Aunt Cara & Debbie's Wedding!

We had SO much fun at Aunt Cara's & Debbie's wedding.

There was a ton of food, dancing and good times!

Thank GOD the rain held off for the big day...

Here are some pictures from the wedding - Enjoy!

The Gang at Audrey's Farmhouse

Week 24 Update

Baby Wilson is doing great... kicking up a storm! We are now feeling the baby from the outside so daddy is getting to feel and see some of those jabs! The "new" diet is going ok but I seriously have never met anyone that LOST weight during their pregnancy. At weigh in Monday (our last Maternal Fetal Medicine appt)... I actually weighed in at what I did at the 8wk visit... crazy stuff. My regular OB seems to not be overly concerned but he said that I need to gain or stay steady by my next appt. in 4 wks.

The doctor informed us that we'd no longer have to come see them for measurements every other week b/c they decided not to stitch the cervix b/c it was looking good and strong! Great news! Although during my last few weeks of pregnancy I will have to take it easy and not do much, that is cool with me. I can catch up on scrapbooking and finish those books I have been dying to read!

That's all for now... it will be very weird to not go back to the Baby Doctor for a month! I have other appts between now and then so it will keep me busy. Plus work is going to get even more insane in the next few weeks... Until next update... the big glucose test!

Prepared Childbirth 101

Mommy & Daddy are definitely more "prepared" for this whole labor & delivery thing now that we went to our Prepared Childbirth Class at St. Barnabas last Saturday. The day was long and very informative. Our instructor was Sue and she was well versed in all aspects - she had all the answers. The class ranged from couples that were due anywhere from 20 wks to 38 wks.... good thing no one went into labor during class. The guys had a great time tossing jokes around while the women squirmed in the uncomfy chairs and dreaded the graphic videos... but in the end, it was money worth spending.... Here are some highlights:

1. Had a breakout session amongst the Mommy's & Daddy's where we were able to share some of our pregnancy likes and dislikes. Daddy's had some great likes and dislikes (IE: automatic designated driver was a popular one!)

2. Watched videos - some were ok and others were just scary!

3. Played with useful labor massage toys - we are gonna pick up one or two of those to save Daddy from killing his hands!

4. Practiced partner breathing... we definitely need to work of this!

5. Took a tour of the hospital (not that I did not already know my way around that floor!). Saw the actual L&D room where Baby Wilson may make his / her debut.

6.Got the low down on the recovery & visitation policy... as well as what happens to the baby immeadiately following delivery. They have this great program they are just starting called the "Lotus Program" ... the nurses will put a Lotus Note on the door of your post pardum room (if between the normal visiting hours of 11am-8pm) that lets security know that Mommy / Baby are not available for visitors... I think this is great for privacy during breastfeeding.

7. Practiced changing diapers, swaddling and bathing dolls! Mommy has changed hundreds of diapers already thanks to her many years of babysitting and all those little cousins she had. Daddy did a great job changing his "first" diaper!

At the end of the class, we definitely walked away with some great information and conversation topics... Its funny how much you don't realize what trama your body is going to go thru during delivery... I have no idea how any woman is up for visitors after that ordeal! Mommy & Daddy have some basic things to figure out regarding immeadiate post pardum stuff... But once we make some decisions, we will keep all of you posted!

*** This is where Baby Wilson will make their debut!***

Visit to the 3200 Unit...

Not a very happy post but since Baby Wilson was at the helm I figured that I would blog about it... Never is a million years did I think we would visit the hospital at 22 wks - other than for our big Prepared Childbirth Class on 6/7/09... but because I was having sever abdominal pain for over a week my OBGYN decided to admit us to the hospital to figure out what was going on. The pain came about an hour after each meal (or snack) and lasted anywhere from 2-5 hours. From the beginning, everyone who examined me thought it was gall stones.

I was admitted Thursday after going to ER early last week - thanks to the persuasion of a good friend. My OB and Gastro Dr. were concerned that I was having Gall Bladder issues (possibly a stone or gravel stuck in the gb or the bile duct) so on Thursday after a visit to both of those Dr's, they told me to go home, pack a bag and head to the hospital. Thank god I remembered what one of my preggie friends once told me "shower at home when you go into Labor / before you go to the hospital cause you don't know when you will be able to shower again!" - Great advice!!! They took me off foods until Saturday night and did a TON of tests - all that were safe on the baby. On Friday afternoon, the general surgeon came in to visit to talk about my options and said that b/c I was pregnant, they could not continue testing after they did the MRI. Their diagnosis was that I had a dysfunctional gall bladder... based purely on my pain and the fact that the tests showed no stones and my bloodwork came back normal... I will tell you that the MRI was difficult. The baby DID NOT like that noise that the machine made and proved so by kicking me clear in every organ possible during the 15 minutes I was in that tube! There is a test that they would normally do at this point called a HIDA scan but it involves injection of nuclear dye (radiation) into my system - which COULD harm the baby. (Since medicine does not experiment on pregnant women, they have no idea what actual harm this could cause to the fetus but they do not like to perform the nuclear tests on pregnant women). The other option is to let the surgeon perform laproscopic exploratory surgery... and they told us that the anesthesia could trigger early labor. The last option the OB / Surgeon gave was obviously what Brian & I felt most "comfortable" with... an amended diet until the baby comes... being that I was not in immediate danger and we did not want to chance anything affecting the baby... I have to revise my diet and revise the schedule I keep.

SO... my doctor discharged me yesterday (Sunday) but told me that I have to reduce stress, follow the diet, stay close to the hospital and followup should the pains come back. If the pains DO come back, the doctor may take me out of work so that the stress does not affect me and so I can eat and lay down to help deal with the pain - she said something about being put on pain meds to manage the pain so this would prevent me from driving as well. I am feeling better - just tired and starving b/c I have to get used to these small meals and amended diet! I am still feeling uncomfortable when I eat anything but the PAINS are gone. After I deliver, I have to go back to the surgeon b/c apparently once your GB function is messed up, the only resolution is to remove the organ... so 6-8 wks after delivery I will be back in for surgery! Fun stuff!

So I have to say thank you to the one or two people who came to visit... aside from my darling hubby and the daddy-to-be... the visits were great and helped me get thru the wk end. Baby Wilson's Daddy was just amazing thru this entire ordeal! He was at the hospital late with me each night and came first thing each morning to ensure he was there for the Dr.'s visits. He always asked a ton of questions and gave me lots of love when I had meltdowns! He brought his computer (cause he knows I can not stay away from Email & FB), brought cards to play, movies and books... mainly the big NAME book so we could go thru all the names to decide what we are going to name this little bug when it comes out! He stayed all day everyday and told me that there was no where else that was more important or anywhere he'd rather be than with me and the baby. I really don't give my hubby the credit he deserves most of the time and am just so thankful to have such an amazing man to share my life with ... He is going to be a great daddy! One great thing that came from this is that Brian FINALLY got to feel the baby kicking! He was a bit freaked out but somehow found a way to keep touching the belly!

The below picture was taken by my aunt when she came to visit so we could put on the blog!

The Art of Registering

We really thought we were pros at the whole registry thing... being that we got married last year and had the bridal registry.... but boy were we wrong! Even with all the shopping we do for friends who are registered for weddings / babies... we were no where as prepared as we should have been when we started scanning baby items!

We started the registry before we started telling people we were expecting... Brian was so much more excited than I was - probably b/c I was too sick to think about strollers or pack and plays at the time. Now that the nausea has passed... we can both share in the joy of nesting and creating a wish list for the new baby. But gosh there are SOOO many choices. I think in the end we made some great decisions but I guess only trial and error will tell...

These were some of the more "difficult" choices... but checking out friends registries definitely helped so THANKS to those of you who "helped" without even knowing it!

1. Travel System Stoller or Not?... we chose the Peg Perego Car Seat and separate stroller...they connect together but its not considered a "system"

2. Bassinet or Pack & Play? Since our place is not huge, we chose the Pack & Play only... sinec it will get more use along the way

3. High Chair or Booster? Both... one for our house and one for Grandma & Grandpa's! Future Grandkids will benefit!

4. Infant Car Seat or Convertible... Infant Car Seat.

5. What Bottles? Decided to go with a few different brands since we have no idea what the baby will favor... We are trying the whole "nursing" thing so we will see how that goes...

6. Diaper Geenie or Diaper Champ ? Got mixed reviews on both but in the end we went with the Champ

Thanks to the great folks at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby we have now completed our registry's.... Just one more step to being ready for Baby Wilson! A few people already asked why register at 2 places... there are different benefits with each one (more for the buyer of the items than for us)... Plus there is the location factor.

Baby Wilson's "First" Yankee Game

Both Brian & I have had the privilage of going to see the NY Yankees play in the Bronx for many years.. in fact since we were very young! Through the years, between the two of us we have probably a hundred games - his first game as he remembers it was with his Dad & his older brother Denny and was the home game they played after Thurmon Munson was burried and Bobby Mercer had the game winning hit... While my first game was with my Grandpa Joe and was on July 18, 1987 when Don Mattingly homered off Texas' Jose Guzman to tie Dale Long's Major-League record of hitting a home run in eight consecutive games. Our blood has bled "blue" for many years!... In recent years, Brian has gotten season ticket packages with his brothers (which is why I was able to go yesterday - thanks Denny & Kevin!) and I started a tradition a few years back taking my Uncle Robert to games for his birthday every year!

Although Brian may beg to differ that since we got married my love for the Bombers has gotten lost. When in fact we had a "Yankee" Themed wedding... See the Grooms Cake I got for Brian at our wedding!

Brian really wanted to be able to take the "baby" to a game before he/she was actually born and while both Grandpa Wilson & Uncle Robert have expressed the desire to take the baby to its REAL first game, Brian & I wanted to be able to bring the baby ourselves... so we ended up going to the game on Saturday of Memorial Day wkend (yesterday). It was my first time visiting the NEW stadium so it was VERY exciting. The traffic getting there was not great - nor was the traffic coming home but everything in between was great! The baby even got excited every time the "Beer Man" would say "Ice Cold Beer Here" :)

Here are some photos from the game... The game was slow for the most part until the 9th inning. Thank GOD, cause I hate extra innings! Rodriguez hit a tying homer off Brad Lidge in the ninth inning and Melky capped the three-run rally with an RBI single, giving the Yankees a 5-4 victory over the Phillies! Its good thing since Daddy looked at Mommy and said "I don't want the baby's 1st memory to be a loss... they have to win"... and just as he was saying that A-Rod hit the homer!

The outside of the New Stadium, Our "Beer Man", The inside of the "Great Hall"...

View from our seats, The Board before A-Rod's Homer (I must have known!),

Unhappy Phillies Fans!

The belly (Daddy INSISTED!), The Yankees WIN!, Our 1st Family Pic at Yanks Stadium!

Pre-natal Massage

Ok so although I have always been a fan of massage in general... getting prenatal massages are just the icing on the cake... especially when you have someone who you are comfortable with and does an AMAZING job!.

I got my 2nd prenatal massage last night and it made such a world of difference...I promised myself early on that I would treat myself to one massage per trimester... so far its been great. Rachel (the girl who works all the magic) is so amazingly talented and personable. You tell her whats bothering you and she trys to help you as much as possible!

I highly recommend treating yourself to this type of pampering is the budget allows! Here is the link to the local place I go to! http://www.harmonydayspa.com/

Revelation of the Newest Wilson

So we are finally getting around to getting this blog started... Although the official announcement came a long time ago, we thought this would be a cool way for people to keep up to date on what's going on with Baby Wilson... as well as Brian & I since there are so many family members & friends we only get to see a few times a year (if that!).

We are officially between 21-22 weeks along and although it seems like the end is no where in sight, we know the summer months are going to FLY by us and before we know it, this little person will be living with us! We have had the painters come and have all the furniture in the Baby's room - only one slip up has happened with the furniture but its under control and we are on our way to having this room ready! I know, I know... what pregnant person is this prepared? Anyone who knows how I am (the planner) knows how serious I am about getting this done as soon as possible! The colors in the nursery are Brown (Benjamin Moore Broken Arrow to be exact) and Baby Blue... These are not indicative of the gender... but rather we thought by keeping the room brown, it would be better when we try to re-sell the condo in a few years.

So our 20 week appt was on 5/8/09 - we were so excited to spend so much time looking at our peanut... who by the way was not very cooperative. Bouncing like a little mexican jumping bean trying to evade the ultrasound camera at every chance! The doctor WAS able to capture a few great pics (see below)... and we found out the baby weighed almost 14 oz. Everything else looked great! We could not have been happier. The only thing that we were disappointed to hear was that my placenta is located in the front of my abdomen... this means Daddy may not get to feel the punches and jabs as much - but we will have to wait and see.

This little bugger is moving ALL THE TIME now. Granted that there are definite "triggers"... ice cream, puffy cheese doodles, anything chocolate or dairy, salmon... I could really go on and on. I have to say that at times the movements are just plain weird! Sometimes horribly painful but most of the time just weird. The description of popcorm popping is one I can relate to. When the baby holds on to a rib or kicks my bladder - I am not a very happy camper!

Until next time!