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3/30/06
IT'S A BOY!!!!

Baby Jake was born weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces, and was 21.5 inches tall

Jake Christian Vasami was born Thursday night, March 30th, at 6:55 pm
He is beautiful and wonderful and perfect in every way!

Here is a cell phone picture that Ralph took pretty soon after Jake arrived:

There will be MANY more pictures very soon. Kelly and Jake were able to come home from the hospital
Saturday aftertnoon. Kelly is home resting while Jake is being spoiled by his dad, his four excited
grandparents, his aunt Laura, his great-grandmother, and his great aunt Barb.

at 40 weeks!!! THE DUE DATE IS HERE!!

(Baby is at least 21 inches tall and weighs around 8lbs!!)

Technically speaking, the due date is here. But that doesn't mean anything to the baby!
He could take another week or two to come out if he wanted to. But, luckily, that won't
be the case. We had our doctor's appointment this morning, and I am dilated a whole gigantic
TWO CENTIMETERS!!! Woo-hoo! (This is sarcasm here, people.) Hey, it's twice as dialated as
I was at the hospital the other night... but there are still 8 centimeters left to go.

So, here's the deal: they are sending us into the hospital Wednesday night (the 29th) to start the
induction process. Our doctor assures us she will deliver the baby on the 30th!!! WE CAN'T WAIT!! :)

For anyone interested, here is the hospital information:

at 39.75 weeks along (only 2 days to go!!)...

(Baby is at least 21 inches tall and weighs around 8lbs!!)

A TRIP TO THE HOSPITAL!!

We had quite a night yesterday!!! After suffering from sheer BOREDOM all week (I should have just
gone to work), I decided I needed a trip up to the Pottery Barn Outlet in Lancaster, PA (roughly 75 mins
from my house) to see if I could find any bargains on some stuff for the baby's room. I figured it would be
a nice chance to have dinner with my parents too. Ralph had some work to catch up on, and I am an
independent person, so I said "See ya!" and jumped into the car to head up there by myself.
The Pottery Barn Outlet was a bust - I didn't buy a single thing (Trust me, that's a BIG deal for me!).
So then I was off to the Carter's outlet, where I spotted the cutest little baby swim trunks ever -
we go to the beach every summer, so I figured Junior needed a pair:

So then it was off to Macaroni Grill for my favorite Lobster Ravioli (YUMMMMM) with my parents -
we had a nice time discussing the new season of the Sopranos! So I head home, and around 10:15 pm,
as I was on the phone with my cousin Beccah, I realized that I wasn't just full from dinner and baby
wasn't just kicking alot, but I was having contractions! For the next hour, I had consistent contractions,
six minutes apart, the whole trip home (in the car! by myself!)! Time to pack the bags!

I got home safely, and Ralph and I scrambled around the house, gathering all the things to put in the
hospital bag. Organized as I am, I already had a checklist made up (but hadn't gotten around to actually
PACKING the bag yet). He continued to time the contractions, which were coming every 5-8 minutes.
We put in a call to the doctor, who said to give it another hour, and if the contractions increased in intensity
or came closer together, then head in to the hospital. So, they kept up! We decided to walk the dog
(this is at, like, 12:30 am, mind you) and the contractions REALLY picked up! They were very strong,
very intense, and coming about every three minutes apart. So, we headed right to Christiana Hospital.
We got there, they admitted us to triage, and began the exam. The contractions weren't as strong or
as frequent, and when they examined me, they said I was still not very dialated and my water had
not broken. SOOO..... instead of staying in the hospital and having a baby, they sent me home with
a sleeping pill. Bummer - I was so excited that we would have our little boy to hold today!!! :(

Well, I am sorry that this is such a long post, but it was a very exciting night and it really felt like the
real thing... We will continue to keep posting and keeping everyone in the loop. The laptop is part of our
hospital bag, so hopefully we can keep connected as the pregnancy wraps up.

Keep us in your prayers - it will happen sooner or later!!!!

at 39 weeks along (only 6 days to go!!)...

(Baby is about 21 inches tall and weighs almost 8lbs!!)

No further progress... the induction date is March 30th...

Well, we are less than a week from the due date (3/27). According to our doctor, Baby Vasami
is "not small". In fact, she thinks he is about 8 lbs already. Guess all that ice cream worked...
It isn't an exact science, but I am fairly confident in my doctor's ability to estimate such things.

So I am at home, just playing the waiting game now. Got a nice pedicure yesterday, and it felt
great to be pampered. Not that I can see my toes half the time, but they look pretty now! :)

Well, here are a few pictures of the completed nursery... now if only Baby V would show up...

Here is the crib, the alphabet soup bedding, the matching rug, the lamp, and the changing table. Gotta love Pottery Barn Kids!!! Thank you to everyone who gave us such nice baby gifts!!	Ruth manages to find her way into every picture. She LOVES to hang out in baby's room. Her favorite spot? Hiding under his crib, on top of two body pillows I store underneath.

Baby V has gotten LOTS of Yankees- and baseball-related items. Here are some of my favorites, the stuffed animals perched on the TV in the guest room/nursery. Ralph has already made sure that we signed up for the Baseball Package on DirecTV. He is planning to position the baby swing right next to his recliner in the living room to start watching the Yankees as soon as little guy is born.

at 38.75 weeks along (only 10 days to go!!)...

(Baby is about 20 inches tall and weighs at least 7 lbs)

LAST DAY IN THE OFFICE!!!!!

So we finally made the decision that this was going to be my last week of coming in to the office.
It can't come soon enough if you ask me! I walked around the office today, just over to the other side,
back to my side and then over to a co-workers cubicle, and that caused me to have another contraction.
Now I am all for contractions - they help to get the baby out - but I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE THIS
BABY AT WORK!!! And I sure as heck don't want my water breaking at work either. NOT GOOD.

So that's it. Finishing up my last few projects and preparing for a nice long break - ha!
I am sure it will feel like ANYTHING BUT a nice long break once baby arrives!!!!

My plans for this last week are to take it easy, get a pedicure (maybe my last one for 18 years!)
pack the bag to take to the hospital, finish up my thank-you notes, and install the carseat.
He *could* come early afterall, and we need to be READY!!!!

at 38 weeks along (only 14 days to go!!)...

(Baby is about 20 inches tall and weighs at least 7 lbs)

WE HAVE SOME PROGRESS!!!!!

We had our weekly doctor's appointment this morning, and for once, we have some
progress to report! I am ONE centimeter dialated! Woo-hoo! Ok, it's not a lot, and we have
9 more to go, but it is certainly something to cheer about. I am also 80% effaced....
OK, I am not totally clear about what that really means... but it sounds good, right?

PLUS - I had three whole contractions this weekend! We were walking around the mall -
okay, Ralph was walking, I was waddling, fanning myself and complaining around the mall...
But anyway, it brought on two mild contractions (about a half-hour apart) on saturday,
and then I had another minor one on sunday (walking the stairs in our townhouse).

So, for this week, we are just hoping for more and more PROGRESS!!! :)

at 37 weeks along (20 days to go)...

(Baby is over 19 inches tall and weighs about 7 lbs)

NY BABY SHOWER PICTURES!!!!!

One of the tables in the sunroom, and the clothesline full of adorable baby clothing!

One of the adorable rubber duckie centerpieces, Lynne and some of the other guests.

The cutest cake ever! The same duckies and their baseball caps!

Aunt Barb surprised us by knitting a BEAUTIFUL baby blanket! (notice the picture of Ralph in action, and the baseballs above me)

at 37 weeks along (21 days to go)...

(Baby is over 19 inches tall and weighs about 7 lbs)

We had a GREAT weekend in New York - my wonderful mother-in-law threw me a fabulous baby shower
and we were absolutely spoiled rotten with gifts for Baby V. This now makes THREE showers for the little guy!
I have to catch up on my thank you notes!! I can honestly say now - we are prepared for him to arrive!

But we might be getting ahead of ourselves...I had a doctor's appointment this morning, and it seems
that baby keeps growing (she estimated he is about 7 pounds right now) but he doesn't seem to be
progressing at all when it comes to actually LEAVING the womb. No progress at all. He needs to drop, and
I need to dialate. Until then, I am still working (loathing every minute of it) and just kind of
pushing thru this very painful and uncomfortable stage...

I DO have all of the nice gifts to play with - that is a great distraction! :) We were up until 2 am putting
together the changing table and last night! I promise to post pictures of the nursery soon - it looks
AMAZING!!! I am hoping to also post some pictures from the shower in New York too.

Please send your prayers our way for some progress here as far as baby is concerned -
I am impatient, yes, but I am IN PAIN too! :)~

at 36 weeks along (26 days to go)... (Baby is 19 inches tall and weighs about 6 lbs) Okay, here is one outfit that pregnant Hollywood may find tres chic, but I will not be caught dead in anytime soon - is Katie Holmes wearing a ONESIE????? Hellooooo???? Silly Katie! Mixing up her baby's clothes with her maternity clothes!

at 36 weeks along (28 days to go)...

(Baby is 19 inches tall and weighs about 6 lbs)

What a week - I think I wore myself out!!! Well, last week, I turned 29 (boo! hiss!); then my
wonderful co-workers threw me a complete surprise baby shower; Ralph and I went to childbirthing
classes (SCARY SCARY VIDEOS of natural childbirth!!!); we had THREE really nice dinners out (Ralph took
me out on my birthday, my parents took me out the weekend of my birthday, and we had a great dinner
on sunday with my cousin Jess and her fiance Bill); and I went to a baby shower for my cousin Stephanie -
it was so cute, there were FIVE pregnant ladies at the shower - my 3 cousins, me, and my cousin's friend!

We had a doctor's appointment Monday morning. Neither Ralph or I were feeling all that fabulous,
and then of course I had to get THE EXAM - ugh. The appointments are going to be weekly from here
on out - ugh ugh ugh. Baby has moved much lower in my belly which I am trying to get used to.
And my feet are HUGE! They are these ugly swollen fat lumps with toes on them - soooo gross!
I found out I am not dilated at all yet, so I won't be giving birth this weekend. Which is a good thing,
because my wonderful mother-in-law is throwing me a baby shower in New York this weekend -
I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to see all my in-laws!!! :) It's been a while since I've seen everyone.

I am keeping busy assembling all of the nice things I got from last week's baby shower, and doing
all of the laundry for baby V - how can someone who is not even born yet have so many clothes
to wash??? I bought special baby detergent just for him, and I seriously think people have given him so
many clothes that I will have to do five loads of laundry for him before he is even born - but better to
wash it now when we have "free time." Because we sure won't have any free time 4 weeks from now...

at 35 weeks along (34 days to go)...

(Baby is almost 19 inches tall and weighs over 5 lbs)

IT'S A BABY SHOWER!!!!

I had such a nice time at my baby shower on sunday - lots on family and friends around me, showering
the baby with gifts! We had a great time!! Thank you to everyone who was able to make it after the
last-minute re-scheduling due to snow last week. It was nice to show the nursery and it was great to
entertain at our house for the first time since our housewarming (back in 03!). Ruth was beside herself -
she had never seen so many people in our house before...so many babies to kiss, so many people to
play tug with! What a great time! She was exhausted by the time our guests left, and spent the rest
of the night sleeping on the couch! :) A million thanks to my mom, who threw me a most wonderful
shower and did lots and lots of hard work to help me get the house ready for visitors. She's the best!! :)

(L-R) My cousins Kristen and Stephanie (both expecting!); my "cousin-in-law" Renee; my friend Nicole and her daughter Madelyn; and baby Emily.	We played a game in which each person had a baby-related word stuck to their back and had to ask questions to the other guests to try to guess their word. I got "Diaper" and managed to guess it in two questions - woo-hoo! Me being the goofball that I am, I stuck it on Emily's bottom as soon as I guessed the answer! :)
A very rare picture of pregnant Kelly! (don't expect to see any others...LOL) My mom avoided the camera because she was taking pictures - normally my job! :)~	My friend Jen and her daughter Emily (see coverage of Emily's 1st birthday party below).
My cousin Beccah and my aunt Nancy.	Here is the beautiful (AND DELICIOUS!) baby shower stork cake - yummy!
My aunt Donna Jeanne, my aunt Marsha, my cousin Michelle, and my aunt Bunny.

at 34.75 weeks along (38 days to go)...

I gotta tell ya...the third trimester, in a word, SUCKS! I don't know if I was just lucky and had
a relatively pleasant and easy first two trimesters–or even a relatively pleasant first seven months–
but I am really struggling here at the end. All of my parts that used to be nice-looking have swollen
up into giant appendages. My fingers are nearly too fat and swollen to wear my wedding rings, none
of my favorite maternity pants fit right anymore, and my feet are so swollen that I am down to two
pairs of slip-on shoes: one in brown, one in black. Lord help me if I have to go anywhere that requires
me to dress up! Sleep has become next to impossible, as my back just hurts all night. I have started
to see a chiropractor twice a week for the severe back pain - I just wish I had gone earlier. I am
constantly tired and I just feel like a beached whale. The baby seems to be doing okay, better than
me I guess! He had the hiccups the other night (which he gets nearly daily now) and his mouth
must have been directly under my skin - Ralph put his hand on my belly and felt the strong rythmic
HIC! (pause) HIC! (pause) HIC! over and over again! They were very pronounced and happened
every few seconds for a good couple of minutes. It was so neat just picturing our little baby,
curled up in my belly, just under Ralph's hand. I really can't wait to see what he looks like and
I will know that all this pain and all this uncomfortableness is worth it... Just. 38. more. days.

at 34 weeks along (six weeks or 42 days to go)...

(Baby is 18 inches tall and weighs over 5 lbs)

We had a great doctor's appointment this morning! There were a few tests that we
had to run last week–nothing major, nothing to worry too much about–but we got all
the results back and everything was normal. So that's always great to hear.

Another thing that was good about this morning's appointment was that we found out with
pretty good certainty that the baby WILL be born in March (knock on wood). Of course our due date
has always been March 27th, but Ralph and I (who are famous for NEVER being on-time for anything)
have been joking that the baby won't be born until May or June if he is anything like his parents!

Our wonderful doctor let us know that if we don't deliver by the due date, she plans to induce
on March 30th (possibly even the night of the 29th). So if all goes well, we will NOT have an
April Fool's baby - ha. Nothing is certain of course, but it's nice to have a more "solid" date to go on.
Y'all know I'm a planner (and by "planner", I mean "control freak"), so I'm enjoying this news :)

So about that DARN SNOWSTORM over the weekend - UGH! We got 14'' here. I was really
looking forward to seeing a lot of my friends and family this weekend, but it will have to wait
until next Sunday... assuming, of course, we don't get another freak snowfall. Cross your fingers!

HAVE A HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYBODY!!!

at 33 weeks along (47 days to go)...

(Baby is nearly 18 inches tall and weighs about 4.75 lbs)

Ok, this is not Baby Vasami related, but this is one of the funniest email forwards
I have seen all year. Ralph and I are/were big fans of the Back to the Future trilogy,
and we saw the Brokeback Mountain recently (very good too)...

If you only watch one Brokeback Mountain parody video this year...
 
Make it this one:
 
http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/brokeback-mountain/121-gigawatts-of-forbidden-love-152430.php

(Thank you to Jeremy McDowell who sent this to Ralphie - it's brilliant!!!)

at 33 weeks along (48 days to go)...

(Baby is nearly 18 inches tall and weighs about 4.75 lbs)

Well, "NESTING" has officially set in. For those of you not familiar with the term,
nesting is this phenomenon that pregnant women go through, in which they become
obsessed with cleaning and straightening the house and preparing the home and
the nursery for the new little life that will be living there soon. I found myself on
my hands and knees the other day, scrubbing the baseboard in our powder room.

Now, for anyone who really knows me, I am not a neat freak. Neither is Ralph.
We normally maintain an embarassingly dirty household. Now, if you have ever
been to our house, I can guarantee you we spent many hours rushing around
like crazy people trying to get it to look okay before you arrived. We panic-clean.
We don't clean just for the sake of having a clean house. We really love our house
when it IS clean, but it is fleeting. So now I am looking around our pigsty,
and glaring at each dustbunny, each dirty sink, and just cringing.

Baby's room is pretty spotless - mostly because we are never in there :)
So we had cleaning people come in today - I can't wait to get home and
see what it looks like!!! The dust will be all gone, the floors will be shining,
the carpets will be clean and dog-hair free! I am just beside myself with happiness!! :)

We are having NEW CARPET installed tomorrow!!! I am SOOO excited! Ruthie dog
has had one too many accidents on the current carpet, and then there was that
painting misadventure right after we moved in. So we have known for almost two years
that we would eventually have to replace this awful carpet, and I am sooo happy to see it go!

I am looking forward to seeing some friends and family at our place on sunday-
I'll get to show off our clean house, the baby's nursery and the new carpet!

at 32 weeks along (55 days to go)...

(Baby is nearly 17.2 inches tall and weighs a little over 4 lbs)

Pregnancy is not always fun... But it can be funny. Here is an email I sent to
one of my girlfriends this morning when she asked me how it was going.
Jolene seemed to think it was funny, so I thought I would share it here:

"It took me ten g#$%@#n minutes to put my shoes on this morning, and
I was completely exhausted and out of breath when I was done. I tried to wear my
slip-on loafers but my feet have finally swollen up too big for them, so I am back
to sneakers, which are a total pain in my @$$. Speaking of that, my underwear is
too small (I might go in the bathroom and just throw the d@%# things away), and
my freakin pants keep slipping down. Aren't ya glad you asked? Tee hee hee."

at 32 weeks along (8 weeks - or 56 days - to go)...

(Baby is nearly 17.2 inches tall and weighs a little over 4 lbs)

WE HAVE ENTERED MONTH EIGHT!!!

Baby Vasami is definitely growing! Kelly's belly seems bigger by the minute! :)
We have another doctor's appointment Monday morning...

We did some 'monkeying around' this weekend at Emily Baker's 1st Birthday.
Here is a picture of Ralphie with Louie the two-and-a-half year old chimpanzee,
and also a picture of the adorable birthday girl. We had a great time!

at 31.75 weeks along (8.25 weeks - or 60 days - to go)...

(Baby is over 17 inches tall and weighs 4 lbs)

Okay, so is there anyone left who is NOT pregnant? Lordy! Pregnant ladies everywhere:
Besides me, there's my three cousins, two of my old co-workers, a family friend,
a co-worker's wife, almost half of Ralph's co-worker's wives, and another friend of ours...

And then there is 'Pregnant Hollywood': You've got Angelina Jolie (oooh, Brad is the Dad -
that will be a fine looking baby!), Brooke Sheilds, Katie Holmes (the poor girl), Gwen Stefani,
Gwyneth Paltrow, Mira Sorvino, Jennie Finch, Rachel Weisz, and Mariska Hargitay.

And don't forget the famous wives: Donald Trump's wife, Don Johnson's wife, Russel Crowe's wife,
Dave Grohl's wife, Mark-Paul Gosselaar's wife,Adam Sandler's wife, Kobe Bryant's wife,
Jon Stewart's wife, and Woody Harrelson's wife...I'm sure there are others too.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only big bloated waddling thing out there...

at 31 weeks along (9 weeks to go)...

(Baby is 17 inches tall and weighs almost 4 lbs)

Another week down...

Really not anything interesting to report, unless you find my belly button interesting.
My belly button is getting ready to pop out, which I was told would probably
happen, but wasn't happening so far. Maybe it is like a turkey timer and will pop right out
when little guy is fully ready to come out of the oven - ha!

Wish I had some good pictures to share, but I have only been taking pictures of the dog.
There is no way anyone is getting a picture of me or the belly. Heck no. Stop asking. LOL.

Okay, fine, here's a new one of Ruth. We love it when she sticks out that bottom lip!

Has this become the DOG BLOG???

at 30 weeks along (10 weeks to go)...

(Baby is 16 inches tall and weighs over 3 lbs)

Had another doctor's appointment today - everything seems to be going fine so far
(knock on wood). They want me to come in every two weeks from now on,
instead of just once a month, since it's getting close. Not much new to report...

A big thanks to my friend Jen Baker who was nice enough to go with me to Babies R Us
over the weekend to register for a few (million) things the baby might need.
**I am sure Ralph is VEEEERRRRY glad he was out of town and missed Babies R Us!**
Jen brought her baby girl, Emily, who was wonderfully well-behaved!
Emily will be celebrating her first birthday on the 29th of this month! :)

at 29.5 weeks along (10.5 weeks to go)...

(Baby is 15.5 inches tall and weighs almost 3 lbs)

Kelly's five funny things about pregnancy...

I've been lucky enough to keep my sense of humor throughout being pregnant -
not always easy, especially if you have a tough pregnancy or have
a lot of the nasty symptoms that go along with being pregnant. I really can't
complain too much - little guy has been relatively easy on me the whole
seven months so far. But there are some very funny things about pregnancy...

1. There is nothing better than maternity pants - built-in really stretchy panels
would be nice to wear ALL the time–pregnant or not! Ralph wants a pair! :)~

2. ALL Maternity shirts are apparently REQUIRED to have two things: bell sleeves and a low-cut front.
This is NOT a good design plan. I don't know which is worse - having to dig all the crap out of my
shirt fronts, or having to clean off my sleeves after they dip into everything I eat. I am so sick of it!

3. Pregnant women tend to be a bit clumsy - you drop a lot of stuff. But you can't pick up ANYTHING.
Try this experiment: put a bowling ball on your lap and then drop an object by your feet.
Try to pick it up - just try. Make sure you keep a firm hold on that bowling ball. Ha!

4. I have two stages to my appetite: starving or stuffed. No in-between.

5. Your bladder shrinks to the size of a walnut, and fills constantly. Baby seems to know
exactly when to start kicking your bladder like a soccer ball. Good times.

at 28.75 weeks along (11.25 weeks to go)...

(Baby is 15 inches tall and weighs over 2 lbs)

We put the crib together last night! Woo-hoo! Pics coming soon...

This is a very cool news story I came across in People Magazine:

3 Sisters Give Birth on 3 Consecutive Days
Friday Jan 06, 2006 9:00am EST
By Stephen M. Silverman


Here’s one for The Guinness Book of World Records: Three sisters in Missouri gave birth
on three consecutive days at the same hospital in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles last week.

And the best news is that everyone involved is doing well, though all three kiddie cousins –
Sophia, Jack and Kara – dozed while their moms Tracey Mueller, Trisha Duvel and Jamie Roden and
grandmother Sondra Dames were interviewed by Katie Couric on Friday’s Today show.

“Perhaps that’s perfect,” cooed Katie.

Yet the amazement continues. “I’ve had sisters deliver within a week or so of each other, but
nothing like this,” said Dr. Evelyne Schuetz, who monitored the sisters’ pregnancies. Her medical partner
offered to deliver the third, but Schuetz wasn’t about to jump off this bandwagon.

“I said, ‘I’ve delivered the two, I have to deliver the third,’” she told the Associated Press.

Mueller, 28, was the first to give birth; daughter Sophia Ann Mueller arrived at 7:07 a.m. on Dec. 28.
Labor pains next struck Duvel, 31, who delivered Jack Thomas Duvel at 9:39 p.m. on Dec. 29.
The next morning, Roden, 24, started feeling queasy. She checked into St. Joseph Health Center in
St. Charles in the afternoon, and Kara Grace Roden arrived at 9:23 p.m.

“It was a complete joke the entire pregnancy that we’d have them at the same time.
But none of us really thought it would ever happen,” Duvel said.

Throughout the marathon of deliveries, grandma Dames, 53, was on nearly
round-the-clock watch at the hospital.

“By the end of it our mom was so tired, it looked like she was the one that had had a baby,”
Roden said. “She went through more labor than we did,” Mueller added.

Grandparents Sondra and Jack Dames were looking forward to the next “madhouse” family dinner
now that their brood of grandchildren has grown to 10, AP reports. “The only difference is now
they’ll all have to bring their own groceries,” joked Grandpa Jack.