Christmas fun...

I had a lovely Christmas with my family in Massachusetts. J, JOE and I arrived on Monday evening. It was a pretty smooth trip considering it was JOE's first plane ride @ 6 weeks. She did GREAT! She slept from the minute we left home until we arrived in Boston and were about to get off the plane! I didn't even have to nurse her during take off and touch down because she refused to wake up. I did put on kid size headphones over her ears while in flight just so the noise wouldn't startle her.

The rest of the day was spent with my nieces and nephews. They have all grown up so much! I don't get to see them often so when I see them, I see major differences in them. I wish me and all my siblings lived closer to each other.

As I have gotten older, I take more pleasure in seeing the looks on the faces of my nieces and nephews when they open their gifts than I do getting a gift. I guess it has to do with the fact that I feel like if I really want something, I can buy it for myself but kids can't necessarily do that.

JOE made out like a bandit in her first Christmas. J & I asked that in lieu of toys and clothes, we be given gift cards to use towards her nursery when we move next spring. My siblings certainly did not disappoint as far as giving JOE cash gifts and gift cards. Our little girl is truly blessed.

As is our typical family tradition, my younger brother made breakfast for the family. He made a very yummy breakfast of oven baked French toast and a vegetarian omelet. It was so yummy and was gone before I remembered to take a picture of the awesome meal.

After breakfast, the kids all sat around while they were each called to get their gifts. Over the years, we have found this to be more efficient than having them get it themselves. Once all the kids had their gifts, we distributed the stockings.

This year, we decided not to do gifts for adults. Instead, we all stuffed all the stockings with goodies. Can you guess which one was mine?

It was a fun Christmas and all of JOE's cousins enjoyed hanging out with her even though she was a little restless towards the end of the day thereby causing daddy and mommy to have our own private quiet dinner picnic away from the group.

Oh and incase you were wondering, my darling J got me a gift card to a very nice spa resort. I get a day full of pampering. Can't wait to use it!

Hope you had a fun and blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas! Remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Be sure to hug your loved ones and be thankful for them.

Cheers!

J, J & J

Thankful weekend!

In light of the horrendous shootings on Friday in Connecticut, I know a lot of people are asking ” where is God?” when things like this happen. Why would God allow a crazy person to take so many innocent lives? While none of us knows why, we can be sure of one thing...that God is still in control.

It is hard to be thankful but I feel like being thankful is another way of acknowledging God's presence in every situation.

I have so much to be thankful for in the last few days so I've decided to blog about a few of the items I am thankful for.

1. I am thankful for the lives that were spared in the Connecticut shooting. I know a lot were taken but I am thankful that more were not.

2. I am thankful for the holiday session which is a reminder that God loved us so much he sent his son Jesus. Emmanuel!...God is with us!

3. I am thankful for our little shrub (a.k.a.. Our Christmas tree). Our big tree is in storage while our new home is being built.

4. I am thankful for the progress of our new home. We should be ready to move in in early Spring!

5. I am thankful for my husband and daughter. God truly has increased the love in our family a thousand fold!

6. I am thankful for my first 8+ ounces of milk pumped in one session. My little JOE is going through a growth spurt so she needs every single one of those ounces.

7. I am thankful for my sister who arrived on Friday to help me out a bit.

8. I am thankful for love, life and family!

9. I am thankful for God's provision always so J & I can afford to buy Christmas presents for friends and family.

10. I am thankful to be alive!

What are you thankful for today? I challenge you to start out the week by being more positive and giving thanks.

Have a blessed week!

Mary Poppins...finding the right nanny for baby JOE

When I was younger, one of my favorite movies was Mary Poppins. I love it so much I still remember the words to the song Supercalisfragilisticespealidocious!
It's no surprise then that when J and I started looking for a nanny for little JOE, the image I had in mind for a nanny was skewed. I was expecting a nanny who would come and blow me away with her skills and immediate connection with Jordan. My experience so far during the nanny search process has been far from the way it was in the movie.

J & I started the search 2-weeks ago. Yes, I know we are late in the game but we didn't want to hire someone and tell them they couldn't start for another 2 months.
We decided to use care.com based on some positive feedback we have received from close friends.
So here is an account of our interview process. In hind sight, I can laugh now but when it occurred, it wasn't so funny.

Nanny #1showed up dressed to the 9s. She had on heels that clearly weren't kid friendly and she spent the entire interview playing with her hair! Our ad asked that the nanny be CPR and first aid certified. This lady had neither and when asked if she planned on getting it, her response was "hmmm...you know what? I have seen that a lot of people have been asking about that so perhaps I need to get it." She then spent the rest of the interview talking about the pictures we have around our place. She did not once ask any question about Jordan and never once asked to hold her or see her.

Nanny #2 was really good. We really liked her and since she has worked as a au pair before, she met all of our requirements. However, she didn't want to come to our place to watch JOE. She wanted us to bring her to her house. She lives 15 minutes in the opposite direction of J's and my job so that would add 30 minutes to his commute every morning and to my commute every evening. Needless to say, it was not favorable for us. But even then, we decided to make her an offer with the stipulation that she come to our place. She turned down the offer so we decided to continue the search.

In the meantime, we decided to check out a couple of daycares. That was a traumatizing experience for J & I and mostly because of the way the newborns were being cared for. In one place, one of the caregivers changed a kid and then proceeded to feed another child WITHOUT washing her hands first. That freaked me out. I know they are busy but for a newborn, that's a no no in my book.
The other place had too many coughing kids and was overcrowded. J and I decided we should continue with the nanny search. Plus when we crunched the number,the price difference between a daycare and nanny care was $1.50/hour. J & I were willing to part with that $1.50 to ensure a more personal care for our little JOE.

Nanny #3 cared more about the money than about JOE. When asked about her experience with newborns, she kept referring to her son. Ok...nothing wrong with that except for the fact that her son is 27! Ummm...that doesn't give me much confidence when your last experience was 27 years ago and was only with one kid! Oh and before she left, she wanted to know about the benefits plan. I did mention to her that this is a live-out nanny position AND our ad clearly stated what we were looking for.

Nanny #4 was awesome! She asked for a parents handbook which includes our contact information and who to call when there was an issue. She also gave us quite a few tips during the interview process. AND she was the only candidate who asked to hold JOE to see if there was a connection. JOE was awake and alert and actually smiled at her! We were very impressed with her.

Nanny #5 was "special". There was just too much to go into. The one interesting aspect of the interview was when J asked "what age kids do you typically like to work with?" Her response was "2 - 3 year olds because I don't know what to do when babies cry." I thought I was being punked! Who shows up for a nanny interview for a newborn and isn't comfortable taking care of newborns? Oh and did I mention she used to be an au pair? When asked about that, she said "yes, I watched some babies to fulfill my au pair requirement." Yup...I was ready to end the interview there and then but J wanted to be polite.

2 other candidates confirmed the times but never showed up. Oh well...better they do that now than after I hire them.

At the end of the day, we made an offer to nanny #4. We truly hope it works out! I will keep you posted!

For those who had to make childcare decisions, how did you make it? Do you like your current childcare arrangements?

Look who is a month!

Our little J.O.E turned 1-month yesterday. It is so hard to believe that it's been a month since I had her.
Being a mom has been a challenge but also a very rewarding challenge. When she smiles, I feel like all is right in the world. She is growing each day and noticing more about her surroundings. This week, she started interacting. She likes to "play" with the vibrating sassy bug on her carseat handle. I use the word play loosely because all she does is swipe at it. :-).

She loves taking baths! Most babies I know don't but my little J.O.E would sit there for s long as I will let her (3minutes max!).

She hates tummy time but it can't be avoided. I hate it too because I hate seeing my baby so frustrated. But despite that, my baby is up to the challenge. She lifts and moves her head from side to side.

Of course, like most parents, I think she is a child prodigy :-). I know I am biased though.

We started the process of looking for child care for Jordan for when I go back to work and already, I am dreading the day I'll have to leave her with someone else to care for her.

Now, I know what it means to love instantly and unconditionally. I pray God gives me the power and grace to care for and teach this precious gift he has given me.

Have a nice weekend all!

Behind the name

So I have had a lot of people ask me why we named our daughter What we named her (Jordan Oyekemi).
Comments have ranged from "that's a cute name" to "were you unsure of the baby's gender?" Or "why didn't you spell it differently to feminize the name?" I often want to make a rude comment but I know it's not coming from a mean place. At least I hope not.

So the question remains, what's behind the name?

We knew we wanted a name from the bible and that the name would begin with a J. The names we had on the list were: Jenesis (yes...genesis with a J), JoAnna, Jessie, and Joelle.
We narrowed it down to 3 names. Jenesis, JoAnna or Jordan. The name Jordan literally jumped into my head. First, it isn't a person's name in the bible but rather the name of a river. Secondly, I thought for sure, we would go with Jenesis which means first or beginning.
Jordan was originally not on our list of names. We added it to our list during hurricane Sandy when we lost power. Basically, hubby and I were sitting around talking since at that point, I think we were done singing about the "bottles of beer on the wall" (our way of passing time) :-).

J & I both decided that we would give her a name after we meet her. But we knew we had at least 3 good names.

I said if it was an easy birth, she would be named "Jordan" because there is something calming and soothing about rivers. However, if it wasn't, she would be named Jenesis.
The labor was HARD! But when it came time to push, it was rather easy. I knew there and then that her name would be Jordan. The minute J asked me what we wanted to go with, there was no doubt in my mind.

Her middle name is a name her dad loves. Or rather, he loves the short form (Kemi). It is a Nigerian name (Yoruba origin...my heritage). But Kemi alone doesn't mean anything so we had to add on to it. Oyekemi means "honor favors me". We thought it was very appropriate for a child who was certainly prayed for and has been showered with lots of gifts and favors from conception.

So, now you know, the rest of the story :-).





Have you ever wondered how your parents decided on your name? If you have kids, how did you come up with their names? If not, do you have a name picked out yet for when you become parents?

Before & After

Being a mom truly has been amazing and challenging all at the same time.

I feel like I could sleep for 12 hours straight but yet at the same time know that I can function on just 2 solid hours of sleep.

The healing process has been a little slower than I thought it would be. I thought for sure by the time J.O.E turned 1 month, I'd be feeling like my old self again but that has not been the same. I am still sore down below. One of the "fun stuff" no one tells you about :-).

A while back, I read on Pegster's blog about the wonders of the belly bandit. I decided to purchase it because I saw the great results Peg got from using it.

Well, the day after I had Jordan (hours after I had her), I put on my belly bandit. I have worn it night and day for the last month.
Here are the results of wearing it. It says to wear it for 6 weeks but the one I got (medium) is too big and I refuse to buy a new one for just 2 weeks.

I am now a believer! My only complaint is that it kept bunching up in the middle which required adjusting it often. But other than that, it was great.

In other awesome news, I fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans last week at exactly 3-weeks. I lost all the weight 2-weeks after delivery but it took an extra week to get back into my jeans. That totally made my day last week.
Keep in mind that I was up 17-lbs when I went into labor. She weighed 6lb 4.9oz. Adding another pound for the placenta and also for blood, I was down about 10-lbs when I left the hospital.

Before @ 39-weeks 4days

;">After @ 3-weeks 6 days postpartum.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, I have a lot to be thankful for. My family is healthy and God continues to bless us. My daughter is growing each day...healthy and strong and my body is recovering nicely from child birth.

Also, I am thankful for a life well spent. J's grandmother went on to be with the Lord on Thanksgiving morning at the age of 93. She lived a full life but it was sad that she never got to see her great grand child (JOE).
Please keep J & his family in your prayers.

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!

A baby story...part 1

Hello everyone! It sure has been a while!!! I hope all my readers/fellow bloggers are doing well.

I have been very busy with Jordan and my mom who was here for 3-weeks took control of my laptop :-). I guess she figured I had enough on my hands.

In anycase, without further ado, here's my birthing story.

On Monday, November 5th, I had my regular weekly appointment. Prior to that, I had an appointment the Friday before and at my OB's suggestion, I started taking raspberry tea leaf. During that appointment, the OB said I was not effaced at all and also not dilated. Hence the suggestion to start drinking the tea.

After I left the appointment, I went to the organic food store and picked up a few boxes of the tea. Figuring I'd need a lot to get things moving. I started on the tea around 4pm that evening and by the time J got home from his grad school classes, I was having contractions! Granted, they were random so I didn't really do much timing at that point.
The contractions continued on through the weekend and by Monday, I went in for my next appointment. I thought I had lost my mucus plug and the doctor decided to check. She said it was indeed my plug and that I was 80% effaced and 1cm dilated. Of course, that got things moving. She asked if she could strip my membrane so I could make more progress and I said that was OK.
My contractions got more frequent from there and kept on coming.

I went to work on Tuesday to finish up lose ends and also just to pack up the items I left on my desk. I remember actually being on a telecon and having contractions. I had tears in my eyes and of course, my boss chose that moment to walk in on me. She asked me to go home and I said I just wanted to get through a few more things first.

Tuesday night, the contractions got more intense. On Wednesday morning (11/7/12), I called the doctor's office to say that I thought my water had broken. I was told to go to the hospital and she'd call it in. I packed my bags and went to the hospital. I thought for sure they'd send me home but I was told when I got there that my water hadn't broken. Whomp...whomp!!! However, I was already 3cm dilated and would be having the baby that day! I was admitted at 11:30am and was told I won't be allowed to eat anything until the baby arrived.

I won't bore you with all the details of how I spent the next 10-hours. However, my mother in law left work and came directly to the hospital as did my father in law. My mother in law was awesome! When my mom and J went to get something to eat, she stayed with me and gave me back rubs through my contractions. I will never forget that because she truly treated me like she would her own daughter!

I'll stop here for now but here are some pictures of our little Jordan...aka JOE (her initials).

A baby story...part 2

Between the time I was admitted and the time Jordan arrived, 3-nurses attended to me. The first nurse was OK but she couldn't find a vein on me to put the IV. Ummm...did I mention my fear of needles? Needless to say, I was ready to leave at that point. She had to call another nurse to put the IV in.

Nurse #2, was a nay sayer!!! She came in and her first words were "we have a problem!" Apparently, during my contractions, the baby's heart rate dipped. She alerted my OB and they decided that contrary to my birth plan, I won't be allowed to walk the halls. Instead, I was now confined in bed.
Shortly after 6pm, the baby's heart rate was consistently dipping and as a result, the doctor suggested a C-Section. I couldn't even process this. How did I go from wanting an all natural delivery to having a c-section? I started to cry and my mom and sister in Atlanta started to pray. I have to blog about my sister in Atlanta. She was praying the entire time I was in labor. She wasn't in the room physically but I felt her there.

God heard the prayers of my family. There was only one anesthesiologist in L & D that night and due to an emergency c-section, he was unavailable.

Around 7pm, the contractions got worse and I said I was ready to push. The doctor came in and said I was at 8cm and needed to wait a little while longer. Needless to say, the option for a c-section was now out the window since miraculously, everything was progressing great. She said within the next 2 hours, I would have my baby in my arms. She was right.
At approximately 9:20pm, I was told I could start pushing. My little JOE made her debut at 9:32pm. She came out screaming and I knew she'd be ok. J cut the cord and per my instructions, stayed with JOE from there on out.
Hubby was great the entire time. He encouraged me when I thought I couldn't do it and he was patient with me in everything. Gotta love that man.

I unfortunately had second degree tear so I had to get some stitches. The road to recovery hasn't been great but seeing the look on my daughter's face makes it all worth it.

Here are some more pictures of our little JOE. I just love looking at her and taking pictures of her. She is changing already.
One is of me before I was asked to push...yeah...that smile was strained!

PS:
My push gift to myself (not to be confused with my push gift from hubby which I am yet to pick out) was a new iPad 2. I hope to get back to blogging more now during my nightly pump sessions.

She's here!

As some of you may have guessed, our little girl arrived on Wednesday evening.
Stats:
Height - 19 inches
Weight - 6lbs 4.9oz
Crown width - 33 inches
Time of birth - 9:32pm
Delivery method - all natural!
First & Middle Name: Jordan Oyekemi (means honor favors me)

More information and pictures to follow soon. We are overwhelmed but also overjoyed and so in love with her!

Progress pics & pregnancy updates...@ 39+ weeks!

I have been in a little bit of a funk because I have FINALLY hit the "I am ready to have this baby" stage of pregnancy hence my not posting anything last week. But now, I am trying to be more positive so here's an update that should have been posted last week.

How Far Along? 39+ weeks. I am now a couple of days away from my "full 40-week pregnancy".

Size of Baby? She has reached her full birth length (19 - 21 inches). Now all she is doing is packing on the pounds!

Maternity Clothes? I am still able to alternate maternity clothes and pre-pregnancy clothes. Not sure if the pre-pregnancy clothes will still fit after though since they are sometimes being stretched. But we'll see.

Stretch Marks? No new stretch marks. BUT I did get some bio-oil on advise from my sister in law to use after just incase. 

Sleep? I wake up MULTIPLE times each night to use the bathroom! 2 nights ago, I got up SIX times!!! And then was up for 2-hours cause I couldn't get back to sleep. Not fun at all.

Food Cravings? Still nothing. Appetite hasn't changed. As of my appointment last Friday, I was up +17-lbs for this pregnancy. I guess the baby is taking everything she needs to plump up.

What I'm Looking Forward To:  We are now more prepared for our little one's arrival so J & I are looking forward to welcoming her into our family and just basking in the glow of being new parents. Notice I skipped the birthing process??? :-).

Symptoms/Movements? She is definitely lower but apparently, not low enough. I am hoping for significant progress this week because my OB has said they'd set up an induction date on Wednesday if I haven't showed much progress by then.

Belly Button In or Out? Still in. YAY!!!. 

Labor Signs? I had quite a few last week Wednesday and got excited. Called my mom who immediately flew in from MA. The contractions stopped by the next morning. On suggestion from my OB, I got some raspberry leaf tea and started taking it on Saturday evening. It immediately caused quite a few contractions back to back. One was so painful that I could barely walk back in the house after dinner. Thinking this was it, I got excited. But that stopped and so far, not much has happened since even though I have been drinking the tea. Urgh!!! I really really really do not want to be induced! :-(

Best Moment of the Week? FINALLY finishing the baby's dresser. It was quite an ordeal. First, it took almost 2-weeks for it to arrive. When it arrived and we opened it up, a couple of parts were broken and we had to wait 2-weeks for the replacement parts to arrive and THEN we discovered that a part was missing when we were done assembling the dresser (this part was not even mentioned in the instructions booklet until the very last page of the booklet!) which then required multiple trips to Lowes because the guy who cut the replacement part apparently didn't understand what 32-5/8 means. Oi! Thankfully, we were able to go back and get it re-cut and the dresser turned out FABULOUS! Will try to post a pic later on this week if i am not in labor.

Weekly Wisdom: Be anxious for nothing. God's time is the best time. I am trying very hard to remember this.

Pictures? Yup. Here's one from week 39 (taken 2-weeks ago) and week 40 (taken last week) for progress comparison. Yup...the week to week comparison makes me realize how much she really is growing!

Week 39:

Week 40:

Have a fabulous week everyone. Please keep me in your prayers. I am ready to have this baby.

LOVE is a four letter word...

This might be hormone induced or could be a result of my daily bread reading last week but I find myself feeling more loved and being very thankful for those God has put in my life.

I decided to blog about it because I want them to ALWAYS know that I am THANKFUL for them each day.

I'll blog about 3 of them each week just because writing about all of them at once will be too emotional for me :-).

My Husband J - I remember when I was in my 20s, I always wondered who I would one day marry. I wasn't interested in getting married until I was in my late 20s and all my friends were married. I was also set in my ways and always said "whomever I marry HAS to fit into my life cause I am NOT interested in changing who I am." Can I just say love changes everything! I haven't had to change who I am but neither has J. He found our "perfect pieces". I met hubby when I was 29. God's timing is ALWAYS the best and his coming into my life has truly been a gift. I know it sounds cliche` but he is the ying to my yang! We are perrrrfect together! This week, I was just so tired beyond belief. My feet were swollen and they hurt just to walk on them. J did the dishes, filled up the humidifier, cleared up the kitchen and instead of playing his video game like he normally does to decompress, he came in the room to rub my feet! I knew he was tired also because he's been working a lot this week but he put that aside and instead focused on making me more comfortable. When people ask me how I know I married "the right one", I tell them, "I know because we fit into each other's lives PERFECTLY!" Kinda like a jigsaw puzzle piece. With individual parts, it doesn't make sense but when you put us together, we make a beautiful picture.
Ironically, this picture was taken in 2009. After we got engaged :-).

My Dad - One of my favorite Nigerian dish is moin-moin. Its a a bean cake that's spiced up and is very very yummy! Last week, in preparation for my mom coming to town, my dad and mom decided to wash the beans so that they could grind it using their food processor and freeze it. My mom would then bring it with her and cook it while here.
They started washing it around 10:30pm after their work day. My mom told me that my dad stayed up until 4am the next morning washing the beans and removing every single "black eye" from the beans because he knows I don't like it. My mom asked him why he was doing that and he said "because my baby girl is having a baby." Brings tears to my eyes just thinking of it because THAT is my dad! He will walk the hottest dessert for his kids! Gosh...I love him so so much!!!

My Mom - She has called me just about everyday since I entered my 3rd trimester. My mom isn't an overly emotional person but these last few weeks, I have seen a side of her that I've never seen. She calls to check on me. She encourages me (she does this already). She tells me how much she loves me (she's always done that too). On Friday morning last week, she called me to see how I was doing. Then she said she was recalling the day I was born. Apparently, she started having frequent contractions on a Sunday while at Church. So my dad dropped her off at the hospital and went home to get her hospital bag. Figuring it'll be a while before I arrived. However, she said the labor went by rather quickly and before he got back, I was born. She prayed that my labor and delivery would be as smooth and quick as hers was with me. I love that she ALWAYS prays for me like that. She truly is a mom like no other! Love her loads!!!

Thoughts/Random Questions:
Who are the folks in your life that make you feel loved each day? How do you show them you love them back?

Progress pics & pregnancy updates...@ 38+ weeks!

How Far Along? 38+ weeks. I am now less than 2-weeks to "full 40-week pregnancy".

Size of Baby? She has reached her full birth length (19 - 21 inches). Now all she is doing is packing on the pounds!

Maternity Clothes? I am still able to alternate maternity clothes and pre-pregnancy clothes. Not sure if the pre-pregnancy clothes will still fit after though since they are sometimes being stretched. But we'll see.

Stretch Marks? No new stretch marks. BUT I did get some bio-oil on advise from my sister in law to use after just incase. 

Sleep? I wake up MULTIPLE times each night to use the bathroom! 2 nights ago, I got up SIX times!!! And then was up for 2-hours cause I couldn't get back to sleep. Not fun at all.

Food Cravings? Still nothing. Appetite hasn't changed. As of my appointment on Monday, my total pregnancy weight gain is +18. I didn't lose any weight from last week's appointment but I didn't gain anymore either so my OB thinks I have maxed out as far as weight gain goes. 

What I'm Looking Forward To:  We are now more prepared for our little one's arrival so J & I are looking forward to welcoming her into our family and just basking in the glow of being new parents. Notice I skipped the birthing process??? :-).

Symptoms/Movements? She is definitely lower. I used to feel her close to my ribs. Now, I feel her closer to my belly button. I think she's slowly but surely, making her way down the birth canal.

Belly Button In or Out? Still in. YAY!!!. 

Labor Signs? I had a couple last Saturday but they were 12-hours apart so it doesn't really count. It wasn't painful per se. More like very uncomfortable. My cervix will be checked again at my next appointment and I have a feeling the OB will definitely see more progress as far as things go. Plus I now have LOTS of Braxton Hicks!!!

Best Moment of the Week? Having my mom tell me about her birthing experience with me and praying for a similar one for me. It made me teary eyed.

Weekly Wisdom: No one knows everything. Not even you. Take time to listen and learn from others and your surroundings.

Pictures? Yup. Here's one from 37-weeks (taken last week) and 38-weeks (taken yesterday) for progress comparison. Yup...the week to week comparison makes me realize how much she really is growing!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

TGIF!!! So ready for the weekend!

It has been such a long week. So much so that I am READY for the weekend!

Work was a little stressful this week. Either that or I am just more tired and less patient due to being in the last stages of pregnancy.

On Monday, the baby's dresser FINALLY arrived. We ordered it from Amazon 2 weeks ago so it was good that it arrived this week cause we were starting to get a little anxious about timing and putting it together before her arrival.
This is the dresser we got. We wanted something she could grow into.

I also had my OB appointment and everything looks good. Doc said baby is right on track and is measuring fine. So far, no additional weight gain and doc thinks I'll max out at +18 lbs. Which is fine by me. I was not skinny to begin with and didn't want to have to worry about losing the weight after.
I know a lot of people say "it'll come off with breastfeeding" but I have also read that some people just don't lose weight while breastfeeding. So for me, I figured better safe than sorry :-).

On Monday night, I decided to try my hands at making Chinese fried rice. I have never made it before. I looked up some recipes online. I also made some baked stewed chicken to go with it.
This is the end product. J had 2 helpings of it that night and another helping for dinner the day after so I know he liked it very much.

Monday night and Tuesday night were spent trying to build the dresser. Unfortunately, we discovered that 2 of the parts arrived broken. So we spent the time building as many of the other parts as we could and now we're waiting AGAIN for the other 2 parts to arrive.
Hoping it arrives before she gets here because our living room needs to be cleared up a bit before my mom arrives next week.

Tonight, we're going to our friend's Halloween event. We don't celebrate Halloween so we don't get dressed up but we do enjoy the company of our friends so we'll be making an appearance for a little bit.
J & I plan on taking it easy this weekend. Even though we know baby can arrive any day now, we are both hoping she stays in until next weekend at the earliest.


Thoughts/random questions:
How was your week? Did you do anything interesting? Are you glad its Friday? Got any fun weekend plans?

Getting ready for baby...the car seat is in, the stroller is done and the bed is made...

It was a pretty busy weekend and I am already looking forward to a little bit of R & R next weekend. That's if baby J doesn't arrive before then.

On Saturday, I met another woman in the kickboxing class I take who is also due the same day as me. We actually have quite a bit in common. Starting with the fact that we are both having girls, due the same day and also are from the New England area originally. She lives in the area so I am hoping to stay in touch with her.

After the gym (yes, I am still kickboxing in my 38th week), I walked to the nearby grocery store to pick up some household groceries and then walked back to my car and headed home.

I typically get my hair texlaxed every 20-weeks. I decided to get it done on Saturday which was a little over 20-weeks since my last texlax. I wanted to make sure my hair is more manageable before baby's arrival. Thanks Pegster for the advise. I like the way it turned out. If only I knew how to maintain my hair like this. I am the worse when it comes to getting my hair to look semi-decent :-(.

Saturday afternoon was spent running errands after. Then J & I attended the Newlywed ministry event organized by our church. Its for couples who have been married 2-years or less. We always feel so blessed after the event.

On Sunday morning, we were up bright and early to attend the 8am service. Because we typically work in the Children's ministry the last 2 Sunday of the month, we go to the earlier service and then do the Children's ministry afterwards.
Sunday afternoon was spent at Babies R Us getting the last few items for baby. Then J & I set up her stroller.
I am loving the Britax B-Agile stroller. I wasn't sure about it at first but it is light weight and can be folded with one hand.

While J put in her car seat, I made her bed. Its kinda plain right now but we're trying not to go too crazy since her nursery won't be ready until we move next year.

J got us dinner and we ate while watching Once Upon A Time. After that, we spent the rest of the evening packing our hospital bag. We're trying to savor each and every moment that we have as just a family of 2 because we know that'll change soon.
The days are FLYING by so quickly! I can't believe in a mere matter of days, I'll be a mommy! Gosh...exciting and scary at the same time!

Thoughts/Random Questions:
How did you spend your weekend?

For the moms, did you feel you were completely ready as far as having all you need for baby before your little one arrived?