Bisha

I just wanted to let you know that I had my maternity shoot yesterday and wanted to thank everyone who replied and talked me into getting it done! It was soooo sooo sooo great and was the best Mother's Day present ever! The photographer made me feel very comfortable and it was awesome to have her come to our house for it. It did pose some limitations but overall, was a great way to go. She said that our shoot turned into a bit of maternity boudoir but still very tasteful. I can't wait to get the pics and I promise to post 'em here for your review:) Thanks again for all your support girls!

So I have a very busy weekend ahead of me. My shower is tomorrow (Finally!) after which my cousin who'se coming from NY volunteered to come over and help me put stuff away. That means that hubby and I need to make sure we at least vaccum and put dishes away (with 2 furbabies, we should vaccum every day but naturally, we don't!). Since we have the version scheduled for Sunday at 7:30 am, I also need to pack my bag today, just in case. Fingers crossed, everything goes well with the procedure and we make it home safe and sound, I have the maternity shoot at 3pm. I think I'll be ready for a week off by the end of this weekend. Wish me luck!

So I had my (almost 37 week) appt this morning and boy am I glad hubby went to this one! Baby G is still breech and we have a version scheduled for this Sun morning (hopefully, still waiting to hear back from the doc). If it's not sucessfull or if he turns back, we'll have a c-section scheduled for May 22 which will make hubby's birthday wish come true. He'll be 30 on the 24th and when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday his response was that he wants to be holding his son in his arms! I'm a little upset about this turn of events (or lack of turning! LOL) but I did do some thorough research on the topic and am feeling a little better about it since it is pretty safe. We decided that we still have to prepare for the worse (ie emergency c-section) so there's a lot of work to do for us before the end of the week.

Quote: Originally Posted by Amarillis All I have for input is CONGRATS!!! CONGRATS on being pregnant, and expecting your first child CONGRATS on deciding to do a maternity shoot!!! I am sure you'll be stunning. The photographer that did my BD (Toronto Wedding Photographer - Lisa Mark Photography) shoot does maternity, for inspiration check out her site, or others that have went before you - I did that before my BD shoot and my wedding. I just searched for inspiration in other's.... CONGRATS AGAIN! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Quote: Originally Posted by TammyB Hmm first I would just go on say google and do an image search for maternity photos, and see what catches your eye, and show a couple photos to your photographer. That why they have an idea of what your going for. As far as outfits, I love white button down shirts for Maternity photos as well as those long white or black skirts. Or you could get really dressed up, as if your going to a nice dinner, as another option, just have fun with it, and let your photographer guide you. I'm happy you decided to get your photos done, I think you'll be glad you did. :-) Will do! Thank you! I've looked at a few but they're mostly classical and I really want something artsy. I have a couple ideas but for the most part, I think I will leave up to the photographer I really do like the idea of button down shirt and leaving the belly to hang out. Quote: Originally Posted by Tlseege Oh i'm so excited to hear that you are doing this!!! The lovely TammyB is actually coming to Wisconsin to do mine at the end of this month and I am THRILLED! I too am struggling with what to wear. I know what will photograph well and what I WANT to wear, but spending the money on maternity clothes seems silly, so it's a matter of finding what i have which will look great. The biggest thing that I have found with doing maternity photos for other clients is that tight fitting clothes works great. Blousy shirts, although beautiful, doesn't really show the true Bump and it might just make you look larger, KWIM? Really, just have fun with it. Be open to ideas your photographer has. You might not be 100% comfortable in your body right now, but trust me, it's beautiful and you will be SO grateful to have these photos down the road. Lucky you! Get Tammy to do your shot I'm really trying to think of a classy way of doing a nude or semi nude without my thick thighs hanging out. For the most part, I like my bump but instead of stretch marks, I have a bunch of pimples chillin on my tummy Any idea on how to hide 'em? Quote: Originally Posted by Mrs. Martin How far along do most women take maternity pics? My friend told me she took hers at 7 months. Isn't that too early? I was told that it depends on when you pop. I didn't really start looking pregnant until around 30 weeks or so; just chuncky, especially in pictures. My photog said that right around 35-37 weeks is good but it's still very individual.

So I finally decided to have a maternity shoot! It's scheduled for this coming Sunday and I just realized that I have no idea what to wear. The photographer is coming to my house so I'll be able to do wardrobe changes if I want so I could really use some ideas. Feel free to post examples of your pics as well, I have ZERO creativity on poses and stuff so all suggestions are welcome!

Quote: Originally Posted by Jenamie That is beautiful!!! And I love the turtles!!! Thank you! We were actually thinking of a completely different set but fell in love with this one in the store. It's so soft and cuddly:) The nursery is still a work in progress and desperately needs some pictures on the walls but I just couldn't wait to put the sheets in and attach the mobile to see how it all comes together.

Thank you girls for the complements on the belly!! I can't believe how much it's grown! kevs girl and Summer - totally understand how you're feeling. I wanted to tell everyone soooo bad. We told family super early, I told my BF after the 1st ultrasound and everyone else not until around 19 weeks. Kelly - so sorry to hear you're not feeling well. I remember having those emotional days and letting hubby and everyone else know to stay away! At least you gave them all a fair warning! Well, I'm super duper excited today!! We went baby shopping and bought lots of stuff! My shower was originally scheduled for this Saturday but was moved to next Sat so I just couldn't wait any longer to get the essentials. We got the car seat, a bedding set and other little knick knacks but those two were the major stuff! Check it out:

Hello ladies! I've been MIA This week has been crazy and I'm so glad it's over! My grandmom passed away on Monday and with the funeral on Wednesday, it's been hectic. I'm handling it pretty well and was mainly concerned about my dad (it's his mom) but, he's handling it well too; or at least putting on a brave face. I'm taking him baby shopping on Sunday to get his mind off things. Otherwise, I'm doing well and growing! Here's my latest belly pic at 35 weeks 1 day. I haven't felt it but it looks like I've grown A LOT!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mrs. Martin I have my glucose-tolerance test Monday morning and I'm a little nervous about it(especially since I've gained so much weight in so little time). My coworkers keep telling me the drink was disgusting and the waiting around was just as bad. Is it as bad as everyone describes it? Don't worry about it! It really has nothing to do with how much weight you've put on and there's nothing you can do about it anyways:) It really doesn't taste too bad as long as it's COLD! Basically like semi-sweet flat orange soda. I heard it's really nasty warm but out of the fridge, it was no biggie. Good luck on your test!

Kelly - sorry to hear of your scare. Hopefully the test will come back negative and you'll be in the clear! Andrea - CONGRATULATIONS! and welcome to the mommy thread! I did the same thing; stalked the thread until I was good and ready to tell everyone:) To all you other ice cream lovers - I am right there with you. I keep saying that I dont know how I'm going to give up my daily (and sometimes 2x daily) ice cream fix! LOL So, I had my 35 (almost 36wk) appt today. Nothing too exciting. So far, I've gained 25lbs which is not too bad all around but I was only up 10 at 20 weeks and my Dr. said that he doesn't think I would gain more than 20 total. Oh well. I guess my slackign off from the gym and pigging out on ice cream finally caught up to me. Baby G is still breach and the Dr. keeps talking about doing a version to get him to turn if he doesn't do it on his own by 37 weeks. I already told hubby he needs to have a serious talk with his son about turning head down! LOL

Jenn - what a beautiful name! Can't wait to meet her! Angel - glad to hear your surgery went well! Mrs. Martin - normally, I'm freezing all the time and now I insist we leave the window open at night! I sleep naked and still wake up sweaty sometimes. Kelly - good luck on your glucose test! It sucks to have gestational diabetes but deffinitely better to know and manage it than blow it off! Well, we went for the childbirth class yesterday. Because of our crazy scheudles, we could only do the 1 day class. It was long!!!! 10-5 and we were both exhausted after but glad we went! It was very informative, not so much for me but absolutely for hubby. My main interest was in our hospital policies and how flexible or inflexible they are. I was happy to hear that they're very flexible when it comes to how you want to deliver as well as what type of drugs (if any) you want, etc, etc. Deffinitely put my mind at ease about the whole labor process:) I could not believe that my ticket said 40 days to do today!!!! How crazy is that I can't believe how time is flying!

Congrats Jennl!!! Cute bump Angel! Not scary at all!!! I second the Boooo on Kelly! Show off your bump girlfriend! Here's mine at 33 weeks and 1 day on Sunday: and I'm standing in the freshly painted nursery!!!!! Hubby actually carried through and got the room painted over the weekend. We hung curtains yesterday and he's actually out right now picking up the furniture with a friend of ours!!!! I'm sooooo excited!

I swore up and down that we wouldn't do an AHR and guess what? We had the whole shabang 2 weeks before our DW. Full synagogue ceremony and almost a full blown reception. The only thing was that we kept it as non-traditional as we wanted. It was on a Sunday afternoon, there was no first dance or any other "official" wedding reception type stuff, no official MC and no cake. I did wear a wedding dress (different one than in Cancun) and wedding party did wear their attire (hubby insted we rent tuxes for him, the guys and the dads but I insisted on no vests) and the flowers were minimal! We had the photographer only at the synogogue where he took ceremony pics and family portraits. I guess we're lucky in that at a Russian restaurant (where we had the reception) music is "included" so there was no issue with hiring a DJ. All in all, it deffinitely felt more like a party then a wedding which is exactly what we wanted. We wound up having 100 people and it was loads of fun!!!!! Wouldn't have done it any other way since our DW wound up being very small and intimate (16 people total). I guess we also got lucky in that the gifts everyone brought covered our costs almost down to the last penny which helped a ton!

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do! LOL Kelly - Great news about the placenta! I know I was happy to find out mine shifted too Jenn - how exciting about Friday! Hope your baby spreads the legs nice and wide for you! Good luck! Can't wait to hear who you're having! GeminiLibra - can't agree with you more about how fast it's going! At first, it seems that every week couldn't come any sooner and now, it just feels like they're flying by toooo fast! Mrs. Martin - glad to hear you're feeling better! katrina - it's so nice to hear that you want to get your friend something. I think everything the other ladies suggested is great! I guess it's not too customary in my culture so the only "gift" I got was maternity clothes from my SIL so maybe something like a gift card to motherhood maternity!? Kat - I'm right there with you! I actually broke out right after getting off the pill last spring. It got 10x worse when I got pregnant, came down a little during the second trimester and now, it's back to how it was during the first! I feel like I'm 15 again and I've been going through tons and tons of concealer! I just hope that it gets better after giving birth. I haven't found anything that helps completely so, maybe you'll have better luck! Let us know how it goes at the derm for you As far as movement goes; I can't say it's uncomfortable for me but the days when he's really really active, I get really really tired! Otherwise, I love feeling him too and find myself watching my stomach move around from time to time. Just staring at it instead of working! LOL I actually have some baby prep progress to report! We got the stroller yesterday!!!! Sooooo excited that we wound up playing with it for like 2 hours! Taking it apart and trying on all the different attachemnts! It's even cooler than I remember it being when we first saw it at the store The nursery is actually moving along as well! My dad came over yesterday and picked up the last of the furniture we wanted to get out of there so the only thing that's left is for me to find a new home for all the junk that's in there right now and for hubby to paint. He promised to have that done by the end of the week!!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Our crib actually came in and is currently at the store (we did the walmart site to store thing) waiting for us to pick it up and the dresser should be there shortly so it's even possible that we will have the furniture set up before the week's end!

Quote: Originally Posted by Kelly C Bisha-I cant believe you have to wait till may 2nd. I would freak. Im a planner and would have to know. Kuddos to you... I was pissed when I heard that's the date and let my mom know I'm not happy! She said that she tried to change it but it was too late, my BF already ordered the invitations! She's hosting it on her backyard and wanted to make sure it would be warm enough!! Well yesterday, my co-worker had her baby an entire month early!!! She was due May 2. Thankfully, everyone is healthy and doing well but, I told my mom about it last night and her response was: "oh wow, that's early, too bad she didn't have a chance to have a shower!" Um, no mom, like most normal people, her shower was 2 months ago!!!!!! Baby G better not get any ideas and stay put until the end of May!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Tlseege OOO, I love the concept of your nursery! I can't wait for you to get it done and take pictures for us!! As for having the stuff... don't worry. May 2nd is only four weeks away and if your bouncy little boy decides he wants to make his appearance, people will bring you stuff. Plus, what do you REALLY need right away? Diapers, wipes, formula (if you're going that route), onesie and a blanket. All the big fancy stuff can wait. Well, DH wants to clear out the room and get it ready to paint which, he wants to do next weekend. I FINALLY ordered the furniture last night and the stroller should arrive today/tomorrow! I agree, other than the basics (not even formula since I plan on breast feeding) the major thing we need is a car seat which, if worse comes to worse, can be purchased at any BRU. But, they dont carry the color we want and the store which does, is a little far. We put it on the registry hoping someone will get it for us and if not, we were planning on making the trip to that store (about an hour drive from our house) after the shower to pick up whatever was not purchased.

You are all sooo good to have gotten started on the nurseries and Kelly, laundry done!? Good for you! Hubby and I keep walking by the former office, soon to be babie's room and shaking our heads. It is just such a mess right now! We decided that we need to clear it out by the end of the week and go get paint! We have basically decided on a color and a theme so all is left is execusion! LOL The walls will be orange, furniture is white and chocolate brown and we'll have a circle theme going with white, brown and blue. Still have to find a window treatment but at least we have a direction:) I feel soooo unprepared especially since we have nothing (other than the stroller) purchased and my big family/friends shower is not until May 2!!! My biggest fear is that this baby will be early and we'll have nothing!

I did not change my name either. At first, it was for professional reasons (when I was in med school) but after dropping out of med school, it became a personal reason. DH never really cared too much about my not wanting to change my name and after the wedding, we talked about it and I told him that I dont mind the name change as long as he's willing to do ALL of the paperwork and running around that's involved. His response: please keep your last name! LOL Our son will absolutely have his last name and in the social circuit we go by a mix of our last names. Something that his GM said in his toast at our wedding and it sounded so cute that we're now using it! I also got some grief from a few family members and still do. Mainly, brother and sister-in-law but I'm not the type to be polite about issues which are non of anyone's business! DH and I both would tell people that it's OUR business and we'll deal with it as we see fit whenever anyone would try to put in their 2 cents. DH has also been great about defending this decision of mine. It's your name and no one has the right to take it from you! Unless you're willing to give it up

Quote: Originally Posted by FLgator Sorry to butt in on this thread, but we have been researching CR for a late HM in May. La Mansion Inn looks great! I would love to hear more! We will only have a week there, so we are looking for somewhere that lets us see a couple sides of costa rica without too much traveling...especially wildlife in the forest and the beaches. How was the beach that was in walking distance? Were there places to snorkel in the area? How did you get to and from the airport? Were there a lot options for places to eat in the area? Any info would be great...thanks! Our trip basically went like this: Flew into San Jose and got picked up by car rental company. Got into our rental SUV (an absolute must if you want to do stuff on your own!) but there were also plently of people that got by via taxis and shuttles! Drove ~3 hrs to Arenal and stayed there for 4 days (maybe 5?). This is where we did all of the activities: quad tour, zip lining, waterfall repelling (by far my favorite acitivity!) and caves. Got into our car and drove ~5 or 6 hrs to Manuel Antonio. The road to La Mansion Inn really is as bad as all of the reviews said it would be. Very mountanous and very very very beat up! Hubby loved the "off-roading" though:) I would have been mortified to be behind the wheel! We stayed in MA for 3 days and other than the tour of the National Park (an absolute must and with a guide!!!!) We kept it to the beach and the pool. The hotel is very small and since we were there during the off season, had a total of about 20 guests! We met a couple there who were on their honeymoon and did all of the activities we did in Arenal plus surfing. I would have loved to try surfing but we just found out I was pregnant right before leaving on this trip and decided it wouldn't be a good idea:) The town (La Quinta I think!?) is about a 10 min drive from the hotel and has lots of places to eat and a bit of a night life. We did go Salsa dancing one of the nights. The beach is not a Cancun type of beach at all but is very nice in it's own right. The sand is dark and the water is not the crystal blue but, it is the Pacific ocean so that was expected. But it's very very clean and the water was surprisingly warm! All in all, this was by far our best vacation ever!

Hubby and I went on our anniversary trip and stayed in Arenal and in Manuel Antonio on the pacific coast. Our hotel was La Mansion Inn! Absolutely stunning views and was a great mix of being secluded but also close enough to all of the attractions. And not right on the beach but a nice mountain walk away, about 10 mins. We absolutely loved it and totally recommend it to anyone! Let me know if you have any other questions. Pura Vida!

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL I like this one the best: "My fiancé and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double-bedded room. We now hold you responsible for the fact that I find myself pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked." Thank you for brightening up my day!

I just saw my ticker and realized that not only am I on the next to last picture(OMG!!!) the quote couldn't be more on target! That's exactly how I feel right now! LOL LOL LOL

Hey everyone! Just realized that I haven't chimed in for a while. Andrea- Congratulations and welcome to the soon-to-be mommy club! Sorry to hear you've got MS but, hopefully it will be gone before you know it! Mrs. Martin - that's great news about the hubby! Mine was extaticly the same the first time he felt the baby move too. He's still very much amused by it. Even just feeling the hard lumps on my stomach and trying to guess the protruding body part is fun! I guess in never gets old! I am doing pretty well just, much more easily tired and feel like my little one is trying to hide under my ribs. I also feel like I move 2mm/hr! LOL and I'm deffinitely waddling! Hubby thinks it's adorable, I think it's annoying. We're still not done with the nursery but as both of us walked by the former office and looked at the mess, decided that we need to clear it out by the end of the week and paint next week (possibly). I also made the pre-natal appt with the pediatrician for Sat. I'm starting to feel like the to-do list is getting longer and the time is running away from me! Baby G better not decide to come early! That's all I gotta say:)

We started out with wanting to do just a ceremony and a small AHR which turned into a full blown wedding of 100 people about 2 weeks before our DW! Although I swore we would never do such a thing, it wound up being loads of fun and looking back, we're both glad we did it since most people couldn't join us in Cancun.

I think this topic is too funny not to reply! We technically had 2 chances and it didn't do it After the wedding. Does it cound if we did the day before? I look at it this way, if you have enough energy for noockie after your wedding, you didn't party hard enough! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!