40 Weeks

I just responded to my 80th "Did you pop out that baby yet" text - with a hopeful "Not yet" and I'm left wondering - "Will I ever have this baby?" Of course, the answer is yes, but sometimes I think I will be pregnant forever. I know how insane that sounds, but right now I feel a bit insane.

I have all of the signs of labor - which I won't gross you out with - except for regular contractions and my water has yet to break (this only happens to a small minority of women).

Thursday was my last day of work and it felt a bit strange. In your early 20s, work is the defining thing in your life and up until a few months ago, it was a pretty big deal to me too. Baby trumps work, but I do need to work in order to provide for baby. So, although everyone is encouraging me to focus on this new number one priority, I'm left with little to do besides rearrange and refold teeny tiny onesies until he/she arrives - to kill time and keep me from going insane, I'm going to continue to search and apply for jobs until he/she arrives.

My mom is in town for the week and, if possible, I think she wants the baby to arrive more than I do. She's here until next week Saturday and if that baby doesn't arrive by then, I'm afraid she'll miss her train and continue to wait! It's been really nice having her around - she's been cooking and cleaning up a storm!

Speaking of storms, today is extremely gloomy, rainy and blustery day. I was hit by an odd hail storm on the way to prenatal yoga and thought this would be a perfect day for a baby - there's nothing better to do. I drilled my instructor for any and all yoga induction techniques - she just said raise your arms and hope for the best. Now I understand why woman partake in those weird natural induction techniques - you literally have nothing else to do - and come on, it's hard to just sit around and wait!

I'm trying to enjoy these last few days before the baby arrives - cooking, cleaning, reading and hopefully sewing a few baby items. I really enjoyed the Happiest Baby on the Block and I'm now searching for other baby books to read. Feel free to post a comment with any - and all - suggestions.

Here's the last round of prego photos - next time I'm hoping to post pictures of our new little bundle!

Pouring coffee for Dan - I can't wait to really enjoy a hot cup of coffee (sans guilt) soon!

40 Weeks - swollen face and feet, and ready for a baby! 

What's your guess? Either way, we'll find out soon enough!

37 Weeks - Pregnancy Photos

Last weekend, my friend's boyfriend offered to take pregnancy photos for Dan and I. Originally, I was going to have our wonderful wedding photographer take these photos - but with the job uncertainty, I wanted to save every last dollar we could. Vlad is just getting his feet wet in the photography world (these are his first pregnancy photos ever), but I think he has a fantastic eye and made us feel at ease during the shoot. Although I felt much more "human" five weeks ago, I'm glad he was able to capture this special time (even though I'm beyond bloated and crazy).

The Real Housewives of Milwaukee

Confession, I love Bethenny Frankel. Yes, that girl from The Real Housewives of New York. I have her book, cookbook and yoga DVD and lost 25 pounds after reading her book. Last year she got engaged, pregnant and married within a few months and I unintentionally did the same. I love her quick wit, her dirty mouth and her outlook on life. I was thrilled that she came to Milwaukee last week for a lecture/conversation and that my best friend Andrea was by my side as drunk teachers stumbled to the mic to ask her questions.

Bethenny was great, she explained her food philosophy, dished about the other housewives and previewed her new book. The real drama of the night started when the lights came up and drunk Milwaukeeians approached the mic. You know when everyone at a concert seems is giving off positive vibes? Where you can feed off of everyone's good energy? This wasn't one of those events. For some reason, everyone was glaring at one another in judgment. Ladies, you're not chatting with Andy Cohen for a Real Housewives of Milwaukee casting... Ok, I was judging all of the women who had their husbands in tow.

We were sitting on the first row of the balcony and I was inches away from one of the four mics (sign read: Normal voice, 1 inch away) and had to suffer through a dozen ladies as they stumbled up with their Skinnygirl Margaritas and asked embarrassing questions about soup and shoe size. As Bethenny gazed in my direction, I tried my best to turn my pregnant body away from the mic and non-verbally communicate "I'm not with these crazies." I'm glad we went to this "conversation" but was glad to drive away from the bitchy crowd. And now, I can't wait for her new show to air later this month, and for her book to be released (already pre-ordered on Amazon - painful!)

How is she drinking that boiling hot margarita? It was under the stage lights for at least two hours.

31 Weeks - January 27, 2010