cheese_diva

It turned out beautiful and I love the other accessories too!

I'm a creature of habit so I'd have a hard time going... BUT it sounds like an amazing opportunity and Julie is right, now is the perfect time to go.. besides you already know what it's like to live in a hotel in a strange place (remember CA!). When I moved to CA from WI my mantra was, "I can always come home"... now CA IS my home and has been for 11 years. (yeesh!) You never know where this may take you... AND you have your online support so until you find local mommy and "football" friends you'll have us.

Santa Barbara is gorgeous (I live in Ventura county, close by) I'm glad everything worked out for you.

We had a private welcome dinner at Portofino for our 40 guests. The additional charge is to cover costs for the wait staff and setup. Our mexican buffet setup was really beautiful and we asked them to set up tequila shots for us. You won't be able to just "show up" at one of the restaurants and expect to sit together. If there's just a few of you, it shouldn't be a problem (under 10).

Thomas did our engagement photos. We chose another photographer for the wedding but were did get some great photos and he's SUPER hard working. The man was running everywhere. Many of the poses he had us try were really not us (little cheesy) so it came across as uncomfortable in some of the photos. It was our first time with professional photos and needed alot of direction, which he was good at. Many of the photos were soft focus.. I guess it's more about the style of photos you're looking for. We wanted more artsy/detail shots. I'm not familiar with the other photographers but I know Dreams recommended Thomas when we were planning.

Tammy, Those photos of Connor are so great!

Those are so great! Looks like catalog pics! Great job Tammy.

Stay strong as to what you want as a couple and be glad your man doesn't give into his mom's demands.. it only gets worse if he lets her continue to manipulate him. His mom will be there to see her son get married and if she isn't then there's bigger reasons than location. Try not to get in between the two of them. He should be able to handle her.. after all, he's had to do it his entire life and I'm sure this isn't coming as a big surprise.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jacilynda I have to agree on dr predictions, was your dr always measuring a big baby? My doctor said ours would be around 7 lbs and probably 19-20 inches, and she was 8lbs 11oz and 22.5 inches.... Maddie is still on the inside. No predictions from my Dr.. and I'm glad because it would just be one more thing keeping me up at night! I always thought a good indicator is if big babies run in the family. I was small and so was my husband (we still are, height-wise anyhow!)

Hey Martha! Noah is going to born on Maddie's Due date! Yay! I always thought Dr predictions about weight/size were usually unreliable this late in your pregnancy. Was he always measuring a big baby? Well regardless, you're going to be just fine. I too would much rather be scheduled than labor forever and have to have an unscheduled one (my biggest fear). I can't wait to hear about little Noah's big debut into the world. I'm very excited for you and Jay... and your little miracle baby. All the girls are right.. move around as soon as they let you and when they offer you drugs for recovery, inform them you'll be breast feeding (if you are) so they make sure they're safe, but take them!

Erica I can't WAIT to hear all about it! I've been thinking about you and so excited for you to get back. Enjoy being a MRS.!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Tlseege Hi Carissa! I live in Wisconsin.. between Green Bay and Milwaukee... pretty close to the lake So if there is ANYTHING I can do for you from here just let me know. I have priced out a few places around here for a reception after our destination wedding so if you'd like to talk about that just send me a PM! As for the wedding... from the stand point of someone who lives in Wisconsin... RUN! To Punta Cana!!!! Actually I would say it really depends what YOU want. Weddings aren't cheap no matter where you go. Let me know if you'd like any help or just want to talk about possible wedding locations here in Wisconsin! I agree! I grew up in Wisconsin and my family loved making the trip to Cabo for our wedding.. any excuse to get out of the cold and they've never traveled out of the country before so while they were probably a little nervous, they had a great time (including both grandmas).

Quote: Originally Posted by LisaG Martha - Noah is way comfy in there.... I just got back from my appt. It all went well. I gained 4 pounds, heartbeat was 156, bloob pressure 120/76. He also did the GSB test today. He said they like to do it between 33-35 weeks - whatever, it was just a week early. They said they don't like to chance me going into labor early and not knowing. He also said my cervix was still closed and he felt a little hand when he was in there. o.k., so that's a little freaky girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He felt his hand with his fingers. WTF!?!? What happens when we have sex. A peepee is bigger than a finger!! What? How could he feel a hand if your cervix was closed? Isn't that between your canal and the baby? Are you sure he wasn't joking?

We stopped trying to not be pregnant while in Mexico.

A great resource while TTC or just wanting to learn about your body in general is the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility (TCOYF). Amazon.com: Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health (Revised Edition): Toni Weschler: Books I learned so much about my cycles and discharge (sorry TMI) that I never knew was 'normal' and how changes in your fluid help you determine where you are at in your cycle. I have long cycles (40 days traditionally) and thought TTC was going to take a lot longer but with this book's help I learned how to track my temps and we luckily got pregnant on my 1st full cycle of charting. Now we didn't really try before this but I felt much better being proactive. I also highly recommend pre-seed. I learned that other lubricants can actually hurt your chances of conceiving. Pre-Seed with 2 Free Pregnancy Tests and Free Shipping (this is also a good site if you're interested in buying test strips for ovulating and pregnancy, both of which can be very pricey if you're buying month after month at a drugstore.) Ovulation Calendar and Ovulation Chart - FertilityFriend.com is a great resource for temping and you can actually join for a month for free. What I did was print out a chart from TCOYF and penciled in the information for my first half month.. then I joined and filled in the information for that month and my next to compare. The monthly fee isn't high and it's great that you can save your charts and look for patterns. Best of luck to everyone who's trying. FYI: The book can be used as a non-TTC tactic also by making you aware of your most fertile days and when you're more likely to conceive. Although, backup is always a good idea.