Belly

Supersoft

Despite the fact that I am only fitting into 20% of my current wardrobe, the only thing I have bought lately are pajamas. The Gap has this line of pj's out called Supersoft and I am OBSESSED with them. They really are super soft but they are also super adorable. The fabric is so cozy yet lightweight for the warm weather. I have actually been sleeping better since I got them! Check it out...I purchased the cami and pants in blue and black. Love love love!

Supersoft cami


Supersoft drawstring cropped pants

Hangover

The best way I can describe my pregnancy is comparing it to a permanant hangover. I am super tired and all I want to do is lie down. Plus I have an insatiable hunger but am semi nauseous all at the same time. The only foods I really crave are a bacon, egg and cheese on a roll and really good pizza which is kind of hard to find in Manhattan, although I certainly have tried lately (each week I come home with a different pizza takeout menu - crazy!). Oh and I am SO THIRSTY, like I drink 50 glasses of water a day which I guess is a good thing but that leads to my other annoying sympton, constantly peeing :-)

Besides feeling hungover and having no place to live and dealing with a hubbie who is very stressed out at work I am GREAT! :-) I seriously cannot wait until our doctor appointment this Thursday. One of my closest friends Cristina is pregnant too (about 4 weeks ahead of me) which is so fun and she said at this ultrasound they could see the baby's mouth opening and closing a bunch of times and the hand move up to the head. THAT KILLS ME and everytime I think about it my eyes well up with tears! Oh my goodness, I just pray it all goes well!!!

Fun Stuff

Our second doctor's appointment went well - yay!! We didn't get to hear the heartbeat because apparently the machine Dr. Mucciolo (OB/GYN) has is missing a wire or something (why did he tell me we would hear it then???) so I was a bit upset but we saw the heartbeat (two little blinking lines) and have our baby's first picture! I will post it soon so you can all see the peanut!

After the successful doctor appointment we decided to tell some of our friends and it was super fun!! I feel like in the beginning I wasn't really ready to celebrate but now that I am 8.5 weeks along I am feeling more confident that it will all work out great. Wicker Park on 83rd and 3rd is where it happened. We told Jeff's college friends Jim and Sue Hens Wednesday and a bunch of my girlfriends (Kristin, Kristy, Nicole, Molly and Shannon) last night. My girls have been on my case with every little pregnancy thing I say or every non-alcoholic sip I take. I finally folded under pressure which started a little domino's effect for the big news.

I've Found My Thrill...

I am 7 weeks pregnant and our baby is the size of a blueberry. How could a little tiny blueberry be making me so tired and hungry and forcing my stomach to look so big?? Jeff and I took some tummy pictures this weekend which was fun. I am not sure who will get bigger these next few months, him or me - ha! I found a picture from our honeymoon (which was only 4 months ago) and my body has already changed so much. This picture will keep me inspired though not to become a house during my pregnancy and to remember that I was once thin and fit!!

I have had some light cramping the past few days which is making me beyond nervous. I went to St. Patrick's Cathedral today at lunch and lit about 50 candles for just about everyone I know and especially for our little blueberry baby. Tomorrow is my second doctor's appointment and we should hopefully be able to hear the heartbeat. Jeff was supposed to be out of town this week but his trip got canceled so he can accompany to the doctor which is making me SO HAPPY!!

Wish us luck tomorrow!!

A Day In The Life

This is how I feel every day...

Tired, hungry, starving, nauseous, hungry, tired, cranky, moody, exhausted, starving, full, too full, bloated, happy, stressed out, nauseous, hungry, tired, so tired, can't keep my eyes open, hungry, stressed, happy, hungry, tired, sleepy. It's like being in Snow White except the Seven Dwarfs are named Happy, Hungry, Sleepy, Starving, Nauseous, Exhausted and Totally Stressed Out and they are all one person...me!
Not super fun but it could definitely be worse and as long as that little baby is healthy and growing inside of me then I am happy, I mean hungry ;-)

Awesome Tees

Both my mother and my nephew David were born on April 10th which is totally amazing to me. Throw in my brother-in-law's birthday which is April 12th and we have a very busy gift buying week. Yesterday I popped into Natalie and Friends which is on 60th and 3rd to buy my nephew some cool tees as requested by his mother. Well did I go to the right spot! Natalie and Friends (whose slogan is cool children's clothing) is filled with adorable stuff for babies and kids. A lot of it was very expensive ($82 shorts for a 7 year seemed a bit much) but I did find some perfectly stylish and soft tees. They are by Kids Ink and I loved them all! I couldn't find pictures of the ones I purchased but these ones are great too!!

Another Purpose

This past weekend my husband's family found out that we were expecting our first child. Since they don't live in the area (Vermont, Florida and Texas) his youngest sister Amanda suggested that I start a blog to track all the baby developments which is perfect timing as I obviously just started this blog - yay!

Nothing really to report yet except that I am totally bloated (which is making me look 20 months pregnant instead of 2) and stressed out due to our lack of a home and my boobs are huge and very tender. Oh and I am nauseated and hungry (often at the same time) and I am even more moody and emotional than usual. Fun stuff!! Tuesday April 15th I am headed back to the doctor though and we are hoping to hear the heartbeat which I am really looking forward to say the least. Thinking about hearing my sweet baby's heart brings tears to my eyes and I just pray that everything is progressing as it should. This is such an exciting yet very worrisome time for us.

Springtime in New York?

Okay so its April 1st, opening day at Yankee Stadium (game was canceled yesterday due to rain) and the first day of spring was almost two weeks ago yet it still feels like winter!!

Despite the crappy weather, here are my attempts to jumpstart the season...daffodils, Plumberry nailpolish by Essie and Thymes Kimono Rose candles.

All the bodegas are selling daffodils right now and they are about $3 a bunch. I like to buy two bunchs (still at bargin at 6 bucks), cut them short and throw them in a round fishbowl-style vase. Make sure you buy them closed up and watch them bloom overnight - its inspirational!!

I am totally loyal to Essie nail polish and am usually wearing neutrals (Vanity Fairest, Hi Maintenance) or reds (Berry Hard, Tiny Wine-y) but last spring one of the girls at Spa Belles suggested Plumberry and I love it! It's a fun pink, but not too pinky or crazy just perfect to perk up a spring day that feels like winter.

I love Thymes candles and was totally into Fraiser Fir this past winter but Kimono Rose is my choice for spring. It's soft and sweet and totally reminds me of baby girls (here comes the hormones) but I think even if you aren't pregnant you will love it!

My First Post

I am 6 weeks pregnant and looking for an arena to discuss becoming a mom, creating a beautiful home, staying healthy, fit and fashionable and maintaining a loving marriage during this crazy but exciting time. I have noticed a lot of the pregnancy websites and blogs are riddled with anxiety which I truly understand as this is a very trying time for many. But I am hoping to connect with people who have a positive outlook on pregnancy and starting a family. Plus I feel like when I get things down on paper, they are more likely to happen so even if I have zero readers (which I will for the next 6 weeks as no one knows I am pregnant and this blog is a secret) worst case scenario is this will be beneficial only to me :-)


Let's get started...

I have under 8 months to get the following in order:

Get through the exhaustion and worry of the first trimester

Tell all our friends and family about our big news!

Find us a new apartment

Create a beautiful unisex nursery

Complete all the boring stuff like life insurance, medical insurance, finish changing my name,wills, guardianship paperwork

Enjoy these last days alone with my husband which has been a challege lately as I am hormonal and can't stop crying :-)

Try and not gain 200 pounds as I have been eating ever since that ept test read PREGNANT

About a million other things I need to focus on but in my tired state that is all I can come up with

Okay, that's all for now...looking forward to the future!