Ripley is 1 Week Old Today

This past week has been a blurr. I can't believe Ripley is already a week old! We came home from the hospital on Tuesday. My Dad & JoAnne stayed with us for the week and just left today. They were a huge help! Cooking, cleaning, mowing our lawn, helping with Ripley, it was great! I can already tell she is going to be one spoiled little girl!

As for Matt & I, all I can say is - Sleep Deprivation! The nights are the hardest, waking up every 3 hours to feed Ripley. Which means we're getting about 2 hours (sometimes less) of straight sleep at once. And yet somehow we still manage to function throughout the day, a little scary! But of course, definitely worth it. I'm told it will get easier and more rewarding too, since right now we're really the only ones giving, giving, giving. Thankfully she is a cutie that melts our hearts, even at 3am when she's screaming for food : )

Left - Ripley & Aunt Kate

Right: Ripley & Grandma J

Left: Matt calls this one the "motorcycle.

Right: One of my faves

Baby Demaray Has Arrived!!!

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!

Ripley Judith Demaray was born on Sunday, April 15 at 5:03 p.m. She weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces and was just over 18 inches long. All of us are home and doing well.

Below are a few pictures so you can see how precious our little Angel is.

She can't wait to meet all of you!

Lots of love,
Kathleen, Matt & Ripley

(Left) Ripley's first picture, right after birth.
(Right) Ripley all swaddled up.

(Left) Ripley with Daddy.
(Right) Her first car ride - coming home!

The Nursery

Here are some pictures of the nursery. It's not completely finished just yet, we still need to add some art & pictures to the walls and drapes to the window, but for the most part, it's ready for baby! Matt stained the dresser and changer himself, they turned out better than we ever expected. Both pieces go really well with the crib.

Last Supper

With Baby Demaray arriving in the next 2 weeks, I decided it was a must to get my girlfriends together for one last night out before baby, diapers, breastfeeding & exhaustion takes over. Don't get me wrong, I look forward to our world being turned upside down with the new love in our life, but at the same time, I'm hoping to squeeze all of the "me" time out before that day comes. So last night a group of the girls went out to dinner for some girl bonding, great food & what else? Gossip! Matt also took advantage and got a group of his guy friends together for some good Irish food, beer & darts. And after dinner, the Ladies decided to crash their party. It has been sooo long since I have been in a bar, it was kinda strange with my belly being as big as it is now, but still fun. I hung out out sipping on my non-alcoholic beer, belly and all.

2 weeks left!

Today marks 2 weeks away from the baby's due date. The clock is ticking! The baby is now considered full-term and really could come at anytime, but I'm hoping nothing happens for at least a week. Yesterday was my last day at work, so I'm looking forward to some time off at home before Mommyhood is in full force! We're getting really excited. Stay tuned....

Baby #1

I recently realized how I have no pictures of Amingo, our baby of the moment. As most of you know, Matt's had him since he was a pup and he is now about 14 years old. When I first got introduced to him, he wanted nothing to do with me. It took about 3 months for me to "break" him and after that, it was over - I was Momma! He is the best dog anyone could ever have. Yes, he loves to bark at strangers and can definitely be annoying when guests are over, but hey, people are annoying too! :) We love him!

We finally made a decision....

After much discussion and feedback, we decided to deliver Baby Demaray at Winter Park FL Hospital. It was a close one folks! We were all set on delivering at Winnie, the new hospital with all the fancy extras, until I heard yet another story about a woman being in labor and being stuck in the triage area, waiting for a room to open up. I met her at a restaurant just 2 days before I had to give my doctor my decision. She had her baby 8 wks ago and said if I had a choice, to go with Winter Park, then she went on to tell me how unhappy she was with Winnie.

So it's decided, Winter Park it is!!

Pillow Talk

Over the weekend Matt and I put together the crib, very exciting! Unfortunately, the crib bumper doesn't work with our crib (couldn't tie it due to the slats going solild up top), so as you can imagine, I was a little disappointed ;), but it still looks great. Matt also finished staining the dresser, which turned out really nice. More pictures to follow as our progress continues.

Name that gender!

Ok, so everyone knows we decided to wait to find out the sex of the baby until the baby decides to bless us with his or her presence, right? Well when you do this, a few things happen. 1) your family & friends get mad at you, because THEY want to know the sex. And 2) everyone decides to guess on what sex the baby is. Which is kinda fun. For most of my pregnancy, most people have been saying it's a girl. Now I'm not sure if this is because they want it to be a girl (Ryan, Lauren, Nicole) or if people just really think I'm having a girl. Most of my work friends seemed to think girl. Not many are saying boy, except now I'm starting to say boy, just because no one else is!

After seeing my recent pictures, Lauren says she thinks her guess of a girl is right because of the way I'm carrying. But now Nicole (sister in law) is saying after seeing the pictures she may think boy. So who is right? And does the way you're carrying the baby really have any inkling to what you will have? I decided to do some research on the internet to get more info. Although, it ruins alot of the fun out of it, it seems that most of the predictions for telling the baby's gender are actually myths. But let's play along anyway, shall we?

Myth #1: If you carry the baby high, it's a girl and if low, it's a boy. ME: I think I am carrying a little on the low side.

Myth #2: One site said if you're carrying the weight in front & your belly looks like a basketball, boy. But if you carrying the weight in the rear & hips and your belly looks more like a watermelon, then girl. ME: I think I'm more like the first, the basketball.

Myth #3: If the baby's heartbeat is above 140, it's a girl. Below 140, boy. Me: For most of my pregnancy the baby's heartbeat has been high 160-150. Last time it was checked, it was low 140's.

Myth #4: If you crave sweets, girl. If you crave salty foods, boy. Me: I definitely have a much bigger sweet tooth now that I'm pregnant.

Myth #5: Morning sickness early in pregnancy means girl. No morning sickness, boy. ME: No morning sickness.

Myth #6: This one is wacky, but stay with me. You add your age at the time of conception (31) and the number for the month you conceived (8) and the sum is an even number, that means boy. Odd number means girl. ME: Do the math, I'm odd.

Ok, so after playing the "myth" game, it looks like things are still unclear. Just like all the ultrasounds I've had! So now it's your turn to play. Click on the word "comment" under this post and let me know what your prediction is. No voting twice : )

Mom & Baby

Here's a recent picture of Lauren and Evan. How precious are they? I still can't believe Lauren's a MOM!!!

Baby Shower No. 2

My friends Danielle & Veronique threw a baby shower for me at their house on Saturday. It was a really great shower. Everyone had a lot of fun and I got a lot of nice gifts for the baby. Ryan came up from Naples and our friend Grace came in from Jacksonville. Most of the other ladies who came were from my work. Everyone was so thoughtful. And a special thanks to V & Danielle for hosting, thanks Ladies!!





Above: Friends from work - all 3 of us pregnant. Lea is on the left (due Sept. 11) & Cathleen on right (due May 15).

2 months to go!

I'm 32 weeks along now, which means if the baby decides to arrive on his or her due date, we will be parents in 2 months! The time is going by so fast, I can't believe it. And we are so excited! Someone asked me what I look forward to the most, which is such a hard question to answer, because there are SO many things I'm looking forward to, my answer: seeing the baby smile back at me. That will be an amazing feeling. But before the baby smiles, finding out the SEX!! And finally seeing for the first time what our child looks like. Thinking about that moment makes me want to weep. Is that how you spell weep? I don't know, but you get the idea :)

The nursery....we're making progress.

Ok, so we're not going to meet our deadline of having the nursery done by the beginning of March, but at least we're making progress. We have managed to move all the office contents out of the room, into our old guest room...now office/guest room. We painted the walls and have cleaned the carpet. So the room is now ready for furniture.

We have the dresser & changing table, but we bought it "naked" so Matt has to stain them first. And our crib is in, so we just need to pick that up and then put it together. Right now the area off our dining room is filled with baby stuff. Unopened boxes of baby items that need to be put together and a box filled with onsies, sleepers, blankets & socks that need to be washed. Plus, there are still a lot of little things we need, such as bottles, pacifiers, burp clothes, etc...My plan is to wait until after my shower here, then go and get all the odds & ends we still need.

Ahhh.....so much to do!!

The belly is growing!

I'm getting bigger...

Where to deliver our bundle of Joy?

Hospital A (Winter Park) or Hospital B (Winnie Palmer)? We have 2 choices and have been having a hard time deciding. We thought we would go with Hospital A since my doctor is the head OB there and it's obvious he prefers this hospital. We have also heard great things about the care there. The only downfall....we took a tour and were turned off by the atmosphere. I'm well aware this is something we should not be concerned with, but since I don't do well in hospitals (they make me nervous and ill feeling), seeing how outdated the hospital was, how small the rooms were and what some were lacking (some rooms don't have showers), we started to think maybe we would like option 2 better.

Hospital B is new (I think it opened about 6 months ago) and is specifically for Moms having babies. When we toured this hospital, I didn't get the usual ill & nervous feeling. The way it's decorated doesn't make you feel like you're even in a hospital and the rooms are roomy with nice bathrooms (with a bathtub or shower) and the post delivery rooms even have murphy beds that pull out for the birthing couches (Matt, of course). So all of that was big plus. The downfall....we've heard since it's so new and everyone wants to go there, at times it gets over crowded. We have also heard that the care may not be as personal as Hosp. A, since they are so busy. And, depending on if my doctor is at the other hospital, he may not be able to get to my hospital to deliver the baby. Although, most people say that isn't a huge issue, since you are mainly dealing with the nurses, not your doctor, until the end.

So basically we need to make a decision and we need to do so in a few weeks by my next doctor appointment. We are trying to weigh out the options and get as much feedback from others as we can, before making our final decision. Matt talked to his boss, who had a baby at Hosp. B a few months ago and they really liked their experience there, no complaints and would highly recommend it. So maybe it is hit or miss or maybe they are finally working out some of the kinks, as one nurse put it. If I have a normal birth, we'll only be in the hosptial for 2 days, which isn't very long, but if I have to get induced and/or have a c-section, my stay will be longer.

SO, will the roomy modern rooms with the granite bathrooms make much of a difference? Who knows, but I have a feeling we will be able to let you know after the baby is born :)

3 Months, Yikes!!

On Friday, I became 7 months along. That means in 3 months time I'm going to have a child! Let's not forget Matt, he will have a child too. So my question is, where did the time go, people!!? We have sooo much to do, it's crazy. People at work are asking me if the nursery is done. DONE? Are they nuts? We just started it! Ahhhhhh. All I can say is hope this child does not come early. Especially since all of our birthing classes are scheduled just one month before the baby is due. It seems that every week now, my belly is growing. On Friday, we have another ultrasound. I am sure this time they'll be able to tell the sex, let's just hope they don't tell us the sex by mistake. We've gone this long, I definitely don't want to know now! Yellow and green are starting to grow on me ; )

Gotta love the weather!

It's the end of January and today it was sunny & in the upper 70's. I was outside doing yardwork and actually didn't mind it, it was that nice. You definitely can't do that in Chicago at the end of January, that's for sure! No offense to Chicago, of course. You know that's where my heart is, but you just can't beat this Florida weather. Ahhhh.

My Baby Shower in Chicago

So, right after we got back from our cruise, the next day I was on a plane off to Chicago for an early baby shower with friends and family. My brother Ryan put the shower together, with a little input from me, of course : ) And it turned out really nice. The restaurant had a great atmosphere, along with the room we were in and the food was great. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Since I couldn't bring back a bunch of gifts on the plane, most people ordered gifts and had them sent to FL for us. So at the shower I opened a lot of gift cards, clothing items and cards that had pictures of the gifts they shipped us. It ended up working out really great. I even managed to fit everything into my suitcase!

While I was there I got to see Evan, Lauren's son for the first time. He was only 2 weeks old, so most of the time I was over visiting, he was sleeping, but it was still awesome to meet the little guy and see Lauren in a whole new light, as a Mommy!

(L) Me and my bro.
(R) Palesa and adorable Amelie (4 months).

(L) The baby tee I'm holding up says "Chicago Baby", I love it!
(R) We have about a million of these pictures together, yet we always seem to take more : )


(L) My cousins, aren't they cute?
(R) My Aunts, I love them dearly!

(L) Me and Nana-to-Be!
(R) Last, but not least....Baby Evan. Just 2 wks old.

Our Babymoon was Grand!

Matt and I had an awesome time on our cruise. As you know, it was our first one and after the time we had, we agreed we would definitely do another one. The customer service on the ship was outstanding. Everyone is so friendly, helpful and willing to do what they can to make your vacation a great one. Mad props to Royal Caribbean and EA!!

Our favorite part was probably Jamaica. We took a tour to a jerk spice factory where we got to see how the spices were grown and put together to become a great rub for chicken, pork and the like. We also went to a ceramic shop where we go to see people making pottery and had the option to buy some ourselves, but the prices were pretty steap and we didn't see anything we just had to have, so we passed on buying anything there. Cool stop though. The shop gave jobs to a lot of people in the community, which was cool.

Driving to these places was another favorite part. We loved our tour guide, she was adorable....teaching us slang Jamiaca words and singing songs. During our ride we drove thru some rough run down areas, seeing how a lot of people really live there. Taxes are high there, so it's not that affordable to live. It makes you really value the life we have in the US. We also drove thru a rain forest, driving up a somewhat steap mountain on a windy narrow road. Crazy stuff, but fun!

I wish I could write a bunch about Georgetown, Grand Cayman, but we didn't actually do too much there. We didn't even make it to the 7-mile beach that seemed to be the rage there. Instead Matt and I walked around on our own and started to melt by the intense sun. We thought we might walk to the beach ourselves, while tons of buses passed us. Yeah, that plan didn't work too well. We saw the beach, but it wasn't where everyone else went to see the beach. Instead, we stopped at a condo resort and took a dip in their pool to cool off. It was quite funny, especially since we didn't have any towels. That really didn't matter in the end though, since the sun dried us off in no time. After our little dip, we took the long walk back, stopped at one shop to pick up some rum cake and then headed back to the boat for lunch.

On the ship we enjoyed hanging out at the piano bar, played some shuffle board and even hit the casino to play some virtual $2.00 blackjack - we both bought in for $20 and I ended up playing for about an hour and a half and winning $30! Matt on the other hand, lost his money in about 20 minutes or less. Lol.

Did I fail to mention the food? Oh the food! Why must they have food available at all times? It's insane. I think I ate dessert with both lunch & dinner almost everyday while on our trip. That's not like me either, but my sweet tooth was in full effect. I blame the pregnancy!

Check out some pictures below. Unfortunately we have none actually together!

Happy New Year!!

It's the first day of 2007, I can't believe it's a start of another year! A lot of things for Matt and I to look forward to this year. We truly feel blessed. Hope everyone had a fun & safe new year! Time to go take down our Christmas decorations, ugh.