26 Weeks

Before going out in AC on 8/22

Sitting on the beach, getting some sun!

Myself, Mandy & Lea looking very patriotic!

Week 26 was spent saying goodbye to Florida family, cleaning out the babies room (thanks to Kelly who moved ... everything!) and spending time with college friends in Atlantic City. Despite being 26 weeks pregnant I hosted the 2nd Annual W-AC Reunion for all of my friends from Washington College. We spent a lot of time on the beach and they spent a lot of time drinking!! A little storm named Hurricane Bill came up the coast and managed to make things a little difficult for us -- flooding of ALL Beach Bars and creating quite a scene at the beach.

Regardless of Bill we all managed to have a great time and by Sunday no one was ready to go home!! I spent the next few days sleeping...realizing that my staying up until 3-4AM days were OVER for me (until November when Baby J wakes me up at all hours of the night!!)

Will post again in the next day or two...considering I am already in Week 27, just behind on blogging!!

Love,
Dada & Mama J

25 Weeks

Down in Diamond Beach, NJ for a girls/husband weekend!

My photo shoot at the beach house in Diamond Beach, NJ.

I am posting early this week so I do not disappoint any of you weekly readers and while I have internet access!! Not too much has happened since I last posted about my doctor's appointment on Thursday. I had been waiting on my FFN test results (the one that I get done every two weeks that tell me whether or not I will be having Baby J in the next two weeks.) I was supposed to get them back on Friday but when I called Friday and talked to the nurse they told me they would only call if the results were POSITIVE. So in my mind, no news is good news!!!

In the next few weeks things back in South Jersey will be in full swing ... getting our room painted and re carpeted, getting Baby J's cleaned out, the TEAM SAFARI border up, room painted and carpeted. I really have to thank my father who is going to work hard in the next two weeks to get all of this done before he goes back to Rutgers Business School. I am excited to post pictures once the rooms are complete!!

The cupcakes we had at Granny Lois's 91st Birthday BBQ tonight. I only hope that Baby J can help celebrate her 92nd Birthday with the family next summer!! She is really an extraordinary woman who is youthful enough to rock the Wii!!

Love,
Dada & Mama J

24 Weeks & Doctor's Appt!!

Very blurry, but you don't need great eyes to see that I have gotten bigger!

This was taken after a very large meal at the Borgata in Atlantic City!

It has been a busy week for J so I am at fault for not posting any sooner. I would have loved to but I have been in Brigantine where my mother refuses to get the internet and you have to pray that the only unsecured network, LINKSYS, is available. If not, then we are internet-less! I have only taken Week 24 pictures on my Blackberry so they might seem a little blurry (and I am sure J will be less than thrilled for me not using one of the two very sophisticated cameras that we have to take the pictures!)

Today we spent part of the afternoon at the OB's Office in Oradell, NJ. It was an important appointment because we began our Fetal Fibronectin (FFN) testing which we have to have done every two weeks. For those who are as clueless as me at first, it is a test that tells you if you are going to deliver in the next two weeks. My doctor is concerned about pre-term labor for a number of reasons, so we have to have this test done every two weeks just to be on the safe side!! We will not get the results of the test back until tomorrow, but Dr. Weiner does not think I have anything to worry about.

Other than the FFN test it was your typical OB appointment -- friendly greeting by every receptionist and nurse in the office...peeing in a cup... seeing how much weight I have gained since the last time (7lbs!)...meeting with the doctor, listing my symptoms and hearing him tell me how great I look despite the fact that I do not glow because the hormones have turned me into a 13yr old hormonal teen with acne!... listening to Baby J's heartbeat, which makes me melt every time I listen to it ... and scheduling the next visit and the hundreds of tests that need to happen!!

This visit we spent more time with the receptionist scheduling the next plethora of tests once we were done with the appointment -- Ultrasound, more blood work, Sugar testing, RhoGAM shot... all mind you have to be scheduled for different days but can not be done until certain tests are done or the tests come back negative!! You can see how that might seem overwhelming...but 20 minutes later we had everything scheduled and we were out the door!!

Next stop immediately following the doctor's visit -- one of NJ's finest diners so I could get what I am always craving, breakfast food!!


Love,
Dada & Mama J

23 Weeks!

23 weeks and still kickin'! Everything is going well and Mama J and I have completed a rough draft of a Babies-R-Us registry. We are kind of using it as a check list of everything we are definitely going to need. Hopefully we can finish it up sometime this week.

Love for Baby J.

I wonder how big Baby J is now!

This week, Mama J got tired of always being in the spotlight so I offered to let her take a few of me. This is her awesome photography skills at work.

Hints of a small bump.

Mostly filled with ice cream.

As long as there are smiles.

Love,
Dada & Mama J

The Summer Birthday Celebration Continues

Mama J holding our birthday ice cream cake.

This past weekend, Mama J and I traveled down to Brigantine island to continue the birthday season celebration with her family. Julie (sister), Nikita (cousin), Casey (Nikita's bf), Sally (Nikita's mom), Jay (Sally's bf), Nadine (mom), Jerry (Nadine's bf), and Granny Elaine were all in attendance! Quite a crowd!!

On Friday, Granny Elaine took us out to eat at the Macedonian Grill (which is very much like a diner... oh Jersey!) and then for ice cream. I got spaghetti and meatballs which I had been craving for a long while and was disappointed the last time I ordered it and got large flat noodles instead of actual spaghetti. Of course, finding spaghetti at the Macedonian Grill was no problem and I got to remember back to my childhood when I used to eat spaghetti a lot which I haven't done in many years.

All smiles for Baby J!

On Saturday, we spent all day at the beach even though we didn't get good sun until late in the afternoon. For dinner we grilled out thanks to Nadine's fabulous cooking skills. We had chicken, baked beans, grilled corn on the cob, spinach salad and ice cream cake for dessert. Later, we grabbed a red box movie from Acme with popcorn and treats.

I got a little baseball practice with Jerry and Casey.

On Sunday, we went to Ocean City (NJ) and had a beach and boardwalk day. Unfortunately we had to pay 10 dollars for parking and 5 dollars each for a small amount of beach surrounded by a whole mess of people laying out, throwing footballs, and surfing. I almost never pay to go to the beach especially if it is so crowded that you can't even surf the waves without bumping into someone, but the experience was good. The day was super hot and we broke up the 1.25 mile walk on the boardwalk with frequent stops. We got Mac and Manco's pizza (which Mama J claims to be the best in all the world), fudge samples, taffy, ice cream, caramel popcorn in a large tub, and stopped at the amusement park to ride the Ferris wheel and carousel. Thanks to Mama J's fear of heights we only stayed on the Ferris wheel one time around and the carriages were caged so we couldn't actually get any good pictures of the fabulous views. However, the carousel proved to be a relaxing and enjoyable conclusion to an otherwise rather exhausting and sweltering day!

Relaxing in the sun.

And just because Mama J thinks she can get out of all the great 22 week pictures we took, I am going to post a few here. I just got a brand new Nikon D5000 SLR camera that takes fabulous pictures in preparation for the big day in November and many more memories to come. She doesn't realize that she is a superstar and I want her to know that she looks amazing! I thought pregnant women were supposed to be proud and flaunt their bellies. Now is your time to shine because in about 3.5 months, it's going to be all about Baby J!!!

Stunning in red, white, and blue.

Baby J's a big kicker!

Always a beach bum :)

Keep growing Baby J!

Always a superstar.

Rockin' 22 weeks!

You are always a superstar to me Mama J! :)

Love,
Dada & Mama J

22 Weeks!

I think that this week you can tell that I have gotten bigger without me having to reveal my entire pale stomach! Usually it is J that posts the unflattering pictures, but this week I am taking control!! Not much new to report, spending the week by the ocean in hopes of de-stressing and getting a little R&R before the baby.

Another thing constantly on my mind is NAMES!! We have finally sat down and made a three column Excel spreadsheet -- Favorites, Maybe and Vetoed. This list came after we ran down the top 1,000. That's right, 1,000 names!! While we are both partial to "J" names we went through them all and noticed names like Jam and Jafaru (so far out there they did not even make it onto the Vetoed list.) We do not want unisex names or anything that could lead to a horrible nickname where he is picked on in school. While we plan on keeping it a secret until the baby is born we are always open to suggestions.

So I say, throw out what you like or what we might not have thought of yet...


Love,
Dada & Mama J

Baby J's Heartbeat

I forgot to mention that I recorded the sound of Baby J's heartbeat at the last doctor's appointment. It is truly awesome and amazing and they said his heart rate is a healthy beat!

Love,
Dada & Mama J