An "OK" Christmas

Well Gwen survived her very first Christmas..........barely. She caught her mommy's cold and was simply miserable for Denise's Christmas Eve Party. She spent the night screaming with her mommy in her room. Luckily though the cold lasted 2 days and she slept the entire Christmas Eve night and most of Christmas Day. Gwen got to finally meet her Uncle Joe and a lot of new friends. She had a great time in Tulsa and it is such a joy to watch her talk, smile, and interact with people. For me that is what the holiday is all about!

Everyone was so generous to her for Christmas and I can see she is going to be spoiled. Her favorite toy came from Grandma P/Papa and is a Glow Worm whom we named "Glowy" after Rat Boy's Glow Worm (long story). I think she likes Glowy best because she has a chimple just like Gwen does.

Here are a few photos from the holiday. Enjoy!!

2 Month Check-Up

Gwen had her 2 month check up today. She weighs 12 lbs 1 oz and is 23" long (she was born at 7 lbs 2 oz and 19" long). The doctor said she is perfect! She had her shots and did really well. She screamed so much that she stopped breathing, but after a minute I put a pacifier in and she fell asleep.

Gwen's Trip To NY

Gwen had her first trip to NY and it was a success! She was absolutely perfect on the plane rides. If it wasn't for all the delays in Chicago we wouldn't have had any crying, but of course the delays screwed up her feeding schedule, and we all know how much Gwen loves to eat!

Gwen got to meet her cousins Olivia and Grace, her Aunt Christine and Uncle Mike, as well as extended family and friends. A party was thrown in her honor and it was wonderful. She was pretty cranky but survived.

Mike and I spent our first night away from Gwen when we went to a wedding in Saratoga (Congratulations Melissa and Chris). I had major anxiety and even cried when I left her. I had Mike up around 7:30 am to go back to Utica to see her............I have become such a mom!

I have a cute story to share. We were all eating dinner at my parents house and Grace was playing a game called Lucky Duck. Well I look over and Grace has a Lucky Duck playing card on Gwen's lap. All of a sudden you hear Grace say "she's not playing". She was trying to get Gwen to play with her. TOO CUTE!!

Here are a few pictures from our trip. The rest can be seen in my Tis The Season album. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

I Know All Moms Say This But.........

Our daughter is seriously the cutest baby in the world!

I added a new album to my photos. It's called Tis the Season and all holiday photos will be posted there. Check it out............

6 Week Follow Up

I had my 6 week follow up appointment today. Everything looks good!! As an added bonus I lost 25 lbs in 6 weeks. I only put on 29 lbs total so I am almost at my pre-pregnancy weight!! Breastfeeding does a body good :-)

She's sitting up

Gwen has enough control of her head that I was able to sit her up on the couch!

We even got great smiles out of her yesterday! It's so nice to be able to tell the "real" smiles from gas!! As an added bonus, she is starting to get Mike's dimples. Can she be any cuter??

Gwen's Photo Shoot

This morning Gwen had a photo shoot with Nicole and Heather. I can't thank them enough as I had a great time and the pictures came out wonderful!! It seems as though Gwen loves getting her picture taken as she was almost perfect (we had a crying issue outside). Here are a few pictures from the shoot. Check out all 51 of them by going to my albums.







Gwen is doing great. She only wakes up once a night and is eating like a champ (as seen by her chubby cheeks). I think we have gotten a few smiles out of her, but it could be gas...........hey a smile is a smile :-)

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Olivia (our niece). She was named Student of the Month at Westmoreland Elementary School. Mike, Gwen, and I are VERY proud of her!

Gwen Is 1 Month Old Today!!

Can you believe it????

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Here are some pictures from Gwen's first Halloween. Check out my Google photos. I have uploaded more pics of the little one!

More firsts for Gwen

Well we made it a week and everyone is still alive and happy. Gwen is definitely laid back like Mike with the exception of some screaming outbursts when it is time to eat. I am feeling good. I have some anxiety about Mike going back to work because he has been absolutely amazing. I know I could not have done the first week without him. Luckily my parents are coming out for a week, after he goes back to work, so hopefully that will help with the transition.

Gwen had some firsts this week so I thought I would share the photos. Check out "My Albums" as I have added some new pics of the little one. Enjoy!!

Her first time in the bouncer (which she loves.......as does Sebastian in the background):


Her first walk:



Off to have my "first" glass of wine!

First couple days at home

People never prepare you for how you are going to feel about your child. For me I feel like I am finally awake to life. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I look at her and my heart aches because I love her so much. My life is so much more complete now.

The first night at home didn't go so well. Mike said that "it was the worst night of my life". Gwen became this crazed lunatic that wouldn't sleep. She cried from 9 pm to 3:30 am. Luckily night #2 went so much better. We even got close to 7 hours of sleep.......not uninterrupted though.

Mike has been fantastic. I could not have done this myself at home. He is taking such great care of the both of us. I knew he was a wonderful husband and seeing him be such an amazing dad has made me love him even more.

I will leave you with some photos of the little one. You can find the rest by clicking on the "My Albums" link on the right hand side of the page.

Gwendolyn Maren Jurbala is here!!

Gwen was born at 4:40 am on Monday October 13th. She weighed 7.2 lbs and was 19.5 inches long. She is absolutely perfect.

As for my birth story, I have to say that I probably had one of the quickest and easiest births in history. It was way better than I could have ever imagined:

10/12 @ 10:00 pm: Contractions started. They were pretty sporadic and a bit uncomfortable. I called the doctor around 11:00 pm and she said to hold off going to the hospital until they were 5 minutes apart and 1 minute long.

10/13 @ 1:45 am: Called the doctor. The contractions had been 30 seconds long every 7 minutes but intensified to one right after another and about 45 seconds long. I had gotten sick and was in a bit of pain, some of the contractions did take my breath away and I couldn't stand up, but honestly, nothing unbearable.

2:30 am: Arrived at hospital. Got checked out and was already 10 cm dilated. They actually put me in a wheel chair and ran me down the hall to the birthing suite. There was a team of people in the birthing suite trying to check me in and get me prepared. They got the epidural in before I was even checked in, but because I was ready to push, they couldn't use a high dose so it didn't really do anything. I think it mainly took the edge of because I was scared sh*tless that it was happening so fast.

4:00 am: I started pushing and Gwen was born 40 minutes later. I did 99% of labor drug free. Who knew I was so bad ass...................

Great News!!

No I am not in labor, no I am not even close BUT............

I tried on my pre-pregnancy skinny jeans and they easily fit over my butt and thighs!!!

Nothing New To Report.

I had a doctors appointment today. I wish I could say that something exciting happened, but it didn't. I didn't gain any weight and my blood pressure is still perfect. I have dropped a little bit (finally), my cervix is soft and I am a little bit dilated. My doctor says I am ready to have this baby.......I couldn't agree more!!!

The Nursery Is Done!

The nursery is finally done thanks to Denise (Mike's mom), Pottery Barn Kids, and VinylWallArt.com. The only thing missing now is Baby J!

I have posted a couple photos below, but you can view the rest by

1. Clicking on the link to the right of this page labeled "My Albums" (going forward this is where you can view my on-line photo albums)

2. Checking out the slide-show on the right side of the page (if you click on it you can go through the photos at your own speed)

Enjoy!

Why Am I Still Smiling??

Here I am, 38 weeks pregnant. Look at the size of that big white stomach. I wish I could say that I felt great, but I don't. I am so ready to meet Baby J!! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. I am hoping she says "it's time", but that is just wishful thinking. I will keep you all posted.

Just as I suspected

I had another uneventful doctors appointment. I put on 1 pound (grand total 29) which I owe to Halloween candy, Chips Ahoy cookies, and my exhaustion which has kept me from walking. My strep test was negative, my blood pressure is still perfect, I am dilated 1.5 cm, and I got my flu shot.

My doctor scheduled my induction for Tuesday October 21st in the evening, to have the baby on Wednesday October 22nd, if I go past my due date. I will be walking 2X a day so hopefully that won't happen :-) We get to talk about maybe moving my induction for the week of my due date (Oct 17th) in my next appointment. Is there anything wrong with having a delivery of convenience??

Fur babies and real babies.....

Since our fur babies will soon become 2nd class citizens I figured I should have a post about how cute they are. Kaiser wasn't originally a part of the picture below but for some reason he has become obsessed with the camera. I told him to lay down next to the cats and he did. They posed so I could get some cute shots.



We put together the Pack-n-Play this weekend and Stella seems to think we put it there for her enjoyment.


On the baby front, things are great. I am officially over 37 weeks which means I am term! I can have this baby at any time. Mike is "starting" to freak out. I have been freaking out since the first positive pregnancy test on February 6th!! We have another doctors appointment tomorrow morning. I am sure nothing new and exciting will come out of it.

We are starting to make the nursery a little less prison-esque. Here is Mike's handy work putting up the letters. He swore a lot and needed a beer before the first letter was hung. I can't wait until he has to put together Barbie dream houses, or anything that has really small pieces!!




It's been a productive weekend so it is time for me to go to bed (yes it is 7:30).

151 lbs of pure cuteness.......

In the past few weeks I have had 2 doctors appointments:

The first was an ultrasound where they looked at the size/position of the baby. As of Tuesday September 16th she weighs around 6 lbs 11 oz and is about 20 inches long (she is in the 70th percentile). She is head down and we got confirmation that she is still a girl (we have the picture to prove it). We got the cutest picture of her face too. She has chunky cheeks and my nose! I can't wait to see how she looks compared to that picture.

The second was with my OB. Nothing really exciting came out of it.
1. I am already dilated 1 cm. My doctor was very surprised because most people don't dilate this early. It's a good thing, but it seriously means nothing. I could walk around dilated for weeks........BOO.
2. I didn't gain any weight in the past 2 weeks, so I am still up 28 lbs. I told Mike that I want either Nachos, Pizza, or Sliders this weekend in celebration........haha.
3. The baby's head is down and in position to be delivered. The doctor could feel her head and when she poked it the baby didn't move or float away.
4. My blood pressure is still perfect.
5. The doctor is estimating the baby will weigh 7.5 lbs by her due date. She doesn't want me to go too far past my due date, so she is going to set up an induction date for the week after my due date (October 17th) so at the latest we will meet her around the 23rd.

I am feeling okay. I have been getting really dizzy and light headed lately which makes me nauseous. My doctor tested my blood and I am not anemic, so she thinks it could be that I am dehydrated. I go through waves of exhaustion vs. energy on a daily basis and my braxton hicks are coming on a big stronger and more frequent which is really uncomfortable. Other than that, I am doing well. I am still trying to walk but the gym is a distant memory. I sleep through the night and never have to get up to pee which is great!

The nursery is coming along fine. It kind of looks like a baby prison (white walls and bars on the bed) so I am excited to see what Denise has made and will be purchasing some letters for above the crib. I also need the curtains to come in!!

All I ever hear from people is how little I am, how "cute" I am, and how I have "the best" bump. I appreciate everyone's wonderful comments and I will always reply with a gratuitous "thank you".........but I don't feel cute nor do I feel little. I feel like 151 lbs of chunk and I am so ready to not carry around this extra baggage anymore! Everyone always asks me what I am most excited for once the baby comes. I am excited to walk into Banana Republic, J-Crew, and White House/Black Market without wanting to cry. I WANT TO SHOP FOR CUTE SHOES/CLOTHES AND WEAR HEELS AGAIN!! Anyway............here is a bare belly shot.......see it isn't cute nor is it little!!

Doctors Appointment

I had a doctors appointment today. For the first time in months I barely had to wait to see the doctor. It was shocking since I am usually there over an hour.

Everything is still going great with my pregnancy. My blood pressure is still low and I am only up 28 lbs at 34 weeks. I had some great discussions with my doctor and her only concern is my size. I am pretty small that she wants to make sure the baby doesn't get too big. I have an ultrasound next week for size and position and we will go from there. My doctor always schedules induction dates just in case, so I may know my induction date in the next couple of weeks. She says for sure that she won't let me go late because of my size, unless the ultrasound shows a really small baby. I don't want to be induced unless it is medically necessary and I think having a huge kid falls in that category :-)

Mike and I decided this week that we won't be having guests come visit the baby, at the house, for the first week of her life. We want to take a week to have me recover, learn to breast feed, have her go to her first pediatrician appointment, and get in a mini-groove. It was an extremely tough decision (I lost a lot of sleep over it) for us since we know our family and friends are very excited, but we had to do what we felt was best for our family.

39 more days.......................

34 Weeks......

I haven't posted a photo since week 30 (where has the time gone???) so I figured now is as good a time as any. I am still feeling great pregnancy wise, now if these allergies would just go away!! I have a doctors appointment tomorrow and will keep you all updated.

Mike's shining moment........

After months of complaining, Mike has finally done something blog-worthy. He put the crib together this weekend!! It looks fantastic. A picture of the finished product can be seen below. In all reality, Mike has been amazing and is very blog-worthy. He cooks, cleans, helps me organize baby stuff, massages my feet/legs/back, comes baby shopping with me (without complaining).....etc. I am so lucky to have him by my side during this journey because there is no way I could do it without him, and no better person that I would rather do this with. I think I fall in love with him more and more each day and am looking forward to seeing him hold our baby girl. If he is half the father that he is husband, then Baby J is one lucky lady........



The nursery is coming together. The crib, dresser/changer, and bookshelf are all up and starting to get filled with baby stuff. While Mike was putting together the crib, I did 8 loads of laundry......yes 8 and I see that as being a trend once the little one joins our life. I organized all the stuff that was laying around and had a mini-freak out at the lack of clothes we had, so I went shopping today. I spent far too much on very few items. Mike seems to think that I want her to dress better than me..........that's partly true. I would like her to be dressed on par with me :-) We bought her "coming home" outfit. It is now the most expensive piece of clothing that she owns. Here it is:



Pregnancy wise I am feeling pretty good. I am still a bit tired and Baby J likes to kick my ribs, but other than that everything is going really well. I am still walking or making it to the gym, and am still fitting into a size 2 (do you hate me yet???). The only issue I am having is that my allergies have been horrible the past couple of weeks. I have tried everything and it seems like NOTHING WORKS (I've tried Allegra, Benadryl, the Neti Pot, Claritin...etc) I am not sleeping much at all during the night and Mike loves that I sneeze on him and sniffle in his ear. I am miserable and ready for the first frost to make all the yuck in the air go away.

Off to finish watching the "Press Your Luck" marathon on Game Show Network. Mike laughs at my love of game shows, but I come from a long line of game show watchers (thanks grandma/grandpa/mom). I hope I can pass it down to Baby J.............Mike is scared.

Still a boring pregnancy..............

I had a doctor's appointment today and I am still having a boring pregnancy.....THANK GOD! I am up 26 lbs in my 33rd week so I am right on track of my 35 lb or less goal. I am measuring 32 weeks, the heartbeat is strong, and my blood pressure is perfect.

Mike and I have started the nursery. It is crazy to see a room entirely dedicated to the baby. We are looking forward to hopefully finishing it over Labor Day with the exception of the curtains which are on back order until Sept 30th. I will post pictures as soon as it is done.

I have been in allergy hell so we are going to be kicking the pets out of the room tonight. Mike seems worried about how Kaiser will react, but I can care less......he's a dog and eats his own poop, so he has no say :-) I don't want the pets in any of the bedrooms when the baby comes, so it is good to get them used to it now.

Other than that, not too much going on. I can't believe I have less than 8 weeks left!

Baby Shower

First of all I want to thank Heather for throwing me an amazing baby shower on 08-08-08. I had so much fun and she had every detail covered. We had heavy appetizers to eat and cupcakes from Happy Cakes (my favorite cupcake store). She had wine/vodka drinks for the guests and virgin drinks for me.

One of my favorite parts was that she had everyone decorate a onesie for the baby. She sent them out, in all different sizes, prior to the shower. I am amazed at how creative people are.


I am also amazed at how generous people are. I received so many wonderful gifts. Baby J is VERY LUCKY to have so many wonderful people in her life, and she isn't even born yet.

My mom and sister flew out for the shower too. It was so wonderful having them there with me especially because I do not get to see them that often.


We had a great time shopping for ourselves and for baby, as well as going to the Botanical Gardens and Aquarium. I even took them to my 30 week doctors appointment and my mom cried when she heard the heartbeat.

My doctor's appointment went great. I was told I have a boring pregnancy (which is a good thing). My blood pressure is perfect, my weight is great (up 24 lbs in 30 weeks), and I have no swelling. I now begin appointments every other week and have an ultrasound scheduled for 36 weeks.

The next step is setting up the nursery. I will keep you posted!

We have viability!

I hit a milestone this past week.....the baby is viable!! That means if she is born now she has a great chance of surviving! It is very exciting!

Here is a 28 week picture taken with my brand new haircut. I have gotten enormous or as I like to call myself "tubby".........even though all I hear is "you are so cute". I don't believe people. I think they are just being nice.................

I have also chosen my bedding. I am so excited to put the nursery together now that I have a "vision". I will be putting plants in the nursery and as my hair dresser says it is very "feng shui". Here are a few pictures (for the record I won't be getting the comforter):

Great Doctor's Appointment!

I had a great doctor's appointment yesterday. I'll summarize:

• I took my 1 Hour Glucose test and PASSED! Most people fail so I am very excited that I don't have to take the 3 hour test.
• I am measuring 1.5 weeks ahead (6 weeks ago I was measuring 1.5 weeks behind). The little one is getting big!
• The cramping in my calves/feet are because I need more calcium. This surprises me since I eat a ton of milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. I picked up some Flintstones Gummies and Viactiv since I haven't taken a prenatal vitamin since week 5.
• I put on almost 10 lbs in the past 6 weeks. This means in 10 weeks I have put on 16 lbs which brings my total up to 22 lbs (starting weight 123; current weight 145). My goal is to stay below 35 lbs gained and it looks like I am right on track.
• The baby's heartbeat was strong and she even kicked the machine while the doctor was listening to it. Dad says she is going to be a good soccer player.
• I was concerned about hydration, but everything looks great. The reason I am not one of those pregnant people that pees all the time is because I am carrying really high.
• The doctor and I started discussing a birth plan and the information I should put together. This was really eye opening for me and for the first time this pregnancy I am actually feeling really stressed. I was even up from 3-4 this morning with my mind racing!!

I have my mom and sister coming to the next appt. I can't wait for them to hear the heartbeat!!

Third trimester here I come........

I can't believe that I am going to enter the third trimester this week. It's like I blinked and the 2nd trimester was over. Baby J will be here before we know it!

Things here have been great. I have been continuing to walk or go to the gym 5X a week and I think that is helping me sleep well and feel good. I have yet to swell, but I am sure that will be coming in the next few months. My next doctor's appointment is Monday July 13th. I have to have my gestational diabetes test (1 hour) as well as get a shot since I have Rh - blood. I haven't been to the doctors in 6 weeks so I will be very interested in seeing how much I gained since I feel like I became very pregnant over the past 6 weeks. My goal is to not put on more than 35 lbs (in total) this pregnancy, so we'll see if I am on track. The baby has been moving around and kicking a lot. Mike has finally felt it and can even see it now. She mainly moves when I wake up in the morning and after I eat. As of right now she is not keeping me up at night...............I am sure that will change come October!

I also have become extremely laid back and flaky. I have pregnancy brain pretty bad and forget everything. Both Mike and I thought that I would be a psychotic nightmare this pregnancy and it is the opposite. Mike has even said he likes me better pregnant for this reason. With less than 14 weeks to go, we really need to get the house and our lives ready for baby.

The below picture was taken on Saturday July 12th. I am 26 weeks. We took it before Mike's Birthday BBQ that I threw him. He turned 31 on July 4th and we were lucky enough to spend it in Tulsa with friends and family.

6 Months already??

There is nothing new and exciting going on in my pregnancy. This week Mike and I will visit our last 2 day-care centers and will make a decision on Monday. My goal was to have one chosen and booked by the end of June........looks like I'll make it. Next up is finding a pediatrician.

Here is the latest picture of me which was taken at 23 weeks and 3 days: