January Baby Update

Dear Hope,

Well, January flew by and unfortunately I have been so busy preparing for the baby that I haven’t been able to take the time to write… so I’ll try to catch you up on what has been going on.

NJ Friends Baby Shower ~
Lets 1^st start with the Baby Shower that my best friend Kelly hosted for me on January 15^th.  I feel so lucky and blessed to have so many people in my life that wanted to celebrate the welcoming of our baby into this world (which has been obvious by having 3 baby showers!!!) My closest friends came from near and far to celebrate and even my mom and “Aunt” Rosanne came from Buffalo to be there too!!!!  Kelly did any amazing job transforming her house into a pink wonderland full of games, food, and even specialty drinks! Kelly has been there for me throughout the entire process of trying and becoming pregnant, so for her to host my baby shower and celebrate with her was truly amazing and meant more than she will ever know!

Baby Prep Classes ~
"Baby Care Basics & Preparation for Childbirth" classes... It is worth mentioning that Brian and I also signed up for 2 classes at the hospital to get us ready for the arrival of the baby.  Unfortunately Brian was still out in Arizona so he could not make the 1st week of classes so I was lucky enough to have a fill in partner... you guessed it! Kelly!!!!  Just another amazing thing that only a true friend would do!!! Especially as she is a super mom already and they were teaching us how to "hold a baby" and then rubbed my back as we were learning to breath during the "Lamaze" section.  Brian was able to join for the 2nd week of classes and I was glad he could share this and just being in the hospital really got us excited and made it all feel more real!!!!

Dr Appointment Update ~

January 16^th – (34weeks 5days pregnant) At this appointment, when the Dr measured my belly she thought that I seemed to be measuring a little big so she sent me for an ultrasound to see how baby was doing.  At first I was a little concerned but then she said she wasn’t concerned at all and if anything it was more for us to get another sneak peak at the baby.  So Brian joined me later that night for the ultrasound and although the technician was not able to tell us too much, she did say that the baby looked great! According to her measurements she did seem to think the baby was measuring ahead (her calculations already measured her at 6lbs7oz! About 2 weeks ahead of schedule! yikes!!!). She also confirmed that baby was already head down! A good sign as we are in the home stretch!!!  But, the dr would go over all the results at my next appointment…

January 31^st – (36weeks 6days pregnant) Today’s appointment once again went really well! My 1^st question to the dr was going over the results of my last ultrasound.  I had been really nervous that because the technician said the baby was big that it may be a prediction that I will be delivering a record setting baby! But, the dr reassured me that ultrasounds taken this far into a pregnancy are extremely inaccurate in determining actual weight and size! That made me feel so much better!!!  She said that our baby was measuring at the 74 percentile and as long as a baby is in between 50-90 percentile they are not concerned. She also “checked me” for the 1^st time and said that I was “softening” but not dilated and baby hadn’t dropped yet. So I was exactly where she expected me to be at that point…

Now I go every week until the baby comes which can be any day now!!!! Although my due date is Feb 22^nd- a baby is concerned “full term” anytime between 37-40 weeks!  I still can’t believe that we are so close!!!!

Next dr appointment ~ February 7^th

^Kate

Ultrasound Pics

January 7th~ Ultrasound (Profile of baby) 

If you look close you can see that the baby is looking right at you - with her right cheek at top of picture



Belly Pics

January 22nd - 8months down

Rest in Peace...

Dear Hope,

It is with complete sadness that I even have to write about this…  This week has been one of the most difficult and sorrowful weeks of my life.  I am not sure where to begin so I will do my best and start with the beginning of the week…

On Monday Brian and I received a text from his Aunt Maureen that his mom was in a lot of pain and was feeling as though she may be close to the end of her fight.  As you all know Eileen had been fighting Pancreatic Cancer and a mix of complications for over the past year.  Brian immediately booked a flight out to Arizona and was able to be there that night. I wanted to join him so desperately but being 8 months pregnant we knew it would not be safe for me to travel so far.  So as I watched him leave I feared the worst and hated that I couldn’t be with him in what was going to be the hardest time of his life. 

The next day January 3^rd, Eileen lost her fight to cancer.  It had been a long battle and we all wanted her to be out of the horrible pain she was in but, I so desperately wanted her to able to hold in her arms her grandbaby.  A friend of my mom’s told me that I didn’t have to fear that Eileen would never meet her…  that she now was able to meet her soul in heaven before she was born.  I believe in that and I believe that these next 7 weeks until our baby is born, Eileen is holding her and filling her with all the love and knowledge that she will need to be the most amazing little person.

Unfortunately tragedy stuck once again… On Wednesday January 4^th, My Uncle Walt was taken from us.  After only 6 days in the hospital he died a peaceful death with family all around him.  He went in last Thursday to the hospital after not feeling well and they found out he had Pancreatic Cancer that had already spread to his liver and lungs.  The disease took over his body so fast that there was nothing the drs could do.  Hearing this news was like a nightmare that we couldn’t wake up from.  We had just had a wonderful Christmas and although he hadn’t been feeling himself we could have never  imagined that only days later he would no longer be here with us.  If you knew my Uncle you knew he was one of the most amazing, genuine, loving people you would ever meet.  He too was so excited to welcome in our baby girl and I still can’t believe he is gone.  But, as I said earlier about Eileen… I know that right now Uncle Walt is up in heaven with her unborn soul… probably dancing with her and telling her a silly joke.

I have to believe things happen for a reason or else all this hard ache would be for nothing…  I truly believe that our baby girl has 2 angels looking over her and with that much love she must be destine for greatness.  I promise to keep the memories of Eileen and Uncle Walt alive and share the wisdom and love that they have instilled in me. 

Rest in Peace

Eileen Gabriel   7/26/51 – 1/3/12

Walt Moroz   7/27/43 – 1/4/12

Buffalo Baby Shower ~ December 28th

Dear Hope,

Buffalo Baby Shower  ~  December 28, 2011

Once again I was blessed to celebrate the welcoming of our baby girl with some of my closest family and friends.  The shower was absolutely perfect.  After years of wondering if I would ever have the opportunity to have such a wonderful celebration, all that I was hoping for finally came through.  The love I felt in the room that night was like nothing I can even explain.  As I opened the gifts and read the most thoughtful cards I again realized that I was never alone on this journey to becoming a mother.  It was such a special day and I will remember it forever.

Dr appointment update ~ January 2, 2012

This a routine appointment to check on the baby but was special because Brian was able to join me…  What was even more exciting was that our dr gave us a sneak peak at the baby by doing an ultrasound. She was having problems with her Doppler machine to hear the heartbeat and since she had some cancellations, she offered to do a quick ultrasound.  Our baby looked perfect!  She has already turned head down and is perfectly on track!!!! As I seem to be growing by the day and becoming more and more uncomfortable I keep reminding myself that in less than 7 weeks I will be holding my baby girl in my arms.  A day I have been waiting for my entire life…

Kate

7 Months down!!! Only 2 more to go!!!

Dear Hope,

On Monday 12/19 I had another check up with my dr and everything went great! Once again the baby had a strong heartbeat which is always so great to hear. I also found out the results of my Glucose Tolerance Test…. I passed with “flying colors”!!! 

Today marks 7 months down only 2 more to go!!!  I can’t believe how fast the last few months have gone! I can remember when we first found out we were pregnant and thinking that February was so far away and now it is just around the corner. 

I am leaving tomorrow to head to Buffalo for the holidays… I can’t wait to spend a whole week with my family and friends! It is going to be a very busy week but all worth it!!! I am also looking forward to my Baby Shower which my Mom and my 2 Aunts (Aunt Sue and Aunt Pat) are throwing for me! There was a day not too long ago that I wasn’t sure if I would ever get to celebrate the welcoming of a baby.  So now that it is here words can’t even express how lucky and blessed I feel!  It will truly be a CELEBRATION!!!!

Next dr appointment is Monday January 2^nd

Kate

Update on Baby Gabriel

Dear Hope,

So I am a little late with the update but wanted to get it out…

 I had a regular check up with Dr. Lambert on December 2^nd and once again everything was great!!!  My belly was measuring right on schedule and the heartbeat was strong and steady! My dr was nice enough to even let me tape the sounds of the heartbeat when she did the check with the Doppler. So I was able to send it out to some of our family as a little surprise!!!! 

I also had my “Glucose Tolerance Test”…  Basically I had to drink this very very sugary drink (kinda tasted like the “little hugs” drinks we had as kids) and then an hour later they drew blood to see how well my body could break down the sugars.  Luckily I didn’t receive a call back so I am guessing everything is ok and but I will ask about it more at my next appointment.  

I did reach a HUGE milestone… I know go to the dr EVERY 2 weeks (was at every 4 before- Then once I hit 36 weeks I will go every week).  I can’t believe how fast time is going by…

Next appointment is Friday December 16^th. 

Kate

PS- Today (December 12^th) I had a slight scare…. I had a horrible headache so I checked my blood pressure and it was 140/80 and my pulse was 110.  Both very high for me so I called my dr and she asked me to come in to just check things out and make sure baby was doing ok.  When I saw the dr my BP was still a little high but the baby sounded great and she wasn’t concerned.  She did tell me to go home for the day and rest.  Dr’s orders…. So a nice nap and catching up on some TV was my day. I am feeling better and although I knew everything was going to be ok, I am glad I checked things out!

Baby wants to say Hi!

1st video is just the sound of the heartbeat from my drs appointment 

 (not sure if it will be loud enough to hear...)

This Video is from December 5th

I'm laying down trying to catch the baby's kicks on video. Hard to see but there is a little jump in my belly right away in the video then again after I tap my belly with my fingers- look to the left side of my belly to see it.

(I'll try to catch a better video of her kicking again but

everytime I try to video of course she stops)

NJ Family Baby Shower ~ November 26th

Dear Hope,

So I wanted to share some pictures and memories from my recent Baby Shower that Brian’s family had for me over thanksgiving.  I am so grateful and feel so lucky that they wanted to make a special day for us to celebrate Baby Gabriel.  What made it even more special was that Brian’s mom was able to be in town for it and celebrate too. 

Although the entire day was so wonderful I had a few special moments that will be with me forever.  The 1^st was when Brian’s sister Heather and his mom began singing their version of “Hush Little Baby”.  Definitely never heard this version but we got it on video – thank goodness because I think this may be a new tradition that I will be singing to our baby girl too.  The next special moment was when Eileen gave me the handmade blankets and bibs that were from Brian’s Nana and a special Blanket that Eileen made just for Brian when he was a baby.  I can’t wait to wrap my baby in the blankets and sing “Hush Little Baby”. I’ll tell her the history of these family heirlooms  and how we are so lucky to have been given these amazing gifts. 

Kate  



Me, Nana, and Aunt Heather



 

Nana showing me the book she made
"all about her" for the Baby



I think she liked it :)

  

A little gift for Eileen from the baby

(An amethyst beaded bracelet with
an engraving of "Nana" on the charm)

6 Months down only 3 more to go!!!

Dear Hope,

Today marks 6 months down and only 3 to go!!!! It is even more special because Brian and I are out in Arizona visiting his mom for a few days! Luckily the baby has been very cooperative and Eileen has been able to feel her kick and even feel her when she had the hiccups!  We are then all headed back to NJ to celebrate Thanksgiving with the rest of Brian’s family.  I am so thankful that we have this special time to spend with his mom and his family.  This past year has really put things in perspective and although there has been such heartache and sadness at times there has also been so much joy and so many memories made. I think we have all learned to take each day as it comes and be grateful for every day that we have. Most importantly, If I think about what I am truly thankful for, it all comes down to the people in my life and the memories that we share. 

I can’t forget to mention that this weekend Brian’s family is throwing me a baby shower!!!!!  I am so excited to celebrate our baby girl and even more excited that Brian’s mom will be there to celebrate too!!! I have sneaky suspicion that our baby girl is going to be spoiled rotten!!!!

Kate