Fame is OBSESSED.

I gave Fame whipped cream from the can once when he was a puppy. Ever since, he immediately becomes alert and enters the room as soon as he hears the "SSHHHHHHHH" sound of whipped cream being expelled from the can. And then he will sit there, licking his chops in anticipation, as if he's really eating or drinking something. He seriously sits there, lapping in the air, as fast as he does when he takes a drink from the water bowl.

Well, since Thanksgiving baking has been going on all day, I decided to reward myself with a piece of pumpkin pie before I went to bed. We didn't have any Cool Whip thawed, so I decided to just use some of the whipped cream we had in the fridge. I was upstairs alone, with the TV on. Fame was downstairs, having "guy time" with hubby. Hubby is down there, with the TV on blast, talking loudly to his buddies on Xbox.

I sat down at the table, poured myself some cider, and cut a piece of pie. I shook the whipped cream, uncapped it, inverted the can, pressed on the nozzle, and immediately heard what sounded like an elephant running up the stairs. I thought it was hubby, since when he ascends from his man cave, he runs up the stairs. I looked into the hallway, and there was no one there. As I was turning my head back towards my delectable dessert, I noticed a blocky black head in the vicinity of my left elbow. And there was Fame, sitting next to me, waiting patiently for some whipped cream, licking his chops. He heard that sound on a different level of the house, through two loud TVs and the raucous screaming and laughter of a video game freak engaged in battle on Xbox live.

So of course I had to give him some, 1. because he impressed me with his auditory prowess, and 2. because he's so damn cute!

Growth scan

I had an ultrasound today to see how well Marius is growing. According to the ultrasound, he's in the 50th percentile. Again, the ultrasonographer (the 3rd one I've met at this office) was not friendly and totally sucked the joy and excitement out of the ultrasound.

She never went into 3D or anything, and we barely got to even see anything on the screen. She measured his head, stomach, and femur. Looked at his heart and spine. She found his face to print a quick picture for us, but she never stayed on one part very long. The picture she printed was terrible - it was a blurry skull with eyesockets and a balled-up fist. I was so annoyed. I've been looking forward to this appointment for a month.

Today, I am 27w5d pregnant. Marius now weighs 2lbs, 7ozs. His head is measuring in the 29th weeek, and his femur is measuring right along with his gestational age.

The ultrasound photo isn't even worth scanning into the computer.

To top it all off, I asked the ultrasonographer if there were any 3D/4D imaging places around here that did photo packages. She said not to waste my money, because at this point, there's so little room in there that we wouldn't be able to see much. And she doesn't know of any, anyway. All of the websites I've seen for these 3D places say that this is the OPTIMAL time to have this type of imaging done. I was so pissed. I even asked Dr. Syeda when she came into the room, and she doesn't know of any, either.

I'm really starting to not like this practice. I'm tired of being excited about this pregnancy, just to have them kill it every time I walk in the door. It's so frustrating.

A gift for Marius!

I found a new sewing pattern that I wanted to try, so I decided a friend of mine (who is also due this winter) would be my guinea pig. In return, she decided to make something for me! Let me tell you, we were like kids on Christmas, just waiting for the parcels to arrive in the mail!

She got the parcel I sent her on Monday. Here's what I sent for her upcoming arrival:





It's a travel changing pad- it has one zippered pocket on the outside, and 2 on the inside. The soft fleece changing pad can be detached from the rest for easy laundering. I'll definitely use this pattern again! And I'm definitely making one for myself! lol

The mailman just came to the door with the parcel for me! I was so excited to rip it open, and was definitely not disappointed by what was inside!




I LOVE this pillow and blanket set! How cute!!! The pattern on the fleece is totally awesome and right up our alley!!! Thank you so much!!!

Our L&D tour

Holy cow - things are starting to feel a lot more real now!

Hubby and I went on our L&D tour at Albany Med yesterday, and let me tell you- it was A LOT more informative than I had imagined. I figured we'd just walk around the hospital and go home. NOPE!

They told us all about the paperwork we'd have to fill out, how long the stay would be, what you can & can't do in the different rooms you're in, etc. It was crazy. I'm so glad we went.

Since hubby is gonna be away when I deliver, I was really concerned with being able to communicate with him while in the hospital and being able to video tape so he doesn't totally miss out. I mean, laptops are permitted in the hospital, and there's WiFi in the rooms, so I'm hoping I go into labor when he has access to his laptop or a Skype phone, but labor doesn't wait for anyone! lol If he can be on his laptop or a Skype phone at the time I deliver, great! If not, I wanted to be able to video tape so he doesn't totally miss out. However, the hospital's policy is that you can take video up until the time the mother starts pushing, and then AFTER the baby is born. So what they're really saying is you can't get the one moment it's absolutely necessary to record on tape. Thanks, Albany Med! The lady said it's because they've had too many videographers pass out and end up in the ER. What a line of BS. I'm bringing my tripod to the hospital. Our lil camcorder can be operated by remote control. I'll just tuck it in the corner where they don't notice and conveniently cover the little red light on the front. (Insert evil grin here.) Or perhaps I'll record thru my webcam, and just keep it minimized on the screen so they don't see it. Either way, hubby is going to somehow witness the birth of his son and hear that very first cry. You cannot thwart me, Albany Medical Center!

So, as for visitors and guests at the hospital- in the delivery room (for a vaginal delivery), you're allowed to have your partner and up to 2 other people. If it's a c-section, you get your partner, and that's it. In post-partum, you can have your partner and up to 2 additional guests at your bedside at a time. No kids under 12 at all, which totally sucks because I want Anthony to be able to visit :(

Since hubby isn't gonna be there, my mom can be my "partner". I really wanted my grandmother in the delivery room with us, too. I mean, she's done this 12 times, so she's gotta know SOMETHING about this whole thing, right? But, I mean, if we have to rush over there, or if it's like in the wee hours of the morning, I do NOT want my grandfather getting up early and trying to rush grandma to the hospital to be with me. In the winter. No way.

So I'm pretty sure it's gonna be my Mom, Lexie, and Nikki. And Lexie and Nikki are the only 2 people I know who can take decent photos, so I need them for moral support as well as overkill on the photo documentation. There's no such thing as too many picures. But too FEW pictures, or missing an important shot is just unacceptable! lol

Touring those labor and post-partum rooms really made everything feel so real. Like, I'M going to be in one of those rooms in less than 3 months! MY baby is going to be in one of those little plastic tubs they call a "crib" there. Like, whoa. That's crazy. We walked past the nursery and I almost got choked up. There were only 2 babies in there when we walked past, and one was in the back. The nurse that was in there turned one that was in front by the window so we could see her, and she was so little and cute!

Funny thing about the stop at the nursery... Our tour group consisted of about 7 couples/families. One couple had their other child with them, and she was probably about 8 years old. Now, hubby was the ONLY black person on the tour. The baby in the nursery happened to be black. As soon as the girl could see the baby in the nursery, she immediately turned and looked at hubby. Kids are too funny. It was as if she expected him to have something to do with that baby. lol

Anyway, the tour was good. I'm glad we went.

27w2d - belly pics!

Here are a couple pics hubby took of me today. For some reason, I don't look too happy in the first one, and in the second, I have a really quizical look on my face because the sun was shining in my eyes! hahaha Oh well. Here they are:

Hellloooooo 3rd trimester!!!!

27 weeks today! Woo hoo!!! In the home stretch!

Went for my glucose tolerance test today. Yuck! The drink was labeled "fruit punch", and it seriously tasted like undiluted soda fountain fruit punch syrup. It made my throat sore. I reeallllly hope I pass this one, because I don't want to do this again, especially for 3 hours.

6.5 months???

OK, so I know the technical "pregnancy is 10 months" thing- a month is roughly 4 weeks; 40 weeks divided by 4 is 10. But I haven't been counting that way. I've been pregnant since May 8, so I just counted May 8-June 8 as 1 month, June 8-July 8 as 2 months, etc, making November 8 the 6-month mark, and February 8 the 9-month mark. I'm due February 12.

But all the girls I know are counting in 4 week increments for a total of 10 months, so according to that system, I'm really 6.5 months! And next week I'll be 6.75 months. Crazy!!! Either way, I still have the same amount of time to wait 'til my lil man graces us with his presence.


On another note, hubby gets free food at Applebees tomorrow for Veterans Day because he's military! w00t w00t! In no way will I complain that we save 50% on our bill!

I get to go for my glucose tolerance test on Friday. Oh joy. I better pass the 1-hour test, because I realllly don't want to have to sit through the 3-hour. I'll be very cranky if I do! My next OB appointment is next Wednesday (11/18), and we can't wait! We're so excited to see Marius again!