Pre-Caleb Pictures

As you had read below, I went into labor after we had our pictures taken at Celebrity Kids studio in North Hills. I'm so excited about how they turned out that I wanted to share them with everybody!

A Quick Note to All Who Have Been So Generous

I just wanted to write a quick note to all who have been so generous. We have received so many unexpected presents for baby Caleb and we are so touched that people are thinking of us during the holiday season. We have have been kept busy with Caleb and it's hard to believe that it's already Christmas Eve!

We are expecting Caleb's first visit from Grandma Annie today. She is braving holiday air traffic and coming to visit us armed with Jay's baby sweater and pictures of Jay when he was a baby.

Caleb's also seeing the doctor again today. It's going to be a busy day.

Introducing... Caleb Edward Sennet!!!!

HELLOO!!!!


As some of you may already know,...our son was born on Sunday December 18th, 2005 at Rex Hospital at 7:03pm.

My contractions started (mildly) during our photo session on Saturday when Jay & I went to Celebrity Kids Photo Studio to take pictures of my pregnant belly around noon on Saturday.

At first I thought that I had drank some bad milk in the morning and I felt like I had tummy gas. As I was driving home, I had my first recognizable contraction. I know now why they say that pregnant laboring women should not drive themselves to the hospital.

Jay came home from work at 4:30pm Saturday evening and I told him about the contractions. We started timing even though I said that they weren't that bad yet. Nicki (Luis' wife) had said that if I didn't think that I was dying yet, then it probably wasn't the real thing yet.

The contractions were spaced 8 minutes apart right from the beginning. Around midnight, Jay went to sleep and I woke him at 3am screaming for sympathy. Time from then until the hospital admission was a blur. I remembered begging for my mommy (what girl wouldn't at that point?) and I remember asking Jay to call the doctor and tell them that even though I was 8 minutes since they had said that once I was 5 minutes, then I could go to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital at noon on Sunday and there were 4 other pregnant people in the waiting room. (counting 12 hours since the first signs of pain) Two women had their waters break and that's why there were there. They were laughing and gossiping and having way too much fun. The other woman was in pain like me. There's nothing that annoys a laboring woman than to hear 2 other women say that they were in no pain and laughing in the hospital birthing admission room. My bittersweet consolation is that one of the laughing women had a problem with her blood pressure so she had to deliver without an epidural. I would not have wanted to switch places with her.

The epidural (YAY THE EPIDURAL!!) came at 3pm and Caleb Edward Sennet arrived at 7:02pm weighing 6lbs 3oz. He measured 19 1/2 inches and his head was 32 cm.

We had a bevy of visitors who came and brought flowers, clothes & stuffed animals. What amazed me was that Queenie (in NYC) sent flowers even before I had gotten a chance to talk to my mom!! Queenie, when you read this, tell me how you found out so fast!!

We were released the next day and the first thing I ate was a Chirashi sushi bowl at Waraji! (To all those at Tyco, I had told you what my first meal was going to be!) Sushi, and a large Coke. Susan, I was thinking of you the whole time since I used to watch enviously as you ate everything I wanted to eat when were in New Jersey. :)

Another thing....Caleb's birthday is the same day as my sister's birthday!! What were the chances of that? For those of you that read my blog regularly, she's "Roadie".

My parents are coming to visit in the first week of January and my sister is coming at the end of January. We are still awaiting news of when Jay's family will be coming to town.

As much as I have to write about Caleb and all the news I'll have to leave that to another blog posting. He's fussing now to be fed and this little booger has already amazed me with how often he likes to eat.

Fresh from the Doctor's Office

Just got back from the doctor's office this morning. They are predicting that my baby will come late. They said that the baby's 'sitting on the fence' regarding whether he'll come before or after new years. Apparently if I set my mind on him delivering sometime around or after the 7th of January, then I'll be happier during the holidays since I then won't be worrying about going into labor at any moment.

They also mentioned that I should take my belly ring out. :( Boo. I had anticipated keeping it in for as long as I could but they said that the stress of labor combined with the uterine wall pressing up against my belly button during these last few weeks may result in scarring that I won't like anyways. So after we take pictures this Saturday, I guess I have to pack my belly ring away....Hopefully temporarily.

The doctor said that if I deliver on time, that I can expect the baby to weigh around 7lbs - 7 1/4lbs. I just want to note that to see if they can actually make an accurate prediction or not.

My blood pressure was elevated but they said that since my maternity leave starts on Monday that it should be back to normal by the next visit, which is in a week. So....I actually took a sick day today seeing as I'm having trouble sleeping and I'm very tired today. I had intended on going into work but changed my mind as I was driving from the doctors office to downtown.

I have some Hospital Pre-Registration forms to fill out today and see about these free tours that they give to familiarize myself with the Birth Center. Hopefully Jay and I can check that out next week sometime. It would be cool too if we could see some other couples and their babies.

So this baby may not come until January(ish). That will give me time at home to relax and sleep before the big day since I heard that sleep is a valuable commodity once the baby arrives.

One More Week of Work before Maternity Leave

One more week of work before my maternity leave!! I'm pretty excited about that even though that would imply that birth/labour/pain would be imminent.

Jay and I are scheduled have pictures taken this Saturday.....so as long as the baby comes after this weekend, we'll be all ready.

Other than appearing ungainly, there's not much to report on the pregnancy department. It appears now that we're just waiting for this baby to be fully cooked and ready to come out.

Getting a Little Anxious

It's getting close to that time now......I'm 36 weeks this week and according to general consesus, the baby is considered to be full term as of 37 weeks. Now that we have the hospital bag packed just in case, it feels a little scary.

The thing is, it could be early, or it could be late. Therefore, it could be any day now,.....it also could be more than a month away. The not knowing is a little nerve racking.

I've also been having strangely vivid dreams. In some, I've already had the baby....in others, I'm not pregnant at all. I don't know how to interpret that other than I know that the end is near, so I really won't be pregnant for much longer.

The last month is UNCOMFORTABLE! I've had very little complaints up until now, but walking to the bathroom makes me huff and puff and just the mere act of rolling over in bed will give me a cramp if I do it too fast.

It's hard to reconcile being pregnant to having a baby. It's one thing to know that you have a baby incubating inside. It's quite another to assoicate that with all the little babies one sees other people carrying around.

Jay and I can't wait to see what our little one looks like. As long as he's healthy with 10 fingers and 10 toes, we'll be happy.

5 More Weeks to Go!

I'm back at work in the Raleigh office and Jay and I have been busy getting everything ready for the baby. The nursery is all set up, we've washed and cleaned all the hand-me-down clothes that people have given us and they're all hanging up in the closet. We've installed the car seat and Jay finished putting together the bassinet/bed side sleeper last night.

We've purchased (in bulk) some diapers, diaper wipes and a the Johnson & Johnson bath set which includes baby powder, baby oil, baby shampoo, baby moisterizer cream.....you get the idea.

So short of a few miscellaenous items, all we have to do now is pack the hospital overnight bag (in case this little one comes earlier than expected) and we'll be all set for baby.

It's hard for Jay and I to believe that we've only got 5 weeks to go! People say that this last month flies by and with the Holidays coming up, I can believe that. Jay and I have the Christmas tree and stockings up and hopefully this baby will be come early to celebrate with us since Jay LOVES Christmas.

A Raleigh Baby Shower

This past weekend, my friend Heather organized a baby shower for me! She enlisted our caterer Nicki, sent out invitations, decorated my living room with balloons and roses, and even drummed up some baby shower party games! One of the games was really cute, Heather had the girls decorate onesies for the baby.

So I got a chance to see many of my Raleigh friends that I haven't seen in a LONG time as a result of Tyco and I got to eat cake too! (and of course, presents are always a nice part of the shower).

Here's a picture of the girls that were at the shower.

It also gave me a chance to show my new house off to people. That was the first time that anybody has been in my house.....so it was a good thing that I actually painted some of the rooms and semi-decorated!

A month from now, I'll be going out on my maternity leave unless things progress faster than anticipated. The countdown begins.

I'm now a US Permanent Resident

After what seemed like an eternity, Jay and I finally had our greencard interview yesterday where upon were were supposed to convince the Homeland Security officer that we were indeed married to each other and that we were not married merely for myself to procure a greencard and enter the US.

In spite of the fact that we forgot to bring any photos of each other together and that we also forgot to bring anything like Life Insurance policies to show that we had each other on our policies, the officer deemed us married enough.

I am now a US Permanent Resident! The officer told us that the US does not recognize dual citizenships but then he also mentioned that the US can only make you renounce your Canadian citizenship but they cannot make you give up your Canadian passport. Also, in Canada, since I was born there, I will always have citizenship. I would just have 2 passports and use each one depending on where I am. In the US, I would use the US passport. If I were to visit Canada, I would use the Canadian passport. Neat little loophole.

I'm can apply for my US citizenship 3 years from yesterday. Right now, my greencard is good for 10 years so I've got some time to decide what I want to do. The only downside to not applying for the US citizenship is that I cannot vote and I cannot be out of the country for more than a year.

So long story short, I now have my greencard. It took a long time, but not as long as I've heard for other people from other countries. The officer was telling us crazy stories of people in the Philippines waiting 22 years for their greencards.

Greencard Speculations

I have been working out of town since May and I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I should be flying home to Raleigh tomorrow. Next week, I'll be working in New York for 3 days and then I'll be flying to Charlotte, NC for my greencard interview. After that, I will be in Raleigh and there shouldn't be anymore business flying back and forth unless it's for training.

I think next week's interview is where they determine whether Jay and I are actually married and I'm not just using him for my permanent residence status. This reminds me of the movie "Greencard" with Gerard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell. I wonder if they'll ask us what kind of toothpaste we use and what side of the bed we sleep on.

Anybody have any speculations of what kind of questions they'll be asking us? Has anybody else ever gone through this process?

Another Ultrasound Picture - It's Still a Boy!

Last Friday, I had another ultrasound and got to see another picture of our little baby boy. He's not much of a kicker, more of a squirmer. During the ultrasound, when the ultrasound tech was poking and prodding my belly to get him to move on the screen, he just squirmed around and didn't really kick in response. He looks much bigger than the last time and they have indeed confirmed once again that it is still a boy.

I went to visit Nicki and Luis' baby who was born a week ago last Thursday and she looked so big! It's was hard to imagine that just a week prior to me seeing her, she was still in her mother's womb. I'm guessing that's where my fear of pain is stemming from. I'm not scared per se, but I am feeling a little aprehensive. There seems to be so much to do before this little one comes!

I've also been making the mistake of watching the TLC channel's Babies - Special Delivery. This show focuses on babies with high risk pregnancy mothers. I really don't think that I should be watching this show anymore, but it's like seeing a traffic accident. You're not sure you want to see what they're going to show you but you can't take your eyes away.

A Painted Nursery

Jay and I have spent all yesterday decorating and painting our nursery for our future baby boy. We're very happy with the results and of course, thanks to everybody who pitched in to get us the baby furniture, it now looks like a real nursery. All it appears to be missing is a dresser drawer, but that can come later.

We chose a blue color scheme with hints of green. The pattern on the walls are stars and here you can see all the furniture that we have so far. The changing table, the nursing chair and the crib with all the matching crib sheets and blankets and such.
Tell us what you think!

OMG! Only 10 weeks left?

I've just been counting on my fingers and it appears that I have lost track. If I'm in my 30th week this week, that would meant that I only have 9-10 weeks left! Does that seem possible? Has it already been that long? At least now, people are commenting and openly asking me about my pregnancy instead of just starting at my belly and wondering whether to say something or not.

I have noticed this baby of mine doesn't move much when I'm very tired and only decides to be really active when I have down time and I'm laying down to rest. I find it fascinating and I can't wait to meet him! On the other hand, it's going to be such a big step from being pregnant to being a mother. Not to mention the whole pain of childbirth thing.

I have friends who are pregnant right now and Nicki is almost a week overdue. Luis (her husband) says that she'll be induced next week unless her baby girl decides to make an earlier entrance. Being overdue must be a very excruciating wait. What can one do? At least when my time comes, I'll be able to ask her what she did.

The biggest thing I've noticed this week is that I'm very very VERY tired all day long. Must be a growth spurt time? I physically feel like I'm growing bigger every day. Every morning, I wake up and take a side view and every morning, I feel shocked at my now protruding stomach. To support my suspicions, my co-workers are also commenting how I seem to be growing daily.

Next Friday, Jay and I will be doing another 3D ultrasound so I'll be able to post another picture of our little boy for everyone to see.

More Kicks & Other Unusual Feelings

I guess that this baby of ours has now decided to kick his way into my consciousness. Last night, as I was lying on my side and I felt a kick, but his 'foot', (or whatever that was) didn't recede right away back into it's normal position. I then took the palm of my hand and pressed his 'foot' back into my stomach.

Now, many people may think that this is gross, but I thought that it was kind of neat. It was like playing with my son before he even comes out to greet us.

I've noticed that I can feel these kicks on the surface of my stomach and when I'm sitting in the bath, his kicks can actually make the water ripple. I've gone straight from feeling nothing to being able to see my stomach reverbrate from his little kicks.

Now it feels as though I have a little secret when he kicks me throughout the day. Baby Sennet has now announced his presence.

A Kick A Kick!! & My First Baby Shower

A Kick, A Kick!!

This past Friday, Jay and I went in for my 28th week appointment. I complained to the doctor that I have still yet to feel any kicking from this little baby of ours. She then took a quick ultrasound to ensure that all was well. We didn't really see any kicking then either but we did see the baby making 'sucking motions'. We have another elective 3-D ultrasound scheduled in three weeks so they ensured us that we'll be reassurred then.

Later on that evening, Jay and I were relaxing on the couch watching some TV and we felt two quick 'pops'. I looked at Jay and I could tell that he felt them too. Since then, there hasn't been a lot of activity, but there's been some 'pops' every now and then. The cool thing is that we got to experience the first kick together. Normally, the father doesn't get to feel the kick until weeks after the mom has had a chance to experience

Junior Baby has now made his first official kick.

My First Baby Shower:

On another note, Jay came up to Princeton last week and PwC here threw us a surprise Baby Shower! We were so shocked. Not only did they throw us a shower, but they all pitched in a bought us pretty much all the furniture we need for the nursery! We now have a crib, a changing table, and one of those funky rocking chairs and all the matching sheets, blankies, receiving blankets, bumpers, and window valences.

It's much more than we have ever expected and we would never have expected all that Vicki and the rest of the PwC Tyco Team has done for us. Jay and I were speechless. Plus they started a scrapbook with comments from everybody on the Tyco Team! And you know how I love scrapbooks!

We are beyond grateful.

North Carolina State Fair

This weekend I flew home from New Jersey to attend the annual North Carolina State Fair where upon Jay and I walkd for around for 4 hours eating various foods that we normally can't find anywhere else. For example, I ate 6 deep fried oreos & 1 ear of roasted corn and then Jay finished off 2 chicken kabobs on a stick, 1 corn dog on a stick, 1 large lemonade, chili cheese fries. We then proceeded to buy a giant bag of cotten candy, a large turkey drumstick and one candied apple for the ride home.

We never even attempted the rides (the biggest reason being pregnant people are highly discouraged from riding any kind of ride) and the second being that we saw on the news as of 10pm the night before that many of the rides were still getting their safety inspections (and some were still failing) for the morning opening of the fair on Friday.

Nevertheless, Jay and I had a great time people watching and generally enjoying having time off and spending some time with each other.

Still No Kicking

So it's week 28 and no, I still have not felt any 'quickening' or movement. This baby must be sound asleep at all times. Jay says that he's 'conserving his energy'...for what, I'm not sure.

I guess that I should be grateful that he's not using my stomach as a punching bag.

I have to admit that there has been some brief moments where I thought I felt something but those moments pass so quickly and are so few and far in between that I'm not sure I can actually distinguish and label them as kicking.

I'm still awaiting the big day when I will feel this little one kick so that I can properly introduce myself to him.

On My Understanding Husband

One of the awesome perks of being married is having an understanding spouse. I must devote this blog to my husband since without him I couldn't go through half the things that I do.

For example, Jay and I haven't seen each other in 3-4 weeks since I've been working in Princeton and he's been at home watching Max & Diva and keeping the house spic and span for me. He flew up from Raleigh to see me just this past weekend and even though I slept through about 85% of his visit, he still managed to make me feel better just by being there.

I feel like I'm luckier than most since many people would feel pressure from their spouses for neglecting to spend time with them. Jay has never once mentioned that he feels neglected and he has never complained about me having to travel and has never put pressure on me regarding my job committments.

Without Jay I couldn't do half the things that I do. Being away from him is the hardest thing about working away from home. And since neither of us have family in North Carolina and we really don't have any ties there, it still feels like home since Jay's there. I guess the cheesy line is true. "Home is where the heart is".

Hotel Living

I had never put much thought into business travel until this past summer. I have been living out of a hotel since May and while being away from Jay most of the time sucks, I do have to admit that it has it's perks.

For one, I haven't made my bed in about 5 months. Depending on whether you're somebody that actually makes their bed every day or not, this may not seem like a big deal. One does get used to coming back to a neatly made bed every night though.

Secondly, I haven't had to do laundry and I've had the luxury of dry cleaning all my clothes. I've heard that this extends the life of clothes. Now normally, this would be great but I would genuinely hope that I do not need my maternity clothes after the baby unless it's to have another baby.

Thirdly, the bathroom is always clean and there's always fresh towels. Plus, you can request additional towels to your heart's desire. And I'm pretty sure that they clean the tub every day (or at least I hope that they do and if they don't, I hope nobody tells me). I for one, at home, do not clean my tub everyday. Well, truthfully, I don't clean my tub at all. Jay does all the housework (for which I will be eternally grateful that I met somebody that does housework).

Of course, there's also downsides...such as being away from home and being away from your friends and family. Living out of a suitcase can only be a novelty for so long and one gets used to packing with essentials only. My method of packing is different from most. I pack what currently fits. Clothes that are baggy one week feel snug the next and next thing you know, they're too small. Now that I have maternity clothes, the elastic waistband on my pants and skirst should fix that little problem.

I am thankful that I've had this experience to work away from home and live out of a hotel since after this little baby of ours will be born, I don't expect to be traveling much if at all.

So here's to looking at the silver lining in all circumstances. Of course, living in nice hotels is a lot different than living in the scummy Motel 8.

On Being Tired

Since PwC here in Princeton, NJ has been working on average 16-18 hours a day (some more than others) I though it appropriate to write a salute on Being Tired.

So the first category, is DROWSINESS Tired. This is often accompanied by excessive yawning, nodding of the head and bone cracking stretching. This is where I would put about 1/2 of my co-workers. I also like to call this stage the sleepwalking while you work stage.

Then there's EXTREME-EXHAUSTION-DUE-TO-PROLONGED-SLEEP-DEPRIVATION Tired. In this stage, some people claim to not even be tired anymore. They are so beyond tired that they don't recognize that their body has been shutting down and that their eyes are actually no longer open when they walk from their cubes to the washroom.

There's also the WHY-NOT-HAVE-A-TRIPLE-EXPRESSO-CAPPACCINO-FROM-STARBUCKS-AT-4:30-IN-THE-MORNING Tired......closely followed with WHY-IS-STARBUCKS-NOT-OPEN-UNTIL-5AM!! Tired. Not to be confused with SO-TIRED-WE'RE-DRINKING-12-HOUR-OLD-BEEN SITTING-ON-MY-DESK-NASTY-COFFEE Tired. This (I guess since us pregnant girls have to go sans-caffeine) is where you decide that a triple shot really wouldn't not wake you up let along hinder your sleep.

Let us not forget the WHY-NOT-JUST-STAY-UP-UNTIL-EVERYBODY-ELSE-GETS-INTO-WORK-SO-WHAT-IF-WE'RE-WEARING-THE-SAME-CLOTHES Tired. One figures at this point that you mind as well just stay up since sleeping for 3 hours and coming back to work may just make you more tired than if you hadn't slept at all.

Now, I'm sure that there are many other categories of being tired. I've been mostly focussed on the types that one sees in an office.

I also need to add that nothing bugs tired people more than having a new person work ONE day and claim that they themselves are as tired as you have been.

Comments Questions?

Move Baby!

So I've been reading lots of articles that say that you're supposed to feel your baby 'flutter' inside from 18-24 weeks and for some second (or third, of fourth time mothers, it may be even earlier. They also offer reasons why you wouldn't have felt your baby yet (such as positioning of the baby & location of the placenta) but not only am I not as big as I thought I'd be by this time, but I'm also not feeling the baby 'flutter' around inside! :(

The doctor has told me that the baby's heartbeat is strong and therefore I do not need to worry.....but when I talk to other soon-to-be-mothers, they are all so surprised that I have not had the opportunity to feel the baby kick as early as them.

My mom told me that she barely felt me the entire 9 months. Jay's mom told him that she felt him moving all the time. There's got to be a happy medium here.

So my message to this baby.....move baby! Move ya' baby! I want to be able to say "YES!....I DID FEEL THE KICKING" and "NO, I HAVE NOT MISINTERPRETED THE FLUTTERS AS GAS BUBBLES!".

Our first blog entry......

Our first blog entry......

So inspired by my friend Kevin, I've decided to try and keep a blog for any of those that may actually want to read my scribblings. This is an attempt to do away with emailing everybody with news of the pregnancy and any future funny stories and mishaps that I may encounter along my 'knocked-up' journey. Plus, reading Kevin's Blog is highly entertaining so I now have his very high standards to follow.

The big discussion for the week among my co-workers is that even though I'm 26 weeks, I don't appear that pregnant. I met a girl in the elevator who was 28 weeks and she didn't even believe that I was pregnant! I feel a little 'jipped' since I want people to notice and not just think that I'm chunky around the middle. So...when are people finally going to see that I'm a "mother-to-be" and not just the "slightly-chubby-and-should-not-take-advantage-of-the-corporate-expense-account-anymore" girl?

For anybody that hasn't yet seen a picture of our baby incubating inside, this is him. See...he's already got the "Tang" attitude. We're trying to take a picture and he's giving us 'the hand'. For anybody that knows Jay, it's not all Tang.....the Sennet part of this baby is also adding to his attitude. All I can say is that it's going to be payback time for all the times I was bad when I was a baby. According to my mom, I was very difficult and cried all the time. It must be time for payback. I'll have to keep you all posted.