Hello Honey boos!
And such a sweet day it is! Today Coco and I went to our last big ultrasound at Lenox Hill hospital and we got to see Maya's beautiful mug! Unbelievable to fathom that the next time we will see our beba will be in the flesh. We still can't believe it. The word "exhausted" has been taken to a new level after this weekend. The three block walk to the hospital alone left me panting, tired, and feeling like I had just climbed Mt. Everest which I have no desire to do by the way. But to see her face on that machine was worth the shortness of breath.
She is a looker with a growing brain! (i think she has coco's lips and my nose!) Takes after me, of course ;) She is already in the head down position so every time we feel her move and kick, its her little legs which are jammed into my rib cage handstand style that are doing most of the moving. (Paris Olympics 2024 maybe?? ) Her head pressing against my bladder is also the reason I'm running to the bathroom in the middle of the night or throughout the day thinking I have to gush but really it's just light rain. She had her arm wrapped around her neck and she had her eyes closed but was moving around. She weighs 5.5lbs and doc says she'll probably be about 7lbs, which hopefully won't make my vagina (or me) cry too much.
To get back to our exhausting weekend, Coco and I decided to load our plate with everything baby you can possibly imagine. I mean, you would think we would have learned from our past impulses or taking on too much and strongly declaring "NEVER AGAIN!" But no. Why buy one house, when you can buy two at the same time and double your stress!? Why have one dog when you can make it even more interesting with three!? And why do major home renovations when you are six months pregnant and just got laid off therefore experiencing three big life changes for the mental price of one? Oh, because we are the Buccio's and we somehow, maniacally, make it work. So this weekend because a trip to Target, Costco, and Buy Buy Baby in 3.5 hours (because that's how long our zip car was reserved for), wasn't sufficient enough for us, we also decided to add a 4 hour childbirth class, a maternity tour, AND seven hours worth of laundry (this probably would have been six if it weren't for me adding way too much detergent and filling the laundry room with soap suds. oops.) Are you exhausted yet? Because I'm already passed out just writing it! Let's quickly discuss the childbirth class. Our maternity nurse, Latifa (no relation to Queen), was extremely helpful, informative, and her super soothing voice made it easy to pay attention and not dose off. It really felt like I was cramming for a big test or taking a Kaplan course, only to get to the real thing and realize that NOTHING I studied for was on the test. FML. She had diagrams, mannequin babies from the early 90's ( I swear one of them had a belly ring) and even a a stuffed placenta and pelvis toy which she graphically used to demonstrate how the baby will rip right through me. Awesome. There were lots of pictures of cervix, and baby heads going through said cervix, and little graphs that showed a rollercoaster of pain level when it came to contractions. Coco and I did breathing exercises- lots of "hee hee hoos" and "in 1-2-3, out 1-2-3". I was really loving him at that moment but the nurse did remind him that I would probably not be as loving, or pretty in the labor room and so he should be ready to forgive me when I call him an ass face in my darkest moments. We learned to swaddle a baby like a burrito, a language Coco knows well. His burrito was way better than mine. And we changed diapers and bottle fed our mannequin babies and learned how to properly burp them. You would think that with all the baby contraptions and furniture that we have had to build (and by we I mean Coco) with the help of a thick instruction manual, that a baby would come with one too. Maybe if I push hard enough, i can miraculously pop out a laminated "here's all you need to know about raising your baby, you silly fool" booklet. That's my fortune cookie wisdom for the week.
I am 35 weeks pregnant and overall still positive and feeling really good despite slowly losing energy. Yes, my back still hurts, my indigestion has me burping weird food tastes, and my insomnia keeps me up until 3am watching bad TV and writing thank you notes, but other than that, I have very little to complain about. And no stretch marks! Glorious. I go through moments of "I'm so ready to have this baby!" to my stomach dropping thinking "OMG. What am I supposed to do with a baby??". The influx of emotions you and your significant other feel during these last couple of weeks range from complete and utter elation to paralyzing fear and anxiety. But I'm lucky I have Coco and vice versa, to share in all these feelings. It makes the ride more calm-inducing when you have that support. (Seriously, more power to single parents who do this alone. You are my heroes.) And nesting? Don't even get me started. It is in full psycho-obsessive mode. My nesting knows no limits.
Next week I go for my GBS test (checks for vagina strep that can be harmful to baby) and some more blood work. I'll be seeing the WU once a week from this point until delivery.
Maya's room is 95 percent done! So next week I'll have pictures to share. Just waiting on my window panels and voila! C'est finite! Oh I think I mentioned it above, but we washed all of Maya's clothes, toys, sheets, covers, etc. Everything is so tiny and so cute but my hands are sore from so much folding. So this week we will pack the hospital bag when we aren't so tired.
Well peeps, we are almost there. And as always, it's been a pleasure having you on board. I thank you for riding the baby skies with me. Chat with you next week!
MILF in training,
Kata
ADDENDUM:
You're probably thinking, "An addendum? I can't even spell that (I know I had to spell check it) But it's Tuesday, why are we getting another one of these baby newsletters?"
Well, gang. Coco and I experienced our first labor trial run. A couple of hours after hitting "send" to the 35 week baby buccio update, I started feeling pressure and pain in my lower abdomen area and I called my doctor's office to see what I should do. I had just finished a sushi dinner with tons of spicy mayo sauce (which at first I thought was giving me these weird gas cramps). The doctor on call sent me to the hospital at about 1030pm at night. To our disbelief, I was having early contractions. WHAT THE F@$@CK! I was not prepared- not emotionally, mentally, and worse aesthetically. Only my hair was blown out but my eyebrows looked like caterpillars and my manicure was not intact. All these appointments were set for Wednesday. So besides being in a state of numbness, shock, confusion, fear, excitement, the narcissist in me kept thinking, "Maya cannot meet me looking so camera un-ready!"
Okay, so back to these pesky contractions, which now I know what they feel like because I was really worried I wouldn't know when I was actually having a contraction. They took me to a small room where they hooked me up to a fetal monitor for like 4 hours to check how far apart and how long these contractions were happening. I was getting them every 10 minutes and some other ones every 2-3 minutes which the doctor found irregular. Oh, and Maya was perfectly happy and content, kicking and moving around, which the monitor picked up on and the doctor said she was doing great and had no care in the world. Phew. But if i know this little stranger, I'm sure she's pouting "I don't want to be in there anymore, this is so stupid. Get me out of here." Lack of patience comes from her mother's side.
So after an hour of checking the contractions, the doctor gave me a cervix test to see if I was dilating. I was about half a centimeter dilated so they wanted to make sure that the contractions weren't going to cause me to dilate more, so to be safe, they kept me on the machine for 2 more hours and me had drink two 711 Big Gulps of water (because that's what they looked like) since hydration can sometimes help space out the contractions. And thankfully, the water did help space them out and after a second cervix test, i was still at half a centimeter. The doctor sent me home and told me I have to monitor my contractions today and if I feel pain, to come back in. But that hopefully with some rest and water, they would subside. she also suggested I rest and not "overdo it". So that's what I'm doing today. Laying on the couch, taking naps, and watching HGTV. But, I will be running out to get these eyebrows done. Bed rest or not.
So that's our story! It was definitely good practice for the real thing. I know and feel a little bit better of what to expect even though its still feels like a dream. Same goes for Dr. Coco, who probably realized that there's a reason why he doesn't have a medical license and not everything you see on Grey's Anatomy applies to the real world. He was a great support though and made me laugh when I had a small breakdown and he was so deliriously happy which was a good balance in the situation. Plus no one enjoyed the cervix exam more than him. Seriously. And I think he learned what to do and what not to do when his terrified, but very quiet pregnant wife gives him the Cuban steel stare.
I'm home now and feeling fantastic but tired and I really am taking it easy! No need for alarm. This tiny little skank gave us quite the scare and surprise but I love her so much more after this dress rehearsal. We are so blessed.
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