Capturing the memories

For those of you who either know me or follow me on Facebook, you know I am an obsessive picture taker. I most enjoy taking pics of Shai, my gorgeous nephew Tyler and you guessed it, yours truly. I’m not sure what the obsession is but I feel like every moment should be captured. Shai taking a nap, Tyler playing in the sandbox or me inhaling an ice cream sundae. I think most people around me find it beyond annoying that I am constantly busting out the camera but I guarantee that they will all thank me one day! When I became pregnant, this obsession went to a whole other level but this time, Shai caught the camera bug too. Every week we take a picture of my expanding belly with a sign saying how many weeks preg I am and I think he’s more obsessed with taking the pictures than I am. To anyone whose preg, I really recommend you do these too. As annoying as it may seem, it’s really fascinating to see how much your tummy can grow and see the amazing process through photos.

As much as I enjoy taking pictures myself, having them done by a professional is SO much more fun. You better believe the second I found out I was pregnant I started the hunt for a photographer to do our maternity shoot. You can’t believe how many there are out there and how much some of them charge, I’m seriously considering becoming a photographer! I looked on site after site, googled for hours on end and spoke to god knows how many different photographers. I was literally losing sleep over this- Yes I’m nuts! A friend recommended Suzanne Cohen photography and I am so glad she did. She was spending the month of August out east so we decided to do the shoot on the beach in the Hamptons. I tried on endless outfit options and looked at tons of pics for ideas…I think I need a job..or even a hobby. The big day finally came and I went to some little hair salon in Westhampton for a blowout and spent way too much time doing my makeup. I actually started getting a little nervous before Suzanne came to pick us up. When you really think about it, its weird to go to a beach with a photographer you never met and have her take pictures of you attempting to look sexy with your preg belly hanging out. But Suzanne was amazing! She was so patient, had such cute ideas and made Shai and I feel so comfortable. Not only was she awesome, her pricing is amazing! For $300 you get a photo shoot and all the pictures on a CD, which I can guarantee you wontfind with any other photographer in the city. We took tons of pictures and I cant wait to blow them up and cover our new apartment in them!! I really recommend anyone who’s pregnant to take the time to have the pictures done. It’s an exciting special time and you will want to have these memories forever.

 http://www.suzannecohenphotography.com/#/home/

ABC'S of Pregnancy

A-  Ass will expand to sizes you never thought imagineable

B-  Buy bigger bras, you will need them!

C- Cocoa butter is your best friend and should be rubbed all over your belly to help with itching and stretch marks

D-  Dreams - can you say vivid and weird?

E-  Emotions run wild and I find myself crying over anything and everything

      F- Feet will swell

G- Girl or boy? What is in my belly?!?!

H-  Hormones run wild and within 4 minutes you will feel 9 different emotions!

 I-  Itching skin

 J-  Jewelry, We deserve it for carrying around a baby for 9 months!

K- Kid? I'm having a kid!!

L- Leg cramps

M- Muscle aches

N- Nursery will become an obsession

O- Over eating

P-  Peeing 7X thoughout the night becomes a very normal occurance

Q- Quiet time... Enjoy it while u have it

R-  Rings - put them away until after the baby - fingers will be so fat

S-  Sleep - not so much!

T-  Trust your doctor and don’t turn to google for answers 

U-  Uterus is expanding

V-  Vitamins - don't forget to take them

W- Weight will go up to number you never imagined possible

X-  X-rated: not anymore 

Y-  Yoga is the best during pregnancy because it will not only clear your mind but will help keep you lean and stretched

Z-  Zits are part of the territory but will go away your beautiful baby is born.

What goes in...Must come out!

Women spend so much time worrying and stressing about how they are going to get a baby in their belly. They talk to friends, family and doctors about how to do so and all share their stories about what they did to make it happen. But what NOBODY talks about is actually getting the baby out! I hadn’t given it much thought myself until about a week ago. It all began while I was getting ready to shower and Shai came into the bathroom. What started with him telling me how pretty I look pregnant soon turned into us bursting into laughter about how ridiculous my body is. My belly has grown so much and I look like I could topple over at any given moment. Before I knew it, the laughter turned into tears as reality and fear set in…this baby needs to get out. I swear it was such a bi-polar moment. Shai managed to calm me down and promised I would be just fine and he would be right next to me holding my hand through it all. Even though I know he will be passed out on the floor when the time comes, his words helped me regroup and get the thought out of my head for the night.

However on Sunday night while watching The Kardashians the fear came back to haunt me. For those of you who didn’t watch it, Kourtney became obsessed with the idea of a home water birth and someone not only let her watch it live, but let the cameras in too so the rest of the world could watch as well. I’m not going to lie, for half a second I thought - hmmm that’s kind of a cool idea. That thought ended abruptly when I saw the girl scream and cry like she was being stabbed repeatedly. Umm NO THANK YOU! Inevitably the tears started streaming and the panic set in again. How am I going to get Baby Shustik out??

WARNING: DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SCARED OF CHILDBIRTH OR DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN!!

If you ask most women about their birthing experience they will simply say it’s the greatest miracle in the world.  While I do agree that the beautiful baby that comes out is a miracle I think there are some details they’re neglecting to share.

Did you know:

·         The chances of your OB delivering your baby are slim

·         Your nishy WILL tear

·         There will be no hand holding during your epidural – You’re on your own honey!

·         The majority of women shit on the table?!  Yes, I did say shit!

·         Your asshole can literally rip while pushing?!

·         You have to actually deliver the placenta, which looks like an alien!

·         You will have a swollen, bleeding vag for days after the birth

I’m gonna guess you probably didn’t know any of this because no one is willing to talk about it!! You can all bet your ass that my first blog after baby Shustik comes out will be the brutal honesty on delivering a baby, so stay tuned! I hope I didn’t scare anyone too much but there is there is hope yet.  I can only speak from my sister’s experience as I was in the delivery room with her.  I always pictured it to be like the movies but fortunately I was pleasantly surprised. First of all, the delivery rooms are TINY, at least at Mt Sinai. I asked the doctor when we would move to the birthing room and he looked at me and notified me we were in it, Seriously? Second, there is so much waiting around. I always pictured being wheeled into the hospital kicking and screaming and within minutes pushing a baby out. Not the case at all. My sister was admitted at 10:45pm and Tyler wasn’t born until 11:03am then next day and there was no screaming at any point of the delivery. As soon as she felt any contractions she got an epidural (which she swore didn’t hurt at all!) and the doctor literally had to tell her she was having a contraction and that she needed to push. In between her brief pushes we were talking about everyday things, good restaurants in the neighborhood, the Miami football team and our plans for December vacation. At one point my brother in law told my sister to yell and curse so it felt like the movies…It was all just so calm. As Tyler was making his entrance into the world her doctor asked if either her husband or I wanted to watch. Like most men, he kindly declined (which I agree with, Shai will be waist up the whole time!!).  I then responded, “ Well I don’t have to bone her “ and made my way around to the front row seating. What I saw was incredible. It wasn’t gross or scary but amazing and as cliché as this sounds, a miracle. The tears flowed as Liat was introduced to her perfect beautiful baby boy. It was a day I will never forget and I can only hope to have as great a delivery as she did. The proof that childbirth isn’t all that bad is that most women do have more than one baby, and I’m happy to announce that Liat is now pregnant with baby number 2!!