Adorable baby

All I do now is stare at Nathan. I mean I stare at him and cannot believe he is here, that he's MY baby. It's absolutely the most amazing thing, and I'm almost in disbelief that he's arrived. He's just so cute and adorable and I can't help but stare at him like the hypnotized zombie that I am.

In light of the fact that I'm completely and utterly boring because I have no thought in my skull other than "How cute is Nathan"? and Jeff and I play the "Look at how cute he is sleeping" game all day long, here are some more pictures!

This is Nathan in his nursery with me.... and his eyes are OPEN! Right now his eyes are blue and we're wondering if they're going to change color and be more like Jeff's... time will tell I suppose!

Yes people, we took Nathan to Target and words cannot describe how anxious we were the entire time. I had my hand on the car seat the WHOLE TIME, and we planned the outing around his feeding schedule. I had a diaper bag stocked with enough crap to supply a third world nation, and I am sure I blocked aisles as everytime he made ANY noise I stopped dead in my tracks to lean over and coo at him. Still, I managed to spend about $80 on diapers, soap, some Newborn outfits, dog biscuits, and other assorted items that my tired brain can no longer process!

And look at how tiny he is in his car seat. There are no words for how cute this is! And no words for how slowly Jeff drives now that he has a baby in the car. Oh, and I sit in the back seat next to Nathan all the better to indulge my paranoia that he might stop breathing, or need me, or make any sort of noise.....

Last, Jeff and Nathan. I have to say, Jeff has been WONDERFUL as a father. He is devoted and attentive and as equally inclined to obsess over our tiny baby. AND Jeff actually got up and killed a GIGANTIC spider this morning, and he'd only had a few hours of sleep. I'm telling you, he's a keeper!

Beautiful Baby Boy

Nathan arrived this past Friday, June 26th at 5:01am and it only took about 24 hours of labor for him to make his debut! And now that I've experienced labor, I take my hat off to every woman who as gone natural. There is NO WAY IN HELL I could do that. It was awful, awful, awful, awful. It was bad enough that the epidural wore off during the whole "push" part, but at least that part only lasted about an hour. It could definitely have been worse. One of the nurses in the L&D apparently pulled Jeff aside to tell him that I could be pushing "for hours" but that they shouldn't inform me of this little fact!!



Oh, and tidbit from me to you. Be nice to the housekeeping staff when you're at the hospital. You have no idea what you're going to get! When I was checking out the very nice woman who took the trash out of my room gave me the following:

• About 50 diapers



• 3 tubes of vaseline



• 20 assorted packets of alcohol



• 3 blankets for Nathan



• Pads, pads and more pads in assorted thicknesses and sizes



• Mesh panties
  

Now, I know this list isn't very exciting, but it was VERY MUCH appreciated by myself. I practically filled a bag with all the stuff she gave me and I am still thankful for it today!

We're all home now and getting used to just what Nathan is trying to tell us. What does his cries mean, his moods. And even though he does nothing but sleep or eat, I am utterly and completely besotted with him. I stare at him all the time just amazed that he is here. It's kind of crazy just how nuts I am over this baby, it's been only 4 days and I am in love.

Anyway, here are a few pictures and I'll have more later I'm sure!

Status

Really I have nothing to report, so let's break it down:

1. Still pregnant, will be 39 weeks tomorrow and have the following symptoms:
a. swollen feet and hands
b. no ability to sleep despite numerous pillows
c. a cranktastic mood that leaves me feeling grumpy and worn out for no real good reason
d. an unholy hankering for McDonald's quarter pounder with cheese, french fries and a chocolate shake.

2. Monty was at the vet AGAIN last night. We woke up to him having a seizure. He peed on the floor, drooled, circled, fell down the stairs. It was pretty bad, and he didn't recognize us at all.. no response to his name. But of course by the time we got him to the Animal ER he was FINE making us look like we are BAT SHIT CRAZY. They ran some blood work and we left about $400 poorer.

3. One of my co-workers went for surgery this week and actually prepared for surgery by getting a manicure, pedicure, eyebrow wax and bikini wax. Am I the only person in the world who doesn't do this stuff? I mean, I like a good spa day, but it never occurred to me to prepare for surgery in this way. Usually I prepare by stocking up on ice cream....

4. It's raining and I hate it. While I'm glad that we haven't had to turn the a/c on, this rain is seriously depressing.

5. I've been thinking about my sweet Lily this week for some reason. One of my co-workers started talking about the cute things their cat did and I almost started bawling right there. Can we say, hormones???

6. Tired of being broke. Really, really, really tired of being broke.

There, did I put anyone else in a bad mood with this post?? I hope not!! Oh, and the ultrasound tech I went to last week told me she didn't think I would give birth until JULY! I almost throat punched her.

trip to Market Basket

Jeff and I headed off to Market Basket for our groceries. We had a list, but forgot out calculator. Ah well. The goal is no eating out this week and we made sure to get plenty of fruit and other snacky type foods for cravings. I also got Turkey Hill Chocolate Marshmallow ice cream - which by the way is YUMMY. But I have to say this - the aisles and lay out of Market Basket is so bizarre. I saw Pet Food and Automotive Parts in one aisle, and Juice and Beans in another aisle. So strange. I just wonder if they run out of room for things and place items wherever they want, or if there's some logic behind it that I can't see. Thoughts? Anyone?

Vet Bill

We took Monty to the vet today. You know, yearly check up time. He needed Heartworm, Distemper, Rabies vaccinations. He needed bloodwork done, and he needed Frontline. Grand total? $321.00. Oh YEAH $321.00 in one shot. Now I HAD called ahead of time to see how much this visit would cost, and I was told the estimate was under $200. Didn't work out that way though did it? There goes my pedicure this weekend!!!

On the plus side, I had already put about $60 aside for his vet visit, so that was something. I also transferred some cash to my ING Savings account that had been sadly empty for the last few years. So we ARE being more financially intelligent than we have in the past. But still. That's a big chunk of change, but nobody said pets were inexpensive. Sadly in today's economy I hear all too many stories of people being forced to give up their pets because of money. Even a yearly visit is too much for their budget to handle and I find that so heartbreaking. I can't imagine giving up our boo boo. I mean, look at this face!

We're also heading to Babies R Us with a list of some last minute things, Target, and than we're off to Market Basket for groceries. I KNOW... it's so exciting here it's hard to imagine how we fit everything into the day!! But since I'm just a big bloated mess right now, planning anything too exciting ain't happening!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Discoveries in Frugality

So I've made some discoveries while on this road to being more frugal. And I've got some tips as well, you know you're all dying to read them!

Suave Bodywash - Not worth the 99 cent price tag. The smell is decent (I got the ocean breeze scent), but it doesn't lather the way I'd like and I find myself using MORE of the product to work up an acceptable foam. I won't be getting it again, and will instead keep my eyes peeled for when Dove bodywash goes on sale, coupons, or when Avon is having a sale on THEIR lovely bodywashes (cough, hi Mary, cough!). In this department, I discovered it pays to not get the cheapest on the rack!

Suave Conditioner - If you remember, I got two SUPER large bottle of Suave conditioner for 99 cents each, and I didn't like them. I have very thick hair and I just didn't get the results I wanted. I switched back to Garnier Fructis, but I still had an almost full bottle of Suave conditioner left. I didn't want to waste it and throw it out, but what am I to do?? Well I started using the conditioner as a sort of shaving cream substitute on my legs, and it's WONDERFUL! Legs are smooth, no cuts or nicks, and I STILL have the bottle. I've been doing this for over a month now and there's still a TON left. MUCH cheaper than buying shaving cream and it lasts longer. I'll buy it again solely for this purpose!

My biggest splurge though, and keep in mind I got this WAY back when I was still spending money like it was growing on trees, is "Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask" and it cost a whopping $52 at Sephora. For something like 4 ounces. BUT, I bought this WAY back last summer and I still have it! I use it usually about once a week in the shower, and I really, really feel like it works with my skin. Since I'm in my third trimester right now, I use it about 2-3 times a week as a kind of pick me up since I'm a sucker for advertising, but I love it. If I save up for it, I'd get it again in a heartbeat. Especially since I can't afford a regular facial in a salon on any sort of regular basis. This kind of helps that spa urge!

That's it for now ladies, I'll let you know if any other substitutes don't work out to be worth the price saving, but I thought it was interesting to note that while I wouldn't get the Suave Bodywash again, I would get the conditioner for something other than CONDITIONER. Any other tips people feel like sharing? Saving advice? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know!

Saturday Night

I made Jeff go off tonight for his planned night out with his brother. The house is clean since we had guests earlier (Hi Jen and Eric!!) and I have the most delicious chocolate cake I've ever tasted in my life in my fridge (courtesy of Jen - THANK YOU!). Now I ask you. does the night get any better??

For now the labor pains are gone and I have high hopes that if baby doesn't make his debut this weekend, at least I'll be able to go back to work on Monday and get some much needed CASH for our bank account!!!! Yeah for cash!!!

I do have to say, for anyone who has had false labor, holy crap is it NOT FUN. It felt like I was being stabbed in the back repeatedly over and over again - and not a damn thing I could do about it. Basically the motto of my pregnancy has been "suck it up" because there's nothing I can do other than just wait it out. I've become best friends with our heating pad, and I've been trying to take it easy. But I'm also excited... I'm 37 weeks today and that's full term. That means ANY MINUTE NOW I could have a baby. And I'm so excited to meet our baby. So very excited. I can't wait to put all our stuff to use, the adorable clothes, the toys.. everything. I mean.. I'm HAVING A BABY!! Holy crap.. it's all real.

So here I sit browsing websites and trying to see if there's anything missing that we need, anything that I've forgotten. I'm in the home stretch and ready to see the light!