19 Weeks... and updates

Over the past few weeks, work has kept me plenty busy that once again, I've neglected blogging. Although nothing interesting has really been going on, I still need to keep up with this!

Work is going great! I am certainly loving Mother/Baby. Its so refreshing to go into work with a clear mind as opposed to before when I was stressed before I even got up for work. So far my co-workers have been wonderful, so helpful in teaching me the ropes. As much as I'm enjoying my time on days, I'm not looking forward to switching back to the night schedule. Oh well, I will enjoy every minute of "normalcy" until the switch back.

John and I went to the Tigers game on Wed April 13th. It was a 1:05pm game against the Texas Rangers. John took the afternoon off from work (along with his boss) and we made the trek to D-town to watch the game in the suites.

The game was fun and the weather was perfect! Brandon Inge drilled the game-winning walk-off. I was pretty excited because I kept missing a picture of the fountains and could finally take one!!

Gotta love the Tigers!!

John and I decided to try to make 1 game a month for the rest of the season (hopefully this will include the post-season). We need to get our tickets for May soon :)

On Monday, April 18th, I had lunch with some of my best girl friends at Old Chicago. Its always nice to get-together, all 4 of us, and spend some time laughing and chatting. Of course, I didn't think to take any pictures, but fun was had by all! Thanks for sharing the ginormous chocolate chip cookie dessert with me :)

Baby Stats for Week 19:

-Length: 10 inches

-Weight: 8.5 oz (240g)

-Major Milestones: Baby L is now the size of a tomato! (head to bottom) Just thinking about eating a tomato gives me instant heartburn. The baby is now capable of swallowing, digesting, and passing amniotic fluid through the digestive tract. This is all starting to prepare for that wonderful journey of passing the first meconium stool. I can't wait to change my own baby's mec diaper :)

Vegas Baby!!

John and I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Las Vegas with some wonderful friends of ours,

Brian & Gina Gemalsky.

We flew out on Monday night (April 4th) and arrived in Vegas about 11 pm (Vegas time). We were certainly tired, but made the most of our first night and walked along the strip and hotels. This was my 3rd trip but all the others 1st trip, so they were certainly in awe of what Vegas is all about.

That first night, we spent time gambling in

Treasure Island and in our hotel, the Rivieria.

Even though the 'Riv' was a short hike north of where the majority of the hotels were, it turned out to be a very nice hotel, not as busy, clean, nice rooms, and of course a pool.

(no we did not see the Crazy Girls as seen as the deck of cards, they were a free gift courtesy of Gina's players card!)

Gina and I decided to head to bed around 2 the first night, but the guys decided to stay up til after 6:30. I think they were pretty excited.

Tuesday: Day 2- Gina and I spent the day laying

and relaxing by the pool. It was at least 80 degrees, sunny, not a cloud in sight. Someone should have warned me to put on some extra sunscreen, but I'm sure I would have failed to listen. Needless to say, I got a nice sunburn on my chest and legs mostly. But it felt great to get some sun and a little color on my pale body.

We met up with Brian & Gina's friends for dinner at Lagasse's Stadium in the Palazzo to watch some of the games the guys had bet on during the day. What delicious food and fun!

Tons of TVs and comfy couches to lounge on

John & I enjoying good food, friends, and sports :)

Wednesday: Day 3 was spent walking around again, I swear we logged in at least 15 miles! (or so my feet and legs thought). We walked through Caesar's, Bellagio, The Magnificent Mile (Mall), the Venetian (my personal fav), and the Palazzo. (I think this was it..) Here are some pics of the various walking destinations: (Both are inside the Bellagio)

We ate a "fancy" dinner at Olives in the Bellagio.

We stood in line for over 45 minutes (first ones in line I might add) so we could get a table out on the porch. This way we could be front and center for the fountain show they showcase in front of the Bellagio. It was a beautiful sight! We were also the youngest people at the restaurant by about 30 years! It certainly pays to have good advice on the best places to eat.

Wednesday night we had tickets to see Cirque Du Soleil's "O".The one and only thing I wanted to do in Vegas was see a Cirq show, and O was probably my top choice. It was

an amazing experience, I sat on the edge of my seat (with sweating hands and feet--good ol gymnastics nerves) in anticipation. The hour and a half just flew by. I would definitely see O again!

(this pic is before the show outside of the theater entrance)

After O we walked in front of the Bellagio to watch the fountain show since it was now dark. Those fountains are beautiful every time I see them. We also watched TI's pirate ship show. I had seen it once before, but certainly did not remember what it was about. After just coming from a Cirq show, I don't think any of us were overly impressed, but it was still a sight to see.

We called it a night back at the Riv with some late night Fish fun at our "spots". Gina & I at our Gold Fish slots, the boys at the Roulette wheel. Another great day!

Thursday: Day 4 was a very windy day! After breakfast we decided to sign up to play in a slot tournament. The object was to get as many triple diamonds as possible. This was probably the most fun 15 minutes we had, I wish I had recorded this! John was the top winner in our group of 4 placing 8th, only 2500 points out of the money slot, maybe next time honey!

Of course we walked another 15 miles. Today visiting the Wynn and Encore, as well as Caesar's again to cash in on the guys sports bets. The Wynn and Encore were simply stunning hotels, definitely "5 Star" (hehe- we had a good laugh with that)

Our last few hours were spent at our "spots" getting all of the gambling out of our systems. I certainly think the amount of time we spent in Vegas was sufficient. I was feeling cranky and getting annoyed with annoying and unfriendly people. I'll take that as a sign it was ready to go home.

Our Vegas trip was absolutely fantastic!! We had such a great time with Brian & Gina and certainly can't wait til the next one (somewhere tropical hopefully)

Catching Up...

Well a lot has been going on here in the LaMacchia house over the past few months (obviously) but especially over the past month.

There was quite the delay in my posting a little while back as I sorted out a few things with my job position. On February 28th I celebrated my 1 year hire date with Sparrow Hospital. Now that may not sound like anything fabulous, but that 1 year allows for so much more! After putting in 1 year, this allows for me to transfer within the hospital wherever I please (as long as I'm qualified, interview well, and get hired on that floor).

For the past 6 months I have been patiently waiting to make the switch. The current floor I was working on was a heavy respiratory floor, with many elderly, unable to care for themselves/nursing home patients. This was a great starting point and a good foot in the door at Sparrow, but ultimately NOT the place I could see myself staying with for the long-haul of my nursing career. I swear, every shift, I found myself browsing the Sparrow website searching for my dream position to arrive. Then one evening, shortly before my 1 year hire, the posting appeared! A Mother/Baby position was actually available! This NEVER, EVER is available. It was only a part-time Night spot, so I didn't apply at first. One of my co-workers did apply and received a call from the manager within the next day or so. Because of benefits, she couldn't do it. So I figured, I'd give it a try. I applied and sure enough received a phone call the very next day to interview. 2 days after the phone call, I interviewed (on a Friday). It was a great interview, I left feeling on cloud nine and totally believing that I got the job. The manager told me she'd be in touch sooner rather than later, so that seemed like a good sign as well.

The weekend came and went with many long discussions between John and I as to what the best decision would be in regards to taking a Part-time position with the upcoming baby's arrival. We talked and talked and ultimately decided that if this was where I was supposed to be, it would happen. We would make things work no matter what.

Monday, right before lunchtime, I was working on my blog (I'd like to think), and my phone rang. I immediately recognized the main Sparrow number and anxiously answered. It was the Mother/Baby manager calling to offer me the position!! I was grinning ear-to-ear! I joyfully said yes, hung up the phone and called John immediately to share the great news. He was both happy for me and shocked that they had called so quickly. My new manager had already spoken with my current manager and made the arrangements to help me transfer off the floor. I had 3 weeks left on 7Foster!

Those 3 weeks couldn't have flown by any faster. As happy I am to be making to the move to Mother/Baby (post-partum care), I will certainly miss a select few of my co-workers from 7 Foster. I have worked with some incredible people and will forever be grateful to all that they have done to help me become a better nurse.

After my last night shift on the Foster, my dear ol' friend Jamie and I decided to road-trip to PA for a surprise visit to both of our families. Jamie and I go wwaaay back together. We grew up at the same gym, Berks as kids/young adults. I lived at her house in the summers, even had my own drawer in her dresser! She graduated a year before me and went to EMU on a gymnastics scholarship. The following year, I headed off to MSU on my scholarship. We would see each other at the Michigan Classic meets over the years, but lost touch once we had graduated. The world of FB allowed us to re-connect. I found out she was still living in MI. One day she called me for some directions in Lansing. To my surprise, she was applying for the same Nursing Program at LCC as I was. We had the same pre-req class in the Spring and anxiously waited to see if we'd both be accepted in the Fall. Sure enough, we both got in! After graduation, we both applied to the same position on 7 Foster, interviewed one after the other on the same day, and both accepted and started together. What a small world and wonderful circle of friendship!!

So anyway, we had just worked 12 hours, drove an hour to her house, loaded up her car, and began our 10+ hour roadtrip to PA. (Her wonderful hubby Jordan started off driving). We arrived at her parents house somewhere around 7pm to surprise them. My brother-in-law Jason picked me up and took me to my sister Pam's house to surprise them. What a fun weekend of surprises!!

I was able to meet my new niece Lola! She is such a doll. It was so nice to hold her and meet her while she was still so tiny.

It was a wonderful weekend to see all of my family and spend time with my parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, and all the nieces and nephews. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I made up for it in hugs and kisses :)

I had the chance to go spend a few hours with my wonderful

friends Wendy and Dan and their beautiful baby Davis. Even though our time together was short, its always so nice to pick up wherever we've left off. Thanks for all the helpful baby advice and the adorable outfit and goodies you gave us :) Love you guys!

That about catches things up with our family lately. You can read all about our Vegas trip in another post.

16 weeks

April 8th marks our 16th week! I cannot believe how fast these four months have just passed by! Its scary to think that we are almost to the halfway point in just a few more short weeks.

On Monday we had our monthly check-up appointment. John has been wonderful and decided to go along to this one. Everything is looking great so far. The Dr placed the US on my belly and started to say, "now don't worry sometimes it takes a few minutes to find the heartbeat", but Baby L's heartbeat leapt out at us within the first 15 seconds of her searching! She was pleased with that, as were we. I am still amazed at how wonderful and amazing it is to hear the little peanut in there, its such a beautiful miracle!

Our next appointment is in May, the fancy check-up on the baby's stats, as well as the gender ultrasound. We have decided not to find out the sex of the baby. I have felt very strongly about not finding out the baby's sex for many years. I believe that there is nothing like the surprise you will receive when the baby arrives and the Doctor reveals the sex to us in the delivery room. This world doesn't allow anything to be a true surprise in our lives anymore and this is the one chance we have for a true, real, life-changing surprise. John once said to me, "well finding out we were pregnant was a good surprise, can't that count?!" Nice try my love, but nope! We will just have to endure for a little bit longer.

16 week pictures:

Week 16 Stats:

-Length: 4.5 inches

-Weight: 3.5 oz (100g)

-Major Milestones: Baby L is now the size of an avocado. Our little one is becoming less bobble-headed now. Baby L's head-to-body ratio is starting to even out some. Starting around the 16th week is one of the most anticipated moments in pregnancy, the "quickening", the first time the baby is felt moving inside of me. I'm anxiously awaiting for this!!

14/15 Weeks

April 1st, April Fools Day marks the 15th week for baby L. So long to the first trimester!! I'm so happy to be "over" morning/all-the-time sickness and finally able to enjoy eating foods and drinking lots of fluids again. I still have the occasional nausea feeling, but that seems to be when my stomach is close to empty and my body is saying please feed me!

John has been taking some pictures of the "bump" every month. I've been bad about sharing the pics at the appropriate weekly post, so here are a few of the pics we've taken so far.

Pics around week 8:

Pics around week 12:

Week 14 Stats:

-Length: 3.5 inches

-Weight: 1.5 oz (42 g)

-Major Milestones: Our lemon-sized baby is gearing up for lots of movement in the 2nd trimester. Already its limbs and body are ready for some complicated dance moves. Its little hands can grasp at things and this babe can already suck its thumb!

Week 15 Stats: We are now the size of an apple.

-Length: 4 inches

-Weight: 2.5 oz (70g)

-Major Milestones: Baby L's major organ systems are working harder, especially the heart and circulatory systems. We are now making all sorts of facial expressions-squinting, frowning, and grimacing. And some scalp patterns are beginning to develop on the head- lets hope this baby has nice thick and curly hair like its daddy does!

Happy April! April showers bring May flowers (which I cannot wait for)