Grandparents and Visitors

Charlie got to meet his second set of grandparents today as Paul and Kate arrived from Cape Cod this afternoon.  Charlie has been passed around from grandparent to grandparent all day pretty much, so I've mostly only held him for feedings. 

 We also had a few friends pop in today - Warren and Alyssa came over to meet the little guy.  He was quite alert and we even noticed a cute cheek dimple for the first time!  I'll definitely try for a picture of that.

 And Denis dropped in too.

 Being this cute is exhausting....Yawn.

 And our neighbors, Jane and Leanne came by yesterday to see Charlie on his first day at home.  Here is Warren's younger sister Leanne holding him.

Tomorrow Charlie is supposed to go to the doctor for the first time. 

Just loving life right now! Suz

Charles Quick

We arrived home from the hospital this afternoon! 
Apologies for not having posted a picture sooner, but I had thought one of my iPhone pictures was going with the last post announcing his birth.  I'll tell the full story later, but this little guy arrived sooner than we expected, so it was funny when Pat told me my Thoughts on my First Pregnancy post came out just a few hours after his birth.  (I had written it in advance and decided to post it a week before I figured he might make his debut)

 My parents drove through Wednesday night from Tennessee and arrived Thursday morning.

 Happy grandparents!!  He'll meet his other set tomorrow.  :o)

 Proud Papa Pat!

 One happy momma Suz.

 Touchdown Charlie!

I promise more pictures later.  Aunt E insists on many more, so I will try to come through.  Thank you so much for all the well wishes.

BABY born at 5:15AM!!

Weighing in at 6 pounds 11 ounces. 19 inches.

Charlie looks forward to meeting all our family and friends. We are
all doing well.

Thoughts on my 1st Pregnancy

I once read that 10% of women love to be pregnant, 10% loathe it, and everyone else is somewhere in between.  I guess I am somewhere in between, but I am pretty close to loving it. 

For this pregnancy (I've heard things may change with subsequent pregnancies/babies), I have been incredibly lucky:

• No nausea and no getting sick (except for 1 day, a little bug in December, not related to pregnancy)
• Minimal swelling (had to take off my engagement ring a few weeks ago and had a couple days of cankles a couple months ago but that's it)
• No complications - fingers crossed for the same at delivery!
• No obvious stretch marks

But just so I remember, I did have my fair share of:

• Heartburn
• Backache
• Calf Cramps
• Trouble sleeping and getting comfortable (I can't wait to sleep on my back or stomach again!)
• Difficulty tying my shoes (yes, I even bought a pair of winter Crocs!)

I must say...I've loved every bit of how Pat has played a role: going to doctor appointments - even setting some up when I couldn't call from work, rubbing my belly and talking to it, always letting me have the best spot on the couch for propping my feet up, plugging in a heating pad for me without my having to ask, etc.

I guess I've mainly loved being pregnant because I can't wait to hold my little boy.  I know we are both just picturing that first moment when we meet him. 

~~~1 WEEK til due date~~~

Scrabble Scene

Sunday night Pat and I played Scrabble in front of the fire and then I watched the premier of the Amazing Race.  Good stuff!

Bump Update - The Final One!

Here I am at 9 months! 

I've got quite the linea negra going...

The comparison shot:

8 months vs. 9 months

Just 1.5 weeks until my due date!

And HOORAY for President's Day...I'm loving this 3 day weekend.

Infant Care to Margaritaville

Yesterday, while my sister was jumping into a lake to raise money for the Special Olympics, Pat and I headed off to an Infant Care and Safety Class.  At that point Winnie decided to take over the heated blanket (I had turned it off).

I of course wanted to whip out the camera when it came to learning how to properly hold and hand off babies...Pat was not having it. Haha. 

The baby looks a little bigger in my arms than his. :o)

We learned about umbilical cord and circumcision care, how to swaddle and change diapers, proper sponge bath and bathing techniques, vaccines, and lots of other things like why/when to call the doctor or take a sick baby to the emergency room.

Yesterday evening Pat and I drove into the city and met up with Lacie and Neil for dinner at a wine bar, Cavatappo.  The mushroom and truffle oil pizza that Pat and I shared was very tasty.  From there we headed upstairs to Laurisa and Rob's 2nd Annual Margaritaville Party.   We were the first to arrive so we got to see Laurisa whip up some appetizers.

Cheers Lacie!

Josh

Lacie and Me

 Watching the Slam Dunk competition...

Sarah, Andrea, Dave, Erin:

 Me and Ele:

 Ele and Barry:

A really fun day! 

Yesterday and today I've been doing Charlie's laundry for the first time.  All these little outfits are so darn cute.  Sadly I've already lost one baby sock...where do those tiny things go??

Weekend and Childbirth Class

Friday felt like (and was) an extra long day at work since it was moving day - we're moving from Wall St. to a larger and better space nearby. That night pizza and a movie (127 Hours... wow, talk about a survival story!) was just right. Saturday was a go, go, go day. We learned a lot in our 10AM to 6PM childbirth and labor class and I feel a little more prepared and educated.   Funny how my belly gets in the way of pictures.  ;-)

After the class, we hustled home to change and head to a wedding reception (we missed the ceremony during the day).  It was a lovely evening at a beautiful place, Westmount Country Club.

Today was much more relaxing - made some cinnamon rolls, got a little TV time in, took a nap, I did some scrapbooking while Pat studied, we took a walk, and I hit up the gym (briefly) and the grocery. 

I did the below pages a couple weeks ago but don't think I took pictures. (remember you can click on them to view larger)

I tried my best to embellish this page, and used a little ribbon from The Ribbon Jar.

It's chili night!  :o) We love to make a big pot at the end of the weekend and have a yummy and fast meal to reheat after work for the next few nights.

Have a great week everyone!

Sonogram

Just a quick little update since we had a sonogram tonight.  This was our first sonogram since we found out we are having a boy (at around 17 weeks) and we're 37 weeks tomorrow.  All is looking good and Charlie is head down.  He's got some cute chubby cheeks from the looks of it!
The sonogram appointment was at our delivery hospital, but we're back to our normal doctor tomorrow morning.  Lot of appointments....I sure wonder when we'll be back to the hospital - any guesses???
Anyone want to guess weight and/or length?  Leave a comment.

YAY for being full term!

Nesting and Whatnot

Hello hello!  I am still feeling well and we're into our weekly doctors appointments now.  I had to stop wearing my engagement ring because I was afraid it was getting too tight with my slight hand swelling.  Luckily I can still wear my wedding band.  We're looking forward to another sonogram on Wednesday. 

We've been putting the final touches on the nursery.  Pat put together our glider the other night (thank you grandparents and thank you Miss Lauris for that coupon).

It's really comfortable.  The dark wood matches our crib and dresser quite nicely too.

I finally picked up a second drape panel.  Haven't gotten around to ironing them yet, but that's ok.

Cute new nightlight (excellent choice Ginny!)

Last night we saw The King's Speech which we both liked a lot.  Today we've just been hanging close to home mostly and I went for a few errands and to the gym while Pat watched his online CFA study course.  Oh, I bought diapers for the first time ever!  They're the newborn size.  I've read that I should also get size 1 as well, but the doctor told us the other day he'll be small to average size at delivery, so I think we're all set to start at least.  With Charlie's due date less than 4 weeks away, I guess it's time to pack a hospital bag and also wash his clothes, sheets, etc.

I finally got a couple buttons sewn on Pat's coat. Good thing he had a backup.  Right now we've got a fire going and a pot of chili cooking (it's a new vegetarian recipe, hope it's good!)

Happy Saturday!

Saturday's Baby Shower

As I mentioned in last night's post, I have the best friends who threw me (and baby Charlie!) a fabulous shower over the weekend. I know a lot of people chipped in for this: Devon hosting, Laurisa designing invites and making spinach dip, Andrea, Erin, and Sarah helping with set up, Andrea making the best cookies and sangria, and Devon for planning so much - catering sandwiches, baking and decorating what looked to be "designer" cupcakes, welcoming us all into her amazing condo, planning a game in advance that even enlisted our parents, and so much more. There are surely things that were done by my girlfriends that I am either forgetting or didn't know about too, so really thank you to all of them. A couple friends even sent gifts across the country which was mighty unexpected and nice.  Guests came from NY, NJ, CT, PA, and TN - wow, quite a showing...THANK YOU ALL!



As you might have noticed our nursery is painted green and has lots of green in it - so the green cupcakes and plates/napkins/utensils were just right.  Also, I've got a little bit of a birds and the BEES theme going.

 The shower was a great excuse to get my sister up for a visit.  :)

 Both of my sisters - Maura and Elizabeth:

You can see how light filled and bright Devon and Andy's condo is here.  Huge windows and very tall ceilings.

Enjoying some wraps, cheese, and crackers, baked brie, and a little sangria and spiked coffee...

 After some visiting, it was on to gift opening:

And not surprisingly, everything was soooo, soooo cute and just incredibly thoughtful.

We've clearly already picked out what teams our little guy is going to cheer for: Hoosiers #1.  I'm okay with the Jets as #2.

Devon took a ton of pictures of me opening presents...and I'm glad someone got a shot of her! xo

With all these new goodies, it's amazing to have seen Charlie's room (and closet) go from this empty space to full of furniture and "stuff"...but not just any stuff.  It's all been picked out with care and it's just waiting for our precious baby. 

PS The one and only game we played was matching baby milestones and favorites to either Baby Pat or Baby Suz.  It was a fun and quick little shower game.  And I actually learned something new about myself: I was a "great crawler, but did not walk until 13 months."  I like how my mom put a positive spin on it.  :o)