My Pregnancy: Gender Reveal Party

Sometimes I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I LOVE Tori Spelling.  I love her NOW, not back in the 90210 days.  I always thought she was a spoiled brat who only got the part on the show b/c of her daddy.  But I watch her show on Oxygen (her and her husband and kids) and I just love her. She's so creative and down to Earth and loves to organize parties, so I thought, with this pregnancy, let's do a gender reveal party!  There has been a ton of drama going on in our families, that I thought a party is a way to get everyone together for something GOOD for once, so let's do it.  DH didn't think it was a good idea as we had a ton of stuff going on with our condo and everything, but I figured why not have something else to add my to my list of things I need to do????  So that hatched my idea for a Gender Reveal Party! 

We made the invitation poker themed, as we are big poker players, Everyone loved the invitations.  I know I saved it, but I think I saved it on my work computer, and of course, I'm on maternity leave...figures!

We had the party almost a week after we had our anatomy scan. We wanted to be surprised with our families, so we had the tech not tell us and to put one of the sonograms in a sealed envelope with what the gender was and we took that to the bakery in town to make our Gender Reveal Cake.  I had some ideas for the cake, and I showed them to the baker, and she took the pictures and said she would make something really nice.  Take a look:

So we had some family and friends over.  We invited a little over 20 people to the party, figuring that half would come, so 10 would be perfect in our tiny condo.  Imagine our surprise when EVERYONE RSVP'd yes, and then they ALL showed up.  That never happens, but we were pleased with everyone coming.  Yes it was cramped, but we all had a blast! We played a game where we had baby bottles filled with beer and all the couples got together and the women 'fed' their men with the baby bottles and the first guy to finish all their beer won.  That was soooooooo funny. All the men trying to drink the beer out of  a newborn nipple bottle!  My father in law gave up and poured his out into his solo cup and drank from there.  Some men cheated and bit the nipple to open it up more...but EVERY guy had a sore jaw after the fact :)

Here are some pics from the party, enjoy!

My Pregnancy: How We Spent Valentine's Day

Ah, Valentine's Day.  A day many men and women plan to be perfect in every aspect: getting the perfect gift, reserving a spot at the best dining establishment, getting the perfect flowers or candy etc.  DH has always done something nice for me for Valentines Day, but he doesn't go overboard, as I don't let him.  I also do something nice for him as well.  usually I will make a really nice dinner for him as Valentine's Day falls on a weekday, and he gets out of work late, so by time he gets home, showers, gets ready, I'm ready for bed :)  So I usually make him a really nice meal, and he usually gets me flowers delivered to work and candy and a teddy bear are waiting for me at home (I leave the house before him).

This year, was a little different.  Everything was planned as we normally do it.  However, when I woke up on that morning, my leg hurt so bad.  I couldn't even really move my leg without my upper thigh/stomach area going into extreme pain.  I couldn't walk, I had to hunch over.  When I sat on the couch to move my feet like I was driving, I was almost in tears.  I had NO idea what was going on.  DH had watched me walk around and immediately got up to see what was wrong.  I was terrified, how could I drive, let alone walk if I got to work?  So we made the decision to go to the ER because of the baby. I hate the ER.  I dragged my feet like donkeys do....similar to a dog when the dog is going to the vet and knows.  But I knew I needed to go because something was wrong.

We both call our jobs to call out of work (great, calling out on Valentine's Day, that doesn't look suspicious!) and off to the ER we go. He had to help me get dressed because I was in so much pain.  We go to the ER and we're talking about how to get to the hospital when we have the baby.  There is usually a ton of traffic by this hospital, but I'm trying to tell him that we will just leave early to beat the traffic b/c most people say it will be awhile before I really NEED to go to the hospital.  We pull up to the ER parking lot and I'm grunting.  I hate the hospital. As we get out, the pain disappears...so walking into the ER I'm no longer in pain.  Really?  We go in anyway just in case it's mind over matter and my mind doesn't want to be in the hospital.  There is nobody waiting in the waiting room (complete opposite of months prior when I went in for pain and had to wait ALL day in the waiting area). I go to the traige nurse and I'm 20 weeks that day.  Something I learned, when you're pregnant, once you hit that 20 week mark, you go right to labor and delivery for observation, no matter what....even if I broke a hand, I go right in, no waiting...SWEET!  So I immediately get in a wheelchair and wheeled up to the 5th floor.  They get me into a room and the nurse hands me a gown (yuck) and says here, change into this, everything off but the gown.  I'm a germaphobe and DH knows this.  I look at him and he's smiling b/c he knows what I'm thinking.  I'm like....can I leave my panties on?  No, everything off but the gown and she points to my bathroom.  I also had to give a urine sample.  Lovely.  So I go in to the bathroom, change into the yucky gown that I hope and pray they washed, and give my urine sample.  Then I come out, DH is sitting next to the bed, and I look at my bed....a wee wee pad.  lovely.  I'm not sitting on that with no panties on.  So I stand next to the bed waiting for the nurse to come in.  She tells me to sit in the bed...I say, no I'm fine standing.  She looks at me, then at DH who starts laughing.   She must have thought we were nuts...so I tell her I'm totally skeeved out and a germaphobe...she said there's nothing to worry about and to hop into the bed so they can monitor me.  Hmph.  So I do.  And I'm praying that it's a new wee wee pad as well. DH says I'm crazy to think like that lol.  So I get hooked up to two monitors, one to monitor the baby's heart beat, the other to monitor contractions...which I'm having none.  Everytime the baby moved, you can hear swishing noises. It freaked DH out between hearing that and the heartbeat...I loved it. I could have spent the entire day in there.  I never thought to call my OB/GYN so the nurse called him and he came withing 10-15 minutes. I love my dr, he has such a good bedside manner.  I had just had my anatomy scan a few days earlier, so he needed to wait until they opened that dept to get the results to see if any abnormalities existed that could be causing the pain. While he waited, he sat with me and DH and we talked about everything, work, the hurricane, etc.  He's really nice.

When he got the results, he came back up to tell us everything is fine and normal and that I probably had round ligament pain.  Which can come and go because of my ever expanding belly.  Since I wasn't in pain anymore, he wasn't concerned too much, but still wanted me to come to the office in a few days to follow up.  he also gave me an internal exam. DH was so surprised he didn't have to leave the room, in fact, the doctor was pretty much right next to him as he did it.  At the office with the other doctor mostly, he doesn't allow anyone in the room during an internal, only after he will call the husband in, but this doctor doesn't care as he gave me one or two internal exams with DH in the room. DH was so not ready for the internal, the doctor put on his glove and up he went. I glanced at DH and his eyes were wide open, like hey doc, want me to move?  lol.  My cervix was closed, which was good, so he decided to release me. Said no sexual relations for a week, then looked at DH and said 'Sorry buddy...but take her to a nice Valentine's Day dinner' lol.  I was released shortly after and we had all of the day to be with each other.

We decided to stop at Dunkin for breakfast, then went and did a few little errands here and there, took a nap and since we're not big foodies or anything, we ordered take out for dinner...that way I can stay in my sweats and not worry about getting all dressed up to spend a ton of money on food. 

Since DH works for UPS and that was who happened to be delivering my flowers, we came up to where I worked to meet up with the driver that would have delivered my flowers. While I was in the bathroom at the hospital, DH had called him up to asked him not to deliver them, that we would come up to get them from him.  So after the hospital we came up to where I worked and we met up with the driver.  He was very concerned about me since I see him once in awhile at work when he delivers to my building.  He wanted to make sure I was okay. We also went to visit another one of the drivers that DH is really friendly with.  He has 3 kids...a set a twins and a baby girl.  he was also concerned when DH called him early in the AM to tell him he was calling out to take me to the ER.  His wife's first pregnancy was horrible, he was in the ER with her every week pretty much.  She kept bleeding and having a ton of pain, on bedrest, you name it. so he was concerned, he's soooo super nice and caring. 

So that was how we spent Valentine's Day this year :)

My Pregnancy: Announcement to Friends via Social Media and Holiday Cards

The time had come at Christmastime to make it official to all our extended family and friends that we were expecting, and the best part was that we got to do it around Christmas, making it a gift in and of itself :)

For our holiday cards, DH and I decided to have a onesie made (okay it was more or less my idea) with a saying on it " I Was Born to Be Your Baby" as a tribute to Bon Jovi (our favorite band - I'm from the town he grew up in, and DH is from the town right next door!).  DH and I had tank tops made for our wedding video (yes, we made a video to Born to Be My Baby) where his said Baby I was Made to be Your Man, and mine said 'I was Born to be your Baby' lol.  We made a pretty cool video of the song with our wedding videographer, and I'm glad we saved the shirts.  We got dressed up for one pic on the holiday card holding Lucky the cat, then the middle pic was the onsie we made with the EPT test picture in the middle, then on the picture on the card was DH and I wearing our tank tops.  We both thought it was cute, take a look!

The funny thing about this card, was that the night I gave it to my sister and parents, I was at a holiday play that my nephew was in at his school, where my sister is the secretary.  Jon Bon Jovi's niece goes to the school, so when I showed up, I just handed the cards to my mom and sister. Then she pointed out Jon's brother, Matt (also his manager) was sitting in front of us.  OMG!  She is friendly with him as anything at the school goes through her and she was like 'Should I show him the card??'  I was like 'OMG, NO!'  The next day, Jon's sister in law came in to pick up her daughter and my sister showed her and said she was going to show Matt the card, and she was like 'You should have, him and Jon love stuff like this!'  My sister called me, and I was like "i have extras, I can send Matt and Jon ones if they want!' hahahaha.

For social media, we decided to wait until Christmas Day and we both posted it a picture of my sonogram from Christmas Eve on Facebook and Twitter.  People were so shocked and surprised to know we were expecting! We have been married for almost 6 years, so many people just thought we'd be one of those couples that didn't have kids.  But meanwhile, we were terrified of being bad parents, raising our kids wrong, me with the pain of pregnancy and labor, those were the real reasons we did not get pregnant sooner :)  We had our family and now our friends all knew, it was a great Christmas!

My Pregnancy: Big Announcement to the Family

We decided to keep the pregnancy mum for awhile, especially after what had transpired when we told my best friend.  I wanted to do something special, and I figured we would tell our families on Thanksgiving.  It was still a little early, as I was less then 2 months pregnant, but I knew our families would be so happy to hear, since we've been married for over 5 years at that point :)

We figured Thanksgiving would be the best day since we spend Turkey Day Dinner at my in laws, then usually go to my mom's or sister's (whoever is hosting) for dessert.  Since Mike's parents and brother knew, we would be telling his uncle, cousin and grandma at his mom's house during appetizer time.  Yes, we do it Italian style.  Mom (DH's mom) puts out a huge appetizer spread, like antipasta and all that jazz, then we have about 5 courses for dinner!  I got all dressed up for the occasion, as I figured this would be the last time I can really dress nice and tight before the baby belly comes into play hahaha.  I had bought a nice dress months earlier and I was like well, it will still fit so I'm wearing it! 

I always make some kind of dessert for both families (to be fair) so I made a cake for each family, but for my family, since there would be a ton more people at my sister's this year to tell, I figured I'd make the cake and decorate it with a nice saying that we are pregnant.  In my mind, I'm Betty Crocker when it comes to baking...and usually I'm spot on...but decorating, not so much :)  DH decided on me doing a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting for his family, and to do a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting for my family, and do the red writing on the white cake for my family. In my head it looked fabulous, but writing on the cake, not so fun, esp when I smeared it when we went to put foil on it to cover it. Then transporting it again, smeared...oh well.

So we went to his family's house first and I was so nervous and excited to tell everyone.  We hadn't really planned on what/how/when to say anything.  I figured when there was a lull in conversation at the kitchen table, DH would say something.  But he wasn't to quick to catch on.  I kept kicking him under the table, but he was oblivious.  I'm actually surprised his grandmother or uncle didn't say anything when I wasn't drinking alcohol and had water instead.  So finally, DH's mom blurts out, Okay, everyone, shut up, Mike has an announcement to make!'  So everyone pretty much caught on at that point, and all we hear is Grandma say, 'Beth's PREGNANT!!!!????'  DH was like 'Yes, Grandma, that's our announcment lol.  It was so cute! And she was sooooo happy that I was finally pregnant.  She always wanted us to have a baby.  As I write this, I'm in tears. Grandma passed away last Thursday :(  She had a stroke in March, and never really recovered. She kept getting infections, dehydrated, etc. in the hospital. She was a very strong woman, very very strong indeed.  She survived 2 cancers late in life (within the past few years) and she was very healthy, even though she was a big smoker.  Everyone in DH's family thought she would outlive all of us.  We had her wake and funeral this weekend, and she was buried in the dress she wore to our wedding, how nice is that? She loved that dress. At the wedding, she told DH's mom she wanted to be buried in that dress. She looked so beautiful.  She is definately up in heaven looking stylish and good for her husband Poppy. I never met him, he passed right before DH and I met, so now I know they are reunited in heaven :)

So everyone was happy at his parents house. So after dinner, we went to my sister's house for dessert and she had a houseful of people!  We kept the cake outside so people wouldn't peek or anything.  So when I went outside to get the cake, my sister gathered everyone up into the kitchen area, and I came in with the cake. She was giving a speech and then turned it over to me.  We have NEVER done anything like this. So I said that in my normal Better Crocker way, that I made a cake, but this was a special cake, and that Mike actually helped me make it (laughter from the crowd).  I then took off the foil and showed everyone what the cake said 'Baby Russo due July 3rd!'  My one aunt, who adores babies and has wanted us to have one forever was in the back of the crowd, but she must have awesome vision b/c right after I unveiled the cake, she screamed.  I think the neighbors even heard her!  She was sooooo ecstatic, everyone really was, but she was just over the top. She was the same aunt i saw at Shop Rite the day we found out we were pregnant but couldn't tell everyone.  My cousins were so excited that the next day was Black Friday so they can start shopping for the baby!  Granted, they didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl at the time, but they were just sooooo excited! 

So all in all it was a great Thanksgiving for both families!

My Thanksgiving Outfit.....can't fit into that dress anymore!!!  (not for awhile at least :) )

My Pregnancy: Confirmation and Telling Those Closest to Us

On Oct 19, we found out we were pregant. We were both ecstatic, scared, happy, nervous, all rolled into one.  That Monday, I called the dr. and made my appointment to confirm the pregnancy.  I was excited to have it confirmed prior to my parents leaving for Aruba so that we could tell the parents before they went on vacation.

I made my appointment for Nov 1st.  I guess it wasn't a rush to get me in right away as I had just found out, and didn't even 'miss' my AF anyways.  I was so excited, I couldn't wait.  My sister also couldn't wait for me to tell my parents b/c she was just as excited, or more excited for me to be pregnant.  My mom always goes to her house, or she goes to my moms after work, so it was hard for her not to spill the beans.  The day after we found out, they had the firehouse ribs in town and I just LOVE ribs.  So when my sister put on Facebook that she was going to get some, I asked for some, so she brought some over to me and was so happy and crying that she was going to FINALLY be an aunt.  Then I guess she posted on Facebook that she dropped some off for me, and my mom was like 'Oh that was so nice that you brought over ribs to your sister, I love my girls!'  Little did she know, she did it to feed her future niece or nephew.

Soon after we found out, Hurricane/Super Storm Sandy made her appearance in NJ.  The day it happened, DH stayed home from work as they were told to stay home.  He made me call out of work since he knew the storm was coming and didn't want me out and about (he's very protective of his pregnant wife!). So we stayed home together, and watched the news all day long. The storm hit that Monday (Oct 29th), but all during the weekend and that day, we were prepping for Baby Russo.  We had moved my BIG pantry from the spare room to the kitchen with the help of my friend and DH's brother.  They had no idea why we were doing so, we just told them it was easier to have it in the kitchen then the spare room, and they fell for it. That Sunday, the 28th, my best friend was set to leave for Vegas for the week for some car thing so it was good he wouldn't be here so I wouldn't spill the beans to him.  DH and I decided that we would confirm the pregnancy, tell the parents, his brother, then my best friend.  His flight got cancelled that Sunday and DH and I went to pick him up from the airport, and this was the day before the storm was set to hit us, but it had already started up the coast and they had to delay and cancel many flights, his was one to be canceled and he couldn't get on another flight.  I went to the airport and tried to get him on another flight, no go.  So now I was stuck with him being home for the week and praying I wouldn't slip.

After Hurricane Sandy, we were off for a few days, and his hub had no power, neither did my office.  I could come in and help out at the airport checkpoints, but DH said, no.  So we got to stay home for a few days.  It wasn't all fun and games though since we had no power, no gas, no hot water, no food, nothing.  My parents and his parents had hot water at least, so we got to shower there, but it's NO fun taking a hot shower to come out to a house that's 50 degrees!  I was miserable...newly pregnant, cranky, tired, cold, etc.  We would spend out days out and about, searching for gas, heat on in the car, charging our phones, etc.  We would eat at his parents house who had some nice lanterns and their house seemed to be warmer then ours (we have like NO insulation). 

The night before my Doctor's appt, we drove by to see if that town had power.  My best friend lives a few minutes from my dr and he got power like the next day.  So the night before, we drove by my drs office and there was lights on! They had power!  YAY!  So we went to my friends house to watch some TV and sit in the heat, so that was nice. 

When we returned home that night (complete darkness), I went into the back of our SUV and had to grab something from the very back.  I got on my stomach, not even thinking what I was doing, laid on my stomach to reach the very back of the truck.  When I finally realized what I was doing, I was like OMG and started with some severe cramping.  I was in tears.  We got inside and I went right to Google on my phone. DH was more worried about me being upset then what I did, being that it was sooooo early on in the pregnancy, but I was soooo worried.  I got like no sleep whatsoever.

DH had work the next day, I did not.  Actually, my boss called and said I could come in to help out, but if I chose not to, I would still get paid.  Um, yea, not coming in.   So that next day, I figured I'd sleep in a bit, then head out to fill up the cars and do some deals at CVS since many towns around us was getting power.  Plus, that night was my Dr. appt!  I still had cramps and all that so I was still worried.  While waiting in line to get gas, I called to confirm the dr. appt. I knew they would be open as they had power, but something said to call.  So I did, they weren't seeing any appts that day and I'd have to reschedule for the following week. Bummer.  I was in pain and wanted to see the doctor to make sure everything was okay.  I started freaking out.  My sister was at her in laws in NY since they had power, and she said if I had wanted to, she would take me to the ER to ease my mind.  I decided that's the best thing to do so I can at least be at peace.  She knew everything was okay, but try to tell that to a worried new mom to be! So I had to go to my friend's place first to tell him I wasn't going to hang out at his apartment while he worked (since he had power, DH and I were going to stay there until our power was back on, but during the day, he wanted me at his house so at least there was heat, TV, food, etc).  I went back and told him that my sister wanted to hang out with me so I was going out with her.  He was bummed, but understood.  So off to the ER I went.

WOW, what a pain THAT was...in the ER waiting room from about noon to about 730 before going to be seen by a DR!  I had called my dr. at around 4pm and told him. He figured it was just a pulled muscle, but since I was in the ER waiting room as I was told it wasn't much longer, he said to stay there, esp since I had no power and at least the hospital had power :)  Apparently everyone thought the same thing!  So DH finally came after work, and relieved my sister.  We got to the back and everything went quickly.  They took my blood, gave me a gown, made me do a urine sample, the works.  I wasn't able to eat all day, as the one triage nurse said that if it's an ectopic pregnancy and they needed to perform surgery, if I ate they wouldn't be able to.  So here I was in pain all day, hungry, thirsty, PREGNANT and can't eat...hmph. I did sneak some snacks when she wasn't looking :(  So I'm in the back and they are prepping me for an internal sonogram...fun fun.  I had one before when I had an ovarian cyst rupture off my ovary so it wasn't new to me, which was good.  So the guy comes to wheel me to the surgery room area, and it's one of DH's friends!!!!!!!  So of course he knew exactly what we were there for lmao.  Very nice guy, he promised he wouldn't say anything to anyone and was just happy to see DH and happy that we were expecting.  Such a nice guy.  So off to the internal sonogram.  DH and his friend were in the hallway talking, catching up, etc.  So as the tech is performing the sonogram, we hear the two of them in the hallway laughing, etc.  We start the sonogram and she said that since it's so early in the pregnancy, that we probably won't get a heartbeat.  Before she even showed me the screen, she asked if I wanted DH in the room...yes please.  So she got him, he came in the dark room and she showed us the screen....our baby....a little circle sac thingy....and a heartbeat!!!!!!!!  I was in tears that everything was okay and we got our confirmation.  She was able to print out some pictures for us to take home...yay!  So I get wheeled back to the room and we are just waiting for all the results of the bloodwork and urine, etc to be done, then we can be released.  I immediately wanted to tell the parents.  I called my parents, no answer, so we called DH's parents. They were up, but getting ready for bed. We told them not to go to bed yet and to make sure Joe (DH's brother) stays up to, we need to talk to them.  We finally get released, and I NEED to eat, so we hit up a McDonald's and went to DH's parents house.  And we told them....they were so taken aback as they were NOT expecting that at all. We showed them the pics and they were sooooo happy!  My parents still weren't answering (they leave their cells downstairs when they go to bed, and there was no power so they didn't know we were calling).  But at least we got one half the parents done!

The next day, we both went back to work (it was hard for me with the news NOT to share with everyone!).  We decided that after DH got out of work, we would go to my parents house and tell them, then tell my best friend.  So I went to my friends after work to watch TV, etc. then I said I had to go home for a bit with Mike, but we'd be back with Joe for dinner.  So we went to my mom's and my dad was SOOOOOOOO happy...moreso then my mom.  He still is to this day!  So that was good that we got it confirmed and my parents got to know BEFORE their vacation.  They also were not expecting it at all, but both sets of parents were ecstatic.

Then we left and headed to my friends house then decided on what to get for dinner.  We went out, picked it up and decided after we eat, we will tell him. So we ate, blew up the airbed in the living room as I was getting tired and knew I could fall asleep on the blow up bed while watching TV.  So we were sitting around after dinner and DH was giving me the 'look' to tell him. So I told him that the day before I was with my sister, but we were in the ER and it was me that was in the ER not her as I originally told him.  Then I told him I was pregnant, and thought I was having a miscarriage due to what I did and the pain I was in.  I then said everything is fine.  He flipped his lid, BIG time.  Instead of saying how happy he was or congratulating us, he yelled at me for lying to him about where I was and all. Then he was mad b/c 'everyone else knows and he's the last to know'.  I told him the only people we told were my sister, DH's brother and our parents, but he just felt unimportant that they all knew before him.  It was an eye opening experience for me, as well as for DH.  Yes, we've had our fights and DH knew about them, but DH always got one side of our fights, my side, so I'm sure he always took what I said with a grain of salt.  But now, this was being done in front of him and in front of his brother.  My friend got so mad, he stormed out of the house.  DH went to go look for him, but when he came back upstairs, he said his truck was gone.  So, pack up we did. I didn't feel comfy staying there, and I was so  hurt that I tell my best friend and this is how he reacted.  So DH and his brother started deflating the bed and I started packing our stuff, and he came back in the house. I ran to the bathroom with my phone and locked myself in there.  I was texting my sister.  He unlocked the door (um, hello, what if I was going to the bathroom???) and tried to talk to me.  I had nothing to say to him.  He went to grab my arm and I told him not to touch me and stormed out of the bathroom into the living room while DH and his brother packed up the air mattress.  So, my friend just started yelling at me, calling me names, etc.  DH finally had enough and yelled back.  DH is very calm and cool and since I've known him (9 years), I've seen him get angry twice, this being the second time (not one aimed at me!)  They were literally nose to nose yelling at each other.  I could see DH's brother getting uncomfortable b/c here's his little brother, defending his sister in law (whose pregnant).  DH's brother, on the other hand, is the one w/ the temper and to this day, I'm surprised he didn't jump over DH and knock my best friend out.  My friend just walked away from DH and we finished packing our stuff. I could hear him crying in his bedroom and for a second, I felt SOOOOO bad, but you know what, I had had enough of it at this point.  There's a lot of emotional stuff he had put me through in the past, and being pregnant, stress was one thing I didn't need. So we left.  DH parents know him as well, and when we dropped of my brother in law, his dad came down and they told him what happened, I didn't say a word, I was still shocked/stunned, etc of what went on.

The next day, my brother in law texts me that my friend texted him apologizing for what had happened.  He texted me as well and sent me multiple emails that weekend.  DH got not one apology.  That's what hurt me the most.  The person you yelled at, nose to nose with, you can't apologize to him, but everyone else involved got one. 

The next week at work, i got more emails from him, and finally emailed him back.  I wasn't nice at first, and told him that he didn't have the decency to say sorry to my husband for what happened.  So finally he apologized to him. 

We have since made up, but it's still rocky. We don't really hang out at all anymore but we do talk on text and email, etc.  I don't go into detail with him with what's going on, etc.  But it works both ways in my opinion.  Who knows what will happen with him.

Other then that, everyone else has been so happy to know we are finally expecting :) 

My Pregnancy: How We Found Out

As some of you may already know, DH and I had been talking and planning on TTC.  I went off my BCP in the summer time and got some shots that I knew I needed to get over the summer as well.  I wanted. After the shots, I had to wait about a month to TTC, so I waited a few months before we TTC.  Well, when we finally decided to try to conceive, it worked right away!  I wasn't expecting that at all, given both our ages (I'm 32, DH is 35).  We tried when I was ovulating and figured we'd wait and see if AF would come that month.

Well, 6 days prior to AF, I decided, on a whim to take a HPT and pee on a stick.  We were going out with two friends we hadn't seen since our wedding (about 5 years ago) and we were going to drink and have a great time.  DH went into the shower, and I was like, "Well, this test says I can take it 6 days before my missed period, why not." So DH said "Okay, try it".  So as he went into the shower, I got the stick out, read the directions and I did it.  Then I set it down, got out my outfit to wear to kill the time.  As I walked back into the bathroom, I yelled out 'come on double line!'  Don't ask why I yelled it, but I did.  DH giggled in the shower.  So when I looked, and saw two pink lines, I was like 'OMG!'  So I opened the shower door and DH is like 'What?' And I showed him.  He asked what it meant, and I told him.  He was like 'Do another one'. I told him I already went, and can't do it again if I don't have to go.  Then I got into panic mode. Were we ready, were we REALLY ready for this?  I cried a bit, and he calmed me down.  We were so late to my friends house (and we were to bring the alcohol no less!) so when we finally arrived, I had to come up with some lame excuse as to why I couldn't drink.  But nonetheless, we still had a blast.

I called my sister before we left to go out as she has been HOUNDING me for YEARS to have a baby, and I knew I couldn't keep it a secret from her.  So I called and told her.  So she was the only one we told at that time, until it was confirmed with the dr.  She was sooooo excited and happy for me what we were pregnant, and she was going to be a Cioci (polish for aunt). 

It was so hard to be with friends that night and not be able to tell them the news.  I also ran into my aunt at Shop Rite on our way out with our friends and I couldn't tell her either....we were just SOOOOOO excited and it was so hard not to yell it out to everyone :) 

Here is the first picture of me pregnant!  This was me that night at my friend's house....little did anyone know.....:)

Making a Baby Registry is....Exhausting!

I've been doing some research here and there for stuff to put on our baby registry.  We've been putting off actually starting it since I'm only 22 weeks and we didn't want to rush anything.  I went to a baby shower on Saturday, so I got into the 'mood' of baby stuff.  So yesterday, we set out to Babies R Us to start.

When we got there, the baby registry area was packed!  It's the Baby Registry and special order area, so some were special ordering items.  So we had to stand around and wait for someone to become available.  The one girl was freaking out b/c she saw people waiting, so asked for additional help.  But they had no open computers, so the helpers couldn't really do much other then to tell us that when the next person available, we would be helped.  Got it.  Not rocket science to see it, but hey, that's just me.  We did get the application to start filling out, so off to work I went. 

Then we got helped after about 10 minutes or so. And all the while, DH was looking around, getting ideas and all.  I felt bad for him.  He was the ONLY guy doing the baby registry. The other ladies there had their moms, sisters, friends, etc, all women. Then you have me and DH that have NO clue what we are doing :)  I had asked my sister to come, but she was already out, and she said we'd be going back plenty of times to add stuff, so there was no rush.  Besides, she said it's good for me and DH to go alone, that way we can see what WE want and WE need, before people throwing ideas in our head, changing our minds.  So, we sat down and the nice associate helped us out, got us registered, handed DH the scanning gun and off we went.  We had gotten a checklist from her, and I was like 'Piece of cake!'  We were able to do our bridal registry at a few stores, and I didn't think it was complicated or took long, so how long could this possibly take? There's only a dozen or so aisles we need? Right?  WRONG!

So we started off in the order the associate told us, we did the cribs first, more or less to get ideas.  We were going to do the lifetime crib, but a good friend and my brother in law both told us to get a crib (cheaper) then buy a toddler bed when the time is right.  My good friend got the lifetime bed, but now has to buy the converter kit (which is costly) and then take it apart and back together.  Her and I have had long in depth parenting talks, and we seem to be on the same page 99% of the time.  She feels that it's better to do the crib, then the toddler bed (a cool one) to reinforce sleeping in the big boy/girl bed.  A lot of her friends have had a hard time getting their kids used to the 'new' setup and feels the postive reinforcement of the new bed would help. My brother in law also said it's easier and cheaper to get the crib, then the separate beds. But nowadays, it's ALL lifetrime cribs. So we put a few on the registry that we liked, as well as the one or two regular cribs that were there so I can do some research on them before deciding.  My mother in law is buying us the crib, and my husband's aunt is buying the changing table. Oh, not a lot of those either! Now it's a dresser and you  have the pad on top to change the baby. Weird.  I want an actual changing table!

so then off to the bedding sets. We are torn between 3 'themes' Butterfly, Princess or Minnie Mouse.  My cousin is having her baby girl this month, butterfly theme.  Girl I work with, her daughter's shower was on Saturday, and she blinged and princess'ed it up.  Minnie Mouse is always easy, but at BRU, there was no 'princess' or Minnie Mouse sets, but there was a nice butterfly one.  I guess we can do that theme in the bedroom, but a princess theme for the baby shower? I don't know the 'protocol' for all of this!  We also went by the mattresses (yikes!) and pads, etc.  Then we got around to the pack and plays and strollers. DH loved that part!  He liked a stroller that could be boy/girl so we liked that one, but it was like a triangle with the wheels. We saw another that had the four wheels, but was brown and pink.  Easy to pull open and closed (also a recommendation by my good friend). So we added the pink one. We also found a lightweight stroller that matched the stroller, and we added a high chair and pack and play (they matched too).

That was all we got around too. We were there for quite a while and were starving, so we left with our goody bag and copy of registry for me to do my 'work' (research).  We are going to try buybuybaby as well since BRU didn't have any bassinets, and I'd like one for our bedroom...one that rocks. On the forums I'm on, I see that is good to have to rock the baby to sleep if the baby is awake, so I'd like one of those.  But BRU only has them online, but I'd like to try one out and touch and feel it before buying it.

So we left, grabbed a bite to eat and went home. I wanted to look over all the goodies we got, but we were BOTH exhausted and passed out for a few hours when we got home :)

So, what do you all recommend? Any preference on the stores and what to get at each store?