Christmas

Our last Christmas as non-parents. It was really nice and quiet and at the same time a little weird not being around our family. Luckily, we got to share it with the Nolfi family so we were equipped w/a mom and dad and brothers and wife!!! We all went out on Xmas eve to a Mario Batali restaurant called "Po" and it was perfect. On Christmas day, they all came here and we celebrated with a delicious brunch followed by a viewing of Son and Dom's wedding video that I put together for them as their Christmas present. It was really nice. Unfortunately, I am sick as a dog and didn't sleep hardly at all Christmas night. I loved the fact that I had gotten through my pregnancy with so few problems only to get smacked HARD w/a nasty throat virus that has moved to my ear. Good times!!! I'm experiencing major cabin fever so much at least get out to walk a little bit. Whew.

We had a sonogram last week and Baby is looking good. We saw some great shots of his/her little face: opening and closing his/her mouth while it's little hand kept wiping it's cheek (I know it's odd calling the child "it" but it takes less time to type). Also, the femur bone is very very long.....apparently about 2 weeks further in development than where I am. I just hope the head isn't too big....I'm beginning to really not look forward to getting my new little friend out.

Attached are a couple pics along w/a video of the child's movement. A little dancer is what I have!

Hope your holidays are great!!!

Grandparents galore (and registry information)

Mom and Dad came to visit this week and they helped me get baby stuff and sort of arrange things in the room as well as visit w/lots of their friends and do the museum circuit. It's always good to see them and they plan on coming back after the baby comes in order to help us for a couple of weeks....which is such a God send!

We did a "pre-Christmas" celebration on Saturday with Janice and Bob and had such fun! It's great having such a supportive family to help this little guy grow. On our actual Christmas this year, we are going to lay low together. We figure that this will be our last Christmas alone for a loooonnnggg time, so we may go out to dinner, then come home and have a romantic evening together. I'll let you know how that goes!

Quite a few people have asked about our registry-you are all very thoughtful....we are set up at www.buybuybaby.com under either Beth Doran or Gabe Doran. Also, gift certificates to www.diapers.com would be great! I hear these little guys go through diapers like water!!! :0

I'll post pics again soon....I just don't have anything new uploaded.

Thanks for checkin in!!!

the Holidays are here!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

All is well with Lil D. I'm at 30 weeks and getting bigger every day with more movement every minute. How on earth am I going to have room for 10 more weeks of a growing lil nugget?

So my friends Sonia and Amy threw me a surprise shower a couple weeks ago. They had it at Sonia's apt and it was a perfect day...including a "Welcome Doranjamin" cake. Amy was in town from LA and I totally thought that she had left the city to visit her fiance (James') parents house so I was floored to see her! Anyway...they did a book theme so we got lots of great books to read to the little one plus some adorable stuff that Lil D can use. We also have been flooded with hand-me-downs for lots of necessities and I cannot be more grateful for that. Now we just have to get things in order and make that room a baby room.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we hosted 7 people at our apt. Sonia was an amazing help with preparations and then everyone brought DELICIOUS dishes and we were left with a great afternoon with friends, food, baby movements, celebrity bashing, and Charlie Brown's Christmas Special. Can it get much better than that? I don't think so.

On to December!

6 1/2 Month update

First off....I am so sorry for the long lapse in time. All is going very well...feeling healthy...baby is moving like a banshee...starting to get stuff for the baby room (thanks Dawn, Dia and Linda for all the hand-me-downs!!!)...and still working on the name thing. We are happy, excited and still scared but we're dealing. We hired a doula to help out, my parents are going to visit for a few weeks following the birth to help out, and we are surrounded by beautiful friends who have already done so much for us! I'm including a couple pics....belly is getting BIG! I'm finally to the point where the pregnancy is very obvious and I get pregnant lady perks. Seats on the subway, people offering to carry things, and I even was pulled out of line while voting so I didn't have to stand in the VERY long line (the lines averaged 2 hours)! That was a treat....Gabe got to tag along too.

We just visited FL for our last flight and the opportunity to visit family. We even dressed up as the cast of the Wizard of Oz (me as a pregnant Glenda the (not-so) Good Witch. I'm officially in my 3rd trimester and now it's just caring for the little one and myself. And taking deep breaths and preparing ourselves as best as possible!

Enjoy the pics! (the belly shot was taken while Gabe laid in the floor...hilarious)

Anatomy Scan

Wow....we had the "anatomy scan" last week. This is an intensified sonogram that lasts about 30-45 min and it's purpose is to see that all of the organs are developing properly. We could actually SEE the chambers of the heart, the complete spine, the umbilical cord, we even got a glimpse of the little toushie! It was pretty intense. And all of the organs are there and the baby seems to be developing just fine! We still need to pinch ourselves to remind us that I have a tiny human in my belly that is part of us and that it's going to come out soon and be part of our lives until the day we die. I often forget I'm pregnant....then I look in the mirror. ;)

My health is great. The only thing that's getting bad is my back pain. The bump is getting bigger but it has A LOT more of growing to do and I can't even imagine what kind of number it's gonna have on my back. I'm going to try to see a chiropractor....I'll let ya know how that works out for me.

Gabe's health is great but his body continues to fall apart. He's back at the hip surgeon's office today to see if it's time for a partial replacement (he just had his surgery last summer). He also has to go in for some Xrays to see why his joints hurt so badly...there may be some strange tumor (benign) on his spine that is affecting his mobility. So keep your fingers crossed and let's hope he can get straightened out! It's not fair to be so young and hurt so much.

Summer is officially over today! Had an amazing trip to CA for Son and Dom's wedding and are planning to do a few weekend excursions in addition to a trip to FL to see the Dorans this month. Gotta get all of this in before I pop!

*I can't get this picture to go the right way (and the original is saved right side up). Annoying.

Week 19

Well, we've officially known since May 30th. We went through a major panic phase (i believe we took 4 tests over a week's time "just in case"), then fear phase, and then taking it all in and rolling with it phase. Don't get me wrong, this is wonderful news and we're excited about our growing little family, it's just that it happened very quickly (which I do recognize is a blessing) so we really hadn't mentally taken in all that comes with having a baby.

We decided to wait to tell people until the first trimester was complete (aside from a few close friends) just to be sure. Especially regarding our parents. We certainly didn't want to get their hopes up cuz they've been praying for grandkids for a loooonnnnngggg time. ;) Some friends figured it out (seeing me not drink was a dead give-away) and others I had to tell (I couldn't keep it from my closest girlfriends) but we saved telling the folks until we had the chance to do it face to face. Mom and Dad had already planned a trip to NY on July 31st so we had to keep a lid on it until then.....and BOY was it worth it!

The day they arrived, they hit BAM, I met them after work, we went home and looked through some pics they had online, then Gabe and I presented them with a "gift". They opened the package (we of course videoed it) to find a frame that said "Grandma and Grandpa's Little One" with the sonogram inside. Dad figured it out immediately and it took Mom a few seconds but they were simply in shock. They just looked at us in awe and tried to take in the news. It was pretty cute.

Next comes Janice and Bob. We all head down there on Saturday for a cook-out. When they got there Janice wanted to show my parents her home so when we went upstairs, I had them come into the computer room to "see something really cool online". We proceeded to show them the sonogram that we videoed and she was floored! This lead to a wonderful celebration, delicious food, and all of us sitting in a circle outside calling friends and family members.

After that we were free to tell all of our local and far-away friends. It's been a fun roller-coaster filled w/information and dr. visits. My doc (Dr. Hedley) is wonderful and she lets us video sonograms all the time. Mom and Dad actually got to attend one of our visits as well as join us in a tour of our birthing hospital (St. Luke's-Roosevelt). It's always amazing to see this little creature moving around inside of me. They weren't joking when they referred to it as the "Miracle of Life"! It truly is a miracle.

So now I'm on week 19. My belly is popped, I'm getting the "growing pains", we're looking at furniture, we got some headphones so we can introduce him/her to music, etc. It's official and it's coming quickly! We've both gone through some panic phases (especially Gabe) but we're working hard to turn it around and trust that we'll figure it out. The stress is pointless and definitely bad for the little Doranjamin.

So here's to good times, positive energy, lots of love and a healthy little muffin!!!!