A RECIPE FOR COMPLETE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EXHAUSTION!

You would think that after the craziness of the first three weekends in May, Vikas and I would have a chance to slow down and catch up on things around the house and relax a bit (despite hectic work weeks).  But, you would be wrong!  We spent Memorial Day weekend celebrating the wedding of our good friend Salil, and his now wife, Niki!  It was tons of fun, and everything was beautiful!  We're so happy for them and wish them nothing but the best! 

Then, the REAL fun began!  For the next two Saturdays (June 4 and 11), we spent the whole day (8 hours!) learning everything there is to know about childbirth and all things related!  Talk about LONG days!  But, I have to say, there were definitely some things we didn't know, and we walked out more prepared than when we began.  That, however, does not  mean that we're less anxious or nervous about the whole process.  Of course, we're super excited to meet LP and are less nervous and anxious about the things that we just didn't know about, but there are probably some things that we learned that made us more anxious rather than less.  Oh well!  Between those two Saturdays, we attended an infant CPR class, and I'm so glad that we did.  I just pray to God that we never have to use those skills .  . . ever.  Then, after childbirth and CPR classes, we still took two more classes--breastfeeding and infant care.  We probably could have done without the infant care class, but I do think Vikas got a few things out of it . . . including how to change a newborn's diaper!  Good thing, huh?! All in all, I'm glad we took all of those classes, but I'm thrilled that this is the first Saturday in 4 weeks that we haven't had a baby class!

In addition to insane work weeks, plus 25 hours of baby classes, we have had several doctors appointments: 34 weeks, 35 weeks, 36 weeks, and on Monday, we'll have our 37 week appointment!  Fortunately, everything has continued to go well.  LP's heart rate has fluctuated from in the low 160s to the 140s.  At the 34 week appointment, Dr. Lee did an ultrasound and confirmed that LP is head down and in the perfect position.  So, maybe despite all of his stubbornness during the second trimester, our LP has decided to cooperate and be the perfect little angel that I know he is :-)  And my weight, well, let's just say that I've already gained more than I wanted to gain.  But, apparently, I'm still in the healthy range, and the doctor is perfectly happy with where I'm at.  Regardless, it's all worth it for our little guy!  Now that I'm 37 weeks, LP is considered full term and can come at anytime!  But, with how busy things are wrapping things up at work, I'm hoping he can hold off for another 2 weeks!  Fingers crossed.

Although we've been so busy that we've forgotten to take belly pics the past two weeks, here are a few more recent ones:

33 weeks and counting!

34 weeks down and 6 (hopefully) to go!

TWO Baby Showers . . . Showered with Double the Love!

Well, I warned you that it would take me a while to catch up on blog entries, but I'm getting to them slowly but surely :-)  It's literally been the busiest month of my entire five year career, and I've been working almost 80 hour weeks for several weeks!  Add that to all the "baby" stuff we've had to do over the past few months, and I'm sure you'll understand exactly why it's taken me this long to get to the blog :-)  I'm getting there, so that's all that matters!


So, about 5 weeks ago, when I was 32 weeks pregnant, our families threw us two wonderful baby showers!  The first was on the evening of Saturday, May 21st and was hosted by Vikas's family.  Several family members traveled into town just to join us for the shower.  It was great to have them there with us for such a special day! The shower had a blue and brown theme, which was super cute!  The flower seed favors that said "A Baby Boy is Blooming" were particularly sweet :-)


In addition to a few fun baby shower games, we did the traditional Hindu religious ceremony to bless us with a healthy baby.  The ceremony was performed primarily between our sister-in-law (Vikas's brother's wife), Neha, and me, but also involved two younger members of Vikas's family.  Significantly, I wore the sari that my mother-in-law gave to me and covered my head with during our wedding ceremony.  I had never worn it before and may never get the chance again.  It's usually reserved for special occasions--this certainly qualified :-)  The bulk of the ceremony involved Neha and I trading a silk cloth filled with items symbolizing good fortune, such as a coconut, certain silver coins and betel nuts, back and forth between the palavs of our saris.  Basically, the ceremony symbolizes filling the "lap" of the pregnant woman with abundance and luck.  After that, Vikas's "little brother" and I exchange light "slaps" across the face!  I'm not sure exactly what this part of the ceremony is about, but it sure was fun!  From what I understand, the beautiful bracelet that was then put on my right wrist by Vikas's "little sister" is supposed to protect me and LP from evil spirits. Throughout the whole ceremony, the family and friends in the background sang traditional festive songs.


Our culture and religion is full of rich and meaningful traditions, and I have to say, I absolutely love that.  Now that I'm pregnant, it is more important to me than ever to learn all of these traditions so that I can pass them on to our children.  I better get on that soon :-)  The shower was great, and we very much appreciate all the generous gifts that we received, and, of course, all of the hard work that everyone put into the shower!Here are some pictures from our first shower:

I'm a lucky girl to have TWO incredible moms!  Hopefully, I'll  follow in their footsteps
and be just as good a Mom to LP as they have been to Vikas and me!

Then, the next day, my mom and sister hosted a beautiful shower for us at PF Chang's!   As you might imagine, this shower had a "little peanut" theme . . . completely fitting for our little peanut!  From adorable elephant invitations and favor labels to beautiful centerpieces filled with peanuts and bamboo (to tie in the Asian vibe from PFs), everything was so well planned and organized, and we absolutely loved it!  We're so grateful to my mom, my dad (who spent hours putting the centerpieces together and wrapping the beautiful vase favors), and my sister for all of their generosity and the time and effort that they put into making the shower everything I could dream of. And, of course, I'm so glad that many of my family and friends were able to make it to the shower to help us celebrate the upcoming arrival of our peanut!  A special thank you to my sister and oldest niece, Anjeli, and my good girlfriend, Natalee, and her little boy, Kingstyn, for making the trip from the Carolinas to Michigan to be there for our big day! That means more to us than you could ever imagine. 


In addition to having most of my favorite people there, the day was full of good food and fun!  We had all of our PF Chang's favorites--lettuce wraps, spring rolls, our favorite chicken and veggie dishes, and, best of all, the to-die-for banana spring rolls and coconut-pineapple ice cream!!!!  So yummy!!!  We also played some fun games--guessing how big my belly is (boy does that make a preggo feel good  . . . lol), guessing the number of peanuts in the jar, and, of course, words of advice from guests to the mom-to be.  It was absolutely perfect . . . some of my favorite food ever, great company, games and prizes! Again, we feel blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing and supportive people, and we're so grateful for all of the incredible gifts that we received.  We're definitely ready for LP to arrive (well, at least as far as baby gear goes)!  Here are a few pics from our second shower:

3 preggos!

Missing my mom :-(





31 WEEKS!

The Friday after Mother’s Day, Vikas and I made the 3.5 hour road trip up to Stanwood, Michigan (yes, kind of the middle of nowhere) to Resorts of Tullymore and St. Ives for my annual "associates' retreat", where all of the associates at our firm get together and discuss various career-related topics during the day and party at night :-)  Well, let's just say that being in a car for that long when you're 31 weeks pregnant is not the most fun thing to do . . . lol.  But, I did better than I thought I would.  Vikas was able to enjoy some time golfing with a friend's husband, while we were busy dealing with "work" meetings.  Unfortunately, though, because the retreat was so far away, we had to miss out on a friend's wedding that next day.  But, from what I could tell, everything was beautiful, and she was so happy! 

We ended up making it back home late on the afternoon of May 14th, and since the very next day was Vikas's 31st birthday, we did some celebrating!  We had a wonderful dinner at Chen Chow with a few friends, and then several more friends joined us for drinks after dinner.  Well, I guess I didn't realize just how loud the music would be later in the evening.  Let's just say, Chen Chow seemed louder than a club, and Mr. LP was not a happy camper.  Since he could hear all that music and probably felt the vibrations from the bass, I only stuck around for about half an hour before I headed home.  Vikas continued his celebration with his friends into the late hours of the night!  That was fine with me, since I wouldn't have lasted much longer than I did anyway.  Unfortunately, the next day, the actual day of Vikas's birthday, was spent recovering from the weekend and washing baby linens and clothes!  Guess that's just a glimpse into how life is going to change for us!  But, we did manage to head out to dinner just the two of us, which was nice.  We may not be doing that for a while once LP arrives!

On May 17th, I had my 31.5 week appointment, and things still looked great!  My belly was measuring just as it should, and LP's heart rate was 146!  My doctor will see us again on June 7, and we'll do an ultrasound to see what position LP is in.  Hopefully he's already head down, but, even if he's not, he's got time before we consider our options.  Given how stubborn he's been so far, I wouldn't be surprised if our little peanut is sitting breech right now.  Let's hope I'm wrong :-)

Here's a picture of me at 31 weeks.  Getting bigger!

MY FIRST MOTHER’S DAY (SORT OF) AND PROFESSIONAL BELLY PICS!

May 7^th turned out to be an awesome day for us in more ways than one.  It was Mother’s Day, and not only did we get a chance to celebrate our amazing moms, but we also had a chance to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our little peanut and my soon-to-be status as a mother myself!  The day began with a wonderful brunch that Vikas and I prepared (ok, so some of it was store bought) at our house for our parents and his brother.  Tons of fresh fruit, pastries, eggs, hash browns, coffee cake, cinnamon french toast, yummy juices, etc.  It was the perfect way to tell our moms just how much we love and appreciate them—simple, but sweet!  From what I could tell, they enjoyed it just as much as we enjoyed doing it for them!  I think a homemade Mother’s Day brunch at our place may just become a new tradition! YUM!

After brunch was done, Vikas and I got ready for our maternity shoot.  We had actually scheduled to do it a few days before exactly at the 30 week mark (I wanted the pics taken before my belly really got out of control . . .lol) , but with all of the rain we had been having, it was no surprise that the weather did not cooperate—much to our dismay.  In any event, Kelly, an up and coming photographer and maybe one of the nicest people ever, was more than accommodating of our insane May schedule and suggested that we try to do them on May 7^th if the weather worked out. 

Well, sure enough, Mother’s Day was absolutely beautiful!  It was sunny, there was barely a cloud in the sky, and the day was much warmer than we’d been having.  Honestly, it could not have felt more perfect and appropriate to be capturing such a special time in our lives with a maternity shoot on Mother’s Day!  It would have been amazing no matter when we did it, but taking those pictures on such a meaningful day made them all the more special.  Kelly did a fabulous job with the pictures, and was such a trooper to spend part of her Mother’s Day (she’s a mom to 1 year old cutie named Addison) with us at our shoot.  Here are some of our favorite pics:

You can see the rest of the pictures and more of Kelly’s fantastic work at www.makpics.com.  Thanks, Kelly, for helping us capture the beauty of such an incredible experience!

CATCHING UP---REWIND 5.5 WEEKS!

So, I’m fully aware that it’s been over a month since my last entry, and I’m so sorry for the delay.  But, you can’t say that I didn’t warn you that we had a TON to do this past month.  The good news is that I can honestly say that we’ve made quite the dent in our long list of “to-do’s”, and it feels great!  Woohoo!  Instead of just rattling everything off here and giving you the abbreviated version (which I’m sure you might appreciate, but which would never do justice to how much fun and chaos has been going on), I’ll try to make up for slacking on the blog by giving you a few catch-up entries.  It may take me some time, though.  Between work and ongoing baby prep, it's still insanely busy around here!

So, I suppose we can start with our 29 week appointment on April 29^th.  Everything checked out great!  My belly was measuring right on track, and my weight gain, while a little more than it should have been for those few weeks since our previous appointment, was still well within the range of “normal.”  Phew!  And, although LP was playing games and kept shifting every time the doctor tried to get LP’s heart rate, he finally cooperated, and his heartbeat was nice and strong at 143.  I guess we knew from the 19 week ultrasound days that we had a stubborn little man on our hands!   Oh well, healthy and happy is all I care about.  Here’s a pic of me at 29 weeks: 

At the time, I thought I was enormous, and, well, 5 and a half weeks later, I’d be happy to go back to that size!