Baby Bump…Week 39

Baby Bump…Week 39

Baby Bump…Week 38

We had our hospital tour this week! It was so nice to finally have something make this pregnancy feel more real. And since we waited until 38 weeks, we knew we only had to wait a few more weeks until we would be back. They showed us the family waiting room, labor and delivery room, post recovery room, and where to park. It is on a first come first serve basis as far was room size and location go, but at least we know which one to ask for when we get there and hopefully we get lucky! I plan on making some cupcakes for the nurses so they give us extra special attention, hopefully!

Baby Bump…Week 38

While waiting patiently (and impatiently) for the baby to arrive, we have been trying to keep busy. I always knew I wanted to put a mobile above the baby crib, but I couldn’t find one that fit the room theme and also wasn’t so generic. I looked online a lot and decided that we were going to make one. I went to Michael’s yesterday and bought all of the supplies for the mobile. It came together very nicely and fits perfectly above his crib.

Circle Baby Mobile

Circle Baby Mobile

We cleaned the ENTIRE apartment today from top to bottom. We even moved around the furniture to make it more baby friendly. Morrad cleaned vents, floors, bathrooms, toilets… Just changing the layout of the room made it feel like we were getting closer to the baby’s arrival. Now to keep it clean for a week and a half! As the day got longer, I could sense that I was losing Morrad’s interest. Just look at the picture below and you’ll understand why. Olympics on the TV, iPad, and on his iPhone….

Olympics 2012

Here are a few more pictures of what’s lying around the apartment as we wait for the baby to give us some labor signs. The first is our three hospital bags ready to go and the second is of his clothes. I think we are good in that department!

Hospital Bags

Baby Fadel’s Clothes

Baby Bump…Week 37

Baby Bump…Week 37

This week was not very exciting. I didn’t dilate anymore and could feel myself getting impatient. Hence the late blog post for week 37. We have our hospital tour this evening and I have another doctor appointment tomorrow, so hopefully I have some more exciting news to share for week 38.

Like my mom said this week, “Good things are worth waiting for.” I am trying hard to remind myself of that every day.

Baby Bump…Week 36

Today is the first day of Ramadan – where Morrad begins to fast from sun up to sun down for a month. So basically he will be fasting until a few days after the baby is born! I plan on eating a small meal before he gets home from work and then waiting to eat again until he can eat at sun down. I don’t like to eat in front of him, but know that he completely understands that I need to eat a lot more often now that I am pregnant. It will be a challenging, but rewarding month for him.

Baby Bump…Week 36

Let’s just say he’s not as excited about fasting as he was when he found out we were having a boy! I found this picture in my iPhoto after he downloaded his pictures from his phone.

Morrad after finding out the baby was a boy 🙂

I am on weekly doctor visits now, and this week I found out that I am one centimeter dilated! I could stay that way for the rest of the pregnancy, or things could progress at any moment. I am just happy that nature is taking its course and my body is preparing for the little man. She said to definitely have my bags packed and ready to go. The past few days I was very tired and didn’t have much motivation, but today I woke up with increased energy. I have been cleaning all morning and getting things organized. I guess you could say I’m nesting again. All of our toilets, showers, and floors are clean – and don’t worry, I used non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning products. No high fumes for this baby!

Martica and her boyfriend Kyle were here from Sunday-Monday. There were on a road trip to the east coast and stopped at our apartment for a night before heading to Ocean City, NJ for a few days at the beach. It was nice to see them both and show them around Montclair for the evening. I love when family visits and I can show them where I live and what my daily life is like. The next time they will all be here is when the baby is born!

Belly picture coming soon – we are going to the park next to our apartment tonight for a jazz concert and I will actually look decent enough to take a picture!

Baby Bump…Week 35

These last few weeks have been very hot! Our escape has been driving to the Jersey Shore and hanging out at the beach. The water temperature has been around 70, which has been very refreshing. We live an hour from the beach, so we pack a cooler with water and snacks (and a few beers for Morrad), grab our beach chairs and umbrella and make a day of it. I wore a two piece swim suit last weekend and received many looks and I felt like the epitome of a “beached whale”. Especially as I was sitting in the sand just where the waves would reach! One woman did say I looked like I was glowing, but I reassured her it was just sweat. We walked along the boardwalk for some ice cream afterwards and then headed home. Those beach days are so relaxing, but we definitely can’t wait until we have a little baby with us!

Baby Bump…Week 35

Morrad on the beach

Last night I went to my prenatal water aerobics class. It had been a few weeks since I went because of the 4th and my trip home. I was so looking forward to getting into the warm therapeutic pool and chatting about being pregnant with other pregnant women. I try to make a conscious effort to not overly talk about “baby” with our friends because I know that is not always interesting to everyone! So my pool time allows me to ask them about their birth plans, names, favorite baby items, etc. And a few conversations about Kourtney Kardashian’s new baby and the Cruise/Holmes divorce may have come up too! I was hoping for a good nights sleep afterwards, but it was still very uncomfortable. The back pain is with me for the long haul I think. Morrad sleeps on the side of the bed that the air conditioner is on and last night I turned it down to 70 degrees, which makes our room an ice box. I am still sweating on my side, all while he is shivering and cuddled up under the blankets. I do feel bad for making him so cold, but then I realize that he isn’t getting up every hour to go to the bathroom and I get over it. He has been moving closer to me though, which doesn’t work anymore so maybe I need to turn it up a little just to keep him on his side!

Here’s a little sneak peek of the nursery! We are still waiting on a few items to arrive, so I won’t reveal it all until then 🙂

Nursery

Nursery

Baby Bump…Week 34

We are totally falling behind on the belly pictures! We are going to take some tonight after Morrad gets back from traveling for work. He has requested to not travel after July 15th, so they are planning a lot of trips right now while he can. Ultimately, that means that I can’t take my weekly belly picture. But at least I’m keeping up with the writing part!

Baby Bump…Week 34

Last week we had our maternity pictures taken and I have a few proofs to share with you. I am so happy with how they turned out. We plan on framing a few and hanging them in the nursery. One of the pictures is solely of my belly and his first baby blanket. I want to have one of these for each of our (future) children too. That way each child can keep their belly picture. It will be fun to compare the bellies after everyone is grown up!

Baby Fadel Maternity Pictures

Mom & Bubba

Mom & Baby

Mom & Baby

Baby Bump

Baby Bump…Week 33

I finally returned home to New Jersey and Morrad couldn’t stop looking at me. He was trying to hide it, but I knew he was looking at my “pregnant” face. I have gained 20 pounds so far and it all hasn’t gone to my belly! And some of it has filled out my face. I’m not sure about that whole glow thing because I just feel big! Morrad was very cute about it though and he constantly reminds me about how proud he is that I am carrying his baby boy.

Baby Bump…Week 33

Little Baby Fadel

On the Monday after I got back, we scheduled three doctors appointments and Morrad took the day off. New Jersey doesn’t really offer a simple way to go to the doctor without waiting forever to be seen, so Morrad is forced to take a day off. We started at his appointment for his leg/hip. The appointment took 1.5 hours and we didn’t receive a diagnosis – again! He had his first physical therapy appointment yesterday, so hopefully he starts to notice a change within the next few months.

Little Baby Fadel

Our second appointment was at my doctor for our 33 week growth scan. Like I said in earlier posts, he is sitting very low, which is making my stomach smaller than normal. My doctor wanted me to get a sonogram and make sure the fluids and his size were still normal though. Since we rushed from one appointment to another, we didn’t have time to eat, and I was hungry! I walked up to the second floor while Morrad went to the cafe to get a snack for us. He came back with the BEST snack ever. For not telling him what I was hungry for, he did a good job. He bought a  huge thing of cubed cheese/crackers, a cranberry/orange muffin, and a lemonade iced tea. We both were going back and forth between the salty and sweet and then I reminded him that he is definitely pregnant too! We got into our room and couldn’t wait to see the little guy again. It is amazing how they can get a 3D image that is so lifelike. Once again, Morrad’s eyes are glued to the monitor as she was finding all of his body parts and marking the sizes. She points out his testicles and Morrad makes her print out a picture of them! When she put up the 3D image, we both gasped. It was such a good feeling to finally see what he might look like. Our sonogram technician looks at me and says, “Sorry hun, but he looks like his Daddy!” And at first, yes I would agree because of the strong nose and mouth, but after we’ve both studied the picture for a few days, we both agree that he has Morrad’s nose and mouth, but my cheeks, eyes, and forehead. Who knows if that will actual be what comes out, but it’s fun for us to stare and think about his little face! I had a dream last night about a little boy and he had blonde hair, so who knows!

What we do know is that the name we chose fits him well so far….

Our third appointment that day was my maternity photo shoot. I wanted it to have a natural, casual feeling. And I was also adamant about not having my bare belly showing in every picture. I will get the proofs tomorrow and can’t wait to share with you all. Morrad’s in a few too 🙂

Maternity Photo Shoot

Baby Bump…Week 32

One of the reasons my trip back to Wisconsin was extended to two weeks was because I wanted to be able to go with my parents to drop off my brother Blake in  Madison for college. Being 8 years a part allowed for him and I to create a very special bond and I never want to miss anything in his life. I look after him like a son (good practice I guess!), but we also have this sister/brother friendship that many people strive for. The evening before we were going to leave, my stomach felt tight and I had a rough nights sleep. I was wishing the whole night that it would go away by the morning, but it didn’t. I could barely walk, my back started to hurt, and the pressure in my lower pelvic area was so painful. So as we were driving to Madison, my doctor called me back and told me to go to the hospital to make sure I was dilating. We got into Madison and the first stop was St. Mary’s Hospital. I got out and said goodbye to Blake and didn’t know if I’d see him before his meeting at 12PM. My parents were going with Blake to move his stuff and get him to his meeting on time. The last thing I wanted was for him to be late and for my parents to not have the proper goodbye, which is why I was at the hospital solo for a short time. They wheeled me up and put both a heart monitor and contraction monitor on me. At that moment, I was calmed because I could see that his heartbeat was the usual 145-155 bpm. I was getting texts from my parents the whole time and called Morrad to let him know what was going on. He assured me he’d be on the first flight out of New Jersey if I needed him. The doctor came in and did a few tests, all of which were extremely uncomfortable and scared me a little bit for actual labor! My parents came back after saying goodbye to Blake and I could only imagine how they were feeling. They had to say goodbye to their youngest child and go see their oldest in the hospital a few minutes later! I wasn’t dilated and the tests all came back negative for anything alarming. They concluded that his head is VERY low in my belly – basically in the birth canal. So as he grows, he is just shoving himself into a tighter space which means more pain and pressure for me. He’s like me in that way I guess, he likes to cuddle up in a small space with his hand over his head and just relax. By the time I was discharged, Blake was on his way to his meeting that would last most of the day. So we drove home and I never got to see his dorm!

St. Mary’s Hospital

To Blake: I am so proud of you. I promise to be back to see your room at Ogg Hall in the fall! It’s probably better that I didn’t have that official goodbye because then I would’ve been like mom all day – crying! You are very special to me and I only want the best for you. And your major choice only proves that we are even more alike 🙂 Keep the pictures coming and can’t wait to see you in August Uncle Blake.

Hospital Band

Picture of belly to come.

Baby Bump…Week 31

I have been back in Wisconsin since last Monday – hence the missing post from Week 31. Morrad has been traveling a lot recently before the baby comes, and it just made more sense to spend a few weeks at my parent’s house and be by the water!

This picture will have to suffice for Week 31 – which I think looks awfully big!

Baby Bump…Week 31

Baby Bump…Week 30

Baby Bump…Week 30